This book was smart, funny, and a breath of fresh air! I loved hearing about women getting to use their voices in a time where this was just not common. Thank you for the advanced reader! The twist of romance was beautiful and without giving any spoilers I liked the end result! Great narrator for the audio version as well!

The Trouble With You- Ellen Feldman 🎧

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you liked Lessons in Chemistry, you’ll like The Trouble With You. I actually liked it better.

Publish Date: 2/20/24

Synopsis: In post-World War II New York City, Fanny Fabricant finds herself unexpectedly widowed with a young daughter to support. As other women are leaving the workforce to get back to their pre-war lives as housewives and homemakers, Fanny begins working as a secretary for a radio network. Over time, Fanny finds a new normal at work and in her personal life. But as McCarthyism sweeps the nation, her relationships at the radio station pull her into the upended world of blacklisted actors and writers. Soon Fanny will need to choose what she wants for her own future and that of her daughter. Take the safe and expected route or take a risk and follow her own journey.

Review: The book begins with multiple quotes that are both infuriating and beautifully illustrate how far women’s issues have come in 70 years, even as we are still fighting for equality. A great way to amp up the reader and prepare them for what’s to come.
It took a few chapters for me to get into this story, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. The cast of characters are portrayed with so much realism. The secondary characters add some color that is lacking from the setup chapters, but there are no exaggerated characters or situations. The story is full of wonderful female relationships— mothers, sisters, aunts. And while I wouldn’t characterize this book as a romance, Fanny’s romantic relationships further the character’s journey to finding her own way.

The audio for this book was very slow and felt normal-speed at 1.5x. The voice changes were also difficult to follow at times. I found myself backing up to determine who was speaking— I’m not sure if that was due to the narration or the writing.

"The Trouble With You" is a beautifully crafted story in old New York after World War II. The author skillfully portrayed society's changes during this period, and the book primarily focused on people's lives. As the war came to an end, women who had taken up jobs to support the war effort were expected to give them up and return them to men. The story highlights the challenges war widows face as they navigate dating and remarriage. The author masterfully weaves a tale that showcases the struggles of both men and women who were blacklisted for their support of communism. Women were trying to find their place in the workforce, while young children were growing up and accepting the new way of life, different from their parents and pre-war. The novel follows multiple characters who embody each of the abovementioned characteristics in the 1950s.

The book's primary focus is on the lives of women and their rights, which were slowly gaining momentum in the 50s and 60s. The era saw a significant outbreak of women standing up for their rights and demanding equality. Even 75 years after this story, women still struggle for equal rights.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the message conveyed by the book. It was beautifully written, with a fantastic set of characters and an exciting storyline that kept me engaged throughout the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction.

In this historical fiction story, set in the 1950s New York City, Fanny Fabricant makes her way in this world as a widow and a mother. She found that she enjoyed, and had a talent for, writing scripts for radio serials (never soaps) and then television shows. Fanny's aunt and cousin wanted her to remarry and she found some possible candidates but politics and the Red Scare got in the way.
I loved that she didn't conform to society norms and did not want to give up working, if and when she remarried. Fanny and her aunt were strong role models for Fanny's daughter, Chloe, to grow up to be a strong and independent young woman. I was entertained throughout the story and was always curious about the next chapter.
Kathryn Markey was a fantastic narrator for this story. I looked forward to listening to the next few chapters every time I went for a drive and listened to the story. Her narration added to my enjoyment of the book.
Thank you RB Media and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Trouble With You - Ellen Feldman
Genre: Historical Fiction

