Oh my gosh, loved this book. Loved how it takes place close to where I live and in an area and time filled with history. Love how some of that history was brought into the story.
I loved these women. Loved their group. Loved their friendship.
Loved hearing how they were coming into their own lives in a time when women had no lives besides their family.

Would definitely recommend this book over and over.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy.

"The Book Club for Troublesome Women" is a really touching and relevant read, especially with everything going on with women's rights today. Set in the 1960s, it shows how far we've come in the feminist movement, but also how much more there is to do.

The story is about four housewives—Margret, Charlotte, Viv, and Bitsy—who read "The Feminine Mystique" and it totally changes their lives. They start to question the roles society has given them and go on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment.

What I loved most was the strong friendship between these women. Their support for each other is at the heart of the story, and it really shows how powerful friendship and personal growth can be. Watching them challenge the norms of their time was super inspiring.

I listened to the audiobook and it was fantastic. The narration really brought the characters to life and made the story even more engaging.

Reading this book made me realize how much I take for granted today. For example, I had no idea that women in the 1960s couldn't open a bank account without their husband's permission. That was a real eye-opener and made me appreciate the freedoms we have now.

I haven't been part of a book club in a while, but this book made me wish I had a group to discuss it with. The themes and characters are so rich and engaging, it would make for a great conversation.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me listen to the ARC of this audiobook. "The Book Club for Troublesome Women" is a must-read that will leave you thinking about friendship, personal growth, and the ongoing fight for women's rights. It also inspired me to read "The Feminine Mystique" myself!

Four housewives in the 1960’s decide to form a book club and their first book? The Feminine Mystique. Little did they know this was about to stir something up in them they didn’t know existed. Together they formed a bond that would give them the courage to find happiness in their lives that they had been missing and together face challenges that women in that time faced everyday.

I went into this book blind and I’m glad I did. I fell in love with these strong women and although I know they were fictional they represent many who were not. I knew that women were suppressed in the 60’s it still infuriated me while I read that women couldn’t even get their own bank accounts without their husbands signature until 1974. I always knew that was a thing but I never realized that I am not that far removed from that era. My mother was raised in this time where women couldn’t even get birth control or apply for certain schools. This just blows my mind. I am so thankful for the women that came before us who paved the way so that me and my girls could have opportunities that even just the generation before me didn’t have.

✨ 𝘼𝙇𝘾 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 ✨

𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙚: April 22, 2025

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠: The Bookclub for Troublesome Women

𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 🤯

𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬: Audiobook Review: The Book Club for Troublesome Women

This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster, and the audiobook narration made it even more immersive. The narrator did an incredible job bringing the characters to life—there were moments where I felt like I was sitting in the same room, experiencing their frustrations, their anger, and their triumphs right alongside them.

Set in the early 1960s, The Book Club for Troublesome Women follows a group of women who begin reading The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Through their discussions, they start to see the limitations placed on them—some they had accepted as normal, others they had been fighting against without even realizing it. The injustices these women face are infuriating. Not being able to open a checking account without a husband’s permission? Being blamed entirely if they couldn’t get pregnant? A woman’s struggles being dismissed simply because she’s female? It’s a stark reminder of how far we’ve come—and how much we take for granted today.

The historical backdrop was also powerful—1963 marked the fight for equal pay, and MLK’s speech was happening at the same time. The book blended these real-world events seamlessly into the characters’ lives, making it feel even more authentic.

Overall, The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a must-read (or listen!) for anyone who appreciates historical fiction, feminist themes, and powerful female friendships. It’s a book that will make you feel everything—anger, frustration, hope, and empowerment.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

I didn't realize I would love this book as much as I did until I was telling my friend about it. If a book is about books, bookstores, libraries, librarians or book clubs, then I want to read it. I loved getting to know Maggie, Viv, Charlotte, and Bitsy. I loved how they built their book club and friendship. I loved getting their views of the 1960s and seeing them deal with the struggles of the times. It also makes me scared right now that we, as women, may be fighting for the same rights again. I want to hop into the book and join the Betty's (their book club). The book concluded in a perfect way, but I am saddened that on my ride home today I won't be listening to my girls. I have added the Feminine Mystique and A Room of Her Own to my TBR. I am thankful for the author's note at the end. I love hearing how authors come up with their stories. If you are a historical fiction reader or love a good story about friendship and overcoming difficulties, finding yourself or BOOKS, give this one a try.

