I believe that this book sounds like an incredibly interesting and intriguing concept but I just can't get with the narration of this book. It's not interesting me at all as I'm strongly disliking the voice narration, but would definitely consider picking up a physical copy to try this book again in the future.

Not quite what I was expecting given what I'd heard about this book. It's an interesting exploration of female desire but I was ready for a bit more depth. It didn't feel as analytical as I thought it would be. The writing wasn't bad but it never felt engaging enough. It didn't quite keep me gripped by these women's stories.

Maybe the point of this was never to go too far and just to start a conversation? That would be fair enough but I just thought I was going to come out of this with a bit more insight.

This was definitely an interesting read and a style of book that I haven't read before. I did enjoy the reading experience, however something about it just felt a little flat. Maggie's story about her underage relationship with her teacher stood out to me the most, but the other two faded a bit into the background for me. I think this is because Maggie's story has a proper arc - you see her relationship with her teacher begin and develop, then end, and then you see years later the trial against the teacher. I felt like the stories of the other two women lacked structure and so I struggled a bit more to relate to them. That being said, I think it's very important to tell the stories of women like these and I admire the book for doing so.

Three stories. Each could have been fiction, but each was actually told to a journalist and is a true account. The audio version gives each a different voice, each looking at different types of marriage and adult relationships, different balances of power within them, and how women use and are used for their sexuality, bodies and freedoms.

Each story could have its own book and whole set of discussions and notes. The 17-year-old who has an affair with an older (married) teacher. The unsatisfied married woman who has a passionate affair. The happily married wife whose husband watches her perform intimate acts on other people.

The stories are narrated by the women in the first person, Taddeo gives us very detailed, contextualised and immediate accounts making each feel very personal and sympathetic. There are moments of horror and a lot to empathise with.

I had questions as I listened, there were questions I felt Taddeo didn't answer, didn't cover with her subjects. Things I would have asked and covered in the book. Frustrating, as each story was covered in such detail. And I wanted to know more about the 'afters' as well.

The book did a great job of showing the vast variety of sexual experience women have, how easy it can be to 'allow' things to happen, explore areas we don't talk about or hide. Importantly, it brings them to the fore, whatever your opinion on them.

Loved the idea that this stemmed from real interviews with real women, I would love to see this become a trending genre, maybe with some companion pieces on the psychology of relationships (in this example), or endnotes to give scientific/sociological context.

One I won't forget easily. Excellent for the audio format with wonderful narrators and a narrative style that lends itself to being read aloud and consumed aurally.

This is a powerful and honest story which I did enjoy but sadly not the audio book format. I wanted to give audio books a try but I'm so set in my ways with books that I just couldn't seem to connect and enjoy the story as much as I should. I will definitely be purchasing the book to read as its a fantastic, open and raw storyline that shows such bravery.

Thank you Netgalley.

The audiobook aspect of this added a new, intimate level of experience to an otherwise already thrilling insight into the very varied, different lives of 3 women. I enjoyed the female focus and how the narrative offers 3 different perspectives, all valid experiences that represent the lives of women around the world. I'd love the chance to read it myself and compare the experience of the audio to the book, but think that the audio itself was beneficial to give a new dynamic to the meaning of life-narrative!
This is a popular book, and I think it works well particularly as an audio. At approx 11 hours, it proves to be an engaging and thoughtful story, well crafted to display the realities of these women.

I'd read Taddeo's Three Women before in hardback form and I enjoyed revisiting the women and their worlds in this more leisurely way. The book tells the story of three women, their chapters intermingling. I thought I would get confused between the different women and their speakers but the narrators were phenomenal. They each were as distinctive as the story they told and all three were a pleasure to listen to. They did a really good job of inhabiting and 'being' the women whose stories they told, giving an intimate sense that I was listening to the real people, really confiding in me.

When I first read the book, I had a real issue with the line between storytelling and journalism and I don't think the issue is resolved in the narrated version. But, it felt more natural listening to these women talk, and I came away with the sense that I'd listened to a book based on true events, which I can make my peace with.

