Firstly, the cover on this is absolutely beautiful and I am absolutely obsessed with it !

The story was a whole vibe from start to finish and I loved it ! .

I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone who loves to read !!

Women (at least some of us) are currently feeling the sting of political unrest and the challenge of rights and freedoms. Bostwick's book takes us back to the 1960s and what lives for middle class women were like back then- the expectations, the lack of freedom or advancement opportunities, the shushing of their own thoughts, dreams and goals.

Bostwick's tale takes us into a middle class suburban neighborhood and introduces us to a group of women in a book club. One woman introduces the rest to The Feminine Mystique and their eyes are opened to their roles in their homes, lives and society in general. They begin, in their own ways, to draw lines and make efforts to establish their own dreams and autonomy. Throughout, they love and support each other as "the Bettys" (after the author of The Feminine Mystique.)

It was fun to read the acknowledgment of various political and social events during that same time frame.

A good read- I recommend it!

**I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley!**

The Bookclub for Troublesome Women is a powerful, feminist read that brings the struggles of 1960s suburban women to life. When four women start a book club and read The Feminine Mystique, it sparks a slow-burning revolution in their lives. Through friendship and Friedan’s words, they begin to challenge the suffocating expectations placed on them—housework, child-rearing, and husbands who take them for granted (which, yes, got on my nerves—as they should).

The story is engaging, uplifting, and refreshingly linear, weaving in real-life icons like Katharine Graham and Jackie Kennedy. While it sticks to a primarily white, upper-middle-class lens, the themes of self-discovery and defiance resonate. It’s not overly dramatic, but the small victories feel real and satisfying.

A must-read for book clubs and anyone who loves a story about women finding their power.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ — Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

I thought this book had a lot of potential with such a great premise and theme. Where the book feel short for me was I felt the author left so much meat on the bone for each main character. I felt that she would be gearing up for a breakthrough and then she would stop just short of really digging deep into the subject matter and revert to fluff. There was a wealth of deep issues the author could have tackled: misogyny in the workplace and in the home life in the 1960s, divorce, mental health and the lack of recognition and resources for women in the era and just as we inched toward each topic she yanked the conversation back. The last little bit got more serious which I appreciated and enjoyed more.

This is such a well-meaning book, but it’s just too earnest and sweet for my taste. We have four featured characters, “the Bettys,” as they refer to themselves because of their first book club pick of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. The lead character in the story is Margaret Ryan, a graduate of Ohio State University who is now a wife and mother, having met and married a man she met at OSU who was there on the GI Bill and shared her passion for learning. All of the Bettys burned with ambition in their youth, but married and became suburban homemakers. Each is dissatisfied, and frustrated with the societal rules that further circumscribe their lives, such as having to have a husband’s signature to do everyday things like open a bank account.

Now, that’s fine as a setup, but the plot was frustrating to me. It often felt so obvious that the author was cramming in lots of information about American society and its treatment of women in the early 1960s. Like too many writers of historical fiction, this author seemed to want to make sure that everything she learned from her research appeared on the page. It doesn’t make for a smooth reading experience. I was more bothered by the fact that three out of four of these women are married to awful men—well, that is, until <spoiler>one of the husbands miraculously sees the light and becomes the ideal supportive husband, and the other two are conveniently disposed of.</spoiler> The husbands felt caricaturish, and it felt just as contrived when each woman comes into her own and flourishes, after being inspired by each other and the books they read. Too neat, too sweet. This book might spur a good book club discussion, but it will likely be more the book club members talking about their life journeys than about the book.

This is the same read as every other book set in this time period about unfulfilled women. I did finish it to give it a chance to add anything significant, but it just fell flat. In this day and age, we all know that housewives were not always content, nor did they have the means to do anything about it. While the women in this story mostly ended up with an ending they desired, there wasn’t anything seemingly significant about any of their stories.

Anytime a book has the word “book” in the title, I am drawn to it. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres so I was very excited to get my hands on “The Book Club for Troublesome Women.” This book takes place in the early sixties and really showcases how things were for women during the “Leave it to Beaver” time in the United States. If you have ever seen the show you know women were expected to do things at home perfectly all while wearing a dress and heels.
The four women in this novel long for something more than what has been allotted to them. Several real life women were included in the story here and there which really helped to anchor it in the time period. The women fomr a book club and read and discuss “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. They name their club the Bettys after this read and rally around each other and the individual goals they each have. The female friendships in this book really shine. Each character is unique and fully fleshed out. I really cared what happened to them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing an ARC for me to review.

Marie Bostwick, The Book Club for Troublesome Women, HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse, April 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Marie Bostwick’s book begins with her revelation about her inspiration for it – a conversation with her ninety-one-year-old mother in which Bostwick learnt that Betty Freidan’s The Feminine Mystique had, in her mother’s words, changed her life. She then describes the research she undertook, often arousing feelings of anger, but also admiration of the women facing egregious discrimination. She recognises what Freidan, and those moved by her, did for women – an excellent start to a work of fiction that introduces courageous characters who respond to the discrimination they faced. The women’s coming together, through a book club based on reading extensively and eventually sisterhood, is an engaging topic and Bostwick’s book is a fine vehicle.

