I loved this book! If you want to learn about different cultures and the female characters (goddesses, witches, warriors and more) that they have, then this book is for you! Surprisingly, this book may have a started a passion for celtic culture and women.

Great illustrations too!

BOOK REVIEW - ⭐⭐⭐

Warriors, Witches, Women: Mythology's Fiercest Females by Kate Hodges

This book is a guide to mythical women and female creatures across history and across the globe. It's clearly a very feminist interpretation of these women's stories and for that reason I really liked it. Kate Hodges has several sections to the book that split the mythical female creatures into different categories: warriors, witches, bringers of misfortune, elemental spirits and munificent spirits.

Kate Hodges made these women much more relevant and accessible to the modern day as she discussed how these women stories came about, how their image changed due to patriarchal pressure. Hodges attempts to almost rehabilitate these mythical creatures to show how there were positive aspects to their stories. She also unpicks as to how some of them have been vilified because they've been the victim i.e. Medusa and Futakuchi-Onna.

I really liked that Hodges included mystical beings from more than just Greek and Norse mythology which I feel like is generally the focus of these kinds of books. She had a gender-fluid Aboriginal god/goddess, Vietnamese goddess, Mesopotamian goddesses, Japanese beasts, African goddess, and Mexican spirits to name a few. Lots of these mythical beings I'd never even heard of.

There were 50 different mythical beings in the book and each one had 3-4 pages about them. Hodges included references to where their stories originated, how their stories changed over time and how that related to modern women. I think the major disappointment for me was that some of these names are in different languages or uncommon to me and just a reference to how to pronounce them would have been really helpful.

I also think that Hodges attempts to bridge her stories to modern day were a little stretched at times. When she wrote about the Japanese being Futakuchi-Onna it felt very generic as to how women are expected to be silent, not expected to eat. However, this "beast" originated in Japan and I feel like Hodges didn't focus enough for me in many instances on why these mythical beings got distorted in these specific cultures. So whilst it was really good she included lots of different beings from across the globe, I still wanted more.

Overall, this was enjoyable but I wasn't quite as immersed as I'd hoped. There was a little something missing from this book. The book came out at the start of this week though, so do check it out.

This book draws together a selection of mythic women to celebrate their enduring power throughout history to the present. The book is split into several sections based broadly on the type of woman. Each section contains women from many different cultures. Each woman has a simple, distinctive drawing alongside a basic description and details of different versions of her myth. Each description ends with talking about how the woman’s powers can be used for inspiration and encouragement in the present day.

This is a really interesting book. While I was familiar with some of the women from myth (mostly Greek, Celtic and Norse), there was information and stories about them that I didn’t know. There are also many goddesses, spirits, and human women from different cultures that were completely new to me and I found these fascinating. I liked how the author made the myths and stories relevant to today’s women.

I recommend this book to those interested in celebrations of women and to anyone interested in mythology and storytelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and White Lion Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this title.

We are the granddaughters of the witches you weren't able to burn

Warriors, Witches, Women is a guide to the legendary mythical female characters which brings old myths and folktales to life by casting them in a modern light. From feminist fairies to seductive temptresses, from fearsome witches to little known goddesses, this book covers a large variety of mythological characters. Divided into five sections, ( witches, warriors, bringers of fortune, elemental spirits, and munificent spirits ) it is accompanied by a glossary and suggestions for further reading.

With beautiful illustrations and lots of information, Warriors, Witches, Women takes look at some of the prominent and some forgotten women in mythologies around the world. In all, Kate Hodges has collated 50 female lives covering the witches and warriors, spirits and benevolent goddesses. Each character profile contains a full-page illustration, their origin stories, and their relevance even in today's world. The illustrations by Harriet Lee Merrion are beautiful, capturing the essence of the character and bringing these fascinating characters to life. Medusa, Baba Yaga, Circe, Cassandra, Rhiannon, Kali, Cihuateteo, Ma ’at were some of the most interesting characters for me.

