Review - The Women

 

OVERVIEW

OMG!!! This book is unbelievable! I read it in about 24 hours and could not put it down. It is another 5.0-star book! Unbelievable!!

This story focuses on the unforgotten heroes in Vietnam - the female nurses! All throughout the book, the female Vietnam Veterans are told that "there were no women in Vietnam" and dismissed when their PSTD issues come to the surface. They are the unsung warriors who made a difference so that many young men could go home to their friends and families. Heroes!!  

This novel focuses on in-country in Vietnam in 1967-1968 and primarily focuses on one specific nurse, Frances "Frankie/Frank". It starts with her enlisting through the dedication of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. 

The story is brutal, horrible, and ghastly. The Vietnam War was horrible for both sides and so much went wrong to create a totally FUBAR situation. There are so many layers to what happened in Vietnam that it will never be fully understood. The young men and women who sacrificed so much were simply pawns in an old, white-man game of power.  

Definitely an outstanding novel, but what makes it so strong is that it tells the untold story of the women in Vietnam - the nurses!! 

OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars

Writing: 5.0 stars

Since this is the first book by Kristin Hannah that I have read, I was completely blown away by her amazing writing. It is like she is painting a picture for me with her writing, but it is so much more. I could not only see what she was writing about, but I could feel, hear, smell, and taste it! 

Normally, I am hesitant to read popular books and authors, but Kristin Hannah proved me wrong. All of her readers are not wrong, she is a phenomenal writer!!

Interestingly, Kristin Hannah and I are very close in age and were born in California. What she talks about in her Author's Note was very real-life for me as well. It was a scary time for kids as we didn't fully understand what was going on!

Character development: 5.0 stars

This was a contemporary historical fiction book as it happened less than sixty years ago. But there were the normal large numbers of characters in a typical historical fiction novel! All of these characters added to the story and were necessary to fully understand the detailed storyline.

The main characters are Frances "Frankie/Frank", Ethel, and Barb who are in the Army Nursing Corps (ANC) and are immediate best friends while they serve in Vietnam and throughout the book. 

The secondary characters are their patients, fellow medical personnel, and other service members in Vietnam. Back home, their parents, friends, and spouses are also big secondary characters.

Finally, the Vietnam War is the tertiary character. It negatively impacts the lives of everyone that it touches. There was no one who left Vietnam the same person that they were when they arrived. The war was a greedy and evil character.

Storyline:  5.0 stars

The storyline was about what happened before, during, and after the Vietnam War for the three best friends, but most focus was on Frankie. These three friends were "ride-or-die" friends who were there through the worst and best times for each other. 

It was a painful, heartbreaking story that these three women experienced, but there are many, many more who went through the same traumas during the war in Vietnam. Everyone from the Soldiers to the Marines to the doctors to the helicopter pilots was negatively affected by their own private, personal experiences. Then they all came home and had people spitting on them. Horrific!

The main locations were Vietnam, Kauai, Virginia, California, and Washington D.C. 

Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars

This was extraordinarily memorable and informative. I knew that there were nurses in Vietnam because I watched a few episodes of China Beach. But, I never for a second thought about the horror - Hollywood glamorized their roles which was an insult to what they endured and accomplished. I need to do more reading on the topic - it is a powerful story that must be told before all of these heroes pass on.

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Perfection.

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Very appropriate!

Gut feeling: 3.0 stars

I was very unsure about whether I would like this novel or not as I have never read any of Kristin Hannah's books. 

Suggestions: 

A map of the locations would have been a helpful addition.

Highly RECOMMEND

BOOK INFORMATION

The Women by Kristin Hannah 

480 pages 

St. Martin's Press 

Release date of 02/06/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Kristin Hannah

My Goodreads review

St. Martin's Press

NetGalley

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next read is...

 The Women by Kristin Hannah

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - Diva

 

OVERVIEW

I believe that this is the second book by this author that I have read. I knew, of course, who Maria Callas was, but I didn't know about her long-term affair with Aristotle Onassis!

The story focuses on the timeframe when Maria and Aristotle meet and have their torrid affair. Yes, I get that it was a VERY torrid affair. But, the book is a little R-rated for me and I just don't find it necessary to have love scenes so graphic - I get what happens!  

The novel doesn't fully let the reader into WHY Maria would have been involved in such a long-term affair when she was LA DIVA!! I would have liked more on her life "pre-Aristotle" and "post-Aristotle". 