A Heartfelt Celebration of Friendship, Feminism, and Finding One’s Voice
Marie Bostwick’s The Book Club for Troublesome Women is an inspiring and deeply moving tale of four women discovering their strength in the midst of societal change. Set against the backdrop of the 1960s, this novel beautifully captures the struggles and awakenings of housewives yearning for more than the roles assigned to them. As their book club turns into a powerful sisterhood, readers are treated to a touching story of self-discovery, courage, and the enduring power of friendship. With rich characters, emotional depth, and historical relevance, this is a must-read for anyone who loves stories about resilience and reinvention.

Good supportive friends and empowering books can achieve remarkable things. I didn't waste a moment considering how much longer I had left in the book—I simply relished the experience. The Book Club for Troublesome Women intricately weaves the lives of four distinct women who convene for a book club. It delves deeply into their relationships with their husbands and children, or the absence thereof. The narrative provides a fascinating glimpse into the treatment of women in the 1960s, highlighting the rights they were denied and the expectations they faced. I found the storyline profoundly empowering. Despite the societal pressures to conform to certain behaviors and ways of thinking, many women defied these norms, and I greatly admired how they navigated these challenges.

My only comment pertains to the section about the JFK funeral; while I understood its inclusion, it felt somewhat corny. I appreciated the historical perspective of the book and the included snippets, but this particular segment felt distracting from the storyline.

If you enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry, I think this should be added to your list. Books bringing women together for girl power, what could be better! Highly recommend.

This has been posted to Goodreads.

An amazing look into the not so recent past. A very timely book considering all of the changes that are going on in the world, and the challenges that minorities and women are facing with regards to rolling back rights and freedoms.

This book was at the heart a story about female friendship and encouragement. It was a window into the lives of women in our grandmother's time, and weather you had the support of a good husband, or was strapped to a dud of a man, the challenges and tribulations of just being a woman existing were steeper and stronger than those of today. Challenges like having a bank account or a job without the permission of your husband. Certainly limited freedoms as to what sort of education, career-if any, and hobbies you had access to.

I love that books brought these women together and have them experiencing life differently, and used the book club as the foundation of their fierce and lovely friendship story. I loved this book. I can't wait to recommend it to all my book club gals.

The Bookclub for Troublesome Women is a powerful, feminist read that brings the struggles of 1960s suburban women to life. When four women start a book club and read The Feminine Mystique, it sparks a slow-burning revolution in their lives. Through friendship and Friedan’s words, they begin to challenge the suffocating expectations placed on them—housework, child-rearing, and husbands who take them for granted (which, yes, got on my nerves—as they should).

The story is engaging, uplifting, and refreshingly linear, weaving in real-life icons like Katharine Graham and Jackie Kennedy. While it sticks to a primarily white, upper-middle-class lens, the themes of self-discovery and defiance resonate. It’s not overly dramatic, but the small victories feel real and satisfying.

A must-read for book clubs and anyone who loves a story about women finding their power.

** fun audiobook**

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ — Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

4⭐️

I would like to thank HarperCollins Publishing, Marie Bostwick, and NetGalley for a chance to preview this title before it is available April 22, 2025.

This book is about a group of women in the 1950s who meet because they live in the same suburban neighborhood, but become friends because of their book club. This is a sweet narrative that follow the 4 women equally, while one is the main character, the others get their due course. This is refreshing because each of their stories is interesting with wonderful character development. The reader actually cares about the lives of these women. I can honestly say that I do not feel there was a lag in action and I did not at any point feel like a plot point was going no where. Sometimes "literary fiction" can feel like a story, pure and simple, but this felt like it had a purpose and made me think about how the lives of these women in the 1950s can still be applied to women today.

I listened to this on audiobook and very much enjoyed the narration and story telling. The narrator did all the voices, and while some of the men's voices weren't the greatest, it was not shocking or cringy and they often can be.

A book really can change your life. Just ask Margaret who was a simple housewife in the 60s until she accidentally starts a book club after visiting her radical new neighbor. After they read The Feminine Mystique, all of them embrace the fact that they do want more. And that’s exactly what they get. For fans of Lessons in Chemistry and The Help.

