Well, this book was certainly a breath of fresh air. It pulled me in from the start and I loved the characters, all of whom are likeable and relatable 21st century women. I felt so many emotions reading this book - I laughed, cried, I felt shock and horror along with empathy and sympathy. It was also a good portrayal of today's online media obsessed world. I absolutely loved the thought provoking, positive and very relevant feminist themes throughout this book. I have already recommended this book to friends. Loved it.

Really enjoyed this book. It had a good flow to it and the switches between the three main characters was done well. It was an easy read and from the start I was intrigued to find out how the story was going to play out and how the main characters stories were going to join up. When they do, it doesn't disappoint and the twist made me gasp!!

I was sent an early copy of this book for my independent honest review.
I was really excited to get to this, I was ready for a funny read featuring women in an independent and empowering way. This is what I was expecting from the publicity. Unfortunately if a woman masturbating on public transport where someone secretly filmed it for all the world to see is deemed to show women in a good light then I must misunderstand the concept!
I expected this to be honest, funny with no holding back, for me it was annoying and demeaning.
I think it is a marmite book you either love it or hate it and I always say with a book I don't feel positive about try for yourself.
I just feel that the author had a great opportunity to showcase women and equality and empowerment and this opportunity wasnt used.

i found this a really easy book to get into and easily picked it up and got back into it when I did have to stop reading.

The twist was very good and the book wrapped up nicely.

A sassy, darkly funny, bittersweet read. I loved this author's YA books and this didn't disappoint. perfect for fans of Caitlin Moran, Dawn brilliantly captures the highs and lows of Womanhood.

This is obviously a generational thing as I couldn't get into this book at all. I almost gave up after the first few chapters, then read some of the reviews and decided to persevere, but no, it wasn't for me. I'm not a big fan of social media, as demonstrated in this book it can cause a great deal of harm and I found Cam's blog boring. Sorry!

I've followed Dawn O'Porter's career for a while now, enjoying her social media presence and the documentaries she made several years ago on taboo topics such as mail order brides and polyamory. For this reason I was intrigued when I head the premise of this book, and thought that it couldn't be more of a Dawn O'Porter topic to write about.

The shock value of this book, which was heavily picked up in the media and was all I'd really heard about before I sat down to read it, is that it follows Tara, a single mum in her mid-30s who is filmed (without her knowledge) masturbating on what she thinks is a deserted tube train late one Friday night. The book looks at how society reacts to such a bold display of feminine sexuality and how Tara's life is effectively ruined because of a momentary lapse in judgement.

The book also follows two other women, who are in completely different situations but are equally facing judgement from society for not "following the herd" (which kind of explains the title of the book) or rather, not taking the traditional roles expected for women. Camilla is a rich blogger, happily single and adament she does not want children, whilst Stella is dealing with the loss of her Mother and identical twin sister to cancer and the knowledge that she has an 85% chance of contracting cancer in her lifetime unless she has her breasts and womb removed.

Once I started this book I found it very hard to put down. The three plots are each as gripping as each other and intertwine in a clever way. You do have to suspend your belief a bit as quite a bit of the action is somewhat far-fetched (I'm particularly thinking about the climax of Stella's storyline here) but once you give yourself up to the madness it's a bonkers and completely enjoyable thrill ride.

Dawn O'Porter can write women in a way not many people can. It's clear she's a people person in life and understands women of all kinds. She writes mothers and child-free women with equal believability and she really has a handle on the important issues facing women today. This book has an exciting fictional plot but underneath the craziness there's a lot of truth which should give any reader a lot of food for thought.

Given the subject matter it's not surprising that parts of this book are quite sexually explicit. I felt that this was approached in an empowering way for women. All of the sex in this book is on women's terms, for the pleasure or benefit of the woman involved.

I couldn't have asked for anything more in a piece of women's fiction than I got in this book. It was a bit bonkers, really entertaining and thought-provoking.

I often shy away from books that everyone loves, not that I'm afraid to offer a dissenting opinion. It's just that some high profile books are successful because of celebrity rather than skill. Thankfully, this isn't the case here.

'The Cows' 'Don't Follow the Herd' is a sizeable read, but it maintains its momentum to the end, with a stunning twist and a satisfying, hopeful ending.

Told through the exploits and daily lives of three women.

Cam is the cuckoo in her family's nest. She goes her own way successfully and is happy with who she is. Her family love her but don't understand her, and this makes for some humorous and poignant episodes in her life as a lifestyle blogger.

Tara works successfully in TV and continually battles against sexist remarks at work. A single mum, she wants to be a positive role model for her daughter, but her life goes awry after a freak chain of events with dire consequences for Tara and her family.

Stella is a ticking time bomb, and this threatens her mental health, it hard to imagine how you would deal with what she faces and even though her story is extreme, it is feasible, given her circumstances.

