I love the era this book is set in … the swinging sixties . Winifred recently widowed befriends artist Marie … she been lonely since the passing of her dear husband and never did fit in with the ‘rich’ set although she tried when her husband was alive . June self appointed leader of the ‘ladies’ has a dislike of Winifred and seeing her move on from the ladies meeting to organise fund raisers makes her even more cross. But June is hiding secrets and her life is slowly unravelling . A tender book about love and loss which I really enjoyed

I read and loved Halfway to You last year this is my second Jennifer Gold book. When I spotted it on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to read it before it is released. It instantly drew parallels to Elizabeth in Lessons in Chemistry, not just because they're both set in 1960s America. Both Winifred and Elizabeth Zott are different from other society women, both academic, both staunchly independent, both disliked by other women because of it and neither of them cares. We stan a strong independent woman who doesn't ✨need✨ a man, especially in 60s society!

I enjoyed reading Polite Calamities and am excited to see what comes next from Jennifer Gold! Thank you to Lake Union Publishing + NetGalley for the ARC. Polite Calamities is out 23rd July 2024!

This book was definitely not for me. I got about 12% in before giving up. There were lots of things that I didn’t like about it, particularly at the part where I quit, but I’m too worn out to go into detail right now. I will try to come back to this later to expand upon my thoughts.

I really enjoyed this book but felt it was a bit long with some redundancy and fiund myself skimming pages towards the end. The story was good; the 1960s where a group of socialite women were stay at home moms with country club lives. One doesn’t fit in and this doesn’t sit well with the others. The book contains periods of grief, forgiveness, unexpected friendships, pain and healing and moving on. Thanks to the author for a chance to read an advanced copy.

Polite Calamities
Jennifer Gold

This is the first book I have read by this author, and I thank NetGalley for giving me a chance to read an advance copy with the expectation that I will provide an honest review. Polite Calamities is about group of women on the edge of discovering that the lives they’ve been born into and groomed to live aren’t real. Set In the 60s, the social circles of the rich are fraught with false friends, fake emotions, and exceptional disdain for anything or anyone who doesn’t fit the mold. Early in the story I figured that things were going to start unraveling, but I honestly had to read to the very last page to find out what ultimately made this book so compelling. Nicely done.

Jennifer Gold transports us to Rhode Island in 1965 in her latest fabulous novel. Winifred Hurst is different from the other society women, she’s academic, independent and modern and the other women dislike her for it. It doesn’t bother her much, well, not too much, but it worries her wealthy husband Bruce, with whom she has an excellent relationship, a real meeting of minds, and more! However, THEY think she’s a golddigger. Why do they feel so threatened by Winifred? Do they sense a change in the air? Whatever the reasons, it’s clear she’ll never be one of them.

June Duxbury strives to be a good homemaker and to her social standing is all. She sees Winifred as an affront to her efforts, and all the wealthy women disapprove, mocking Winifred’s colourful parties. As a way to subsume her own pain, both physical and mental, June sets out to destroy Winifred.

Artist Marie is failing after an exceptionally promising start, but she’s carrying a heavy burden from the past which continues to haunt her. What will she grow to mean to Winifred? How will the wealthy socialites regard her?

Fantastic. I absolutely love this character driven, multi layered novel becoming engrossed in their lives. The characterisation is superb, they all feel real as they are so well perceived by the author so they’re fleshed out. I would’ve loved to have known Winifred, she’s so nice and kind, so perceptive, and whilst she doesn’t always get things right, she absolutely doesn’t deserve June’s derision. I love her inclusivity which she expresses through her lively parties, yet another reason why she alienates the rich witches. Marie is also very likeable, you feel her pain and anguish and love the friendship and companionship with Winifred. As for June, she is truly awful and has a few redeeming features, although you do sympathise with her physical pain. However, her character does make for some ‘lively’ storytelling, although there’s no excuse for her bitter caustic tongue.

The 60s time period is an excellent choice for this novel and is conveyed extremely well. It’s a different world in some ways and in others not. To the wealthy, social expectation and appearance is everything and the cruelty to Winifred takes your breath away. There are some moments of humour often at the witches expense, take that! I love the art element via Marie and this is vividly described.

There is so much that is excellent in this book. It’s joyous in places, emotional, sad, tragic and moving at others. At times it shocks and makes you angry at the unfairness or humiliation. It shines the spotlight on inner turmoil via characters like Marie or on female health issues via June. It’s extremely well written and is a novel I can highly recommend. I love the cover too.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Lake Union for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

If I think a book is poorly written I won’t give it 3 stars but in this case, my 3 star rating reflects that I believe many readers will enjoy this book. It just didn’t work that well for me. At first, I was intrigued with the characters but I a third of the way in I found it a bit tedious. The story line includes hints at something that happened in one of the characters past. As a reader I found that I wasn’t all that interested in hearing the details. It felt too predictable. At about 60% I stopped reading this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for fair and honest review.

Every character in the book was unbearable except for June. But the plot and the writing style made up for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.
A great book featuring 3 women in 1960's Rhode Island. Two of the women, Winifred and Marie, don't fit the mold of female subservience and the third, June, despises them for it.. She and her group of friends (all from prominent families) are openly vicious and nasty.
June is a hateful character, but one can't help feeling sorry for her.
It's a story of female friendships, good and bad, of freeing oneself from the expectations of society and living life your way. It ends with hope, love and
the vision of a bright future. It's a lovely read, highly recommended!

A story that I very much enjoyed reading.
Winifred is one of my favorite characters. I absolutely loved her personality.
I took my time because I wanted to savor this novel.
Very well written with lots of great characters and a good plot. Honestly, I think it was the cover that made me want to read this book and now I'm glad I did!
I lost sleep overnight because I wanted to see what happened next. I wasn't disappointed.
The guessing who done it is what kept me turning the pages.
I really had fun with this book.
5 stars for this well written book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend it
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Polite Calamities by new to me author J. Gold, published by Lake Union Publishing, is an interesting, suspenseful read that had me in knots at time.
Suspenseful, twisty and full of unexpected turns the book had me guessing till the last page. Literally unputdownable the story gives these wonderful goosebumpy vibes. I recommend the book, 4,5 stars.