The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman begins with a family wedding on a snowy night. Dad is dazzled by his beautiful daughter and wife. Celebration and dancing abound followed by a treacherous drive home. The tension and foreshadow created here are some of the finest I’ve read recently (and I read sooo much!). When Fanny loses her husband just after his safe return from duty in WWII, she is faced with profound grief and what seem to be impossible decisions in the living of her life and the raising of her daughter.
Feldman evokes the 1950s setting in a remarkable way. She captures the spirit of the wives and husbands in the wake of World War II. She explores the unique challenges of being a widow in this time period. Poor Mimi…Poor Fanny…these women become a sort of caricature in their communities after losing their husbands. The job that Fanny takes - as a typist for a radio serial illustrates the entertainment industry of the time. The characters - actors and writers are fully fleshed out - and their dialogue resonates with the time.Ultimately, we are exposed to the red scare of the 1950s led by Senator McCartney and see its impact not only in the entertainment industry but also in the personal life of Fanny. I love the glimpse into this time period through this novel. The people surrounding Fanny are as well developed as the setting. Mimi, Fanny’s cousin, represents the conservative view of woman hood. Rose, Fanny’s aunt, represents a more nontraditional forward thinking view of woman hood. Both women love and support her, but both also create conflict for her. The men in her life are thoughtful and complex as well. I am not a huge fan of the triangle trope, but this one is well done and quite believable. We even get glimpses of her daughter and how she felt about her father and feels about her life without him. Fanny’s success for me as a character is in her struggle. I appreciate her thoughtful consideration - her concern for her daughter - her indecision.
I wrestle with change…and with decisions. I’ve had a great deal of both lately. I guess that is part of why I appreciate Fanny’s struggle. I am always just a bit surprised when I am reading about the limited options women had in my mom’s lifetime (very nearly mine!) I know the facts intellectually of course, but Feldman brings the struggle alive in The Trouble With You. If you’ve read my reviews, you know that I can get frustrated with characters - but even though she wavers - for a long time - and changes her mind, I am not frustrated with Fanny. Her journey feels real and complicated and one with which I can empathize. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I will say that I can continue to work toward being the kind of woman who makes a decision with certainty and presses forward. From the incredibly engaging start to the epilogue, I thoroughly enjoyed The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman.

This book wasn’t really what I was expecting. The historical aspect of the story was more of a background feature and most of the narrative was about a character’s journey through grief after losing her husband. I appreciated having a strong female lead but this was a little too character driven for my liking. There were some redeeming moments but the pacing was off.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook of The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman. It was narrated by Kathryn Markey who did an excellent narration. The story is about Fanny Fabricant whose life changes in a blink of an eye and she has to make tough choices for her future. It’s set just after WWII when the men came home from the war, and the campaign by Joseph McCarthy to blacklist and defame people who may have been involved in the communist party during this time was alive and well. I really enjoyed the book and will look for other books by this author. Thanks to RB Media for the chance to listen to this book.
#NetGalley #TheTroubleWithYou

The 1950’s is one of my favorite eras. Fanny’s character was so fresh and wonderful. Her innocence of life and to have a rosy future was refreshing. The writer did a very good job on this story during this time period.

The Trouble with You is perfect for someone who wants to branch out a little from all of the WW2 novels out there and wants to see what life was like in the immediate aftermath of the war. It's a good palate cleanser between denser novels as well as the pace plods along at a steady pace. Fanny as a character is relatable as a main character but I found I was drawn more towards Charlie and Rose. If there was a spin-off book about either one of their pasts I would devour it!

This is a book where I really recommend the audio version of this book. The narrator really brings the characters (especially Charlie!) to life.

Thank you to net galley for the book.It was my first time reading a book by this author .Fanny was a character that I admired.She was a housewife and post war became a bread winner.I did have a hard time staying focused on this book. The narrator was good but the premise was not my typical read.

I find myself drawn more and more to historical fiction that examines systemic gender bias in the United States during the 20th century. Not the fun way that romance novels try to spin such; i.e. the girl that flouts social norms successfully and still manages to make a good match. Those plots are not only unrealistic but they perpetuate the misconception that this was even possible for everyday women. It was not…pushing back took an incredible amount of strength, time, and the will to face incredibly unfavorable (perhaps even abusive or deadly) consequences for women. The Trouble with You hit all the right plot points of a historical fiction that I would enjoy, and I did.

Fanny Fabricant had her whole life planned out. She was wife of a doctor and her education set her up to be a successful homemaker and mother after the WWII. She was living the American dream; until she wasn’t. Her husband unexpectedly dies after returning from the war and her life is upended. Not wanting to rely on the charity of family members, Fanny moves to the city and begins looking for work. This is where Fanny (though I hate this nickname, preferring Florence) begins to shine. Prior to this her character feels a bit shallow and naïve.

