This was such a wonderful book. Everything Hannah writes is so thought out, well executed, and worth the read. This is definitely going to be another huge hit for her!

This novel took my heart out and stomped on it from so many directions.
Hannah pays tribute to all the women who served in Vietnam and doesn’t hold back with the raw emotions and graphic horror experienced by all who were there.
But good lord did Hannah put Frankie through every conceivable pitfall scenario. I thought she would not stop putting the poor woman through the wringer.
I honed in on one character who has a special relationship with Frankie and I correctly predicted part of the story, but then had my heart shattered in disappointment.
I loved the Seawolves, Barb and Ethel. They were true friends to Frankie.
It’s also a story about finding yourself and coming to grips with all the decisions one makes in life and leaning how to live with the consequences.

I read historical fiction to become immersed in a time and place and to get a perspective through the lens of people living in that era. I've only read three of Kristin Hannah's previous works, but they were all memorable for the characters and depictions of the time period. The Women is a similarly powerful work in following Frankie McGrath from an idealistic young woman from a patriotic family to a wartime nurse serving in Vietnam to a veteran returning to the US in a time of massive societal change and unrest. The story moves at a good clip but be warned that you'll be riding an emotional roller coaster - not only because of the historical time period, but all the pieces that make us human like family, love, loss, grief, friendship. This isn't a book to read in order to learn more about the Vietnam War, but it did make me pause to think about the women who served and what their experiences must have been like, the ways their lives were changed and the ways they lived their lives differently when they returned. 4.5/5 stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the e-ARC.

Wow, such a well written book on some tough subjects.
While the main subject matter is about women and their roll in the Vietnam War , Kristen Hannah also breeches topics such as grief, racism, infidelity, love and mental health.
The idea of women serving in Vietnam never crossed my mind, or rather the lack of conversation about their service. I love the chronological POV from Frances (Frankie) ; a smart , tough young lady who is brought to her knees by loss, love ,war and rejection.
My heart broke for Frankie as well as real life Veterans . The experiences of this fierce OR Nurse were written to the point that you forget Frankie is a fictional character. Her life experiences before, during and after Vietnam truly bring her to life.
In so many ways this novel helped me to better understand the personal experiences I could see reflected in my husbands' experience after his tour in Iraq. While my husband did not encounter outright hatred for his service he did suffer from PTSD and fought some pretty tough demons ,too .However, like Frankie, he confided in friends and sought help, fighting for a better future.
I absolutely love how Frankie turned her tragic experiences into an avenue to help other come to terms with their own troubles.
Sure to be another best seller for Kristen Hannah!

Big thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ability to read this ARC.

Kristin Hannah can do no wrong! What an amazing story bringing to light a side of history that is frequently not talked about-- Women in the war, actively fighting and seeing combat.

I enjoyed the set up of the book how it was during and post active combat. This book read like old Kristin Hannah novels, but none the less a 5 star read.

Wow! What a fantastic book. All the stars, all the emotions - I think this one might be my new favourite Kristin Hannah book (sorry The Great Alone… I still love you too.)

This was such a unique voice and story about the Vietnam war. I loved spending time with these young nurses who became brave heroes, best friends, and life-lines for each other. The author’s ability to capture the confusion and anger around the Vietnam War while layering in a captivating personal story of loss and hope is what truly makes this a great book.

I knew 1/4 of the way through I was rating this book 5 stars. I was IMMEDIATELY hooked, and when I tell you I don’t do historical novels, I don’t. BUT after reading The Four Winds, when I saw this come up as an ARC opportunity I applied. I am so glad I did. Kristin Hannah makes it feel like you are right there in the trenches with these women.

I’ve read another novel about the “Summer of Love” and it was truly eye-opening to see the other side of the 60’s. As someone whose grandfather fought in Vietnam, I found this book very intriguing, as it’s not talked a lot about in our family.

This book ripped my heart out and glued it back together quite a few times, for various reasons. I love when a story makes me emotional (whether it’s happy or sad), because that means I connect to it or the author has detailed so much that I feel like I’m there. Many times, this book offered both.

I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking to learn a little bit more about the Vietnam war, while also dappling in a love story or two, and inspiring you at the same time!

