I received this book for free and write this review voluntarily. The Book Club for Troublesome Women explores the period after WWII in US from eyes of The Bettys, a four women book club. All these women lost opportunities just because of being a woman, in a period where human rights movements at its highest in US. Reading Feminine Mystique, characters find a voice that they always hear but not into their lives. Both their lives and their country will be changed forever in 1960's fast years.

I really liked this novel because it covers the same problems that women are going through. It is worth to note how women fight for their right to vote, right to get equal payment and even right to get their anti pregnancy medicine without their husbands' signature. The novel delivers how men decide what rights women get, via this four unique characters. I loved Charlotte the most, and no idea why but portrayed her as Helena Bonham Carter while reading. I would recommend this novel to anyone who needs an inspiration to fulfill their dreams.I thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this chance to review this novel.

One book in the 60s changed the lives and opportunities of women across the country. This is the story of 4 of those women in a Virginian suburb supposedly living the Dream.

📖 Historical fiction
📖 Power of sisterhood
📖 Civil rights era
📖 Empowerment

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

Viv is a no bs, nurse and military wife mom of 6 who says how it is to most people. Bitsy is a young woman in a new marriage with her older, equine-focused vet husband. Charlotte is the rule-breaking, freespirited artist mom who moved in down the street. And Margaret is supposed to be the mom who has it all! Great house, working husband, 3 kids. But she can’t pinpoint what is still missing. None of them can. Not without being called ungrateful or odd. Until one book release awakens something they didn’t know was even dormant.

Will one book change their lives? Or will it be the newfound bonds and friendships these women forge in a time of change and chain-breaking for women everywhere?

A beautiful ode to the different journeys of womanhood. To those who did what they had to, to those who constantly pushed the boundaries, and to the women who forged full steam ahead to allow a path for the rest of us. I found this a beautiful homage to every kind of woman. Terrible to read how women’s curriculums were changed, their guidance counselors counseled how to find husbands, and professional programs didn’t allow women because they would ‘leave to start a family anyway’. But honorific in a way of how far we have come, and how far we still have to go.

Viv and Tony are my favorites. No notes. Watching how husbands acted then and still act now was horrifying and heartbreaking because women were taught to take what they are given and be grateful. I am proud of women now and the journey it has taken to get here. This book reminded me of that. I cried, I laughed, I cheered.

Favorite quotes:

“Somewhere down the road, maybe you’ll help pave the road for somebody else. That’s how the world gets better. One generation helping the next.”

“There may be many destinations in a woman’s journey, many seasons in her life.”

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

4.5

A nicely written piece and the ending felt plausible (not contrived). In places, the writing lasped a little bit and it became a little bit slow moving but overall a nice enjoyable read.

It felt like quite a long book (I'm reading on my phone so no idea of actual page length), could potentially do with some whittling down. I think that could make the writing flow a little bit more.

I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed the different character vantage points throughout the different stages of their lives. I found the historical references to be so interesting from a women's point of view. The author did a wonderful job of sharing the challenges women have faced over the years and just how far we still have to come. I wish everyone had a group of "Bettys" to get them through life!

Uplifting novel about American suburban women in the 60s. It is about their friendship, emancipation and social status, where for example a woman couldn’t walk in the bank and make a deposit on her name without man’s escort (😧). The characters are believable and the topics are very educational on one hand, but on the other hand the story is idealized to an extent, that it was to sugarcoated for my taste.

This was a light hearted read. I enjoyed the story and liked most of the main characters. I would read something by this author again. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me access to this arc

I liked the premise of the book but I felt the writing weak. I appreciated that the author addressed some contemporary issues within the context of the time really well. Often, in historical fiction, you can see the author writing about a time through a modern-day lens. Bostwick did that really well--she discussed how the Feminine Mystique left out input from women of color, women from other social classes, and, dare I say it, men.
But there were other times where I felt that the writing was a little immature--taking the book club group name just a little too far and everything ending so nicely and primly for every character.

Loved the premise. Didn't love all of the writing.

