I did not like this book. The narrator was frustrating and hard to understand at times. I had to quit litstening.

I didn’t like the narrator. When she used a French accent it was at times very hard to understand.
I didn’t care for the sex scenes so I quit listening.

Actual Rating 1.5

This story is told from Verity’s and Anastasia’s POV in dual timelines (2018 and the 1300s). The characters all fell flat. They were lacking real depth and development as well as not having much personality come through in the way they were written. In fact, this book focused on some of the least interesting aspects of both women for no apparent reason. Verity also read as a much younger character than she actually was, which caused many instances of exasperation when reading about her thought processes and decisions. The author also included a lackluster romance that became a prominent feature of the book. Needless to say it wasn’t compelling, didn’t add to the plot or characters, and felt forced and awkward. In fact, this book could have been much stronger if Verity’s timeline/POV weren’t included at all.

Something else that was lacking was the historical context. I wanted much more from the setting and historical world, but it was barely incorporated, causing that timeline to feel like it was missing something important. I think this was partly due to how much time we skipped during the historical timeline, sometimes jumping years in a matter of sentences. The ending was also quite weak and rushed and was an anticlimactic way to close the book.

Despite the shortness of this book, it felt much longer. I don’t think this work succeeded at being a compelling work of literary or historical fiction and it wasn't surprising to learn that it was written by an academic. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was a fantastic feminist dual timeline story that kept me fascinated from start to finish and was excellent on audio too. Highly recommended especially for fans of books like Possession. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I made it 30% into this book, but I just couldn't get into it. It's clearly well researched and written well, but my attention wasn't grabbed by it.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for allowing me to review Cities of Women on NetGalley.

Narrators: Elisabeth Lagelée; Lauren Ezzo; Mia Barron -- Both did their job, neither stood out.

Stars: 2.5

This is a miss for me. A perfect example that not all historical fiction is created equal (HF attracted me.).

The story was too long and there were pages of blah blah blah. This synopsis appealed to my yearning to learn. I thought the art portion and mystery behind it would fuel my mind. Sadly, it frustrated me. I found choices made to be juvenile and at one point wondered if the author drew the topic out of a jar.

For me, once again, it's dumbing down educated people and expecting the same to play along.

I unfortunately had to DNF this book as it completely lost me. Maybe it would have been better as a book I actually read instead of listened to, but after a strong start, I got bored and had a hard time getting myself to pay attention, finding myself constantly lost.

Cities of Women has a dual timeline structure, with one part set in contemporary times with a young academic named Verity who is up for tenure and trying to get her project underway. She abandons her current project when she learns about the handwritten medieval manuscripts of Christine de Pizan, which contain incredibly stunning illustrations that seem to glow. She immediately starts trying to track the artist down.

The second timeline is set in medieval times and follow a girl named Beatrice from her early life as she flees from the horrors of the "Black Death"to reach Paris. The two timelines are obviously well-connected.

I generally love historical fiction and stories about art and strong female characters and I truly appreciate how well-researched this book clearly was. It just wasn't the book for me. But still, read some other reviews and give it a try yourself because it might be the book for you!

Cities of Women follows Verity, a modern day professor, on her journey to uncover the identity of who illuminated famous Medieval manuscripts. I originally picked this book up due to its intriguing plot line, but unfortunately my interest ended there.

Let me start off with giving some kudos: Kathleen B Jones did an incredible job of researching the topic of the book. It never once felt like Jones was writing about things unfamiliar. She truly did her due diligence for this novel. With that being said, I wish it didn’t read like a history textbook. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest history nerd, but what was supposed to be a sweeping story ended up feeling like a much too long excerpt from a class.

I am typically a huge fan of dual timelines, so I was very excited for Cities of Women to include this feature. Unfortunately, the timelines were done so choppily that I often forgot whose POV I was in and what the character was doing. In the same token, I spaced out for periods at a time because I couldn’t find much to anchor my interest in the book.

Lastly, the main message of the book fell a little flat. It felt like the whole story was building up to some magnificent ending, only for it to fizzle out. Overall, I gave Cities of Women 2/5 stars. I say this, completely aware that I am not and will probably never be an author: I believe Jones had the right idea, but the wrong execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Turner Publishing Company for this audiobook ARC!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Overall interesting if a little slow at times. Not too much confusion on what timeline was what, which was nice. The narrator did good.

