Oh my god. What a lovely breath of fresh air. This book was so good, it didn't feel the need to make a man and love interest the centre point. All of the characters were interesting and had a depth to them. There was one thing I was so unhappy about but I totally understood and accepted it.

I read this in one sitting. It took two attempts to get into it though. But it was so worth it once I started. I loved the different perspective and I could not predict what would happen at all - something I'm usually good at. I will be recommending his book to everyone!

This book really wasn't my thing. I just don't like too much sex in books. I get that the book was all about encouraging women to speak up about sex and everything, but for me, male or female, I'm just not interested in that much sex. I prefer different kind of stories.

I also don't think the whole video going viral subplot was that realistic. I think that a video of that kind of content would get flagged as sensitive pretty quickly and removed. Even if people kept reposting it, I just don't think that a video of that nature would get the kind of traction needed to become a viral sensation like that. A thing that I think would have made this part of the plot better would be if more had been made about the fact that she'd been filmed without her consent. I would have been far more interested had Tara tried to get legal action taken against the boy who filmed her.

Another thing I did like was the question of whether the father has the right to know about a pregnancy. It was interesting the way both sides were shown and it honestly has me questioning my opinion on the subject. The whole controversy over Annie's father and the way that Tara found out what he thought on the matter really has me thinking that sometimes keeping a child's father from knowing is the kinder thing to do.

I'm sad because I really like Dawn O'Porter's writing, but like I said, this book just really wasn't my kind of think.

Firstly I'd like to thank Netgalley, Harper Collins and Dawn O'Porter for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I've never read a book by Dawn O'Porter before so wasn't sure what to expect. 'The Cows' grabbed my attention from the start and I found myself dragged into the lives of three amazing women. This book will not be for everyone, it's controversial, covers sensitive topics and contains some terrible language BUT I LOVED IT!! I went through a range of emotions thoughout this book including sadness, laughter, shock and even grief!

I love how it touches on modern life and how much the internet and social media rules our lives. It definitely provides food for thought and I would recommend to everyone who asks about it!

Three strong willed women with individual emotionally anxieties and diverse opinions about feminist matters venting their beliefs and dislikes through social media applications.
An appealing concept in connecting the characters towards the end.
A “marmite” special here ; You either love or you don't.

I don’t know why I haven’t picked up any of Dawn O'Porter’s earlier books because this one had me laughing out loud on a packed commuter train. The Cows is a take on modern life in London in this internet connected age. It runs the full gamut of emotions from suicidal despair to hope and joy.

Tara has a six year old daughter from a one night stand but now she is looking for someone special to share her life with and the guys she sees on Tinder are particularly uninspiring. When she finds herself on a date with a guy she actually likes she thinks that her luck could be changing.

Stella is in dire straits. She’s lost her Mum and her twin sister to cancer and knows that she has an 85% chance of contracting it herself. When she is medically advised to have her ovaries and her breasts removed she has a dilemma. She REALLY wants a baby but things with her boyfriend are a bit strained. This can’t end well.

Cam is the fourth girl in her family and has always fought to carve her own path. Keen to seek out solitude and independence she has got her mother dropping unsubtle hints about husbands and grandchildren while she continues her popular blog about her feelings and sex life. Always outspoken she finds herself becoming a voice for women who don’t want children – unleashing a whole heap of crazies who condemn her and her choices.

When a bizarre and entirely unexpected event connects these three very different women, life changes for all of them. This isn’t a book that will appeal to everyone. There are graphic descriptions of sex and sexual acts as well as ongoing commentary about promiscuity and family life. In short it has pretty adult content and deals with some fairly full on themes. The strength of this book comes from the women themselves. The main characters are just wonderful and leap off the page. In this age of cyber bullying, victim shaming and hiding behind avatars and digital profiles this feels like a very real story and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Supplied by Net Galley and Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.

With heavy billing and a hefty amount of hype, The Cows is clearly a book with high ambitions. It's certainly an interesting idea - transferring the debate over whether or not a woman is defined by her ability to procreate down to the populist chick lit genre. I had to raise an eyebrow though when the book kicked off with a dictionary definition of what a cow is but which fell into the common misconception that a heifer becomes a cow after giving birth to a calf. Despite my family being two generations away from our farming roots, I still know the truth - a heifer remains a heifer until it has its second calf. This book's battle cry is a Twitter hashtag, #Dontfollowtheherd and while the cow metaphor is not quite thought out, it does capture something of the tightrope that it can be in attempting to stay out of trouble in the electronic age.

