I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story, the people, and the feeling, and last but not least the message that I got within this book.
Read it! You'll enjoy it.
#AliceMartin

A brilliant debut by an exceptionally skilled writer - I'm stunned to learn that this is the author's first novel. This is a wholly original premise executed impeccably: the pacing is just right, the world-building and character development is thorough, and the multi-character POV (rarely something I find is done well) works as each storyline is a complete, standalone story worth telling.

I picked this up one morning with 15 minutes to kill, intending to read the first chapter or two. Hours later, my plans for the day long abandoned, I came to every bibliophile's Sophie's Choice: when a book engrosses you so entirely, do you savour or burn through it? I did the latter, and then went back for the former, discovering new subtleties and nuances along the way.

In short, this is an all-consuming story that will get under your skin like a virus (see what I did there?) and stay with you long after.

Note: It's a mistake to advertise this as "for fans of Emma Cline and Emily St. John Mandel" as this book is far more substantial than that - in fact, I picked this up *despite* my great aversion to the aforementioned authors' forgettable (sorry not sorry) works.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It’s not perfect, but a speculative fiction novel about a mysterious infection that only gets women could have gone wrong so fast— and instead it was a really fascinating read. I cried. I t felt the Aimee parts the most, but there were some twists that really surprised me. I’ll definitely be recommending!

Westward Women by Alice Martin is a powerful and evocative historical novel that shines a light on the strength, resilience, and courage of women forging new lives on the American frontier. Martin’s vivid storytelling immerses you in the harsh realities and hopeful dreams of the era, capturing both the struggles and triumphs of her characters with heartfelt authenticity. The book beautifully balances adventure, emotion, and rich historical detail, making it a compelling tribute to the often untold stories of women who helped shape the West.

What a fascinating read! This wasn't what I was expecting when I requested this novel but I was so glad I read it. It has a very unique take to the story, characters and plot line. Thank you netgalley for this earc.

This is the book of 2025, y'all!!!

Sometimes you pick up a book and immediately know you're in the hands of a writer who gets it. Westward Women is that kind of book. It gets under your skin like the mysterious infection at its center and refuses to let go.

This is Alice Martin's debut, which honestly shocked me because the writing feels so assured. Set in 1973, the novel follows a strange epidemic that affects only women, causing them to develop an irresistible urge to migrate westward toward the Pacific Ocean. But this isn't really a book about a disease. Desire and the particular hunger that lives in women who want more than what they've been given, is at its core. This novel speaks directly to anyone who's ever felt trapped by expectations, who wants something they can't even name. The way Martin captures that particular restlessness, that sense of being called toward something that might destroy you but feels more authentic than staying safe—it's incredibly powerful. And rather than explaining the infection through science or making it purely supernatural, she lets it exist in that liminal space where metaphor and reality blur. It's a disease that affects only women, that makes them want to move, that society doesn't know how to cure or contain. Sound familiar?

The multi-POV structure here is absolutely masterful. It took me a about 10% into the book to start empathizing and being invested in this cast of women, but Martin gives us four distinct voices: Aimee searching for her infected best friend, Eve the ambitious journalist chasing a story, sixteen-year-old Teenie who's infected and grieving her lost sister, and this haunting second-person narrator that speaks for the collective experience of infected women. Each voice feels completely authentic and necessary, which is rare in books that attempt this many perspectives.

What really got me was how spooky this book is without being traditional horror. If you've ever dealt with anything like chronic eczema or hives, the visceral **itch** that is the true main character can be triggering to read. All in all, it's more like reading The Guest or Our Wives Under the Sea—books that understand how to make the everyday feel strange and full of possibility. There's this atmosphere where you're never quite sure what's real and what's metaphor, and that uncertainty becomes part of the magic.

This debut should absolutely be on your TBR list. It's for readers who like their literary fiction with teeth. I can't wait to see what Alice Martin writes next. This one's going straight to my favorites shelf ✨

A stunning look at what it means to be a woman, diving deep into how society digs into you. This is for anyone that's felt the urge to run, and those who get it will not be able to put down this book, or stop thinking about it after the last page. Definitely going to be a best of the year for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and Alice Martin for an ARC copy of “Westward Women” in exchange for an honest review. This novel is a debut from Martin to be released in 2026.

This novel takes place in the early 1970’s and revolves around a storyline of an infection that only women are getting within a particular age range. What’s interesting is the symbolism behind this idea that women are getting sick and men in positions of power are the ones of course to take control of the situation and decide what is best for these women. When you think of living as a woman in America in the early 1970’s, this is completely on point with what was happening regarding women’s rights.

The author takes you on a journey of three women whose stories are intertwined with each other in a very specific way. This isn’t just a story about women getting sick, it’s a story about whether you just go along with the “fate” someone says you’ve been given or you go out fighting for something better that you know is out there waiting for you.

“Westward Women” is a unique and powerful story that you will not be able to put down!

I absolutely loved this book. It gave beautiful commentary on pandemics as well as how women are seen and treated in the world (especially in a medical sense). I would highly recommend this book

Alice Martin explores how women connect, protect, and sometimes lose each other under strange and unsettling circumstances. While the plot centers on a mysterious force pulling women west, the real strength of the novel lies in its portrayal of female relationships — friends, strangers, and those caught in between.

The story is quiet but tense, and the emotional bonds between characters feel raw and real. Martin captures how women support each other in moments of fear, confusion, and longing, even when the world around them doesn’t make sense.

It’s a thoughtful, moody read — less about answers and more about the ties that hold people together when everything else is falling apart.

