I have mixed feelings about this - I think the first half was absolutely gripping, emotional and intense. The second half fell apart for me a few times, especially with all of the relationship drama. (It felt almost out of place given the other traumatic events Frankie had been through).

Overall a solid read - I’m always looking for historical fiction not set during WWII so this was particularly refreshing to read.

Kristin Hannah is a Favorite Author and this book is Exceptional. It is an absorbing story dealing with women’s often unrecognized role in war. This one takes place in the 1960’s and during the Vietnam War. The book really is a no holds look at the horror war causes, especially the Vietnam War as it went on for so long and many wanted it to stop.

The Main Character, Frankie, I have felt for so much. It is incredible how dismissed women were. She does not realize what a dangerous place she will be in as she is not told when she signs up. She actually takes her flight to Vietnam in her White Uniform, including a girdle and panty hose! She joins the Army Combat Nurses, and is always close to serious danger. She also is responsible for trying to save the lives of all the injured young men and also civilians who are brought to her Evacuation Hospital. It is chilling. Yet, Frankie is an exceptional Nurse and has superb Surgical Skills. The scenes are vivid and feel exceptionally real.

Going home is always on her mind, but what will that be like? It ends up this is where the book really became emotional for me. Frankie is expected to be the young, naive, and carefree girl she used to be. This of course is not possible. Yet, she is treated badly as she returns to America. People curse and spit at Veterans. She is supposed to both carry the shame of all the conflicting feeling of this war and also just move on with her life easily. Since, women were told they were not even in combat zones, their role was not even noticed. It also makes her feel so alienated since she can’t even speak about her experience with other Veterans. She is dismissed. This I found especially hard to take in as I was a young girl when the war was ending, yet I remember hearing Veterans cursed at and called names. I always remember thinking that was really wrong. Frankie has an understandable difficult time readjusting to regular life. She is troubled, confused, and angry. She should have been able to get the help she needed. So, yes she is a strong woman, but also a wounded person due to the way she is treated. There is always a thread of hope throughout the book that Frankie will fight very hard to find her new self. I really loved her character.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Kristin Hannah, and NetGalley for granting me a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read and am happy to do so.

I loved the Great Alone. The Four Winds was super hard. I was nervous about The Women. j

The Women is the story of Frankie, a society girl turned war nurse during the Vietnam war. What she sees, the trauma and loss that she experiences and how she recovers are all played out on page with a brutal honesty that was at both times hard to read and also completely page turning. My favorite parts of the story included her relationship with Ethel and Barb. Those life long female friendships are priceless and when they are displayed on page it's the best.

This book has tough times. It's not easy to read in places, but know that it all comes together in the end and you will leave feeling ok.

Not my favorite Kristin Hannah but this could just be a me problem. This was obviously well-researched and a difficult but worthwhile subject to tackle. I just didn’t love the romance subplots or the amount of trauma that was inflicted on the main character. On one hand, some bits were definitely historically accurate so I got it, but I felt like there was just so much happening to the one character that it was exhausting. Overall, just a bit long and repetitive (especially near the end when Hannah emphasized “the women” in almost every sentence).

4.5 stars rounded up.

I was I high school when the Vietnam War started and I have to admit that I didn’t pay much attention until several years later in college when I found myself in a protest march on campus. I was more aware then or at least I thought I was. I had learned that a high school friend was killed there. The focus then was on the young men killed, the innocents of the region bombed, the insanity of the war. I never gave a thought about the women who served in the military as nurses, who saved so many, who experienced the trauma of seeing mutilated bodies, held the hands of those who wouldn’t come home. I never thought of the nurses who worked tirelessly under horrible conditions, who through their stamina and skill made it possible for so many to come home. Had I thought about them I never would have imagined that they would not be considered veterans. Kristin Hannah in this novel though the character of Frankie McGrath and her two best friends brings light and honor to the women who served.

