Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is by far my favorite Kristen Hannah book!!! Absolutely FABULOUS!!!!!!! This is a close second to the Nightingale and the Four Winds!

This is the story of Frankie, Barb and Ethel, three fearless women in their very early twenties who volunteered and served in the Vietnam War as nurses. Despite the lie that "no women served in Vietnam", there were MANY women in the service and who volunteered during that war. They faced the ravages of combat as they worked tirelessly to save the injured. All struggled with the trauma, PTSD, addiction, and yet they received no support from the USA, the VA or their loved ones at home.

This is such a well written and researched story about the horrors of war. I was on the edge of my seat with each chapter and love these characters! I have read a little about Vietnam but this book deeply touched me and was so relatable!

If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. Publishes 2/6/2024 and I can't wait to purchase this!!!

As the daughter of Viet Nam vet and a nurse in the Navy, I was sucked in by the story. Many of the experiences of Frankie rang true. I will recommend it.

I always look forward to reading the latest books by Kristin Hannah, but this book has to be my favorite. It follows one particular young woman, Frankie McGrath, a well to do daughter of conservative parents, who gets caught up in the emotions of her time, and when her brother goes off to fight in Vietnam, impulsively lists in the Army Nurse's Corps to make her family proud. Things in Vietnam are much more gritty and heartbreaking than she thought, but Frankie becomes an outstanding combat nurse, and when it is finally her turn to go home finds it extremely difficult to cope with the animosity toward those who served. Moreover, the women who put their lives on the line receive even less assistance and validation than the men, from society and often their own families.

Through Frankie's journey, we are introduced to people she encounters and becomes close to, both male and female. Their characters are fully developed, and one can not help caring about each one of them. Especially the women in her life support each other and provide a lifeline for Frankie in the most difficult times in country as well as back in the states. With this unfailing support Frankie survives so many unspeakable tragedies and heart ache, and despite it all some measure of healing can finally occur.

As always Kristin Hannah takes you to a place in time and in this case shows a mostly unknown aspect of the Vietman War, the contribution of women and the struggles they had to endure because of their service. I loved the strong female characters, and cannot wait to introduce this book to my historical fiction readers, as well as anyone who is inspired by strong female characters.

Coming out on 2/15/24. I rarely read historical fiction books, and I thought I would not like this one because of the war topic and history stuff… well, I’ll be - it is so powerful and enjoyable and exciting! I love it when a story does that to me! It’s a long one, but it doesn’t even feel that way. Add it to your TBR. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars. Let's of memorable dialogue and characters.

It’s 1966 and Frances’ brother has gone off to serve in Vietnam. After deciding she too wants to be a hero, Frances enrolls in the Army as a nurse. Although Frances is fictional, her experiences of sadness, shock, terror, friendship, and love are very real for those that served our country during this time. Thank you to our Veterans, please know that your service is recognized and appreciated. And although this book won’t be released until February 2024, it is available for preorder from your favorite bookseller. Order it now and in a several months it will magically show up in your mailbox - think of it as a gift for your future self! Thank you to @kristinhannahauthor and @netgalley for giving me a copy to review.

You can tell Kristin Hannah really puts the research in for her books and this one is no exception. We never really hear about the women that were nurses and working during the war. This was a perspective that we get into and really learn from.

@kristinhannahauthor is an auto buy author for me - so when I was approved to read The Women from @stmartinspress, my TBR list got pushed aside immediately.

Kristin always writes such beautiful historical fiction that makes you feel like you’re right in the story yourself; she also will tug at your heartstrings and leave you weeping in a way that brings out of the emotions.

The Woman, set during the Vietnam war, shows the American opinion and how it shifted from support to distain; finally succumbing to the shock of the lies about fatalities and more. Main Character Frankie McGrath, daughter of a military family, decides to enlist in the Army as a nurse after her brother left for Vietnam. Frankie wants to be part of the Hero Wall in her father’s office and she’s been raised at the honorable service of serving. But Frankie is thrown to the wolves as she barely has training as a nurse and is tossed right in to a critical need to help aid the wounded. Lucky for Frankie, two amazing woman, Ethel & Barb, take her under their wings and a forever bond is formed. Frankie serves two tours before heading back home to California.

But what she wasn’t prepared for was life being beyond challenging to reintegrate; the criticism she endured when people mock her that “women weren’t even in Vietnam.” Even her own parents are shamed by her enlisting. What Frankie goes through is tough to read, but really sheds like on a terrible War; please read the trigger warnings for this book.

Kristin always throws here characters is to the toughest situations make her stories so realistic. Most importantly is talking about a war that people don’t like to speak about! Another 5 star read

I have read so many of Kristin Hannah's books and I am always so impressed with the way she writes women. Although her books span so many different points in history and geography, the common thread is always the female heart.

