As four women form a book club, they also find themselves. The 60’s, a turbulent time and women are wanting “something” more. I liked that all four women were different and at different times in their lives. Each woman finds friendship and the book club helps them find their standing in their life. I liked following each woman and seeing how each one tackles their challenges. I did find this a little long at times making some parts boring. Overall an interesting read.

Four, female friends face challenges from society and their own families in their quests to find out if there's more to life than raising husbands and children. I found the female characters to be well written, with diverse personalities and different upbringings, but somehow, they found each other. I would love to join The Book Club for Troublesome Women and drink "truth serum" while discussing life and books.

One sign of a good book is that it makes you think. I went down so many rabbit holes with this one and learned quite a bit about the 60's and how far women have come (and how far we still have to go).

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own. I reviewed this for my book club and can almost guarantee they will be purchasing their own copies when the book is released.

Loved this book! Such a unique, sympathetic and empowering view into the lives of four very different women from the 1960s. The struggles and lessons learned apply to any decade as the challenges come in many different forms with diverse outcomes.

Didn’t love the title though - Troublesome Women sounds apologetic when these fictional, but could be very real, ladies have every reason to be proud of their multitude of accomplishments.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I love when women ✨

The Bookclub for Troublesome Women is an engaging, raw look into the lives of women who want… more. More meaning, joy, freedom, responsibility, and purpose. The writing was easy to follow, serious themes balanced with humour and fluff. Personally, I think the story would have benefited from more insight and perspectives from women of colour and different socioeconomic backgrounds to provide a full picture, but this was still a really good read.

Rated 3.75 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-ARC.

What an incredible read this book was. The memories of the time came flooding back while at the same time I had my eyes open as to how limiting a woman’s life was in the sixties. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. The main characters were amazing and I found myself cheering for them. If you are looking for a thoughtful yet nostalgic read hurry out and pick this book up. You will not be disappointed!

4.5⭐️
Publication Date April 22,2025

I loved this read! A historical fiction novel set in the 60's, this book follows 4 housewives as they start a book club. Over the course of the novel, they affectionately refer to each other as "The Betty's" and develop a sisterhood that  spans decades. They  are there to push each other,fight for feminist rights and equality, and support each other through the highs and lows of those experiences. This book is a fantastic  reminder  of just how far women have come and how hard previous generations have had to fight to get us where  we are today. We can all use our own group of Betty's to lift us up and push us to our full potential.

Thank you to  Netgalley for this ARC

I really enjoyed The Book Club for Troublesome Women. It’s a heartfelt story about female friendship, self discovery and pushing back against societal expectations. Set in the early 1960s, it blends historical fiction with real life struggles in a way that feels believable and immersive.

The characters felt real and multifaceted, each dealing with their own sense of being ‘stuck’ which I’m sure we can all relate to at times.
Some parts were predictable, and the pacing dragged a bit in places, but I still found their journeys compelling and thought provoking. It reminded me a little of Lessons in Chemistry and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in the way it explores women’s lives and ambitions.

Bostwick does a great job capturing the complexities of friendship and the slow realisation that life doesn’t have to be what others expect of you. It’s not a particularly shocking or dramatic read, but it’s nostalgic, empowering and leaves you thinking.

3.5 rounded up to 4

What I most liked about this tale is that it exemplifies how reading can influence our lives, our opinions and give us food for thought about interacting with our peers and/or families, whether they agree with us or not, all the while entertaining us in the process. We all come from various walks of life. Our personal situations may be common, but our reactions to them may not be.

This is the story of 4 women in the era of the 60s, who come together to join a book club in their neighborhood. Their first pick is a current one by Betty Friedan called “The Feminine Mystique” (a revolutionary classic published in 1963). From their discussions these “Betty’s” as they have chosen to be called, entertain new thoughts and opinions of growth as women with rights and opinions of their own, irregardless of their husbands or families expectations of them.

You may have to utilize some patience as this goes along, as it can lose momentum from time to time, but personally, I enjoyed getting acquainted with each of these characters and was invested in how their particular circumstances would play out.

As a longtime fan of this authors, from her very first release many years ago, I admire Ms Bostwick for a variety of reasons, not just as an author but as a woman. She is an example of what women can strive to be, and how to accomplish it successfully. This author knits, quilts, cooks and blogs, always with gusto, and I am constantly inspired by her words.

Timed perfectly for International Women’s Day, this is the perfect read for any woman, young or old. Pick up your copy on release day April 22, 2025

#NetGalley #harpercollinsFocus #mariebostwick.com

I was looking forward to this book and overall it was an enjoyable book. I liked each woman’s storyline however I wish there was more diversity in the book. I was expecting more.

Raw, real and beautifully written. Marie Bostwick has done a great job with this historical women's fiction. As a wife, mom and woman I truly appreciate seeing from multiple points of view and loved each of the characters.
I loved watching these women lift each other up and encourage each other.
I hate how going against society's road map labels women as troublesome. But feel the title of this book is fitting. These women weren't robbing banks or causing riots but they refused to sit silently at home and be told how to spend their day. I think looking back at this time period will impact a lot of people and I hope what this author has written will show light on how far we women have came over the years. I'm so thankful for authors like Marie who help women feel empowered and feel like we can be the change we need to see.

