Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.

This was a fairly enjoyable read, although I have to say the protagonist was so naive it was really hard to believe she could be so misguided. Imagine being so sheltered you think you can put yourself in a horrible situation and have everything be ok just because…. I really enjoyed the setting, and that she grew up some during the course of the story.

Sadly I was only about to get about 34% into this book. It's just not holding my interest and it should be its a thriller and has a history. But there's just something about it that isn't working for me. Part of it I think is because I already know quite a bit about institutions that were to treat women, and how they were really just a dropping off point for people who didn't want to deal with them. Because of that I just can't deal with someone willingly going in and thinking they will save their sister from the inside. It's just not believable and I just don't have an interest in it because of how the sister is just so naive and just unbelievable when it comes to not knowing certain things when it comes to her sister, yet she thinks she's going to be the savior of her this time.

While this book will work for people who don't know a lot about the institutions and how hard it was to get people in and out of them once they were in.

However, I will say I did like how they showed the darker side of life in the institutions and how the women were treated by the nurses. This part was realistic, but still with that Charlotte still believed she would be able to convince the director and the nurses that her and her sister weren't crazy and should go free. I just can't do it personally.

Throwing in the towel at 35%. This book’s pacing was just too slow to keep me interested in the story. I think the flashbacks didn’t add anything either. I did enjoy the authors next novel, though.

Woman 99 by Greer Macallister was an intense story set in an asylum for women . This glimpse into the treatment of women in the 1800's was enlightening . I would recommend this read just for that but the complex relationship between two sisters along with the stories of the women held against their will.

Greer Macallister is a brilliant writer who captivates you right from the start of the book! Non stop edge of your seat always a thrill ride with her books!

I was really excited to read this book because it dealt with an insane asylum, but I felt like the book dragged a bit. I thought it was awful how some of the women ended up in the insane asylum. I felt like some of the events that happened in the asylum were a little far fetched. The ending wrapped up way too nicely which was a little unrealistic. This book was marketed as a historical thriller and it is not thrillerish at all. So, I feel like this historical fiction was a middle of the road book for me, I didn't love it and I didn't hate it.

"Woman 99" started out rather slow and ended rather cheesily, but the middle part kept me reading.

Learning about some of the horrid "treatments" women had to undergo in insane asylums of the era, was interesting and I liked that the author showed that there were women who genuinely needed help, but also those that their family just wanted to get rid of in these institutions.

The protagonist was likable if too naive to live (at least in the beginning: her plan is just idiotic).

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this novel and would love to read more from the author.

Utterly fantastic. Greer MacAllister is one to watch for, because she writes scenes beautifully, creates characters that seem to jump out of the page and into your life, and the plots are always unique and original. Five stars because I couldn't put this one down.

Overall, this was a pretty great read. Although set over 100 years ago, I've seen a lot of this time of "madwoman" through the 2nd half of the 20th century. Either a crazed person or a person that is inconveniencing a family, possible disability. It's crazy to think that it really could be anyone. The book had a slow slow start but managed to engage me further in and I liked it.

Woman 99 by Greer Macallister

Brief Summary: When Charlotte doesn’t agree with her parents’ decision to commit her sister Phoebe to Goldengrove Asylum; she goes uncover as Woman 99 to get herself admitted to find her sister and bring her back. But things at the asylum are not as they should be and her fellow patients are not insane or mentally ill. She goes on a mission to bring this to justice going up against powerful people who would go to great lengths to keep this a secret.

Highlights: This is a fascinating look at insane asylums, mental illness, and the roles and expectations of women at the time. I loved the historical exploration of gender inequality and financial privilege. As a mental health professional, it was fascinating to see Charlotte fake mental illness to make her way inside. The storyline does start slow but picks up and I was very engaged in the plot. I saw that this is optioned for a tv series and I can’t wait.

Explanation of Rating: 4/5; interesting and unique look at history of mental illness treatment.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

I tried this book a couple of times before it finally stuck long enough for me to get invested in the story. However, I feel strongly that this book could have been SO much better. The author spends the first half of the book kind of sort of mentioning various ailments and such that landed these women in the asylum, and then glosses over most with a "rescue" in the second half of the novel. I really really wanted to like this book but I'm afraid I just didn't. The story was just not compelling and one would think that it would have been. 2 stars.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Phoebe and Charlotte Smith are sisters who have always had to rely on each other as their domineering mother plots and plans how to use them to better her position in society. So when Phoebe's 'delicate sensibilities' get her sent to Goldengrove Asylum against her will, it's up to Charlotte to try and get her back home.
What follows is Charlotte's bold attempt to rescue her sister - along the way meeting incredible women who have been committed unjustly and trying to help give them a voice.
Although the beginning of this book dragged a bit, I did end up enjoying it. An interesting expose into the perception of mental health in the early 20th century and treatments at the time.
Well-researched and well-written. I wouldn't say it was gripping but it was entertaining.

This book was really well written and felt historically accurate to me. Descriptions and character development were spot-on, mostly. While reading this book I felt like an active reader versus a passive one, which is always a plus for me.