The women's stories showcase elements of life in contemporary society. The power of the internet, the fallout of being brave enough to voice your opinion in the public forum and the importance of having someone in your corner no matter what happens.

Although the three women are of a similar age, other age groups opinions and experiences feature in their lives. Powerful, vividly drawn characters, complement a decent plot, they are 'larger than life', but they aren't cliched.

The story is addictive, easy reading, it has points to make, but they don't detract from the story's fluency. I empathised with the three women and their families and wanted to know what happened to them. I put myself in the women's lives and wondered how I would react.

The Cows is an enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

What's it about?

Tara, Cam and Stella are strangers living their own lives. Yet an extraordinary event brings them to within touching distance of each other, and one woman's catastrophe becomes another's inspiration. This is a story about judging others and being judged, and finding yourself amidst the noise of modern life.

My thoughts

My gosh. I really enjoyed this book, and I didn't expect to. I was a mixture of curious and wary when it came to picking it up. Every other celebrity seems to have a novel out nowadays (Fern Britton, Richard and Judy...) and I'm often sceptical as to whether they'd have been published without an existing fanbase. But Dawn O'Porter is an exception to this rule: the lady can write.

This is a story about three women living in London and not knowing each other at all, until an event forges an invisible bond between them. It's about the follies of online culture, what it means to be a woman in today's world, and making the right choices. The plot is pretty good and something that could feasibly happen. No spoilers here, but there's a reason O'Porter is liberal with her application of MailOnline references. However, there were a few bits that had me arching my eyebrow, most notably a pair of police officers called Flower and Potts. That felt like a joke I wasn't getting; I waited for the punchline or some kind of acknowledgment, but it never came.

Additionally, the characterisation needed a bit of work in my opinion, but I'm being quite picky. The three women seemed to be somewhat homogenous at the start and then very clearly delineated after a chapter or two. Almost as if O'Porter was writing, 'LOOK HOW DIFFERENT YET THE SAME THESE CHARACTERS ARE.' This could well be the point- are we modern women just one big Venn diagram?- but it didn't quite come off for me.

So I'm not sure where Dawn O'Porter was pitching this novel. Perhaps a Nick Hornby-esque tale for the modern thirty-something woman? It's definitely different, and a nice change from the identikit women's fiction that line the supermarket 2 for £5 shelves. I would like to read more from O'Porter, and I reckon there probably will be more to come.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, I think so. It's an interesting take on what it means to be female today, and there are some strong points made here. I know this review sounds a bit harsh, but I really did like it; I just want it to be the best it can be.

COW n. /ka?/

A piece of meat; born to breed; past its sell-by-date; one of the herd.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a story about a group of women who don't know each other but whose lives intersect, who are on journeys to discover who they really are.

Tara is a documentary producer working in a mysogyistic office and raising her six year old daughter on her own. Cam is a high profile blogger and committed to her child-free life. Stella, grieving after the death of her twin sister, is the PA to a photographer.

This is a book about friendship and relationships and dealing with the crap life throws at you. I love Dawn O Porter's writing and how unflinching she is about covering subjects that other authors would shy away from with complete honesty. If you're not keen on earthy language or frank sexual talk then you might find this a bit of a turn-off, but I loved it.

I thought parts of the plot line were a bit far-fetched, but it was still immensely enjoyable to read and had me cringing in places (Walthamstow Wank Woman) and the responses of the media and social media were so horrifyingly believable (especially that of the Daily fucking Mail). The three viewpoints of the women were different enough that it was easy to keep track of who was narrating what.

If I have one criticism about this book, it's that sometimes it felt like someone brainstormed 'Shit Women Have To Put Up With That Men Don't' on a bit of flip chart paper and then wrote a book about it, but other than that this was a really sound read.

Some may say this is a book for women, but as a man it was a wonderful insight into 3 incredible women who all had to deal with the rubbish life throws at you. These were intertwined to make an extra ordinary read. It is an uplifting book, with some powerful messages. Well written, gripping novel

This story of 3 middle aged women, on a journey of discovery really wasn’t for me. I found it to be a strange read, and not very interesting at all. If I’m honest, I didn’t follow a storyline and found it hard to read on to the end. Not for me.

A fun and engaging read - I'm always cynical of "celebrity" books but Dawn's books have always proved me wrong and I always end up enjoying them.

I loved it! Porter's new book is current, pertinent and affirming. It provides a platform to discuss the issues a women on the internet faces, giving these issues the gravity they deserve but still weaving humour in throughout. .

Three women in very different places, all connected to defining their restrictions or their freedom. Enjoyable read but a little facile in places.

