When life gets messy, four women form a book club and end up rebuilding their lives too. Full of humor, hope and unforgettable friendships, this story proves it's never too late to find your people.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advance readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Such a fun read! This is the story of a group of traditional housewives in the early 60s who come together to form a book club. Their first book selection is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. The book opens their eyes to many new ideas, and each character is spurred into her own transformation. The ladies form strong bonds of friendship and start calling themselves The Bettys. This book is a celebration of the power of friendship among women. It's a great reminder of how far women have come and how far they have to go and it also delves into how expectations and traditional roles have impacted both men and women. It captures a specific moment in time when society as a whole was undergoing some momentous changes. I really enjoyed it!

It was enlightening to learn about the basic rights that women didn't have, like opening a bank account or getting a prescription filled. However, thinking about the actual story, I didn't get that much from it. Not all the women seemed to face the challenges the book highlighted; just Charlotte did. The pace was also too slow. Thank you, NetGalley.

This book definitely gets off to a slow start, but I found myself getting very invested in the characters and their relationships. It's 1963, Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique has just come out, and four women in a suburb of Virginia start a book club inspired by it. Margaret has three kids and a relatively good relationship with her husband, but she craves a writing career. Viv has six kids and is expecting a seventh, is madly in love with her husband, but misses the purpose she felt when she was an army nurse during World War II. Bitsy is twenty-three, newly married, and sad that no veterinary schools would take her since she's a woman. And Charlotte is estranged from her husband and has no idea what she wants out of life. Together, they try to figure out their next steps and find meaning.

This book is very sweet and earnest. It started out kind of feeling like an afterschool special, but as the story went on it became less cliche and felt more nuanced and real. It was really fascinating to follow along as these women navigated the constraints of their lives in different ways, and I loved their friendship and how they supported each other. It's not a revolutionary book at all, but I enjoyed it :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book. Unfortunately at this time I will be unable to give it my full attention, so I will provide a starred rating and return when I can give it a proper review.

I really hoped I would love this book, but unfortunately I dnf’d at 30%: I couldn’t connect with the characters and I felt like the book addressed some topics in a too distant way, and the writing style made it feel forced through the story.

just not my cup of tea! but still a big thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is one of those books you would like to see turned into a movie. I loved the message behind this book. I thought The Book Club for Troublesome Women was a beautiful story about the power of a book and how it can inspire and change the course of people's lives. I liked that this book revolved around four women. Throughout the story, we get glimpses of each of the woman's lives. Each woman's story was interesting and inspiring. Despite having many similarities, each of their stories were unique. I was intrigued by all of their stories. I liked Margaret's writing journey, Viv's desire to go back to work, Bitsy's path back to school, and Charlotte's breakthrough. It was empowering to watch each woman start to pushback at society and their relationships. Some of the men in this book were horrible. At first, I couldn't stand Margaret's husband, Walt. I hated how he treated her and belittled her jobs as a writer and stay-at-home mom. It was disheartening to see that a belief from the 1960's still holds true for some today, that stay-at-home moms aren't "working." Bitsy's husband was the worst out of the lot. His behavior at the stalls and further down the road was disgusting. I liked that the author included Tony in the story to showcase that not all men were bad. What I enjoyed so much about this book was the way the author highlighted the issues women faced in the 1960's. As someone who was born thirty years later, it's still hard for me to wrap my head around all of the barriers' women faced. This book really opened my eyes to the things my grandmothers were dealing with. How many women were denied career paths like Bitsy because a male advisor wouldn't write them a letter of recommendation? How many women like Viv ended up pregnant because a doctor wouldn't prescribe them birth control without their husband present? How many women like Charlotte were told to fall in line and be happy with their unsatisfying role in life? I was surprised to learn that some colleges required women to take courses in marriage and family studies. A big topic of this book was the first book club book, The Feminine Mystique. I liked that the author addressed the limitations of the book and how it left viewpoints out. I also liked that she highlighted how men could also be trapped in societal norms like Walt. I was happy that she discussed the experience of black women nurses during WWII. The writing was smooth, the character development was spot on, and the pacing was just right. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC.

