Kristen Hannah does it again! Another book that is a captivating, emotional and powerful story that I couldn’t put down. The story follows Frankie McGrath in her journey to prove that “women can be heroes” too. The horrors that she experiences as an army nurse during the Vietnam War and in the aftermath where no one was willing to help her, is tragic. This is a story that will stick with me for a long time. Every character had such depth and I truly felt for each one of them. The combination of action-filled, and vivid descriptions mixed with a love story and finding one’s true self makes way for a great book. The amount of research that is put into creating this work of art is unreal. This was a beautiful historical fiction novel about the power of friendship, trauma, and being true to yourself. Kristen Hannah has been and will be a favorite writer of mine for years to come.

WOWWWWW. After feeling absolutely gutted and disappointed by the end of The Four Winds, I thought The Women was a magnificent tribute to the Vietnam veterans and their stories. While at times it felt a little convoluted, I trusted the process and development and knew we were heading to a ending that would reflect hope.

Kristin Hannah never disappoints me. The Women was a beautifully tragic and uplifting tale of the strength of women. I have never seen any other media address women serving in the Vietnam War and so I never realized the struggle they had while serving and also when returning. Not only did they not fit back into the civilian life from all they saw and experienced, but they also didn't have a place amongst the male veterans, who didn't recognize the trauma the women also experienced. One thing though, is that the women had each other. The friendships in this book were so well-written. These women made it through the war and life afterwards due to the support they offered one another. No other person could understand what they experienced.

I'm always so impressed with Kristin Hannah's extensive research she does for her books and her historical romances always prompt me to do my own research about these times in history that I had little to no knowledge about. Of course, I'll always recommend having Kleenex handy when reading any Kristin Hannah book. She possesses the ability to pull such strong emotions from me and reading her books is always such an experience.

What an amazing story! I loved this book! It was not always easy to read, but it was always engaging. This was my first Kristin Hannah novel and it won't be my last! The story was so well-written and detailed, that I really felt I understood so much about that time and the struggles the soldiers and nurses went through at such a divisive time in our history. I felt the joy, the horror, the sadness, the hope...all of it. It just pulled me in and wouldn't let me go until the last word. Absolutely loved it! Not a book I will soon forget.

This book absolutely ripped me apart and put me back together again and again. 😭

I have never read any historical fiction set in the Vietnam War, and I learned so much reading this book. The writing drew me in right away — it went down so easily, kept me turning the pages, and was absolutely packed with emotion. The main character was so raw and real and someone I could really root for. My absolute favorite part of the book though was the female friendships made throughout the book. I loved seeing Frankie, Barb and Ethel — three incredibly strong women — stand together and support one another through all life’s hardships (and there were many!).

I probably don’t need to say much else about this book because I know it’s everywhere, but I’ll just say: Read this book. It’s absolutely fantastic. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book was beautifully written, well researched and if I had to choice one word for it the word would be perfection. It was amazing. I sat down and was captivated from page one, I couldn't put it down and stayed up to finish it. The stories of the nurses in Vietnam was an important one to tell, the story of the war itself and how it was looked at here in the United States was an important piece of it too, as was how it affected not only the men who were on the front lines, but the women who cared for the injured and the dead. All important, all relevant today. This is a story everyone should read!

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.

Maybe. 4.5/5? I’ll preface with saying I am a huge Kristin Hannah. My first book of hers was Firefly Lane, and I grabbed it because I’d hear she was excellent, Prose-wise, this book kind of reads as one of her earlier works. While this is definitely historical fiction, it felt less history-centered than, say, The Four Winds. This centers the female protagonist who, rather glibly, enters the Vietnam War. The exposition felt a little rushed, and a lot of key moments did as well, so maybe that’s why I had trouble connecting to Frankie initially. However, the book quickly gained the gravitas I’ve come accustomed to with her books. I am ashamed to admit I knew hardly anything about this war prior to reading this, and it igniting conversations with my family that helped me understand my our family’s experiences during that time. Thank you to Hannah, St Martins Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book. OMG. Kristin Hannah really did it this time. I thought The Nightingale was my forever favorite, but The Women just really tugged at every emotion. I was shocked, angry, happy, relieved, sad, frustrated, and hopeful. I have read stories about Vietnam, but none that really showed the side from a woman's perspective, that wasn't a wife waiting for her boyfriend/husband to come home.

Frankie's story was incredible. We get to know her as a young woman shipping off to Vietnam and to her time returning home, which is nothing like she expected. I read this book so quickly, and alternating from the audiobook as well. I felt like I was right there in each scene with her. From reliving the moments in Vietnam and also her struggles towards the end.

I would feel like I knew what was going to happen and then Kristin just went a totally different direction with the story than I was expecting. Time after time. The twists in this story were WOW!

THAT ENDING!!!!!