Surprisingly I preferred the characterization of the supporting characters to the main character of the story. Charlotte often fell flat to me and had this kind of hero complex that I didn’t enjoy. There was some mild romance which was sweet, but I like how it wasn’t the main focus of the book.

The reason why I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because the premise itself is so interesting but I felt it lacked emotional depth. Another reviewer stated that she didn’t “feel like the main character struggled that much,” or if she did the character did not vocalize how negatively the asylum experience impacted her.

Pros: well-written, interesting concept, good description of minor characters.

Cons: story climax and followthrough felt lax, slightly underdeveloped emotional depth for major characters.

Overall a solid read that I enjoyed! Thank you to the publisher for the chance to review this historical fiction book.

Woman 99 was a great historical psychological thriller. I was hooked from very early on and felt for Phoebe and the trauma she and her sister felt upon her confinement to Goldengrove. Such atrocities happened all too often to young men and women who society wanted to silence, to hide, to teach a lesson, more often than not, for appearances sake. It was heartbreaking in parts. Phoebe's behaviour was odd at times, she didn't conform to those expectations her parents had of her and to save themselves any embarrassment they had her committed. Heartbroken Charlotte's behaviour that followed was fantastic and made for some great reading. This story created such a tense, eerie atmosphere at times that I was afraid to read on, in a good way when dealing with psychological thrillers. I really enjoyed this book, if that verb is appropriate when referring to such traumatic and upsetting subject matter. I thought it was well written and full of tension. I award it 4 stars!!

I have to admit, Woman 99 was not what I was expecting. A woman having herself voluntarily committed to an asylum known for its brutal treatment of patients had me thinking it would be more “thriller-ish”, but I actually grew bored at times. The novel was slow-moving and I didn’t feel like I experienced an accurate portrayal of life in an asylum during the late 1800s because Charlotte actually had it pretty easy. Instead we were simply told about these horrors through other secondary characters which removed me from the story a bit.

Clearly Greer Macallister did her research when it came to the treatment of patients in these asylums. The methods used to cure the mentally ill were simply barbaric— ice cold showers, water treatment, solitary confinement, to name a few. To think that many of these women were committed under false pretenses— adultery, prostitution, or simply because their husbands wanted them out of the way— is mind-blowing! It makes me glad to be living in a time with such vast improvements in medicine and health care.

I truly enjoyed the book from a viewpoint of bonding between women; more specifically, the relationship between Charlotte and her sister Phoebe. The bond they shared was unbreakable, which becomes apparent when Charlotte follows Phoebe to Goldengrove. Certain chapters flashed back in time and detailed the events leading up to Phoebe’s admission to the asylum, and the connection and devotion between the sisters is indisputable. Charlotte also goes on to form strong friendships with some of the women she meets in the asylum.

Overall, this was a solid and easy read that I would recommend to any fan of historical fiction novels.

When Charlotte Smith's parents have her sister, Phoebe, committed to Goldengrove Asylum in the dead of night, Charlotte suspects there's something she's not being told. Determined to find--and rescue--her sister from whatever horrors await her there, Charlotte feigns a suicide attempt and gets herself committed. Inside the institution's walls, she discovers firsthand the atrocities of late 19th-century mental health "treatments" for female patients. "I wanted to say that this place made no sense," Charlotte considers not long after her arrival, "but unfortunately, it did. It made a terrible kind of sense... as long as you assumed every woman in the place was mad and that her only worth came from labor or silence, preferably both."

Greer Macallister (The Magician's Lie) notes at the end of Woman 99 that Goldengrove itself is an imaginary place, but the patient treatments she describes were derived from contemporaneous records. This sense of rich historical detail infuses every part of the novel, from Charlotte's dresses to descriptions of San Francisco. Against this backdrop, Charlotte struggles at Goldengrove to shed light on the mistreatment of women at the hands of profit-hungry men; it's impossible not to root for the sisters as they work to combat that mistreatment on behalf of themselves and others. Woman 99 is a fast-paced historical thriller perfect for book club discussions.

I did not finish Woman 99 by Greer Macallister. I just couldn't get into the story although I know others loved it!

While this book was very different from the authors previous novel The Magicians Lie, it was still very enjoyable. I loved the slow burn of the story and the in depth descriptions of what Charlotte went through to get to her sister. The ending was so very sweet. Loved 5is one and highly recommend!

💊BOOK REVIEW💊
Woman 99 by Greer Macallister

-DESCRIPTION-
Takes places in the 1800s, between two sisters. One sister is committed to an aslyum by their parents and the other sister follows her, in an attempt to get her out.

-THOUGHTS-
1. Very Nellie Bly in that it is so eye opening in, not only the conditions of asylums, but just how easily people (especially women) could be committed against their will.
2. The writing was beautiful, the story eye opening and scary and loving. A page turner and I wanted to know everything!
3. This book has made me want to read all I can about mental asylums back in the day.

-RATING-
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I highly recommend this book.

-SIMILAR RECOMMENDED READS-
The Book of Essie
Dead Girls Club
Brain on Fire