I would rate this book a 4.5/5. It was easy to get into and didn't want to put it down. Well paced. Protagonist and supporting characters developed throughout the book and were well rounded. Educational about the Vietnam war and the aftermath, more specifically for women.

If you think you will never read an original story or a theme that hasn't been put onto page so so many times, then this is going to need to skip your TBR pile and go straight into your hands.
Frankie is oh so sweet and being groomed for marriage, but when the Vietnam War takes shape before everyone's eyes, Frankie wants to enlist. Oh, and Frankie, is a young woman.
Trained as a nurse, she heads across the ocean to a shocking scene of death, destruction and war invoked chaos. The reader is right by her side as she finds love, loss, friendship and despair in Vietnam, but it doesn't end there. She comes home to political unrest not just from her country, but her own family. Why is it so much of America can't see these women as heroes?
Frankie tries to find her way on her own in a world that won't recognize her heroism, or support her own tramatic experiences. As she falls deeper into her own head, trying to find an escape, we can only hope she will find a beacon of hope to lead her to peace.

**Thank you immensely to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this pre-publication edition in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This is a great book! @kristinhannahauthor takes the cake with historical fiction. The Women follows Frankie McGrath as she watches her brother enlist to fight in Vietnam. As she turns 21 she decides to join her brother and enlist herself. The Women tells about her time in Vietnam and the incredibly challenging process of entry back into a society that was cruel to returning vets-not to mention that many didn’t even believe she was a vet because she was a woman. Frankie was so well developed-her pain so real. This book was the best book I’ve read in some time-almost impossible to put down. Thanks to Netgalley and to St Martin’s Press for the ARC which releases 2/6/24.

It's 1966, and Frankie's parents are having a sendoff party for her USNA graduate brother, who is shipping out to Vietnam. Her father has a wall of pictures of heroic military men in the family, and will be adding Finley to the gallery. When they get word that Finley has been killed, they are in shock, which Frankie, a recent nursing school graduate, adds to when she announces that she has enlisted at a combat nurse. She meets two wonderful fellow nurses there, and the naive young idealist gradually changes. She has what is later diagnosed as PTSD (although men's Vietnam Vet groups keep insisting that there were no women over there) and winds up in some difficult situations with men, alcohol, and drugs, but eventually finds healing on her own terms. This book is intense, well-researched, and impossible to put down--it's a story I will never forget. Recommended for readers with an interest in history, especially women's history. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review an advance copy.

The Women by Kristin Hannah

When socialite and new nursing school graduate Frankie McGrath’s brother enlists in the Navy during the Vietnam War, she decides to enlist in as a registered nurse. As an Army nurse, Frankie experiences horror and heartache both on the front line and on the home front. When Frankie has lost all that she loves, she discovers lessons in friendship, love, and hope.

I read Hannah’s last book, The Four Winds, during a snowstorm in Texas that led to rolling blackouts for a week; it was the perfect book to minimize the minor inconvenience I was experiencing when juxtaposed with the historical hardships Texans have endured. Having read nearly all of Hannah’s previous books, I knew before reading The Women that Hannah shines in creating dynamic characters that allow readers to experience growth and change, love and trauma. The Women was no exception.

Through the character Frankie, readers experience the painful losses of family, friends and lovers during the Vietnam War, the horrors of front-line nursing, and the painful aftermath of service. It is a good story with well-developed characters that illustrates the human cost of war. I would recommend The Women to readers who enjoy war stories and love stories and who are interested in the history of the nursing profession and feminism. Fans of Kristin Hannah books will love this one, too!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s press for providing an advance reader copy for purpose of review.

The Women is a brilliant story about Frankie, who is forced to grow up very quickly the second she arrives in Vietnam as a nurse. Kristin Hannah paints such a vibrant picture for the reader through this book about womanhood in the 60s and 70s, and we see how much Frankie struggles upon her return to America and the lack of resources available to female veterans at the time. Frankie was a very easy to root for character, and her natural sense of empathy and compassion set her apart as a truly great nurse. Her evolution throughout the course of this book is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, somehow. Kristin Hannah has not let me down yet, and The Women is one of those books that everyone should read once in their lifetime. "She'd joined the Army to find her brother and found herself instead; in war, she'd found out who she really was and who she wanted to be."

This is a book a lot of people will love. Women in war is a story that rarely gets told and kudos to Hannah for bringing readers the story of women who served in Vietnam. This novel is a nice addition to the historical war fiction, which is so often mired in WWII. I just wish Hannah's prose matched her storytelling. Her writing is laden with cliches and adjectives. I just want better writing.

Her best work yet! Truly I am not one to cry during books, but I cried MULTIPLE TIMES. This was everything I thought it would be and so much more. I highly highly recommend to anyone who has liked any of her past work, or just anyone who likes historical or literary fiction. Easy five star read. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Kristin Hannah is a master storyteller, particularly in the genre of historical fiction. Her ability to bring characters and events to life in a thought-provoking manner is truly a gift. With the subject matter of this book, nurses in Vietnam, I was not only entertained but educated as to so many aspects of their lives and situations that I just didn't know anything about previously. If you want a good story that will be enjoyable and engage your thoughts, this book is for you!