My immediately positive response was to Bostwick’s use of the term ‘troublesome women.’ This is a phrase used by feminist writers, Judith Butler, Naomi Wolf, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich to describe women who refuse to bow to the traditional concept of behaviour that would designate them ‘good’ women. There is also the phrase, ‘Well behaved women rarely make history’ on my favourite, always worn, bracelet. Clearly, Bostwick was going to write about the sorts of women I wanted to read about!

Margaret, Bitsy, Charlotte, and Viv all live in a middle-class suburb, in houses with British names, these names providing information about the size and grandeur of the house. Margaret organises a book club and is encouraged by Charlotte to introduce it with Betty Freidan’s The Feminine Mystique. Each woman responds differently to the book, or the small sections they manage to read. However, the discussion about their reactions provides the nucleus for further revelations. At the same time as the women look for inspiration to change the lives they have adopted since leaving school or college, they are 1960s women with their attention to dress, the food they will provide at their meetings and suffering with curlers in their hair so as ‘to look their best’. The juxtaposition of women and their concerns who will be so familiar to baby boomers, and their aspirations, is heartwarming.

The women’s lives change. Their developing friendships, dealing with what they more strongly identify as discrimination at work, home and in the neighbourhood, and, in turn, realising that discrimination against women stultifies all human relationships and aspirations make for a story that weaves together a group of women worth knowing, ideas that are worth thinking about, and new pathways that are tempting.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is an enlightening read at the same time as it is a touching story. There are highs and lows that are realistically portrayed, and the ending is particularly satisfying.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is extremely timely right now (February 2025) and while I didn’t need this book to fuel my ire, it still helped to remind me, particularly with lines like this.
‘“Had we waited for men to give us the vote, it never would have happened. We had to demand it for ourselves and do the work to see it though.””

This succeeded in keeping my interest and kept me turning the pages til the end; I enjoyed my reading of this and it’s a definite recommendation from me.


*****Margaret, what type of monster buys a gift, has it gift wrapped, and then places it on a person’s pillow 🤢 Maybe it’s my ocd but the thought of anything other than my head on my pillow strikes me as intensely germ laden.


Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the DRC

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of both the audio and the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

TL;DR: first half of this was four stars, then the second half had it dropped to three, and the end dropped it again to two stars. What started as a really fun premise ended up being overly didactic and a bit trauma-porn-y. The characters are great. The plot was not so great.

I feel a lot of feminist feelings lately. My husband and parents are probably sick of me ranting about it. So this book - a book about books and feminist literature and the 1960s - seemed like a super solid choice for me.
The audiobook was great. I preferred it to the ebook because the narrator was good and the characters felt more real. I loved Charlotte and Bitsy and Viv; Margaret who is arguably the MAIN main character didn't work as well for me, but I guess that's because she felt a bit generic. Otherwise the characters were wildly entertaining and the best part of the book.

The writing is decent and a few scenes actually were brilliant. But at other parts, chunks of information seemed left out (like someone standing up, and then standing up again two pages later - did they sit down again and it was just never stated?). This isn't totally Bostwick's fault but it's indicative of a lazy edition job and it did irritate me. I just couldn't stop noticing these little things once I'd noticed it once, and it happened often enough that I started gritting my teeth halfway through.

Speaking of halfway through, the character development and plot seems to start meandering there. The ending was actually so annoying and didn't track with the rest of the book, which was irritating. The tone of the story about halfway through starts to feel a bit like an Aesop's fable with hit-you-over-the-head-with-didactic-morals and less like something that could be discovered or analyzed. I was fascinated by some of the info within the story, and yet I was annoyed by how obvious it was written.

If you're looking for a relatively lighthearted historical fiction with some good characters and research, you'll probably enjoy this. If you need something a bit deeper, or if you'd get easily annoyed by an ending that straight up doesn't track with the rest of the story, skip this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this digital ARC.

This book was cute. Nothing too groundbreaking or offensive. An easy read. Four neighbors in the 1960s who are all women all searching for "something" in their lives, create a bookclub inspired by The Feminine Mystique and become dear friends in the process. They support one another through divorce, births, deaths, new jobs and political upheavel. The characters are a little one dimensional and the book was pretty predictable but I enjoyed it. Three stars.

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

A warm, compelling tribute to the power of books, friendship, and questioning the status quo. With multiple perspectives that keep the story fresh and engaging, it never feels stagnant. Each woman’s journey unfolds with just the right balance of heart and complexity. Their book club may start as a simple gathering, but it quickly becomes something more: a catalyst for change, a space for rebellion, and a lifeline in a world that expects them to stay quiet. And really, who doesn’t love a novel that celebrates the transformative magic of reading???