I knew very little about the experiences of Vietnam nurses and this depiction was harrowing and eye opening. More importantly though, Hannah did an excellent job exploring the topic of PTSD, something I am personally familiar with.

Frankie's character changes SO much throughout the span of the story, and as I neared the end I was fearful that she didn't have enough time for her 'rise from the ashes'. If I have any complaint, which is rare when I rate a book 5 stars, its that I wanted to see more of her final act... maybe 50 more pages!

The Women really just focuses on one woman. This is not a novel about women, as the title suggests. It is a novel that pay homage to the women who served in Vietnam as surgical nurses by using just one woman to experience all that many women endured. A group of women experiencing everything that happened during the war is one of the strengths of The Women. Unfortunately, having one woman experience everything that happened after the war, causes The Women to lose focus. I realize that most reviewers feel differently, but all that I can do is review a book based on how it felt to me. The Women felt lost and disjointed.

For the first half of the novel, author Kristin Hannah focuses on Vietnam and the trauma of being a surgical nurse under attack. In this setting there are 3 women, who bond, but the focus remains on Frankie, as the protagonist. The section on the war is well done historical fiction. Where the book loses its center is in the last half of the novel, when The Women becomes soap opera. I am of that generation and remember all that Frankie endures, but having just one woman endure everything that happened is overwhelming. I kept waiting for the novel to end, but Hannah kept adding more and more trauma and tragedy to the story. Telling the story of that period does not mean that everything has to happen to one woman, Frankie. The title suggests many women suffered the trauma of war. Let Frankie meet other women who endure PTSD, and let those other women have some of the terrible problems that were caused by the war. The Women can still be Frankie's story without reading like she endures all of Pharaoh's plagues. Tighter editing would help solve some of these issues.

Killing off characters and then resurrecting them is an unpleasant trick to play on readers. Once was enough, but not twice--please. I will add that the second resurrection was far better than the first, which would benefit from being deleted. Reading The Women evoked sadness and pain at how Vietnam veterans endured the war. That is the emotion that Hannah is striving for and it works well in the first half of the novel. It is less successful after Frankie arrives home to endure what begins to feel like manipulation of the reader. Just as many women endured the war in Vietnam in many different ways, having many women endure the trauma of life after war would have been a better success. It is only in the last 30 minutes of the novel that the author allows these groups of women who find strength in one another finally surface.

Thank you to the author and to the publisher, St. Martins Press, for providing this ARC for me to read and review. The comments above are my honest response to The Women. I really wanted to love The Women and am so sad that I did not.
Thank you also to NetGalley for helping me to discover so many new authors.

When her brother's plane is shot down over Vietnam, Frankie is determined to honor his memory. Impulsively, she joins the Army Nurse Corp and is shipped away from her conservative family and idyllic life in California. Thrust into the jungles of Vietnam, she is shocked and overwhelmed by the horrors of war. Two nurses take Frankie under their wings and help her survive and even thrive. When her tour is over, Frankie returns home, only to be spit upon, looked down at, and vilified for her service.

Wow. Just wow. I'm not sure I've read much about Vietnam, and was appalled at how the public treated these returning heroes. Frankie not only had to deal with an unpopular war, but with being denied because she was a woman. It was definitely a double blow. The book itself was well written and engaging, I am very glad that it included experiences and troubles after the war. I think so many books stop when the hero goes home. Overall, highly recommended!

The Women by Kristen Hannah tells the story of Frankie (Frances) McGrath a nurse who decides to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War. What a Read! Well researched. Believable. Great characters. A true telling of how veterans were treated after the war and PTSD. A tribute to all veterans for their service. I highly recommend! Thank you to NetGallery and St Martins Press for letting me review this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

What an emotional punch this packed. Raw, and beautiful. What a testament to female friendships, unwavering love and the will to survive. Not a dry eye by the end of this!

Kristen Hannah blows your mind with the depth of this book and leaves you with so much to unpack.  The Vietnam War was an extremely controversial war and one of the longest in US history. Returning soldiers experienced indifference, scorn, and lack of support. Frankie McGrath follows her brother to war to serve as an Army Corps Nurse and becomes a highly competent surgical nurse. Upon her return home after two tours, she finds it hard to fit back into the mold expected of women. On the home front, she fights to heal and for acknowledgment of her contribution to her country. While being continually told that no women served in Vitenam, her anger and PTSD lead her down a path of destruction in a raw view of how war can affect a person.

