I really liked the premise of this book and was hoping for a great read. The idea of the story being told from 4 different narrators was great. The idea about them all being best friends in various parts of their lives was great. However, the characters annoyed me. Every single woman in this book seemed to be dependent on men. Every single woman in this book needed something tragic and self-deprecating to happen to them in order for them to pick themselves up and change their lives. It was depressing. I hoped at least one of these women would prove to be more, but as the story continued, they made me angrier. Though I suppose any reaction to characters means the author did something right. I don't think I would recommend this book to library patrons or friends. The book wasn't horrible as it makes the reader hope that the characters become smarter and I wanted to continue to read to find out if they ever do. It is just sad that it took each of them so long to figure out how to be somebody they actually could like themselves.

I have been trying to get more into women's fiction having loved Taylor Jenkins Reid and Bethany Chase's books last year. When I read the summary for The Young Wives Club, it sounded pretty amazing, so I couldn't resist requesting this one. While there were some very good elements to this book, overall I'm quite disappointed.

There are very few occasions when multiple POVs work for me, and unfortunately this was a case where it didn't. I had a preference for some voices over the others, which made it frustrating to get through the ones I didn't love. All in all, the characters in this book were not very likeable, in my opinion. Most of the time, I found myself shaking my head at the poor choices these grown-ass women kept making, like Madison getting married to man she just met to help pay for her parents' mortgage, and Claire, who keeps on lying to her fiance about her mother being dead. For a story like this to work, I have to be able to understand where the characters are coming from and what is driving their actions, but I didn't feel like the ones here were particularly convincing.

I will say that I enjoyed the friendships between the four women. I especially liked how authentic it was with showing both the ups and downs of friendships. I was also hoping for a bit of romance here and there, but eh, the men in this book are garbage and deserve to rot alone.

Despite everything, I'll be interested in reading more from this author, because I did enjoy her writing, but I can't say I loved this one.

The Young Wives Club is an entertaining, charming and relatable story of four friends from a small southern town. There are parts in this book that reminded me of a more grown up Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (and I love that book!) These four friends are all connected and have different situations when it comes to their romantic life. Laura and Claire are married, while Gabby has a fiancee and Madison’s relationship is uniquely her own.

First off, we have Laura. Laura married her high school sweetheart/the quarterback of her school’s football team. When Brian got a football scholarship, it was their ticket out of the small town they’re from. When Brian gets hurt during a game and needs surgery, Laura finds herself back in her home town. Somewhere she never thought she’d be. Laura doesn’t know what to think about her life. She’s young and full of possibility, but she realizes she put all her eggs in Brian’s basket and has no real future except the one that revolves around him…

Next there is Claire. From the outside, Claire has the perfect life and the perfect marriage. She has a beautiful daughter, and her husband Gavin is a pastor and seems like the perfect guy. That’s all Claire has ever wanted in life. To be a good wife and have a family. When Claire finds out that Gavin may not be as perfect as he seems, she doesn’t know what to do or how to cope.

Then there is Gabrielle. When Gabby meets Tony, a guy who is so out of her league it’s not even funny, she lets him believe some things about her that aren’t quite true… He thinks things about her family and education are different than they are. No big deal, right? Well, when they become engaged, the secrets add up. Gabby struggles with coming clean and potentially losing Tony, or continuing to live the lie.

Lastly, there is Madison. Madison was definitely my favorite of the bunch. Mads has had it bad for the town’s bad boy Cash since she was a kid. The problem is Cash will never commit. He’s not the type. When Mads starts getting attention from an older guy with money, she starts dating him. Maybe Cash with get jealous? But Mads finds herself becoming friends with George and liking him more than she thought she would. She is torn between the two guys.

What I loved most about this book was the friendship between the four girls and the growth all of them showed over time. It was a character-driven story with a refreshing plot. I felt so connected to all four of the girls in a different way. Anyone who has gotten married young (raises hand- I was 20) knows that sometimes, the struggle can be real. I’m lucky I found a keeper. Not all these girls did. In fact, out of the 5 guys in the book, I only loved 1 of them. That’s okay though, because romance wasn’t the focus of this lovely book. These women had tough choices to make. They had to decide to put themselves first. Not to settle. I loved the message.