It’s a stunning read, not for the faint of heart, with vivid descriptions of the wounds and loss of limbs and loss of life. It portrays the grueling days and nights of these women as well as the doctors vividly. Their physical and emotional exhaustion and how they cope with sometimes heartbreaking effect. Frankie’s life after she returned home is heart wrenching. Highly recommend for those who remember the times and for those who don’t. It’s an eye opener that will punch you in the gut, but it’s worth it.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

This book used every Vietnam trope known to man, and the story was entirely predictable - BUT - it was good. It was a solid read, hard to put down - I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I don't know what was more surprising to me - the fact that it made me cry, or the fact that I got something out of the perspective of the story.

It's important to revisit our war stories even know when know we've read a lot of books about them because in the hands of the right author they have something new to offer. Hannah is hit and miss for me, I loved The Nightingale and hated The Great Alone. The love stories in this book definitely featured prominently which I think took away a bit. But the good about it far outweighed the bad. Being a nurse in Vietnam is potentially one of the most underrated experiences out there and I was glad to have gotten a glimpse of it.

This is my favorite read from Kristin Hannah so far. What a powerful story giving us a window into the lives of our Vietnam soldiers and nurses.

Part 1 gives us an inside look at army nursing on a battlefield through the eyes of Frankie McGrath. Deplorable living conditions, incoming wounded at all hours, and having to say good bye to patients who die on the table, those who return stateside, and the coworkers who end their tours and go back to their old lives. No one prepares Frankie for her return home. She is spit upon, yelled at, and even her parents pretended she was abroad rather than tell their friends what she was really doing.

Part 2 is Frankie's continued unravelling as even the VA turns her away when she asks for help. She hears over and over that there weren't any women in Vietnam! Every veteran is unique and Frankie simply could not move ahead in the same way that her best friends had.

What is so clear is the need for our veterans to talk about their experiences -- especially with others who have been there, too. A few years ago I heard a Vietnam nurse talk about a group she has been working with to help veterans heal by taking them back in country with other vets. Her name is Lou Eisenbrandt and I highly recommend her book: Vietnam Nurse which won a Silver Medal Award from the Military Writers Society of America. I also want to commend Julia Whelan for her excellent performance in narrating this new release.

A big thank you to St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for both digital and audio ARCs of this new title in exchange for an honest review.

I love Kristin Hannah books. I sell them all the time at the store. One of my favourites is Nightingale. I was excited for a new Kristin Hannah book. Unfortunately, this book is not for me. I'm certain it is an excellent story and well written. I just found some of the details too graphic. I know this is a book about war but I wasn't expecting in depth details of wounds and death. I was struggling to keep reading but page 65 when the doctor saws off the hand of a young girl was too much for me. I will still recommend it because it's Kristin Hannah but with a warning.

What an emotional, well-written story of the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War, The Women. I was in elementary and middle school during the war. I remember the sadness and heartbreak when the soldiers returned home, not receiving the recognition they deserved. I wore a couple of POW/MIA bracelets; one came home and one never did. I didn’t know the story of the women who served, though. Just as in other historical events that should never be forgotten, we need to remember the heroic actions of both the men and women who served their country during a very controversial war. And we need to honor their service. In my opinion, this is a must read for everyone!

“Women can be heroes too”…these words change everything that young nursing student Frankie thought she knew. It’s the 1960s, the country is changing and the war in Vietnam is raging. Though Frankie has always prided herself on being a good girl and doing what her parents expect of her, she impulsively joins the Army Nursing Corp after her brother ships out to Vietnam. She is shocked by what she encounters - why is the savage reality of the war so very different from what the American Media has been reporting? Frankie learns quickly and by the time her tour is over, she doesn’t know how to function back home. Worse still, the country’s opinion of the war has changed drastically from when she left. The returning heroes are treated like criminals. Throughout the years, she struggles to find a place in the world but nothing seems right anymore.

