Dawn O'Porter gives us a story of women, middle aged, on a journey to discover and consolidate their identity and feel comfortable in their skins. There is much humour, mayhem and comic touches although not all of it worked for me. In that sense, for me, this was a mixed bag of a read, feeling uneven at times and too much, too much, at others. The three women are Tara, single mother and television producer, Camie, a blogger and PA to a well known photographer, Stella. The author puts them in a wide range of diverse scenarios, an embarrassing video that goes viral on social media, relationship with a toy boy, pregnancy, abortion and more. We see the women struggle their way through what life throws at them, and stretched to the limit as they endeavour to handle their issues. They are definitely not women who follow the herd. I found this a funny and entertaining reading with a big dollop of the cringeworthy. I appreciated how the novel touched on important critical issues such as the damage that can be caused by the internet and social media. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

I have to admit, I did read this book because I was told that it had quite shocking content and I was intrigued to see how a book could be made out of the subject matter. I expected a very smutty read but I was very pleasantly surprised. I was hesitant to buy this book as at £5.99 for the kindle edition I thought it was a tad too expensive. I was actually discussing this today with a fellow blogger and we were saying that because we buy so many books, if they were all to be £5.99 we would be very broke. Anyway I digress, I felt that this book was worth the £5.99 purely because of the social commentary that is made about how women treat women and the way in which the internet has inflamed our ability to judge others. There are not many people that are their true self on the Internet anymore for fear of judgement and making a social ‘faux pas’. It made me take a look at myself and the way I treat the women around me and I do love a book that makes me think about the way I live my life and if I could make changes.

I do think this book went slightly over the top towards the end and there were times I had to suspend belief but the moral and social comments on the lives of modern women more than make up for this. The author has chosen three very women and demonstrated the inner turmoil they all experience trying to navigate this crazy world were nothing is easy. This book seems to celebrate the fact women are now being given more choices but at same time portrays the difficulties of making those choices when everyone around them has an opinion on the choice being made. There are very complex and difficult subjects discussed in this book and I think it was really good that all sides of the spectrum were given a voice not just what the particular characters we follow.

I really enjoyed this book and I’m happy that I’ve read this book, it’s made me think hard about the way I treat the people around me and also about the importance of taking ownership of my life. This is something I think a lot of people that struggle with confidence could do with learning

A brilliant book about every aspect of female relationships.

'The Cows' is the first Dawn O'Porter book I have read, and what a good 'un. Although the storyline has been hammed up a bit for entertainment, the people and circumstances are very real; the blogger, Cam, a powerful voice for women, particularly those who have made a conscious decision to remain childless; Tara, high flying career woman and single mother, who is looking for love; and Stella, newly single and still devastated at the double bereavement of her twin sister and mother, wants a baby, and will go to any lengths...Three strong women dealing with very real modern issues on sexuality, motherhood, status - and the internet and social media in all its hateful glory!
(Also, despite its heavy leaning towards women's rights, spare a thought for Cam's youthful lover, desperate to support Cam and his unborn child in her hour of need).
Want a book to get your teeth into? 'The Cows' is it!

A very different read from what I was expecting. I think I was expecting a more strident, less readable book but what I got was bang up-to-date, thought-provoking stuff with a great story. There were parts that I struggled to find realistic, notably the late night tube journey incident. Who would be so horny that they didn't think there might be security cameras around? And when did a late tube in central London have empty carriages? I also felt sorry for Stella who came out of it all as the villain of the piece. She is clearly in desperate need for help, support and counselling not being dismissed. But I loved Tara, Cam and the sheer novelty of a female view that didn't feel the need to apologise for anything.

A gift for every girl in your life! This novel is just as engaging lovely warm and funny as Dawn O'P herself and yet extremely thought-provoking at the same time. I am a huge fan of Dawn herself, but truly never expected her writing to be as fantastic as it is. I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the world of THe COWs and found myself reading snatches aloud to anyone who'd listen as I enjoyed it so much. Read it now, I guarantee that you'll love it if you're not afraid of a bold read that makes you think about contemporary life in all its glory in a whole new way. Bravo Dawn, can't wait to see what you do next!

Good, but the cover doesn't help sell the book. Three women, and how their lives intertwine and how each woman is affected by circumstances from another.

Central to "The Cows" are three fascinating women: Tara, a successful documentary maker whose life unravels when she gets filmed masturbating on what she thinks is an empty Tube train and the clip goes viral; Cam, a celebrated blogger who is famed for her young boyfriends and belief that there's more to life than motherhood; and Stella, a ticking time bomb for cancer having lost her mother and twin sister, and carrying the BRCA gene, who is desperate to become a mother before she has treatment that will prematurely end her child-bearing days.
Initially living separate lives, slowly O'Porter weaves their three stories together, into a riotous romp of an exploration of modern womanhood that comes with a devastating sting in its tale.
In parts it does get a little bit far-fetched, to the point of just being farcical, but for the most part it's a pacy rotation through the lives of three fascinating women.
O'Porter's writing is wonderfully peppered with equal amounts of tragedy, humour and totally cringeworthy situations. I mean, imagine having to tell your parents that you are infamous for wanking on a train and millions of people seeing it on the internet. The characters in this novel are really relatable, and you can easily slip in and out of their shoes as their stories reveal themselves in all their glory, shame, lightness and darkness. A perfect beach read, just be prepared for a gob-smacking denouement. I haven't been so shocked by a plot twist since I read David Nicholls' "One Day". Be warned!

Well, not a book for those with a genteel mentality about how life can or ought to be lived by the young and fearless women of today.

It is frank about sexuality and Tinder and one-night stands.  It explains through the medium of a blog why women might not want children and why a single life with a young lover can be better for some women than marriage and 2.5 children.

