4⭐️

Curlers in, coffee poured, and one radical book in hand. Four friends are about to turn the '60s upside down.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick follows four suburban housewives, Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte, who start a book club to read The Feminine Mystique and begin questioning their traditional roles. As their friendship deepens, each woman is pushed toward self-discovery, empowerment, and the courage to face personal struggles in a rapidly changing world.

This novel challenged me in the best way as it wasn’t my usual escapist fantasy, but something that kept me grounded in real life. As a homemaker in the modern world, I felt my life was being mirrored to me in this historical fiction novel more than I expected. I would liken myself to a Margaret, homemaker and writer alike. If I lived in 1963 Concordia, I would have been a Betty. I connected with each of the four women for different reasons. But most importantly, I deeply resonated with the thoughts and feelings they all had of wanting more while still being grateful for all they had.

This book was an excellent reminder to remember our individual dreams and to find time to achieve them even if it takes a little while. For me, it’s my “jobette” as a book reviewer and hoping it can turn into something more professional as it did for Margaret and her article writing. Her boldness and ability to balance all her responsibilities, personal and professional, was inspiring to me to press forth with achieving my personal goals.

I’d recommend this book to traditional wives and stay at home moms of the modern era as a reminder to not lose ourselves as we do our primary jobs. Our identity doesn’t stop there and it is healthy to want “more”, whatever that may mean for you. I hope we can all make Aunt Betty proud!

Content Warnings: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infertility, Suicide, Infidelity

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for this complimentary ARC ebook copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It is 1960, and Margaret Ryan seems to have it all. But the house, husband, three kids, and prestigious neighborhood don't feel like enough for her or her friends Viv and Bitsy. Margaret decides to start a book club as an excuse to meet their newest neighbor, Charlotte, and soon they discover that they want more from the life they have been told is the American dream.

Why Jackie loves it

I could not wait to read this book and it did not disappoint me. I loved the relationship between the women and I love the fact that their relationship starts with a book club. It is uplifting to see positive and supportive female relationships. I have been loving historical fiction novels this year and this one is a must-read. The audiobook version of this book was a delight to listen to #gifted

I received an E-arc of this book by Harper Collins in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick is set in 1960s American suburbia, and follows a group of women as they start a book club. The first book they choose is The Feminine Mystique and as they read and discuss it, they find themselves questioning their role as a woman within the patriarchal system. Filled with moments of laughter, heartache and retrospection, this book was extremely enjoyable and a quick read that got me through a long layover.

I was hesitant at first to start this book, it’s always difficult to find the right nuance between a woman pursuing a career or their own independence while also having a family and still wanting those “traditional” aspects of life. Feminism is not just choosing one path over the other, but the ability to choose every and any path you’d like. Marie Bostwick manages to juggle this very well, with each of her characters going on their own personal journey of discovery and their stories highlight just a few of the different ways of being a woman.

My only real complaint to the novel, was the lack of real adversity faced by these women. Now while this is only one story, one version of what it was like as a woman in the 1960s discovering feminism, it does feel just too easy at times. And while this may have been a purposeful choice, I feel as though it lets the story down. This isn’t a new story and in our current political climate, where women’s rights are once again at the forefront of discussion, we need to be saying something more. The running theme of this book is that “books change lives” and while I agree with its statement I feel as though its execution was just lacklustre.

Overall an enjoyable read that I think everyone will enjoy, but isn’t groundbreaking by any means.

3.5/5 stars.

I don't read (and enjoy) a lot of historical fiction but this cover and the description caught my eye and I'm so glad it did.

This one’s for the girls. The messy ones. The brilliant, burned-out, sleep-deprived, heartbroken, too-much ones. The ones who rage quietly (or loudly) against the systems that keep promising freedom, then handing out consequences instead. The ones who’ve walked away from careers, countries, relationships, because they knew deep down they were meant for something more—even if they couldn’t name it yet.

It’s a blueprint for defiance, for community, for what happens when smart women stop trying to play nice and start building something of their own. It’s political without preaching, feminist without flattening its characters into slogans. It’s funny, tender, blistering—and sometimes, in the best way, a little bit messy. Like all the best conversations between women.