The research of gender bias, HUAC, and the writer/actor blacklist was well done and the information is presented in a way that feels authentic to the plot. Fanny begins to understand her narrow view of the world is just that. With the help of her Aunt Rose and Charlie, she begins to question the predetermined role of women in America. The romantic connection was a bit of a twist that I did enjoy and by the end was rooting for.

I very much enjoyed part two of Fanny’s life, though I did feel the ending was a bit rushed, jumping forward decades in the span of a chapter. The audio production was well done and helped me to form a connection to Fanny in part one. This may have been a little hard to do otherwise.

Thank you Netgalley & RB Media for allowing me to listen to the audiobook version of "The Trouble with you" This was my 1st book by Ellen Feldman. Let start by saying the Narrator Kathryn Markey has done a fabulous job. The story is simple, sweet , story of that followed the life of a young woman having to break out of the expected role of wife and mother in and around a sort of pre-women’s lib.

I love the way the author described each character & the setting, I could see Fanny sitting in passenger sit, holding her sighs in while Max drove the vehicle in the extreme storm, bring his family to safety.

the prologue had my heart pounding and left my in tears even before the 1st chapter started.

The closing the even wonderful. thank you for such a beautiful story.

This novel spans the life of Fanny Fabricant, a young mother whose husband goes off to fight in WWII, and when he returns, she believes her life will go on exactly as planned. However, one night changes everything for Fanny and she learns to adapt to a new reality in a new world that is very different than her “MRS” degree from her seven sister college prepared her for. Getting a job in radio soaps and living through the McCarthy era, Fanny realizes that she has a choice in life, she can play it safe or she can do what she believes is right.

I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable read and listen, I really liked Fanny and her evolution as a person. The story flowed and read quickly, so much so that I put the other book I was reading down to finish this one. I thought the author’s choice of radio writers and actresses during the McCarthy era made an interesting read for me and I highly recommend this one. Another author discovered and another backlist to add to my ever-growing TBR!!


4.25 stars

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the ARC to review

This author is new to me and so it was nice to check out her latest novel The Trouble With You. I really enjoyed the historical fiction audiobook and the narrator was especially great bringing the story to life. The story is set in NYC in the aftermath of WWII and particularly around the McCarthy era allegations of blacklisting actors/writers etc.
Fannie grows into a smart character who is trying her best to raise her daughter, Chloe. I really enjoyed how the author gave her main character choices that would end up making all the difference in how her future would look.
I was rooting for the outcome of the story the whole time but the author never made it obvious or easy for Fanny to make those choices. I look forward to checking out more future works from Ellen Feldman.

In Ellen Feldman's THE TROUBLE WITH YOU, the bustling streets of post-World War II New York City set the stage for Fanny Fabricant's unexpected journey. Educated for a traditional role, Fanny finds herself torn between societal expectations and her own desires, navigating the tumultuous worlds of radio serials and the Red Scare. As she forges her path amidst the glitz of entertainment and the shadows of political persecution, Fanny grapples with choices that could redefine her future. With a cast of compelling characters and a vivid portrayal of 1950s Manhattan, Feldman masterfully captures the essence of an era filled with both promise and peril. As Fanny's story unfolds, readers are transported to a time and place where every decision carries weight, and the pursuit of love and justice intertwines with the pulse of a changing nation.

