I really enjoyed this. The stories were great and I especially liked the pirates. I recognized some of the names from the book, but I was amazed with all the unknown stories about lawbreaking women. It was a very fun book that I would recommend.

This was a great read and I felt like I learned a lot. I hadn't heard of some of the ladies profiled, so I enjoyed reading their stories. I do wish that the profiles would've been longer, but I understand why they were shorter. All in all, this is a great read, especially if you're interested in the history of women and crime.

Love this fabulous book! If this isn't "girl-power" I'm not sure what else is.

This is a fantastic dive into some "Bad-girls" through history. Each is so uniquely bada** and comes from all across the globe. From pirates, gamblers, boot-leggers, serial killers, madams (my favorite), gunslingers, bandits, outlaws to fraudsters.

This is the bible of bad-girls and I loved learning about all of them. They're all so unique and crazy - LOVED IT. Very well researched and written.

Thought this was pretty enjoyable. I liked how the book was sectioned off. I definitely learned a lot while reading. My only complaint is that I wish individual stories were longer. I get that for some of the women there isn't a lot of information out there. This book felt like series of snacks instead of a meal. Both have their place. But I just wanted a little more.

I loved reading about the crime in this book . I had never heard some of these stories before and I read alot of true crime so I was delighted to find some new information.

I really enjoyed reading this book and find myself really lucky to have received an advanced e-book copy of it! Lawbreaking Ladies was both informative about the lives of the 50 women covered but also highly entertaining as the author infused her own humor and respect for these women. I liked the note in the beginning from the author about the fact she researched these stories and women to bring them to light and not judge them (based on our moral standards of today or when they were alive). I did find myself wanting to know more about some of the women in this book but realize the limitations the author had on finding information on many of these women. Great book for the non-fiction crowd who is looking for a quick, educational, and amusing read on some of the lesser known law breakers of year past.

I went into this book hoping these were stories I hadn't read before. I was so thrilled to find that most of the stories were of women I'd never heard about. Out of the fifty women covered in this title, I'd heard about ten of them.
A well-written book with uncluttered, clear stories of the women. Interesting and a great read.

As of late, I've been doing my share of rather heavy reading. So, when I got the chance to check out Erika Owen's "Lawbreaking Ladies: 50 Remarkable Stories of Criminal Women Throughout History" and it's rather light, entertaining cover, I couldn't resist the chance to do some lighter, more entertaining reading for a few days.

To be sure, "Lawbreaking Ladies" is a light read. Despite the potential heaviness of 50 stories about criminal women, Owen infuses the material with an almost tongue-in-cheek writing quality that keeps the material from ever becoming even remotely heavy.

The book is essentially divided into different categories of criminal behavior - from old school pirates to bootleggers to cold-blooded killers to gamblers, bootleggers, and fraudsters and more.

As is always true of these kinds of books, some tales are more enchanting than others. Additionally, there are times when Owen seems to be stretching the material for the sake of space rather than having an actual story to tell. However, Owen seems genuinely engaged by these stories and that keeps us, the readers, also engaged.

"Lawbreaking Ladies" does have an awful lot of writer's personality within its pages. This isn't simply a presentation of the black-and-white facts. There's no question that Owen inserts her own editorialized comments, observations, and flippant remarks throughout the book. At times, this is entertaining. Other times, you can't help but wish maybe she'd chill just a bit and let the story stand on its own.

If you're looking for hardcore tales, "Lawbreaking Ladies" isn't likely to keep you pleased. Even the chapter on rather cold-hearted killers is more entertaining than enraging. While Owen clearly understands the seriousness of these stories, quite often she's selected rather admirable women to be included here whose actions may have conflicted with the laws of the times but were also quite often more than a little admirable in the realm of badass women.

Truthfully, there's not much else to be said about "Lawbreaking Ladies." You can pretty much tell from the title alone if this book is going to resonate with you. If you're intrigued, Owen for the most part won't let you down. If you're instantly dismissive, then it's probably not for you and Owen doesn't really do anything unique enough with the material to change your mind.

If 1/2 stars were available, "Lawbreaking Ladies" would likely exist in the 3.5 realm for me. Alas, 1/2 stars are not available and I can't help but believe that Owen accomplishes with "Lawbreaking Ladies" exactly what she set out to do. For that reason, I'm inclined to boost the rating a 1/2 star and settle in at a comfy, entertaining 4-star read for this light, engaging, and informative collection from Erika Owen.

I absolutely LOVE this book! These are all true stories about women in history that have broken the law, but in the most amazing way! The author makes it very clear that she isn't trying to say women are bad, but she's actually trying to show how amazing these women are even if they broke a couple laws in the process. I really love that she made it clear she wasn't shaming the women, but focusing on how cool they are. All of these women were acting out of the "normal" way to behave as a women during their time period. I had no idea there were women who were pirates hundreds of years ago. I like to think that I would have been a pirate in the 1500s. If you love true crime and reading about amazing women. I would highly recommend this book. I had to much fun reading about the crazy and fun stories these women experienced. I read this through Netgalley, but I have every intention of purchasing this book when it comes out! I honestly can't wait to have the physical copy.

