I loved the premise of the book. I loved how books can be an escape historically for the treated as less than by society. The group reminded me a bit of the movie The Mona Lisa Smile, obviously with a bookish theme instead of art. It was amazing to read about women in such a misogynistic time finding their way and who they wanted to be outside of the norm. It was a bit of a slow start but I was glad I continued on with it because it was well worth it!

I was able to read this as an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher. I enjoyed this book about strong women, a little bookstore, and their book club. It also gave me an appreciation for being a woman today, 2023, as opposed to the mid 1950's. The Radcliffe Ladies Reading Club is an emotional and heartwarming read that will leave you with a profound appreciation for the beauty of women's friendships and the ways in which books can shape our lives. It's a testament to the enduring power of connections forged through shared experiences and a shared love of reading.

As a book lover, this one drew me in and although at times it was a slog I did enjoy it. Some issues were tricky to read but apart from that it was a good book. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read with a passion. So, when I saw The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club, I knew I had to request it. If the title didn’t draw me in, the cover art surely did. However, after some time reading I realized the reading club was just a small part of this story and that was perfectly fine. We see a small group of main characters and their journey through freshman year of college in a time where it was still out of the norm for women to attend higher education. I enjoyed seeing this aspect because it allowed me to see not only how far we have come but also dream about what is next. The woman who organizes the book club is working on overcoming some hardships of her own and helping this group of young women is just what she needs.

The women transform in so many ways over the short timeline of this book, and the character I thought I liked became my least favorite and the one I thought I hated became my favorite. That just shows how much development we see in the characters. As the women have ups and downs, they read classic books that help them to open their minds to the situations. Some great classics were discussed and I enjoyed that as well.

This is an honest look at the strength of women and all that we have overcome and can still overcome. You will laugh, you will cry, and you may shake your head a good bit, but it is well worth the read.

I do need to include trigger warnings as there are some very sensitive themes discussed. I do feel like it will spoil the story line some if I type them out, but do be aware that sensitive topics are covered. If you need a detailed list, please feel free to message me.

Thanks to Netgalley, Julia Bryan Thomas, and Sourcebooks Landmark for this advanced reader copy!

Immersing readers in the realm of college life, "The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club" offers a multifaceted exploration of education, friendships, and societal roles in the 1950s.

Within the microcosm of a college campus, the narrative intertwines the lives of four girls from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds at Radcliffe in 1954. As women navigating limited career options, each grapples with distinct challenges, finding their way through conflicts and seeking support.

The journey into newfound freedom and self-discovery captures attention. However, occasional lack of depth and narrative cohesion leaves characters feeling somewhat underdeveloped. The storylines occasionally appear fragmented within the confined space, and the dialogue and actions occasionally deviate from the characters' essence.

Set against the backdrop of a quaint town bookstore and an engaging Book Club, the novel provides a glimpse into the lives of these freshmen as they delve into the works of influential female authors. Amid this, a tragic event emerges, testing their unity.

Although promising, the book occasionally falls short of its potential. While the narrative offers insights, it doesn't entirely meet expectations due to character depth and narrative coherence. Nevertheless, "The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club" remains a compelling read, delving into the complexities of friendship and identity during a transformative era.

Besides my love for bookish books, the other best thing about The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas is probably that it feels so dang realistic. I love historical fiction, and I knew absolutely nothing about the Radcliffe College part of Harvard. This is set in the mid to late 1950s, but so much of the time and place still felt like it could be a contemporary storyline. My favorite character was definitely our bookshop owner Alice, but this wouldn't have been much of a book without Tess, Caroline, Evie, and Merritt. Tess was by far the most frustrating character for me to read, and that girl could jump to conclusions like nobody's business.

The book club led by Alice is at the heart of the story but revolving around that is the girls and their college life. Each of them is so different, and it was really something to see them become friends almost immediately. At times I was slightly confused about who was who, but that could be down to the audiobook which is narrated by only one person - Tanya Eby. The character viewpoints really flow together as opposed to being broken into chapters, and at times that was a little messy for me. I was also really surprised that I wasn't more emotional while reading The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club, but it sure did make me mad at times. I really enjoyed the conclusion and the different themes the author explored, and while this wasn’t a total win for me, I would still recommend it to historical fiction fans looking for a book that would make for a wonderful discussion.

This book was nothing like I expected! In a good way. I expected a book about books and while it was that, it was also so much more. This character driven novel dove into the role of women in the 1950s and the expectations and inequities they face. Friendship, womanhood, and college life in the 50s were explored and I empathized with the four women and felt like I learned something. Overall an enjoyable read.

(3.5 rounded up to a 4)

The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas is a character-driven historical fiction with feminist elements. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at a little over eight and a half hours and is narrated by Tanya Eby. We alternate points-of-view between five main characters.

Alice Campbell arrives Massachusetts alone, determined to turn a disheveled storefront into an amazing book store. Once open, the Cambridge Bookshop hosts a monthly book club. New Radcliffe college students Tess, Caroline, Evie, and Merritt, read books with feminist overtones in the reading club.