I could not finish this audiobook, as the narrator has such insufferable acting. It was hard to listen to. Impressive acting, but took me out of the story with its grandeur

Cities of Women

This book made me want to give up my life and livelihood and be an academic researcher. Traipsing around ancient library manuscripts and uncovering clues during roadtrips to centuries old monistaries and castles.

This book was told in two different timelines. The first one was a current day plot of Verity Frazer, a history professor who is giving up the safe route of research to start in a new area of study, because she knows there is a lost artist that history has forgotten. And Verity wants to find her.

The second plot was of medievil origin and unravelled to find the background of Christine de Pizan’s manuscripts and a mysterious artist woman named Anastasia.

Although some of the areas in this book did drag on, I did feel invested and wanted to see all the historical loose ends tied up. Overall I was impressed and entertained by this feminist take on medieval history and current academic ventures into our past.

This audiobook was just not my cup of tea.

NetGalley has Cities of Women categorized as "General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction". With the title, I should have known better. I saw "Historical Fiction", read the description and thought it would be interesting and I would learn something. Yes, in the sense that you find out details of book creation & illustration from around the 1300-1400's. At some point, I figured ... just pretend the story is a cross of science fiction and LGBT and finish reading so I can provide a review. I can't even tell you the number of times I thought, "ugghh, this book (groan)." (I don't feel that it is right to review a book that I DNF/Did Not Finish, this one was honestly close to a DNF for me. But I slogged through it.)

So ... for example (at one hour in, 9 hours to go) ... in the 1300's around the time of plague ... after the young (female) teenager's mom gambled away the "best" of two mules ... "we drifted from village to village ... along the way we exchanged what we looted for a bit of shelter we stayed alive one more day, one more week and then one more month. ... I bartered my last plundered goods for a plow, a mule, two pigs and some sticks of furniture. We set up home in this tiny cottage ... " Wow, pretty good bartering; (ugghh this book).

I know, every (most) books has added a LGBTQ character. I get it. But a couple parts of this book were more "open door" (in my opinion) than I wanted or expected. And this couple was a rollercoaster of arguments about the stupidest things. (ugghh, this book)

So instead of this being what I had expected as "historical fiction", it was more in line of what historical fiction could be, when re-written by a woman who has majored in women's studies.

So, the disclaimer. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review the advance read (LISTEN) copy of the Cities of Women audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I honestly hope that you enjoy Cities of Women more than I did; and that you don't think "ugghhh" even once.

Giving this book 2 stars because ... I should have known better based on the title. ugghh, this book.

The novel, Cities of Women, by Kathleen B. Jones, takes readers on a journey through time, delving into the lives of women who dared to defy the norms of their eras in pursuit of passions. Jones crafts a meticulous tapestry of history, art, and feminism that seamlessly weaves together two narratives separated by centuries, connected by the essence of embracing their womanhood.

In one narrative, following Verity Frazier, a modern-day historian on a quest to unveil the hidden story of Anastasia, a remarkable illuminator of medieval manuscripts. Jones captures the challenges and triumphs of women who challenge societal constraints in the pursuit of their art.

The dual narrative, set against the backdrop of moral turmoil and political intrigue, is a testament to Jones's meticulous research and storytelling prowess. The audiobook, narrated by Elisabeth Lagelee, Lauren Ezzo, and Mia Barron, brings these women's voices to life, adding depth and authenticity to their stories.

Cities of Women is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of female creativity, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of women throughout history. Jones has created a luminous masterpiece that invites readers to reflect on the enduring legacy of women who dared to follow their passions.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the advanced audiobook copy via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Okay so our main character is a historian who gets drawn into the work of a woman from long ago. A woman, who the world assumes worked with a man. But MC suspects otherwise and means to give credit to the woman she suspects it due to.

We get some jumping back and forth in time with our historian’s perspective and the artist’s perspective.

Sounds so good but it’s been dreadfully boring. There’s just too much information. I don’t need a description of every tiny thing anyone is doing. It slogs along because of it.