The novel focuses on three women who served as nurses in Viet Nam. Frankie enlists after her older
brother is sent to Viet Nam. Fresh out of nursing school, she is immediately confronted with the reality
of war casualties. Two other nurses, Barb and Ethel help her deal with her duty assignments. The long hours,
the weather, injuries and death of soldiers and civilians take a toll.
When Frankie returns home, she discovers that the medical skills she acquired in Viet Nam are not
recognized by the hospital staff. Help dealing with PTSD for females who served is non-existent as most
believe there were no women serving in Viet Nam. The treatment of returning veterans from Viet Nam is another factor.
Heart wrenching read - keep a box of tissues handy.
#TheWomen #KristinHannah #NetGalley

Gosh this was a beautiful yet hard read for me. I started this right when the talks of WWIII started to rumor and it still sends chills down my spine to think about. I had to take a week break mid book just to collect my thoughts. Once I dived back in I was hooked and was pulling for recognition of all the women who went to war whose thoughts and emotions were discarded when they returned as if they had made up ever going. The government can paint whatever picture they’re choose which is downright frightening. You can feel and see how much time Kristin Hannah takes to perfect these books to connect them to real life events. This should be added to anybody’s TBR!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This book was amazing! Kristin Hannah writes about the nurses in Vietnam, who never got the recognition they deserved.

Frankie McGrath is a young woman who was still very fresh and naive going in. Coming out she was riddled with PTSD from her horrific experience.

I honestly did not know of any of this before and this book was so helpful. It was beautiful and shattering at the same time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book really puts me through the ringer. But at this point, I've come to expect nothing less from Kristin Hannah! It was emotional and heavy, and very complex. So layered.
What I love about Hannah's books is that they are all love stories in one way or another. This book was a love story between Frankie and her friends. There were so many components to this book that wove together and created a very rich, deep narrative that told the heartbreaking story of the veterans of the Vietnam war. I am not much of a history buff, but I can always count on her books to give me an understanding of and emotional connection to pivotal moments in history.
My biggest critique is the length and pacing of the story; the first 50% was slow-moving to me, and parts of it felt a bit redundant. I flew through the last 40% as the story shifted to her experiences back home after the war, and it was where I felt like Frankie's character really came to life.
Another hit from an incredible author. Loved and very grateful for the opportunity to read and review this ARC to give my honest opinion.

I love everything ive read by this author and this is no exception. She is amazing at writing historical fiction. This one i love because it follows the women's journey through wartime. It's was great and took off right away! Great read.

Kristin Hannah's, "The Women" is a literary masterpiece that follows the heart-wrenching and courageous experiences of Frankie McGrath, an army nurse in Vietnam. In true Kristin Hannah fashion, her meticulous research and vivid storytelling breathed life into the characters, creating a narrative that was both gripping and emotionally resonant. I am an avid Kristin Hannah fan, having read most, if not all, of her books and, “The Women” is - hands down - the best of the best!

I'm honored to be given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book and I will be recommending it to everyone!

Kristin Hannah succeeds again in writing a stellar historical novel with The Women and moves her setting to Vietnam and shows the effect that nurses had on the war and one women’s journey through war and life.

I have read several of Hannah's books, and this one does not disappoint. Being a nurse, I immediately liked the story of Frankie and her desire to serve in Vietnam. It grabbed me right then, and I could not put it down, truly! Enjoy - and thank you NetGalley for the e-book copy to read before publication.

Again, Kristin Hannah did not disappoint! I loved this book and read it in one sitting! I would definitely recommend this book! I normally don't read Historical Fiction, but Kristin Hannah wrote it where I really enjoyed it!

Kristin Hannah's "The Women" provides a powerful glimpse into the Vietnam war and the political unrest surrounding it, highlighting a historically under-recognized group of women veterans. The story follows Frankie McGrath, a young women from Coronado Island determined to prove that women can also be heroes. Leaving behind her easy-going life to serve in Vietnam as a member of the Army Nurse Corps, Frankie faces chaos and tragedy daily. After sacrificing heroically for her country, Frankie comes face-to-face with the devastating reality that her service is not only unappreciated, but also unacknowledged. Without support, Frankie must battle her traumatic memories and experiences alone, struggling to make sense of the turbulent and harsh world around her.

Moving and insightful, I recommend this book to historical fiction readers or anyone seeking to understand more about the experience of Vietnam veterans. As well-written historical fiction should, this story compelled me to further research the people and events portrayed throughout the book. I did feel that a couple of cliche or impractical plot points revolving around Frankie's romantic relationships caused the story to feel a bit less realistic, which resulted in a four-star reading experience for me. Overall, however, I was still immersed in the story and was moved by the characters and their experiences and think many other readers will be too.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Frankie goes to Vietnam as a nurse having no idea what to expect but completely untrained and out of her depth. This novel about the Vietnam War nurses and what went on incountry is a perspective I don’t think has been written about before. It’s difficult to read at times knowing what went on but it’s incisive and brilliant.