I’m not sure how to feel or review this book. There are parts that I very much enjoyed and would give 4 stars to. Then there are the other more drudgery parts that I would give 2 stars to. So I guess I’ll land in the middle and give it 3 stars and go against the grain of all those who give it 5 stars (I’m used to that at this point)
Frankie is a spoiled SoCal girl who signs up to be a war nurse because her father has a wall of heroes in his office and they’re all male, and her brother goes to war and she wants to be with him. We see what life was like during the Vietnam War for those working as trauma nurses as Frankie sees the horrors of war, finds love, makes lifelong friendships and then, finally gets to come back home and deal with an American public who don’t believe that there were any women serving in Vietnam. Frankie suffers from PTSD and doesn’t know how to cope, but the way she is written is flat and makes it hard to care about her. And I would have loved to have more about Barb and Ethel and their lives when they returned home. Yes, we got to see snippets of their lives when Frankie was in crisis after crisis and called on them for help, but maybe seeing them in their day to day after wartime would have put Frankie into perspective. And while KH doesn’t hide the fact that many Vietnamese civilians were killed in the war, they are nameless, faceless and glossed over.
The story is compelling but overly wordy and it felt like most of the story was told instead of shown. This should have been a slam dunk win for me-a novel about nursing, the turbulence of the 60s, civil rights and women’s rights….but it ended up being just so so and that was just so disappointing after thoroughly enjoying her last several books. Hopefully her next one will win me back again.
Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Kristen Hannah is such a beautiful writer and always manages to weave together so many threads and relationships across time and hardship. I loved THE WOMEN, and the story of Frankie McGrath will stay with me for a long time. I loved how Hannah depicted the coming and going, always having to say “goodbye” in Vietnam. Yet, the connections she formed there helped shape her. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” accurately describes her time at war. Like everything in life, nothing is black and white. There is always good to be found within the bad.

I also really loved the contrast between Frankie’s life in Vietnam and back home in the US. Hannah perfectly captured the divisiveness of the late 60s and early 70s. The shift that Frankie experienced was palpable, and I felt it right along with her. As a child of parents who were a young, newly married couple during the war, I really appreciated this unique glimpse into life at war and home. Hannah has such a magical way of making history come alive. It was made even more powerful when told through a woman’s lens. Like most men who go to war, Frankie dreamed of being a hero and fighting for her country. More stories like this need to be told.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is the story of Frankie McGrath who joins the Army Nurse Corps in 1965 and ships off to Vietnam. This book tells her story for the next 20 years, both during the tumultuous 1960's to her PTSD and struggles after the war.

I wanted to read this novel because I love historical fiction and am especially interested in the 1960's. I have not read a lot of historical fiction set during the Vietnam War.

Frankie is a strong, brave, but flawed protagonist. I appreciated the female friendships in this book, and the focus on women during this time period. This novel was heartbreaking at times, but such an experience. I recommend it for fans of historical fiction, and especially for anyone interested in a woman's experience during the Vietnam War.

"The Women" by Kristin Hannah is an astonishing capture of women in the Vietnam war. The historical fiction follows Frankie, a young nursing student anxious to help people. She impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and discovers the chaos and destruction of war waiting for her.

"Women can be heroes, too."

As a huge Kristin Hannah fan, I had very high hopes for this one. And I was not disappointed one bit. Frankie’s character takes a chunk of your heart and doesn’t let go. Her character growth and emotional journey feels as real as my own. Her pain, both in the war and after returning home, felt personal. Every hardship she went through made me want to scream out loud for her. Frankie is tough, and honest, and kind, and wonderful. While Frankie may only be a character, she represents every woman who served or suffered during the war and received no recognition for it.

This book is not an “easy” read. Many of the events described are incredibly sad and hard to digest. Like many historical fictions set during wartime, I found myself desperately wishing for the story to be a fantasy, instead of a depiction of real life. There were many nights spent reading this book with tears in my eyes. The details incorporated within the story highlight how much research the author put into creating this book. The book is incredibly eye opening. I learned so many details that I was never taught in school.

My eyes are open. My heart hurts. I am left incredibly amazed once again by Kristin Hannah’s work.

I graduated from high school in 1970. My husband's number was high enough that he probably wouldn't have been drafted but he joined the Navy because he is part of a military family and when your country calls you respond. There seems to be so many books written about Europe in WW2 but this was the war I saw on TV.

I thought Frankie was a great character. She was strong and smart and was fortunate to have made such good friends in Barb and Ethel, two of her fellow nurses. I have always heard how beautiful Vietnam is but this wasn't the vacation Vietnam. It was either hot and dusty or wet and muddy. The scene where she is in Pleiku and they had the dust off that lasted for hours, the exhaustion, the devastating injuries was heartbreaking, the Tet offensive, and I had tears in my eyes.

