The Book Club for Troublesome Women shows a true side of the days when women had no rights and even to be able to open a bank account for yourself required your husband’s signature. But the world after war was changing fast and so were the women and their place in the world.

I am in no means a feminist but this book was enjoyable in a way that showed some of the struggle of those times while keeping up with a story of several woman that created a book club called The Bettys. They were all in different phases of life with kids, messy marriages and overall struggles that anyone can go through.

One of my favorite thing was how the author showed a side of women friendships that can be just as complicated as any relationship but wish some of conversations that happened mid-book were narrowed down. It almost felt as it needed to be a certain length so conversations or chapters felt like fillers without adding anything to the story.

Overall, it got me out of my comfort zone of what I typically read and was enjoyable with a side of history that was an important churn in women’s rights. I would recommend this book if I know someone’s interests are within this space but not for general read.

I LOVED THIS!!! Themes of womanhood and sisterhood among different and somewhat hidden lives…it was so refreshing to read I really enjoyed this

Title is rather deceiving. Readers looking for a book set in the 1960's may be interested in this rather slow moving novel. Not really book club going on. Where is the discussion on books? I usually enjoy books by this author but this is a pass.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review. This book is about a group of four unhappy housewives who form a book club. These women have hopes, dreams and real life struggles. I did enjoy seeing the relationships that these women made and how they became each others support systems. However, it started very slow and I struggled to finish it.

Loved this one! Female friendship/sisterhood is something I love to see in books and this one really hit the mark. Very reminiscent of Kristen Hannah and Coco Mellors with a unique feel that was entirely new to me. I will definitely be recommending this one and looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

“when men find new mountains to climb, they get a pat on the back and a round of applause. people call them go getters. why should it be different for women?“

i’ve been trying to explore more genres this year, so i thought i’d give this historical fiction book a shot— and boy am i glad that i did! in this book we followed 4 women in the 1960’s who are grappling with their place in the world, especially in comparison to men.

the women live in a suburb of washington dc and at the beginning of the book, they all would call themselves housewives and homemakers. however, after reading the feminine mystique by betty friedan they all start to question if their lives are as fulfilling as they could be.

each woman comes from a unique circumstance, and while i’d call margaret our main character, there is a good amount of focus on each woman throughout the book. each of them have different hopes and dreams and are trying to find ways to break out of the mold they were cast in as young girls.

margaret wants to be a writer, viv was a nurse during the war and wishes to return to that field, bitsy always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, and charlotte wants to be an artist. it was super interesting to see all of them grow into the characters they are by the end of that book, and how their relationships with their husbands and children impact them on this journey of self discovery.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 #𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 #𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I loved this story. Loved having a historical fiction book set in the post-WWII era that didn’t have much of a focus on the aftereffects of the war. Loved the focus on the friendship between the women. Loved the four very different women and how they were all strong in their own way and supported each other in going after their goals and dreams… no matter what that meant.

👍🏻👍🏻 Two big thumbs up for this book!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

#NetGalley #HistoricalFiction #BooksAboutBooks #Feminism #Friendship

As a student in the 80s, I took a Women in History glass and we read Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique. I think of a young Donna, I was so naive and relate so much more to the book now than I did then. That being said, I loved the characters in this book and the issues they faced being a woman in the 60s. I still see similar issues today but women have come so far. Don’t let us slip back … unless that’s really what you want! The bottom line is to be true to oneself and don’t take no for an answer. How motivating!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Marie Bostwick.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick takes place in the early 60s, a time of change, both cultural and legal, in the United States, for women as well as others. I was a young teen when all this was happening so I was aware on the fringes. My mother had always been independent and my father had adjusted, mostly. These four women led very different lives but all lived in the same “planned community.” The book, Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan brought them together and had varying amounts of influence on each of them. It was more their lives that wrought the changes for them, who had become fast friends. They were forced into them by circumstances. It may have been the change in society that allowed them to follow the paths they did, which did include being a wife and a mother.

I think it would be hard for a young women to understand what these women went through, having never lived it. It was their grandmothers. It was a good book, with each reader bleeding along with each of the women as they faced what they must. It coved racism, cheating, “having it all,” as well well as sexism. But, it was the time. These women fought for what we have today. It is hard to imagine that in a time as close as the 60s, women could not open their own bank account, or be prescribed birth control without their husband’s signatures. That is exactly the way it was and was described in this book. Excellent retelling of a monumental time in history as close and as unbelievable as it is.

