Andrea Dunlop's WOMEN ARE THE FIERCEST CREATURES is the story of three women connected through past and present relationships with the same elusive, tech "genius" man. Set in the Pacific Northwest tech world, this novel gave a deep view into an unknown and high stakes world I loved learning more about. Dunlop's characters are fully dimensional and believable, dropping me into their worlds for a wonderful, engaging ride. I deeply enjoyed spending time with this wonderfully well-wrought story. I received a copy of this novel and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I absolutely loved Dunlop's last book, We Came Here to Forget and was looking forward to Women are the Fiercest Creatures and I really enjoyed it!

Three women all connected to the charming tech startup founder Jake, all find themselves unexpectedly coming together as he's about to take his company public. Anna is the ex-wife who is still coming to terms with her divorce, after being an integral part of the company and raising their two teenage sons; Jessica is the much younger new wife and is pregnant and trying to figure out her new life and Sam, who was his college girlfriend and hasn't spoken to Jake in over a decade. Set outside of Seattle, the lives of these three women get entangled with long-held secrets that threaten to destroy them all.

I like how fast paced this book was. You see three very different women at different points in their lives, but they are all fighting for themselves and their kids. I honestly liked each woman and ultimately how they supported each other, even if maybe they didn't want to. This had an interesting angle with the tech start up piece and inequalities. I thought the writing was superb and definitely recommend reading this one!

Thanks to Zibby Books for my advanced copy. Women are the Fiercest Creatures comes out on Tuesday - March 7th!

Wow. I ended February with Andrea Dunlop’s upcoming novel, Women are the Fiercest Creatures, and I’m happy to report that it was a major winner for me. My reading month ended on a very high note because this book checked every single one of my boxes, as it included my very favorite themes: motherhood, marriage, and friendship. The premise of this novel is super exciting! Three women. One man. All three are connected to him in one form or another, or have been in the past. They’ve also been wronged by him. Eventually, their lives become entangled, and some major truths begin to surface. The twists and turns that the author comes up with to tell their stories had me flipping the pages like a madwoman! It was extremely well done. Dunlop’s latest is JUICY. It’s super sharp, entertaining, and impossible to put down. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. It’s perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, Regrets Only, and Eliza Starts a Rumor.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:
- Multiple perspectives
- Strong female characters
- Seattle/PNW settings
- Stories about #momlife
- The woes of parenting teens and tweens
- Neighborhood, domestic, and family dramas
- Steady and exciting plots
- Women in STEM
- Social media & the tech world
- Justice and revenge stories
- Feminist undertones
- Secrets, lies, and deception

I can gush and rave forever, but honestly, this book just has the entire package. Strong title, gorgeous cover, and an addictive storyline. It exceeded my expectations, and I highly, HIGHLY recommend it. 5/5 stars for Women are the Fiercest Creatures! Grab a copy on March 7th!

This one blew me away. The 3 women in this novel could be yourself or any other female you know. Ms. Dunlop weaves together a beautiful story about what women endure and what we conquer when we support each other even if it wasn’t the case in the past.

Women are a force to be reckoned with as we figure out just how powerful we are.

Women Are the Fiercest Creatures
by Andrea Dunlop

One man: Jake Sarnoff, three women; his first wife, Anna Sarnoff, his new, much younger wife Jessica and his first love Sam.

Set in the Seattle tech world where vast fortunes are being made if you can time your IPO well, how can you reap the rewards of your intellectual input if the man you helped to build the company has conveniently forgotten where the ideas came from?

This is an utterly brilliant, light and satisfying novel about marriage, parenting teenagers, new motherhood, trust and betrayal. The central character is so caught up believing his own hype that he completely underestimates the women who have surrounded him, enabled him and sacrificed so much for his success.

I just could not stop reading this, it is immediately engaging and highly propulsive. I just devoured it. Through alternating perspectives we uncover all the secrets that bind these three women to this one man. As they each become familiar with their supposed nemeses, their perspectives alter, and it all comes together in a perfect storm of feminist rage.

This will speak to so many mothers, so many women, anyone who ever got sidelined in the workplace, at home or in life. If this isn't made into a movie, I'll eat my hat. Perfect for readers of Liane Moriarty and Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Publication date: 7th March 2023
With thanks to #netgalley and #zibbybooks for the eGalley

Jake is the man who binds together his college girl friend Samanta, his ex wife (and mother of his sons) Anna, and his pregnant new wife Jessica. These women have been in his orbit but not really in is mind throughout and now things are coming to a head. His company is about to go public but the women aren't getting credit for their contributions. And then his new daughter is taken. This is told primarily by Anna and Sam, who obviously have had the longer relationship with him. It's well written and the characters (except, really, Jake)are both engaging and entertaining. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Terrific read. One man, selfish and sardonic, who has three women revolving around him.
I read this book fast because the chapters slipped by without notice. I had to see if and when Jake would get his reward. He, the spider, that spun the web that intricately linked Jessica, Sam, and Anna.
I thought he deserved to be kicked to the curb and more. The women were far too nice to him and susceptible.
Don’t we all know a snake in the grass??

The style of this reminded me of other favorite domestic suspense/ dramas like Big Little Lies. While not necessarily “action packed” the pacing was fast, the writing was tack sharp, and the characters were multi faceted and understandable in their motivations and actions. I read this in a matter of hours and really enjoyed it!

This was a creative plot and story structure, and the writing is propulsive and engaging. It fell flat in some areas, and the buildup I was waiting for never came, but it was a good read and I learned a lot.

Pub date: 3/7/23
Genre: contemporary fiction
Quick summary: Behind tech mogul Jake Sarnoff are three women he's wronged: his ex-wife Anna, his former girlfriend/cofounder Samanta, and his pregnant current wife, Jessica. And these women are tired of keeping Jake's secrets.