This is an atmospheric historical fiction novel focusing on the McCarthy era, which was the big draw for me. It opens just after WWII, when the main character, Fanny Fabricant (best name for a character ever) loses her husband, leaving her a widow with a young child. We see Fanny struggle with losing a man she loved dearly and make her way in life with the support of a couple of female friends and an aunt Rose who is something of a firebrand. Particularly with the help of Rose, Fanny becomes her own person during a time period when women were seen but not heard. Fanny also struggles financially, although Rose helps out. Fanny works in a publishing company as a secretary out of need (she does not want to beholden to others) but finds that she enjoys it. She had Rose trying to bolster her up to become an an independent thinker while one of her friends, Mimi, also a widow, wants nothing more than to get remarried, not for love but to provide her and her child with security and this is what women are expected to do. Another friend, Ava is an actress. Then along comes Senator McCarthy and the HUAC who upends things and Fanny ends up ghostwriting scripts for Charlie, who is blacklisted.
I think that the book drew me in and did a good job of showing us the struggles that Fanny had between what women were expected to do and her own wishes, which were different. The book was a little predictable but I didn't mind that so much. I do think I would have preferred to see a bit more of the politics of the McCarthy era because that is what holds a great deal for me.
Another minor issue I had was that periodically, a character would use a word that was large and not the kind of word that people would generally use in dialogue and it bothered me, though I am having trouble with examples right now. There was a great deal of good dialogue so the use of such lofty language wasn't necessary.
Finally, this was an audio book and the narrator was not the best; she had a slightly nasally voice.
Overall, though, this was a good read and I will definitely look for some other books by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The Trouble With You AUDIO by Ellen Feldman is the Story of Fanny (Florence) Fabricant who is a young, educated wife and mother until that one moment when her husband’s heart gives out and her life changes on a dime. She moves from their lovely house into an apartment in the city and is soon convinced that she must find work. Her first job is behind a cosmetics counter in a department store, where she and her supervisor quickly realize she is far too honest for a sales position. Her aunt knows a woman in broadcast radio serials (soap operas) who needs a secretary. Fanny types. It is a win-win. There she is introduced to people who she had never known existed, one named Charley Berlin, a writer. Another, Ava, an actress. Before too long they have both been black-listed as this is the post-war world of McCarthy and his hunt for Communists. Rose, her aunt and mentor, is unashamedly liberal and guides Fanny through these rough times as she fights an internal battle between what is right and what is not.

Fanny is an amazing character who growth is overshadowed only by the people she meets and allows into her life. She is resilient, open-to-change, and caring. She loves her daughter but we watch as the inevitable time arrives when the world draws Chloe away from her. She wants to remarry but the memory of Max is still too alive for her to make that move. Even when she becomes engaged, she withdraws. The only thing that she lives for is her writing. She has become a script writer for her old boss and she is good at it. Then, she faces a moral dilemma, and the reader lives through that with her. It is an engrossing listen as Fanny lives her life and determines what she wants from it. Her character is exquisite and entertaining as are those around her. The story takes us to a different time, but was it a better time?

The narrator is Kathryn Markey who does a brilliant job with Fanny, all the characters really, and their New York City accents. The accent is always there but it rises and falls until the listener is no longer aware it exists. Whether this is native to Markey or not, she does it well. There could not be a better reader for this lovely novel.

I was invited to listen to the audio version of The Trouble With You by RM Media. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RBMedia #EllenFeldman #TheTroubleWithYou

I was intrigued by the premise of "The Trouble With You," which delves into the challenges faced by a young woman striving to break free from the traditional roles of wife and mother in a pre-women’s lib era. Set against the backdrop of post-WWII, the story sheds light on the societal expectations that pressured women to relinquish their jobs and return to domestic life. Fannie, the protagonist, finds herself unexpectedly widowed and discovers a newfound passion for working. The narrative also delves into the impact of McCarthyism and the HUAC on people's lives.

While the story took some time to captivate my interest, I found the initial portrayal of the main character to be somewhat lacking. It wasn't until halfway through the book that I felt truly engaged.

I love a book that makes me think and opens my eyes to new perspectives. Fanny was a fabulous character and I thoroughly enjoyed her story. It was interesting to read about the opportunities she had to navigate and the differences in the opinions her closest relatives had about the choices she should make. Aunt Rose won me over early on and was a good reminder of the importance of a strong female role model. It was interesting to learn about the history of “the blacklist” and heartbreaking to learn about some of the consequences. I devoured this one and will be thinking of it for quite some time. The narrator was absolutely wonderful!

The Trouble with You is a good book. It lets you see how families were during the 50s and how a women struggles to raise her child after her husband dies. Women during this time were still second class citizens and it was harder for them to make a life alone and with a child during the 1950s than it is today in 2024.