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Writing: 3.5 stars

The writing was not that exceptional and needed some editing to me. But, it could be that I have been reading some very, very well-written books by very renowned authors. 

Character development: 3.5 stars

This was more like contemporary historical fiction as it happened about sixty years ago. There weren't a large number of characters as in a normal historical fiction! But, there were a lot of people who passed in and out in the book for added color like royalty or movie stars. 

The main characters are Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis. The novel was primarily focused on the time frame while they had their relationship. There was a little about both of their lives before meeting, but it was not enough for me. I wanted to understand what drew these two strong personalities together other than that they were Greek!

The secondary characters were the left-behind spouses, Tina Onassis and Tita Menegheni, and Elsa Maxwell, gossip columnist/"friend". They are all involved in what happened and may have even helped move the affair along in Elsa's case.

The final and tertiary character is the opera. It was a part of Maria's every breathing moment.

Storyline:  3.5 stars

The storyline really was about Maria and Aristotle's intimate moments, her performing,  and luxury living which was very extravagant.

A lot of the storyline did not have a historical record and the author had to create the storyline. But, I think that there could have been so much more "meat" to explain the affair and their relationship so much more fully!

The main locations were most of Europe, New York City, Greece, and a yacht in the Mediterranean. 

Memorable/Informative: 3.5 stars

It was very interesting and now I want to know more about Maria and Aristotle.

Book cover: 3.0 stars

Meh.

Book title: 4.5 stars 

Very appropriate!

Gut feeling: 3.0 stars

I was very unsure about whether I would like this novel or not. 

Suggestions: 

A glossary of the Greek words - unable to find them in the Kindle book translator.

RECOMMEND

BOOK INFORMATION

Diva by Daisy Goodwin 

336 pages 

St. Martin's Press 

Release date of 01/23/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Daisy Goodwin

My Goodreads review

St. Martin's Press

NetGalley

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

 
 

My next read is...

What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

DNF - Talking to My Angels AUDIOBOOK

I will not be finishing Talking to My Angels by Melissa Etheridge. This just wasn't the right audiobook for me at this time!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

P.S. I started this audiobook last night and decided to DNF. So it is two quick posts to say that I am reading it and then another post explaining the DNF.

My next read is...

 Diva by Daisy Goodwin

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next audiobook read is...

Talking to My Angels by Melissa Etheridge

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

Review - Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone - Outlander #9

OVERVIEW

This is a big guess, but I think that this is about the twentieth book by Diana Gabaldon that I have read. All of the books by her that I have read have been in the Outlander universe.

This book took over seven years to be published from the eighth book, Written in My Own Heart's Blood - Outlander #8. I have had it on Kindle and my To-Be-Read list for almost two years as I wasn't sure how long it would take me to read it. Surprisingly, it only took me six days to read 960 pages! Yikes!! 

Now the Outlander series (book and television show) has almost a cult following and Diana Gabaldon is highly revered. But, I have not read one of her books in almost nine years and think that the books have gotten much more religious with whole pages dedicated to religious services and texts. Additionally, the length of the book is a bit unwieldy, some editing would have made this book so much more enjoyable. 

The story is about a time-traveling wife Claire and her husband Jamie who live in North Carolina during the Revolutionary War. The story unfolds with the issues, drama, and hardship during a war. Of course, the story is left on a cliffhanger! 

This series is exceedingly good, but waiting such a long time between the novels is discouraging and loses the motion and flow of the books. In retrospect, I wish that I had waited to "binge" all of the novels once they were done. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars

Writing: 4.0 stars

The writing, as always, was very well done. Also, the research was really good and detailed, but maybe a bit over the top at times. I also feel as if SAT words were used continually so I had to look up obscure 18th-century words to follow the train of the plot. Additionally, there were multiple languages used by the characters and there was no glossary or dictionary that was available to define some of these words or phrases. The German and French could be discovered via the translate function. But the Gaelic is not available for translation. So that was a bit frustrating. Finally, the biggest issue for me was that editing would have helped make this novel so much stronger. 

Character development: 4.0 stars

This was totally normal historical fiction as there were a great deal of characters! But way too many characters! 0It included the people and book characters of Fraser's Ridge, Charles Town (Charleston), Savannah, multiple battlefields, and the Native American villages.  There were a lot of people to try to remember and juggle. At times, I could not keep them all straight. 

