I’m a big Sandra Dallas fan. I’ve read many of her books. Many focus around prairie life and being a Midwest girl, my heart can relate. My Dad was a farmer and we didn’t live a fancy life, so again, I can relate.
Some of my favorite books are by Sandra Dallas…My favorite is likely Alice’s Tulips. I like the older ones best…  Tall Grass, The Diary of Mattie Spenser, The Persian Pickle Club.  All of them are wonderful. The new book is Where Coyotes Howl.
The trouble with that is…what if this one isn’t as wonderful. That is always a problem for me when I pick up new books from a favorite author.
I have to warn you…Sandra Dallas tells the stories as likely could have happened. She doesn’t always wrap things up in a tidy bow and everyone doesn’t always live happily ever after…but sometimes good does triumph over tragedy…There is always tragedy after all isn’t it tragedy that keeps us wanting to read??
So did I like the book?? YES. I love the whole premise of a school teacher coming to town and falling in love with one of the locals. I spent my entire teen years wishing I was 75 years younger and could have done that myself. I totally romanticized that time period.
Here’s what Amazon had to say:
“1916. The two-street town of Wallace is not exactly what Ellen Webster had in mind when she accepted a teaching position in Wyoming, but within a year’s time she’s fallen in love―both with the High Plains and with a handsome cowboy named Charlie Bacon. Life is not easy in the flat, brown corner of the state where winter blizzards are unforgiving and the summer heat relentless. But Ellen and Charlie face it all together, their relationship growing stronger with each shared success, and each deeply felt tragedy.
Ellen finds purpose in her work as a rancher’s wife and in her bonds with other women settled on the prairie. Not all of them are so lucky as to have loving husbands, not all came to Wallace willingly, and not all of them can survive the cruel seasons. But they look out for each other, share their secrets, and help one another in times of need. And the needs are great and constant. The only city to speak of, Cheyenne, is miles away, making it akin to the Wild West in rural Wallace. In the end, it is not the trials Ellen and Charlie face together that make them remarkable, but their love for one another that endures through it all.”
Amazon readers gave it 4.3 stars. I am going to agree. I really thought for a long time I would give it more stars but the ending left me thinking…I thought about the ending for several days. It wasn’t a terrible ending but it really made a reader realize that this was a time period when tough things happened.
You can find the book HERE if you are interested.
I also love Sandra Dallas. I have read all her books and love them all. If you have not read Prayers for Sale or Buster Midnight’s Cafe I would highly recommend them. I was delighted to see you blog about her. Thank you!
Haven’t read any Sandra Dallas in years! Loved Persian Pickle Club so much – probably read it 3-4 times. Thanks for the review!
Sorry but I can’t read the post about Lori’s quilts. The post is all gobble up. this is the third post like this this week.
cannot read Loris quilts
I too enjoyed “Alice’s Tulips” and “The Persian Pickle Club” plus a few other Sandra Dallas books… I’ll have to get this new one reserved! Thanks for the review!!
I, too, am also a huge fan of Sandra Dallas, in fact I am reading Tall Grass right now. Have also read Prayers for Sale, The Last Midwife, Whiter than Snow, True Sisters in addition to The Persian Pickle Club, which was my first read by Sandra. Each time I finish one of her books, I write a message to her about my feelings and thoughts on the book I just finished. True Sisters is the most depressing, saddest novel I have ever read (just to warn you!). I love the way Sandra researches her history and locations to give a true historical realism to every novel she authors. I have also read 17 books by Linda Castillo. I also love scrap quilting, which makes me think we must be cut from the same cloth.
I’ve read all of those…my favorites are the Diary of Mattie Spencer and Alice’s Tulips. Give them a try if you haven’t.
Sandra Dallas is one of my favorite authors. I liked this book. She writes so good you feel you are in the book. You should try “Little Souls” by Sandra Dallas also. It came out in 2020 or 2021. It was really good. I don’t often buy hard cover books but I splurge when her new books come out.
I read that one too…SO GOOD.
Same issue with blog about Lori’s Quilts blog as mentioned above. It must be very frustrating for you to receive emails from us telling you we can’t decipher one of your sections, but I guess if we didn’t tell you , you might not know and the problem would persist.
Agree with you on author.
I also love Sandra Dallas books. I think I have read all of hers and look forward to each new one. A great author.
Have enjoyed reading many of the books by Sandra Dallas so will look forward to reading this one soon.