If you read 'The Nightingale' and/or 'The Four Winds' and you thought those stories were traumatizing and intense, 'The Women' seems to be a whole other level of heartache. The basic story is about women who went to Vietnam in 1966/67 as nurses. It's about their experiences there, the horrors they witnessed and lived through, their friendships, loves, and loss. It's about how their experience in Vietnam changed them as people and how it changed the people they became once they were back in the states. I had a hard time putting this one down and really got absorbed in the story. It moves at a nice pace for those who felt 'The Four Winds' was too descriptive and dragged.

The main character, twenty-year-old Frances (Frankie) McGrath, has seen her affluent family send her brother to war, earning his place in her father’s study, the “Wall of Heroes.” She decides she must go as well, serve with her newly minted nurse’s degree and license. She signs up with the Army.

Hannah paints an accurate picture of the desperate understaffed situation, the shocking living conditions, the lack of adequate equipment, and the appalling weather.

Her hooch is shared by Ethel and Barb who become close-knit friends and allies throughout the remainder of the narrative. Together, in country, they endure artillery fire, heat, casualties, and sexism.

Exposed to the same Agent Orange as the men are will have catastrophic effects on the women as well, but after two tours, her welcome home doesn’t happen. She is met with derision, a nation sharply divided, a shocking atmosphere. Even her own family appeared to be ashamed of her service. Assimilation did not go well. She is left with severe PTSD and told by the VA that there were no women in ‘Nam.

The characters felt real, the scenes so graphic you could smell them, choke from the clouds of napalm, smell the blood. I heard those songs of protest again. So powerful. Try as I might, could not stop the tears.

The horrible loss.

This powerful book will go to the top of my favorites list for the year.

I am a fan of Kristin Hannah's writing, and this book did not disappoint. It would be perfect for in depth book club discussions.

The story is a solid 5 stars! Sheltered and wealthy Frankie leaves her California home to train as a nurse and serve in Vietnam. The subject matter is hard to read at times, but the book gives an overdue honor to women who served in the Vietnam War.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“The Women” follows the story of Frances “Frankie” McGrath. A twenty-year-old girl from a wealthy, conservative, patriotic home who has completed nursing school because it was an acceptable position for a girl in the 60’s before she marries and becomes a housewife. Her brother is sent to Vietnam and Frankie struggles with him being gone. Frankie begins her shifts at the hospital learning that she is only able to change bed pans and fluff pillows. She makes the impulsive decision to join the Army Nurse Corps and follow her brother to Vietnam.
Frankie’s character is a love/hate. At times, her decision making is frustrating and over the top, but it is a reminder that she is twenty years old in a place no one should be. Hannah not only develops her character but shows how the war and experiences made her grow up quickly. The choices she makes after she returns from Vietnam are heartbreaking. Days after reading, I am still stuck on VA professionals saying there were “no women in Vietnam.” There are places that are hard to read especially for someone who does not realize how bad the 60s were in America especially for soldiers coming back from Vietnam. Kristina Hannah created a novel that provides so much history and knowledge of a time in America is seldom talked about, and most would like to forget. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Frances “Frankie” McCrath becomes a nurse and follows in her brother’s footsteps to Viet Nam. Her father was so proud of her brother going to war—and incredibly ashamed of his daughter doing the same thing when obviously she should be busy getting married and having babies.

She sees the horrors of war not just on American soldiers and marines, but also civilians—including children. When she gets home, the nightmares continue. Fourth of July fireworks have her ducking for cover—to the confusion of other party guests. When she goes for help at veterans organizations, she’s told there were no women in Viet Nam—including being completely ignored by fellow veterans. Fortunately she made two great friends while in-country, and, even though they live in various parts of the country, they are there for each other when no one else is.

Other movies and books have female nurses or spies, but everything I’ve seen about Viet Nam is about the men. The novel spans several years of a tumultuous time in American history for women and civil rights and the way our government lied to us at the expense of many lives—not just lives lost but addiction and PTSD and other mental challenges.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES FEBRUARY 6, 2024.

In the main character, Frankie McGrath, we find a part of humanity that we've all embodied at some point in our lives. Frankie is altruistic, optimistic, and has an audacious belief in herself and the world. But Frankie finds time and again that while she clings to her youthful naivety, she finds time and again throughout this book that if her life is going to be what she hopes, she will have to be the one to make it so.
Hannah has written The Women in the most heart-wrenching way imaginable. It is not a romantic or glazed version of the Vietnam war, which is what made it so gripping.
This is a book I wish I could read again for the first time, over and over and over.

A great history of the forgotten women who served & saved lives in Vietnam. A sad reminder of how our country dismissed those who served, the shame they carried & their deep struggle to cope & come out on the other side.