Part historical, part fiction, this book brings to life a period I was unfamiliar with in regards to society's view of women in the Vietnam War. Deals with PTSD in a compassionate, thoughtful way from many different viewpoints. Vividly portrays war and it's affect on different personalities and how they deal with it. Weaves in modern love themes and heartbreak and happiness. I wanted to see where the book would end and how each part of the story would tie up.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is absolutely a wonderful read. This is a book that I have already recommended to many of my friends and they too loved it. This story takes you through so many feelings and emotions and has so much in it - the horror of war, falling in love, family ties and family drama, friendships, mental health, agony and despair, the comfort of loved ones, etc. This is a story that you keep thinking about long after finishing the last page and closing the cover. I also feel that I understand a little bit more of what was happening in the world when I was a small child without a care in the world. Bravo to the author on an incredible story and the research done to bring it to the pages of this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book .

Hannah has written another great historical story. This is a story I will recommend as the nursing women who went to Vietnam should always be remembered. Frankie’s sacrifice both overseas and upon returning home was heartbreaking but she persevered admirably as did her women friends. Be prepared to cry, be angry, and cheer for these women.

A hard story to read yet so grateful for the reminder. The friendships formed during the war were sometimes all that would help them survive. The courage Frankie and the nurses displayed was heroic. The way they were treated when they returned home was horrific. It was eye opening to see how they were treated not only by strangers but their own families. Thank you Kristin Hannah, NetGalley, and for all of our Armed Forces.

Oh my, this book is everything a book should be. It is the type of writing that a reader craves, pulling you in and not letting you go. I hated when I had to put my bookmark in and pause my reading. I read this whenever I could, finishing it in a few days time. It's the type of book that will stay with you long after you read the last page.

The story was beautifully written, centered around Frances (Frankie) who signed up to be an Army nurse in Vietnam afer being told by one of her brother's Navy friends that women can be heroes too. The book follows her journey to Vietnam and what her life becomes after Vietnam. The people she meets, the loss she experiences, the things she has to deal with while there, the treatment she receives after coming home. All of it is filled with emotion and written so well that you feel like you're there, in that time period, with her. You fall for the men she meets along the way, you want to be friends with Ethel and Barb because the three women seem to have an inner strength that can be admired for generations to come. You find yourself crying and praying, wanting all of them to be able to survive the war they find themselves in.

I usually am not drawn to historical fiction, but if Kristin Hannah is the one writing it, I will always read it. She is masterful at her craft.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes you on Frankie's journey of what it was like being a a woman serving during in the Vietnam War.
This was my first Kristin Hannah book and I loved it. I gulped it up so quickly and raved about it after I finished. I was so happy to get the chance to read this advanced copy and am looking forward to reading more from the author. I already went out and bought The Nightingale.
Thank you to St Martin's Press, Kristin Hannah and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. All the stars!

This very quickly became my favorite Kristin Hannah book, along with the Nightingale. I loved everything about this book, I read it in one sitting. I was texting my friend my reactions and to see what emotions, outrage, happiness, etc. I went through during the book was fun to read back. I thought watching Frankie's transformation from a naive young woman to building confidence to things that happened after coming back from Vietnam to her ending was magnificent. I had no idea how many women were serving as nurses in Vietnam, seeing the atrociities, and then coming home and they were not treated as veterans. Showed the misogyny at the time, that still exists to be honest, and how Frankie worked through that. 10/10 would read again and I've already recommended it to multiple friends.

This book was such a roller coaster. I have never read a historical fiction book set in the Vietnam War, and I do not feel we learn much about it in school. I learned so much about the true devastation that occurred in this war. I was so invested in Frankie's story and following her as she came back from war and tried to be a "regular person" again. It was very eye-opening to see the lack of support for veterans and their struggles during this time. I loved the friendships between Frankie, Barb and Ethel in the book and how they never gave up on each other. This book took me on an emotional ride but I really enjoyed it from beginning to end!

The Women was a very good book, we don't really think that much about women in the Vietnam War yet I realize that they have been in service for years. The setting for this book was during a dark time in US history, I believe she did a very good job catching the essence of the situation. I would recommend to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This book made me realize how little I actually know about the Vietnam War. I really appreciated learning more about the War, as well as the political strife in the United States during the War. I sped through the first half of the book, but I felt like the second half was harder to get through and, at times, overly dramatic. As a mental health practitioner, I appreciated the portrayal of PTSD but felt like Hannah overdid it. As many other reviewers have noted, Hannah tends to "tell, not show" and beats you over the head with some of her themes. Overall, I still really enjoyed this book and it sparked my interest in learning more about this time in history.

This is the first book set during the Vietnam War that I've ever read. My knowledge of what it was like for women there comes solely from watching China Beach, so as limited as you would assume. Hannah does not pull any punches in this unflinching portrayal of what the main character, Frankie McGrath, goes through from the moment she makes the decision to enlist and go to 'Nam until the end of the book. It's an emotional book, it's raw, it's compelling. Now that I've finished it, I want to read more, maybe some nonfiction about Vietnam War nurses.

Another absolutely amazing work of historical fiction by Kristin Hannah. I think this is my favorite of all of her works. To read about the women who were there in Vietnam was amazing! This is a very often left out piece of the Vietnam War. Highly recommend for all Adult Fiction collections.

A wonderful new one by the ever talented Kristin Hannah. Even tho I lived through the Vietnam War, I learned so much from her careful research and always good plots. Finally, women who served in Vietnam (nurses) are getting their due.

To say I was excited when I received an e-arc of The Women by Kristin Hannah would be an understatement. My mom used to read a lot of her books when I was young (if not, every single one she’s written), and would read us bits and pieces before going to bed. So not only are there fond memories attached to Hannah and her work, but the noticable shift in style and content from her most recent releases have been extremely well received.

