I didn't see this one coming! Bostwick crafts an interesting, informative tale from the unlikely friendship forged among women in a new suburb in the 1960s. As the women navigate, negotiate, and renegotiate their lives and their roles within their families, the historical context rings loud and clear. Memorable female characters, tough and believable decisions, memorable historical situations make this work of fiction ring with truth. Don't miss this one!

4.75⭐️s : After what seems like months of my choices in books feeling average, if that, I’ve been on a run of above average — and this one is at the top.

Really enjoyed the time period and setting. Characters were very believable and relatable (guess I’m old enough). I’m amazed, and at times disappointed, about how far we’ve come as a society in such a short time — and how far we’ve still have to go.

The examples of women being shut down for seemingly everyday things we take for granted now. Inspiring how they each discovered their own role to play in having a life of their choosing, some more outspoken than others. All achieving their dreams in their own ways. All inspiring. At least one character many can relate to, I would imagine.

Definitely a good book for book club discussion. Going to recommend to my book clubs.

i went into this not expecting much. all i knew was that it was a historical fiction about a controversial book club, a group of women completely different from each other, yet bound together by their struggles. an amazing, genuine story.

I read, immersive read, and listened to this book in different chunks, and I think that I liked the audiobook better than reading the text. While I did really enjoy the book-- it was thought provoking, heart warming, frustrating, and, at times, funny-- it did also leave a bit to be desired. The pacing felt off: it was drawn out in the first half and then rushed in the second half, and some of the characters' actions and thought processes didn't seem plausible to me. Overall, I appreciated Bostwick's exploration of the oppression of women at the time and the ways that they made an effort to break free of it, including the real historical events and cultural references. I just wish there was more plot to go with that exploration so that, for a relatively short book, it didn't feel so long. Regardless, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to womens' book clubs open to potentially difficult discussions!
Sincere thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review!

Honestly, this book felt overly long and a bit slow for me. With so many characters and intertwining storylines, it was hard to keep track of who was who and what belonged where.

There were glimpses of plot and potential, but overall, nothing really stood out or kept me hooked. It didn’t quite live up to the expectations I had going in and ended up falling a bit flat.

This book was a wonderful story about a diverse group of women who find that they have more in common than they actually thought. As they each struggle to to overcome their own obstacles, they become close confidants and reliable support for each other. The story is also an important retelling of women and their struggle for equal rights and independence in the early 1960s. Thanks so much #NetGalley #HarperCollins

Despite being set 60 years ago, this book was (unfortunately) still very topical. I enjoyed it, but there was just something missing. I got bogged down in all of the different book club ladies and remembering who was who and which neuroses went with which woman and relied on a lot of stereotypical personalities and characters of the age.

That being said, It was still a solid novel that I enjoyed!

With a promising title and fascinating premise focused on women challenging norms in the vibrant 1960s, I had high expectations for this historical novel. The Book Club of Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick aimed to dive into this complex and transformative era. However, the execution ultimately fell short of its potential. The novel introduces a group of women who come together in a book club, seeking connection and solidarity within their predictable lives as suburban housewives. As they navigate changing times and personal aspirations, they grapple with the era's expectations and limitations. Despite an intriguing title and a topic of high interest to me, I was ultimately disappointed by the delivery here. The narrative felt foreseeable from start to finish. The characters largely came across as flat, playing heavily on familiar tropes and stereotypes rather than developing into nuanced individuals. What could have been a rich exploration of a transformative decade often felt simplistic, particularly as historical references felt forced rather than deftly woven in throughout the story.

Recommended for: Readers who enjoy light, feel-good stories and might be fans of a Hallmark movie aesthetic. However, for those seeking depth, complexity, or a truly subversive take on historical women's roles, this will likely be a miss.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Marie Bostwick’s The Book Club for Troublesome Women.

I receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it from the very first page!

The 1960s were a time of reckoning and revolution in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement was heating up, the space race was getting started, and women were making their own gains toward better wage equality. In a small subdivision outside of DC, these issues felt very far away from Margaret, Viv, Bitsy and Charlotte until a book club and a controversial book changed everything. This is a story about the way women view themselves, how they dream and how they support each other. It also shows the power that literature and how the simple act of reading can spark new ideas and encourage change.


Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for giving me early access to this book (that I am of course delayed on reviewing). You put the words book club and troublesome women together and of course my interest is piqued. As a whole I enjoyed this story and the journeys of the Bettys. Their experiences likely mirror some of my mother’s as part of that generation of women and gives me even more respect for her successes than I already had. Despite enormous progress towards shattering the glass ceiling, the work is not yet done and this story helps to spark that fire anew for its readers. The reason I did not enjoy it more was twofold, the length and the pacing. The story felt very slow and drawn out. It has a slow burn plot which didn’t fully keep my interest. I’m sure others may feel differently, and perhaps if I read it at a different time I would too, but it just didn’t excite me as much as I had hoped it would. Overall though, I do recommend it for any historical fiction readers, particularly fellow strong women who believe they deserve to chase all of their aspirations.

I received a complimentary copy of this book (thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse!). Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women seemed promising but the characters were all dull.. Margaret and her husband were the most unrealistic, both undergoing major personality shifts within an 8-month period (as in fully shedding everything they have been and believed in for the past 20-something years and becoming progressive allies). It was my fault for requesting this one but I wanted to read it because it has received such good feedback so far.

The entire book leaned heavily on the major headlines of 1963. I'm not sure what including the civil rights movement or Jackie Kennedy's cameo appearance had to do with four women from the suburbs, but both were forcefully added in as part of the history lesson this book turned into. Eventually, it turned into a "girl boss" women's networking event, with everyone receiving a happy fairy-tale ending, taking away any meaning the book may have intended to provide. Insincere empowerment jargon that I've heard a countless number of times in my own career, historical name-dropping, and a fantasy ending is all I got out of it.