The novel centres around three women, Cam, Tara and Stella. None of them felt quite fleshed out, with more of a feeling of them having been workshopped rather than truly explored. Stella is repeatedly referred to as 'spiky', Tara is the Cool Girl who prefers pubs to bars and Cam is obviously O'Porter's Voice of God with her blog posts on HowItIs.com clearly intended to be taken as Gospel.

There have been so many books written by female journalists and comedians on the subject of modern womanhood and given how clearly Cam was an author-surrogate, I did rather wonder why O'Porter hadn't just written one of those. It was strange too how a novel which claimed to celebrate non-conformity could have characters who were so interchangeable. Every piece of clothing they ever put on is 'silky', every guy has to be 'cute' - indeed the word cute is seriously over-represented. This is very much feminism for white women who pluck their eyebrows.

It was strange to read that O'Porter wrote this after herself giving birth. I am in full agreement that a woman can be complete without progeny or indeed without a partner. I even agree with Cam that it does tend to be women who put each other into boxes rather than the men. What I was less comfortable with was the rather vicious way women who did not follow The Way Of Cam were depicted. Sophie is oppressed by her husband in exchange for his cash. Stella becomes a bonkers sperm-thief in her desperate scramble for motherhood. Mel is a bundle of varicose veins who urinates when she sneezes. There is little chance of missing the point here.

There were moments of warmth, with the character of Jason offering a ray of sunshine in a novel full of otherwise fairly depressing relationships. Cam writes about a relationship which she celebrates for its lack of emotional intimacy, Stella is dumped directly before needing treatment to prevent cancer, all the married men appear to lust openly after Tara much to the dismay of their wives and Tara herself ... well, she enjoys herself on a train and then gets slut-shamed through the media after a mobile phone video capturing the experience goes viral.

A lot of O'Porter's arguments felt a little off. It feels childish that Cam's sisters assume she is a lesbian because she is single. Maybe this is naive - when I was twenty-three, my female line manager asked me this question because I wore jeans rather than a dress to a work night out. Still, your sisters in their forties? Really? Then there's extremely thinly-veiled attack on Jenni Murray of Woman's Hour where the Jenni Murray surrogate is labelled a frumpy bat feels like O'Porter has missed the point of a programme which has been running for decades and which has tackled a host of woman's issues with far greater nuance and depth than O'Porter is likely to ever manage.

At the same time though, I'm not sure how far O'Porter intended her work to be taken seriously - Tara is at one point questioned by a pair of police officers who are actually called Flowers and Potts. I waited for the punchline there and it never came.

I also don't quite know what I was expected to think of Tara's train escapade. I would think that it was absolutely disgusting if a man was caught masturbating on a train, whether he thought he was alone or not - but does O'Porter want me to think that Tara is somehow liberated when she does it? The issue for me there is the public shaming. I remember a high school residential where a boy in my year was captured doing the same thing after lights-out thanks to an eagle-eared roommate and a flash camera. The one print of the photo was passed round the class with massed ughs and dismay - but then it was put away and we all moved on. Thanks to the Internet, things are more complicated. Cam grandly tells someone that in enjoying Tara's humiliation, they are failing at feminism. I don't think that's the point there - I wouldn't watch that video in the same way that I didn't watch the Tulisa one or look at the photos during the iCloud hack - I was brought up better than to glory in someone else's humiliation. It's a decency thing.

The question over whether it is wrong to have a child because you want one, potentially without consulting the potential father - that's more complex. As someone whose father was kept fully apprised of their existence but who decided before my birth that family was not for him, I don't think the child is necessarily missing out but there will always be questions. Every situation is different but lightweight fiction such as this isn't really the place to get into all of this.

