The Naughty Girls Book Club

by Sophie Hart

A quaint suburb. A quiet little reading group. A very naughty reading list…

Chicklit with a saucy twist, this is perfect for anyone looking for a slightly softer version of of E.L. James’ 50 Shades of Grey.

Estelle sets up a book group in order to increase custom to her struggling small town cafe, what follows is more scandalous than she could have ever imagined…

As the first book club meeting flounders, Estelle suggests a spot of erotica to spice up the members lives – with trepidation the decision is accepted.

Inspired by their sizzling reads, this group of shy suburban readers shake off their inhibitions and discover a new side to themselves with some tantalising results.

Saucy and sexy chicklit fiction at its most seductive, this is perfect for fans of Jilly Cooper and Indigo Bloome.

• ISBN13: 9780007514946
• Publish Date: 6 June 2013 (first published 22 April 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: AVON, a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 464
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[Angie]

In one word, The Naughty Girls' Book Club is delightful! It was just so much fun and left me with a smile. It kind of reminded me of Chocolat (without the magic, and coffee instead of chocolate) in how a group of people come together as strangers, and then help each other to get more out of life. They all change in some small way thanks to their bi-weekly discussion of erotic novels. I just loved watching them all come to life, realizing what they want, and go after it. Also, the themes of being open-minded (not just in the bedroom!) and unselfconscious were great.

The Naughty Girls' Book Club all starts when Estelle needs a business boost at her cafe. She decides to try a book club, but their first selection doesn't go too well. She wanted to focus on "high-brow" classics and make the group serious, but when the members accidentally see that she's reading a Fifty Shades-esque novel, things start to look up. Everyone grabs a copy, even Reggie, the groups only male member who claims he's there for thesis research. And their eyes are opened to the magical world of erotica! Even if not all of them found it sexy, it was still a great ice breakers, allowing for great discussion and the beginnings of friendships.

The Naughty Girls' Book Club alternates POV between each of the group members. There are five of them, but the narrative never felt jumpy or overwhelming. They each have their own distinct problems to work through, and I enjoyed them all. Estelle is divorced and having trouble finding time to move on. Sue is recently retired and wants to go on world adventures, while her husband just wants to sit at home watching TV. Rebecca is a newlywed, but things are already feeling stale in her relationship, and she's the one most open to "experimenting" much to her husband's delight! Gracie is a young feminist who believes erotica sets women back 50 years(at least, at first). Finally, there's Reggie, who is a bit of a geek and worries that he's not what women want, since he doesn't even compare to the heroes in their book club titles. I loved getting to know all of them and watching them bond with each other.

I really enjoyed The Naughty Girls' Book Club. I did get a little worried in the beginning, since I couldn't really relate to the older women and their marriage woes. But that ended up not being a problem, since at the root of it, their problems were more about discovering what they want out of life and relationships and being comfortable with themselves, rather than simply their marriages. It was a really sweet and fun book, and I highly recommend it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Leah]

When I was offered Sophie Hart’s debut novel The Naughty Girl’s Book Club to review, I was thrilled. I love books about book clubs. They’re great! They’re ingenius! So it was a no-brainer that I wanted to read this novel, even if it was taking advantage of the recent rise of the erotica genre, I genre I loathe and a genre you cannot pay me to read, believe me. But, thankfully, the novel only focuses on the characters reading the books, and despite it’s black cover and it’s look of an erotic novel, it is actually a Chick Lit book through and through, and it’s a fabulous one at that!

The Naughty Girl’s Book Club (a misnomer of a title, due to the fact that Reggie, a member of the book group, is very much a male!) tells the tale of five people, who are all part of the Cafe Crumb Book Club. There’s Estelle, who started the book group as a way to bring a bit more income into her cafe; Rebecca, a frustrated wife who’s starting to think marriage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be; Sue, a recently retiree who thinks life begins at 62, not ends; Gracie who has firm feminist beliefs that will not be shaken; and Reggie, who’s writing a thesis and needs a book club to help form his opinions for his thesis. As friendships form and the books become racier, the members find their own love lives hotting up, but will they get everything they’ve always wanted?

What I really liked about The Naughty Girl’s Book Club is that the novel focuses on all 5 characters equally. It skips from character to character, chapter to chapter, and it was brilliant getting to see the characters in their normal lives as well as during their book club meetings. I loved all of the characters, I loved how the book group changed their opinions in life and in love, how they all became firm friends and confidantes rather than just people who are in a book group. I wasn’t at all tempted by the books they read, mind, and it’d be brilliant if anyone ever decided to write a novel about a Chick Lit book club. That’d just blow my mind, I think. Nevertheless, the book group meetings were always interesting and I thought they were fab.

I loved the book. It took me a week and a half to finish due to work commitments (the sooner I win the lottery, the better!), but I never forgot a character and Gracie and Reggie were by far my favourite characters. I loved how Gracie wasn’t afraid to air her opinions, and I loved Reggie’s shyness. I was also quite taken with Sue, and I felt so sad that her husband George wasn’t more willing to do things with her – an entire 180 from the lovely Rebecca’s husband Andy, who was more than willing to go that extra mile to keep his wife happy! I was rather entranced with Estelle’s life, especially hunky fireman Tony. Sophie Hart’s a fabulously talented author (I think it’s a pseudonym for another Chick Lit author, but I’m not 100% certain and if it is, I’d love for her to reveal her true identity, I hate secrecy and if she’s an author I’ve never read I’d love to read her as this was really well written), she certainly knows how to write and I’m looking forward to her next novel as this was magnificent. A brilliant read, do pick it up!