Mystery

A History of Wild Places: A Novel

A History of Wild Places: A Novel

  • Downloads：4961
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-12-18 11:21:09
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Shea Ernshaw
  • ISBN：1797143719
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

C ，

Wow。 This book was a whirlwind。 Part mystery， part fairytale， part romance， part action it had everything。 I found the characters engaging and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat and had me guessing at what was really going on until the last few pages and I know that this will be a book that I will be re-reading again and again。

Shannon ，

5/5Wow this book surprised me。 I went in completely blind and was so relieved to find myself rewarded with a dynamic， quick paced， mysterious plot that kept me frantically turning the pages wondering what was coming next。 I don't think it's a spoiler for THIS book， but I do think it's a spoiler for the original source material to say it is very reminiscent of （view spoiler）[ The Village （hide spoiler）]， which for all the hate it got， I personally loved。 That， added with the slight magical eleme 5/5Wow this book surprised me。 I went in completely blind and was so relieved to find myself rewarded with a dynamic， quick paced， mysterious plot that kept me frantically turning the pages wondering what was coming next。 I don't think it's a spoiler for THIS book， but I do think it's a spoiler for the original source material to say it is very reminiscent of （view spoiler）[ The Village （hide spoiler）]， which for all the hate it got， I personally loved。 That， added with the slight magical elements of that never felt too much made for a book that felt simultaneously surreal and also very grounded。 I had the added pleasure of questioning to myself what was real and what was fantasy。 Very few of the twists that revealed themselves I saw coming， so that was absolutely an added plus！Huge congratulations to the author for crafting just， such a beautiful， haunting， and mesmerizing story。 Highly recommend， 5/5 。。。more

Kara ，

Shea Ernshaw has done it again。 This book is brilliant， lush， atmospheric and chilling。 The spine tingling plot twists will leave you breathless。 THIS BOOK IS AWESOME 10/10 READ NOW PLEASE

Elle ，

4。75 stars。Eerie， creepy， and mesmerizing。 I love weird books that I can totally get lost in。 For some it's totally frustrating to not understand what is going on throughout the story， but I love that。 Something about that confusion just completely hooks me。 This book had suspense， the confusion factor， and a cult setting。 I was in heaven。 The less you know going into this one， the better。Everything about this book was mind-bending。 The setting was wonderfully atmospheric with a lot of creepy vi 4。75 stars。Eerie， creepy， and mesmerizing。 I love weird books that I can totally get lost in。 For some it's totally frustrating to not understand what is going on throughout the story， but I love that。 Something about that confusion just completely hooks me。 This book had suspense， the confusion factor， and a cult setting。 I was in heaven。 The less you know going into this one， the better。Everything about this book was mind-bending。 The setting was wonderfully atmospheric with a lot of creepy vibes。 It was at once a bit post-apocalyptic and a little colonial。 It's a perfectly dark read and the plot is incredibly twisty。 There is a great mix of genre bits as well。 A little bit horror， a little bit scifi， a touch of magical realism， and a lot of suspense。 The writing is fantastic， with a way about it that just gripped me。 This was one of those reads that kept me up late as I devoured page after page， not wanting to put it down。 A lot of fun and a good， solid ending。 I'll be reading more of Shea Ernshaw's work for certain！* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Shannon ，

Absolutely loved it。 Loved that it didn't give anything away until it was ready。 Loved how it ended。 Need my friends to read it faster so I can talk about it！ Absolutely loved it。 Loved that it didn't give anything away until it was ready。 Loved how it ended。 Need my friends to read it faster so I can talk about it！ 。。。more

Alyssa Smith ，

Have you ever started a sentence half a dozen times， only to keep deleting it， because you just couldn’t find the words？It is so hard for me to describe and sum up my feelings about this book。 Common， every day words， feel like they don’t do it justice。 It was a velvety moss-covered tree standing sentry。 It was a warm breeze。 It was the smell of rain right before it falls。 It was that creeping feeling on the back of your neck， with darkness on your heels。 It was beautiful。 It is， quite possibly， Have you ever started a sentence half a dozen times， only to keep deleting it， because you just couldn’t find the words？It is so hard for me to describe and sum up my feelings about this book。 Common， every day words， feel like they don’t do it justice。 It was a velvety moss-covered tree standing sentry。 It was a warm breeze。 It was the smell of rain right before it falls。 It was that creeping feeling on the back of your neck， with darkness on your heels。 It was beautiful。 It is， quite possibly， part of my top ten favorite books I’ve ever read。 Now， this book has been heavily compared to The Village。 Without a doubt， an accurate comparison。 But it was so much better。 It had so much depth， so much insight， simplicity， fear and doubt， that even though the plot is the similar， it’s like comparing apples and oranges。 What a book to start and finish the last month of the year。 This deserves to be nominated for book of the year， because it is amazing。 I cannot recommend this one enough。 。。。more

