She ahs done it again!

Kristin Hannah knows all the right ways to tug at those heartstrings. I have to appreciate how she highlighted the plight of women soldiers who went to Vietnam during the war. History glorifies the scarifies men make during war while the sacrifices women make are often forgotten.

A must read if you're a fan of Kristin Hannah!

However, I have personally decided to read historical fiction by local authors instead of the "white washed" ones. Vietnam war was absolutely unmercenary that was initiated by the USA that scarred both the American soldiers and the Vietnamese population.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for proving this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is amazing. I could not stop reading. Truly harrowing and so sad. It gave a small insight into the lives of women who were at Vietnam. It is absolutely shocking the way they were treated but this book has given me knowledge I didn't already have. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical sagas based on true events.

This was exceptional.

I haven’t felt this emotive over a book in an incredibly long time - it taught me of a time I knew very little about before reading .

Kristin Hannah is an exceptional storyteller and I believe that everyone should read this book - it is a masterpiece.

WOW WOW WOW Kristin Hannah has outdone herself with her latest masterpiece! This untold story is absolutely captivating. I couldn't put it down, even on a beautiful beach. A must-read for any fan of historical fiction.

The Women is a beautifully written novel which follows Frankie, a nurse who serves in Vitetnam. Whilst Frankie's experiences are horrific and heartbreaking, her friendships are heartwarming and filled with hope. I raced through this book as I just couldn't put it down. This is the first book I've read by Kristin Hannah, and I'm excited to work my way through her other novels!

Thank you to Kristin Hannah, NetGalley and the the publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a read! I feel slightly traumatised after completing the book but worth it for the pleasure of reading Kristin's latest publication.

A time in history that I did not know a lot about; yes, I'd enjoyed the TV show MASH but this has so opened my eyes as to what sacrifices were made and indeed how awfully the Women were treated. Yeah, the country needs you as nurses, doctors but that where it stopped, ashamedly! To treat the vets as only male and not even acknowledge the role that women vets played was deplorable. But then it was a man's world, chauvinistic and it shows some parallels in treatment of women in the series Mad Men!

Thank goodness things have changed for the better, however, the story that Kristin has brought to life brought me to tears, anger and consolation that Frankie found some degree of happiness but importantly, fulfilment. She and her close friends are great characters!

Is there a film in the works for this one?

Congratulations on a great book, a 5 star read and I look forward to your next book Kristin.

‘The Women’ is my first novel to read by Kristin Hannah , I can honestly say I was not disappointed, and this book is the first of many books to read by her. This book was extraordinary, it was a woman’s experience, our FMC Frankie, that worked as a nurse during the Vietnam War. This novel is heart wrenching, impactful, moving, fantastic and something everyone should read ❤️📖

Being someone who loves historical fiction and therefore reads a lot of historical fiction, I have actually never read a book that took place during Vietnam War (I have watched movies that took place in the Vietnam War, a personal fav is ‘Good Morning Vietnam’, another topic for discussion) which is actually quite shocking to me, and I wonder is it because authors are hesitant to set their books about such a controversial war?

I learned so much from this book and found myself pulling out encyclopaedias and google to learn more. Kristin Hannah was well researched when writing this book and I love that she was. In the acknowledgements she says that she wanted to write a novel about Vietnam back in the ‘90s but she didn’t think she was up to the task at that time because it is a big topic and there’s so many layers to it.

‘The Women’ while it did focus on the experience of women in the Vietnam War, it also went into details about how women bravely stepped into harm’s way but were constantly dismissed for ever being there. But they were there. The book also largely discusses friendships that were created through the most difficult of experiences and the courage to fight for yourself, in my words women being there for women and the value, strength, and resilience of women. I adored the main character Frankie and I felt for her so much, she was just a women who chose to help those in need and suffered the consequences of doing so.

Even though it was about 500 pages, I didn’t want this book to end, and I couldn’t put it down 🥰 I cannot wait to read more of Kristin Hannah’s books. The only negative thing I can say about this book is that I can’t read it for the first time again 😭

Loved this! An excellent and gripping read ,loved the main character Frankie, a well rounded and interesting character. The Vietnam war was a brilliant setting.a good romance thrown in also!

I DNFed this early, just too long descriptions and I couldn’t get into the story. Will try to come back to this at a later date.

An enjoyable and emotional read. I enjoyed it. The characters are well developed and the story flows with ease. A recommended read.

