The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club

 Book 2 of my 2024 Reading Challenge

read from January 6 - 9

The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club

by Julia Bryan Thomas

My Opinion

4 stars

Before reading: 

This book caught my eye on display at the library.  A bookshop setting for women to discover friendship and strength in the 1950's has excellent potential.

Checking In (about a third of the way through):

The pages pass quickly and I'm invested in the girls' relationships with each other and boys.  I'm also reading with trepidation though because the description said someone "finds herself shattered" so I'm waiting for something big to happen.

Checking In (about two thirds through):

My goodness, I blinked and another third of the book went by!  The big thing happened and we're now in the aftermath.  I don't love the secrecy and wish everyone would talk to each other but I understand why the characters are behaving the way they are.

My feelings about one character have definitely shifted into the negative because she's being judgmental and not a good friend.  People that have strong opinions on life experiences they know nothing about upset me so much.  Listen to the people who have actually lived them and then see how you feel; you can disagree without being close-minded.

Checking In (about 80% through):

OM Freakin' G why did Tess insert herself like that?!?!  I had to shut the book for a minute before diving into the aftermath.  I might barf.

The End:

Ok, that didn't go as poorly as I thought it would.  It was thankfully short to wrap everything up and even though some things went a little too smoothly, everyone had a somewhat satisfactory look ahead to the future.

Final Overall Thoughts:

This was the kind of book that reminds me why I love reading.  Even though it wasn't a perfect book, it was a perfect companion for a few hours to zone out and lose myself.  I would definitely read this author again.