Thanks to White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

A really cool book with just the right amount of information to pique interest and prompt further research. Warning - this book will lead you into a Google black hole.

I liked how there was a range of women from mythology, folklore and fairy tales and best of all, they aren't all Western centric.

I didn't love the art style but that's just my own personal taste, a fun book that would make a lovely gift or coffee table book.

I really adore these types of anthologies, so I was excited that White Lion Publishing gave me the opportunity to read this before it came out.

What I enjoyed the most was the amount of diversity incorporated into this book. the number of cultures that these stories come from was interesting to learn about. It was also a pretty good history lesson about women from history that inspired many of the mythological women in this book.

Overall this book was a fun, quick and informative read (even though it took me a month to read it).

3.5 stars

First things first: the elegant art and eloquent storytelling in this book are definitely appealing. I was hooked from the beginning, and delighted to find a variety of figures from a variety of cultures, some better-known than others.

However, the illustrations and outside quotes often didn't match up with the text, which was jarring. I also felt like it was overall still very Eurocentric, from the actual legends being told — and I'm sure it was hard to just choose a few, considering how many wonderful women exist in folklore around the world! But I'm particularly disappointed that Mulan wasn't included in the Warriors section since in my opinion she's as classic an example as Artemis/Diana — and the analysis of each's impact focuses on the author's (modern, Western) views rather than their specific cultural context. I'm also not so sure about the inclusion of a canonically genderfluid deity in a book of <i>female</i> characters. And it's a small detail, but it honestly bugs me that the subsections of this book aren't even in the same order as the title.

So while I wouldn't be mad if someone gifted me this as a coffee table book, I probably wouldn't buy it for myself or any close friends/family.

I really enjoyed learning more about famous mythological female and gender non-conforming figures from around the world and was delighted to be introduced to a good deal of these stories for the first time. Hodges drew from a rich intersectional, international pool, and her selections did not disappoint, but made me wonder who else's stories I'd been missing. This book felt very of the now, especially with the comprehensive citations, which included many modern pop cultural references. The illustrations were absolutely gorgeous as well and greatly enhanced my reading experiences.

While I commend the author and illustrator on their work, I couldn't help but wonder about their positionality, especially when describing and depicting indigenous/aboriginal, POC, and religious figures. Sometimes I felt the tone should have been a bit more respectful and less tongue in cheek when introducing readers (presumably a good number of whom have no foundational knowledge about these figures, nor the populations who revere them) to these figures. I was further thrown off my generalizations when referring to a culture or population's beliefs, especially pertaining to a culture/population that is still alive and active today (i.e. stating that a certain culture believes in a certain goddess when all members might not necessarily engage with mythology/spirituality).

But I digress--I get that finding the perfect wording is hard, especially when you're trying to introduce a figure to your audience in an accessible and fun way. This book was enjoyable, and after reading it, I feel inspired to look into these marvelous witches, warriors, and women through some research of my own, which I believe was the intended effect, and speaks to the effectiveness and compelling nature of the work.

Warriors, Witches, Women is full of information on a wide variety of mythical women ranging from goddesses to monsters, fairies and spirits from all over the world.

You’ll find such women/agender/gender fluid (I guess I could have just as easily said non-male) folk as Hecate (Greek goddess), Baba Yaga (Slavic witch), Ame-No-Uzume (Japanese goddess), and Pontianak (Malay ghost) just to name a few. They are divided into categories: Witches, Warriors, Bringers of Misfortune, Elemental Spirits, and Munificent Spirits.

Each entry has a fairly dense block of text to accompany it (at least a full page, which is kind of unusual for this kind of book – they’re usually fairly information-lite). Unfortunately the extra information causes there to be less room for entries. I wish the book had twice as many entries, at least – but, for that, I guess I’ll always have The Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. But you know what that book lacks? Harriet Lee Merrion’s gorgeous illustrations. I really love them – they’re simple, but beautiful.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is a cool book for anyone interested in learning more about mythical women, or who appreciates quality artistic interpretations of said women. Like I said, it covers global territory, which is really great. The only thing that keeps me from giving it five stars is that I just wish it were longer. I wish that more figures had been covered.