A lot of the writing here is a little clunky and repetitive - Cam is referred to as The Face of Childfree Women with tiresome regularity and O'Porter has a little way to go on developing her dialogue. I think the point she was trying to make was that there is another way of being - if you're not a mother, you will still be ok. That is something that I wholeheartedly applaud. I think with Stella, O'Porter was also trying to capture how dangerous it can be to hold on to a dream like this. Again, while I think the example was a little on the extreme, I would agree with this. It's just that while telling her readers to not follow the herd, I have a feeling that we are supposed to follow Dawn O'Porter instead. While wearing something silky of course.

I have to start this review by saying that I completely and utterly adored The Cows! It’s a brilliant novel and it was exactly what I needed to be reading at the moment I read it.

This is a novel that really shows what it is to be a woman – the way we’re judged, the way we judge each other, the way we’re all trying to live up to an ideal that none of us can attain. The Cows is told through three narratives. Each of the three characters is so well-written that they feel like real people, and each voice is so distinct that you never lose track of who it is that you’re reading about.Tara is a single mother, who never told the father of her child that she was pregnant, and she feels she has to be a success at work and at home, to be everything to everybody. Cam is a very successful blogger who doesn’t want children but this ends up becoming the very thing that she is judged on and defined by even though it’s only one small part of who she is. Then there’s Stella who is alone in the world – her twin sister, and her mum are both dead; her relationship is on the rocks and she desperately wants a baby. She feels such anger at the cards life has dealt her and yet is powerless to change what has happened.

I felt such a mix of emotions whilst reading this book – I was giggling at one point and tearful at another. The contrast between the women, but also the small similarities, really gave this novel depth and warmth. I’m very happily married but don’t have children. I never felt a huge longing for a baby but now life has made sure that I will never have children and that’s a strange thing to contemplate sometimes. I can understand Stella’s hopes and fears but I found it very hard to sympathise with the desperate lengths she went to. Ultimately though, she deserved understanding and care because she was driven to the point of madness by her need for a child, and also by her loneliness. Perhaps she would have behaved differently if she’d had a supportive friend who she could talk to and confide in. Cam is a fiercely independent woman and I admired her attitude to life, she’s the kind of woman I would love to be friends with. She is who she is and she never apologises for that, yet she remains such a lovely person. Cam’s relationship with her dad made me tearful – the way she let him help her with things because she knew it made him feel better made her all the more fab. I think she became my favourite character. What Tara did was shocking but what happened to her as a result was horrifying, and it echoed many of the stories we hear about women who do something and are caught on camera and then are judged for it forevermore. I felt so sorry for her with all the horrible attention and judgment that were thrown at her. The humiliation she felt was palpable, and the way other people, but women in particular, judged her generally but then with the infamy on top was awful but sadly all too recognisable

The society we live in now with social media being what it is is scary. Anything that we do is captured and there forever and no one is ever allowed to make a mistake, and so often we sit in judgment of others. I love social media because for one thing I wouldn’t have met my husband without it (we met on twitter) but also because I’m now housebound through disability and twitter and Facebook make me feel less alone, but there is a dark side to social media and it’s horrible to see and must be terrifying to experience.

The Cows is one of those novels that really shows the way that social media affects us – how it can ruin your life, or rather the trolls on social media can. It shows that you can be really well liked on social media and have lots of followers who hang on your every word but one opinion that the general public disagree with and the tide can turn against you. But it also shows the way that social media can bring friends our way that prove more loyal and kind in a crisis than the people we thought were our friends. The Cows also shows the power of standing up to what people say about you, about holding your head high regardless,and about the way there are still good people out there who will have your back.

The great thing that I took away from that book was the way it made me see that I don’t have to apologise for who I am. It reinforced for me that I can be who I am and I don’t have to say sorry for not being who others want me to be. It left me with a real sense of empowerment at a time when I was feeling like society had thrown me on the scrapheap. I honestly can’t put into words just how much I loved this book, it’s such an incredible read and I fully expect it will make my top ten books of 2017.

Dawn O’Porter tackles issues facing women head on in this book, she doesn’t shy away from any topic and it’s so refreshing to read. The Cows will make you laugh, it will make you cry; it will make you nod your head in recognition and it may well make you cringe at times but it’s a book that you want to keep reading and don’t want to end. This is a novel of our times and it’s one that I will read again and again. I highly recommend that you go buy a copy right now!