Set in a relatively conservative, homogeneous community in the turbulent 1960s, this story follows the gradually evolving relationship between four very different women, and how those bonds sustain them in the years thereafter.

As the first wave of the feminist movement gathers pace, the quartet of Margaret, Charlotte, Betsy and Viv gather to discuss the books they are reading as part of their book club picks. In the process, some of the changes in society begin to have an impact on these privileged housewives who apparently have every thing that they need. Or do they?

A well observed look into a time of great change and those who lived through it - and were profoundly impacted by it - this book is a piece of Americana worth checking out. It gets 3.5 stars.

A beautifully written and thought provoking book. I absolutely loved it and will be buying it as a gift for friends and recommending it to my book club.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy. It’s the early 1960s in a DC suburb, and Margaret is bored. A new neighbor moves in, and as a way to garner her friendship, Margaret forms a book club. The first read will be Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. It’s a rather bold choice in a neighborhood of women busy pushing strollers and trading jello mold recipes. Can women have it all? Or must they give up their personal needs for their husbands and children? Sixty years later, these are still valid issues for women. Margaret and her club name themselves the Bettys, and they form tight friendships. They see each other through marriage struggles, babies (or lack of babies) and most shockingly, they support each other as some go back to the work force. This was a quick read which I enjoyed. It’s the first book that I’ve read by this author, and I plan to take a look at her other ones as well. Thumbs up! #bookgram #netgalley #goodreads #whatiread #mariebostwick #bettyfriedan #bookstagram #bookworm #housewife #thumbsup #bookclub

Very much enjoyed this book - the characters, the setting, the premise. It felt very plausible and everything didn't end with a contrived happy outcome. I thought the descriptions of the locations, both the local neighborhood and the city of DC and surrounding areas contributed to the storyline. There are believable interactions with actual people (K Graham) interspersed with everyday suburban women. I am tangentially attached to the veterinary world and found the equine vet's behavior, UC Davis, and the portrayal of women in vet med to be accurate for that time period. Finally, as an avid reader, I appreciate the way books can bring disparate people together in conversation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So few books look at the 60s as a time period, when so much that is interesting was happening then. As a woman, things were changing at lightening speed, and this book captured that. The women were relatable and all fighting different issues while living in the same neighborhood. It is a story of friendship through difficult times, community at its best. Recommend.

I loved this book a lot more than I thought I would. My favorite part of the book was the lesson that “having it all” looks very different for each person and there is no one right way to be a woman and we’re all just figuring it out as we go along.

The story is told mainly from the POV of the main character Margaret with occasional POVs from the other 3 women in this story. All 4 women are dealing with the expectations that a 1960’s society places on them as wives, mothers and women in general while grappling with having their own desires that may be different from what is expected of them. Even though it is based in the 60’s I think the lessons still ring true to day as we all try to carve out our own paths in life in spite of the expectations from others/society.

You’re not going to find explosive drama in this book that has you staying up all night waiting for the plot twist, but you will fall in love with each of the lead characters and their very different stories. You’ll find yourself rooting for them and maybe even seeing a little of yourself in them. I loved the ending, it’s one of those stories that leaves you feeling satisfied because it wraps up everyone’s story beautifully and you finish the book feeling content. In all, I’d recommend this book, especially if you’re in a transitionary period in your life and love stories of womanhood!

The Book Club for Troublesome Women follows four friends as they come to grips with their realities as women in the 1960s. There is Margaret, initially content with her role as being a housewife and mother but always wondering what might or could have been; Viv, a former Army Nurse Corps nurse and mother to six (soon 7); Bitsy, a young, newly married woman who, without children of her own, works as a stable hand due to her love of horses and in support of both her father and husband; and Charlotte, the debutante from New York, who had a philandering husband and four children.

When Betty Freidan writes The Feminine Mystique, it opens up doors for these four women they never thought would be possible. They begin questioning their role in the world, and why, as women, they are meant to take the brunt of everything. Each of them come into their own in one way or another, living their best lives.