“We will not wait to be offered leftovers from the feast. We will arrive in a whirl of wings and talons and pick off what belongs to us. Yes, we are angry, yes we are making a noise about it, and yes, we are hungry for change. We are harpies.”

I have always been fascinated by mythology, in all it’s iterations. From Disney’s Hercules, to Wonder Woman, Saint Seiya, Inu Yasha and countless others, I developed an early interest in all things mythological since childhood. And as a twenty something latina woman I have discovered the power in other women’s stories – to learn from those who carved the path for where we are today.

This books was the almagamation of those things for me. It is a true celebration of mythology’s fiercest females – the ones who we recognize at a glance, the ones that are still fighting not to be erased from the narrative and everything in between.

This books is a spark. For me it was a catalyst to seek out those figures that I wasn’t yet familiar with, those whose struggles I related to.

It acknowledged all the variations in the mythos – never claiming one true definite story, but recognizing how they changed over time and what that meant.

Among my personal favorites are the Pontianak, the Harpies, Medusa, Banshees, The Morai (The Fates) & the futakuchi-onna.

I love the idea of celebrating these stories and giving the back their power – from magazines claiming the name of Jezebel, Medusa’s luxurious comeback as – literally – the face of Versace, even Pokémon has claimed one of my new favorites and my inner nerd is so so happy.

If you need some fuel for your fire, I'd pick this up sooner rather than later.

Pleasantly surprised by this book. It was nice learning about these kinds of women throughout different cultures. I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Warriors, Witches, Women: Mythology’s Fiercest Females is everything the title promises, and more. This is a novel that collects dozens of famous mythological women and puts them all into one place. So whether you need a reference book or are simply curious about goddesses and lore, this is one worth checking out.
Kate Hodges did a wonderful job with this book. Not only did she organize it really well, but she went out of her way to bring in as many fierce and independent women as possible. I can honestly tell you that some of the warriors, witches, and goddesses that she pulled into this book I had never heard of before now. And I was fascinated to read more about them.
Hodges had the book divided into easy to follow (and reference) categories. You can probably make a good guess at those categories thanks to the title itself. It also made for easy reading, knowing thematically what was going to follow.
Another element I loved about this book was the inclusion of artwork. Each and every woman featured here had her own imagery included, but they were all drawn in a similar style. That is a fine line to balance on, and yet it was done nicely here.
I read Warriors, Witches, Women all in one read, and I have no regrets about that. Though I do think that I’ll sit down and reread it all at a slightly slower pace next time around. At first I was just too eager to absorb as much information as possible. So feel free to take that as the proof needed to show how much I enjoyed this book.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book!

Warriors, Witches, Women, is a beautiful collection of history and legend, compiled into a single book for you to devour. Delivering succinct histories of the women within its pages, this book not only gives you a nice overview of the life and legend of each woman - but gives you historical context, and snippets of quotes, text, and mentions from more recent times that will help you connect each warrior, witch, or women, with how you might know them already.

A mystical, whimsical ride through the history of often downcast, or feared women.

This book starts off with a great introduction. You really get a feel for the authors’ appreciation, awe, and love for the characters she will be presenting. This in turn drives her desire and hope for us to feel the same way. With such a great platform set, I was certainly intrigued to start the journey.

The references to modern culture, arts, novels, and movies also gave the characters relevance in today’s age.
I also loved the ‘Bringers of Misfortune’ chapters and how so many of the fables originated as stories to stave of danger in the pre-digital era.