The narrator is Lisa Flanagan who did a more than credible rendition of this lovely novel. She infused it with warmth and caring and did justice to each of the four stories while remaining impartial and true to her art.

I was invited to both listen to and read The Book Club for Troublesome Women by HarperCollins Focus. Always interesting to compare the two. All opinions and thoughts are mine. #Netgalley #HarperFocus #MarieBostwick #LisaFlanagan #TheBookClubForTroublesomeWomen

Thank you HarperCollins Focus for access to this arc.

This book is hitting on a lot of themes I’ve seen recently – female friendship plus historical struggles that women have faced to get us to the point we’re at now. Tossing in a book club is an added bonus. The book starts strongly with some dynamite female characters but, I’ll be honest, it also loses its way a bit by the end.

The women aren’t just copies of each other though nor are their life circumstances. Two wanted what was thought to be a woman’s road to happiness – marriage, a house in the suburbs, and children and both are more or less happy with what they’ve got. One was railroaded into marriage because of family pressure due to her publicly acting out while another faced losing the family home after her father’s death and accepted a proposal for a marriage of convenience. One husband is a louse, one is selfish, one needs a wake-up call and the other – who appears infrequently – is shown as a prince among men.

By midway, I could see some of the conflicts coming – both in the marriages as well as struggles for the women to be faced with. Margaret gets a part time job and needs her husband signing off on her opening a savings account, one husband is pushing his wife to get pregnant, one wife faces an unplanned pregnancy, and one woman tries to break into a career that few women can achieve. Then there are the issues of the mothers trying to carve out me-time while still keeping the floors mopped and waxed, cooking all the meals, and picking up the children.

The things they’re faced with are real and for the most part their inclusion in the plot feels realistic but at the same time, predictable. In the final quarter, things pick up with Margaret making a stand, Charlotte finally finding her freedom, Bitsy seeing a way to achieve her dream, and Viv being able to work in a career she loves. Then there’s an epilogue of sorts that felt tacked on.

I really like that the women work out their own happiness and that not all the men in the book are assholes. Two are actually pretty good guys. The epilogue, regardless of how out of place it felt, shows the daughters of the MCs taking advantage of what the mid-century women of the 60s and 70s fought for. B-

The Book Club for Troublesome Women
by Marie Bostwick

*The Book Club for Troublesome Women* offers an exploration of the lives of suburban housewives navigating the complexities of societal expectations in the 1960s. Despite my initial excitement about the premise—four women embarking on a journey of self-discovery—I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters on a deeper level.

The narrative centres around Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte, who come together to form a book club with the intention of reading Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking work, *The Feminine Mystique*. While I appreciated the evocative depiction of the era, immersing myself in the social dynamics and cultural shifts of the time, I ultimately felt that the storyline didn’t resonate with me. If you have an interest in historical stories and enjoy delving into the nuances of women’s experiences during this transformative decade, this book might still capture your interest, but for me, it fell short of delivering the impact I had hoped for.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a charming, quietly feminist novel set in a 1960s Northern Virginia suburb. It follows four women, each grappling with her own private struggles, who come together to form a book club. Their first read, Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, sparks a subtle but powerful shift in their lives, planting the seeds of change and rebellion. On paper, this seemed like the perfect book for me. I’ve always been drawn to stories of women awakening to the limitations of their roles, yearning for something more. This had all the right elements: introspective characters, a pivotal era for women, and the promise of transformation.

But somehow, it didn’t quite ignite the way I hoped. While the writing is solid and the characters believable, the pacing felt slow, and not much actually unfolded. What did happen took its time, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged. Still, there were moments I genuinely enjoyed. It's a decent, even thoughtful read, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression or stir the excitement I was expecting. A good book, just not a great one, for me, at least.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC!

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is an incredibly beautiful story about independence, change, understanding, and so much more. Following four women in the 1960's, readers watch as they form a book club that ends up changing their lives.

Margaret, Bitsy, Charlotte, and Viv are such interesting main characters to follow. Each one has such a distinct personality that you can't help but want to read more about. The way their lives come together as the story goes on was one of the best elements of this book. Marie Bostwick knows how to write a great cast of characters.