In personal ways, we become driven by a form of hunger for something different than what we have. The paradox of a sensation that is out of control, but in mysterious ways, our bodies almost decide for us. But how does this manifest for women and their ability to survive?

Martin zealously examines this through the lens of three women's migration in 1973 towards the Pacific Ocean while an infection spreads. As a reader, you discover how the public's speculation casts this unknown condition in a harsh light while the truth unravels through each introspective and shocking chapter.

Dizzying body metaphors and haunting echoes of ghost-like voices, this debut pressed me forward on a winding road's journey past bruised memories and tense futures. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was a wild book! I thought that is was very fresh and forward thinking, and honestly felt very creepy in a way that was slightly unsettling with today's social climate being what it is. I loved that it took place in the 1970's, focused on women (and the epidemic impacting them specifically), and that it had some surprising twists and turns. I was so thankful to have been able to read an advanced copy from Netgalley! I would highly recommend this one!

4.5 stars. I received this as an ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily. This book will be published in March 2026. This was a delightful surprise of a debut. I am often hesitant with debuts, but this one blew me away. Martin writes like a seasoned writer, probably because of her PhD in English Lit, and it made this book a joy to read. The only downside to this book is that so much of it took place while driving, but I completely understand that on account of the fact everyone in this book is going, you guessed it, westward. What I gathered from this book is that the itch represents the pressure women feel from the patriarchy. It’s a metaphor come to life under their skin. The itch, in a way, represents female rage and repressed desires. Maybe that’s not what the itch is supposed to represent, but that’s sorta what I got out of it. I can see how some would not like this book, it’s very character driven and is more about the relationships between the POVs than any real plot, but I really enjoyed getting to be with these women throughout their journeys and the length they went to for each other. I feel like each woman stepped away from this knowing themselves and their desires, needs, and wants better, and were better off for having gone on the journey. I enjoyed the twist at 89% and didn’t see it coming. I also work in pandemic preparedness, and the whole time I was reading this book I was thinking about what my organization would have to do to respond to this sort of emergency. I think this is a very interesting take on a pandemic, oppression, and female rage. I even like that it was set in the 70s! Overall, this was an incredibly strong debut, and I think I would read anything this author releases.

ARC provided, thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher.

In an alt-reality 1970s America, Nixon is president but instead of Watergate taking up headlines, America is focused on the Westward Women.

Infected by a mysterious fungus that itches, disturbs, and disassociated, the women are compelled to move west in search of relief.

Four women’s stories intersect to paint a picture as they search for the piece in their life they feel is missing. One thing bringing them together is the Piper, a man driving sick women west.

This novel has a gothic, eerie feel to it. Not quite horror or gothic but with elements of both. The pace of the writing and arc of the story were terrific - really enjoyed this one.

An impeccable debut novel—speculative, unsettling, propulsive, and deeply thought-provoking—Alice Martin’s WESTWARD WOMEN will lure you in and not let you go.

Here’s the unique premise: in the early 70s, an epidemic spreads among young women. It starts with an untamable itch and coalesces into lethargy, wooziness, and loss of memory if they aren’t able to do what their body compels them to do: travel westward, to the coast. The coast calls to them and they must go. But as the infection worsens, the harder it is to move. So some women hitch a ride with a myth-like man in a big bus who calls himself The Piper and wants to help Westward Women reach their final destination.

But something’s not quite right with him, and with the infection at large. And a few girls are determined to figure it all out.

This multi-POV novel follows three women who are all traveling westward: one with The Piper, a journalist looking for him (and a story), and a third in search of her infected best friend, desperate to save her before it’s too late. A stylistically unique and very effective fourth POV enters the chat at times, too—a second person narration that makes you feel like YOU are one of the Westward Women.

I could not put this down and now I can’t stop thinking about it. The vibes were vibing and if you’re looking for a twisty, interconnected story that explores women’s desires, what they’ll do to meet them, and how they support each other along the way, definitely pick this up.

Releases March 2026. THANK YOU to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy in exchange for this honest review!!

The appeal and mystique of westward travel has been a constant in American history since westward expansion, and the interest has never waned, hence why the Yellowstone tv show has been so popular and spawned multiple spin offs. But what if it wasn't just a desire to travel west, what if it was a need, a need so intense that not moving westward had a negative physical impact on the body? That is the premise of Alice Martin's Westward Women, which flawlessly ties in the relationships and power dynamics between the sexes, bodily autonomy (or lack thereof) for women, and what female desire is. If a woman's only bargaining tool is her sexuality, at what point is it a weapon, and of course, the weapon is still used against her. The role of men in this novel will sadly not surprise any women reading it, as all the men can be seen as culpable, after all, if he drives you a hundred miles west, shouldn't he get something out of it (He asks... or more frankly takes what He thinks He deserves, the communal He). This was an enjoyable story that explored a handful of interesting themes, and I would recommend it to anyone who has ever thought "What if I just stopped doing what I'm supposed to... and went west?"

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel, I am providing this review of my own choice.

Thank you so much to Alice Martin and Netgalley for sharing this E-ARC with me!

I genuinely loved this book from the bottom of my heart. It was impactful, exploring restlesness and an "itch" that all the doctors claim is just another illness that only impacts women, driving them westward-ho in seek of something beyond, but leaving them dead more often than not. The aspects of travelling west contrasted a lot with some themes of history, especially Manifest Destiny, which I thought was really symbolic in that tese women were people who just wanted a little more in life. In terms of the story itself, I really loved getting all the different perspectives in order to build out everything to its fullest potential, especially when it all merged together at the climax, which I still cannot stop thinking about days after.