4.25 stars.

Set in the 60s, about a book club, female friendships, and revolves around women finding their place in the world. Check, check, check, and check. Marie Bostwick's formula for The Book Club for Troublesome Women first called to me when I saw the cover but the description only furthered my desire to read it. I am such a sucker for a story like this and I'm elated to say that I wasn't disappointed.

Margaret Ryan is our main protagonist but each character had enough presence and development to make it feel like they were all front and center. Although Viv Buschetti and Bitsy Cobb were wonderful characters in their own right, Charlotte Gustafson (and her Samantha Jones demeanor) was my personal favorite.

It was a joy to observe such a deep bond blossom between these four women who couldn't have been more different from each other. Female friendships are always important but especially so during a time when women weren't allowed to do much of anything without permission from a man. Although The Book Club for Troublesome Women is rooted in the past, it is very relevant to our current climate and I believe that made it all the more important.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything! I fell in love with the characters and the entire storyline was perfection. Bostwick was able to make every woman in this book brave and complicated, each having their own unique to them (but not unique to the time) challenges with husbands, bosses, and overall expectations and limitations placed on them. I rooted for every single one and loved how they pulled together for each other when times were tough.

Be prepared to be annoyed though, as it was certainly infuriating to think it wasn't all that long ago that a woman couldn't even open her own checking account without her husband's signature.

One of my favorite books as of late, definitely recommend this gem of historical fiction!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollins for the eARC of this book.

Four women living outside of Arlington, Virginia in the 1960s form a friendship within their book club over the newly published "The Feminine Mystique." Their personalities and marriages are all different, but something they share is a desire to change some things in their lives to find greater purpose.

I enjoy historical fiction and imagining how women in America's lives have changed over the recent decades. The layers of female friendship and self-discovery bloomed throughout the book. I really enjoyed how mental health was integrated as a subplot for one of the women's stories and it wasn't vilified or the focus of her story. It felt real, like these women were in one of my book clubs talking about their lives, and was an enjoyable read!

The premise of this book is great - it's actually the perfect antidote to all the things going around currently that state a woman's place is to stay home / be a traditional wife; it's all nonsense and I really loved the idea of reading something that was anti-that. This however felt like it was all over the place - the pacing was just way too fast in some areas and it dragged on for far too long in other areas so it was just strange.

I loved the discussions on the invisible labor that women were doing and how traumatic and hard it was to keep a career and also keep a home. I loved how it touched on the use of prescription drugs to manage their lives and feeling overwhelmed. I also really loved all of the propaganda in America that was shown.

However, I was disappointed in the characters for the most part. Only Charlotte dared to speak out and it really wasn't much. Margaret and Bitsy had no changes in their life - it was all only what their husbands changed. There was so much forgiveness being thrown around, and instead of having the women speak up for themselves they would bit their tongue and be timid and make themselves small in order to get the approval of their husbands. It wasn't really what I expected at all - I thought the women would be well - troublesome, that they'd fight back against the fact that how in 1963? They couldn't open their own bank account, they couldn't get any contraception, nothing without their husband approving and signing paperwork. I wanted someone to just truly fight back.

Regardless though this is a powerful story - the writing alone is really beautiful, and I do love the imagery in this book! It really does paint the picture really well. I also think that this book would be an absolutely tremendous read for book clubs all over, and would love to join one myself that was covering this one! So many deep and interesting questions can arise just from reading this book and there are SO many significant things to note and discuss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

Sometimes you just need to read a heartwarming, feel good book and I desperately needed one - and The Book Club for Troublesome Women delivered.

We follow four suburban housewives, Margaret, Charlotte, Viv and Betsy, as they bond and take control of their lives with the support of each other.