This was such a powerful and heartbreaking story from the POV of women who were nurses during the Vietnam War. Frankie was such a strong, amazing, flawed character that survived so much and my heart broke for all the things she had to go through. This book shows the bravery of these women and the effects of PTSD. I absolutely couldn’t put this book down.

The first half of the book gives us a look at life during the war with lots of action and the second half is life post-war. This was a brutal and heartbreaking story that will stick with me for a long time. I think it was really important to get to see a different side of the war that I hadn’t heard about before. I was shocked by some of the things that took place!

Powerful, impactful, emotional, thought-provoking, and educational. Kristin’s incredible writing brought these characters to life in such a real way! I smiled, cried, and rooted for Frankie and the women of the war. The strong bonds and friendships were beautiful to read.

Frankie’s story was so raw and real! I felt her struggles and losses, throughout the book.
It did take me a long time to read the first 40% of the book, where the war stories were so visceral and tough to read. But after that I was hooked and read the rest of the book in 1 days
The ending had me in tears, as per usual to KH’s writing.
Thank you to net galley for the opportunity to read the newest book by one of my favorite authors!

I love Kristin Hannah's books and so I was excited to pick up her newest, and oh did I love this book.
This story and these characters will stick with me for a long time. I kept wanting to talk with my husband about the details of the Vietnam war and the women who served there - a subject I unfortunately, knew very little about.

This book was such a great combination of exploring a subject I didn't know much about, since I am not usually one to pick up any historical fiction, especially ones that center around wars, a compelling story that kept me reading and characters that I will not forget.

Kristin Hannah is such a great story teller, and this book may be one of her best yet!
I read this book on Kindle, but think that Julia Whelan's narration will really bring this story to life in the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and StMartinsPress for the ARC.

This book was phenomenal. I always love Kristin Hannah's historical fiction, but this one I can sincerely say I learned so much from this, plus it was a beautiful story that pulled at my heart strings. Don't believe anyone who says women were not in Vietnam. They suffered the same as the men, but were not considered war heroes and were turned away for help.

The beautiful way Hannah weaves history into this story of a woman coming of age during the Vietnam war and becoming a nurse in it kept me reading well into the night. I devoured this story, it grabbed me from the beginning. Highly recommend!

This was not an easy book to start or finish, but it is well worth it. It’s a hard read, especially the depiction of war and its ugly aftermath. I managed not to cry until the end, but this book will stick with me for a long time.

I am sure that much will be written about this book when it releases, but let me say that it will stay with me for a long time. Kristin Hannah is the master of weaving deep and nuanced historical fiction that makes us think and reimagines situations we thought we understood. The Women is a to,e about female nurses who served in Vietnam - their experiences in country and when they returned home. It follows Frankie McGrath from idealistic daughter to war battled kick ass nurse to PTSD riddled veteran trying to fight her way out of darkness. It’s a beautiful story that is so exquisitely written.

Content flags galore include combat action, drug and alcohol addiction, miscarriage, and the shameful treatment of returning veterans.

I voluntarily read a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I'm going to be in the minority here, but I wasn't as big of a fan of this one as I have been of other Kristin Hannah books. I'm not sure if it was just the content of the storyline, Vietnam and war are not really topics that I ever really gravitate towards, but I figured it was Kristin Hannah, how can I go wrong, but it still had a hard time holding my interest.
If you're a Kristin Hannah fan, you will still find the traditional "recipe for success" in this story, as she always delivers, this one just wasn't my cup of tea.

I have mixed feelings about this - I think the first half was absolutely gripping, emotional and intense. The second half fell apart for me a few times, especially with all of the relationship drama. (It felt almost out of place given the other traumatic events Frankie had been through).

Overall a solid read - I’m always looking for historical fiction not set during WWII so this was particularly refreshing to read.

Kristin Hannah is a Favorite Author and this book is Exceptional. It is an absorbing story dealing with women’s often unrecognized role in war. This one takes place in the 1960’s and during the Vietnam War. The book really is a no holds look at the horror war causes, especially the Vietnam War as it went on for so long and many wanted it to stop.