I received a copy of The Cows from HarperCollins via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about the way human beings judge one another, and I have to admit that when I first started reading it I was no different - I didn't like the main characters, I wasn't sure I liked Ms O'Porter either, with her film star husband and her fancy Hollywood lifestyle. But I read on and, guess what, I stopped judging and started enjoying the story.

Cows is a surprising book, full of sudden shocks and humour. It's no millennial chick-lit airport book either, although it would certainly be a great book to take on holiday. I was impressed by the sharp dialogue, the believable characters and the earthy humour. It would have probably been banned fifty years ago, which just goes to show how far so-called 'women's fiction' has evolved.

All in all a very satisfying read and one that will stick in my head a lot longer than most of its genre.

(many thanks to Harper Collins and Ms O'Porter - I didn't really mean it about your Hollywood lifestyle, pet.)

This was an engrossing book full of interesting women and scenarios which were both hilarious and serious at the same time. I just kept reading an nodding; agreeing with the depiction of the women and their predicaments. As a man it is satisfying to read a book like this and to feel that I do understand and empathise with women in these situations.
I appreciated the manner in which Dawn dealt openly with the manner in which simple uncomlicated lives get twisted and distorted by media today. Her observation of relationships between children and their parents, the things that aren't said by both sides and the way we alive long gone ideas about our parents or our children that colour our day to day relationships.
We all need family, be it one we create or the one we were given. We need friends. This book shows that.
I was most upset for Camilla. No one will ever know how it might have turned out.

I really like Dawn O'Porter and have watched a few of her previous programmes, I had never read any of her earlier material so was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to receive a free copy. Lately it has been taking me months to read books but this one grabbed my attention and I finished it withing a week!

The story follows three females, Cam a blogger who isn't afraid of saying what's on her mind and fighting for women's issues, Stella who has had a quite significant tragedy recently and is not coping very well and Tara, who becomes the main focus of the storyline after doing something quite inappropriate on a train! (I do want to say, however, I think this "action" would be viewed differently if it was a man, which doesn't help the point the author is trying to make with this book!)

The first thing I want to say is this book felt Real, the women felt real, the story and (some) of the situations felt real, O'Porter hits on many modern issues, such as internet trolling, friendships, that aren't really friendships, the way we all seem to follow the herd in everyday life and women shaming! She also uses the use of twitter, youtube and how the internet in general (with things such as "trending") can steal your anonymity for all the wrong reasons and either make your life amazing or make your life hell depending on the reason you are thrown into the limelight and the fickleness of people!

There is quite a lot of detail regarding sex and a lot of strong language so definitely isn't one for the prudish

The characters are relatable, and well written enough so you feel you get to know them and feel for them(-even Stella despite her many misgivings!). The story absorbs you into their world and you laugh and cringe and feel sad along with each character. An excellent read.

So unlike the tagline, I suggest you do #followtheherd and read this book!

Dawn O'Porter's sought after novel, The Cows, has arrived!! Dawn's book has been on my radar since late last year, so I was beyond thrilled when I was able to get my grubby mitts on a copy, shut out the big wide world and ignore everyone and everything for the duration of the novel. And you know what? I did just that!

Three completely different women; each with such individual life-styles, yet their paths manage to cross in the most unusual way.

Tara; a working mum who battles 'working mumma guilt' thanks to her male colleagues, as well as copious amounts of sexual frustration (in no way linked FYI). Oh! & she constantly battles the aftermath after a certain train incident. Ahhhh!
Cam; a misunderstood blogger who is all for women's rights. She uses her blog as a platform to try to inform the world that maybe, just maybe, not all women want to have children. Who would have thought it!
Lastly, Stella; a woman whose personal life has gone from bad to worse in no time at all, and now her future seems to be taking the dreaded path of uncertainty. Stella is near the point of no return and to be honest, she's a bit of a mess.

A lot of men say that females are incredibly difficult to understand. Maybe we are, but seeing as both genders are built-in completely different ways, it doesn't take a scientist to work out that females are going to be wired differently than males. Saying that, should we constantly have to explain our actions and our choices to them, and anyone else, if they don't fit into the box that society has allocated us? No, we shouldn't and visa versa. Can you imagine 30 million females + in the UK explaining every single choice they made? I can't, which is why I was over the moon to see that Dawn O'Porter had voluntarily become the voice for millions of women via her novel.