This is the same read as every other book set in this time period about unfulfilled women. I did finish it to give it a chance to add anything significant, but it just fell flat. In this day and age, we all know that housewives were not always content, nor did they have the means to do anything about it. While the women in this story mostly ended up with an ending they desired, there wasn’t anything seemingly significant about any of their stories.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, Netgalley and Marie Bostwick for the opportunity to review this ALC/ARC. The Book Club for Troublesome Women was the perfect mashup of the female experience. Touching deeply on the inner conflict that so many women faced in the 60s, and often still face today. I am one of those women who absolutely loves my life, I CHOSE to be a wife, a mother, a homemaker AND to work full time. I thrive in knowing that I am setting an example for my children that family is about balance. My husband and I share household responsibilities, childcare responsibilities and financial responsibilities... we are partners. This is something that you see with the FMC and her husband in this book, but you see it evolve and go through growing pains. Some of the other female leads go through equally common struggles... fertility issues, spousal infidelity, being turned away or turned down for career aspirations simply for being a woman, lifestyles based on appearances rather than substance... But at the heart of it all, they have each other, to empower, advocate and support each other. This is such a beautiful story of resilience, challenge, and friendship.

Loved this book. It was such a great look at the importance and value of the women's friendships, navigating their marriages, and obstacles and discrimination women faced during the 1960s just for being female. While each of the women loved their families, they were moving in the direction of wanting fulfillment in their own identities in careers too, especially after coming out of post-ww2 when they had that opportunity in a way they previously didn't.

While women's autonomy and opportunities are certainly not perfect still, living during a time where your whole life was dictated by your husband or you're automatically discounted everywhere outside the home because you're a woman would be infuriating to me. The uphill climb that was well described but valiantly fought by these women was so commendable and inspiring. I'm thankful women decades past fought for the benefit I have to be a working mom now, as well as being seen for my own value in most cases without all their barriers.

The honesty and transparency that author gave each woman was just so well done. It looked at the difficulty and beauty of their marriages - and from a really different type of relationship that each one had with her husband, so it was very well rounded - was just so real. I think anyone who's been married for a decent amount of time could relate with one or other of the women at any given moment. But I loved how much they were determined to make things work, knew they weren't perfect, allowed themselves to bend when needed and stand up when also called for, to give their best and encouraged each other when they didn't feel like doing so. The author portrayed each in a way that I just loved each of them for their own reasons.

I loved the importance the book club and their friendships had too. They pressed boundaries, weren't afraid to be themselves once they got to know each other, made mistakes, took risks with each other, and were unfailing in their loyalty to each other despite their differences.

It honestly was pretty inspiring with all their imperfections and attitudes despite. Overall just a really great book and highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of both the audio and the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

TL;DR: first half of this was four stars, then the second half had it dropped to three, and the end dropped it again to two stars. What started as a really fun premise ended up being overly didactic and a bit trauma-porn-y. The characters are great. The plot was not so great.

I feel a lot of feminist feelings lately. My husband and parents are probably sick of me ranting about it. So this book - a book about books and feminist literature and the 1960s - seemed like a super solid choice for me.
The audiobook was great. I preferred it to the ebook because the narrator was good and the characters felt more real. I loved Charlotte and Bitsy and Viv; Margaret who is arguably the MAIN main character didn't work as well for me, but I guess that's because she felt a bit generic. Otherwise the characters were wildly entertaining and the best part of the book.

The writing is decent and a few scenes actually were brilliant. But at other parts, chunks of information seemed left out (like someone standing up, and then standing up again two pages later - did they sit down again and it was just never stated?). This isn't totally Bostwick's fault but it's indicative of a lazy edition job and it did irritate me. I just couldn't stop noticing these little things once I'd noticed it once, and it happened often enough that I started gritting my teeth halfway through.

Speaking of halfway through, the character development and plot seems to start meandering there. The ending was actually so annoying and didn't track with the rest of the book, which was irritating. The tone of the story about halfway through starts to feel a bit like an Aesop's fable with hit-you-over-the-head-with-didactic-morals and less like something that could be discovered or analyzed. I was fascinated by some of the info within the story, and yet I was annoyed by how obvious it was written.

If you're looking for a relatively lighthearted historical fiction with some good characters and research, you'll probably enjoy this. If you need something a bit deeper, or if you'd get easily annoyed by an ending that straight up doesn't track with the rest of the story, skip this one.

Wow. The Book Club For Troublesome Women predominantly follows 4 women who are all struggling to reconcile their positions as a housewife and their dreams during the 60s, each for their own individual reasons. The 4 very different women end up forming a book club and their very first book sparks a lot of thought and discourse about roles that women were boxed into, how could they possibly ‘have it all’, and why deep down they felt somewhat unfulfilled.

I love that rather than this just being a book about women rejecting the notion of being a housewife entirely and bucking societal norms its an exploration of sacrifice, finding balance, giving yourself and others space to grow, appreciation of what it means to be a caregiver, AND bucking societal norms and rejecting the notion that women had to choose between being a mother or their dreams.