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite writers. Her books always draw me in with their carefully crafted plots, complex characters and so much humanity and emotion. “The Women” is no different. Told from Frankie’s perspective, we follow her to Vietnam, back home and on a long journey of self-discovery and healing. Her story was so emotionally charged and I thought Hannah did a very respectful job describing what it must feel like for a veteran returning to regular life after seeing the atrocities of war. As Frankie heard repeatedly, “there were no women in Vietnam”, but there were - they were nursing, right down in the thick of it alongside the men. It was so frustrating to see her dismissed over and over again, and I was rooting so hard for her to find her way. In “The Women”, Kristin Hannah brings a time in history alive so beautifully. Don’t skip the author’s note at the end, as she explains why this part of history is so dear to her. I am SO glad I had the audio for this (narrated by January LaVoy with an appearance from Kristin Hannah too), because I simply could not stop until I knew how the story ended! Easily a contender for book of the year.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Kristin Hannah for the ARC! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

This is what I love about historical fiction. In the hands of master storyteller Kristin Hannah, THE WOMEN follows Frankie as she enlists to serve as a nurse in Vietnam. What starts off as a war story evolves into a thoughtful exploration of PTSD, sexism in the military, and reimagining a new life when old dreams are stripped away.

The women were overlooked, undervalued upon their return, and left to feel ashamed about their service. I appreciated how Hannah shines a light on the women who served and how their experience returning home differed from that of their male counterparts.

You can bet you’ll see this one make an appearance in my Winter Reading Guide out January 11th!

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 stars)
PUB DATE: February 6, 2024

Many thanks to Saint Martin’s Press for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE EASIEST 5 STAR READ I HAVE EVER READ.

Kristin Hannah absolutely transports readers into the trauma, political environment, gender divide and more of the Vietnam War. I felt this book deep in my soul and was immersed into this story. I know very little about the Vietnam War and Hannah shows the atrocities of the war, both in the war itself and how we treated the veteran's. She handles it with grace and does not hold back. I wanted our main character to find joy and peace and loved how every aspect of this story unfolded. This book put me in the worst book hangover. Highly recommend.

Thank you MacMillan audio and St Martin's Press for copies of The Women by Kristin Hannah. My thoughts are my own and heck many people will read this because it's a great theme and a popular author.

And yet my two cents:

Kristin Hannah always does a great job of finding an interesting/women in history topic and delivering a thought provoking set of themes and contexts but... it's the same story, a naive woman finds herself in a space where she has to learn quickly to adapt/becomes stronger than she realizes, encounters a range of challenges and tragedies, complicated romance issues arise, and she has to show resilience in the face of trauma and adversity and comes out some how stronger but damaged for all that she endured. Does this work for many readers? Sure and that's great, it just feels like the settings and real world history, and more diverse identities...., need more that the run through the big and expected themes.

This is book is also LONG, it felt like there were some parts that could have been streamlined more, edited out and the main themes and plot points would not have been lost.

What does work: 100% here for the themes on veterans and mental health and public support, themes on political discord, and of course recognizing all who did serve in the Vietnam war.

Did I still find myself sucked in at times, well yes I did and that's the little magic of the author and a lot of the joy of listening to Julia Whelan make me care about the work she narrates.

5 star plot potential, 3-4 star execution for me, 5 star audio narration

You will 100% need tissues handy as you read this book! Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down. The story will tear at your heartstrings and you will go through many emotions reading it. The multi year joury we go on with Frankie is one that will stay with me. You will connect with the characters and feel like they are part of you. Such a beautiful story and so well written.

Amazing story. Well researched and written with a compelling setting and brave strong characters. Her best yet!

I am writing this review through a veritable CURTAIN of tears because I am fully sobbing. This book was incredible.

Before I began this book, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to get into a historical fiction right now (too much brain power for my sleep deprived state - children teething with a cold should be outlawed!) but I needn’t have worried; I was swept up into the story from the very start.

Frankie was a remarkable heroine. This book was chock full of incredible characters, all of which came off as incredibly real, sometimes painfully so. The writing of this novel was impeccable. I felt such strong emotions as I made my way through the book and through Frankie’s story (as evidenced by my sob fest at the end). When Frankie was longing, I also longed. When Frankie felt obsessed, I also felt obsessed. When she was despondent, I was in the pits with her. The writing was just that strong.