This story really opened up my eyes on what it was truly like for a women in the 1960s. I grew up in a family that always had two working parents, or grandparents, so I never had the pleasure of having someone home to care for me until my grandmother retired when I was a young child and became my caretaker when my mother had to continue working as a single parent. I relate wholeheartedly to these women, though in much more modern times. I am a college educated woman, but also a wife and mother who never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom but found myself in this role. Childcare is expensive these days, and oftentimes isn't available anyway, but I'm also lucky enough that I have a husband who makes enough money to allow myself to stay home. In many ways, a lot of things haven't changed in the 60 plus years that this story takes place in.

Ultimately, I loved the story. It was a bit slow-moving and took me quite a bit of time to finish it when I am normally a book a day (or two) reader. But, I'm so glad I was offered the opportunity to read this story. It was beautifully written.

Thank you to Harper Muse, Marie Bostwick, Netgalley for this ARC. The opinions above are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I can absolutely see this book being a favourite of book clubs everywhere in future - it's definitely a story with a lot of heart, and a really good cast of characters. It feels like the author really took her time with each and every one of the characters here, and each of them gets their time in the limelight with their own issues, troubles, and needs examined in detail.

The focus on women's rights in this era is really interesting - how far we have come, and also, how far we still have to go. It focuses on a horrifying version of normal around reproductive health, divorce, women's rights, and so much more, and deals with these issues sensitively. I think that this book had the potential to really be done badly, but it pulled through really well, and gave each issue and how each character dealt with it nuance and grace.

Charlotte was wonderful and I would have loved to have kept reading about her, but all of the women in this book were passionate and developed in their own right. I do feel like towards the end it got a bit long in the tooth, and I could have done without the Kennedy assassination 'landmark', but all in all this was a really solid read.

I really liked this book! it had some really good themes of persistence, sisterhood, and womens issues. There was also humor tied into this book which is a nice tough to mix it in when there are some serious and heavy topics as the main themes in the book. I liked the premise overall, and I liked the writing style of the author too

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Bostwick conveys the lives of 1960s housewives with great detail, veracity, and insight. It really makes you think about women's rights and how far we have come. The book club started by 4 women acts as a catalyst for potential change. Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv each have their own personal struggles and desires. Their friendship is the driving force behind the novel. Ultimately "the Bettys" are empowering and uplifting. Their personal journeys are inspiring and I loved how they support each other. This is both a story about personal growth as well as friendship. Bostwick balances poignancy with humor in a delightful way.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

A really enjoyable read. All four characters were easy to like. The premise of the book - the women's search for their say in the world and their fight for personal independence - rang true. Some of the experiences faced by women of that era were truly horrendous: the refusal of the doctor to prescribe the pill to a woman without her husband's approval was shocking (and it wasn't that long ago!)

I could find fault with the neat ending (and some of the fortuitous meetings that occurred) but I won't. What is more important is the message of the book and the women's fight for their rights. It's oneI would certainly recommend

It's the 1960's and Margaret has it all... At least according to the women's magazines she reads. She is a housewife with three kids and a husband, but feels like something is missing. Her husband got her a new magazine subscription and that didn't help. She meets her newest neighbor, Charlotte, who is full of everything it seems Margaret is not. Wanting to get to know her, she creates a bookclub, gets her friends Viv and Bitsy to join, and then Charlotte insists they read Betty Friedan's new book. Suddenly everything is changing and this is the story of the Betty's book club. An excellent read where you can't help but root for all four women!

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a historical fiction novel featuring a group of suburban Virginia housewives in the 1960’s. Margaret, Viv, Charlotte and Bitsy bond over afternoon cocktails and books about “having it all”. The characters show how women during this time were marginalized and encouraged to be satisfied with motherhood and caring for their families and their homes. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters (including their fashion, recipes, daily lives and reactions to current events of the time), their individual struggles and their personal growth. I was somewhat disappointed that each of the women is white and privileged, and their struggles are neatly resolved. I think that I had more expectations for these women to disrupt the status quo. Overall this is a well written, slowly paced, character driven novel about female friendship. 3.5/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.