By the end, I wanted to call every woman I love and ask, What kind of world could we build if we stopped asking for permission?

5/5 for the sisterhood, the sharp wit, and the reminder that being “troublesome” might just be the most powerful thing we can be.

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This is one of those novels where 'nothing' happens, but 'everything' happens. Four housewives in the 1960s form a bookclub for social reasons, and end up reading books that change the way they view themselves in the world.

This was a good, easy read. Of course, everything turns out fine for everyone, even after fighting for female rights and to be taken seriously in the 60s. It was an interesting look at how few rights and how little respect women had back then.

THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick (Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly) is one of my favorite books of the year so far. Bostwick has created another work of historical fiction, focusing on the early 1960s and the suburbs of Washington, DC. Four main characters form a book club and become close friends, calling themselves The Bettys in homage to the first book they read together, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Readers meet Margaret Ryan who aspires to be a writer and helpmate to her accountant husband, Walt. Charlotte Gustafson is wealthy, creative and unhappy, trapped in a loveless marriage to Howard. Viv Buschetti adores supportive husband Tony, but she yearns to put her nursing skills to work as she manages six (make that seven!) children. Bitsy Cobb is younger and less sure of herself (except for her love of horses) and is married to an older man, Kingsley, a veterinarian. Each woman faces questions about her purpose, a possible career, and the state of her marriage and family, especially relative to societal norms. As Bostwick writes, “They had been raised to believe that the road to a happy, successful adulthood was well defined but extremely narrow, and that deviating from the path was not only irresponsible but wrong, a quick route to certain disaster." Yet, these four quickly grow to support each other and Bostwick delves into personal crises with historical details as background (e.g., remember "the underground currency of American housewives," S&H Green Stamps? And who knew that a married women could not open a bank account at that time without her husband's signature?). Facing adversity, these four women learn together to appreciate what Eleanor Roosevelt used to say, "A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong it is until it's in hot water." This would be a marvelous book group selection as there is much to consider and discuss here. Katherine Graham and other Washington socialites make cameo appearances. In its starred review of THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN Library Journal says, "Bostwick's latest is ideal for fans of historical fiction and those who enjoyed Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry, Kristin Hannah's The Women, or Kate Quinn's The Briar Club, which explore the historical roles of women and the challenges they faced within a society structured to define and limit their roles in and out of the home." Highly recommended.

Book groups may also enjoy some of the other selections that the Bettys considered: The Group by Mary McCarthy; Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute; short stories by Flannery O’Connor; Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis; Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates; Dearly Beloved or Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

I was so excited to get this book-- as a historian and feminist, this book is my cup of tea. I think Bostwick's original idea of a book club for housewives to learn about feminism and watch it change their lives first-hand was both deep and entertaining.

The power of a book club brings together neighbors that truly become friends. This is a story of 4 women from different marriages, education and life experiences. The writing is clear and each woman is deeply developed. It's how the story develops in the 1950's in a suburb of Washington DC that brings them together. Bostwick weaves in historical events and how they impact each member. It's a true tapestry of woman of the times and their power, how they get it and use it. An interesting read, which I recommend. It's very insightful.

The book uses the Feminine Mystique and the book club that forms in suburban Virginia to read it as their inaugural book as a vehicle to showcase what being a woman in 1960's America was like. Definitely pre-women's lib.

I requested this book because I love the book club trope and the fact that it was also historical fiction was a bonus.

This book is about a group of women who are neighbors and read a book called The Feminine Mystique. Which is a book that inspires women to make changes to their daily life to help with their dissatisfactions.

I really liked this book. It follows each of the women and the obstacles they undertake in their daily life. They start out as neighbors and they end up being good friends. I loved seeing the growth in each of their characters and they all had satisfactory endings. I can also see this book end up being a limited time series, it definitely read as one.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you Harper Muse and NetGalley.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is filled with richly drawn characters and meticulous historical details that vividly capture the contradictions of the American dream and the era’s struggles with independence. Despite occasional pacing issues, the novel’s engaging narrative and empowering message make it a memorable, thought-provoking read. Brava!