Dawn's three characters cover just some of the issues that can arise on a daily basis, where females are concerned. Working mum, mum life, mummy guilt, social media highs and lows, choosing not to have children, and so much more. I have seen other people saying that the concept of the novel is far too busy and has too much content. My response to that is; ehhhhhhh no. Why? Because for starters its three different lifestyles and three different women. The issues discussed in the novel isn't just one character choosing the short straw and having to deal with everything I mentioned, and more. Secondly, it is probably quite rare to come across a female who has just one situation to contend with; having multiple issues in the one novel is more realistic otherwise we could have ended up with 'The Cows - Part One', and so on
Thirdly, this book is severely kick ass and whilst some of the characters choices are quite questionable (although hilarious), nobody can fault Dawn O'Porter for taking taboo and often misunderstood topics, laying them bare and owning them.

This storyline has everything you could ever wish for in a book as it contains very colourful language, shameless situations and copious amounts of nitty-gritty honesty. Did I have a favourite character? No I didn't. Did I dislike any of the characters? No. However, I disliked a few of the paths that the ladies chose to go down. Don't get me wrong when we get caught up in an emotionally charged situation or two, our logical thinking goes out the window and we charge into things like a bull in a china shop; I just thought about those choices based on the decisions that I would make in the same instance.

As for favouritism, all of the ladies had something rather special about them and unfortunately I was able to relate to one of them in particular. I say 'unfortunately' due to what the character faced in the storyline but I was fortunate to be able to relate to them on a personal level.

Dawn O'Porter has written such an emotionally charged and high energy storyline, which highlights the importance of living your life the way YOU choose to without feeling guilty for making a different decision to those around you. The storyline also highlights the true extent of peer pressure and what can happened if someone is unable to fight against it. I absolutely loved this book from start to finish as the honesty and power made me feel like I could combat anything, as long as I believed in myself and my decisions.

I laughed, I raged and yes, I even cried whilst reading 'The Cows'. 'The Cows' is what the book world has been waiting for. 'The Cows' is what the female population has been waiting for. 'The Cows' is what I, TWG, have been waiting for.

A truly outstanding, intense, emotional and honest novel from the incredible voice, Dawn O'Porter. I will be recommending this novel until the cows come home...literally. And you know what else? #Dontfollowtheherd has just become my new mantra and it SHOULD be YOURS too.

Dawn O'Porter, you're an absolute legend, please can you bring out a handbag sized book of 'O'Porter' wisdom? The world needs more of you and so do I (not in a stalker way obvs).

Thank you SO much HarperFiction!

This book really captured my imagination. Dawn knows her subject matter inside and out and as the narrative went through to it's conclusion I knew how true to life it was (not that I ever doubted it would be.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have given it 5 stars. If there were more on offer I would give them.

Great book - really funny, down to earth and enjoyable.
I would recommend this to reading groups and I wouldn't be surprised if it appeared on some literature prize lists too! Porter seems to be multi-talented.
A story following three different women and how they handle the ups & downs of life and eventually realise that they don't have to follow the herd. Strong, empowering stuff.

This book was absolutely brilliant and I loved all of it. It's been a long time since a book was able to make laugh out loud while reading (including when in public) and make me want to yell 'WTF!' five minutes later. This book is a laugh out loud funny, unapologetic take on feminist literature and I really feel it's a must-read. This book covers working in a male-focused environment, pressures of being a single and/or working mum, childlessness - both intentional and unintentional, abortion, public opinion, sex, orgasms, masturbation. It really has a bit of everything!All the nice bits about being a woman but all the crappy ones too!

I really loved that the women were all of varying ages and they were all at different points in their lives. Tara was a working mom, who came to work two hours early every day so she could pick up her daughter from school but was still made feel guilty by her male colleagues. She is professional but also a red-blooded woman with sexual needs and desires, as well as a desire to find love, all of which lead her to make a mistake that destroys her life.

Cam is a no-nonsense feminist blogger who enjoys a fantastic sex life with younger men, talks openly about masturbation and orgasms and her desire to remain childless. She struggles with her own anxieties of course, and often struggles to connect with her sisters and mothers - all of whom are mothers and presume she's gay because she wants to remain unattached (which doesn't even make sense cause gay people get married and have kids too). We also see her deal with online trolls.