I really liked the Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. I will admit, it started out a little slow for me, but I soon began to like the main characters. Four women in an upscale neighborhood in Virginia in the early 1960's start a book club to read Betty Freidan's book, The Feminine Mystique, which at the time, was quite controversial. The four women, Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv, are all married, and only Bitsy has no children, and a job. The rest are full time house wives. They call themselves "the Bettys" and discuss the Freidan book, and start to want more for themselves. Viv was a nurse during the war, and convinces her husband to let her work part time in a doctor's office, before telling him she's pregnant with baby #7. Margaret wanted to be a writer, and gets a part-time job writing a column for a women's magazine. Charlotte wanted to be an artist and Bitsy works in a horse stable, but her father's death had cut short her dreams of going to veterinary school. The book club is the impetus to many changes in the character's lives, and I really wanted to know how everything turned out for them. One of the things I liked best, was the fact that the Bettys discussed how Freidan basically interviewed women just like them for the book, and left out large sections of the female population, so they realized that her conclusions may not have been as valid as if she had interviewed a larger variety of women. The writing was good, and the book was sprinkled with historical situations that were happening at the time. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a free ebook to review.

📚 The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
Sometimes, all it takes is one good book and a few brave women to change everything.

Set in 1963 suburbia, this story follows Margaret—a picture-perfect housewife who’s quietly unraveling. When a new neighbor, Charlotte, arrives with bold ideas and a copy of The Feminine Mystique, Margaret finds herself at the heart of an unexpected revolution. Enter the Bettys: a book club that becomes so much more than talk over coffee.

This is a warm, empowering story of friendship, finding your voice, and rewriting the rules—one page, one choice, one woman at a time. If you’ve ever felt like you were made for more, this one’s for you.

“The Book Club for Troublesome Women” is a feel-good, yet empowering historical fiction of life in America in the 1960s for four white women. (I would have loved for Marie Bostwick to have depicted a woman of color as well, as her story would likely have been very different during this time than that of the four protagonists!) Entertaining and insightful, this story follows four housewives who are tired of the status quo and craving a change in how society views gender roles. The four eclectic characters with very different personalities decide to form a book club and read Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique.”

Woven through four narratives and different journeys as a 1960s woman, “The Book Club for Troublesome Women” artfully depicts this (adult) coming-of-age tale, with strong themes of resilience, friendship, and challenging the narrative.

Thank you to Marie Bostwick, HarperCollins, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A book club book for a book club? Yes.

Marie Bostwick has crafted a compelling novel centered on the lives of four very different women living in the newly established suburb of Concordia. Each of them seems content—until they’re not. But Bostwick subtly challenges whether they were ever truly content in the first place.

I’ve read a lot of historical fiction lately that features multiple women’s stories, but this one surprised me. About 20% in, I began to worry: would I stay invested in a plot that didn’t have a dramatic twist like a murder mystery? But my concern quickly faded. As the lives of Margaret, Charlotte, Viv, and Bitsy unfolded, it really highlighted for me the vital importance of characters driving a plot.

Their challenges and aspirations were distinct yet tied together by a shared hunger for more. The pacing was fluid, with their arcs weaving in and out seamlessly—just as one woman found success, another faced a new obstacle. The others would rally to support her, creating a steady rhythm that kept the story moving and emotionally grounded. The rapid changes in their daily lives over the course of months felt realistic and engaging, and I loved watching them grow and find resilience after each stumble.
Bostwick was smart to include women of different ages and economic backgrounds within the same idealised community. She highlights how the same societal expectations and gender norms of the 1960s impacted all women—though not equally. The novel acknowledges broader social changes in America and touches on how those changes affected women of various racial and ethnic backgrounds, keeping the bookclub grounded as but one experience in the greater American landscape.

Overall, I truly loved this book. It wraps up in a way that’s satisfying—perhaps idealistic, but fitting. I understand that some outcomes may feel a bit optimistic for the era (like when Margaret forges her husband’s signature to open a bank account), but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. At its heart, this is a story about friendship, and those connections keep the narrative grounded from beginning to end.

My book club read this novel and we had some mixed reactions. I was one of the few that truly enjoyed it. This is historical fiction, set in the early 1960s and the start of the women’s lib movement. In the novel, the 4 main characters each have their own challenges—returning to the workforce, choosing to be stay at home mothers, going through a divorce, but also why started as a casual get together monthly turned into true friendships that supported each other through the trials and tribulations. It seemed very fitting as women are once again protesting for their rights.

⭐⭐⭐.75 | 3.75 stars rounded up

This is not my usual genre, but I really enjoyed it. Set in Virginia in the 1960s, this story follows four women - each discontent in one or more ways - who form a bookclub. I loved getting to know Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte. I thought I may get bored, but the more I got to know each woman, the more I became invested in their lives. This was a really touching story about female friendship, the need to do what is right, and the importance of prioritizing oneself first and foremost.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars.

This book was good like there was nothing wrong with it but it just didn’t grip me the way I wanted it to. The ending felt kinda rushed to me too, just felt like all this development and lead up to wrap everything up extremely quickly.

The author focuses on a group of women reading The Feminine Mystique. Through their discussions, they realize their lives are not as fulfilling as outsiders think. Set in the 1960's the author captures the nuances of the era when women began to questions the repsect they received and the fact that they could contribute more to society that just the tradional roles that came before. Bostwick shows the personal turmoil of the characters and their self discovery. A good read.

Historical fiction, fans of Kristin Hannah will likely enjoy this. Unfortunately, the development of the characters didn’t quite do it for me - I expected more rabble-rousing based on the title.