[Disclosure: Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for providing this book for early review consideration. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.] Maire Bostwick's book portrays the power of women-centered stories. With the vibrant voices of Bitsy, Charlotte, Margaret, and Viv, four suburban women who join a book club and incite a lifelong friendship, this novel is an unforgettable foray into the trials and joys of life in post-World War II America. The Bettys, as they come to call themselves after reading Betty Friedan's groundbreaking /The Feminine Mystique/, band together through limitations placed on women, both concrete and perceptive. In a world which limits female capability, they persevere, chase careers, confront stubborn mindsets head-on, and move forward together, using the bond of shared experience to drive them on. Bostwick's writing leaps from the page, fresh and evocative, and her characters speak directly to the reader, vivid and lifelike. This novel is an essential portrait of mid-twentieth-century America, but also of women and the distinctly female experience so often overlooked in our current world. Through Bitsy's equestrian capabilities and veterinary aspirations, Viv's selfless nursing career, Charlotte's perseverance in the face of infidelity and dedication to uplifting women, and Margaret's passionate love of writing, the novel presents women's stories in a genuine, unforgettable light, cementing this novel as an essential addition to women's fiction and the historical fiction oeuvre.

Couldn’t get into this. Quit at about 8%. Characters and story seemed forced, writing was blunt and not very nuanced.

★★★★☆ (3.5 rounded up for content and purpose)
The Book Club for Troublesome Women (Marie Bostwick - released 2025)
e-ARC Book Review

✧ Read with me ✧ Instagram ✧| @haileydianereads

A massive thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Focus, Harper Muse, and Marie Bostwick for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest book review! 🥰🙌

“Examining thoughts and ideas that can impact your life is the whole point of reading, especially a book like this.” 📚🤔

“There was no question about it; had a writer with talent and drive equal to William’s been born a woman, the world would have been robbed of one of its greatest literary voices.” 🖋️👩

“Even in moments of despair, that hardwired, hard-learned hatred of inconveniencing others isn’t easily pushed aside.”</i></b> 🤦‍♀️😫

“If women stuck up for one another the way men do, this would be a very different world.” 👯‍♀️💛

“Open a magazine or turn on the television, and you’ll find yourself bombarded by images of perfect, perfectly satisfied women. Which means the problem must lie with us, mustn’t it? Perhaps we are weak, neurotic, selfish, or ungrateful. Or simply lacking… something. And so we buy the product, hoping it will fill the void or dull the ache. It never does.” 📺 💄

This book is perfect for readers who enjoy…
- Historical fiction set in the 1960s
- Feminist literature
- Books about books
- Friend groups forming and enduring
- The Feminine Mystique

I’ve had so many ARCs to get through in 2025 and I’ve been looking forward to Marie Bostwick’s novel all year! Years ago, I read almost exclusively historical fiction, so it’s always been a genre near and dear to my heart. Add to the historical setting a book club of housewives who are living in 1963 on the cusp of the feminist movement really gaining momentum, and you get a book that speaks hard truths about being a woman in the mid century era. This is an well written and researched novel that women in modern times can still relate to and learn empathy for choices that were made by our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers.

RATING SYSTEM: I rate my books by 5 literary element groupings: plot and pacing, characters and development, setting and world building, dialogue and writing style. See below for a full review:

📖Plot and Pacing
It’s 1963 and four women find themselves living in the brand Concordia. It’s a new development with different home models, HOAs, and businesses that all opened on the same day. Margaret, Charlotte, Viv, and Bitsy are all housewives who are longing for more and with the recent publication of The Feminine Mystique, they might find that changing their circumstances isn’t as impossible as they might have once believed. As the four begin to get to know each other more and understand the intricacies of their families lives and responsibilities, while holding space for their dreams, friendships form that will leave them all changed. While the plot is superb, the pacing is inconsistent at times. There are moments in their stories that lag a bit, but I’m so glad I stuck it out as this book is truly feminine magic.