And it demonstrates just how much there is a double standard when women are caught enjoying their sexuality as against men. And how the herd mentality works against women who don't live by the conventional rules.

A great book for feminists and young women. We need to tell our young women that pink frilly dresses and blonde curls, and cute button noses and all that are not an essential requirement for success. And that we should applaud those who break the mould and become Chief Engineers and Space Scientists and childless by choice.

This is an amazing book with a very unexpected twist at the end. It concerns three women - Tara, Camilla and STella, who all end up linked together in a very unusual way. The characters are very well-drawn, the plot is both plausible, and in turns, amusing, and very sad. This book pushed me to keep on reading, and I was very surprised by the twist at the end. I would recommend this book to my friends.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the experience of reading this fantastic novel.

I didn't enjoy this book. The characters were poorly drawn and the dialogue dreadful. The plot was good but this didn't make up for its shortcomings

The Cows is a wonderful story about every aspect of female relationships and focusses on 3 very different characters.

This book is quite addictive in so much as you feel you have a friend next to you telling you a story. The book follows the story of three female protagonists: Tara, a single mother and online documentary-maker, Cam, a single 30 something independent blogger and Stella, a lonely, soon-to-be single P.A. carrying the BRCA gene. Stella is grieving the death of her twin sister, Alice, from ovarian cancer. This book supplies great diverse characters that mix together like a good Gin and tonic.
This book is brave in terms of the subjects or themes 'O 'Porter tackles and I really liked her openness, boldness and honesty throughout her narration.However, if you are swearword-averse, you might recoil at some of the language used here, so be warned!
The characters are believable, although some of the 'pickles' they get themselves into are slightly far-fetched, but what do you read a book for, other than to escape? This book gives you oodles of escapism in large quantities and I loved that about this book!

The Cows proves itself to be an entertaining read fascinating, thought provoking 'deeper dive' discussions of women and their friendships. It attests to all kinds women, the choices they make and how they choose to live their lives, It also makes the reader question their own views on what is acceptable or not in terms of women in the modern world. I liked the fact this book made me think about the themes as I was driving to work or cleaning etc. It really does make you think but 'O' Porter enables this in a lighthearted, thoughtful way.
This would be a great holiday read and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to net galley for my copy.

he Cows is about three women, Tara, Cam and Stella.. Tara is a single mum working hard making documentaries and looking for a new man in her life. Cam is a blogger with a huge readership, her raison d'etre is to show women that they don't have to follow the social norms, that they don't have to get married and have children if they don't want to. Stella is the youngest, she has lost her twin sister and her mother to cancer that she also has the gene for, meaning she will have to have a mastectomy and a hysterectomy and lose her dream of having children.

This book has got a huge marketing drive behind it and I was interested to see if it lived up to the hype. Unfortunately, for me, it did not. I found the characters very two-dimensional. Tara, the most interesting of the three, was supposed to be the eldest at 42 years, she came across as a 20 year old, in both her behaviour and her speech. She says to her mother - "...If you could remind him that I'm 42, that would be great..." I am with the father, I constantly needed that reminder.

Cam sees herself as some latter day Emmeline Pankhurst, blogging about women's rights, but all she is continually banging on about is women not feeling that they have to have children. Personally I can't see that there is any issue these days: have children, don't have children, who the hell cares?

Stella, whose tragic backstory should really evoke tremendous sympathy, in fact comes across as a drip who is constantly whining. The only surprise was that the husband stayed as long as he did.

The premise that the book is based around is the most ludicrous plot line (if you can call it that) ever! If a female masterbaiting on a train is somehow supposed to show us how far the feminist agenda has brought us, then we all need to go back to the drawing board. And the author needs to think about the flip side of this: would she be happy to see a male masterbaiting in a public space. I think not. I think it highly likely that a man would be arrested. Also female masterbation = wanking. Really?

The Twitter furore that then follows is even more ridiculous, we are expected to believe that this woman is trending for weeks on end, Anyone with any knowledge of Twitter knows how fluid it is; Donald Trump being made president only trended for about 2 days.

This book felt as though the author had a lot of personal issues that she wanted to address, but a novel needs subtlety and nuance even if it is trying to be humorous. This is just self indulgent; trying to shock and failing miserably.

I have to say that this review is just my opinion and if you look at other reviews on Amazon there are 100+ 4 and 5 star reviews. So a lot of people disagree with me and think it is one of the best books they have ever read. Make up your own mind.

This novel follows the lives of three different women, living very different but connected lives. Cam is a successful and single lifestyle blogger who chooses to do what she wants, when she wants, without the ties of a husband or children. Tara is a single mother who's life takes a dramatic turn after she is filmed masturbating on a train. Stella's mum and twin sister have both been killed by cancer, and she is left facing the choice between life-altering surgery or facing the same fate. The whole premise revolves around being female, and examines the intricacies of women's life choices in family, careers and friendship.

The three storylines are equally engaging and link together in an understated but completely plausible way. The narrative voices of the three women could have been more different. They were all a bit too similar which made them blend into one and made the book slightly harder to follow, but they each had a good story nonetheless.

The message of this book is not even remotely discreet, but it's not pushy or intrusive either. Dawn O'Porter manages to make a clear point about feminism in the guise of an engaging and entertaining story, which is, frankly, very effective.

I was attracted to this book because of the cover and the title, and I'm very pleased to say that the inside is almost as good the outside.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent read. It covers so many issues facing women today and should be read by any woman who is being put under pressure at work in a man's world or being pressurised into having a family. I strongly recommend it,

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this at all - the characters were all awful (who cares who does or doesn't want babies?) and the tube carriage incident was just so ridiculously implausible that it rendered much of what followed just pointless.