An incredible read and the narration in the audiobook was incredible. I feel like when you have a book that follows 4 women who are all voiced by the same narrator it could be easy to get confused on who was currently making which remarks but the narrator did a great job of giving each woman a subtle enough change in tone or cadence that I could pretty easily distinguish them.

I appreciate the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to listen to an early access of the audiobook.

This is my first time reading for Marie Bostwick but I am hooked!

'The Book Club for Troublesome Women' is a historical fiction book set in the 1960s in a Virginia suburb featuring four housewives from different backgrounds at different stages of life. What starts off as an awkward, haphazardly thrown together, book club ends up not only bringing them together but changing the projections of their lives altogether.

While at the beginning the group starts by reading 'The Feminine Mystique' by Betty Friedan, the reactions of each of the Bettys and what they make of what they read is the actual focus of the book. Feminism, motherhood, community support, societal pressures, working mothers, financial independence and many more topics get explored through the Bettys' journeys.

I was surprised to find myself relating to not only one or two of the ladies, but all of them. They are all distinct, relatable and very likeable once you get to know them more. Even the secondary characters were memorable and well-done.

The pacing was pretty good! I didn't feel like any particular part overstayed its welcome. I found myself just breezing through the book which is an impressive feat while juggling four different POVs.

Regarding the subject matter, I thought the book covered the struggles women faced then (and now) very respectfully. I took down many notes about further topics and other books recommended by the characters in the book. I especially appreciated the characters (I believe it was Viv) pointing out that many of the conversations being had at the time (again, and now) are limited to women with privilege. That we need to bring in voices from all backgrounds and walks of life to the table if we truly wish to achieve true equality.

I think the only thing I wish we saw more of is more agency for one of the Bettys, Bitsy. While Charlotte and Viv were active drivers in how their lives turned around in my opinion, I can't help but feel that Bitsy's life change was more the result of a decision by her husband. While many women can find themselves in her shoes and perhaps even make the same choices, I think I was still rooting for her to be an active decision maker in her life considering the message of the rest of the book.

For Margaret, I feel she did speak up for herself and was actively balancing her life goals and pleasing her husband. I was a bit surprised by her husband's transformation feeling it a bit sudden despite the circumstances that led to them. Perhaps it's the cynic in me but I think I didn't expect him to change that fast. But still, it was refreshing seeing a husband like him choosing to change for the sake of his mother, wife and daughters.

Specifically for the audiobook, I want to applaud Lisa Flanagan for her narration. She did a fantastic job bringing all four ladies and all the secondary characters to life giving them each a distinctive voice that makes you sometimes forget they're all voiced by the same narrator! I am actually currently looking for other audiobooks specifically narrated by her because she's THAT good!

Overall, I really loved the book and have been recommending it to everyone I know! While going through the book, and now that I'm done, I have found myself constantly thinking about moments from it. Similar to what the Bettys themselves say in the book, while this book in itself won't dramatically change your life, it offers an enjoyable story that will leave you relating and thinking. Changing you in small but meaningful ways.

And finally thank you so much for the ALC! I loved it so much!

I live in Utah and a lot of the gender roles and mysogony from this time period still have deep hooks into the culture where I live, so I felt particularly frustrated and connected to the women in this book. Loved the look into the life of women at the time and how the author did a great job including the pressure and struggles of men as well as of women of different races. Such a great read.

Fabulous novel about how one book can change your life.

Four unhappy women create a book club that not only begins lifelong friendships but also improves each one’s lives. Set in a neighborhood of wealthy unhappy housewives in the early 1960’s, the ladies read the book, The Feminine Mystique. Each woman makes decision to change their own lives to achieve their dreams.

I was afraid this book was going to be a man-bashing book, but it was not at all. This novel celebrated women and the advancement and changes women have made since the 20th Century. I love how each woman had to work hard to achieve their dreams, that not one woman felt entitled. It also, encouraged men to also follow their dreams.

This novel told the story of each of the four women’s lives and every character was unique and very interesting. The narrator was fabulous and did a great job with each voice.

This book was very enjoyable and made me proud to be a working woman balancing a career and family.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for this wonderful Advanced Reader Copy. I will highly recommend this for book clubs and women of all ages #NetGalley #TheBookClubForTroublesomeWomen

I really enjoyed this book, reminded me of what the women before us had to go through to get where we are in society now. Let’s hope it doesn’t go back words.