Scan barcode
A review by bkwrm1317
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've been holding off on writing up my review of Lone Women due to the requests of writers, editors, and other staff at Random House and their ongoing strike.
At this time, I'm going to go ahead and write my review here so that hopefully in the future, I'll be able to add to NetGalley once an agreement can be reached by the union and the corporation.
First and foremost, shoutout to the One World team for recommending I pick up Lone Women due to my review of a novel by another writer, as well as to the NetGalley team for supporting readers, reviewers, and authors. This novel, set during the early 20th century during the U.S. historical era of Westward Expansionism, has fabulous pacing that matches the western/horror/time period style incredibly well. Right around the halfway mark, readers get a big reveal, which allows for really nice ramping up of the story itself. Our protagonist is a Black femme homesteader during a historical period in the United States that was not kind to unmarried Black femmes.
There's a really gothic feel to this novel, and it's a bit of a combination of something like a monster noir story set during this period alongside a more traditional Western style novel. This combination isn't one I would have thought would work for me, but my experience is that this combination felt really clean and fresh.
I was pleasantly surprised by the LGBTQNIA2S+ representation in the novel as well and that these characters don't play solely a secondary part in the novel, but become the main focus for large portions of the story.
I would recommend this novel to folks who enjoy horror, Westerns, and are willing to take a risk on a combination of the two. Due to the style/setting/time period in question, the pacing is slower, but anyone who enjoys a good Western will be familiar with this!
CW: child abduction, transphobia, homophobia, monsters, classism, racism (albeit to differing levels among these).
At this time, I'm going to go ahead and write my review here so that hopefully in the future, I'll be able to add to NetGalley once an agreement can be reached by the union and the corporation.
First and foremost, shoutout to the One World team for recommending I pick up Lone Women due to my review of a novel by another writer, as well as to the NetGalley team for supporting readers, reviewers, and authors. This novel, set during the early 20th century during the U.S. historical era of Westward Expansionism, has fabulous pacing that matches the western/horror/time period style incredibly well. Right around the halfway mark, readers get a big reveal, which allows for really nice ramping up of the story itself. Our protagonist is a Black femme homesteader during a historical period in the United States that was not kind to unmarried Black femmes.
There's a really gothic feel to this novel, and it's a bit of a combination of something like a monster noir story set during this period alongside a more traditional Western style novel. This combination isn't one I would have thought would work for me, but my experience is that this combination felt really clean and fresh.
I was pleasantly surprised by the LGBTQNIA2S+ representation in the novel as well and that these characters don't play solely a secondary part in the novel, but become the main focus for large portions of the story.
I would recommend this novel to folks who enjoy horror, Westerns, and are willing to take a risk on a combination of the two. Due to the style/setting/time period in question, the pacing is slower, but anyone who enjoys a good Western will be familiar with this!
CW: child abduction, transphobia, homophobia, monsters, classism, racism (albeit to differing levels among these).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Classism, Racism, and Homophobia