I have really been loving historical books lately and this one did not disappoint! I love that it was set in the sixties, it gave me such a fun feeling. It was a beautiful story of women and friendship! The characters were beautifully written and I could really relate to them!

Margaret Ryan was getting ready for the first meeting of her new book club. What to serve? Her daughter Beth told her mother to just make oatmeal cookies and be done with it. Margaret wanted it special.

Even though big changes don't happen all at once, reading their first book, The Feminine Mystique, made this group feel something. It was important to them to find their sense of self, their future, and their worth.

It's always a little scary, right? Meeting new people and letting them get to know you? That was the rub about starting a book club in their neighborhood. The women were nervous about being judged but excited to get together. They wanted fellowship.

This story was set in a northern Virginia suburb called Concordia. Its premise is based on a controversial book titled The Feminine Mystique. The book didn’t solve problems but helped create a lively discussion at their first book club meeting. The discussion highlighted the women's shared experience of isolation, powerlessness, and a lack of voice. There had to be more to life than raising children and taking care of their family.

Who’d ever guess that four friends with their impromptu book club would change their lives and those around them forever? I highly recommend this book for your book club. It will bring lively discussion at your book club meeting. There are a few cuss words sprinkled about, which felt natural, with closed-door romance. This story takes place in the 1960s, when people drank and smoked in public. I’ve never read a book by this author before. I’ll be checking out more of her books. This is a must read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I requested and received a copy of this book from the publisher, Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog https://psalm516.blogspot.com/

Four dissatisfied housewives walk into a book club…
The Book Club For Troublesome Women is a brilliant, timely work on the challenges and joys of being a woman. When Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and new neighbor Charlotte form an unlikely book club with Betty Friedan’s ever-controversial The Feminine Mystique at its center, none of them could have possibly predicted the lives they were about to rattle and the ceilings they were soon going to break. Each woman brings her own set of grievances to the table: a few unhappy marriages between them, poor employment opportunities, shattered dreams, and the intense pressures of being the Perfect Homemaker. As the tides of modern feminism are slowly beginning to change on the national front, their book club meetings quickly become a savior for each of them: a place to complain, to celebrate each other, to dream wildly without fear of being chastised or ridiculed by the patriarchy. Their budding friendship and relentless ambitions are irresistible and make this book such a pleasure to read. I loved getting to know these women and have certainly been impacted by their presence.

The plot is lovely and the title is striking, but I did find the pacing a bit inconsistent. Overall a trivial complaint compared to a bright, brilliant story burning to be read. Don’t skip this one.

i loved the way we got to see so much from each character. took me a minute to get into this one but when i did it was really good!

Thank you Net Gallery for the chance to read this book. Having grown up in the 60's I found this a fascinating and interesting read. It captures that time in history very well. The characters are well flushed out and the story is believable. My only negative feedback is that the facts toward the end of the book are not always accurate. However, I would recommend reading it.

For a book set in the 1960s, this book is certainly relevant to current events and culture. Contemporary women will see familiar patterns

Star Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Genre: Historical Fiction
📕: @netgalley @harpermusebooks
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My Review: I received an advanced reader copy of The Book Club for Troublesome Women (release date: 4/22/25) through @netgalley and @harpermusebooks in exchange for my honest review. I had the opportunity to read both the Kindle and audiobook versions, and I truly enjoyed this book.

From the striking cover to the heartfelt story, this novel captivated me. At its core, it’s a celebration of female friendship, resilience, and the power of a book club that becomes so much more. I loved the dynamic between the women—their unique personalities, unwavering loyalty, and shared desire for something more in their lives. The “Bettys” and their book club felt so authentic and inspiring, offering a perfect blend of humor, heart, and empowerment.

Brief Synopsis: Set in the 1960s, The Book Club for Troublesome Women follows a group of women who find solace, strength, and sisterhood in their unconventional book club. As they challenge societal expectations and support one another through life’s struggles, they prove that being “troublesome” might just be the best way to live authentically.

I gave this book four stars and highly recommend it to anyone who loves stories about strong women, friendship, and the power of books.

#womenworthknowing #thebookcluboftroublesomecreek #newhistoricalfiction #historicalfiction

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is exactly the type of book we need given today's climate. What started out as an innocent idea for a neighborhood get together quickly became a call to action as the women started reading The Feminine Mystique. Margaret's book club became an activist bookclub by accident but she's absolutely pulled into the neighborhood's newest resident's orbit. Charlotte has a dizzying affect on everyone she meets and is the catalyst so to speak. As the women open up with each other and share honest tidbits about their lives and longings, they realize not everything is as it seems and realize it's ok to want more and better for themselves and each other. This was a very cathartic book to read but also somewhat sad to realize we're still dealing with a lot of the same issues all these years later. I'd still highly recommend this book and loved it.