Gery ，

2。25⭐I chose this book because of the gorgeous cover and the label "mystery/thriller"， however， I'm a bit underwhelmed。 The book started as a mystery/thriller， introducing the main character Travis who has an unusual ability to track people down。 So far so good。 Then the atmosphere changed and we start following two sisters and the husband of one of them in a closed community， living in fear of a mysterious disease。 The change in the author's style was way too confusing - from typical mystery/th 2。25⭐I chose this book because of the gorgeous cover and the label "mystery/thriller"， however， I'm a bit underwhelmed。 The book started as a mystery/thriller， introducing the main character Travis who has an unusual ability to track people down。 So far so good。 Then the atmosphere changed and we start following two sisters and the husband of one of them in a closed community， living in fear of a mysterious disease。 The change in the author's style was way too confusing - from typical mystery/thriller to magical realism。 Also， I have a lot of unanswered questions and I don't understand why the author skipped some events and summarized them later。 I didn't feel shocked of the consequences， just confused and underwhelmed as these would be just a few additional pages。Overall， it wasn't a bad read， I enjoyed it， there was some intrigue and I was interested to find out what happened and why it happened。 But I would have been more satisfied if more of the "why" was included。 。。。more

Vir ，

4'5/5Buah， ¡qué pasada de libro！ Me ha gustado mucho tanto la ambientación como el misterio que rodea por igual a los personajes y a la comunidad donde residen。 La pluma de la autora también me ha fascinado， me encantaron sus descripciones y el aura oscura que las rodeaba。 Me ha enganchado una barbaridad y me ha sorprendido mucho el desenlace， si no le pongo las 5 estrellas es quizá porque la explicación al misterio me chirrió un poco， osea es original y acorde con la historia pero fuera de la f 4'5/5Buah， ¡qué pasada de libro！ Me ha gustado mucho tanto la ambientación como el misterio que rodea por igual a los personajes y a la comunidad donde residen。 La pluma de la autora también me ha fascinado， me encantaron sus descripciones y el aura oscura que las rodeaba。 Me ha enganchado una barbaridad y me ha sorprendido mucho el desenlace， si no le pongo las 5 estrellas es quizá porque la explicación al misterio me chirrió un poco， osea es original y acorde con la historia pero fuera de la ficción no se me hizo plausible。Aún así una historia muy recomendable。 。。。more

Hannah ，

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for！！！ Weird， dark， and unique。 History of Wild Places is a beautifully written， and haunting story。 Reads like a thriller/mystery with a touch of Magical Realism。

Shauni ，

I loved this！ The dark eerie vibes gave the perfect atmospheric touch I was hoping for。 I was completely immersed in the plot and characters and was left guessing throughout the book。 The clues were so fun to piece together。 I will be thinking about this one for awhile。

Jennifer Fatula ，

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review。~4。5 stars。 Once I got into it I didn't want to put it down so I could see if my guesses were correct and see how everything else wrapped up。 I did have to put this book down for a few days at the beginning because there was a lot of tension in it， and I just came off of reading a book with a lot of tension， after a semester of a lot of stress and tension and I needed to relax！ I don't usually read suspense but I Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review。~4。5 stars。 Once I got into it I didn't want to put it down so I could see if my guesses were correct and see how everything else wrapped up。 I did have to put this book down for a few days at the beginning because there was a lot of tension in it， and I just came off of reading a book with a lot of tension， after a semester of a lot of stress and tension and I needed to relax！ I don't usually read suspense but I had just read "The Wicked Deep" earlier this year so I thought I would give it shot。 I feel like the title might be a little misleading as "A History of。。。。" does not seem like the beginning of a fiction book。 。。。more