I have never read anything by this author before but I definitely will be again after reading this. The writing was engaging and the characters were well developed and jumped off the page.

I enjoyed this book about a band of women in suburban Virginia in the 1960s. The women come together as a book club by reading the controversial book of the time called The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. The main character, Margaret, is struggling with not just being a mom and a housewife. She was a strong college student, but like many women of the 50s, she dropped out of college before graduating to get married. In Margaret's case she had one semester to go and was an English major. Margaret begins a job as a columnist for a woman's publication, but her editor (a man) only wants her to write fluff pieces and threatens to fire her for straying outside of the 1950s ideal (in a man's eye) housewife. Margaret comes together with Bitsy (a young housewife trying to get pregnant but who dreams of pursuing her goal of vet school (side note: Bitsy was an excellent candidate but no male professor would write her a letter of recommendation to vet school because she was a pretty young thing who should get married)), Charlotte (a socialite artist mother who was banned to suburbia because she didn't tow the line and embarrassed her wealthy parents) and finally Viv, a mom of 6 who was an excellent nurse during WWII. The husbands of the women are introduced along with their behaviors towards their women who start to make changes after reading the book. The women call themselves the Bettys and form a tight knit group.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I enjoyed it and found myself trying to sneak in some reading late into the night to find out what would happen next.

This story had such an impact on me I started reading Virginia Woolf.

In Virginia, in the early 60s, four women start a bookclub where they read a feminist book, The Feminine Mystique, that would change their lives forever. Through their conversations, they realize they aren’t the only married women with children who feel they are still not satisfied. They want to have independence, something of their own, but they feel guilty about wanting more. Their husbands don’t understand why they can’t be happy with the life they provide, and they also don’t have a clue of what went wrong, but they are determined to figure it out.

When I read the blurb (the author did a better job at it than me), I didn’t hesitate to request it. I felt it was written for me: friendships, the 60s, a bookclub, a novel changing their lives…When I read the author's note that her mother read the same book, The Feminine Mystique, and changed her life, I got even more excited. It didn’t disappoint.

The Bookclub for Troublesome Women is one of those books that captures you from the second you start reading. Despite not being married and not having children, I understood the desperation of the women narrating the story. They love their children and husbands (at least, the ones who had good husbands), but they never feel fulfilled. Every year, they turn more miserable because they don't understand why it isn’t enough for them, why they dream about that time when they were students or had a job outside their houses. And they feel guilty for not appreciating what they have, but they can’t help wanting something more.

"Margaret climbed the stairs and slammed the bedroom door, feeling furious but also foolish. And yes, small. Lonely and small and less. Just less."

I was afraid I was going to get bored of following four women for an entire book, but I quickly realized it wasn’t going to be the case. At 40%, I still felt I was beginning to get to know all the amazing women who protagonize this wonderful story. I was obsessed with them. I enjoyed how their situations were different but they were all experiencing the same feelings, and that’s how they went from neighbours to best friends-and with the help of good books, of course.

I loved reading this book. It made me want to live in it forever, pick up hundreds of historical fiction books, start reading classics (I read Virginia Woolf after this, which I never thought I would do)... Then the ending happened, and I would lie if I didn’t say it spoiled the book a bit for me. The problem with the ending was that it was too perfect for a historical book that aimed to show a real historical situation. During the first half of the book, the story feels real. But then, everyone starts to get exactly what they deserve, and everything starts to be solved way too perfectly. I went from seeing this as an accurate statement of a historical situation to seeing it as what it was: a fictional book.

I was going to give it 5-stars; I was so angry at the ending I wanted to scream. But a couple weeks have passed since I finished this and I’m back at appreciating everything this book gave me: the inspiration to stand out of my comfort zone and read classics, feminist non-fiction and historical fiction, four characters that stole my heart and a very enjoyable reading experience.

"In a lot of ways, her husband was just as trapped as she was. The invisible fence of rules and mores that confined women to a small, carefully defined patch of human achievement impacted men as well, required them to carry the bulk of a family’s financial burden."

