This book was average at most. The concept of women in war, and their struggles both in and out of 'Nam was great but I felt the book didn't live up to its potential.

For starters, this was more about one woman who wasn't all that likeable and her specific experience so the book might as well be named "The Woman". Frankie McGrath's story was underwhelming because it was more snippets about her time in Vietnam and more about her romances with men. I didn't understand what made her so special that any man who saw her fell for her.

I struggled with the second part of the book. Most of the characters were underdeveloped and two-dimensional. I would've liked to know more about Barb who interested me the most. Whatever “plot-twists” there were, I could see coming and was dreading them. It would've been better if the story had different POVs with a few women showing us what it was like for them during and after the war than making it about Frankie.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the e-copy.

2.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

If you're going to read one book this year make it this one. The Women by Kristin Hannah is my first read by this author and I think it will be in one of my top, recommended reads of 2024.

I'm a fan of historical fiction and have read one book about the Vietnam war from a reporters perspective. The Women follows nurses in the Vietnam War and the years afterwards. It's been a while since I've been this absorbed in a book and I was pulled into the story right from the first page. I really liked the authors writing style, it is engaging, eloquent, beautifully descriptive and I felt like I was in Vietnam with Frankie following all she did. The author doesn't hold back with the horrors and brutality of war and in my opinion captures her characters thoughts, feelings and emotions perfectly. This is a sad, poignant and very emotional read at times that really got to me and I think will stay with me for a while after finishing it. I really liked Frankie who is determined, compassionate and comes into her own in Vietnam. Her friendships with Ethel and Barb save her on her return home where no one understood how she was feeling or even believe she was there. Kristin Hannah has captured a war and its aftermath so well in her writing I read this book in under 2 days, and when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it and the characters I'd really taken to and was rooting for. Not many books make me feel this way. The second half of the story was slower paced and eloquently reflected the times and society with the protests, how the veterans were treated and ignored and yet still was a read I struggled to put down. I really, really liked the ending, it surprised me and I think gives the best closure to a great read.

5 stars

Kirstin Hannah writes the emotional story of a young woman who follows her brother to Vietnam in order to become a hero in the eyes of her father.

Although, her experiences as an Army Nurse were even more horrendous than she expected, she found her purpose caring for the men injured in war and honing her nursing skills. The first half details her experiences during her tours in Vietnam and the second half is how she struggles to integrate back into a society (including her own family) that not only doesn’t value but doesn’t even acknowledge her service.

I thought the portrayal of the experiences of war in Vietnam for the nurses and the struggle for her and other veterans to deal with the aftermath of war was well done. It details her PTSD in a time before much was known about it. This was particularly difficult for the women as their service was not even recognised.

However, I do wish that the second half had focussed more on the stories of Frankie’s friends’ post war experiences rather than the romance story lines. I found those too predictable and far fetched. The important story of the other women of Vietnam felt like it could have explored more fully. But I flew through the book and did enjoy it so if you are a Kirstin Hannah fan, I would recommend it. Thank you to NetGallery Pan MacMillan for the ARC.

I think I can confidently say that I have just found the best book I will read in 2024! Having been to Vietnam, I was curious to read this book, I know Kristin Hannah is a big author (although haven't read any others) and so expected that this was probably going to be a popular one. I could not have expected how good this was going to be.

The first part of this book, is incredible. The research that the author has done has been so thorough that this part of the book is perfect. It's believable, lifelike, realistic and heart wrenching. The way the author writes, your senses come alive and I cried numerous times. Frankie is a warrior - you cannot help but love her.

The second part of the book - I thought I would hate. BUT it grew and grew and grew on me and by the end I probably liked the second part as much as the first. Especially the end!! I'd forgotten and then it happened and...I cried! Instead of just loving Frankie, you want to fix her in this part. Her struggles and her turmoil, her grief and her trauma! It's heartbreaking.

This is by no means a 'nice' book, BUT it is an incredible book. As I put this down - I sent recommendations to my reader friends. Everyone must read this book!

Thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Easily a 5 star book!
Having loved the Nightingale and The Four Winds so much I was hesitant as to whether this would match up, but no need to worry. The Women was brilliant.
I felt every inch as frustrated as Frankie throughout the book, hoped and wished that the happy ending would come and enjoyed the ride through Vietnam and back. Such a great book, so grateful for the ARC!

This was a fantastically well researched book covering a subject which I haven’t encountered in fiction before- the women who volunteered in the Vietnam War. It is blunt in its depiction of what being in a mobile field hospital in a terrifying and brutal war was like and is not an easy read.

