This was fun. multiple POVs and multiple timelines. A compelling mystery. I love Kate Alice Marshall's writing.

I liked the art style but pedophilia and SA aren't cute or funny.

I loved the first half. I felt like I could feel the jungle heat, and the tension when red alerts went off. There was ample gory descriptions of the wounded that came in to Frankie's care as a nurse which was hard to read, but felt true to history. 

The second half felt like the book that would never end. The second half was the book full of descriptions of feelings that didn't make me feel anything. There was so much melodrama. It was like Hannah threw the kitchen sink of all the possible post-war trauma she could think of at Frankie. It was very info-dumpy in the second half which is why I think I felt nothing while I was reading. The romances were over the top and not believable.

I appreciate that Hannah chose to focus on the women in Vietnam. That being said, a more apt title for the book is "The Woman" because we really only got one woman's story. This would be a powerful book to offer multiple POVs. Give us Ethel's story from her POV. Give us Barb's story. The choice to limit the story to a privileged white woman was an opportunity missed and it bugged me. I can tell through the narrative that representation was important to the writer and the writer understands that it was largely POC who served and died, but yet she chose to only tell a rich white woman's story. The math isn't mathing. 

This is a pretty standard cozy mystery. I like the setting and characters. I'll continue the series.

Solid start. Will continue.

This explores healing from medical trauma, the importance of community care and a connection to the earth. It asks the question of whether technological advancement is actually a good thing. This has absolutely zero plot. It is all ideas. So if you're a plot-driven reader, it's not for you. 

Things I liked:
--Sookie. She carries this series for me. I like how confident she is and I love her snark.
--Al----. The werewolf. I listened to this on audio so I don't know how to spell his name. I like what he added to the worldbuilding.

What I didn't like:
--Bill is disgusting and doesn't know the definition of consent.
--so. much. info-dumping.
--Did I mention Bill?

DNF at 58%

I liked Eli. There was a believable connection between Brooklyn and Eli but the other relationships felt hollow. The psychiatric institute as a weird college/school thing felt like a cop out in terms of writing. Pick one or the other. The combo didn't work. The characters are supposed to be college age but they felt more like teenagers. That might have been because it felt like they were attending high school classes, school yard bullies included. And for being such a long book you really don't get much story. There are a few flashbacks/explanations of the past to connect to the present storyline, but very little actually happens to move the story forward. I like how dark and twisted the characters were but reading the book was starting to feel like a chore, so DNF.

This is my favorite book in this series so far. It avoids the typical cozy mystery formula and is a bit darker and edgier than other cozies I've read while still maintaining strong cozy elements. 

DNF. Nothing wrong with it; I just didn't know it was a spin-off series.