This book was a little slow to start, but in the end I enjoyed it. If you like slice of life kind of books--or character-driven stories--you may like this as well.

All of the girls we follow have much different backstories, but they all have familial and societal expectations on their shoulders and dreams that might not align with one or perhaps both.

Alice chose the books for the book club to help talk to the girls about what kind of people they wanted to be by looking at the different ways to be a women. The scenes where they were discussing the books felt true to life for me.

The books that are read in the book club include:
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte,
- A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf,
- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton,
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy,
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
- Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and
- Emma by Jane Austen.

For a book being set in the mid-1950s, I was kind of disappointed there was no talk of any events from the civil rights movement. All of the characters we follow in this book are white women, and the only people of color appear to be staff members.

CW: domestic abuse, assault, sexual violence, dissociation, sex shaming, misogyny, depression, bullying, alcoholism

What an enjoyable novel. I am a huge fan of historical fiction in the vein of Beatriz Williams and Fiona Davis and I feel like this is exactly what I got. Thomas does a great job fleshing out these characters and painting what feels like a realistic portrait of life for women in the 1950s--the paternalistic and misogynistic society they were forced to exist in. This was really great, I would certainly recommend it.

Perfect for fans of Mona Lisa Smile, this story revolves around the friendship of four Radcliffe College students and the book club they form at a local bookstore. Set in 1954, this book was full of young women from very different backgrounds trying to assert their independence in a world that wants them to be wives and mothers.

Parts are tragic but the overall feeling is one of hope and a true love letter to books and reading. This was also good on audio narrated by Tina Eby. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy. I read and reviewed this voluntarily, all opinions are my own.

I really felt this book could have been a lot better. It had a good premise and ideas. A woman starting over from a divorce owns a book shop and sets up a book club with some young woman starting college at Radcliffe. Set in the 1950's. The woman are dealing with societal expectations and changing culture/morals of the time. They want different things from life. Interesting idea to pair their discussion of different books with what was happening to them. But I just felt like the author didn't pull it off. I just couldn't get into the characters and didn't really like them. I wasn't invested in what happened to them and didn't really like the choices they were making. There are some trigger warnings for this book.

Both the characters and the topics discussed in this novel are relatable and still applicable despite the story being set in the 1950s. The story was a quick, fun read, drawing me into what the lives and experiences of women at Radcliffe may have been like at that time. Readers do not learn a lot about Alice, but her character contributes to the overall effectiveness of the story. At a very basic level, this book takes readers into the lives and experiences of women in the 1950s and how they had to fight for representation and independence.

Albeit an easy, pleasant read, there are some downsides. I found the theme development superficial as it only touches upon big important issues such as women's rights and education as well as physical assault. Secondly, the author ties in famous texts through Alice's book club, but the integration comes across as too predictably placed. Lastly, I would argue that Tess's character is not convincing or believable. Readers do not learn much about her history until the very end of the book and her actions do not always align with her characterization. It is one thing to have a narrative plot take an unexpected turn to uphold reader engagement, and another to have a character act in a manner that doesn't fit with their characterization up until that point. Caroline's actions and character development seem more natural and fitting to the plot, however, Tess's do not. Tess's character is awkward, unpredictable, and at times confusing. At first, she seems to be both in awe of and envious of Caroline, but then she takes deliberate steps toward damaging their relationship in a spiteful way. This doesn't really fit in with how her character develops over the first part of the story. For these reasons, I found the theme less than compelling.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book as a fun summer read. I believe readers will be drawn into the history of Cambridge and enjoy putting themselves in the shoes of the women of Radcliffe.

This was an OK read, but because there were so many characters, none of them were fully fleshed out. I had a hard time keeping them all straight. I think focusing on one or two of them instead of the five total would have made this easier to read.

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This book will certainly make you think. Set in a time when most women did not go to college and the few that did went primarily to obtain their “MRS” degrees. This book follows four young women from different backgrounds as they begin their first year of college and the bookshop owner who created a classics book club they attended. The difference between the young ladies is clearly evident and it leads to a riff between the group after tragedy befalls one of them. The young women were each very different and I found myself not liking each of them at times and feeling sympathetic towards them at other times. I think no matter what it’s better to support than to crush but that’s clearly not in some’s nature. I always like books within a book or ones that discuss other books so I enjoyed their bookclub discussions.

Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

It's the mid-1950s. Four young women arrive at prestigious Radcliffe College in Cambridge Massachusetts.The young women are all excited by the opportunites the school presents.
-Wealthy Caroline is there to get her education then expects to marry some wealthy young man her parents picked out for her. She's interested in the freedom the school and its extracurricular activities (movies, football games, dances, etc.) offer.
-Farm girl Evie is there hoping to widen her circle of acquaintances, but ultimately, she aspires to marry her childhood sweetheart and keep house for him.
-Tess is there to get outstanding marks so she can get gainful employment, and hopefully never have to return to her Midwest home and family, as her angry, dismissive father is a bully and thinks education is not to be wasted on a woman.
-Merritt is artistic, but does not think she can make a go of it as an artist. Her entomologist father is a solitary person, and doesn't really seem to have a place for Merritt in his life, and wants to do research outside of the United States.