This a book that follows three women, Tara, Cam and Stella, through their trials and tribulations of life.
I have to admit this is not my normal read as I am more of a crime / psychological thriller type of girl but this book intrigued me so thought I’d give it ago.
There are some laugh out loud moments and all in all it is very entertaining and a little strange in places but it kept my interest and was really well written.

I have no idea why but I loved this book but I did; odd really because I'm male and shouldn't "dig" books about women being women?

Would like to offer some of the things that got through to me but then this review would be nothing but spoilers and I really do think this is a book to approach with no preconceptions, just like I did.

Could have made this short review so much shorter by just saying - buy it, read it, enjoy it and be shocked and amazed.

Tara is a documentary producer, and single mother struggling with an office of misogynists. Cam writes an op ed blog, is dating a younger man and doesn't want children. Stella is grieving for her mother and sister, is PA to a photographer and is desperate for a child.

This book should be about three women who have very different experiences of being a woman and have three very different points of view about motherhood - very relevant to gender roles and feminist rhetoric, one might think.

The issues raised in this book make it great for discussion, whether that is about the discomfort around blatant sexuality, whether the father of the child needs to know or an assumption that not fitting gender stereotypes makes you a lesbian (!).

But this is a well-written, antagonistic means of discussing these topics. Any conversation anyone else has with these characters makes everyone else appear shallow, unsupportive and critical - the family who refuse to accept their daughter might not want to reproduce and joke that she's gay, the father who refuses to accept that his daughter is sexual, the friends who give up on their grieving friend, others who refuse to accept them for what they are, men who are easily manipulated by their cocks - every other character comes across as shallow and two-dimensional in this 'them vs us' narrative and, as the reader, this is frankly offensive -unless you identify with the extremes that these women portray, then you're just 'one of the herd' and you're against the kind of feminism they are representing (also not true).

Furthermore, two big story-lines in this book were so exaggerated that they lost sight of legality in order to try and make a feminist argument. No woman should be ashamed of her sexuality and needs, but no one, male or female, should think that it's acceptable to masturbate on a public train - although O'Porter hinted that Tara was being treated differently as a woman than if a man had been filmed doing this ... that's still not an argument I'm willing to buy. It's not being conservative; masturbating in public isn't really ever acceptable.

And likewise with Stella's story - so many things wrong, so many things she should have been called out on. But don't worry - sisterhood will forgive her! Not to mention that, despite all being on a journey of self-identity, all characters seemed impressively self-reflected and aware of their motivations throughout ...

This book was well-written - lots of clever writing, lots of thing to discuss, lots of themes to pick apart and enjoy. But I've been left very annoyed and frustrated with so many things - this is not a winner for me.

This book is frigging awesome. It’s hilarious, truthful, touching and inspirational. There aren’t many that cut so close to real life problems without making them sound mundane and dreary but Dawn does, and does it in the best possible way.

Cows don’t need to follow the herd...

Dawn O’Porter’s highly entertaining novel follows the lives of three women facing some very pertinent issues.

TV exec and single mother Tara finds her life suddenly in tatters after a video of an ill-judged “private” moment on a train goes viral, resulting in massive public humiliation.

Cam, the author of a wildly successful straight-talking blog, accidentally becomes “The Face of Childfree Women” after blogging about her choice not to have children, and faces a backlash as a result. (Incidentally this is something I will never understand. I do have children and am very happy about it, but why on earth anyone should be criticised for not having or wanting them is beyond me.)

And Stella, PA to Jason, a successful photographer, is grieving the loss of her mother and twin sister, and dealing with her own risk of developing the cancer that took their lives. Stella does want a baby, but how is she going to achieve that?

The Cows is a hugely enjoyable read which deals with some very topical issues facing women. It’s not the first story I’ve read recently in which a women is publicly shamed for her sexuality, but it’s very well done. What happens to Tara is appalling but also quite believable, at least in terms of the public response, in which she is both delightedly mocked and widely condemned - not only for the incident but for her other life choices too. It’s horrific.

Cam is also a great character who is determined to live her life the way she wants, and largely succeeds. Her blogs seek to inspire and empower women, and usually do, though she misses the mark at times (it shouldn’t take a huge amount of sensitivity to realise that a statement like “My womb is what makes me a woman” might not go down well in some quarters).

And Stella - well, Stella goes off the deep end to a point where the story does become a bit absurd, as she goes to some extreme lengths to achieve her goal.

There are some brilliant set pieces here (Tara’s dad’s birthday dinner, during which the mostly elderly attendees start recounting their own al fresco sexual experiences, was a highlight). And some very spot-on observations about current society. Towards the end something shocking and unexpected happens out of the blue, and this threw me off balance a bit - I wasn’t quite sure why it was necessary in terms of the story and kind of wished it hadn’t happened.

Overall a fantastic read, highly recommended.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!