My original review for the book is below:

Two separate salespeople at two separate Waterstones raved about this book and told me I had to read it. I read other great reviews too and was quite excited to read it. The book was good - but not amazing. The real problem I feel, is the tension between the fact of this being non-fiction and the style this book is actually written in. This is non-fiction. The author carried out intensive research for 8 years. But it reads like a fiction book, weaving the lives of three women using a third-person omniscient narrator. And that juxtaposition makes it hard to figure the book out. The narratives were really engaging and at times really moving. The sexual lives, desires and losses of these women really struck a chord with me. It was very readable and I found myself really swept up in the lives of these women I've never met. But all these positives were possible only when I contemplated the book as fiction. As non-fiction, too many questions get thrown up - how does the writer know this? Is this her words or the words of the women? How did she find out about this event and was it a biased telling of the event? What are the biases of the writer herself? How does she KNOW all this? Is the internalisation her projecting onto the women interviewed or what the women themselves told her? It was too difficult appreciating this book at non-fiction because I couldn't see the actual journalism or research element of it all. I wanted to know not just WHAT she knew about these women, but HOW she knew it. The style meant a cohesive, flowing whole but I personally found it hard to quieten the questions that came up. Also, the book seems to be asking us to be more kind to one another regarding our sexuality but it was uncomfortable seeing the writer extrapolate large 'truths' from the narratives of three white women living in America.
This is a book that's worth a read because it is interesting and it is very well written, but yes, my academic brain wasn't placated as much as I would have liked,

What a brutally honest and powerful observation of the lives of three women. Each with her own story to tell, we follow the source of their desires, how such yearnings shape their lives and the lasting impact it has. It painfully shows the insidious way men (in this case) can inveigle their way into cruelty and dominance over supposed loved ones. An emotional rollercoaster that isn’t for the faint-hearted or prudish.

I can certainly appreciate what author Lisa Taddeo is doing with this book. It's a fascinating sociological insight into the lives of three women from entirely different backgrounds. Their aspirations, dreams as well as their faults and failings. The narration was excellent and I had no problem distinguishing between the characters. It was clever to ensure the women involved were not too likable, it made them feel as if they could be someone you know. This is definitely worth a listen, but use your headphones, there's quite a lot of very graphic descriptions that may not be suitable for everyone's ears.

This is a really powerful chronicle of the pervasive, predatory nature of society; regardless of the different cultures, ages, experiences of each woman discussed.

I found it quite a difficult read overall, as I was triggered by certain things discussed (specifically the teacher/student 'relationship). That aside, I think this is a very important read, and was crafted with the care and deference such a subject requires. It bridged the gap between non-fiction and literary fiction, with introspective narrators, and a lyricism to the writing that I really enjoyed.

Now, I'm just going to sit and stare at the ceiling for a while until I feel a bit better...

Thank you so much for allowing me a copy of this audiobook. What fantastic writing by Lisa Taddeo. This book follows the real lives of three women. Maggie who have as seduced by her school teacher and who years later seeks justice. Lina who was raped by three boys when she was at school who finds herself in a loveless and lustless marriage seeking an affair with a childhood sweetheart. Finally there is Sloane who on the surface seems like the perfect woman. She appears to have everything the stunning good looks, handsome husband and a a successful business. The stories of these women are so beautifully written we hear about their intimate desires and darkest secrets, as well as the judgement they receive from other woman and men. I was really pulled into Maggie’s story it was heartbreaking. You could feel that teenage angst and unbreakable desire and hope you feel with your first ‘love’ accept the first love was a man who manipulated her for his own purposes. The court case that followed made me so mad as well as the way society seems to blame the teenage girl rather than the married teacher! This book has made me reflect on my own past relationships and desires. A truly touching and brilliant read.

I found this to be really insightful. Taddeo's writing is excellent however it was brought to life perfectly by the narrators.

I have the paperback version of this and was putting off picking it up so when I seen the audiobook version available I thought it would be perfect. The chapters are quite long (sometimes an hour) but that format works really well for the three womens stories. It felt little like a long podcast episode in a really amazon way.

Would definitely recommend.

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury Audio UK & Netgalley for the audio arc of this book!

What a journey! The book follows three women (obviously haha) Maggie, Lina and Sloane and is a raw, powerful and engaging narrative of their sexual lives over a number of years. It’s a nothing is off limits tale of these women as they learn more about their bodies and desire.

