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j_j_catcrazydragon's review against another edition
3.0
So many trigger warnings needed for this. It’s a difficult read at times, but worth it.
Rape, both physical and emotional abuse, imprisonment-slavery, torture, war crimes.
I swear I already wrote a review for this…?
It was at least 2 years ago I read this, and while I remember it all, the details needed for a review allude me right now.
I remember loving certain parts, while being dissatisfied by others, and truly disliking the end.
It was needlessly ugly and painful. Not fitting to the message within the story.
Will come back and fill in the rest at a later date.
Rape, both physical and emotional abuse, imprisonment-slavery, torture, war crimes.
I swear I already wrote a review for this…?
It was at least 2 years ago I read this, and while I remember it all, the details needed for a review allude me right now.
I remember loving certain parts, while being dissatisfied by others, and truly disliking the end.
It was needlessly ugly and painful. Not fitting to the message within the story.
Will come back and fill in the rest at a later date.
justjoel's review against another edition
2.0
This was an interesting opening novel of a feminist fantasy series. In a world that favors the patriarchy and where women are second-class citizens (not unlike the modern USA, thanks to Republicans), three women make a death pact that releases a magical curse that will forever change the face of their world.
Told from multiple viewpoints, there are some strong female characters here. But there's also some weak and inconsistent characterization in the primary antagonist, which I felt made some scenes and plot points less than effective.
I also had issues with the way the passage of time was handled. Sometimes there was great detail and sometimes things felt rushed, glossed over, and hastily explained. This was a sizeable book, and I feel like perhaps these were some editorial changes made for the sake of brevity.
The ending.
I'm not sure I will continue the series. It's not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn't feel like it delivered enough in book 1 to compel me to immediately reach for the next book.
2 out of 5 stars.
Told from multiple viewpoints, there are some strong female characters here. But there's also some weak and inconsistent characterization in the primary antagonist, which I felt made some scenes and plot points less than effective.
I also had issues with the way the passage of time was handled. Sometimes there was great detail and sometimes things felt rushed, glossed over, and hastily explained. This was a sizeable book, and I feel like perhaps these were some editorial changes made for the sake of brevity.
The ending.
Spoiler
While not technically a cliffhanger, the ending felt incomplete and made everything that had gone before seem like nothing more than a prelude to book two in the series.I'm not sure I will continue the series. It's not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn't feel like it delivered enough in book 1 to compel me to immediately reach for the next book.
2 out of 5 stars.
hanienr's review against another edition
1.0
This book was really hard to read. I think it was trying to be empowering for women and the female characters in the book but I don't think there was any empowerment.
I hate that one of the POVs was from the male abusers. I have no desire to read any of his justifications. There are no justifications. Maybe some readers would enjoy this stuff, but when the entire justification is basically paranoia and insecurity those chapters felt awful to me.
I hate that one of the POVs was from the male abusers. I have no desire to read any of his justifications. There are no justifications. Maybe some readers would enjoy this stuff, but when the entire justification is basically paranoia and insecurity those chapters felt awful to me.
stijlwaters's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Physical abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Torture, Infidelity, and War
mundinova's review against another edition
1.0
I give up. I can't do it.
Made it 7% into The Women's War before calling it quits. It was the 10th mention of how tidal waves work in chapter three that did it for me. Hopefully an editor gets to this before it's officially published, someone who can remove the repetitive information and the repetitive word usage. There's tons of information dumps in the first three chapters too, not much is 'shown' rather than 'told'. It's too distracting and prevents me from getting into the story. I'd love to hear from others if this was improved in the final published version.
Also, writing what appears to be an emotional death scene in chapter two doesn't help. I don't know these characters and haven't formed any emotional bonds to them, so their deaths don't mean anything to me.
The language is something more often found in young adult books, which didn't mesh with an adult protagonist with teenage children. The magic system appears interesting and will appeal to many fantasy lovers. This feels like a fantasy, alternative universe version of The Handmaid's Tale fan-fiction. I really wanted to like this. The description sounds like my jam .... but the execution feels like I'm being pandered to, which pisses me off. There's a market for this book, but unfortunately I'm not it.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Story: ? stars
Character Development: 2 stars
Writing/Prose: 1 star
Made it 7% into The Women's War before calling it quits. It was the 10th mention of how tidal waves work in chapter three that did it for me. Hopefully an editor gets to this before it's officially published, someone who can remove the repetitive information and the repetitive word usage. There's tons of information dumps in the first three chapters too, not much is 'shown' rather than 'told'. It's too distracting and prevents me from getting into the story. I'd love to hear from others if this was improved in the final published version.
Also, writing what appears to be an emotional death scene in chapter two doesn't help. I don't know these characters and haven't formed any emotional bonds to them, so their deaths don't mean anything to me.
