What an amazing read!!! I absolutely cried my eyes out reading this book! I love so many of Kristin’s books but this one takes the top spot what a heart wrenching tale that absolutely gutted me, written so beautifully.

The Women is an exceptional historical saga that left me deeply affected. As a long-time fan of Hannah's work, I’ve found each of her novels grimmer than the last, and The Women is no exception. It brilliantly but painfully portrays the life of Frances "Frankie" McGrath, a young nurse who serves in the Vietnam War.

Hannah’s historical detail about the war, protests, music, and cultural tidbits transport readers back to the turbulent 1960s and 70s. The vivid settings and descriptions of the horrors of war are so powerful that you can almost feel the oppressive heat and humidity of Vietnam and hear the screams of those waiting in triage. The living conditions of the nurses were horrendous, and Hannah spares no detail in showcasing their daily struggles.

Frankie's journey is heart-wrenching. Her emotional suffering and the love story that unfolds made me tear up. Hannah masterfully illustrates the intense pain and trauma experienced by those who served, both on the front lines and upon returning home. I’ve read about how Vietnam soldiers were mistreated when they returned home, but I’ve never read about what happened to the women who served. This book fills that gap, shining a light on their often overlooked sacrifices.

Kristin Hannah has become an absolute master of historical fiction, and The Women may be my favorite of her books. It is a must-read for anyone interested in a beautifully crafted, well-researched, and deeply moving story about the unsung heroines of the Vietnam War. The audiobook is narrated by Julia Whelan… SUPERB! Five stars.

** Thanks to the publisher for a review copy. The opinions are my own.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ALC by narrator extraordinaire Julia Whelan - I read an ARC of The Women pre-publication, and I had to wait a while to re-visit the story and listen. Julia does an amazing job narrating the book - I listened to it all in one day, even though it is a lengthy audiobook. The Women is one of the best books I read in 2024, and the audio is amazing, too.
When choosing books I tend to prefer reading women's fiction over historical fiction, but, especially in her recent historical fiction, Kristin Hannah has written strong female characters and kept the narrative about their experience, blending the two genres perfectly.
Oh my goodness. I could not put this book down while reading this consistently propulsive plot! Frances (Frankie) is twenty years old on Coronado Island in 1966, and her older brother Finley, a Naval Academy graduate, is leaving for Vietnam. Frankie bumps into one of his buddies during his going away party who says, “Women can be heroes,” a sentiment Frankie had not previously considered. Frankie finishes her studies and begins working as a nurse, where a chance encounter brings her in contact with a patient who is a Vietnam Veteran. He tells her about the nurse in an evacuation hospital in Vietnam who helped him make it out. Frankie feels compelled to volunteer, and although the Navy and Air Force won’t take her due to her lack of experience, she signs on with the Army. Her parents are upset (they are a Navy family in Coronado - plus she’s a woman!), but Frankie feels like she is doing something important.
The book follows Frankie’s time in Vietnam and after. I was born after the Vietnam War (fun fact - my birth date was the day after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, opened, which I did not know until reading this book), and I sadly do not know enough about the war and its effects on the population, both those who were in Vietnam and those who were not. I learned a lot while reading The Women, and I am so glad the author’s note included some nonfiction sources to read for additional information.
Finally, I have to mention that when this book was first announced, I thought the title was too vague. After reading, I can promise you the title is exactly what it should be - good work proving me wrong, Kristin Hannah!

I really enjoy Kristin Hannah's writing, but I was not excited to start this one. I knew the topic was going to be tough and I felt a bit of a sense of dread about starting something that would likely be such a difficult read. I'm so glad I finally read it. I was correct that parts of it were going to be very difficult, but Hannah somehow manages to pull us through with her ability to mix in a few lighter anecdotes and create characters we care about. I listened to a little of this as an audiobook and Julie Whelan is (as always) fantastic. A book about war is never sunshine and rainbows, but just read it. I don't think you'll regret it.

No one can get me to read an almost 500 page story in one day like Kristin Hannah. Wow. There's nothing I can possibly say that others haven't already. This is a beautiful story of the women of Vietnam, the nurses who were on the front lines and who cared for the men who were injured. I'm too young to know about the struggles that these soldiers endured, but Hannah has created an entire new picture of this conflict for me. I left the book broken, but hopeful, which is something only Hannah can do. The writing and characters immediately sucked me in and would not let go until I finished this story. Frankie, our main character, was developed so fully that I can now consider her someone I know. I felt all of her struggles and cheered for her triumphs. This book is one of the best reads of this year, and will stick with me for a long time to come. It is an important one for everyone to read. I felt especially touched being a nurse myself. I couldn't recommend this book any more, READ THIS BOOK! Getting to listen to a book read by the OG narrators was so special as well. Julia Whelan was a delight to listen to and made this story fly by.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

This has to be one of my favorite Kristin Hannah books of all time. One I love strong women, two I love it’s not set in WW2 it’s in Vietnam, three everyone needs a group of girlfriends like these 3. And 4 white men are assholes - her quote is more politically correct but it’s true, especially that time frame.

The narration by Julian Whalen is perfection.

I hope everyone gets to read this book. You can’t not love it!! The authors note at the end is the perfect way to ends the book!

The audiobook was even better than reading the book. Frankie will always be one of my favorite characters. Kristin Hannah being characters to life and by the end of the book they seem like a part of your life, that you don’t want to end. I really loved the first half of the book. The second half was depressing but real. I wish the few love interests she had didn’t all come back to life after she thought were dead. That made is a little unbelievable. I still loved it!