The choice of characters was really inclusive, with legends taken from all parts of the world, from different times and different cultures. There were a lot of women in this book that you would not be familiar about and it was fascinating to learn about them. The stories not only cover the legend of the woman but also an attempt to correct the negative stereotypes about them and restore their reputations. It does acknowledge all the different narrations over time- how the stories and the characters themselves evolved, with a change in time and culture.

Overall, this book was very informative and engaging. It had lovely illustrations, concise information and a mix of characters from diverse cultures. If you enjoy reading about mythologies from across the globe, then you will surely enjoy reading this book.

Many thanks to the publishers Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC

Warriors, Witches, Women makes an empowering collection about mythology's fiercest women. It's unapologetically feminist and incredibly diverse, as it features legendary figures from all over the world and of different sexual orientations. From Maman Brigitte to Futakuchi-onna, Kate Hodges tells you about these women's stories and their evolution through the years. She gave each one four pages, one of them filled with a stunning portrait. Their stories pique your interest without becoming overwhelming.

Grouped into five sections: these women are Witches, Warriors, Bringers of Misfortune, Elemental Spirits and Munificent Spirits. Their stories are retold and reframed. Even after millennia, they continue to inspire, to remind, to empower. Kate Hodges fights for the demonised and the overlooked. She gives those, taken from their roots, a place.

I want to thank White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This review will be posted to the Barnes&Noble website, as well as Goodreads, on the publication date, March 3th 2020. Please contact me if you would like for it to be published elsewhere or at another date.

"We will not wait to be offered the leftovers from the feast. We will arrive in a whirl of wings and talons and pick off what belongs to us. Yes, we are angry, yes we are making a noise about it, and yes, we are hungry for change. We are harpies."

This quote describes this collection on mythology’s fifty fiercest females in this modern retelling of the world’s greatest legends. From feminist fairies to bloodsucking temptresses, half-human harpies and protective Vodou goddesses, these are women who go beyond long-haired, smiling stereotypes. Their stories are so powerful, so entrancing, that they have survived for millennia. Lovingly retold and updated, Kate Hodges places each heroine, rebel and provocateur firmly at the centre of their own narrative!

I liked this gripping and empowering collection as it introduces a woman by stating a well-known myth with their background and explores various versions and that one bad version we know today, thanks to the patriarchal societies and churches who have demonised many of the women in this book.

I have a couple of issues with this book and those put me off so I couldn't finish it in one sitting.
First, the narrative was off-putting. It felt too textbook-ish and for someone who has their exams around the corner, this read which was supposed to be incredibly relaxing, just reminded me of all the chapters I still haven't studied. Nevertheless, I liked this collection and would recommend it to everyone excepts students. But if you would enjoy a reference read, you can go ahead to read this one.
Second, some of the characters weren't properly focused. I understand that there are some characters on whom we don't have a lot of information but for some, we do. Maybe, a bit of focus on that would've been better. Despite it all, it is a must-read for women of all ages!

There are some things that I loved and is worth mentioning. I loved the beautiful illustrations accompanying eaach woman, as it provided more character to the information and there was this one thing about each woman that I applaud the author for putting it down: it's about the passion each woman had. I found it empowering! The most remarkable thing about this book is that it has included women of most of the cultures around the world. It is so diverse and if I am remembering right, some women are queer, lesbian, bisexual and there is even a dominatrix (the very first one, maybe)!

Many would find this book interesting on the very first sight, so if you are looking for something that provides adequate knowledge about the notorious, demonised and overlooked women in the history, myths and fable, then this one is the perfect read for you!

Rating: 3.5/5

Unfortunately, life happened so I didn’t finish this one before it expired, but based on what I did read, It’d give it 4 stars. It’s well organized (if you only needed a reminder if someone was from Greek mythology or Celtic? You’ll see right in the index what mythology she is from). It recaps the stories well. If her story changed throughout the years, that too is described. And yet each woman’s story is only about 2-3 pages. It’s amazing how much they fit in such small sections. Very well done.