Holland ，

Y'all。。。。。。。。。。 THIS FREAKING BOOK BLEW MY MIND。。。。 I was thoroughly confused for the first half of the book， but the MAGIC in this writing is INCREDIBLE。 When it all comes together， it IS FREAKING INSANE。 I am in complete shock。 The story telling， the atmosphere， the incredible characters。。。。 HOLY CRAP。 Just read it RIGHT NOW and thank me later。 Y'all。。。。。。。。。。 THIS FREAKING BOOK BLEW MY MIND。。。。 I was thoroughly confused for the first half of the book， but the MAGIC in this writing is INCREDIBLE。 When it all comes together， it IS FREAKING INSANE。 I am in complete shock。 The story telling， the atmosphere， the incredible characters。。。。 HOLY CRAP。 Just read it RIGHT NOW and thank me later。 。。。more

book_luv_r ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 🎧AUDIOBOOK REVIEW🎧Had I known this book was about a commune I would’ve skipped it。 I went into this book blind to the plot。 I hate stories about religious cults。 I will say it is exceptionally written。 Will definitely check out future works by her。 Now the big reason why i didn’t love this。 I own both the physical BOTM copy as well as the audiobook。 I usually follow along to the book while listening to the audiobook。 On page 77 it clearly states the name Travis when the audiobook reads Theo。 Hug 🎧AUDIOBOOK REVIEW🎧Had I known this book was about a commune I would’ve skipped it。 I went into this book blind to the plot。 I hate stories about religious cults。 I will say it is exceptionally written。 Will definitely check out future works by her。 Now the big reason why i didn’t love this。 I own both the physical BOTM copy as well as the audiobook。 I usually follow along to the book while listening to the audiobook。 On page 77 it clearly states the name Travis when the audiobook reads Theo。 Huge mistake in print。 It changed how I figured out what was going to happen in the story。 Really frustrating。 。。。more

Regina ，

I was instantly intrigued by the cover art， and when I read the synopsis， I knew I had to read this book！ I was unsure as to what to really expect--horror， mystery， twisty thriller？ I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was all of these and I enjoyed the wild ride this book took me on and was completely shook by the plot twist。 Travis Wren has a gift that helps him locate missing people and solve cold cases。 When Maggie St。 James， a known author of dark children's books， goes missing he I was instantly intrigued by the cover art， and when I read the synopsis， I knew I had to read this book！ I was unsure as to what to really expect--horror， mystery， twisty thriller？ I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was all of these and I enjoyed the wild ride this book took me on and was completely shook by the plot twist。 Travis Wren has a gift that helps him locate missing people and solve cold cases。 When Maggie St。 James， a known author of dark children's books， goes missing her parents seek Travis's help to bring her back home， only Travis goes missing as well。 The commune， Pastoral， is set deep in the woods and to some， it's only legend， but it does exist！ Travis has a charm from a necklace Maggie owned and it leads him to edge of the woods。 The commune is led by Levi， a sinister and manipulative man that has convinced his members that if they venture past the borders of the commune， they will be infected with the "rot" and die。 Calla and Theo are husband and wife and are members of the commune。 Theo ventures past the borders and stumbles upon Travis's truck， which he can tell has been abandoned for about 2-3 years。 He uncovers a picture of Maggie St。 James within the truck。 Calla also finds artifacts that lead her and Theo to believe that Travis and Maggie have been or may still be within the confines of the commune。 The author writes beautifully and I simply could not stop listening。 The audio version is outstanding and gives off all of the spooky， sinister vibes that will chill you to the bone。 There were no slow chapters like other books I've read in the same genre。 The story and plot was evenly paced and the twists came at all the right times。 The setting and atmosphere were described in perfect detail， which really made the book most enjoyable for me。 Readers who enjoyed Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney will also enjoy A History of Wild Places。 。。。more

Heather Marolf ，

Slow， repetitive。 Just not that interesting to me。

Jesse ，

I really enjoyed the story until the twist， which was just so completely out of the realm of possibility （even for a main character with a “gift”）。 The author is talented， and I liked the overall message， I just prefer that the mystery/twist that is baiting you forward the entire time to be a bit more clever and plausible。

Deborah ，

I was fully invested in this story right up until the last third which ended up being a bit disappointing and anticlimactic。 We follow our main character Travis who has a talent of tracking down missing people。 He’s hired to find Maggie St。 James， a children’s book author who has been missing for 5 years。 In his search， he comes upon a mysterious， secluded community called Pastoral， way up in the mountains before Travis himself goes missing as well。 Years later， we follow a character named Theo I was fully invested in this story right up until the last third which ended up being a bit disappointing and anticlimactic。 We follow our main character Travis who has a talent of tracking down missing people。 He’s hired to find Maggie St。 James， a children’s book author who has been missing for 5 years。 In his search， he comes upon a mysterious， secluded community called Pastoral， way up in the mountains before Travis himself goes missing as well。 Years later， we follow a character named Theo who is a member of Pastoral as he begins unraveling the dark secrets that are bound up in this reclusive， isolated commune。 The writing in this book is wonderful。 It’s atmospheric and dark， it keeps you on your toes by maintaining an ongoing sense that something is wrong and off-kilter。 It started getting really predictable though and started veering away from parts of the book I was most interested in， such as Travis’ past and his ability as well as Levi’s deception。 I wish we had explored those components of the story in-depth because it would have added more complexity to the characters。 。。。more