The book is in two parts- the first during Frankie’s service and her placements in two units, the second as she tries to fit back in to society when she returns.

Frankie’s background is a crucial factor in her joining the military-but also in how difficult she finds it to re-enter a world that denies her any value in what she has achieved. It infuriates you as a reader how often she is blocked in her endeavours to fit back in- or to access any kind of support. It’s a heartbreaking reminder that this was the reality for a generation of men and women returning from a war they shouldn’t have ever been sent to which damaged them immensely, both physically and mentally.

There is horror, trauma, intense friendship and love, addiction, recovery and hope in these pages and this book will stay with me. I would happily have read an even longer book, but it finished on an upswing in Frankie’s world and that worked very well.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my opinion. It was 5 ⭐️for me!

I write this with tears streaming down my face, having just finished reading this incredible piece of work. Believe it or not, this is the first Kristin Hannah book I've ever read. It will absolutely not be the last! I loved the screen adaptation of ‘Firefly Lane’ and I hope, and pray, that ‘The Women’ gets similar treatment. We need a limited series, people! Also, can someone please make a playlist of all the songs? By the time I realised there wasn't one, I was too far into the book to start. There are loads of superb songs referenced throughout, and it really helps to set the scene. And what a scene! The first half of the book takes place in Vietnam during the war. Frankie is a nurse, tending to casualties in extremely challenging circumstances. The latter half follows her return home. Kristin Hannah has done an exemplary job of illustrating that there were, indeed, women in the Vietnam war! She shows us who they were, what their contributions looked like and how it impacted their entire lives. The characters throughout the book are incredibly well-drawn. I really felt immersed in the story, and their lives, whilst reading and I'll miss them now that I've finished the book. An outstanding read and one which I will very highly recommend, far and wide!

This is not an easy read.
It’s a war story, set for a large part in a ‘MASH’ unit so a lot of violence, death and goriness, and you should probably avoid this one if reading about such disturbs you.

Frankie, a sheltered, middle-class girl with a brand new nursing qualification enlists as an army nurse early in the Vietnamese War to ‘make her father proud’.. Hopelessly naive, Frankie faces an incredibly steep learning curve in a world she could never even have imagined.
The first half deals with her experiences in Vietnam, the friendships and relationships made, and often lost in tragic ways.
The second half deals with her life ‘after’- she returns home to an America hostile towards the war, and those who served, where PTSD was not a ‘thing’, and where most people didn’t acknowledge that women even served in the war. Frankie struggles to cope on many levels.
The story is well researched, and well written and drew me in. KH almost tries to fit in too much happening to the one character, but it does convey how overwhelming Frankie’s experiences were. It’s an intense, emotional rollercoaster. A very good book, and gives some fascinating insights into that period of history.

The Women by Kristin Hannah a NetGalley review. Wow, wow, wow, get your tissues at the ready. This book blew me away and I think I felt every emotion for the characters inside. Kristin Hannah had this amazing way of writing, she is without a doubt one talented author and seems to always knock it out if the park; her stories always have this flow and the stories come alive off of the pages, like you are watching a film rather than reading a book. I love the authors eye for detail, another reason why her stories always work with such success and this book is no exception; she also writes with a maturity and confidence, writing about things she could never have experienced. This book is about student Frances McGrath, whose world changes in an instant when her brother dies in Vietnam, which changes her path in life forever. Yet this story is so much more than that, it’s about women, the forgotten women of this war, who although fiction, were forgotten in this war and all wars. Frances is probably one of the best characters have read about in a while, she’s someone I hugely admired and was at time in awe in; her strength is hard to put into words, she has her weakness, which make her feel real and though I say weakness in many ways that isn’t the right word because understandably after the war, she struggles with her mental health. At this time this book is set, there is mental health help for men, as they were in combat and a woman and a nurse her mental health was dismissed twice when Frances sought help. It’s sickening and shocking. Frances is strong, strong willed, confident and unsure of herself outside of Vietnam, she’s grieving her brother and her relationship with her father and those men she lost while at war. Frances is determined, she is kind, an amazing nurse, is scared to ask for help. Frances wants to be loved and to love someone and she’s trusting. The book isn’t just about Frances, it’s about the friends she made and the other woman that fought in this war fiction and non fiction. As an author she reminds me a lot of Jodi Picoult, so if you’ve never read anything by this author but are a fan of Jodi then I have no doubt you will love this book. I have no doubt you will love this book anyway. When the author is in the midst of writing a war scene the pages of the book disappeared and that shows how amazing this authors writing is. Even now we hear about men fighting wars but it’s very rare that we hear if the women. I was sat up at the hospital reading the last few pages of this book and I was nearly in tears, it grabbed my heart, had I been at home I think there would have been tears and for a boom to be able to do that, is something special indeed. I can’t recommend this book enough and I actually recommended it to a doctor at the hospital yesterday. Without this book is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and this has reminded to read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I am a big fan of Kristin Hannah and always look forward to her books. I have just finished reading The Women and I am literally lost for words! Honestly this has got to be one of the best books I’ve ever read! I’ve never felt such a strong range of emotions from a book before. I sobbed my heart out many times and fell in love with the characters. The descriptions of Frankie’s time in nam were so well written and authentic that I felt as though I was there with her. The ending was beautiful and absolutely broke me! Thank you to Kristin Hannah for sharing this wonderful piece of writing with us all. This book will stay with me for a very long time. Absolute perfection.