If you’re looking for a delightful and heartwarming story with family, friendship and strong bonds between four great women, this is one I would highly recommend. A great chick-lit!

This book is such a treat. After meeting the four ladies, I knew I was going to enjoy the time I spent with them. And through her engaging, casual writing style, Pennell did not disappoint. Each character felt real in her own way, facing different challenges in their careers, their relationships, their families, and how they view themselves. I saw this book as empowering, and what I liked most is that, in the end, each girl took hold of her life and fought for what she wanted most, even if it took a while to fully understand what that meant to her. Overall, a very satisfying novel, filled with both laughter and tears.

This was so charming and entertaining that I couldn't put it down, you guys! Prepare for a one-sitting book, seriously! A story about the power of female friendships and growing up and not exactly a "the-girl-gets-the-guy-in-the-end" kind of book. Being advertised as for fans of The Diving Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, it definitely does not disappoint!

In the sleepy town of Toulouse, Louisiana, we meet four gals who've been friends since they were little girls, when their dreams of meeting and then marrying their High School Sweethearts and planning their weddings was everything they could ever wish for.

Fast forward four years out of high school, we meet Claire: married to the local pastor, in a seemingly perfect marriage, with a perfect baby, living in a perfect house at the end of a cul-de-sac; Laura: married to her star football player husband since high school; Gabby: engaged to the man of dreams...too bad he doesn't know the *whole* truth about Gabby; and Madison: who's still kind of mess, but after making some of the same mistakes in her relationships over and over again, she may be ready to settle down.

Told in the POV's of each woman, in alternating chapters, we learn how the vision of their perfect lives as little girls, is actually a lot harder to find in reality.
As the story unfolds we learn about each woman's joys and struggles in each of their relationships, but the one relationship that stays constant is the relationship the four have with each other. D'AWWW you guys!

Some parts were a bit predictable and cheesy, but overall, it was refreshing to read a book considered "chick-lit" where the characters had to deal with real life, grown-up situations, handling these situations like adults, and ultimately learning and growing from them. AND, no spoilers, but it was great to read a book that didn't have the characters lives end up all rainbows and butterflies and perfect.

The Young Wives Club is a charming and entertaining novel that I couldn't put down. It was a fun and easy read, and I loved how it followed many characters throughout the story instead of just one main character. The leading ladies not only held my attention, but they kept me from paying attention to anything else! This is definitely a read in one sitting kind of book. so be prepared to ignore everything you're supposed to do for the next 12 hours if you decide to pick it up. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The novel follows four young ladies and shows the joys and struggles that each of them face in their relationships. They are a close knit group of friends, and their recent circumstances bring them even closer together. Although I don't have a lot in common with the main characters, I still found myself relating and understanding the events that were happening in each of their lives. I especially loved the ending of the novel. No spoilers, but it was nice to see an ending to the story that wasn't all rainbows and butterflies. The characters had to face real life situations, handle them as adults, and deal with the outcome. It was refreshing to see a story end like it would in the real world!

The Young Wives Club is enjoyable from start to finish and I would highly recommend it to lovers of Sophie Kinsella and books similar to The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to hearing what you all think!

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first picked this one up. I was a bit apprehensive because sometimes books that have more than one or two main characters, don’t have good character development. If they have a big cast of characters, it can be confusing to try and keep track of everyone. With too many characters, I find it can be difficult to connect with each one and get invested in their outcome.

Not the case with this book. I could not put it down.

Pennell drew me in right from the beginning. From the first page I was invested in these ladies’ lives. I was curious about all of them, interested in each one, and ultimately cared about how their story progressed. Each woman is struggling with something different, but their friendship binds them together.

Laura dropped out of high school to marry her high school sweetheart, Brian, and follow him to LSU where he has been signed to play football. When an injury sidelines Brian, their dreams come to a grinding halt. Now Laura must decide if the life she dreamt of is actually the life she wants.

Claire is married to a prominent local pastor and is the mother of one. Everyone thinks Claire has the perfect life. She even thinks so too sometimes. When she finds out that her husband has been keeping a secret from her, Claire takes matters into her own hands. Will her plan work, or will it cause more pain?

Madison has been in love with Cash Romero since before she can remember. But he isn’t the setting down type, insisting he and Madison keep things casual. When a family crisis arises, Madison is desperate to find a way to help. Meanwhile, she meets shy, sweet George, a man of wealth and generosity. Suddenly, Madison must decide between two paths; the one she thinks she wants, and the one she may just need.

