This book....I cannot stop thinking about it.

I know a book was good when I can't stop reading, thinking about it, or then Google things I read from the book. This book did all of those things!
I have always enjoyed Kristin Hannah's books, but this one might be my favorite. The setting and characters were so real and the reader can tell that everything was so well researched. This was one of those books that I didn't want to end, and have told everyone about this book.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy!

This book has left me speechless. I am not sure I can properly review this book - there are no words to describe just how incredible it is. I have always been a huge Kristin Hannah fan, but this one exceeded all my expectations. The characters, the history, the heartbreak and growth - all done incredibly. It was my first book about women in Vietnam and wow did it deliver the horrific experience of everyone there flawlessly. The emotions of the women were so well done that at times I was transported to Vietnam and experiencing their experiences. I cried through the entire book, but also could not stop reading (and listening to it.) Every part of the book was so realistic, that I would not have been surprised if someone told me it was a memoir. For any Kristin Hannah Fan, Historical Fiction fan or just a fan of a well written, throughout and created book with strong female characters - a must read. 
Thank you netgalley for my audio and e advanced reader copies.

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint this time either! This book kept me captivated the whole way through. The setting of the 1960s and 1970s made it of high interest to me. The way the story was weaved into the women being in the Vietnam War was intriguing. It isn't a time in history I was very aware of,
Frankie McGrath was a strong character trying to prove herself throughout the story. She wasn't lucky in love either. After serving two tours as a surgical nurse, she returned home to a country she no longer recognized. Lucky for her, she made some lifelong friends who were always there to help when Frankie needed it.
You won't regret picking up this book!

Incredible. A story about women, war, love, hope, and so SO much more. I love Kristin Hannah, and she did not disappoint with this one. I recommend this to anyone who likes this author, historical fiction, and books that touch on some hard topics. Incredible story.

This was an amazing book and it if I could give it more than five stars, I would. I listened to the audiobook and it made me cry more than any other book. It is sad that any of our soldiers had to deal with the ugliness that they faced coming home. Kristin Hannah does an incredible job of making you see what happened during the Vietnam war. In many parts of this story, you can vividly picture everything that she describes. Frances McGrath enlists to become a nurse in the Vietnam War. Her family is upset with her choice and as soon as she arrives, she is told to start separating those that are hurt. She and the other amazing nurses work endless hours and in horrible conditions. They have to take cover and still work on soldiers as they can hear bombs going off. My brother served in Afghanistan and he lost friends over there. I have read other books by Kristin Hannah and this is her best one! I had to put it down a few times because I needed to get my emotions in check. Our soldiers still come home from war and they fight these internal battles. My heart broke reading this and I have requested more books about the women in Vietnam.
I have been recommending this to everyone at work and to our patrons. I went to my state's auxiliary meeting and was recommending it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to preview this and review it!

This was a beautiful book. If I had to make comparisons I'd say it was like the "Pearl Harbor" movie and "M*A*S*H" tv series colliding, but set during the Korean war. Strong female characters, great plot twists. It faced the seriousness of PTSD and trauma in a beautiful way. The ending was *chefs kiss*.

Wonderfully narrated by Julia Whelan, this story is one we all need to hear and think about. The women refers to the female nurses who went to the Vietnam war and experienced trauma both there and when they returned home. It’s a harrowing story, simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful.

Another great book by Kristin Hannah. There were definitely women in Vietnam so don't believe anyone trying to tell you differently. I was in Middle School during most of the Vietnam War and remember it being shown on the nightly news. I absolutely loved this book, I laughed, I cried especially at the end. Frankie's character brought me right back in time and I loved traveling through her life with her..

Confession: When I first started hearing about Kristin Hannah’s next book, I wished it wasn’t set during the Vietnam War. I love history and I’m a huge KH fan and will always read her latest, but the Vietnam War… disappointing. After finishing The Women, I am so grateful she wrote about that time and those people. My initial reaction was the reason this book was so important.

The Women is the story of Frankie, a young nurse from a wealthy, patriotic family, whose brother has just left for Vietnam. Her home has a Wall of Heroes (veteran family members) and a comment by her brother’s friend inspires her to put her fresh nursing degree to use and enlist as an Army nurse. Frankie’s time in Vietnam leads her to find love and purpose, but is also horrific and traumatizing. The Women follows Frankie home as she tries to move on after being so changed.

The story-telling is beautiful, with vivid descriptions and gut-wrenching plot twists. The characters are beautifully human. Most importantly, I was introduced to forgotten heroes who deserve to be remembered. I’ll never think about the Vietnam War the same way. I’m a more compassionate and grateful for person for having read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a reviewers copy. This review reflects my honest opinion.

If you are a Kristin Hannah fan, you will love this one! It was well written and had an interesting subject - the Vietnam War and PTSD. It did not get 5 stars from me because I found the romance aspect to be too predictable. The narrator was excellent.

Another great book by Kristin Hannah! As someone who doesn’t always love historical fiction, I really enjoyed this book! I received an audio version ARC by NetGalley, and was overjoyed when I learned Julia Whelan was the narrator. She is my favorite narrator and made this book extra special. Reading this gave me all the emotions, such a powerful topic that I personally don’t hear enough about. Highly recommend if you are someone who loves Kristin Hannah, Julia Whelan, historical fiction, or just love good books!

Kristin Hannah DOES. NOT. MISS.

The sheer volume of research she puts into every tiny piece of her writing boggles my mind every single time. You'd think I would be used to it by this point, but it takes me by surprise every time.

I loved this, from start to finish, full stop. Frankie McGrath may be my new favorite Hannah female main character. She's passionate, flawed, stubborn as hell, and a fighter even when she's in completely over her head.

