Really interesting book that I would never have picked up without the feminist angle.
It makes following science and evolution just about understandable for a heathen like me!

Might get a little dry for some.

Thank you to the publisher for providing epub arcs when the issue of pdfs was brought to their attention.

I had very high hopes for this after reading the description and for the most part they were met. It truly is an account of the evolution of the female body which succinctly explains why we have the featured that we do and how they have helped the female of the species survive for thousand of years. On this front I can say that is surpassed my expectations with the detail it provided. The writing is easy to follow even without a Biology background so if you want to pick this up you should. There are footnotes present throughout the text which should be read as you see fit when you need extra info on a particular aspect that she touches on otherwise feel free to skip them.

The illustrations are excellent. The author- for the most of the book- isn't pinning the sexes against one another and declaring which is best rather she's just explaining why the differences are present so that we can all understand why our bodies are uniquely suited to do what they do.

The book like most biological texts recounts the evolutionary history of cis women, trans women are occasionally acknowledged but nonbinary individuals are not adressed at all. It assumes that the person interested in and will read it is a cis woman. It is not outright stated but when you read it you understand that when she says woman she means a cis woman.

I felt the quotes added nothing to the story and didn't need to be there.

Althought I enjoyed this I have a few things that rubbed me off the wrong way and had me heavily side eyeing the book. If you feel that they are spoilery then read no further. These issues range from: it's not what you're saying but HOW you're saying it to this is outright offensive. 

Implying that homosexual people and asexual people are only present in the population to provide free child care and curb population growth is just downright offensive. Why did we have to make this choice? We were doing so well.

The way issues affecting primarily people of colour where mentioned felt icky. The inclusion of POC individuals in some anecdotes also felt icky. In those parts I felt the author's background as a white woman living in the global north came through in the wrong ways. It felt like other biology focused texts even as the author was trying to show us that they are more than just a scientist who spends all day in the lab and only talks to other scientists. That is the best way I can describe it.

This is more of a personal neatpick but...did we have to include the Clintons? I know what you were going for but couldn't we choose literally anyone else?

The glorification of the American military was unnecessary. Instead the book could have used female athletes who run ultra marathons ( it's aware of their existence) I personally detest everything about the American military. For someone who's brother is a journalist who covers wars it's like she has zero idea of how the military operates.

I need publishers to start investing in sensetivity readers for nonfiction works as well because they need it. I would happily provide those services for a fee because you're not saying what you think you're saying if you weren't aiming to harm anyone. This is not a problem that is unique to this book I just want to put it out there.


CW: bible verses, mention of rape.

What a fascinating read. Read it on the NetGalley shelf, so didn’t encounter any problems. Found it so interesting, breaking the subjects down into the individual ‘Eves’ and of course women’s bodies shouldn’t be treated the same as men’s. I never realised that most research is male oriented - doh! The author explains the most complex things in a very easy to understand way. I think I need to read again as I’m sure I missed things the first time.
5 stars from me, thanks so much for the advanced copy.

Was not available as a kindle download so I will not be able to read - a pity as it sounded interesting

This is a stunning read - and I imagine even more so in print. The author takes us through a detailed introduction of the evolution of species to where we are today, and then the successive chapters are broken down into elements such as Milk, Womb, Love as we explore women's roles. This is a compelling and fascinating read, clearly incredibly well researched and beautifully written.

I think that another reader has experienced a similar problem to me - unfortunately I’m unable to read this book.
For this reason, I will of course leave the full five stars, and I hope to be able to read this book in the future on kindle.
Thank you for the opportunity.

Unfortunately for me, I can’t read this on any of my reading devices on my iPad or iPhone, so I’m sad to say I won’t be able to read this to review it, this is my fault for not checking out what format it was before I requested. Therefore I won’t be leaving a negative review due to my incompetence. I look forward to buying this and reading it when it comes out. I really was looking forward to this.