The main characters are Claire (wife/healer), Jamie (husband/warrior/landowner), Brianna (daughter/engineer), Roger (son-in-law/lay minister), and William (Jamie's natural son/British Army captain). 

The secondary characters are all of their extended family all over the Americas. This includes landed British gentry and aristocracy, Native Americans, Quakers, Patriots, Loyalists, famous historical characters, and so many more. It was a lot of people to manage and remember.

The final and tertiary characters are all of the ordinary people who live in all these locations. The were many, many tertiary characters.  

Storyline:  3.5 stars

At times, it felt like there was no real plot and the storyline just kept adding more and more characters to set up the next book. This book just had so many plot lines and sub-plot lines that it was confusing at times to try and understand what was actually happening. 

The main locations were North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.  

Memorable/Informative: 4.0 stars

It was an interesting novel, but I think that it could have been so much more. As a lover of history, I really wanted fewer characters and more detail on the characters included. At times, it felt like a history lesson and not a book to read for pleasure.

Book cover: 4.0 stars

The last few novels in this series don't have the best covers, in my opinion.

Book title: 5.0 stars 

I loved the title - it was a perfect tie-in to the bee hives that Claire has. It seemed to be a metaphor for what was happening during the Revolutionary War.

Gut feeling: 4.0 stars

I assumed that I would LOVE this book as I have liked the other books by this author that I have read, but this was only a strong like.

Suggestions: 

A glossary of non-English terminology and a cast of characters to keep everyone straight! Additionally, the genealogy tree should have dates - that would be really helpful also!

RECOMMEND

BOOK INFORMATION

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone - Outlander #9 by Diana Gabaldon 

960 pages 

Dell 

Release date of 11/23/2021

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Diana Gabaldon

My Goodreads Review

Dell

Amazon Kindle book

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

 
 

 

My next book read is...

 

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone - Outlander #9 by Diana Gabaldon

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - A Frozen River

OVERVIEW

This is the third novel that I have read by this author! I loved this book from the first chapter! It was so very interesting such an unusual time period!! I actually could not put it down - I started it last night and finished it this evening. Around 24 hours! That is definitely the sign of a GREAT book!

The story is about the real life of a midwife in the district of Maine (still part of Massachusetts then). It takes place during the winter of 1789-1790 when there is a murder in a small village along a river that leads to more crimes. The midwife was literate (thanks to her husband) and kept journals recording her daily life, births in the community, and other important information. She also was a secret-keeper and moved freely through the village so she was privy to much as she was regarded as a health care professional in the community. 

This novel is so good as it combines historical fiction with a mystery - a "who done it" while the village continues life pretty much as normal. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.5 stars

The writing was very well done. It was descriptive, yet very lovely. The author included excerpts from the midwife's journal which was a fascinating touch! The story was so interesting and a part of history that I knew nothing about at all. Now, I need to learn more about Martha Ballard and her life!!

Character development: 4.5 stars

This was totally normal historical fiction as there were a great deal of characters! It included the people of the village, the midwife's immediate family, and judicial characters not from the area. Yes, there were a lot of people to keep track of, but it was handled well. 

The main characters are husband and wife, Martha (midwife), Ephraim (mill owner), and their five children living at home. The marital relationship and the familial relationship are the foundation of the entire book. It was just lovely!

The secondary characters move the story along, but there were so many of them that we just couldn't get full character development from all of them. We did for some of them though!

The final and tertiary character is the Kennebuck River and Hallowell, Maine.

Storyline:  4.5 stars

The writing had me on the seat of my pants! There were several twists and turns that literally had me gasping out loud - it was so smart and interesting! It was a historical fiction mystery. Perfect fun!

The main locations were Hallowell, Maine, and Oxford, Massachusetts. 

Memorable/Informative: 4.5 stars

It will stay for me forever! I loved learning about Martha Ballard and Hallowell, Maine!

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Perfect with the red outfit against the grey and snowy background!

Book title: 4.5 stars 

Excellent!

Gut feeling: 3.0 stars

I figured that I would like this book as I have liked the other books by this author that I have read.

Suggestions: 

Maybe a cast of characters to keep everyone straight!

Definite RECOMMEND

BOOK INFORMATION

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon 

432 pages 

Doubleday 

Release date of 11/14/2023

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Ariel Lawhon

My Goodreads Review

Doubleday

NetGalley

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

 
 

My next read is...

 The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