I found it interesting, spotlighting an era that is usually forgotten, and people who are totally ignored by history. I liked the way that the point of view was handed off between the four women, but that each one remained in the others' narratives. But, the character development, well, it wasn't. Each woman started out with her own specific mystical perfection and carried it through the story. There was a great deal of brutal violence in the book, which is not surprising, considering that it took place entirely during a war. And I wished that it had been edited down a bit.