Gabby has not had the easiest of lives. Growing up with a single mother, life was tough. When her mother went to prison for embezzling money, Gabby’s dream of college and a better life were lost. Then she meets kind and loving Tony. Feeling ashamed that her life hasn’t worked out the way she imagined, Gabby keeps her past life a secret, lying and omitting things to Tony. But when someone close to them finds out the truth, Gabby’s hand is forced. Will she come clean to Tony about her lies and risk losing him forever, or will she find a way to keep the truth bottled up?

Growing up in the south, I connected so much with this book. From the church life, to football ruling the lives of all, it allowed me to connect on a deeper level with these ladies. I honestly could have read a full-length novel about each one of these young women and not have gotten bored. With each chapter being from a different woman’s perspective, each individual story is drawn out; their stories overlapping and coinciding with each other. It was interesting seeing how they interacted with each other; sometimes they weren’t always completely open with each other about their lives.

“Things change. And you can’t regret anything that you’ve done. You make decisions based on what you can see in that moment. Sometimes the view shifts.”

The character development was wonderful. Each woman grew and learned and changed for the better. I kept forgetting that these women were only 18-22 years old; they seemed very mature at times. Yes, they each had their moment of immaturity or naivety, but overall these girls were very mature young women. It was nice not reading a story about catty women. These ladies supported each other, and did their best not to judge one another.

“When you love yourself, it’ll be so much easier for you to love someone else.”

Through their individual journeys, they learn how important it is to be honest, not only with others, but with themselves. In the end, these ladies learn to take control of their lives, and make it what they want.

Love the cover

This is a story about love, family and friendship.

Enjoyable read. This is a tale of four young women in Louisiana who do not always make the best life decisions but are there when their friends need them. Laura, Madison, Claire, and Gabrielle are all facing different circumstances in a relationship and each will rely on the others for support. The differing personalities among these four friends are true to life as well as entertaining. I liked a good number of the secondary characters as well.

I really enjoyed this one!I find it refreshing,fun,fast paced and original.It was a well written story with interesting characters.Once I start it ,I could hardly put it down. I loved each girl and their individual storylines!!

If you are looking for something different and refreshing check this one!!

The Young Wives Club is an absolute breath of fresh air!! This novel centers around four best friends from Louisiana who are all in the throes of their own personal calamities. Although all of their dramas are very different, the one commonality to their problems is that no matter what they can count on each other for moral support!! Being that the ladies range in age from late teens to early twenties, they are just beginning to try and figure out who they are, and boyfriend/husband/love interest issues seem to keep mucking up their situation. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about how the girls get themselves out of their predicaments! I laughed out loud at times and teared up at other parts--loved that!! The Young Wives Club is a 4.5 star read that would be a perfect book club selection! I couldn't believe that this is Julie Pennell's debut novel because it's that good! I will definitely be 1-clicking any future books that she comes out with!!

Unfortunately this book was not within my wheelhouse for a couple reasons: the characters are quite young, and the plot depends so much on the titular wives not communicating with their spouses. First, the wives are all under age 25, which is super-young. I'm past my thirties, which means I felt a bit old to be reading this. Second, the plot revolved around a group of four friends who all had relationship issues of some sort that could have been solved by actually communicating openly with their significant others. Unfortunately it felt a bit unrealistic and bit too close to a soap opera to have every main character have the same communication block at the same time.

The Young Wives Club is about a group of friends who grew up together in a small Louisiana town where everyone goes to the same school and the same social events, etc. It’s the norm to marry young and the dream is to live happily ever after.

The friends learn that dreams don’t always come true. Some will learn that what they thought was their dream really wasn’t. They’ll all find out that they have the power to change their circumstances.

I thought Julie Pennell’s debut novel was sweet and had a good message. It’s a story told with a lot of heart and humor. My problem with reading it is my fault – I’m just not the right age demographic. I think younger women (late teens – twenties) might get more from reading it than I did. I could be wrong so if the publisher’s synopsis grabs your attention then you should read it! I enjoyed Pennell’s writing style and would definitely take a look at her next book. Recommended to fans of Southern Chick-Lit.