When I finished this book with tears streaming down my face I thought long and hard as to how I could write a review to do it justice and I can’t … I will never be able to convey what a completely heartbreaking but superlative reading experience it was and it’s a book that will remain with me forever. I really admire Kristin Hannah as she has written a story that was so well researched that it was hard to believe it wasn’t true but even though not true the facts are and I broke my heart so many times whilst reading about the wonderful people and just what horrors they witnessed. Although a really hard read it’s also a story of hope and love and along with the terrible times it portrayed the camaraderie between the characters and how much they cared for each other. I can’t say more my words are not enough so please don’t miss this book it deserves to be read and I promise you it’s amazing. A read that is top of my favourite books ever and a book I will never, ever forget and thank you Kristin Hannah for bringing this book into my life it deserves more stars then I can give.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A stunner of a read that made me weep at the end.

I had never much given this subject a thought. I know this only has marginal similarities but my Mom “done her bit” (as she used to say, in the War.)
My Great gran too.
My Great gran was a midwife and she saw some suffering during those times BUT nothing compared to this within the historical telling of NAM.

We all are aware of the heroes who fought.
The ones who never came home or POWS.

I never gave a thought to the nurses during wartimes did you?
What they had to deal with, what they saw, the dedication and long hours the state of which they had to live. The emotional affects on them as well as the angst and stress. The loneliness yet the gelling together of folk from all walks of life “making a difference”.

And much more I could say, but I won’t. It’s best to read it.

Coming home.

Men were recognised as heroes dead or alive.
Women?
“There were no Women at NAM” was the reply.
Only ones serving and fighting.

Only the ones that were injured or survived.
Only the men.

Only the men saw the horrors.

All was not acknowledged about THE WOMEN.
The women who saw bodies torn, amputated, hanging on through a thread. Prioritising those who needed assistance and those that wouldn’t make it and holding their hand.


This writing as only Kristine Hannah could do impacted on me. Much more than I thought or even realised yet…..
There was Hope, there was Love, there were equal sadness and also a disservice towards The Women .

They didn’t actually Fight physically out there in the scheme of things but they fought, oh yes, they fought. They fought caring for the soldiers whose bodies were broken and bombed, helicopters shot down, waiting for incoming men and young teens, the sights they saw, and the place they laid their heads, washing, clothes, smells.

The un forgotten heroes.
The Women. …….

And the The Men.

I personally cannot imagine the pain and suffering.

Help after the war?
There were places for men to get help.
Was there for women?
No.

The romance within these pages were so well done.
You never knew if you’d wake up tomorrow so should a “good girl” grab love today?

It’s brutal. It’s honest. It’s not all doom and gloom yet it’s a part of history that needed to be told, even if it’s fictionalised.

I’m definitely buying a physical copy to add to my bookshelf with other of Kristine Hannah’s books.

You can rely on her for the emotional journey.

What a brilliant read!
Frances McGrath has signed up to the army, she's off to Vietnam and her life will change, but so will her family, her friends, her ideals and morals and her country.

