The Lion Women of Tehran

Author: Marjan Kamali

Who Picked the Book: Amberly

One-sentence summary: Two childhood friends navigate the changing political landscape of life in Iran both together and apart.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 9

Our favorite thing about it: We loved the incredible story.

Our least favorite thing about it: LOTS of bad things happen to both characters.

Main Topics of Discussion: History, Friendship, Politics, Religion

Our favorite quote: "Someday, you and me — we'll do great things. We'll live life for ourselves. And we will help others. We are cubs now, maybe. But we will grow to be lionesses. Strong women who will make things happen."

Notes: We universally loved this book and this story. We liked the 2 main characters and felt engaged in the story the whole time. We loved the historical aspects and the things we learned about Iranian history and culture. We discussed childhood friendships and how they change through the years. We talked about loyalty. We also discussed religion and politics - as they're central to the story. It was hard to read the story, knowing what would happen in Iran after the overthrow of the Shah. We did think an extraordinary amount of terrible things happened to our two main characters - lots of historical tragedies were personally tied to their stories. But, we excused it because the story and writing were so good. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: Amberly took us to Little Persia for some authentic Persian food. And we spent the rest of the night at Dessert Avenue in Murphy eating and discussing the book. We wore our new book club sweatshirts for the first time together. We also celebrated Rachel's and Amberly's birthdays.

What We Ate: We had Sekanjabin drink (sweet and sour Ancient Persian Syrup and water), felafel with a spicy sauce, Beef and Chicken Kebabs with Rice. Then, at Dessert Avenue, we had various crepes, tea, and coffee. 

 

The Book of Ayn

Author: Lexi Freiman

Who Picked the Book: Lindsay

One-sentence summary: An author who is "cancelled" by society seeks wildly different methods to dealing with that in her life.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 2

Our favorite thing about it: That it wasn't too long.

Our least favorite thing about it: The poop talk. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Satire, Narcissism, Cancel Culture, 

Our favorite quote: "Artist: a grandiose and insecure person who feels especially destined and uniquely condemned and, deep in their heart, fears that they must be empty."

Notes: Well. We universally disliked this book. We have never rated a book this low before. We all agreed that the poop talk was gross and not appreciated - and there was far too much of it. We felt like the first and second halves of the book felt like two different books. We didn't like the main character at all. We didn't identify with her or her motivations for her terrible decisions. She was actually really annoying. It was overall not an enjoyable read for any of us. We know this book was supposed to be a satire and many reviewers called it "hilarious" and "funny" - we did not find it funny at all. Not even a little bit. We wondered what was supposed to be satirized? Cancel culture? Any Rand? Los Angeles? Maybe all of it? 

In the end, we decided this book was probably written for a very niche group of people who understand a certain New York City and Los Angeles subcultures that we just do not understand. Therefore, the book not only didn't resonate with us, we didn't actually understand the point. There was no plot, no development, no growth, no takeaway. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We celebrated Rachel's birthday with a dinner at Maggiano's and had our book discussion in the large lobby of Lindsay's hotel. We got to witness a rousing game (or two) of Jenga between a wife and husband, who took photos for us. 

What We Ate: Maggiano's! We had bread with olive oil and balsamic drizzle and shared the fried zucchini appetizer. Our entrees, were: Branzino, fettuccine bolognese, salmon, and shrimp diavolo. We also enjoyed some desserts: chocolate mousse cake, warm apple crostada, and Gigi's butter cake. We were treated to a plate of lemon cookies to celebrate Rachel's birthday. 

The Unmaking of June Farrow

Author: Adrienne Young

Who Picked the Book: Rachel

One-sentence summary: A woman uncovers a special ability she has while discovering an entirely different life that she has to fight to save. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8 (unanimous)

Our favorite thing about it: The story was interesting with lots of twists.

Our least favorite thing about it: We didn't love the non-communication, however central to the story it was. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Marriage, Memory, Self Identity, Motherhood, Religious Fanaticism, Time Travel

Our favorite quote: “The curse on the Farrows had broken the natural laws of the world, and with it had come so much suffering. But in this, there'd been the most unexpected of gifts.”

Notes: While we were all annoyed by the various characters who didn't communicate vital information to other characters, we universally enjoyed this book. It was a tad slow in the beginning until June walked through the door, but most of us found it very easy to read. The characters were developed well for the most part. We have read several time travel books and it's always interesting to see how each author sets up the "rules" in their novel. This one was no exception. However, we did find some of the timeline hard to follow and understand. In the end, we all just said, "whatever," and continued reading. Some of the plot points became predictable as we found out more about the characters, but the unfolding of the story was still well done and enjoyable. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was our Christmas meeting so we exchanged gifts, played our Jeopardy game (made by Lindsay this time!), crafted photo ornaments from one of our cruise photos, and missed Stephanie since she was in California.

What We Ate: Christmas Lasagna with homemade bolognese and pesto ricotta, focaccia with garlic olive oil dip, roasted Brussels sprouts, and Brown Butter Snickerdoodle cobbler with vanilla ice cream. 