🧞‍♀️Characters and Development
As mentioned, this novel follows Margaret, Charlotte, Viv, and Bitsy. Each is carrying marriage and motherhood in one hand and their dreams in the other. Bostwick masterfully creates stories for each that challenge the characters to grow and push themselves. From fear, neglect, disappointment and hurt, readers will enjoy the journey as the characters develop and find new meaning in their lives while acknowledging the love they have for their families.

🌇Setting and World Building
It’s evident that Bostwick researched not only the books and their impact, but also the mid century era, thoroughly. From the language she uses throughout the book to the recipes we all wonder how they ever became popular, Bostwick immerses readers into the 1960s with ease. As the book progresses and events of the year come to fruition, Bostwick successfully brings readers on a journey of a time that, for some of us, seems arcane given all of the restrictions that women faced.

🗣️Dialogue
Most of the dialogue in the book takes place between the women in the book club with smaller scenes involving their families and other neighbors appearing intermittently. One thing that I loved about the women and how they spoke to each other is that it was never condescending. This is not a toxic or gossipy group of women - although women are often portrayed that way. Yes, they may share the details of their marriages or child rearing, but any concern or reproach is from a place of love and adoration.

📝Writing Style
Bostwick is careful to ensure that every detail of this book is doused in 1960s paraphernalia. Is that AquaNet I smell? Consideration for the setting is not the only concern. Bostwick also identifies novels that were instrumental in bringing about change and put them in the hands of our four housewives. The change may not have been overnight, but by reading these books, the women began to dream bigger and see that another path forward was possible, even if the road was rough. A woman becomes much more troublesome when she knows her worth and refuses to settle. Bostwick delivers a memorable reminder, even if fictional, of our foremothers who dared to dream.

❉BONUS❉: Emotional Connection
For me, the emotional connection that I feel to this book is the realization that while we have come so far in our fight for equality since 1963, we still have a long way to go. More than that, women must acknowledge that some of the same tactics used in the 1963s are still being used today. For example, one theme is that of consumerism and the role women play in buying products that are packaged as a way to make us “better”, “prettier”, “more alluring”, etc. While in the 1960s, this was primarily through magazines and TV, it’s no different than what is peddled to us today via the internet and social media. Buying these products will never leave us satisfied. Rather, we need to do the interna work to dismantle the generational fear we have been passed down regarding perceptions, beauty, status, worth, love, etc.

😤The Flaws
There are two flaws that I had with this book that resulted in my rating of a 3.5. I easily think this book could’ve been a 4.5 or 5 star book for me personally. However, the pacing of this book is not consistent throughout and I really had to power through portions of this book. Bostwick’s exceptional writing and passion fueled my desire to finish the book. The second flaw I had with this book was the length. I think that this book could still have delivered an emotional and triumphant ending with less pages. Combined, a faster pacing and fewer pages, this would’ve easily been a top notch book for me. The plot and characters do not disappoint.

Margaret, Charlotte, Viv, and Bitsy will be hard to leave behind. Bostwick manages to do the herculean task of making all four women likeable heroines in their own right. Readers of feminist literature and/or historical fiction will be wishing they could join the Betty’s for a Vodka Stinger.

Gratitude, always.
- H.

3.5 stars rounded up

Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv are suburban housewives in a 1960s “planned community.” They get together to read newly released The Feminine Mystique, and end up forming a bond beyond books.

Books have brought some of my favorite people into my life. Bookstagram led me to some incredible friendships, and my real life book club, who I thought of constantly while reading.

I enjoyed this story of womanhood, motherhood, friendship, and finding purpose. It was predictable in a comforting way, and well written. It did feel like there was a lot going on between the four characters, there wasn't time to settle in before the story moved on, so they kind of stayed one dimensional even though their circumstances evolved.

Sometimes it seems like the 60s were so long ago that we’re so far removed from women just like these characters in the book. In some ways, women's rights have come a long way; it’s unnerving that we’re currently seeing some of those same rights sliding back.

Women inspire. We uplift. We innovate. There's no saying what can be accomplished with a group of women by our side.

🎧 Lisa Flanagan narrated wonderfully and kept me engaged in the story.

