Name: Alicia Evans's review of A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
Item: A History of Wild Places
Rating: 4.5
Author: Alicia Evans

Shea Ernshaw

“As spine-chilling as it is beautifully crafted.” —Ruth Emmie Lang, author of Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance The New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep weaves a richly atmospheric adult debut following three residents of a secluded, seemingly peaceful commune as they investigate the disappearances of two outsiders. Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—he’s led to a place many believed to be only a legend. Called Pastoral, this reclusive community was founded in the 1970s by like-minded people searching for a simpler way of life. By all accounts, the commune shouldn’t exist anymore and soon after Travis stumbles upon it…he disappears. Just like Maggie St. James. Years later, Theo, a lifelong member of Pastoral, discovers Travis’s abandoned truck beyond the border of the community. No one is allowed in or out, not when there’s a risk of bringing a disease—rot—into Pastoral. Unraveling the mystery of what happened reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister, Bee, keep from one another. Secrets that prove their perfect, isolated world isn’t as safe as they believed—and that darkness takes many forms. Hauntingly beautiful, hypnotic, and bewitching, A History of Wild Places is a story about fairy tales, our fear of the dark, and losing yourself within the wilderness of your mind.

A Novel

A History of Wild Places

Elena M.

We all leave markers behind—dead or alive—vibrations that trail behind us through all the places we’ve been. And if you know how to see them, the imprints of a person can be foundand followed.But like all things, they fade with time, become less clear, until finally they are washed over with new memories, new people who have passed through here.

Death has a way of leaving breadcrumbs, little particles of the past that catch and settle and stain.

Moira

We stare at each other for some time, the acidic blue moonlight making broken patterns across the ground, and I wonder if the things we keep from one another will break us apart. I wonder if the things we don't say are worse than the lies we do. Like the illness, they will rot us from the inside out.

Curiosity does this: It prods the gut; it pushes fear aside and causes smart men to do stupid things.

But I didn't see. Because love is madness and blindness and deception.

But Ben's average life had something mine didn't: a home. Shelter. A place you went after a long day that folded you into its center and held you there, safe, protected from everything that lurked beyond your front door.

Guilt is a beast. And it might just kill you, if you let it.

But I didn't deserve a safe, average life. Those were things given to good, decent people. I was not good or decent. I was destruction and missed chances and moments I couldn't take back.

I absorb the world like a bird navigates, a memory imprinted in hollow bones, flying season after season... The world comes to me in ravenous hues and disjointed shapes. A thing that is hard to describe.

Silence can hold a thousand untold stories.

echo

erin alise 

Liz Griffin

Sheena

LOVED this book! The only reason I didn’t give it 5/5 stars is because I wasn’t crazy about the ending. Kept me guessing the whole time though! 

Alicia Evans

Rebecca Hurd

This was a very interesting read…full of twists and turns!! Definitely a world woven together really well. Started out a little confusing but it had a very satisfying ending loved that!!!!

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for a long time and I’m so glad I finally picked it up. Very mysterious from the start, some of the twists actually caught me off guard, and I was quite satisfied with the complexity of the ending. One particular twist at the end was kind of annoying/could’ve been more thought out and didn’t really explain things that well in my opinion, but otherwise I enjoyed the story’s progression, and the descriptive writing was well done. Would definitely recommend!

Erin Goss

Lara Engle

The beginning and the end were great, but the middle ... OOF. I found the story of Travis and his ability to be a great hook, but once we got to Pastoral, the story dragged. I'll avoid spoilers, but the end did bring it together in a satisfying way (if not as surprising as I believe it was supposed to be). The message about choosing your life and your identity was ultimately uplifting. My heart was warmed by it all in the end.

Lisa Lindquist 

Q&D- not sure why I finished this book other than I just wanted to see how it would play out. Didn’t love the mystery or how it played out. Really just loved the children story excerpts and would love to read that series but overall this book just fell flat for me. 

Abigail F

Alexa M

booooooring, no offense.

the beginning was boring and confusing, then the middle was not bad, but the ending was lackluster and i feel like some shit was left unexplained. no bueno imo!

Brittany Jenkins

Wow, this book wasn't quite what I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was hesitant to read it, but I'd seen good reviews and wanted to branch out a bit from my usual genres. This was an atmospheric, emotional, reflective, slow-paced thriller set in a rural/forest landscape. At first, I was worried it might get too creepy/disturbing for me, but it never did and I liked that (I'm not much for media that leaves me scared to be home alone at night in the dark or constantly thinking someone's gonna be in my house to murder me lol).