I do wish a little more post-war time had been spent describing her interactions with Ethel and Barb (like their time in Virginia) or her time working as a nurse - a lot of it was dedicated to her repetitive destructive cycle. I understand why that was - there was no shying away from the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life, especially given the circumstances. But I felt like it might’ve helped balance things a bit. Regardless, Kristin Hannah is an unimpeachably magnificent author and researcher. I learned SO much from this book. I also loved how in her note, she said that she conceived of this book many years ago but didn’t feel she was a strong enough writer to take on this topic at the time. Well, she certainly did it justice now. Talk about self-awareness! I’m so glad she waited so that we could all be treated to this absolute masterpiece.

I would read it all over again, but I’m still reeling from all the emotions. I couldn’t put this down. I was actually happy when my daughter woke up overnight because it meant I could rock her back to sleep while reading. I don’t know if I’ve experienced a “book hangover” before - but I think it’s what I’m feeling right now. It’s going to be a few days before I can get into a new one, and even then, I’m afraid it’s going to feel like I’m cheating on The Women.

I loved this. Is that clear? Highly, highly, highly recommend. Thank you so very much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review. I’ll be preordering this, no question.

5/5 stars, as if that wasn’t obvious.

My first Kristin Hannah novel and I absolutely loved it!
I’ve heard various things about Hannah and her style of writing but I throughly enjoyed The Women.
It is an unflinching portrayal of the women whose contributions in war are forgotten. An aspect that drew me in was Hannah’s portrayal of her protagonist — an imperfect and flawed woman who struggles with her traumas from the war. I don’t see it enough how trauma effects people’s decision-making and relationships with people in general, so I loved that Hannah made that apparent.

Wow! I just finished Kristin Hannah's upcoming novel The Women. And WoW again .

The story follows a young nurse., Frankie who volunteers to join the Army during Vietnam. It chronicles her life during the war and after. A woman joining the war effort was not recognized back then and not spoken about. You can not help but to fall in love with Frankie and feel her joys, sorrow and pain. The bond the veteran women in the story make during their tour for life is fierce and loyal,

I was a baby at the tail end of the war. I read a lot of WW2 historical fiction. I believe this was a first for me reading a Vietnam one. Thank you Kristin Hannah for telling a story that was way over due to be told. I can wait for e the tv series this better become!! #NetGalley #KrisitnHannah #Stmartinspress #TheWomen

Kristin Hannah is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Her books are well written, with real life characters and are very thought provoking novels. So far I have loved all her books that I have read.

An amazing and inspiring story of a young woman who was a nurse during the Vietnam war. Her trials, friendships, relationships and the aftermath of war are explored in this book. The details of the struggles, the ptsd, drug and alcohol addictions and trying to get back to normal life after serving are brought to life by the author so perfectly, it makes you feel like you were there with them. The women faced such hardships coming back from war with little to no support.

This book is highly readable and not just a story of the past, it is a reminder of what we shouldn’t forget in the present.

I highly recommend reading this story. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for an advance Copt of this book.

This book. Oh man. It really did something to me. I tried to keep myself emotionally distant while I was reading it because this is not my first rodeo with Kristin Hannah but she still managed to get to me. She just has this way of shining a spotlight on the ugly things in life put somehow manages to still find the beautiful. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know if I would finish this book, it was so raw. The field hospitals of Vietnam in the late 1960’s were the stuff of nightmares. And as bad at is was being under mortar attack while trying to save the lives of the wounded and dying, it was actually harder for me to go with Frankie back to the United States when her tour was over. I did not want to be affected by what Frankie went through. I wanted to keep my ignorance about Vietnam, I didn’t want to think too hard about the way thousands of lives were obliterated either in literal death or PTSD and it’s aftermath. But this book wouldn’t let me do that. And even when Frankie was hard to like, I never stopped cheering her on. I wanted peace for our girl.
I loved both "The Nightingale" and "The Great Alone" and I'll always have a fond place in my heart for them, but "The Women" will be one I take with me forever. It actually changed the way I think about a vital part of our history. It broke me and with tender patient hands helped me find new ground, albeit on unsteady feet. This book is hard, and real, and my feelings are messy and complicated. Also, please note that the trigger warning for this book is longer than your Costco receipt. You will need to be brave. But I do not think you will be sorry.