This was a wonderful read and hard to put down. The Betty's were friends of a neighborhood book group who encouraged and challenged each other. That change brought adventure and adventure brought contentment. There were trials and temptations as they were trying to find themselves in a time where being a mother and a homemaker was the norm. We follow their journey to becoming who they were meant to be.

This book was a cozy ride through what female friendships should be. The tale of unlikely neighbors forming such a strong, lifelong bond was heartwarming. The characters were each developed with care and had me invested in reading more. Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheBookclubOfTroublesomeWomen

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a wonderful read that I very much enjoyed and would recommend. It wasn’t all fun and games and escapism since we dive into the realities women faced in the 1960s and how a group of friends navigate them, but maybe that’s what made it great. A story about friendship and sisterhood, The Book Club for Troublesome Women, follows four friends and the different yet similar struggles they face and their unique reactions to them. I loved how distinct each woman was. They did not all react to the books the same and they did not all react to the situations the same, yet they all supported each other and found their own way to rebel against the status quo.

It was encouraging to see women who were not what we often imagine as rebels, but they asked questions, fought for what they wanted, and made changes for themselves and their daughters. It was a reminder that even if I am not out leading a cause I can make a difference and help make the world a better place for us all.

I truly enjoyed this book. It’s amazing what women go through to get us where we are in life today. This was definitely a book of sisterhood friendship, and support of other women. I really wish I could give it more than five stars.

This is a review of the audiobook.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and found the characters incredibly genuine and saw many of my family members in them. The writing was great and I felt the pacing fit the story. I couldn't stop reading, both because I was enraged at the audacity of men in this time period, but also because I was totally rooting for these characters. I wanted something different for them so badly!

The author did a fantastic job in writing the propaganda being spread, and advertisements aimed at women of the time. I also enjoyed the lone reeds that rebelled and carved something out for themselves, being by circumstance or sheer will. I will be thinking about Margaret, Bitsy, Viv, and Charlotte, and the women they represented for a while.
I was a bit annoyed that after some "trouble," the ending was wrapped in a neat, tight bow. I wanted more for Margaret's character so badly.

A powerful, unforgettable reflection on womanhood, identity, and quiet rebellion.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is not just a story—it is a mirror, held up to a time in history that feels both distant and dangerously familiar. Set in 1963, in a seemingly idyllic American suburb, this novel peels back the veneer of domestic perfection to reveal the emotional isolation, silenced ambition, and quiet desperation experienced by so many women who were told they had everything—yet felt like nothing.

Through the lives of Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte, Marie Bostwick captures the aching truth of what it meant to be a woman at a time when femininity was defined by submission, silence, and sacrifice. These women are not rebels in the way we often imagine revolutionaries. They are mothers, wives, neighbours. But what makes them extraordinary—and so deeply human—is their willingness to begin asking the forbidden questions. Why am I not happy? Is this all there is? What would life look like if I mattered, too?

The introduction of The Feminine Mystique into their book club becomes more than just a reading choice—it becomes a call to consciousness. Their discussions crack open the foundation of their lives, unearthing the grief and rage and longing that had been buried under layers of politeness and expectation. This is a book about the power of story—not just the stories we read, but the stories we are allowed to tell about ourselves.

It explores the intersections of femininity and masculinity—how men, too, were shaped and confined by the cultural narratives of the time. Walt, Margaret’s husband, is particularly well-drawn, offering a glimpse of how empathy and partnership can flourish when vulnerability is permitted to exist within masculinity.

This novel is rich with themes that feel urgently relevant: the need for financial independence, bodily autonomy, the invisibility of older women, the social pressure to conform, the stigma around divorce, and the way women are often gaslit into believing they should be grateful for lives that quietly break them.

But most of all, The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a story about courage. About the strength it takes to say no, and the deeper strength it takes to say yes to your own truth. It is a celebration of friendship, of books, of the profound and transformative magic that happens when women gather—not to gossip, but to grow.

We owe it to the women who came before us—and to the ones we’re still becoming—to read books like this. Five powerful stars. I will be recommending this book to every woman I know.