Sarah Jones ，

3。5😂

Sulagna Hati ，

3。5* Very interesting concept and beautiful writing but felt slow and predictable

Emilie ，

I loved the writing in this book。 It was atmospheric， moody and overall a really good read。 However， I did find the plot predictable。 It had me thinking about The Village more times than I can count。

Dawn Puig ，

wow， this book was hard to put down！

Michele Harvey ，

I’ll likely add a better and longer review tomorrow， but I just need to say something about this book now。 I devoured this book in less than 12 hours and that does not happen that often with books。 I could not put this book down！ I was entirely engrossed in the story and I needed to know what was going to happen。 I wanted to solve the mystery and I couldn’t sleep until I did。 In the end， very satisfying。 I highly recommend reading this book。 I loved all three of the main characters。

Jo Anna Cunningham ，

Kept me interested throughout the whole book， so I finished it in 2 days。 I find cults fascinating especially when they go off the rails。

Heather （tales。of。a。bookbound。mom） ，

An enthusiastic five stars。 I can’t say a lot about this book without spoiling something， but just trust me when I say you need to read it！ The very first page mesmerized me and I wanted to show it to someone else so they could appreciate it too。 This book has a strong atmosphere of mystery and the setting is so vivid。 I saw another reviewer compare it to how well the setting is described in Where The Crawdads Sing and I have to agree。 I’d recommend setting aside as much uninterrupted reading ti An enthusiastic five stars。 I can’t say a lot about this book without spoiling something， but just trust me when I say you need to read it！ The very first page mesmerized me and I wanted to show it to someone else so they could appreciate it too。 This book has a strong atmosphere of mystery and the setting is so vivid。 I saw another reviewer compare it to how well the setting is described in Where The Crawdads Sing and I have to agree。 I’d recommend setting aside as much uninterrupted reading time as possible because the writing is amazing。Definitely check this one out。 。。。more

Melanie Walters ，

Amazing。 I can’t explain how much I loved this book。 Please read。。

Ludmila Buscarini ，

hola ？？？？？ no paro de llorar de lo hermoso que es este libro

Martha Crone ，

Part way through。 So far the plot is slow but interesting。 However， I have a reader's pet peeve against books with incorrect details。 You can't grow lemons in Washington State！ Blind people can't run through the woods unassisted！ Stuff like that feels like lazy writing and really detracts from the book。 But。。。。maybe it will all be explained？ Or the story will end up being worth the aggro？ Not giving up yet 。。 Part way through。 So far the plot is slow but interesting。 However， I have a reader's pet peeve against books with incorrect details。 You can't grow lemons in Washington State！ Blind people can't run through the woods unassisted！ Stuff like that feels like lazy writing and really detracts from the book。 But。。。。maybe it will all be explained？ Or the story will end up being worth the aggro？ Not giving up yet 。。 。。。more

Michelle Fleming ，

This book was amazing！ When my book club chose this book， it didn’t seem like it was my cup of tea。 I quickly took that back as soon as I started reading this book。 I couldn’t put it down from day 1。 There were so many twists and turns and it constantly had me guessing。

Rachel ，

In Wild Places， the reader witnesses life in the Pastoral commune from the POVs from three main characters， Theo， Calla and Bee， each with a distinct and well thought out voice。 A slow burn as we get to know them， we're privy to their internal monologues， ideas， and even betrayals。 My favorite was by far Bee and her heightened sensory descriptions。 Many people will rate this higher and I can see why。 For me， however， it was much too slow with a predictable storyline right from the beginning to f In Wild Places， the reader witnesses life in the Pastoral commune from the POVs from three main characters， Theo， Calla and Bee， each with a distinct and well thought out voice。 A slow burn as we get to know them， we're privy to their internal monologues， ideas， and even betrayals。 My favorite was by far Bee and her heightened sensory descriptions。 Many people will rate this higher and I can see why。 For me， however， it was much too slow with a predictable storyline right from the beginning to fully enjoy。 But it will certainly be a book I will absolutely recommend to others。 。。。more

Sara Latini ，

Not sure what to rate this。 I spent a lot of time being enormously frustrated with the characters。 But the pay off was good and the atmosphere was just *chefs kiss* … maybe it’s 3 stars…maybe it’s 5。。idk but it’s not 4。