At the same time, Alice Campbell, recently divorced, has arrived in Cambridge and set up her bookshop. After her escape from her controlling husband, this is an adventure, and she hopes to share a love of reading and critical analysis of literature amongst young women, so she creates a weekly book club. Her first participants are the four women, and Alice quickly realizes that there are tensions amongst the four, splitting down the middle, with Evie and Tess frequently advocating for conservative, conventional, misogynistic and judgmental views, while Caroline and Merritt often take a more openminded approach to the ideas Alice is exposing them to.

When something terrible happens, the tensions are heightened, with each girl bearing down on her existing worldviews, and eventually chaos breaking their lives apart.

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. I thought the author did a good job creating the atmosphere of freedom and possibilities the girls all feel when they arrive at the college. The author also includes heavier things such as identity, divorce, marital discord, abuse, rape, the stifling misogynistic expectations placed on women by society (knowing fully well that all of these characters would have had many more opportunities available to them than people of marginalized communities would have had in this time period, or really, still).

I will say that I think the book veered into unrealistic territory in one respect: a young, wealthy white man is accused of rape and is even charged by police. Even today it's rare for police to bother pursuing a case of rape.

Other than that, this was an diverting story, especially as the author used books and sharing narratives as a way to build relationships, question norms, and open one's mind.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I LOVED this one. I have gotten off of the historical fiction train and this book reminded me exactly why I love this genre so much. I thought the characters were well-developed and interesting, and I loved the New England setting, specifically on the college campus. As someone who used to work in the college setting, I often feel drawn to books that take place in that setting or in that stage of life.

While I did think this book was captivating and difficult to put down, I did think the pacing was a little off. I felt like some of the middle sections, like in the middle of the school year, dragged on a little but I also felt that the ending was rushed. I also felt the storyline took a NOSE DIVE into the deep end and came out of left field when the main character become violent. I will say that I both loved and appreciated the guiding light and the independence of Miss Campell and hope to be just like her when I grow up!

Sisterhood, struggles, mixed backgrounds...this was incredibly compelling and a very very well written historical fiction novel.

‘Brewing a cup of tea, she took it to the chaise and sat down with her book. It lay unopened on her lap as she contemplated the silence. It was good to have a space to oneself where one could think and dream and plan.’

The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club is a worthy read for people who love books about books. Set in 1954 it details the lives of four girls from varying socio-economic backgrounds who are struggling to meld their own dreams with those of family and society. When the local bookshop owner starts up a classic book club, it becomes the avenue, through the use of classic literature, to analyse their own lives. This is a coming-of-age story of young friendships and fallouts.

‘…. through books we can find out more about the world and see where our imaginations take us.’

There are alternating chapters between daily life and the monthly book club discussions. Alice selects a range of classic books including F.Scott Fitzgerald, Tolstoy, Brontë, Austen, Woolf - and uses the issues raised to insightfully discuss and then somewhat apply the lessons to the lives and challenges these young women of the 1950s face. There are stereotypical class levels and incidents, many of which readers have seen before. I did have a couple of doubts about how certain aspects played out, but I let that go for my overall enjoyment of joining classic literature as a vehicle to steer these young women onto bigger and better things. It was the combination of literature to fuel the proverbial fire for these young females and the various paths they would find themselves on that appealed to me the most. With issues raised including sexual violence and domestic abuse, the author does a solid job of sensitively addressing them.

‘Women weren’t china dolls for men to pamper and care for with the caveat that they never speak their minds. They were living, breathing human beings with thoughts and feelings and emotions that were meant to be expressed however they chose to do it.’

If you love books about books with a special focus on the impact of classic literature on 1950s female societal evolution, you are sure to enjoy this book. The list of books are specifically curated (it even had me rushing to read one that I had not come across before) with the discussions lively and engaging.

‘All four of them were probably only delaying the marriage process by a few months, a couple of years at most, and then, if they weren’t careful, many avenues of thought would close to them. How likely would they be as young women to read books that challenged or interested them when there was a household to run and pregnancies to endure?’





This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy of The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club..

This historical fiction is set in 1954 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Alice has moved from Chicago to realize her dreams of owning a bookstore. 4 young women who go to Radcliffe - Tess, Carolina, Evie and Merritt all find the bookshop a haven as they are getting used to their new life as newly independent college women.

This book is about books, sisterhood, friendship, dreams set in a time when many women went to college for their Mrs. Degrees around social issues in the 1950s.

Massachusetts, 1954. Alice Campbell escapes halfway across the country to find herself in front of a derelict building tucked among the cobblestone streets of Cambridge, and she turns that sad little shop into the charming bookstore of her dreams.

Tess, Caroline, Evie, and Merritt become fast friends in the sanctuary of Alice's monthly reading club at The Cambridge Bookshop, where they escape the pressures of being newly independent college women in a world that seems to want to keep them in the kitchen. But they each embody very different personalities, and when a member of the group finds herself shattered, everything they know about each other―and themselves―will be called into question.

A love letter to books The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club explores how women forge their own paths, regardless of what society expects of them, and illuminates the importance of literature and the vital conversations it sparks.