Hannah’s most recent works have felt slightly different than others from the past, and that’s not to say her older works aren’t just as good, but these newer novels feel more abundant, extend beyond relationships and feel more connected and grounded to the real world, while maintaining that original style of writing that made us fall in love with her work in the first place.

The Women by Kristin Hannah follows the experiences of the protagonist, Frankie, who is unsatisfied with the cushy lifestyle her parents provide along with their overwhelming pressure to live what she considers to be an “unfulfilling” life. The long line of men in the family have all honorably served in the Navy, and have earned their spot on her father’s “hero” wall of Veterans. As her brother prepares to deploy out to Vietnam, Frankie decides that she too can earn a spot on the hero wall by enlisting in the Army Nurse Corps proving that women too can be heroes and that she can earn a spot on the wall regardless of the stereotypical expectations set for women at the time.

Hannah depicts the mindsets and thought processes most upper class Americans had at the time — “the war in Vietnam is barely a war”; “it’ll be over soon”; “we are winning”. Frankie and her brother serve as examples of the great amount of men and women who did not understand the gravity of what they had signed up for due to the propaganda and misinformation.

The Women is a story that represents not just the destruction and trauma of the Vietnam war, but also the aftermath. The experience of coming home to a politically divided America, believing you set out supporting a good cause, living in a constant state of life or death, but never receiving that recognition and instead met with disgust, shame, and resentment upon return.

At first, I did not like the title of the book “The Women”. I felt that it was a bit redundant — a little too blatant. But now knowing that the women Frankie, Barb, and Ethel represent, who deliberately put themselves in harms way to help others never received recognition, were completely forgotten, to know that their experiences, PTSD, and efforts to assimilate back into everyday life were met with the same response of “there were no women in Vietnam” brings about a deep respect for these women, and what better way than to honor their sacrifice and commitment than the name “The Women”.

While there is great controversy surrounding the ethics and politics of the war in Vietnam, it’s important for untold stories and experiences to be heard, and not be forgotten. While many point of views surrounding this topic have yet to be told, or rather continue to be oppressed, I believe Hannah took great care in highlighting the voices of these women.

Kristen Hannah can really do no wrong. I loved this book just as much as the Nightingale possibly even a little bit more. I haven’t read much historical fiction about the Vietnam war especially not many featuring women. Unfortunately the stories are not told often enough. Frankie, Barb and Ethel’s friendship is linked by tragedy, but is also a beautiful story. Anyone should be so lucky to have a friendship like the three of them have. This book was beautifully written, and but also difficult to read, because there was so much death. The last hundred pages put me through the wringer in the best way possible. And I loved how Kristin Hannah showed Frankie‘s life before during, and after the war. The focus on PTSD and the struggles returning from the war were real and heartbreaking. I love the ending especially the growth Frankie experienced. This was a perfect book to read during women’s history month and always.

**Thank you to Netgalley for the free review copy**

Kristin Hannah is an auto-buy author for me. The Women is an incredibly well-written novel that will split your soul in two and stitch it back together again. 5 Stars!

The Women by Kristin Hannah is a 400 plus book I inhaled in a day and a half–I could not put this down. Hannah is a masterful writer and isn’t afraid to tackle hard topics in such a readable way. I’m so glad I read this–I learned so much.

The Women is hands down the best historical fiction book I have ever read. It was a bookclub pick and everyone in my bookclub was stunned at the impact this book had on all of us. We had read many books about WW1 and WW2, but never Vietnam. This book opened our eyes to that time period in a way that was not political, just human. Beware - this book is not an easy read. Kristin Hannah gets down to the nitty gritty with details so you feel you are in the moment, right next to the main character, trying to save the lives of young soldiers in the middle of a horrific battle. It's shocking, it's sad, it's a triumph of human spirit over all of the horrible aspects of war. I cannot recommend this book enough!

Frankie is a young woman who decides to join the Army as a nurse during the Vietnam War. I appreciated that Hannah tackled this topic and focused on the female heroes of the Vietnam War. They deserve recognition. The first half of the book set in vietnam really captured the setting and atrocities of war. However, the second half of the book felt melodramatic and gave me a bit of a bad soap opera vibe. The love stories didn’t feel believable to me and the incessant traumas felt overdone.

This historical fiction novel provides insight into the events of and lives affected by the Vietnam War. Its focus is on the women who served as nurses during the war. As the author reminds readers quite frequently and dramatically, American women were not thought to have been in Vietnam during the war. The first part of the story focuses on Frankie McGrath’s traumatic time in Vietnam; the second half covers her difficulties coping once she returns.

The story is interesting and informative, but I had a few problems with it. The title implies that the story is about women, plural, but we really don’t learn much about the other nurses or any other women. Most of the characters are cliches: the handsome pilots with chiseled features and aviator sunglasses, the black nurse who becomes an activist, the small-town nurse who goes home to the farm, marries her boyfriend, and raises a family. Frankie is the poor little rich girl who returns home to her completely oblique and cruel parents who don’t understand her but nonetheless provide her with a cottage near the beach to reside in rent free. No one understands her. She spirals downward as a result of PTSD, but her plight lacks tension because the plot feels flat. This happened, then that happened, followed by this. The events are supposed to be dramatic and emotional, but that’s the issue. Hannah creates drama through the never ending tragedy of events rather than realistic characterization. And many of those plot points require an excessive suspension of disbelief. Some of the historical details lack credibility, too. The way that her friends of little means are able to fly cross-country at a moment’s notice is not typical of the time, and some of the dialogue doesn’t ring true.

Overall, The Women is readable. The recreation of the time period is interesting and important. But the cliched characters and unbelievable storyline are distracting.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book. My review is voluntary and reflects my honest opinion.