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

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is set in 1963 and follows a group of suburban women whose lives are changed by reading The Feminine Mystique and starting a book club where they read mainly feminist writings. The book delves into the realities women faced during that time - from not being able to open their own banking account without their husband's signature to being doubted or ignored altogether in the professional world.

I thought this book contained a lot of promise but failed to live up to it. This book centers on the experiences of middle class, white women, with little to no thought to how women of color would've experienced these times. (There's a small anecdote about a Black nurse that one of the main characters encounters, but the whole thing feels way too rosy.) That could be fine, but the characters tend to fall into rather neat stereotypes, without much depth. They too easily forgive their husbands. They cheer on Martin Luther King Jr. from afar, but don't seem to think critically about his speeches or teachings at all. There's the alcoholic artist with the cheating husband; the woman with 6 kids and a 7th on the way, who seems okay with this... While I was rooting for the characters to break free of the limits imposed upon them by misogynistic societal standards, their stories all ended too perfectly. Everyone either made up with their husbands after they magically became much better men or left their husbands. It just felt too...tidy?

3.5 stars, rounded up.

3.5 stars. The characters were loveable and definitely help push the feminie rage feelings the authours wanting to emerge in the reader. But i do wish there was a little more diversity in the class/struggles as it would have made it more interesting. The pacing left much to be desired and was so slow which for a book this length was tedious to get through. I adore books with multiple perspectives and this one did that beautifully.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a cozy novel about four women who live in an upscale Virginia neighborhood near Washington D.C. Set in 1963, Margaret Ryan introduces herself to her new neighbor, Charlotte, and invites her to join a book club. Charlotte recommends the club read The Feminine Mystique. From there the novel explodes into chapters exploring the lives of these four women and their expectations of marriage and career. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy novels with strong female characters and novels set in and around the Camelot years.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is 1960s take on female empowerment. It focuses on a book club formed by four female neighbors. The first novel they read, The Feminine Mystique, becomes a catalyst that causes them to question the limits of their lives and possibly, make changes. The characters are engaging and there is much to love. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperMuse Books for the ARC. Pub Date: May 23rd.

#TheBookClubforTroublesomeWomen

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Four friends are forever changed by reading a book, The Feminine Mystique. This is about housewives in the 1960’s who become closer through motherhood, community and feminism. Fans of uplifting historical fiction will love this book. I was cheering for Charlotte as she overcame a bad marriage and outsmarted her controlling father. I was rooting for Bitsy that she would see her worth and value. One thing that I appreciated was the acknowledgment that The Feminine Mystique was written for women of privilege who were manipulated into having a lesser role. Other women were already working multiple jobs out of necessity. These women got an “allowance” and were treated like children. It’s a book that reminds us why we read.

pretty expected but well-written and interesting despite. i love the four women characters. 4 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

3.5!

I really enjoyed this book. All four women in the book club have their own troubles and strengths. Through each other and their book club pick, The Feminine Mystique, they gain the confidence to become more than just housewives. They learn how to be themselves without having to conform to the 1960’s society that they life in. Of course there were certain characters I resonated with more than others, however each woman was interesting to me! This is a story of feminism and finding yourself.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published April 22, 2025.

Four women meet to start a book club, reading Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique”. They each go on to do great things and continue their friendship through the years. It could have been a great story but the plot didn’t really pick up for me until about 75% in.

This book took me three weeks to finish which tells me what I already know: it just wasn’t compelling enough. I liked the historical setting in the early 1960’s and felt it was a realistic portrayal of housewives during that time.

Perfect for Women’s History Month, The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a slice of life out of middle class America in the 1960’s. At the time, women were beginning to realize inequality more and more. With books like activist Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique”, the rights of women were being brought to the forefront of society. Author Marie Bostwick shows what life might have been like for women and their families at this time. She suggests that husbands could be also have struggled with the fact that society had rules for the place of both women as well as men. It’s a book that makes you realize the difficulties women faced at that time and the pushback against society’s rules that they have had to endure for years. Marie Bostwick has written this book with characters that are likable, others that are quite the opposite, and still others that at moments you want to slap and other times you sympathize with. It’s a book of friendship, of bonding, and of the struggles faced in everyday life. A group of friends all yearning for something more. I enjoyed this look at society in the 1960’s and its reminder that though women have come far, there’s still quite a bit of work to be done to make things better. I enjoyed the wrap up at the end highlighting what happened to the friends over the years between the 1960’s to 2006.
Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

3.75 stars
This book will be seen through a lot of different lenses: nostalgic for some, an eye opener for others. It features a group of suburban women in the 60s just beginning to get their consciousness raised. They form a book club and start with Betty Friedan. All of them, and their husbands, are affected or constrained by the double standard and sexism between men and women.

The women are wildly different, but they bond and form a friendship that helps them navigate personal, marital and societal challenges. Some of the male characters are truly awful, but there are also some good men who also need guidance in changing roles.

For younger readers, it must be quite strange to realize how different things were for women not that long ago. Sexism is still rampant today but women now don't need male permission to obtain birth control or credit. Women in the workforce is not the huge issue it was then, even if women still don't have paycheck equity.

An interesting and pleasant read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.