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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Historical fiction meets Rosemary’s baby! We go back to 1915, and follow Adelaide Henry, a woman with a heavy burden literally and emotionally, she keeps a locked steamer trunk hiding a monstrous secret. Escaping the ghosts of her past, Adelaide heads to the remote frontier of Montana to start anew as a homesteader. But being alone and secluded doesn’t mean she’s safe.
This story had supernatural suspense, a terrifying revelation and tenderness you don’t expect. Adelaide battles isolation, prejudice, and a grueling landscape. She has to face the horror she’s keeping secret and the consequences she’s dragging behind her.
The author did a great job of covering themes of guilt, survival, and the fierce resilience of women forging their place in an unforgiving world.
The book isn’t the frontier story you’d expect. It’s dark with rich characters and a delicious plot twist.
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
📚 BOOK REVIEW: Lone Women by Victor LaValle
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 stars, rounded down)
📝 Summary:
Set in 1915 Montana, Lone Women follows Adelaide Henry, a mysterious woman hauling a locked steamer trunk—and a terrifying secret—into a harsh new frontier. A genre-bending mix of historical fiction, horror, and magical realism, the novel explores shame, survival, and the burden of secrets.
✅ What I Liked:
🔐 A gripping start full of mystery and tension
✍️ LaValle's prose is often strong and poetic
👩🏾 Adelaide was a compelling lead—especially early on
🧳 Great use of horror as a metaphor for guilt, secrets, and isolation
🧑🤝🧑 Thought-provoking themes about identity, racism, and gender
🌀 Loved the genre mash-up: historical + horror + magical realism
📖 Short chapters made it easy to keep reading
❌ What Didn't Work for Me:
🧩 Too many POVs and characters—diluted Adelaide's journey
🗺️ A "lonely frontier" story that felt oddly crowded
😶 Characters lacked depth and development
🪵 Pacing fell apart after the early trunk reveal
🌀 Storylines became confusing and disjointed
🛑 The final act felt rushed and tonally inconsistent
🎯 Recommendation:
Lone Women is worth a try if you enjoy atmospheric horror with historical grit and don't mind a story that leans more on mood than plot consistency. Just be ready for a bumpy ride after a brilliant beginning, which includes a shift in pacing and some confusion in the storylines. However, if you're a fan of the genre mash-up and can appreciate the unique style, you'll likely find the journey rewarding.
🔎 Content Warnings: Violence, murder, racism, transphobia, confinement, animal death, loss of parents, gore, child death, neglect.
💬 Have you read it? Did the trunk reveal land for you or lose you? Let's discuss it!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
I really liked this one! But the ending didn't do as much for me as the first 1/3 did. It all wrapped up too fast and too neatly for me. I wanted to see the struggle and the nitty gritty details! But then again, I nearly always appreciate a longer book over a shorter one, so this very could be just a me thing here and you might love it (as the rest of my book club did!)
Lone Women takes place around 1915 in the vast emptiness of a Montana fall and winter. Our main character has fled from her California family home after the strange and mysterious (to us the reader) deaths of her parents. She has fled with almost nothing but an extremely heavy trunk, and a page torn from a newspaper advertising the plots of fertile land that can be claimed in Montana, and the "paradise" to be found there. But when she gets there, it's empty, it's cold, and she only survives due to the goodwill of her neighbors. Then . . . things happen.
The vibes in the first third of this book are immaculate. The fleeing, the wondering what's in the trunk, the Montana descriptions, the emptiness and hopelessness only tempered by her neighbors. Yeesh, you couldn't pay me to go anywhere near this choice that our MC has made. And yet, this isn't hopeless horror. There were found family vibes here, some romance, female friendship, queerness, and community against all odds. The thematic work here and the structure of the plot were so great. HOWEVER. I wanted more. I needed several conversations to be on page. I needed to see the climax of the book rather than hear about it after the fact. I just needed it to be longer. I don't always get what I need, though! I'm fine with it.
This was my first Victor LaValle book, and I would definitely read from him again.
Lone Women takes place around 1915 in the vast emptiness of a Montana fall and winter. Our main character has fled from her California family home after the strange and mysterious (to us the reader) deaths of her parents. She has fled with almost nothing but an extremely heavy trunk, and a page torn from a newspaper advertising the plots of fertile land that can be claimed in Montana, and the "paradise" to be found there. But when she gets there, it's empty, it's cold, and she only survives due to the goodwill of her neighbors. Then . . . things happen.
The vibes in the first third of this book are immaculate. The fleeing, the wondering what's in the trunk, the Montana descriptions, the emptiness and hopelessness only tempered by her neighbors. Yeesh, you couldn't pay me to go anywhere near this choice that our MC has made. And yet, this isn't hopeless horror. There were found family vibes here, some romance, female friendship, queerness, and community against all odds. The thematic work here and the structure of the plot were so great. HOWEVER. I wanted more. I needed several conversations to be on page. I needed to see the climax of the book rather than hear about it after the fact. I just needed it to be longer. I don't always get what I need, though! I'm fine with it.
This was my first Victor LaValle book, and I would definitely read from him again.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the ending was so beautiful it made me cry