I love how the book dove into serious topics without getting too serious. It stayed on the light-hearted fluffy side while still trying to be empowering.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I loved the storyline and the characters, but it is down here instead of up there because it felt a little slow at times. I also think we're not too far from where these women were in the 1960s and that pisses me off, but not the fault of the book or author. Free advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Book Club for Troublesome Women follows Margaret and her friends as they navigate personal passions and desires while balancing this with the societal expectations of women in the 60s. It is centered around their book club, the Bettys. Bostwick weaves a gentle, breezy following of these women as they navigate hardships ending up in empowerment for them, in their own ways. As with other reviewers, my biggest complaint of the book is that I wish the women were MORE troublesome - but in the context of the 1960s they were shaking things up. I would recommend to readers who enjoy women's empowerment stories. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had the pleasure of receiving an audiobook-advance copy from NetGalley of The Book Club of Troublesome Woman. I enjoyed the storyline and plot. There were moments of confusion having multiple characters and trying to remember which person was married to which. It did have moments that carried a slow pace, but I did enjoy the narrators voice and the multiple characters she was able to show the different pov.

Rating 4.5

AMAZING!!! What a nice surprise! This book is perfect for those who enjoyed The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and even The Women by Kristin Hannah 💜
This book reminds me of the friends I made because of my own Bookclub and it made me very happy.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Focus for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this book! It reminded me of my mom. It takes place in the 1960's. It is the story of four women who have a good life but want just a little more. They form a book club based on the book The Feminine Mystique. Over cocktails and shared secrets, they develop a deep friendship. I have read many books by Marie Bostwick. She is one of my favorite authors! This book was just as good as her other books. I highly recommend it!

Marie Bostwick has captured what life was like for well-to-do women in a new Virginia suburb shortly after WWII. Four housewives, all new to their neighborhood, get together to form a book club. Their first selection is The Feminine Mystique. One is a former nurse and the other three are want-to-bes—a writer, an artist, and a veterinarian. Among them they have fourteen children. Bostwick does an excellent job of developing four stories around what life was like in the early fifties. Though I was born in the 1950s, I had little knowledge of how women were treated by employers, colleges, and businesses during that time. The superiority of men and husbands truly surprised me. I could not put this book down and highly recommend it. It is a wonderful piece of historical fiction dealing with a time and subjects not commonly dealt with in present day literature. I think this book will be huge this summer. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

4⭐️
(ARC review) — Thank you to author Marie Bostwick and her publisher Harper Muse. I received an Advanced Reader Copy for the April 2025 release of BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN in exchange for my honest review.

Historical fiction based in the early 1960s. You get to know a group of housewives all living their lives and story in parallel. Even though fiction, they are based on similar true stories of women that paved the way for the feminist movement and thus is a good reminder how far we’ve come (and still can go)

This bookclub cemented a sisterhood in these woman of all different walks of life. They weren’t alone and this bookclub and controversial book opened the door to new ways of thinking and possibilities. Having the courage to fight for themselves because woman can be more than just mothers and housewives if they so choose.

The characters felt very vivid while watching their journey of friendships, bold female empowerment, bravery and personal growth unfold. Introducing change to a generation that got too comfortable at accepting content in dissatisfaction.

My one complaint is the pacing started to drag and started to get very filler like at the end but it was still a great book and this would make for an excellent bookclub discussion.

The author’s dedication to her mom was touching. I knew when her mother said that The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan changed her, this was going to be a great book.
This was a heartfelt and engaging novel about friendship, resilience, and personal transformation. The story follows a diverse group of women who come together to form a book club, only to find that their shared love of literature leads them to confront their own life challenges and societal issues.
The characters are well-developed, humorous and relatable, each bringing their own unique perspective and struggles to the story. Margaret, Bitsy, Viv and Charlotte all faced different challenges. The dynamics within the group highlight the importance of friendship and support, particularly when facing adversity. I laughed and cried along with them.
As the women open up to one another, they begin to see their own strength and potential and encourage one another to confront their challenges.
This book further enlightened me as to how women were treated in generations before me. In 1963, my own mother was a high school sophomore.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to read this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Overall enjoyed this book! I was expecting a little bit more from it but it’s hard to want some more feminism when it’s based in the 60s. for women in the 60s, reading a book and sparking ideas about feminism and women being more than housewives was such an interesting take. the story felt a little longer than it needed to be for the conclusion it came to but overall, it was a good read! definitely something out of my comfort zone but i enjoyed it!

📚 Book Review: The Book Club for Troublesome Women
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5 stars)

This book was everything. It’s a beautifully written story about a group of women in the 1960s from all walks of life who start a book club—and it ends up pushing them to face their marriages, their roles, and their true desires in life. It’s funny, emotional, and incredibly inspiring. It made me laugh, cry, and most of all, feel hopeful that the future is going to be brighter for women and minorities, and that we’re stronger when we support each other.

It’s a reminder that we all have the power to rewrite our stories—and we’re never alone when we do.

✨ “Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise raise them.” ✨

I have The Book Club for Troublesome Women 3.5 (rounded to 4) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Harper Muse, Marie Bostwick and Net Galley for the ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters, all housewives in the 1960s, were believable and identifiable and I really enjoyed getting to know them.

My only problem with the book was the pacing. It seemed like the story would ramp up, with lots of dialogue and interaction between the characters, and then take a detour with more telling instead of showing. But, overall, the story kept me engaged and I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this prior to publication. I grabbed this because one of my book groups picked this as the May pick. I really enjoyed reading about a book club in this time period, and I thought the characters were well done. I had trouble separating the opinion of the author from those of the characters and what they learned from The Feminine Mystique, so at times the writing felt preachy instead of fully what the characters really thought. I know this is compared to The Briar Club and Lessons in Chemistry, and I felt those two titles were stronger than this one. I did finish this one a week ago and I had to reread the description to remember what I read. It should be a great book club discussion! 3.5 stars.

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

The story covers the post-war housewife fixation and propaganda in America. We see the invisible labour carried out by women, the obstacles they faced, and how many of them gave up on their dreams to fulfill the role society deemed the most important for them. This story feels relevant even today, with the resurgence of the “trad wife” ideas on social media.

The subtle feminism in the story was welcoming, and didn’t overpower the story or the characters. I loved how the women in this story empowered one another to take chances and break out of the molds society has forced them into, and celebrates the bond of women and lifelong, supportive friendships. It’s an ode to the devotion women have to their tribes, and how much you can accomplish with the right people by your side.

This novel was more character driven than focused on a plot line, and I enjoyed the depth given to all of them. Despite the main focus of the novel being women’s lives, I appreciated how the author added in the idea that men were also forced into a specific role by society, “the provider”, which caused many of them to give up on their own dreams as well

There is so much I appreciate about this book. The four main characters in this book were about 5-10 years older than my mother--housewives in the early '60's which is when she got married. I am always floored at how much the world changed from her early adult years to mine and then from mine to those of my four daughters. These women who were represented in this book faced so much discrimination and limitations. I am so grateful for all they did to break glass ceilings and pave the way that I and my children have had so many more opportunities and choices. Discrimination against women still exists and I can't help but worry about the Old Boys Network seeming to be running the show for our country right now, but I refuse to believe that women today will ever allow things to go backwards. Like the women of the Bettys book club, we must believe in ourselves and never accept that things are the way they are and can never change.
I really enjoyed each "Betty's" individual stories. One of my favorite moments was when Margaret was unexpectedly at a luncheon with successful female journalists and Susan Stamberg joins them! Jackie Kennedy made and appearance too, but this NPR junkie was far more excited about Susan!!

I hope this book finds all the women (and men who care) like me who will appreciate the message of this book. I am so grateful to #netgalley and #HarperMuse for the arc of this gem. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book gives an interesting glimpse into the lives of married women in the 60ies. They were expected to be full-time caregivers and could hardly decide anything important without asking their husbands. The story about the four friends and their friendship is entertaining and uplifting but it was rather predictable and in the end everything of course works out for all of them. The title had me expect more but it was an enjoyable novel.