Stella is a bit of a mess. She's still dealing with the loss of her identical twin sister and her mother to cancer while also struggling to accept that she has the BRCA gene meaning she has an 85% chance of getting the cancer that killed her family. She's desperate to have a baby and through her loss, comes up with a crazy plan to get one.

This book was just so honest and refreshing and I really loved a lot of what was discussed in it. From simple pizza farts (yes, women fart too!) to open discussion about why a woman might not want a baby, I appreciated it all. Tara's story was particularly engrossing due to how it spirals but more so because, for me, how the media treats her and the ever-changing face and mood of the internet's opinion. I loved Cam's blog and her posts which we get to read. I feel like if her blog was a real thing, I'd definitely be a fan. We need more women like Cam int he world for sure. Those who aren't afraid of saying don't use your gender as an excuse, just go and do it and demand what you want until you get it. Stella, while not my favourite character, was an intriguing one to follow as her story showed what it can take for someone to become an online troll. As a celebrity, I'm certain Dawn O' Porter has had to deal with many, many trolls herself and I like how she kind of 'unveiled' the face and mindset of a troll to show they are something to be pitied and not to be scared of. Stella went completely crazy for me and I found myself reeling at times from her decisions but she was certainly entertaining!

The ending definitely shocked me, I did not see it coming at all. But I loved how the conclusion came about and how things got better for all our girls (well, most of them but if you've read the book you know what I mean). I can't recommend this enough for people who love honest, feminist fiction

I'm glad I chose to read this book.

I was drawn into the lives of each of the women very quickly and really liked the way O'Porter made her characters leap from the page. Each woman was intriguing and engaging, reading their stories made me feel as if I were sitting and having a coffee with them.

I had to suspend a little disbelief in the tale of Tara, though. I just couldn't picture the last moments of her episode on the train happening in the way it was told. Not wanting to give away the plot but I'd be interested to know if anyone spotted something that just couldn't physically happen.

O'Porter is a good storyteller and I haven't read anything else by her. The Cows will encourage me to read more of her titles.

Her use of dialogue is realistic and fun. Generally her take on atmosphere and descriptive scenes were on the money.

Because I'm a stickler for continuity and found a couple of inconsistencies (an important item flying up in the air, landing on the floor, never to be mentioned by the three people standing next to it; a person standing up to leave when she had gotten up from her sofa earlier on) that did bug me but didn't ruin it for me.

I love it when a book has an unexpected twist and this one has a good one.

This was for me a satisfying read that had me turning the pages faster by about midway when there was enough tension to keep you going and not heading for Netflix.

Grab a copy if you'd like to read an entertaining take on real life women, relationships, love, drama, family, cows and triumph.

Do not read this if you don't like rude words or scenes of a sexual nature!!!! Not usually my scene at all, but essential to the nature of this book.

It blends three very different women who are trying to get on with their lives and challenges. Dealing with life, loss, and forging your own path (despite what your mother wants you to do) this is an honest and often humorous take on life from three different perspectives.

Having not read Dawn O'Porter before (although I have watched some of her documentaries) I had no fixed expectations. A good writing style makes for an easy read once I had got to grips with the three parallel stories.

4* Recommended - a good read -- but not for the prudish (and that usually includes me!!)
#Dontfollowtheherd

Although I hadn’t read any other books by Dawn O’Porter, I was delighted to be approached to review it as I loved the sound of a fearlessly frank and funny book about how women don’t have to fall into a stereotype.

The story follows three women: Tara, a single mother who makes documentary films in a misogynistic office; Cam, a childfree blogger who documents her life and loves online; and Stella, grieving the loss of her twin sister to breast cancer and facing a decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy. One night, and one very public action, creates ties that bind the three women together in unexpected ways. Lots of topics we don’t read enough of are discussed in a refreshingly frank way – single motherhood, working moms, choosing to be childfree, online dating, the pressure to conform, fake friendships, female masturbation, public shaming, trolling, It’s a heady list, and the language is realistic rather than po-faced.

First things first – this is a rattling read, clipping along at a great pace and with several laugh out loud moments. There were also a few full body cringes at times, in that delicious way that made The Office so enjoyable to watch. I wish I had read it on holiday (I wish I was on holiday!) because it’d be a great poolside read. I devoured the first half of the book in one evening, and was eager to pick it up the next day. So far so good.