The Main Character, Frankie, I have felt for so much. It is incredible how dismissed women were. She does not realize what a dangerous place she will be in as she is not told when she signs up. She actually takes her flight to Vietnam in her White Uniform, including a girdle and panty hose! She joins the Army Combat Nurses, and is always close to serious danger. She also is responsible for trying to save the lives of all the injured young men and also civilians who are brought to her Evacuation Hospital. It is chilling. Yet, Frankie is an exceptional Nurse and has superb Surgical Skills. The scenes are vivid and feel exceptionally real.

Going home is always on her mind, but what will that be like? It ends up this is where the book really became emotional for me. Frankie is expected to be the young, naive, and carefree girl she used to be. This of course is not possible. Yet, she is treated badly as she returns to America. People curse and spit at Veterans. She is supposed to both carry the shame of all the conflicting feeling of this war and also just move on with her life easily. Since, women were told they were not even in combat zones, their role was not even noticed. It also makes her feel so alienated since she can’t even speak about her experience with other Veterans. She is dismissed. This I found especially hard to take in as I was a young girl when the war was ending, yet I remember hearing Veterans cursed at and called names. I always remember thinking that was really wrong. Frankie has an understandable difficult time readjusting to regular life. She is troubled, confused, and angry. She should have been able to get the help she needed. So, yes she is a strong woman, but also a wounded person due to the way she is treated. There is always a thread of hope throughout the book that Frankie will fight very hard to find her new self. I really loved her character.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Kristin Hannah, and NetGalley for granting me a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read and am happy to do so.

I loved the Great Alone. The Four Winds was super hard. I was nervous about The Women. j

The Women is the story of Frankie, a society girl turned war nurse during the Vietnam war. What she sees, the trauma and loss that she experiences and how she recovers are all played out on page with a brutal honesty that was at both times hard to read and also completely page turning. My favorite parts of the story included her relationship with Ethel and Barb. Those life long female friendships are priceless and when they are displayed on page it's the best.

This book has tough times. It's not easy to read in places, but know that it all comes together in the end and you will leave feeling ok.

Not my favorite Kristin Hannah but this could just be a me problem. This was obviously well-researched and a difficult but worthwhile subject to tackle. I just didn’t love the romance subplots or the amount of trauma that was inflicted on the main character. On one hand, some bits were definitely historically accurate so I got it, but I felt like there was just so much happening to the one character that it was exhausting. Overall, just a bit long and repetitive (especially near the end when Hannah emphasized “the women” in almost every sentence).

4.5 stars rounded up.

I was I high school when the Vietnam War started and I have to admit that I didn’t pay much attention until several years later in college when I found myself in a protest march on campus. I was more aware then or at least I thought I was. I had learned that a high school friend was killed there. The focus then was on the young men killed, the innocents of the region bombed, the insanity of the war. I never gave a thought about the women who served in the military as nurses, who saved so many, who experienced the trauma of seeing mutilated bodies, held the hands of those who wouldn’t come home. I never thought of the nurses who worked tirelessly under horrible conditions, who through their stamina and skill made it possible for so many to come home. Had I thought about them I never would have imagined that they would not be considered veterans. Kristin Hannah in this novel though the character of Frankie McGrath and her two best friends brings light and honor to the women who served.

It’s a stunning read, not for the faint of heart, with vivid descriptions of the wounds and loss of limbs and loss of life. It portrays the grueling days and nights of these women as well as the doctors vividly. Their physical and emotional exhaustion and how they cope with sometimes heartbreaking effect. Frankie’s life after she returned home is heart wrenching. Highly recommend for those who remember the times and for those who don’t. It’s an eye opener that will punch you in the gut, but it’s worth it.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

This book used every Vietnam trope known to man, and the story was entirely predictable - BUT - it was good. It was a solid read, hard to put down - I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I don't know what was more surprising to me - the fact that it made me cry, or the fact that I got something out of the perspective of the story.

It's important to revisit our war stories even know when know we've read a lot of books about them because in the hands of the right author they have something new to offer. Hannah is hit and miss for me, I loved The Nightingale and hated The Great Alone. The love stories in this book definitely featured prominently which I think took away a bit. But the good about it far outweighed the bad. Being a nurse in Vietnam is potentially one of the most underrated experiences out there and I was glad to have gotten a glimpse of it.