It was dark and twisty with a touch of magical realism and beautiful imagery. I thought some of the plot twists were more clarifying than shocking but still very good. I enjoyed the flow of the narrative and where the journey took me as a reader from beginning to end. I definitely would recommend this book.

Kristen Claiborn

I was REALLY looking forward to this book! Missing people, mystery, a commune, possibly a cult…there were so many intriguing possibilities! While it wasn’t a complete let-down, I was a tad disappointed. I am still throwing four stars at this book, but that’s because none of the review sites allow half stars and I felt like this was closer to a 4 than a 3. 
	First, let me address the MASSIVE elephant in the book…it’s like 28% lifted from an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I happen to be a pretty big fan of Shyamalan, so about 35 pages in, I immediately recognized a particular aspect of the story. Let’s face it, there’s even a blind girl, it’s way too similar to NOT be semi-“stolen”. I use the term loosely. However, the similarities end with that one thing (I’m trying so hard to not divulge too much about the story…which makes this feel really odd to write).
	Major props go out to Ernshaw, because I didn’t figure out who was who until they figured out who was who. I’m usually better than that! The author did a fantastic job of winding the story so deliciously close that I was dumber than rocks until close to the end. The unraveling of the mystery was marvelously well-done. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the antagonist get found out (it was almost as satisfying as an episode of Scooby-Doo). So, while the nod to Shyamalan was a bit of a let-down, the rest of the book was fantastic.

Beautifully written with interesting twists. Just creepy enough with a setting that will make you long for a community just Pastoral. 

Kristen Savage

this book was good but not phenomenal by any mean. i’m someone who, if i’m reading a mystery or psychological thriller, i don’t want to be able to predict the ending. unfortunately, i was able to predict the ending pretty quickly into reading. the book itself was beautifully written, as can be seen in the highlights of other reviewers. i enjoyed the characters of theo and calla but bee bothered me a lot, or at least the way she was written, bc her abilities were so absurd. 

kels

McKayla Bohnsack

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Shae Earnshaw writes atmosphere like no one else. And this novel was no exception.

Maggie St.James goes missing. So does Travis, the man hired to find her. Years later, Theo and his wife, who live in a mountain commune, hear about them. And decide to find the truth.

Rich, compelling, creepy. My only tiny complaint is that the reveal was a bit off for me.

Sophia Lazari

4.5⭐️

phenomenal first read of the year!! psycho cult away from society mystery? yes please

amazing writing, world building and hooking mystery. loved this with my whole heart. but yes, it drove me insane. what the fuck, the different perspectives and how it all makes sense in the end🤯🤯🤯. this had my head spinning everywhere. insane, like literally godamn bro this shit was CRAZY.

Celeste Richardson

A History of Wild Places different kind of read in celebration of Middle Grade March. This story is in part about the disappearance of a writer of children’s books. Maggie St. James, the author of the Eloise and the Foxtail series, walked away from her life 5 years ago and hasn’t been seen since. Her series was dark and controversial, beloved by children and feared by parents as some children ran away to the woods in search of the magical underground of Maggie’s stories. Travis Wren, a man with a unique talent for finding people, has been hired by Maggie’s parents years after their daughter left, in hopes that he can find answers the police couldn’t. 

After introducing readers to Travis and his quest, the story shifts to a commune hidden away in the depths of the forest and forgotten by the outside world. Here we have three perspective characters: Theo, one of the community’s gate guards; Calla, Theo’s wife; and Bee, Calla’s blind sister. Through them we get to know Pastoral, its strengths and weaknesses, struggles and triumphs. It’s a beautiful place laced with an undercurrent of fear as everyone worries about catching the Pox, a brutal disease carried by the trees encompassing the commune as acting as a natural border. Because of the deadly, wildly contagious Pox, the road to Pastoral has been permanently closed, no longer allowing anyone to enter the community. Or to leave it.

Pastoral reminds me of the community in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, but without the period setting and religious connotations. I found reading about such a place without these two elements, which so often define communities like this in literature and film, absolutely fascinating. When religion isn’t binding this type of secluded, forgotten body of people together, what takes its place?