Based on truth ut written in through a fictional character Kristin Hannah has tackled the subject of women muses in Vietnam with such a raw frankness that the story is a compelling read. Being British, I had small knowledge of the america and the Vietnam war. I had no knowledge of the female nurses and was simply blown away by this book. It's grilling and gritty but not a taxing read, because you get so deep into the characters and care so much about Frances. Hannah writes with such ease, the whole story ebbs and flows brilliantly. I laughed, I cried, I swore and I couldn't believe it. I'm partial to lighthearted read, and whilst this is definitely no rom-com, it is phenomenal. It feels so real and you'll find yourself so frustrated with the things that happen, appalled by the attriocities of war and hurt by the reactions of the world but you'll also feel love, support and sheer determination.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

This is a tough book to review as to me it was a book in two parts. The first part Interesting and a look and feel of the Vietnam war from the inside. The second half was predictable and trite and a big disappointment for me.
Frankies brother has been killed in Vietnam and her family can’t cope. When Frankie decides to enlist only the army will take her without the mandatory two year training. Of course the war is nothing like she envisages, the horror of it all, the carnage and injuries, the hundreds of deaths. The bombing of the innocents caused by the American troops. It’s a place where you form bonds that last a life time if you live long enough. It’s a story in the first half of love and loss and a coming of age of Frankie. She makes 2 life long friends in her bunk mates, and looses two loves to the war. After two tours Frankie is home and suffers like most veterans from PTSD. She is also maddened to find that the women in the war are not recognised. She drinks and starts taking pills and her life slowly unravels.

It covers a time I remember from my childhood. The flower power, the hippies, marches and anti war speeches. It has certainly encouraged me to find out more about the Vietnam war and its aftermath.
My score would be 3.5 if we did half scores but the engrossing first part lifts it to 4

#TheWomen #NetGalley

This book grabbed me right from the start and I had to keep turning the pages. It was at times difficult to read because the harrowing scenes were made so real. I know it's a cliche, but I think this book deserves the moniker 'must read'. So important to acknowledge what happened in Vietnam and its aftermath, as well as recognising that women did go to Vietnam and did suffer the consequences.

This is a tremendous story. Looking at the progress of the Vietnam war from a female perspective. Coming from a long line of heroes, all male, we follow Frances, "Frankie" and her experiences. From signing up as a naive twenty one year old, she is quickly immersed in the brutal world of conflict and its horrors. Often all she can do is hold the hand of a man as he dies. Her female friendships with Barb and Ethel pull her through the long brutal days and nights.She ducks and dives through male attention refusing to to get involved with married men.Completing not just one tour but signing up for another she finds the love of her life. This war is not easy on romance. Returning to the USA, Frankie finds that sentiment towards the Vietnam war has changed.
Kristin Hannah has done an amazing amount of research into this war and its aftermath. As usual the story and characters and relationships are engaging. This is a great read and highly recommended

Is it too early to have a potential book of the year for 2024, even though we’re still in 2023?

This book was simply breathtaking. Following naive, privileged Frankie as she volunteers to be an army nurse in Vietnam, her whole belief system is tested. With a focus on the female experience in a war where many believed there weren’t any women. Not only are the scenes of war harrowing but the after effects are explored with authenticity and depth.

Kristin Hannah proves yet again what an extraordinarily talented writer she is. The Nightingale is one of my favourite books and The Women shared many of the same qualities. It is a story of courage, strength and resilience and I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough. Brilliant.

Where to begin??? This is a MUST READ, and certainly in my top ten of the year. The setting is the war in Viet Nam and the nurses who served on the front lines. The main character is Frances Grace McGrath-“frankie” - and she is the linchpin around which the novel is related. The first half is the war itself and the trauma scenes are so well depicted that you will feel as if you were there on the front lines of the hospitals.The second half while still focused on her, also depicts the aftermath for those who served and the ambivalence if not outright hatred they were greeted with by their country when they returned home-a country that turned their back on their sacrifice.Their struggles to gain respect, their sanity, their mental and physical health, their battle to overcome their addictions are heart rending. And if you are not moved by the final chapter, with the unveiling of the Viet Nam War memorial,and the emotional scene in which her father tearfully apologizes to his daughter, then you are a better man than I am Gunga Din. For me on a personal level I was a young Navy doctor at a naval hospital during these years, and though I never served in “ Nam”, I became all too familiar with the PTSD these men and women suffered in its aftermath. If you are of my generation I DARE you to read this book without shedding many a tear. It is a great and a must read.

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I recommend Kristin Hannah’s book to anyone that will listen, with The Four Winds being one of my all-time favourites, so I was really happy to see she had written a new one.

As always, a real eye-opening & emotional story of love, family, friendship & bravery. I think this is the first book I have read about Vietnam and I always enjoy a story based somewhere new to me.

Kristin Hannah’s book always have me absorbed from the first chapter.

Another absolute 5 star read.