The Ministry of Time

Author: Kaliane Bradley

Who Picked the Book: Dara

One-sentence summary: A young woman's job of caring for a time-travel "expat" gets complicated when she has to juggle her relationship with him and the confines of her job. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it: The historical fiction and time travel aspects.

Our least favorite thing about it: The story could have been so much better and it faltered in places - most notably rushing the relationship and the ending. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Time Travel, Relationships, Extra Characters, Story Development, Narrative Pacing, Culture

Our favorite quote: “Everything that has ever been could have been prevented, and none of it was. The only thing you can mend is the future.”

Notes: We all enjoyed reading this book, despite our lower-than-normal rating. It was engaging and not hard to pick up. We liked the unique concept and the historical fiction woven in. The ideas of culture shock between times is always fun and interesting to read about. We liked the flash backs to Gore's doomed expedition - both because it fleshed out his character, which was badly needed. But also because we liked the history and it was interesting. 

We thought the fact that the main character was not named was an interesting choice. She was only ever referred to as "the bridge." We discussed it, but we couldn't really figure out why the author made that choice. If anything, it made an already under-developed character even more remote to us as readers.

Our critiques are mostly about the story and the characters. The most endearing and interesting characters were the minor ones - Margaret and Arthur. The main character and Graham seemed distant, like we never really got to know them. And then that made the romance seem surface-level. We didn't connect with it and it seemed rushed. 

Likewise, the final events seemed rushed. We felt that some of the slower parts of the story could have been condensed or cut and more room made for unpacking the events and revelations that happened at the end of the book. We did like how it ended, though. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We were down to four this time with Stephanie in California and Lindsay in Oklahoma  - and neither able to travel in for this meeting. It also poured rain during the meeting.

What We Ate: Chips and Guacamole, Gin, Lemonade and Cranberry cocktail, Brisket Chili with fixings, Salad, Cornbread, and Chocolate-Dipped Chocolate Ginger cookies (with sea salt and with sugar sprinklings)

October 2024 Meeting

 We didn't have a traditional meeting this month and we didn't read a book! We did get together, though - for a wine tasting just East and South of Dallas. We had a great time together and enjoyed the day even if we didn't enjoy every wine we tasted! The snacks were superior, for sure. 

The Woman in Cabin 10

Author: Ruth Ware

Who Picked the Book: All of Us

One-sentence summary: A journalist embarks on a maiden voyage aboard a small, luxury vessel and finds herself at the center of a murder cover-up that ends up endangering her own life.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: It was a quick and entertaining read.

Our least favorite thing about it: Everything was unbelievable.

Main Topics of Discussion: Cruising, relationships, Mystery-writing, suspending disbelief

Our favorite quote: “There’s a reason why we keep thoughts inside our heads for the most part—they’re not safe to be let out in public.”

Notes: We universally had issues with this book, despite our high overall rating. It's not that we hated it, but we definitely didn't love it. It was quick and kept our interest, which is why we didn't knock it too much. But just a feeling of overall disbelief prevented us from rating it higher. Literally every part of the plot was just so unbelievable. The author really stretched what she could expect a reader to go along with in this one. And we didn't love any of the characters, which makes it hard to connect and get invested in the story. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We discussed this book in the Star Lounge aboard the Mariner of the Seas on our Book Club cruise! We picked it because it took place on a cruise too. 

What We Ate: We ate cookies from the Promenade Cafe and some of us had coffee and tea during our discussion. 

Listen for the Lie

Author: Amy Tintera

Who Picked the Book: Christina

One-sentence summary: A woman who returns home to unravel a murder she might have been guilty of by attempting to regain her memories. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: We liked the podcast aspect of the book. 

Our least favorite thing about it: The characters. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Characters, True Crime Podcasts, Family, Memory Loss, Mystery tropes

Our favorite quote: “Some people will never believe you no matter how hard you explain yourself. Trust me, there's no pleasing people. If they're determined to think the worst of you, they will.”

Notes: Overall we enjoyed reading this mystery. We thought the story was mostly good and it kept us interested. Some of us thought it lagged a little in the middle and that the short romance between Lucy and Ben helped pick it up a bit. And then some of us could have done without that story line altogether! Almost unanimously we hated all the characters. Even the main character. And that makes it hard to really love a story. Even the grandmother was just a little to spunky and perfect - not well rounded. She was predictable as a character. Ben was the closest character we came to liking and he was kind of vanilla and boring. We did like the podcast angle to the story. And those that listened liked that you could tell when that part was being read. Most of us felt that the "kill, kill" refrain in Lucy's head was annoying and silly. We felt it could have completly been left out and the book would have been better for it. And as with all murder mysteries, there were a few times that coincidences almost messed with the integrity of the story, but we mostly just let that go for the sake of the reading experience. In summary, we liked it, enjoyed reading it, but it didn't blow most of us away. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We swam at Christina's house. 

What We Ate: Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches, Fruit, Veggies, Baked Brie, Salad, and various delightful sweet treats served charcuterie-style.