Women Behaving Badly

This book is about three women that are put in a support group together by their priest to help them manage their unique situations appropriately.  The author's writing allowed me to get to know each of the women, Gabs, Alice, and Mavis, and become invested in each of their journeys.  The bond these women built with each other due to their common situations was realistic.

This book tells the story of three very different women over a year's time. The people in their life and how the relationships change over time. It's really interesting and thought provoking the changes and choices they make. Some parts make you laugh and others make you sad. Definitely a book you want to take your time reading.

A fun romp!  It tells the story of 3 women in basically a group for people with sexual problems.  It is an interesting book that is recommend it for your summer reading.

A delightful summer read. Love the quirkiness of this author's style - tongue in cheek and somewhat farfetched though the storyline is! Brimming with larger than life characters and sometimes absurd scenarios, this is definitely a fun, feel-good book, perfect to pack in the suitcase or to just while away a sunny afternoon.

This story reminds me a little of what the television show "The Golden Girls" might have been like if the ages were a little younger.  There were moments of laughs and stress but all with the support of ill matched friends.  Life is truly just a journey and we need always to surround ourselves with those who love us unconditionally and are there for us when we fall.

Also posted on Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Amazon.

A surprisingly enjoyable read! I wasn't sure how much I would like reading about adultery but Frances Garrood does an excellent job of making the characters relatable to the reader and I empathised with each of them despite their questionable relationship choices. The theme of friendship runs throughout the book and I like how the author brought the three otherwise very different women together and developed their bond through the funny, challenging, and heartbreaking situations they find themselves in. Easy-to-read with a bit of a corny ending!

What a delightful and unexpected story this is. The book is funny, light-hearted and very enjoyable. 3 women are brought together through an unexpected support group, put together by the Catholic Church. A group that is given a name that makes it sound like a bible study. It is meant to have sinners return to the ways of the Lord. For Gabs, Mavis, and Alice, it did no such thing. It did bring together 3 very different women in a way no one expected... least of all them. It also changed all of their lives. The characters were loveable and you will want to know what happens to them, until the book reaches its conclusion... and possibly beyond. Maybe there could be a sequel.

Behaving Badly by Frances Garrood  first published as Basic Theology for Fallen Women in 2012,  is a most original tale of three very different women.  Alice, an early forties journalist and single mother,  Mavis., a fifty-something spinster who cares for her aged mother and works at a haberdashery, and Gabs, a young health care worker with the elderly and self described tart, seemingly have absolutely nothing in common.  

The three women first met in an archdiocese program given the misleading name of Basic Theology. The program was actually set up to encourage adulterers to shun their ways and return to their marriages and the tenants of their religion.  Alice and Mavis have both been in long term relationships with married men. Gabs has a lucrative sideline of escort of the role playing kind.  

The program had a large degree of success, leaving only these three women in the group. When the priest in charge feels he can do no more, they set forth to be their own little group inasmuch as they find great solace in having people they can openly talk to about their lives and relationships. Although so vastly different, these women become close and reliable friends.

This story encompasses the evolution of their lives, their meetings, and those people closest to them. For Alice it is her son and his ne’er do well father Trot, who is involved peripherally in his son’s life and is a struggling artist. Mavis’s aging mother Maudie is a loving albeit forgetful lady who touches each one’s heart and will make you smile.  And Gabs has her sister Steph and all the things her life brings in to play as well as interesting relationships with clients and employers alike.

Through their loves, losses, errors, and trials, these ladies prove to be more family than friend.  With surprising twists and humor that will bring laugh out loud responses, I truly enjoyed this very unique story.  I have never read anything like it before and I definitely recommend this book!

Women Behaving Badly by Frances Garrood was first published as Basic Theology for Fallen Women in 2012. It details a year in the lives of three very different women. These women are brought together as part of a church program by the name of Basic Theology. However, the program’s true purpose is to teach adulterers how to stop  and return to their marriages and good faith. 

The program has a good deal of success and shortly there are only three women left: Gabs (the high end escort), Alice (the single mother), and Marvis (the caring daughter with her heart on her sleeve). This unlikely trio become friends when the Basic Theology program ends. 

This book was a very unique read. I connected with each of the three main in very different ways. It was awesome to see how these three women changed the lives of one another. 

I received a review copy of this ebook from Sapere Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

A sinfully enjoyable read! I absolutely LOVED this book. 

The way the 3 ladies meet is creative and clever and the unravelling of their secrets and lives is tantalising. It is a pure joy getting to know these ladies and be taken on their journeys and an even bigger joy watching their friendship blossom.

I couldn't put this down and loved every page. Frances Garrood writes with humour, wit and sensitivity. A really superb read!