I do wonder about the target audience for this book. Although it was enjoyable, I really don’t think it was for me. I see it as a coffee table book for a casual gander, or as a totem for feminists perhaps

I've always been interested in myths and lores and i was very happy to review this book. It's composed beautifully of mythical women all over the world and written perfectly to give the reader an oversight of the women's' stories. It's a book I will be buying to add to my physical collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Warriors, Witches, Women is yet another fine addition to the massive pile of feminist fiction that's been pouring out of publishing houses since the beginning of the Me Too movement. As someone who loves mythology (especially when it's considered to be monstrous), I enjoyed this collection of stories. All the best and most fascinating women from mythology are here, including one of my favorites, Baba Yaga.

Even better than the stories themselves is the artwork. This book begs to become a coffee table display piece in the home of every woman who embraces the warrior and witch inside of all of us.

What is better than super strong and fierce women who proliferate cultures and history, making their places known?! This book is an intense study of fierce women from around the world and all throughout time. I loved how this book divided the figures into different "types" of beings and really didn't discriminate or leave much out. It is flattering to read about strong women and how important these ladies were. The simple line art in this book is amazing and gives this book such a light and ethereal feel. I really loved reading this book and learning so much about famous women!!

Thanks to Quatro Publishing Group- White Lion Publishing for granting my wish on NetGalley.

I enjoy reading about strong women in both fiction and nonfiction and this collection of fab women from different mythologies from around the world was a superb read. Divided into five sections( witches, warriors, bringers of fortune, elemental spirits, and munificent spirits) and accompanied by a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and a mythological women playlist, this book was a great reading treat. There were the women that I knew from the Greek/ Roman, Celtic, and Norse traditions, but so many more that were fresh and new to me. All-powerful women that were important to their cultural stories but faced the threat of being put in their place by men or organized religions. Each woman has been given her 1-2 page allotment which offers the origin stories and connection to both religious and historical context and their relevance even in today's world. About the artwork that accompanies the text, I thought it gave an idea of how each woman was sometimes portrayed in her culture.

Goodreads review published 02/01/20
Publication Date 04/02/20

Thank you to #NetGalley for the advance readers copy of Warriors, Witches, Women by Kate Hodges

I enjoyed this collection that explores and discusses some well known and some lesser know Warriors, Witches, Women. Each section highlights a variety of important individuals. The artwork adds to the presentation and lore. If you are interested in these types of collections I strongly recommend it.

A great introduction to women of various world mythologies. The author flies her intersectional feminism flag by making sure a variety of stories are told not just from popular myth and not just about women who represent "good" values. The author also tries to reclaim some of the women as role models or demonstration of modes of being. Their stories are not only presented as a summary of different texts but also with a clarification of how it may have been modified when filtered through the lens of a dominant culture. The mythology that we know was not always recorded by the peoples who believed the stories.

Occasionally the author will veer a bit toward remarks on current political events which can be off-putting.

For the person in your life who is interested in mythology and wants an introduction to a variety of cultures.

Although I have placed this on my nonfiction shelf I know not all of it is factual. This is a book I would love to spend much more time with to study. It educates and inspires. I read it as a digital copy via Netgalley but would love to own it in a coffee table size book.
The illustrations are beautiful. The stories make one dream big . They are empowering.
A Beautiful books not only for women but for people of many cultures, all genders and ages.

I have missed feelings about this book.
I love the text. The author gives background of origin of each fierce woman and details the various tales around each figure. I loved learning new goddess and revisiting witches I already knew.
I wasn't big on the art. It's lovely but it takes really give the spirit of the warriors listed in this book.

Sadly I am unable to open the file sent (won't open with any pdf files or any microsoft) so I cannot review this book. Disappointed as I was looking forward to it.

***I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.***


If you’re looking for a “typical” book on mythology, this one is definitely not it. I love that it is about the strength of the female, and not needing someone to rescue her. I really enjoyed the fact that the majority of the characters in this book were ones that I’d never heard of, and that so many cultures were included. The musical playlist at the end was the icing on the cake.