Dear Cities of Women,
You were a bit of a struggle for me. I had a hard time connecting to any of the three characters and their plights. You were a bit drily written, and it felt at times like your purpose was to inform your readers how much the author knows about medieval writing and illuminating. There wasn't a ton of character development, and your plot developed very slowly. I wanted you to be juicer, deeper and more emotional, but you just fell flat of that for me.

I was initially intrigued by this book, but the story quickly lost me with a confusing progression of events and lack of character growth.

The narrator was good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!

On the face of it this is an interesting book of historical fiction looking at the the intersection between the lives of Christine de Pisan and an illuminator called Anastasia.

Verity Frazier is the professor who, bored with her book concerning the Paris Commune women, comes across some interesting research that may mean a woman illuminated the work of Christine de Pisan. So, following advice, she heads to London to find more material to support her theory.

And it is at this point (or shortly after) most of the book descends into a romance of such excruciating farce with the most tortured dialogue I ever heard, that it almost ruins the set pieces with Christine and Anastasia.

I'd have no problem moaning for several pages about what irritated me about the romance but I'll list a few of the worst - Anastasia (because Verity just happens to meet someone of the same name as her illuminator - what are the odds?) has a nails down a chalkboard accent that even Queen Elizabeth would laugh at, while Verity constantly seems to be on the point of tears; both women consistently blow up for no reason, pouting and stomping off like children; the places they visit (which Anastasia seems to have the keys to and know everyone - quelle surprise!) are consistently mispronounced (this also happens with names and poor Lizzie Siddall had her name pronounced 3 different ways in 2 sentences). Now the muspronunciations wouldn't be so bad but it's the Brit who does it. Lacock Abbey (pronounced Laycock) and Salisbury (pronounced Saulsbury) being the worst offenders.

There I'm done. The history parts were interesting and I've no doubt that some illuminators were women. Christine certainly stamped her mark on history without the help of a man. However the romance utterly ruined the book for me and I ground my teeth through it.

I gave it 2 for the third of the book that was good.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the advance review copy.
Edit Review

I wanted to love this book because Christine de Pizan was one of the most fabulous women in history. She was perhaps the first woman professional writer during the late fourtheenth century. She took on Jean de Meun and The Romance of the Rose with her Book of the City of Women. But this book just couldn't draw me in. The tone between the two settings was slightly offputting to me and the sections that actually dealt with Christine de Pizan, who was arguably the more interesting character to me, we boring. There is little known about her in history, aside from what she wrote about herself, but I found the poetic license to be inaccurate.

Verity Frazer is stuck in her research and waiting on tenure at her university posting in California. She flys to NYC to see an old flame and in doing so stumbles upon an exhibit that changes the course of her studies. Verity becomes fascinated with Christine De Pizan’s written work, but more specifically with the illustrations of her folios. De Pizan a notable feminist far ahead of her medieval contemporaries references Anastasia once, and that is enough to send Verity on a journey to prove that these learned women wrote and illustrated in a time when men ran the world.

Beatrice is a woman almost lost to time. The child of a gifted weaver, she was fortunate enough to have a father who believe she deserved to learn a craft. Her gifted hand at illumination set her dream in motion of her own atelier where she could support herself. Despite many horrific setbacks, this was the era of the plague and she was a woman with no authority as a widow, Beatrice was fascinating. The few chapters from Christine De Pizan’s perspective only enhanced my respect for the young woman.

This dual timeline novel does a great job of alternating between the 14th century and modern times without feeling jarring, but the multiple points of view threw me a bit. I particularly enjoyed the learning historical timeline, which is typical for me. The modern timeline was less engrossing. I struggled to believe a university-backed historian was as ignorant about the production of manuscripts as Verity seemed to be when doing her medieval research. Her relationship with the modern Anastasia also felt unimportant, and didn’t add to the story. The three narrators did an excellent job, despite the storyline dragging at times.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for the advanced copy of the audiobook. Cities of Women is out now. All opinions are my own.

Verity Frazer is a history professor who is trying to prove that Christine de Pizan’s artwork for her medieval manuscripts are done by a woman named Anastasia.
The premises for this book was good. The author did admirably with her in-depth research. She takes us on a journey through Europe, both in the 15th century and modern times. Part of the book focuses on Anastasia, and her life. I enjoyed that part, but I was not as fond of the part set in modern times.

I listened to the audio version of the book. The narrators did an okay job with the story. It just did not hold my interest.