This is a heartbreaking book that tells an incredibly important and largely forgotten story - that of women who served in the Vietnam War. It is well written though a bit repetitive at times, as we follow Frankie from her conservative, wealthy, and sheltered upbringing to her decision to enlist as a nurse in the Army during the Vietnam War and through her deployment and return home, where she struggles to reintegrate into the society she grew up in. She clearly has PTSD, which wasn't recognized at the time, and doesn't receive much support except from her two best friends, other nurses she met while in Vietnam. This is one of those historical fiction books that you wish was just pure fiction, because the fact that this episode in history really happened is too upsetting to believe.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was an easy 5 stars for me! The amount of research this book must have taken - is incredible. Such a beautiful and heart wrenching story woven in to how life must have felt during the Vietnam war. This book shed so much on a topic I previously knew very little about. So from a historical point it taught me a lot. The highs and lows of FMC Frankie was a total journey! One that I can’t help keep thinking about! Honestly, the book has so many layers. Kristen Hannah does it again! Highly recommend!!!

The only second Kristin Hannah book I’ve ever read, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Gripping from the beginning, harsh and so descriptive.

Following her brother's death in Vietnam Frankie volunteers to be a nurse in that war & the story follows her harrowing experiences there, together with the bonds of friendships.

Very educational read

Thank you for the ARC copy

I adored this book. It tells the story of Frankie (Frances) who after training to be a nurse volunteers in Vietnam - the first half of book tells of her experiences as a rooky to a veteran. The second half addresses how she copes when she comes back to the US. It was really fascinating to read about experiences of Vietnam especially from the point of view of women which is much less talked.

An absolutely stunning novel about the women who served in the Vietnam War and were forgotten. Not many books can make me cry but this one is one of them. Following the life of Frankie McGrath who followed her brother into the war ad a nurse. It is horrifying yet moving at the same time and just prooves how useless War is.. Beautifully written as are all Kristen Hannahs books it certainly gies to the top of my list for one of my best books this year.

Kristin Hannah shares a brilliant insight into the Vietnam war from a nurses perspective. 20 year old Frankie comes from a Navy family, and after her brother flies out to Vietnam she decides to join as a nurse hoping to serve her country, but ultimately she wants to make her family proud.

This book tackles so many topics that I want to talk about but probably won’t be able to fit in this post so I’ll do my best to condense!

The first half of the book is action packed, introducing a very young, naive Frankie to the realities of war. Some of the scenes are so heartbreaking and hard to read, with civilians often being targeted and coming to the hospital for treatment. I couldn’t help but think of some of the horrific images we’re seeing come out of present day wars and wonder why this is still going on.

The second half looks at Frankie’s return from ‘Nam where she is treated, not like a hero, but with disgust and made to feel ashamed of her service. The world she returns to is very different and she comes back a different person due to the experiences she’s endured. You can see the change in her perspective and her frustration that others don’t feel the same.

She is suffering from PTSD, although it is only in the early stages of being a recognised condition at this time. The second half of the book is definitely a mixture of emotions, where we see Frankie battling with her rollercoaster emotions, showing that recovery is definitely not linear.

“in love she’d been too cautious for years, and then too impetuous. In retrospect, it all felt haphazard.”

I love this quote when she’s looking back at her twenties. It sums up this period so well, I felt life was haphazard, never mind someone who’s living with the backdrop of war and suffering from not yet diagnosed PTSD.

This is an amazing coming of age book, with incredibly strong relationships and learnings and I would highly recommend!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kristin Hannah is one of my favourite authors! I've cried buckets on reading The Nightingale, felt immersed in Alaska in the Great Alone, The Four Winds had me shuddering but ..but..but...The Women didn't live up to the expectations which one comes to build from a face. The premise is excellent and so promising but somewhere in between, I lost the plot....Nam war is a sensitive and volatile topic and this book had so much potential, I only wish the author hadn't meandered from it.

Absolutely loved this. It is everything Kristin Hannah does best: incredible sense of place and historical period, heroine you root for, great love story. Have recommended to many many people.

Such a riveting account of the Vietnam war told through a brilliant piece of historical fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it.

I didn’t know very much about the Vietnam war, and nothing about the women who were there. I couldn’t stop reading this book, and like how it described both Frankie’s experiences of war, and the lasting trauma and difficulties with readjustment to civilian life. It had me feeling a lot of emotions throughout, and I would fully recommend it.