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

1963, Northern Virginia, Margaret Ryan, Viv Buschetti, and Bitsy Cobb, are housewives in a brand-new suburb called Concordia and when Charlotte Gustafson moves into the neighbourhood, she’s a flamboyant artist from Manhattan and they decide to start a book club and read Betty Friedan's new novel, The Feminine Mystique.

The phrase "feminine mystique" was coined by the author to describe the assumptions that women should be fulfilled from doing their housework, being married, and having children and what more could they possibly need or want. Women who were truly feminine should not work outside of the home, get an education, or have political opinions. Friedan wanted to prove that women were unsatisfied and voiceless and it’s true.

At the time a woman couldn’t open a bank account without her husband’s permission and needed her spouse to accompany her to a gynaecological appointment to get the prescription for the contraceptive pill, infertility was never due to the male and some families found divorce shameful and infidelity was something ladies shouldn't complain about and pretended it wasn’t happening.

Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv share how they feel, unseen, undervalued and dissatisfied and they discover they are not alone and their new friends listen and understand their grievances and spread the word to help others and knowledge is power.

I received a copy of The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick from the publisher HarperCollins Focus in exchange for an honest review. The story was wonderful and well written, it really shines a light on what it was like for American women in the 1960’s, society thought things were fine and despite the world changing.

A narrative about friendship and sisterhood, and it helps the ladies to find courage to confront the past, and see themselves in a new way and move forward. I really liked Margaret and her husband Walt and how together they weathered life’s ups and downs and five stars from me and I highly recommend.

I happened to be offered this book, The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick just when my own online book club assigned a “book about a book club” last month and thought it would be perfect. I am so glad I read it because it is such a wonderful book that took me back to my mother’s generation, a time when women were becoming restless in their assigned place in society.
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In 1960 women were expected to marry, have kids, raise them and take care of their home, to cater to their husbands. The four women in this book club, Margaret, Bitsy, Viv and Charlotte, all live in a brand new community just outside of Washington DC where their main excitement has been the weekly coffee klatches with the other wives. Margaret wants more, and on the spur of the moment forms a book club to include their newest neighbor Charlotte. Their first book is the legendary book by Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique. That book changed these women’s lives.
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As I do often when I read great historical fiction, I dig deeper because I want to know more. This book changed many women’s perspective on what they “should” be doing and what they want their lives to look like. Women at his time had to have their husband’s permission to go on birth control, his signature to open a bank account or own real estate, and so much more. The author did a great job of incorporating many injustices in her story about the bonds and growth of these four women.
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I absolutely adored each of these women for who they were and even more when they were together, supporting one another. One of my favorite lines in the book was, when referring to the old boys club way of keeping women down, ”If women stuck up for one another the way men do, this would be an entirely different world.”
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I am a strong advocate for women building up women. I see a lot of that in Bookstagram and my own book clubs. I think together, women can do anything.
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This is an excellent book for book club discussions or just to enjoy yourself!

Have you ever read a book that is ruined by another book you read that was similar? This is the second book I have read that takes place (at least partially) in the sixties and is about a group of suburban housewives that form a neighborhood book club. Sadly, not everyone has the humor of Lorna Landvik. Despite my constant mental comparisons between the Bettys and the Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, this is a pretty great historical fiction.

Four women form a bookclub in their neighborhood and read The Feminine Mystique. This controversial book leads them to new places. Margaret, the unhappy wife, begins writing a column and expressing herself, causing massive changes in her marriage. Viv decides it is time to resurrect her career as a nurse, even if she may be expecting baby number seven. Bitsy is going to stand up to her older husband and work toward her dreams, rather than doing as told. And Charlotte, the most outspoken of them all, will discover that she is stronger than she or anyone even knew.

The ups and downs of these women is enthralling and at times made my blood boil. How far we have come, and yet some want to take us right back there, or even further.

The narration was excellent and really brought a lot to the story, despite not having a cast for each of the changing viewpoints.

Thank you to Net Galley, Harper Collins Focus, and Harper Muse for the ARC. All opinions are my own.