The language is something more often found in young adult books, which didn't mesh with an adult protagonist with teenage children. The magic system appears interesting and will appeal to many fantasy lovers. This feels like a fantasy, alternative universe version of The Handmaid's Tale fan-fiction. I really wanted to like this. The description sounds like my jam .... but the execution feels like I'm being pandered to, which pisses me off. There's a market for this book, but unfortunately I'm not it.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Story: ? stars
Character Development: 2 stars
Writing/Prose: 1 star
johnboscoreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
peony_xo's review against another edition
No fault to this book or the author, I'm just not the right audience.
callmegoddess618's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. The palace and political intrigue makes the fantasy world so much more real and the character struggles are so heartbreaking and inspiring. The ending was terribly sad and I can't wait to read the next book.
anxietee9's review against another edition
4.0
Filled with political intrigue, ever-evolving magic, and a cast of characters that quickly grew on me, The Women's War was everything I could have hoped for.
The beginning of The Women's War reminded me a lot of if The Handmaid's Tale took place in a traditionally imagined, high fantasy, Game of Thrones-esque world. Though slow to start, the political drama captured me and kept me reading for much longer stretches than I typically indulge in.
My biggest complaint was that the novel could be repetitive at times. This is most apparent in the beginning when a natural disaster shakes the entirety of the Seven Wells and this disaster is experienced from several different characters' perspectives. It began to get a little irritating, but once the initial repetition wore off I was engrossed. This is the main complaint in the DNF-ed reviews I've seen, and if you can get past this flaw the book picks up quickly. The less irritating repetitive elements were more spread out and were, in my opinion, helpful for keeping track of what was happening with each character, since perspectives change so frequently.
If you are looking for a unique political fantasy with strong feminist vibes, I definitely recommend The Women's War. I'm looking forward to the continuation of the series.
Content Warning:
There is one disturbing rape scene on page 112, but it does not last very long. Be prepared.
The beginning of The Women's War reminded me a lot of if The Handmaid's Tale took place in a traditionally imagined, high fantasy, Game of Thrones-esque world. Though slow to start, the political drama captured me and kept me reading for much longer stretches than I typically indulge in.
My biggest complaint was that the novel could be repetitive at times. This is most apparent in the beginning when a natural disaster shakes the entirety of the Seven Wells and this disaster is experienced from several different characters' perspectives. It began to get a little irritating, but once the initial repetition wore off I was engrossed. This is the main complaint in the DNF-ed reviews I've seen, and if you can get past this flaw the book picks up quickly. The less irritating repetitive elements were more spread out and were, in my opinion, helpful for keeping track of what was happening with each character, since perspectives change so frequently.
If you are looking for a unique political fantasy with strong feminist vibes, I definitely recommend The Women's War. I'm looking forward to the continuation of the series.
Content Warning:
There is one disturbing rape scene on page 112, but it does not last very long. Be prepared.
jmckendry's review against another edition
4.0
First off, let me just start by saying that I really enjoyed reading this book a lot more than I thought I would. It gave me Game of Thrones vibes (the TV show, not the books, I haven't gotten around to reading those yet so idk how they compare).
That being said, there was a lot of opportunity for the author to explore other facets of the world and of interpersonal relationships that she simply did not go into. For starters, this is a novel with a LOT of characters, and not a single one of them is LGBT+. While I don't think novels NEED to include LGBT+ characters to be good, it was kind of ruined my "suspension of disbelief" when you find out that hundreds of women who are "unwanted" by society are all forced to live in this building together, and not a single one of them has any homosexual feelings or urges, or even a deep spiritual love or connection to the other women who suffered with them. In a society where men treat women so terribly (for the most part) not a single woman thought to be with another woman instead of a man?
As a white, cisgender, pansexual woman, I wasn't really BOTHERED by this, but it did make the world a lot less believable to me and I wish the author had explored those parts of the world a bit more.
I also thought it was weird that the only overweight person in the book is a really awful guy. Like...it's a bit strange. All of the good men in the novel are like perfectly toned and in shape, which I really don't think is fair.
HOWEVER. The world she created was vivid and the way magic works in this world is REALLY COOL. The writing itself was easy to understand and evocative. I could feel what the characters felt, even the bad ones. I am definitely excited to read the next book in the series, the author did a fantastic job with bringing her characters to life, even if the world she built is lacking in some aspects.
That being said, there was a lot of opportunity for the author to explore other facets of the world and of interpersonal relationships that she simply did not go into. For starters, this is a novel with a LOT of characters, and not a single one of them is LGBT+. While I don't think novels NEED to include LGBT+ characters to be good, it was kind of ruined my "suspension of disbelief" when you find out that hundreds of women who are "unwanted" by society are all forced to live in this building together, and not a single one of them has any homosexual feelings or urges, or even a deep spiritual love or connection to the other women who suffered with them. In a society where men treat women so terribly (for the most part) not a single woman thought to be with another woman instead of a man?
As a white, cisgender, pansexual woman, I wasn't really BOTHERED by this, but it did make the world a lot less believable to me and I wish the author had explored those parts of the world a bit more.
I also thought it was weird that the only overweight person in the book is a really awful guy. Like...it's a bit strange. All of the good men in the novel are like perfectly toned and in shape, which I really don't think is fair.
HOWEVER. The world she created was vivid and the way magic works in this world is REALLY COOL. The writing itself was easy to understand and evocative. I could feel what the characters felt, even the bad ones. I am definitely excited to read the next book in the series, the author did a fantastic job with bringing her characters to life, even if the world she built is lacking in some aspects.