With beautiful, delicately-lined illustrations and a plethora of historical and modern information, Warriors, Witches, Women proves to be the multi-cultural and multi-faceted look at women in mythology for the decade.  I appreciate the introduction of each personnage, what with an illustration, quotation, name spellings, and culture they're from, and I even more appreciate the two pages filled with information on these women.  However, I have to say that as much as I enjoy the information and illustrations, the humor and examples are very modern--oft referencing Game of Thrones and other like media to make a point--which makes me wonder whether this book will be as long-lasting as I hope it will be.  

Besides that, I do think that it's funny, and I do think that this is a great look at famous mythological women throughout cultures and centuries.

Divided into different categories of the types of women the author includes - like Circe, Baba Yaga, Inanna, and Banshee. An introduction and information to these women, some origins/history/occurrences up to today. The fun thing is at the end there is a playlist to some of the women. Do get an image of the women and each gets a page to them.

In Warriors, Witches, Women Kate Hodges casts a feminist gaze over fifty of mythology's " fiercest females" and recounts their stories for the modern reader. The women are broadly broken down into five categories including warriors, witches and spirits both elemental and munificent. Her examples are taken from various mythologies, from the Celtic Banshee and the Norse Hel to the Egyptian Ma'at and the Indigenous American White Buffalo Calf Woman. With such a diverse group there were some I was familiar with and some I was learning about for the first time , making the book both entertaining and educational. The simple but pleasing illustrations by Harriet Lee Merrion are a beautiful touch and helped to bring these fascinating characters to life. I particularly liked how the author used modern day examples of these women , and their portrayal in the media to show how some stories had changed through the ages while retaining the essentials of the character.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Pretty solid mythology read. In-depth analyses were bookended with saccharine pop-culture references.

this was a really interesting book that goes into detail about the different women in folklore and legend. the writing is good, and the illustrations are stunning. i know nothing about mythology, so i'm not sure how accurate this is but it was interesting to read about! i really liked that it talked about so many different mythical women from around the world - and gives detail attention to each. if you're at all interested in women's role in mythology and magic, i would recommend it.

This was a fascinating exploration of some of the world's most intriguing women through the myths and legends that surround them. Split into sections, Kate Hodges has collated 50 female lives covering the witches and warriors of the title, but also looking at spirits and benevolent goddesses.

The Positives: Each woman is given roughly the same amount of space in the book, which keeps the reader interested throughout. I found the choice of characters really inclusive, with legends taken from all over the world - although there are a larger proportion of European/Western women included. The writing is unashamedly feminist in its tone, which I really appreciated and the whole collection reads as a celebration of women of legend and the reclamation of their stories as positive message as opposed to patriarchal threat. I also thought the illustrations throughout were stunning.

Overall, I found this to be a really wonderful introduction to some of these women, and the comprehensive further reading section is definitely something I will be dipping into to find out more.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A detailed and well researched book that was a pleasant and engrossing read.
I liked the style of writing, the well researched stories and the gorgeous illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

What you find in it book is many centuries of greatest human folktales and fables scooped out carefully out of lap of history and then printed after taking away all the chaff and leaving the most important parts.
50 great women of history both good and bad find place in brief encounters and great supporting graphics.
I liked the method of presentation, first their is illustrations, then her tale and then her influence on past and present popular culture.
I liked stories of Medusa, Jezebal and Cassandra.
I was also facinated by dark figures like fata omna and la llorona.
A very good work with deep research and collection of best folktales and related history from around the world.
Best part is it has so much content but still it is presented in a very organized and interesting pattern.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

As a lover of all things mythology, Warriors, Witches, Women: Mythology's Fiercest Females was right up my alley. I loved reading about my old favorites like Morgan Le Fey, Circe, and Kali, but I enjoyed even more learning about those I was completely unfamiliar with. This collection featured a vast variety of women from different cultures, which I really liked. I think Hodges did a great job of giving the reader a good overview of how each figure changed and evolved due to historical events. She also helped tie in each woman to the modern age which was fun. However, the stories didn't always have the readability that other similar collections I've read have had like Mackenzie Lee's Bygone Badass Broads. Sometimes I did find myself glazing over the large amount of block text. Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of mythology and found it quite informative at times too. If you're interested in mythology or feminist materials, you'll enjoy this one too.