A funny enjoyable read. This is an easy read which made me laugh a lot. This is a self help group that help each other and become friends. A fun holiday read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Three different women. Three different affairs. One Basic Theology Course for Fallen Women that brings them all together.

This is a wildly funny read, mostly stemming from the deliciously absurd plot. While each of the three women (Mavis, Alice, and Gabs) join a church group to change their adulterous ways, none of them can seem to kick the habit. Though the official group has disbanded, these three agree to continue having private meetings. Rather than guilt each other, they slowly form a close bond of support, even when it leads to some unsavory behavior.

Author Frances Garrood has managed to make the ‘other woman’ the sympathetic character, and most of this stems from her detached focus on the affairs. Though Gabs runs a successful escort business, there’s no real depiction of how this affects her clients’ lives. Similarly, Mavis and Alice have been in long-term relationships, but their wives, though mentioned, aren’t integral to the story. It would have been so easy for readers to dislike these characters, but their stories are weaved to make them utterly sympathetic … For the most part. I’m not completely sure how I feel about a section with Gabs and a priest.

And there were a few times I came close to being frustrated by a few of the characters’ choices—mostly inaction. Mavis’ other half is totally unlikable, and I wanted her to dump him within the first chapter he appears. However, Garrood has this wonderful sense of character, and their decisions always feel realistic to their personalities.

A really enjoyable read from start to finish. Engaging characters and a great story! Fantastic! Thanks for selecting me to read this.

A first for me by this author but highly entertaining in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way.

3 very different women... A support group... and Friendship!

The story of three very different women told over a years timeline. The people in their life and how the relationships change over time. Interesting and thought provoking regarding the changes and choices they make. 
Gabs, Alice, and Mavis become invested in each of their journeys. 
I connected with each of the ladies in different ways. 
It was amazing to see how these three women changed the lives of one another. 

An enjoyable read!

This novel centers around three women engaged in three affairs.  They join a church group to her change themselves.  When the group splits, these three women stay in touch.  The book takes you through the unfolding of these affairs and the aftermath.

Gabs, Alice and Mavis are the three women and they are rather different.  

Gabs is a part-time adult care worker and a part time prostitute. She's also in love with a priest at the church where the support group is.

Mavis is a store clerk, sleeping with a married doctor, wondering if she's wasted her life on him.

Alice is a writer that has a son that is a result of a one night stand that has suddenly started trying to be in the picture.  She is also conducting an affair with a married man who has a few imagined illnesses.

All in all it was a good book, and while I feel like it was a bit much, it was very well put together and this author is definitely someone I'd read another book by.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher.  Perfect summer read about 3 different women and 3 different affairs and extremely funny read.

Three very different women form an unlikely bond when they meet at a support group run by the local priest. Brought together by their common interest, extramarital affairs, which is deeply frowned upon, by the Catholic church, Mavis Alice & Gabs continue to meet outside the 'support' group.
Alice is a single mother to Finn. Finns Dad Trot is more of a thorn in her side than a support and then there's Jay. Jay is the love of her life. Jay also happens to be married.
Mavis comes across as the most vulnerable of the three women. Her days are spent juggling work and caring for her elderly Mother Maudie, who happens to be a wonderful character in my opinion. Her boss Mr. Strong is less than sympathetic to Mavis' situation despite her loyalty to him. Clifford, her hypochondriac lover, is even less so. Self-absorbed Clifford and his constant complaints are fast losing appeal for harrassed Mavis.
Then we have Gabs, who cares for the elderly. She also happens to be a high-class escort, is fast losing patience with her sister Steph and has fallen for the wrong man.
I really enjoyed Women Behaving Badly. It was so lovely to see the unlikely bond form between these three women who emerged wonderfully strong and taking control.

I received Women Behaving Badly by Frances Garrood as an ARC from Netgalley.  This book is about 3 very different women who are placed in a support group for people with sexual problems.  It is interesting to me that even though the women are very different they become close friends over the course of the year and provide support for each other.  I thought it was a fun and enjoyable read.

Three women who are stranger's have unconventional lifestyles, they are brought together at a group organised by their Catholic church.
Will the group work?
Can these different characters forge good relationships?
I really enjoyed getting to know these ladies and I hope there's a second book!

three different women, three different lives, and crossed paths. I absolutely enjoyed this book. I loved seeing how the characters paths crossed and how decisions made altered the lives of one another. It was interesting how I felt connected to these women in completely different ways even though sometimes I found their decisions frustrating

Three different women. Three different affairs. One Basic Theology Course for Fallen Women that brings them all together.This is a wildly funny read, mostly stemming from the deliciously absurd plot.

The book is funny, light-hearted and very enjoyable. It made me laugh and it made me sad. I love the way Garrood writes about ordinary lives and relationships.  Frances Garrood...please write a sequel!!