I loved the intrigue and suspense Dunlop built up in this book. It's clear from the beginning that Jake is a scumbag, but it's not clear exactly what he did. And I really enjoyed finding out what he did wrong. I saw echoes of TOMORROW, TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW in Jake's friendship gone wrong with Sam. There are also strong #MeToo themes in this skewering of Seattle's tech elite. I wish there had been a bit more development with the ending, but the story hooked me and was a solid quick read.

If you enjoy books about rich people behaving badly and interconnected stories, you might like this one!

Thank you to Zibby Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A story of three women who are all connected by one man, but trying to do the best they can for themselves and their children. Jake is the CEO of a tech company that created the app Strangers and really only cares about himself and his company, leaving his ex-wife Anna, current wife Jessica, and former girlfriend Sam to try and sort out their lives despite Jake constantly interfering. Sam was integral in creating the algorithm that helped make Strangers so successful and Anna was constantly involved in business decisions and yet Jake never credited either of them for their contributions. Meanwhile, Jessica is treated more as an object than an actual woman. Overall, not a story of twists and turns but rather a commentary on how women are treated or viewed, without considering them as a person in their own right. The ending was a bit abrupt and would have liked to see a bit more go into the conclusion.

The title and description of this book make me want to read it very much. Unfortunately I can’t because the formatting is so bad. For some reason, the letters th are missing from many words.

This is the story of three women (a divorcee, a single mom, the second wife) whose stories unfold and intersect in somewhat implausible ways. I liked the setting (Seattle) and while none of the characters were particularly likeable, I still rooted for them. The second half flew by; the ending seemed abrupt and I would have liked a bit more detail and depth. Overall, a quick, enjoyable read. And not to judge a book by its cover, but this one is beautiful! Big thanks to Zibby Owens, Zibby Books, Netgalley, and the author Andrea Dunlop for this ARC and the opportunity to share my thoughts (all my own).

This propulsive story is set in the elite Seattle tech industry and revolves around Jake Sarano, but it’s not about him. Jake is the type of man that collects women. When he’s in a relationship he’s never all in, and when they end they lack closure. As Jake plans to take his tech company public three women’s lives collide. His ex wife Anna, his college girlfriend Samantha, and his new wife Jessica. The trauma that brings them together brings long buried secrets to the surface as the three women become an unlikely support to one another.
Dunlop does a fantastic job weaving the story in such a way that I found myself relating to each of these women on some level. Although the setting is well crafted to the tech industry the inequalities, the emotions, are universal and happen in big and small ways everywhere.
I recommend for those that enjoy stories with strong women characters and propulsive storytelling. I think it’s especially well suited for buddy reads and bookclubs as there’s so much to discuss!
This drops 3/7/23 so preorder at your local indie bookstore or request at your local library!

Thank you to Zibby Books and Netgalley for the early review copy.

This book is good but it doesn't live up to all the hype surrounding it. The story is interesting enough but the twist isn't much of a twist at all.

This is a quick read - I never wanted to put it down. It is a story of the tech world riches - how this man ditched his partner(s), took his wife and contributions as his own and positioned his platform for an IPO.

Strangers is a similar platform as Facebook, but moderated by volunteers and developed to forge friendships. The women in Jake’s life are constant - his ex, his ex-wife, his wife, his mother. He can’t seem to let any of them go but he’s not present for any of them either. As all of their lives collide, they all try to figure out what kind of person he is.

Women are truly the fiercest creatures and this novel perfectly depicts that truth. With a premise that could have turned into an episode of The Real Housewives, Dunlop ensures we see the the way women rise above so much for the sake of each other, their children and because life simply doesn’t have to be dramatic. Don’t misunderstand, the book is certainly filled with dramatics and unknowns but all the right kinds. I was left wanting to know what would happen next every time I had to put the book down for the night.

Love the title! Love the cover art.

I went into this one blind and I'm so glad I do. I was pleasantly surprised!

In this book we follow Jake Sarno, a tech genius in Seattle, as well as the three women who have been a part of his life. There's Anna, Jake's recent ex-wife and mother of his two boys, Jessica who is the new and significantly younger wife, now pregnant with his daughter and Sam - his ex-girlfriend from college. All three of these ladies are involved in Jake's tangled web.

I loved each of the female characters in this novel. Despite their competing roles for Jake's affection, they are each likable characters with unique stories. These women support each other despite everything Jake and life has thrown at them. The novel was fast paced and hard to put down. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading some of the author's previous novels.

This page-turning novel tells the stories of the women surrounding tech-startup CEO Jake Sarnoff. While the story is told through the perspective of two specific women: Anna, Jake’s ex-wife and Sam, Jake’s former college girlfriend, you also learn about the other women of Jake’s life, including his current (much younger) wife, Jessica, and is over-protective mother, Pam. The story highlights Jake’s selfish tendencies and his history of accepting valuable support, business advice, and even technical expertise from the women in his life without providing them with the proper credit. The novel simultaneously does a great job of developing the female characters of the book in an honest and flawed manner. It was refreshing to watch the stories of Sam and Anna unfold in an imperfect way. While each woman aspired to uplift women (both personally and through their professional endeavors), they sometimes made decisions that were in their own best interest or for the protection of their families to the detriment of the other women in Jake’s life.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy. I am kinda bummed about this one. I’ve really enjoyed Dunlop’s previous books and the premise of this one sounded so interesting. Unfortunately, the execution was not good. I think there was just too much going on and the ending was so rushed, so nothing really got resolved. I don’t normally wish for books to be longer, but I’m pretty sure this one was under 300 pages, so the author could definitely have taken 25-30 additional pages to create some resolution. Also, none of the women ended up being particularly fierce. They were all still pandering to this vile, manipulative man. Ick.