You feel every emotion along the way, anger and dismay mostly. The reason i didn’t rate this book higher is due to the feeling that something was missing, there was no definitive ending or conclusion to each of the stories. It felt like they each came to an abrupt end. I needed more closure or a paragraph each of reflection, just something!

This book wasn’t what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a feminist manifesto of sorts and be an exploration into empowerment but ultimately the book left me with a sense of sadness, each of the women’s tales were harrowing in their own ways whether it be through complicated marital issues, being groomed from a young age or family issues. It was so raw. The writing was great and I did enjoy it, I was just expecting a different kind of narrative.

Three Women - Lisa Taddeo

I was apprehensive going into this book after reading so many differing reviews online, and I must say that I can understand why opinions are so scattered. I think if you go into the book not knowing much about the background and take it just as a portrayal of three women's sex lives then it can be enjoyed/viewed in a different way. It feels odd to critique the book in any way as these are the stories of three real women. I enjoyed the book overall but I did find it heart wrenching and so so sad, and hope that all three of them find some peace in their futures.

I enjoyed the layout of the book with it taking it in turns between the three women's stories as I thought this kept a good flow. I also think I enjoyed this book more as an audiobook than if perhaps I would have read the physical copy.

As a warning to anyone wanting to read this one, it does discuss issues such as sexual abuse and violence.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Audio UK for allowing me the chance to read and review this book

This book was not quite what I thought it would be. I understood it was about female desire but I imagined the stories to be more balanced. Instead, to me, this looked at female desire from a place of illicit sex with married men where the woman was often controlled by the relationship or acted outside of how she would normally because of it. There was no beauty or power in the women's desire and for that I was left disappointed. On the other hand I did find the stories interesting and well written.

This book was interesting enough that I wanted to keep listening. I liked that it was a snapshot into three different women's lives and I could identify with small parts of each. I didn't really get on well with the style. For me it was a little bit too self indulgent, the power of the stories was enough and I felt the repetitiveness in places was in danger of making the women seem whiny when actually they were voicing valid feelings.

Thank you so much @NetGalley for a #gifted copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book has been on my radar for quite some time, so when I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook on the new NetGalley service, I didn’t even doubt for a second!

I don’t even know where to start from.

I LOVED this book very much. All of it.

The three women we follow, Maggie, Lina and Sloane, are endearing and their stories will stay with me for a long time.

I found their lives thrilling, their stories incredible and the way they told us what they had lived and how it had affected them in the moment it took place, amazing.

I also appreciated that Lisa Taddeo told us at the beginning that she spent 8 years of her life with these women. You can totally tell, because the book is written is such a way that it becomes magic. For 8 years, Lisa lived with them, interviewed them, talked to them, got information from their surroundings and, only because of that, this book deserves all the praise.

Maggie, Lina and Sloane. I don’t know which one I loved the most. I enjoyed all three stories very much and I felt like I never wanted their respective chapters to finish but, at the same time, I couldn’t wait to find out more about the other two women. Spectacular.

Last, but not least, I loved how sex, sexuality, sexual desire, sexual inclinations and experiments were the main topic in the three stories. Society, in general, tend to turn a blind eye about these kind of topics when it comes to women, being better seen when is men we talk about. I haven’t read many books like this one and I, sincerely, wish there were more. I would definitely help a lot of women, young and old, to feel that they are not alone and that, maybe that thing that happened to them when they were younger and immature, wasn’t their fault or it wasn’t so bad after all.

Lisa Taddeo, thank you!

I was excited to read this book As I’d heard so much about it but unfortunately I don’t think it lives up to the hype. Three women is publicised as an exploration of women sexual desires, recounting stories of three real life women following eight years of research.

Firstly I want to commend the women who share their stories with the author each one of their experiences are valid and by sharing them they have contributed to a conversation which should be more openly discussed. Any grievances I have with this book More more to do with how it was written and publicised.

Mainly, I felt this book lacked any depth. These women’s story’s are certainly relatable and most women will relate to one, if not more, of them. As these story’s are so well known something new was needed to make it fresh. I feel the author really missed an opportunity, after 8 years of research you’d expect more than just a simple account of key moments in these women’s lives. I was expecting commentary or a at least a real connection and exploration of the women’s emotions but this was all lacking.