Super intriguing and interesting. You always hear about the people who do bad things but it was super cool to read about women specifically who were on that side of things. Really cool facts, illustrations were a little weird. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is great for anyone with an interest in the true crime genre. I was very captivated by these short vignettes of fifty unusual women who defied the expectations of their time, some of whom had never heard of. The format of the book worked really well for me with the length of each section and kept my attention from start to finish! I appreciated the terms to know and the beautiful drawings spread throughout.

Ladies


“....[W]omen can be just as intimidating, terrifying and feared as men.” Female criminals are a rare breed.

I truly enjoyed this book. Notably, that
the crimes were not your modern day ones. It delved into both crimes that were punishable by law and social crimes that were frowned upon. These were crimes set in the 1800’s and 1900’s and included piracy, gambling , bootlegging, brothels and outlaws. Different times that treated criminal, especially female criminals, differently.

Some of these women were ambitious and some were driven to succeed. They were socially talented and attracted both large crowds and suitors.

The book is broken into sections. Each section is a different type of crime. The section opens with the history of the crime (i.e., piracy or gambling), provides a small vocabulary, then procedes to tell stories of law breaking ladies. Each section also included illustrations about these brash females.

I learned a lot of little facts from this book. For example, the villainess from the movie “The Goonies” is loosely based on an outlaw from the 1800’s.

The only complaint was that the book seemed to squeeze too many stories in a limited number of pages. It would have been more preferable to have longer stories instead. I was extremely interested in how these women became engaged in these criminal activities.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 / 5

* I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.*

This was a mostly fun, easy read. It reads a little bit like The Secret Lives of Famous Authors, with each story being less than 3 pages, so it's especially good for short attention spans or short reading periods. The chapters are organized mostly well, though I would have liked for there to be a conclusion of some kind that wrapped up the stories and revisited the introduction.

It did seem weird that the closing chapter is on fraud, instead of murder. The book also ends kind of abruptly and on a story that wasn't particularly memorable.

The author is very careful and respectful in how they use language as a modern writer working in a historic context, especially with regards to talking about sex workers in history, cultural appropriation, and enslaved Americans. There is a small glossary of terms introducing each chapter, which is helpful to frame the stories.

My main criticisms of the book are that some of the entries are longer than others, which makes the reading a little inconsistent. I wish that there had been maybe 25 really memorable stories and an ending chapter of 25 mini-stories that recapped the book instead of 50 stories that aren't all particularly memorable.

There's also a few cringe-y moments where the author breaks the third wall to speak directly to the audience or comment on a modern concern using 2020 slang, which I really disliked, because it was so randomly scattered throughout the book and made it sound kinda "BuzzFeed-y"

Overall, a fun, easy read that I breezed through before bed over the course of 2 nights.

This was a nice quick read about various lesser-known women who walked on the wrong side of the law. The book is filled with interesting biographies of women from all walks of life. Many of the women defied the expectations of their gender during their respective time periods and I think any true crime fan will enjoy this.

I really enjoyed this book on women who have broken the law over history and change societal course. This book has beautiful drawings as well. I would highly recommend both as a book and a coffee table would be nice as well.

3 Stars - Good Book. Glad I read it

In an eye opening and intriguing premise, we are introduced to 50 women who broke the mold and did things their own way. The writing is friendly, as if you are talking to a friend about weekends exploits. Well, if the exploits included plundering, gambling, and the like.

I found new and interesting women who trailblazed their way through history in a man ruled world. Unfortunately, many stories are thin and I am left wanting more and too often. This isn't necessarily the fault of the author. History, for various reasons, doesn't always give detailed account of events. It doesn't make for an in depth look into the lives and impact of these women but will whet your appetite.

**I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Who doesn't love a good book about a bunch of dangerous ladies from history?

While I had heard several of the stories before, a lot of the information was new. Unfortunately, some of the stories on the ladies were a little short, but this is not the fault of the author. Some tales are often lost to history- especially when history is written by the victors.

I'm not a huge fan of the font choice, as some of the "C"s and "G"s can look a little interchangeable to someone with bad eyesight, but I know this is an ARC, so that font choice may not be final.

Overall, some great ladies here, I just wish there were more to learn about. Hopefully one day a part two will be available!

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

From pirates to serial killers, this book chronicles the lesser know offenders - the women.

I absolutely adore these collections! I’ve read many and while they can be repetitive what I loved about this one was the work that went into finding not the same three historical figures that are always talked about. Definitely a lovely treat and a wonderful work!

Lawbreaking ladies is a unique work of true crime. It details the lives and cases of fifty wild women. This book proves that women can be just as ruthless as men. It is a great work, very informative, and holds your attention while learning about the lives of these women. I would recommend to any fan of true crime looking for a different, unique read.