This book was such a great read. It really grabs you as the reader with the way Kristin Hannah writes. The story is touching and heartbreaking. Another great historical fiction book by Kristina Hannah!

This was my first experience with Kristen Hannah’s storytelling style and I can definitely say I now understand the reason why everyone on the internet is constantly recommending her books. Her writing style is absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

This book was SO beautifully written. I’m not normally an emotional reader, but Ms. Hannah always seems to find a way to make me cry. Absolutely loved this story and even had my whole book club read it as well!

Epic tale. Amazing female stories as per the usual with Kristin Hannah. As a child of the 70s I understood Frankie and her life. I’m loving the increase in historical fiction about this period of time, especially that of Vietnam and the war. Kudos to Kristin for increasing the awareness.
The Queen, Julia Whelan did not disappoint. I will listen to most anything she narrates.

I had high hopes for this book, after reading The Four Winds, however, I was very disappointed from this.

First the pros: I'm glad that there is a book that talks about women who served in the Vietnam War. It is very important for them to be acknowledged for their service. Kristin Hannah is an incredible writer to make you feel all the emotions and see the horrors. I liked how it showed Frankie's PTSD post-war and the struggles she had coming home and trying to share her expeiences with her family.

Now the cons: The biggest issue for me were the mulitple romances, the men she chose, and the multiple "and they were really alive!" I just couldn't get past that, espeically since the second half just became about the men. Which is strange for a book called "The Women". Other issues I had was that the book was too long and Frankie goes through all the things. It's like there was a checklist and she had to experience everything on that list. I would have preferred if this was a novel with 3 interconnected stories about 3 different experiences from Women who served or were affected by the war. I think it would have been a bigger impact to the readers.

I hope that people still try this book, even though I didn't enjoy it. So many people love this and you might love it too. And the audiobook is really good. It's narrated by Julia Whelan and she's just a star with her narratations.

While there were many elements of The Women that I genuinely appreciated, overall I found myself feeling frustrated upon completing this book. I'm also a little surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response this book has received.

What I enjoyed:
- Julie Whelan's narration of this audiobook was perfection. I will listen to anything she narrates. Her ability to capture different voices, convey different emotions, and pace the story perfectly is truly impressive.
- Kristin Hannah's writing is compulsively readable. The Women was a quick read and quite the page-turner, and I enjoyed Hannah's overall style of writing.
- I also appreciated the author's attempt to shed some light on the experiences of women veterans of the Vietnam War, particularly their treatment upon returning after the war.
- I loved the female friendships in this book, and I wish Hannah had pushed those storylines further.

What didn't quite work for me:
- The romance elements were SO overly dramatic. They were both predictable (heavy, heavy foreshadowing) while also feeling contrived to the point of being unbelievable. The romance storylines also made me really dislike Frankie. (Don't get me wrong, the men were scummy, too, but I at least wanted to be able to root for the protagonist.)
- This was a very Western-centric narrative of the Vietnam War, which shouldn't have been surprising given the protagonist and the story, but it felt like any time she wrote about Vietnamese civilians, it was in the context of being helped by the nurses. There were a few mentions of the "atrocities" of war and the war crimes committed by the United States Army, but again it was really just to provide context for why the war was viewed so unfavorably, and thus impacted Frankie's ability to reintegrate into her community.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

I loved this story. If you enjoy historical fiction this is NOT TO BE MISSED!

Hannah writes the story of these forgotten men and women so well. Not many people want to talk about the Vietnam War. I had no idea the role women played in this war and the price they paid. The narrator was also fantastic! I cast the movie as I was reading . So good! I wept.

From the very first page Kristin Hannah has you hooked with the life changing story of the women who committed themselves to their county and the scarf ices made in the face of war. Love, loss, friendship and family The Women has it all. A devastatingly telling that will leave you emotionally invested.

I love love loved this book. I am a big Kristin Hannah fan to begin with and she does a wonderful job of making historical fiction come to life. The women of the vietnam war is not something I knew much about, I certainly didn't know about the treatment they received after coming home from the war. So this was heartbreaking and at times very hard to read, but I think it is a very importn story to tell. I liked Frankie as a character and loved her friends as well, I wished we got to hear a little more about their stories as well instead of focusing so heavily on Frankie's life but I still loved it overall. I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook and it was easy to listen to.

I am definitely the minority here. While there is a lot to love about this book, it is probably my least favorite Kristin Hannah book,

Incredible. This story and the narration are at the top of my list for this year. Kristin Hannah is such a talented writer. I’m on a quest to read all of her books and this one was my favorite so far.

Thank you for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

Another great book by Kristin Hannah. Definitely a recommended title to either read or listen to. I look forward to more of Kristen's novels.

Of all of Kristin Hannah's books, The Women is by far my favorite. I loved, and appreciated, getting to read a story about Vietnam from the perspective of a woman who served. Hannah's storytelling is unmatched and narrated by Julia Whalen just brought out that much more enjoyment of the story for me. The Woman follows Frances "Frankie" McGrath and her fellow nurses who served in the Army Nurse Corps during the height of the Vietnam War and the experiences they had upon returning. I shared this story with my grandma who was a nurse for over 40 years. While she didn't serve in the Army Nurse Corps, she could vividly remember the surgeries detailed in this novel and the treatment of those who served in Vietnam. The Woman is a must read for everyone and a reminder that we must do better for those who sacrifice everything to keep others safe.