Personally, I really took issue with the lack of depth during Lina’s story. She suffers from fibromyalgia among other chronic conditions, as I do myself, and I felt this was really misrepresented. Lina’s pain is dismissed by many doctors and at one point is told she just needs a good orgasm. This is certainly believable, understanding and acceptance of fibromyalgia in the medical community is still very limited. However, as the story progressed I was disappointed to see how this rhetoric was reinforced, when Lina begins an affair she finds her pain lessens when she’s having sex. Sure, that may have been her experience but I felt it was dangerous to reinforce this idea when so many people, mostly women, are struggling to get their illness taken seriously. There just needed to be more context and exploration around the topic.

This book has been widely publicised but I felt some of that really misrepresented what the book is about. It’s claimed this book is about women’s sexual desire, well to me it seemed more to do with women’s sexual experiences, which are not always the same. Additionally, I feel it is important to mention that the representation of women was far from complete. While the story’s may be relatable, each women comes from a similar background and has the same resources available to them. This isn’t bad in itself but something that people should be aware of when going into it.

Finally, I listened to the audiobook version which might have affected my opinion. I did not enjoy listening to the narrators and found that their voices were not distinct enough to truly distinguish each woman.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Taddeo is a journalist who set out to write about female desire; through her research, three women consented to have their stories told and that's how 'Three Women' was born. It's an immersive look into the desires of three American women (Maggie, Lina and Sloane) - and charts their lives from sexual awakening to where they are now. This book deals with a lot of important and difficult subjects, including rape and statutory rape.

The depth that Taddeo goes into the lives and thoughts of these women is impressive. This is the style of non-fiction I personally enjoy; non-fiction narratives that feel almost fictional. I've seen comparisons to In Cold Blood, and though I would be cautious to say that, it does have the same narrative style Truman Capote uses.

I found each of the three women's stories heartbreaking. I think I was expecting more of a 'taking back of control'/'women are sexual beings too' theme to run through the book, but actually what the book really seemed to be saying (to me, at least) is even when these women thought they fully controlled their own sexual behaviours and wants, they were ultimately lead and effected by men. Take Maggie, who had a sexual relationship with her teacher at 17 - at the time, she thought she was following the object of her desire; later, she realises she was abused. Lina is a housewife stuck in a relationship with a man who doesn't want to touch her. When she separates from him and starts an affair with an old childhood sweetheart, she thinks she is taking back control of her sex life. But the man doesn't treat her well, doesn't love her back, uses her for sexual release and nothing more. She is, ultimately, at his beck and call. And Sloane, who engages in sex with other men because her husband likes it - but is not sure she likes it.
Though it tells some important stories, I really think this book could've been improved by expanding it's scope wider. All three women are white, and two of them are middle-class, live in surburbia with kids and a husband. It tells the stories of a certain type of woman, and I think it could really have been improved by expanding it's diversity. You can't really claim to be depicting female sexuality when you aren't representing any other type of woman. For example, women from other cultures, gay or bi women, trans women, women who don't want marriage and kids. There's a lot missing from this book - and I know it only ever claims to be about three women, but how can you ever claim to have reported on 'American women's desires' when you have such a narrow sample?

I also think the book is missing a lot of Lisa's voice - the prologue is, for me, the best part of the book. She could've interspersed the chapters from Maggie, Lina and Sloane's point of view with more of her own thoughts and observations. I would also say that Lina's story is heartbreaking, but Maggie's is the most powerful in the book (and Sloane's is overshadowed by both of these).

Ultimately, this book was interesting and gripping. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. But, there was much further that the author could've gone with it. And maybe that wasn't the book that she wanted to write, but I feel like it would've been a more ground-breaking book than the one she did write.

Three Women is an incredibly relevant and original piece of work that most women will be able to relate to in some way. The women who tell their stories are Lina, Maggie and Sloane, all of who have different experiences with men and relationships. The author’s foreword explains that the basis of each narrative is based in fact and this is made more believable by the honesty and transparency of each woman’s story.
Although difficult to listen to at times, the ruthless examination of each woman’s behaviour, and feelings is almost like therapy and provides a useful lesson we can all take away from the book. The narrators were all sincere and appropriate to the genre and added to my enjoyment of the book.