As someone who wasn't alive during the Vietnam War, and recieved a very paltry overview of it in my years in school, this gave me so much more context to the war as a whole, and the impact it had on everyone involved (directly or indirectly) afterward.

Plus, you can never go wrong with Julia Whelan. This was just a big ol plate of YES PLEASE.

This is an important book for everyone to read/listen to. It was my first ever audiobook, which I loved because I could listen to while doing chores, but the content is amazing. This is a story about the Vietnam War and women nurses who were there, despite the mantra that “women didn’t go to Vietnam.” The story tells us that what these nurses suffered while in Vietnam was similar to the soldiers who were in combat- and they came home from the war with the same PTSD, the same issues of substance abuse, and being forgotten by the American public. I have not read any accounts like this and frankly, I am surprised that to this day, many of us didn’t really think about the nurses who were there. This story portrays the good, the bad, the trying times when they come home and no one can relate or even believe the women nurses who survived the Vietnam War. Bravo for writing about these very important facts.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC. I am truly thankful as this book widened my understanding of the world.

Wow, wow wow! Kristin Hannah does it again. It's clear that she does a tremendous amount of research to bring her historical fiction novels to life and her hard work pays off every time. The Women deserves all of the amazing ratings and reviews I've seen so far. This will be a favorite of mine in 2024! Sometimes I struggle to follow along with historical fiction audiobooks, but Julia Whelan did an incredible job and it was so easy and engaging to listen to. Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sharing the audiobook with me

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @macmillian.audio for the ALC of The Women!

◽️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 ◽️
“𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙤𝙤.”

The Women is a moving, powerful, heartbreaking novel featuring twenty year old Frankie McGrath, who signs up to be a nurse in the Army during the Vietnam War, and comes home to a world she doesn’t recognize and that doesn’t recognize her. This story beautifully showcases the life of a combat nurse during wartime and after, when no one believed there were women in the war.

This story is so detailed with important real life events during this time period. The way every single thing was described really brings you to that time period. The war, protests, the memorial, the POWs… the book was well researched and thought out!

The PTSD described in this story and people not knowing what it was or that women could even experience that even as a combat nurse…. it was well written.

I loved the friendship between Frankie and her friends Barb and Ethel. They endured after wartime and they all were always there for one another, even when they lived across the country. I also loved the development of Frankie’s relationship with her parents over time, especially at the very end!!!

Ugh, the heartbreaking love stories in this one!! My heart broke for Frankie and her relationships. I wanted to punch one of the guys for Frankie in this story. I was happy at the end and wanting to know even more about Frankie’s future!

🎧 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🎧
Julia Whelan will immerse you in this wonderfully amazing and sad story! Once Julia started narrating this book, I didn’t feel like I was listening to a story, I felt like I was in the story. Her storytelling is smooth and seamless. Parts of the story where she yelled or cried out as Frankie did, were just so on point… I don’t know how to describe it other than an amazing portrayal of Frankie’s character.

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🤍 Female character driven stories
🤍 Historical Fiction
🤍 War Stories (some graphic)
🤍 Strong female friendships
🤍 PTSD
🤍 Heartbreaking love stories

Kristen Hannah has written a very important book. She doesn't just tell you about the war in Vietnam, she takes you there. Her descriptions are vivid and emotional. The main character is a young woman who volunteers to be a combat nurse. Her return to the states is filled with the anti war hate experienced by the male soldiers but worse. Kudos to Kristen Hannah for sharing this story with the world. Many scenes brought me to tears. I hope it's not too late to acknowledge these heroes and heroines for serving our country. I was just a little younger than Frankie but I well remember the atmosphere at that time. The mention of music and the description of clothing and lifestyle help to immerse the reader in the time period. Job well done!

Thank you Kristin Hannah!
This book gives voice to the Forgotten Women who served in Vietnam. It is by far one of the best historical fiction novels I have read.
Twenty year old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath decides to follow her brother into war, enlisting in the Army Nurse Corps and shipping out to Vietnam. Upon arriving she is overwhelmed with eye-opening atrocities but soon finds herself in the company of fellow woman who become her friends.
After two years of service little did Frankie know what was waiting for her at home. She was spat on by strangers, her parents were ashamed instead of proud of her and she was being told by everyone "there are no women in Nam". She had to assimilate back into society with no support, invisible in the eyes of her country. She had an extremely difficult time adjusting and this was a time when PTSD was just becoming known.
This moving and profound book tells a story of true heroism, courage and the power of friendship and love.
This is an exceptional story that will bring tears to your eyes as you become emotionally drawn into Frankie's life.
Julia Whelan's stunning narration enhances the story and brings it to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

Another gem from Kristin Hannah the queen of historical fiction. I took off one star because the book started a bit slow for me in the beginning, and I had trouble with some of the time jumps while listening to it on audio (book might be better because you can easily flip back to the dates), but I was fully invested in Frankie's story. Hannah also did a great job with the supporting characters. From Barb to Ethel to Frankie's parents, they all positively contributed to Frankie's story. Julie Whalen as a narrator can do no wrong, and she was a joy to listen to.

I always love how Kristen Hannah can rewrite history by sharing the women's perspective of the time. This novel may be my favorite of her works yet.

I did-not-finished at 60% of the audiobook.
I wanted to like this book from the plot and themes it would dive into, but I could not get behind the characters and storyline of this. I was very intrigued for the first 30% or so but the plot points seemed too convenient and the characters fell flat for me. There are so many paragraphs of random information that didn’t tie into the plot, which left me forgetting what the point of anything was. The writing style didn’t give me a sense of emotion. While I enjoyed the historical aspects I learned from this, I think there are better ways to get this information than through this story.
Thanks NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.