I unfortunately guessed the majority of the reveals and connections made towards the climax of the book, but I still enjoyed the journey. The characters never quite drew me in, but I was still invested in their story. I loved the setting and the emphasis placed on nature. Overall, I felt that this was a solid tale, and a totally respectable adult debut for the author.

Dani Gale

This book far, far exceeded my expectations. It focused on things I wasn’t expecting and the twists, while shocking, felt plausible and made sense. Calla, Theo, and Bee are three complex characters who I felt like I really knew and understood their intentions by the end. Will definitely end up being a top book for me for 2022. 

Christina Pappas

GRRR. This book was so frustrating to me, because for the first two-thirds, it was unquestionably a five-star read. The way it all concluded, though - WHY. WHY WHY WHY. Especially in a world in which it's immediately established on that magic exists - one character gets flashes of sentiment and stories whenever he touches an item someone else has touched first, another can hear and interpret heartbeats - why wouldn't you take a creative, compelling approach to resolution over a 'grounded' ending that defies belief?! 

Normally, I tolerate just-OK plots so long as the writing is good. The writing here is gorgeous, if occasionally overwrought - dark, moody, dreamlike, building a sense of dread that reminded me of Rumaan Alam's Leave the World Behind. But the plot felt like *such* an afterthought, I just couldn't get past it. Without getting too specific (but stop reading if you want to be 100% unspoiled!), the control mechanism the plot rests on was not compelling (and frankly borderline cliche), and the epilogue section glazed over a key plot point (like, OK, everyone in the entire community just accepted this world-shattering information and unconcernedly went on with their lives? no questions, pushback, anger? it's just...all good?). I felt like the author knew in broad strokes where she wanted to go but didn't think deeply enough about how to get there.

this book was such a trip… that’s all i can say

Leia Douglas

The way this book was written was so dramatic it was corny, and it got annoying quick.
Or did it. 
It did. 
The story isn’t bad, but it’s also not great. It felt like it dragged on so much longer than it needed to and it was very repetitive at times. 
Also, did she not have an editor? So many grammar and spelling mistakes, it was distracting. There’s also a point where she calls a character by another name and I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but it was a spoiler haha.

Julija M

That ending made the last half of the book pretty much pointless. Unsatisfying
Loved the writing though!

Sammie Piotrowski

“I want to do what’s right, not what my fear has made me feel.”

This book was slow to start, but the plot was shocking! Once reveals started happening, I was on the edge of my seat and could not put it down for the life of me. I do wish the book had more of the magical realism, which I expected to play a much bigger role in Pastoral, but it was still a good plot. I loved the development of characters and relationships in this novel, and how unique of a story Ernshaw has created.

Alex Goodwin

Maybe closer to 4-4.5, but I couldn’t put it down and it got me out of a reading slump so it gets bonus points for that. Writing was very engrossing and the story immersive. I had a great time reading it.

Paula Zipp

Maybe 4 stars. Loved the atmosphere and the language, but the plot didn‘t fully convince me. 

Aundreya Rich

" My eyes are sore from crying, my lungs are sore from coughing, my knees are sore from kneeling, and my heart is sore from believing. If you are sore and tired, then come into these woods and sleep." 

The Wicked Deep ended up being one of my top favorite books of 2020 and one I still heavily recommend to this day, so when I received a copy of AHoWP I was ECSTATIC. 

This story is full of dystopian beliefs, monsters that go bump in the night, and secrets slowly peeled away with every turn of the page. I had such a great time reading and deciphering this well webbed tale from start to finish.

I am normally not a fan of "thrillers" but Shea did a great job converting me in this one.
Welcome to Pastoral. Come in quickly away from the rot, rain, and anything that may follow......

Read if you like:
-The Happening
-The Grace Year
-Handmaid's Tale
-"who dun its"
-thrillers and mind benders
-whimsical writing with a twist of dark poetry
-MCs to love
-dystopian tales
-cults and dark magic

I actually knocked a 1/2 star eek but why??
SPOILER
the ending I wish had a little more on the side of fantasy with the twists, turns, and gifts that we had seen I expected a bit more from that. Somehow the build up made the "Why" a bit flat. Overall I still really loved it though, just my personal opinion.

Rating:
story-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
characters- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
steam-theres no electricity, no money, so there is definitely no "bow chica wow wow" to get your panties in a bunch about. However, there are love stories intertwined with the dark secrets of Pastoral.

Song: Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde

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A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

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A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw