I loved this one! Especially in today’s climate, I think it’s an important reminder about the importance of female friendships. I hope for all women, that they find their own group of “Betty’s”. While the book was a little predictable in terms of the final outcomes, I loved how the stories intertwined! I would definitely recommend this to friends and book clubs alike!

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick, was a great women's historical fiction look. It is about how a group of women form a Book Club, starting with reading the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and other books with "troublesome" them, examining the roles women fill on our society, that allow the group image a new trajectory for their lives, breaking the bonds of the cultural expectations for women of the 1960's. Through the book club and the exploration of their lives, these women develop strong bonds and support each other in achieving their own agency.

This book paints the historical events of the time including the civil rights movement. I am sure some people will be upset that the book did not address some of the other politics around race at the time, I appreciated that this book only focused on the characters in the book and their experience, instead of trying to be all things for all audiences.

Written in the spirit of The Women by Kristin Hannah and Mona Lisa Smile by Deborah Chiel, it demonstrates the importance of women's friendships and the need to support each other. I hope that this book inspires a new generation of women to read the classics mentioned in this book.

I want to thank HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. My Opinions are my own.

A WITTY, INSIGHTFUL, AND NOSTALGIC JOURNEY

Margaret Ryan was living every woman’s dream in the 1960s. She had a loving husband, three beautiful children, and a station wagon. She lived in Concordia, North Carolina, an exclusive and picturesque suburb. Yet, like many women of this age, Margaret felt restless.

Upon meeting the newest neighbor, Charlotte Gustafson, Margaret is intrigued and wants to know her better. She devises a Book Club get-together and invites two other neighbor women, Bitsy and Viv. The thing I love about this group is that these four have nothing in common except they are neighbors! Margaret is pretty happily married with three children. Viv is married to a career Navy man with six children. She served as a nurse during the War, too. Bitsy is still a newlywed and married to the local veterinarian, who is much older than her. Charlotte is the Wild Card. She has moved from New York and dresses in Designer Fashions every day! She is an aspiring painter and quite liberal in her thinking compared to the other three women. For the Book Club’s first Book, they chose “The Feminine Mystique.” As they share cocktails, they also share secrets and goals, and friendships start to form. They realize they all feel like they are missing out on something. They decide to name themselves the Bettys after Betty Friedan.

The Book Club, which started without much thought, soon became a lifeline for the Bettys. They become a type of family, and each will need it in one way or another before the year is out. I like how the author gives each character a part of the story. It makes for a much more interesting book. They learned so much about each other and even more about themselves that year. They understand that each of them is smarter than they thought, loves deeply, will step in to help one another immediately, and is wise beyond her years.

Harper Muse and NetGalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. However, my opinions are entirely my own and uninfluenced.

I loved this book. I loved how it made me laugh, think, cry, and more. I loved how the women became friends because of a book/book club. I loved the characters and the message that women can have dreams outside of being a mother or housewife. I loved how Margaret’s marriage was a side plot and how they evolved as characters and as a couple. Will recommend this book! Thank you very much for the advanced copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. That being said, I loved it! It was so relatable. The book is set in the 1960s and shares the stories of a group of women. And despite the time that’s passed, their struggles (and triumphs) are still the same as what women deal with today. As a stay at home mom, I felt so seen but I think any woman would feel the same (maybe relating to a different character more). While it started a tad slow, i was hooked by the end and in tears through the last chapter. This is a definite must read!

I personally DNFd this book, it is not my cup of tea, so please count my rating as nothing due to the fact that I didn't finish it due to personal reasons

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is delightful and important, a historical novel just as vital today as the timeline it takes place in. Set in 1963, the story follows Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte as they start a book club, beginning with Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. Filled with the cultural references of the time, Marie Bostwick manages to capture an era with wistful details and likeable characters you can't help root for. Having been a young child in 1963, this book both brings back so many forgotten memories and also sheds a precautionary light when viewed in these precarious times. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the opportunity to read this heartwarming book. 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow, this was my first book by this author and I would for sure read one. What a ride! I enjoy the triumphant ride and the pacing throughout.

This had a very slow start, which made it difficult for me to get into. I wish it felt as though there was a more compelling climax that the plot was heading towards. However, this read is about a revolutionary book and the way that big, radical perspectives can reshape the lives of individual women. And I think that the slower pacing and "trickling" of such ideas—seeping into their approach towards being a wife, homemaker, mother, and more—actually do mirror the way that these notions are absorbed. It would probably be most poignant with readers who either belonged to this generation or were adjacent to it.

I would give this a 3.5 rounded up to 4!

I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I suppose part is due to the fact that I grew up in the sixties and 1963 is a year etched deeply in my memory. Women couldn’t get birth control without their husband’s approval in 1963, nor could they open a bank account in their own name, even though they were simply trying to cashing their own pay checks. How quickly we forget, but now my Granddaughter is roughly the same age that I was in the early 6o ‘s and I see her rights being stripped away.

The story of four neighbors ( Margaret, Betsy, Viv, and Charlotte, begins in March 1963 when they form a book club called The Betty’s after reading Betty Friedan’s classic The Feminine Mystique. Books can change lives and be the catalyst for change, and throughout the book we see how friendship can facilitate important transformation in the lives of these women, as they strive to live their best life. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip back into the past and it’s a good reminder that women still possess the strength to go after what they are due. We have plenty left to fight for.

Highly recommended.

Thank you so much NetGalley for an ARC of this novel. I haven't read a book lately that I enjoyed as much I as did this one. Being a child of the 60's this story brought back memories of my childhood. Each character was interesting and I thought Marie Bostwick developed each very well. In fact, each character could have a book where they were the main character. It's amazing what women have had to go through to gain independence and respect and it's not better now in 2025! I wish my mother was alive so I could ask about opening a checking account and gaining a prescription for the pill without my father's signature or approval! I fondly remember my mother hosting her friends. I wonder if she was part of a Betty's group! I also was lucky to receive an advanced audible copy of the book. I enjoy reading and listening together. The audible was amazing! I will certainly recommend this to my friends and fellow readers as well as my own book club! Thank you again for a delightful, thought provoking book!
Leslie Ponder

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a compelling, unputdownable read that brilliantly captures the struggles and awakenings of women in 1960s Concordia. Through the lives of four women in their 20s and 30s, it explores the tension between societal expectations and personal ambition—between the roles they were told to accept and the dreams they were forced to abandon.

Everything changes when their book club picks The Feminine Mystique. As they turn its pages, their perspectives shift, desires ignite, and the power of sisterhood takes center stage.

Marie’s storytelling is both sharp and heartfelt, weaving humor, friendship, and defiance into a narrative that celebrates the courage to challenge the status quo. This was a five-star read for me—moving, thought-provoking, and utterly unforgettable.

This for me was a 5 star read.

Thanks to @netgalley and @Harpermusebooks for the ARC.

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

The Book Club for Troublesome Women
Pub Date: Apr 22 2025

#NetGalley #ladysnuffy #books #bookgram #booktok #booknerd #arc #TheBookClubForTroublesomeWomen #harpercollinsAu #historicalfiction #womensfiction

4.5 stars for me! Historical fictions are new for me bt I'm trying to expand my horizons and based on the synopsis I knew this would be a great and interesting read! Unfortunately I felt it was a little slow for me which deters it from being a 5 star read. However, 4.5 because I absolutely loved everything else about this book!

In the Book Club for troublesome Women Marie Bostwick returns to her historical fiction roots and tells the story of 4 women forming a book club in an affluent Virginia suburb in 1963. Virtual strangers at the beginning, they start with Betty Friedans groundbreaking the Feminine Mystique. It starts a discussion of women's roles and choices, and turns a book club into an unbreakable friendship of very different but strong women.

It did take me a while to get immersed in the story, but once I did I really enjoyed watching each of our characters grow as well as being reminded of how hard it was for women to be independent in the sixties. I also enjoyed how the author incorporated real life characters of the time into the novel, such as Katherine Graham and Jaqueline Kennedy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to net galley and harper muse for the e galley.

📖 New Book Review 📖

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was a very slow starter for me. I felt like there should be the climactic point in the book but there wasn’t. What I did find, however, was a group of women better known as “The Bettys” who create a small book club. This story takes place in the early 1960s when women were not meant to work and ridiculed when they did. It was viewed as a slight upon their husbands whose job was to work and bring in a good wage. Their first book is The Feminine Mystique and each woman finds themselves written on the pages which does not thrill them. This story cements their relationships. Individually each of them wants a different life than they have. They want more and wants their lives to have meaning and purpose. With the Betty’s support each of them begins to redefine who they are in their relationship but also who they are on their own. This enables them to go out and enjoy life; return to work after having children; go to university and reevaluating the relationships they have with their husbands/partners. Not all of these changes are successful, however, they have one another that empowers them, supports them and encourages them.

This book took me on a journey backwards in time, and, gave me 4 new friends. Furthermore, it highlighted just how different society was back then. Despite starting as a slow burner it was a beautifully written book that I will definitely read again.

The majority of this book takes place in the 1960s and centers on a group of women who form a book club that first reads The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. This sparks them to reimagine their own lives and inspires them in ways you will love to see. It includes real life challenges and I loved seeing the women band together to help each other through them.

I really wish I could say I liked this book more than I did. The premise is great-- a perfect antidote to tradwife nonsense --but the story itself is inconsistent, both in terms of pacing and characterization.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is set in 1963, shortly after the publication of The Feminine Mystique. A group of suburban housewives in Virginia start a book club and their first pick is Friedan's new release: a decision that will change all of their lives.

Moving through the perspectives of these women-- Margaret, Viv, Bitsy and Charlotte --Bostwick explores this very specific time and place. She covers the weird post-war housewife fixation and propaganda in America, showing how emerging consumerism benefitted from encouraging this as a "natural" role for middle class women because it sold household appliances. We see the invisible labour carried out by women, how challenging it could be to have and keep a career, and how many housewives turned to prescription drugs to cope with their six kids and stagnant lives (literally Mother's Little Helper.)

In 1963, married women couldn't open a bank account without their husband's permission (even if the money going into it was their own wage), couldn't be prescribed the pill without his signature. It was stifling just reading about it.

I also really appreciated that Bostwick acknowledged the limitations of Friedan's work. As Viv notes, her book primarily applies to middle class women with choices, whereas many other women, and men, were forced to work jobs they hate just to feed their kids.

But while all this is great, these positives are all about the message of the book and the takeaways from Betty Friedan's writing. What actually unfolded in the story was... not that much. Especially when compared to the length of the book. There were quite a lot of slow spots, good bits interspersed with more tedious stretches.

Also, I know women faced a lot of difficulties at this time, but I was disappointed that we didn't see much in the way of the promised "troublesome women." Only Charlotte really caused any trouble (and that was thanks to her brilliant daughter). It was frustrating that Bitsy and Margaret's lives only really changed as a result of their husbands' decisions; they themselves did not actually make much trouble. There was a lot of tongue-biting and easy forgiveness, and while I appreciate character growth, I did not fully buy Walt's about-turn.

Still, I read it all and made a bunch of notes, so obviously not a bad read. Charlotte's story was by far the most satisfying.

No one writes about friendship like Marie Bostwick. She captures the frustration and dreams of women in the 60s and the societal norms that block them. Margaret Ryan has a wonderful husband, children, a nice house and it should be enough, but it isn't. Starting a Book Club with two of her friends takes a turn when she meets the flamboyant Charlotte who suggests they read the book, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Published in 1963, Friedan changed the lives of many women who yearned for more from life. Recommended for Book Clubs, many discussion points.

If you know me, you know a book about books (or a book club) will pull me in immediately. This was an enjoyable read, highlighting the struggles of women, especially in gaining respect in their own household. The Betty’s have someone for everyone, but I’m partial to Bitsy.
In the current political climate in America, this book may bring out some worries, but I’m hopeful of its empowering message.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women was interesting - not necessarily because of the content, but because the characters felt so familiar even though they're from a wildly different time than I was raised. Viv, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Margaret were all relatable in their own ways, and their personalities were so complimentary to one another. I love that they all bonded over The Feminine Mystique (maybe bonded isn't the correct word - grew together, perhaps) in a time where women were greatly marginalized. I was interested to find some things coming to the forefront that are extremely relevant in the political climate of today (such as the men having to sign off on their wives birth control pills), which helped me with the slow burn of the book. I really wanted them to shake things up, to break the stigma, and would have been glad to see them go on to be disruptors. It also really bothers me that they're all white women, which I know is a double edged sword in that time, but it can and should be done if possible. Each one of the women was rather privileged, and I wish that hadn't been the case.