Every relationship in this story has so much depth. Whether it's between partners, friends, or parents and children, they all play a vital role in how these events play out. But one of the most loveable parts of the relationships for me was how reading affected them. As readers, we all understand the impact books can have on our lives. The way the relationships in this story either built up or fell apart because of what books they were reading was a stunning representation of what reading and community can do for people.

The ending of this book was complex, but gorgeous. With everything that had led up to it, nothing could have felt more perfect. That last chapter really showed just how much these characters, their relationships, and their lives had developed over the course of the book.

There were only a couple small reasons I didn't rate this five stars. One was that the different POVs didn't really feel that different. While each main character has their own unique personality, their voices almost blend together between their POVs. Sometimes it was easy to forget the POV had changed until something specific to that character happened. The other reason was that the pacing felt strange around the 50-70% mark. It was slower than the rest of the book for me and harder to enjoy.

This truly is a story filled with emotion and complexities. I went into this book loving it and left feeling great about it. This book has some of the best explorations of relationships, individuality, and desire I've ever read. I know I'll miss these characters and their stories for the near future. If you want a fiction book about feminism, the impact of reading, and understanding what your future is meant to be, this would be one of the first books I recommend to you.

Review on Goodreads (sophreadingbooks https://www.goodreads.com/sophreadingbooks) as of 4/18/2025
Review on Instagram (sophiesreading https://www.instagram.com/sophiesreading/) expected 4/25/2025

I thought this was really well done. I loved the history surrounding the feminine mystique - how it changed life for women at the time. I thought that the main characters were incredibly well done. Well developed, realistic, unique and wonderful. I thought their relationships and how they all changed and grew was incredibly well done. I both listened and read this book and truly enjoyed both. A very well done historical fiction book highlighting strong women.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick--Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel that releases on 4/22. Set in the early 60s, this story follows a tumultuous time for 4 suburban housewives. Margaret has what is considered at the time the "dream" of husband, kids, and lovely home. Feeling dissatisfied anyway, she decides to start a book club with 3 neighborhood women and their first book is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Christening themselves "The Bettys," the 4 women support each other as they try to reach for more in their lives and marriages while being frustrated by patriarchy. I feel like part of the message the Bettys tell is similar to America Ferrera's iconic monologue in Barbie about being a woman. I liked this a lot and was pleased when several unsavory characters got their comeuppance.

I had high hopes for this book however they were quickly diminished. Sanctimonious was the word that came to mind when I finished.

So many young women don’t know the difficulties women faced in the 50s with the “perfect” life and the lack of personal freedoms and while the author touched on these in sometimes oblique ways the overall story was trite and in fact dehumanizing of women and their struggles. Tying up everything in a nice bow at the end was unrealistic. I suspect the author thought that she would give women inspiration . That “I can do it!”Rather the book was poorly written and lacked inspiration.

Thank you Net galley and HarperCollins Focus/ Harper Muse for this delightful e-arc.
I was transported to my childhood in the 1960's! How I wish my mother was still living so I could chat about this book and get her thoughts. She was a mom of 5, an Army wife and a substitute teacher.

Loved the 4 women : Charlotte, the eccentric artist, new to the neighborhood. Margaret, dependable, steady, mom with the desire to write more than " fluff" in a women's magazine. Bitsy, the young horse rider, groomer uncertain in her marriage. Viv, mom to 6, Navy wife,who wants more than motherhood.
These book club ladies ladies, the Bettys who take their name from Betty Friedan's revolutionary book The Feminine Mystique, find a sisterhood while sharing books, thoughts, and life while navigating the rules, attitudes, and indignities that restrain them.

This books was perfect to display how it was to live as a housewife in the 1960's. Each character was interesting and we saw them in the lenses of the time period. We saw how it was to live then and how completely different it was to be a woman then. The heart of this story was friendship, as unlikely women came together and learned about being women.

This was a beautiful book about friendship and feminism. This follows four women in the early 1960s as they navigate complicated lives with husbands, kids, and society. This book made me laugh, cry and rage.

Interesting book but it was a little slow for me and hard to get in to at some points. It started off strong at one point and had me really thinking about the rights I have as a woman now compared to back then. It was aggravating for a minute with needing to have her husband be with her to get her prescription or even a savings account. The storyline was hard for me to get in to personally.