Overall, I would have changed the HEA for a more realistic ending I could believe in, but I loved everything else about this book. If the premise interests you half as much as it interested me, you’re going to enjoy this story. You’ll fall in love with the four friends-and with Viv’s husband, the man was so dreamy he only needed one scene to charm me forever-, and you’ll cheer for them to follow their dreams. This book changed me, pushing me to read out of my comfort zone (which I ended up enjoying and made me want more), and I’ll be forever grateful for that.


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

Hey, Gen Xers! Are you aware that women in the United States were not legally able to open bank accounts, obtain credit cards, or get Ivy League educations (among many other things) without the assistance of men until possibly after you were born? The recency of these changes, and the gender discrimination that still exists today, are two of the reasons that I was so eager to read Marie Bostwick’s new book, The Book Club for Troublesome Women.

This novel follows the lives of four women living in a planned community in Northern Virginia in the early 1960s. They form a book club, and when their new neighbor selects Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique” as their first read, they all begin to see their lives as suburban housewives in a different light. Throughout the course of the novel, their friendship deepens, and each of the women takes action to make change in her own life.

I enjoyed getting to know “The Bettys”, as they call themselves, though I would’ve preferred more complexity and depth on both the characters and the time period. That said, it is rare to read a story centered on feminism in the early 1960s, and that was satisfying. So much is unfortunately still relatable today, over sixty year later. Highly recommended for fans of Sara Ackerman.

Thanks to HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse, the author, and NetGalley for providing this copy of The Book Club for Troublesome Women for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

In the early 1960s, four women—Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte—living in the fictional planned community of Concordia, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC, decide to form a book club. Their first book is The Feminine Mystique. This book greatly impacts them all and eventually empowers all of them.

The characters drew me into this book. I became truly invested in each of these four women’s lives. This is a character-driven book. I enjoyed watching each of them grow. I also enjoyed watching their friendship develop and solidify.

So often books that empower women have all horrible male characters. One thing I liked about this book is that though horrible, chauvinistic, womanizing men are prevalent, there are decent male characters too.

I also liked the historical backdrop of the early 1960s and the incorporation of real people, such as Katharine Graham, into the story. I also liked that this book expressed hope. Despite the obstacles these women faced, they kept pushing forward.

My only complaint is with the title. Despite the fact that they wanted to step out of the norm for women of that time period and wanted a choice on how they lived their lives, I didn’t feel they were troublesome.

This would be a good book club selection, especially since this is about a book club.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a historical fiction set in 1960s Virginia following the lives of 'the Bettys' - a bookclub of four women who's lives are changed after the publication of the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan up until the assassination of JFK. The book looks at the injustices women faced - not being able to open a bank account or get a contraceptive pill without your husbands signature, male attitudes and expectations, societal expectations to marry and become mothers. The Betty's are all middle-class, white housewives but there is a brief acknowledgement of this looking at the experience of a black nurse and the Betty's questioning about the lives of working class women and men in general.

I wanted to love this book but I was expecting more grit from the title. The blurb promised a revolution in the suburbs. However, for me, the Betty's were not 'troublesome women' except maybe Charlotte and Denise. I felt the plot was quite predictable and the issues deal with were on the lighter side, there is no violence or huge transformative moments, in summary, there is no real revolution. I felt the novel was too long. There were prolonged stretches of the book that felt padding and it could have been edited to be slightly punchier. I overall would describe it as a fairly placid plot.

However, I did still enjoy this and there were lots of sticking points and things I googled as I read (the rabbit pregnancy test?!). The characters were all well-built and well-rounded, if not slightly insipid. I enjoyed Bostwick's writing style and would read more of her work!

In three words, I would describe The Book Club for Troublesome Women as cozy, thought-provoking and lighthearted.

This is a very timely book with compelling and very well developed characters. I could see using this in a creative writing class as well for students who are working toward character development and making people jump out of the page.

I loved following the housewives of this story and how their characters seemed to grow beyond their original roles as housewives.

Awww….takes me back in time…realistic characters who are likable…reflection on times past…books…friends and family…influencers….I like this author and this book…thanks Netgalley