I really enjoyed "Warriors, Witches, Women" by Kate Hodges. It details female mythology & legendary figures. It is a pretty quick read. And some great pictures!

Warriors, Witches, Women brings old myths and folktales to life by casting them in a modern light. The book would relate the tales to feminism, climate change and the Me Too movement. This made centuries old stories relevant and engaging.

This book tells the story of some of the countless women who have had their tale shrouded because they were Too loud. Too powerful. Too smart.
These women were either cast a witches, ugly and unloveable- cast as the villain, or erased from history, warning others to not follow their lead.

Not going to lie, the large majority of myths I know is from from Percy Jackson- so this was very informative and entertaining.
I know I, and many others have been given a very white washed version of mythology. This collection however brings women from all over the world to show women of all colours, sizes and sexualities.

The book is formatted with a beautiful illustration of the woman, followed by 3 pages of information about her.
The illustrations in this book were breathtaking, and I would recommend checking it out for the sole purpose of seeing some of the gorgeous pictures.

Some of the stories felt like a fairy tale.
“Behind her fly her three magical birds, said to sing songs that can heal all sadness, wake the dead from their slumber and send the living whistling happily to their doom” - Rhiannon, Celtic goddess/fairy

Some of my favourite stories, and ones I would recommend you learn more about include:
➽ Baba Yaga
➽ Cassandra
➽ Berchta
➽ Rhiannon
➽ Cihuateteo
➽ Baobhan sith
➽ Ma’at


However, for me it was not quite digestible. Big chunks of text tend to remind me of textbooks and my eyes immediately glaze over, which began to happen a few times while reading this.

Overall, this book was very informative and for the most part engaging. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about mythological women from across the globe- those famous, infamous and largely unknown.
_____________________________________________________________
Thanks to White Lion Publishing for the ARC

Release Date: 4 February 2020

<b>FEMINIST MYTHOLOGY = 👍👍 </b>

I have always loved mythology, it is one of my absolute favourite things. Even with all the time I have spent learning different mythologies, there were several amazing women here that I didn't know anything about.

<blockquote><i><b>"Yes we are angry, yes we are making a noise about it, and yes, we are hungry for change. We are harpies."</b></i></blockquote>

<b>👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍</b>

<u>Rehabilitation</u>: Many of the women in these books have besmirched reputations. They are vilified, slutshamed and turned into negative stereotypes. However, many of these women didn't start out as villains. This book goes a long way to restore their reputations.

<u>Present day representations</u>: One thing I really enjoyed about all the women was learning about their present day representations in pop culture, fashion, idioms and such. Not surprisingly, Game of Thrones was referenced a bunch of times.

<u>Illustrations</U>: Each woman is beautifully illustrated in a way that makes their stories come to life.

With such a colourful depiction of Medusa on the cover, it's no wonder that "Warriors, Witches, Women" caught my attention. And the book is well worth a read.
The book is divided into 5 chapters; Witches, Warriors, Bringers of Fortune, Elemental Spirits, and Munificent Spirits and focuses on a number of famous (or in some cases infamous) figures from history and mythology. These women range from Hecate to Hel, Frey to Brigid and Mami Wata - women who may or way not have existed, who all of whom have helped to shape our lives -and hopefully, we can learn by their own experiences and mistakes.
There are many figures in the book that I recognised - particularly the Celtic and Norse godesses/witches. It may for a refreshing change that the author had stepped outside the usual 'Europeam history' standards and included figures from Japanese, Native American and Caribbean history.
An easy but fascinating read and I loved the illustrations.
I received a free ARC of this book from White Lion Publishing via Netgalley, in return for an honest review.
#WhiteLionPublishing #netgalley # review #WarriorsWitchesWomen #readit #TheWitchsHerbalApothecary #katehodges