I felt that her experience when she came home was tough, maybe some had it harder but I especially felt the rejection of her dad and I felt her PTSD in my very soul

I would like to thank Netgalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

This was the best Kristin Hannah book to date!

It read like watching an episode of MASH, which made it really fast paced, and talk about the political chaos during that time period, and adjusting as a woman to re-entry into civilian life after serving a horrific tour in Vietnam.

Kristin Hannah is knowing for following the historical timeline, and with being in the middle of the Vietnam War, this book resonates with so many who have close stories or ties to those who were loved and lost. We all have had someone who didn't quite make it home, or if they did, they didn't do well with acclimating back into civilian society.

This is an important book by Kristin Hannah. Hopefully it will bring to light the forgotten women who served as nurses in Vietnam and the harrowing experiences they had both there and at home when they returned.

I didn’t think Kristin Hannah could top THE NIGHTINGALE. Her novels since have come close, but there was just something extra in it that’s hard to explain, that one thing that pushes it over the top. Enter THE WOMEN. I have had to sit with this one for a few days and I am still worried I won’t do it justice. I will say, as soon as I finished it, I called my sister (who read THE NIGHTINGALE after me and had the same reaction) and told her that she had to read THE WOMEN and that I cried, a lot. So, as others have said, you will need a box (or two) of tissues. You will need time to read THE WOMEN because putting it down will be physically painful. You will ugly cry, so make sure you are in a place where you are comfortable bawling your eyes out. This is not a bad thing, it is a testament to the emotions Hannah evokes in the reader with this story, and how utterly heartbreaking Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s journey is.
Frankie starts as an idealistic, pampered young woman, who starts her journey thinking it would be an adventure and give her a chance at a different life than the one set before her. When she hits Vietnam, she realizes that she had no clue, but luckily finds two close friends and a lasting friendship, as well as others to help her survive and grow. After the horrors, she returns home to a world that treats the soldiers horribly and finds that despite going through the same things as the soldiers and being an Army nurse, “there were no women in Vietnam” so she doesn’t qualify for the help she so obviously needs. Everything she endures is heartbreaking, including her parents’ embarrassment and denial that she was even there.
Hannah’s notes said she wanted to write this book for a long time, but waited until she could do it justice. The research and work she put into this novel shows in the outcome. THE WOMEN is well-written, well-researched, and a truly exceptional work. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#THEWOMEN #KRISTINHANNAH #STMARTINSPRESS #WOMENINVIETNAM #HISTORICALFICTION

This did not measure up to some of Hannah’s earlier works, in my opinion. Her ideas are always excellent, however the execution falls short. I would like to read a solid Kristin Hannah historical fiction novel without all the tropes and coincidences. Thank you for the galley.

Hands down my favorite Kristin Hannah book (and I’ve read them all). The story is incredible on its own, but best of all it brings to readers this often forgotten or unknown piece of history that is so important to learn and keep. I was born just after the Vietnam War ended, but growing up, my neighbors across the street lost their son who was a helicopter pilot shot down. His wife had been pregnant and I would play with his daughter when she visited her grandparents. This book opened my eyes and shed light on a part of history - specifically the forgotten women who served - in such an impactful way. I loved the television show M.A.S.H. which was set during the Korean War but in a similar type army hospital, and in my head as I was reading, I was comparing characters, the setting, the pace.
Frankie McGrath is such a strong character - despite everything she goes through - it is impossible not to cheer her on and cry with her every step she takes. The book is stunning but it is also graphic at times and not for the faint of heart. That is the point of course. Highly, highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this tremendous ARC which just released last week.

NetGalley ARC

I could not put this book down, I read most of it in one day!

This book is about the nurses of the Vietnam War. I feel like there hasn't been a lot of historical fiction about the Vietnam War, and I was definitely drawn to this topic.

The sheltered Frankie McGrath's one rebellion is a big one, joining the US Army as a field nurse. Though the field hospital is shocking at first, she quickly acclimates and finds purpose in nursing and bonding with fellow nurses Barb and Ethel. When Frankie returns after two years, she does not receive a warm welcome from her family or society.

The first half of the book focuses on Vietnam and the second is the return home. During her years in Vietnam, Frankie becomes aware that the government has not telling the full truth about the war. Fatalities are miscalculated, destruction of villages are swept under the rug. Once the truth is exposed, many American's turned against not just against the war, but those who returned.

I learned a lot about this complex time period. I am familiar with the protests against the war, and was aware of the disrespect shown to Vets. I did not realize how bad it was for returning vets, who were reviled. For Frankie and the other nurses, there is no help for them. The pubic perception is that there were no women in Vietnam, and even if the nurses were there, they didn't see combat. Frankie is clearly traumatized and experiencing PTSD but she has no support other than Barb and Ethel, who become her lifelines.

I found Frankie's story inspiring. She works so hard build a life for herself. She has many ups and downs (more downs) but perseveres.