Plotting issues started to become a big problem for me in the second half of the book. Stella’s story escalated from grief to elaborately Machiavellian scheming in a not particularly convincing way. As someone who has invested a lot of money in Fortress Uterus I can assure you it’s not that difficult to get knocked up, she really could have tried shagging around a bit first. Jason went from the usual level of unrealistic you can expect from a leading man (so handsome, so kind, so loyal, so amazing in bed and yet waiting for true love, so wealthy but so grounded etc etc) to just a bit of an idiot. Nevermind that is not in any way realistic that this guy would be consistently dumped by stone-cold career women when he says he wants a family (seriously, he is what every single woman I know is actively trying to meet). Are we really supposed to believe he was the only person in the UK if not the world to have seen the endless twitter, tabloid, TV, newspaper coverage of Walthamstow Wank Woman? And the biggest problem for me – Cam. This book was so baffled at what to do with an independent, successful, sexually active, loved, and childfree by choice woman that she had to be killed off. Not even as part of a plot, but in a stupid accident meaning that she is suddenly dead and the story can do back to where O’Porter is comfortable, with women jostling for sperm to have the babies they must have to be happy. It was a move I would expect from a Victorian novel – kill the wanton woman, she was just a plot device and she doesn’t get a happily ever after. Tara even coasts to her new career by feeding on the carcass of Cam’s business and reputation. Are you kidding me?! Cam existed purely to facilitate the life changes for Tara and poor tragic (redeemed) Stella. I was, and am, raging.

The book starts with a ‘definition’ of cow: “COW [n.] /kau/ A fully grown female animal of a domesticated breed of cattle, used as a source of milk or beef… A cow is officially the name given to a heifer when it has had a calf. If you want a good piece of meat you need to go for the heifer because cows, having been destroyed by childbearing, do not a good steak make. Cows are destined to be in a constant hormonal state, either pregnant or producing milk. A heifer is a piece of meat, merely a potential source of produce. Some might say this is reflected in human society and the way it regards women.” This is supposed to set up our perception of the book in which our heroines become free agents, as per the tagline “Don’t follow the herd”. Which is all well and good – but not following the herd is not the same as freedom. Whatever Dawn O’Porter has written here, it’s not a free woman manifesto and it is absolutely not as supportive as it thinks it is of the growing demographic of women who are childfree by choice. There may be lip service to the contrary, but the resolution of this book sends the message it is perfectly ok not to have children – once you want to have them. For some of us, cows aren’t utilities but sentient beings with lives that matter to them. The Cows isn’t so much a freedom from the herd mentality as it is an attempt to start a new cooler herd less freaked out by masturbation on the fringes of the old one. That’s not enough for me.

Blimey this is life in all its glory and then some.Its funny, poignant and very well observed with terrific characters.I especially liked Tara but all the main characters brought some thing to the party.I am not sure that I have read anything quite like this before ,it is not my usual choice of genre but I have been branching out recently and getting more adventurous with my choices and I am reaping the benefits ,this was fun, pacy and the characterization was flawless. I really enjoyed it and am grateful to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The protagonists of this novel are three women living in London. They don’t know each other but fate and the internet bring them together. Tara is a single mother in search of true love. Cam is an English Carrie Bradshaw who lives her life through the internet. And Stella lives in the shadow of her dead twin sister and is desperate for a baby. Tara’s supposedly private moment on the tube that becomes a viral video and Cam’s admission that she doesn’t want children makes them the target for criticism and insult but as Cam tells Tara, “don’t follow the herd, you know? Live your life your own way.”
With strong and engaging characters, I especially loved Tara and Cam who stand by their principles and decisions no matter what society tells them. Throughout the novel I didn’t really like Stella and was worried for her mental health, but in the end she turns out a stronger and more likable character. A thought-provoking and frank novel set in the age of social media where there is no privacy anymore and everything you do may end up online for everyone to see. This is a captivating and refreshing story about sex, pregnancy, abortion, marriage, and the role of women in society and what is expected from them.

A real page turner, love this type of woman power novel. Will definitely look out for this author in future