Queen Bee by Ciara Geraghty

416 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publishing Date: Feb 2023

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Book Club Selection

 

Blurb

Agatha Doyle is in denial. Her glorious empty nest has filled up with two adult sons and a widowed father busy renovating her childhood home for his new girlfriend. Worst of all, she can’t seem to write a word of her overdue novel. Or confide in her husband, Luke, that she’s plunged off a cliff into menopause.

When she’s talked over at a panel event, Agatha has had enough – stepping forward she stands up for herself and unintentionally goes viral, becoming the poster girl for midlife women everywhere.

But underneath the new life, what is happening in her old one – and in particular, her marriage?

 

Review

Well, this was quite a read and I’ve got some thoughts. 😊

I really liked the idea that formed this story. Goodness knows that it’s all too ‘easy’ these days to achieve online fame and/or notoriety, so Agatha going viral after a rant for middle-aged women and against the patriarchy is more than realistic. What’s more, the underlying idea that menopause is something that is either denied or ignored isn’t too far from the everyday truth either. It’s a bit like other issues that exclusively affect women. Menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause are ‘inconveniences’ that the world (read: mostly men) has decided we should just put with while shutting up about them. Men-flu on the other hand… Don’t get me started.

Did you see what happened there? I was only trying to review a book and within one paragraph I find myself ‘pulling an Agatha’, be it less publicly.

But, back to my thoughts on the book. So, the instant fame premise works very well. The same can be said for Agatha’s anger and exasperation about…well, basically the world at large. Except that, I’m not sure anybody, no matter how hormonal, is angry and snarky all the time. And with Agatha, it does appear to be a continuous anger rather than an ebb and flow of mood swings; coming and going just as the hot flushes and night sweats do. Of course, we only know about Agatha’s moods because she writes about them, and like most people who keep a journal, she writes about the emotional high and low lights and not about the mundane ‘meh’ moments in between. Which is fair enough, and there are one or two moments when we get glimpses of a more mellow Agatha, but I would like to have seen a few more of those. And I would have liked it if she hadn’t grumbled about every nice thought she had or any good deed she did. Not only because that would have made Agatha more sympathetic but also because it would create a (bigger) contrast with all her anger and frustration.

But enough about that. That long paragraph makes Agatha’s anger sound like a huge issue, which it wasn’t. It’s just something I noticed along the way.

This story is firmly and very well set in the world we live in right now. Grown-up children returning to live at home and not having any real prospects of setting up a life for themselves independently; it’s sadly all to recognisable. I’m guessing that anybody who’s been in a relationship for a long(er) period of time is aware of how easily things can slip into a rut. And goodness knows that Agatha isn’t the only one struggling to juggle work, home, love, friendships, children, parents, and whatever else the world decides to throw our way.

I may have given you the impression that Queen Bee is a heavy, somewhat dark story. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Queen Bee is a smoothly written, light-hearted, and effortless read. At times Agatha’s thoughts are laugh-out-loud funny and I found myself chuckling more than once. There isn’t a boring moment in this story as the plot pushes you along until it reaches its climax.

As for that climax…Let’s just say it used two plot devices I’m not fond of and leave it at that.

Overall, I really liked Queen Bee. Just like in her earlier books, Ciara Geraghty created a fascinating main character that pulled me into her story and didn’t let go until I’d reached the final page. The side characters were well-presented and interesting. The way this rather light-hearted read managed to raise real and complicated issues is impressive. And I think it’s wonderful such a strong and feisty voice was given to menopause. I can only hope it will resonate.

In other words: Queen Bee is a good story well told.

 

*****

 

Side note:

I’m curious. Do (Irish) women (in general) really never discuss menopause? If the answer to that question is yes, I guess I should be grateful for my mother who, at some point during the late 1970’s announced to my brother and me that she was menopausal and that she was probably going to be short-tempered from that moment forward. Truth be told, I don’t remember her as being particularly short-tempered but that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate the heads-up or the ease with which she announced that phase in her life.

Also: how does the Queen bee dying relate to our titular Queen Bee fleeing to LA? Or does it?

 

S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared

TITLE: S.E.C.R.E.T. SHARED

AUTHOR: L. MARIE ADELINE

Pages: 304

Date: 16/10/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 2 S.E.C.R.E.T

            Received from Crown Publishing

            Through NetGalley

Own/Kindle

The Blurb:

“Still wounded from a recent heartbreak over her boss and lover, Will, Cassie Robichaud throws herself into service with S.E.C.R.E.T., the mysterious organization that changed her forever by bringing her deepest sexual fantasies to life, one step at a time. Now, it’s Cassie’s turn to guide the group’s newest candidate, Dauphine Mason, recruiting men to execute a new set of fantasies.

     At thirty-one, Dauphine is the proprietor of a New Orleans vintage clothing store. She’s been harboring a crush on Mark Drury, a local rock star, but is too shy to put herself out there with him. She turns to S.E.C.R.E.T. to reignite her sexual flame and find the confidence to risk her heart again with another man.  

     As Cassie worries that the right time will never come for her and Will, she finds inspiration helping Dauphine in S.E.C.R.E.T. Both women navigate the rocky path between their hearts and their passions, hoping to discover what they truly want in life and in love. S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared is a romantic, adventurous, and sexually charged sequel to one of the hottest new series in erotica.”

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“Nullum judicium. Non limitat. Nulla verecundia”.

(No judgment. No limits. No Shame)

This is the second S.E.C.R.E.T. book and although it could be read on its own merits I would advice anyone to read the first book before starting this one.

I am so glad that L. Marie Adeline decided to write a sequel to “S.E.C.R.E.T.” Not only because Cassie’s story clearly wasn’t finished when the first book ended. What I really appreciate in this book is that it illustrates that just because we go through a certain process and come out at the end of it successfully doesn’t mean that all our old issues have suddenly disappeared. While Cassie, in the first book, certainly discovered sides to herself she never knew existed and starts looking at herself and her needs and wants in a new way, that doesn’t mean that she has suddenly gotten rid of all the insecurities that hav been bothering her for years, if not her whole life. Growth is a life-long journey and insecurities only release their hold with reluctance, as Cassie comes to realize as the story progresses.

While it seemed, for a few pages at least, that Cassie would end up with everything she ever wanted near the end of the first book, a shocking revelation destroyed all her hopes and dreams and tore her apart from Will, her boss and the man she loves. What is more, there appeared to be little or no hope that she and Will would ever have the opportunity to be together, regardless of their feelings for each other.

When this book starts Cassie has decided that she will stay with S.E.C.R.E.T., the secret organization run by and for women that undertakes to liberate women through a process that has them push their boundaries by participating in nine sexual fantasies.

When Cassie meets Dauphine she knows that she has found the ideal candidate for the S.E.C.R.E.T. process and once Dauphine accepts the challenge, Cassie is only too happy to act as her guide.

Dauphine is in desperate need of a shake up of her (love) life. Dauphine is as stuck in her life as it is possible to be. Betrayed by her boyfriend as well as her best friend eight years ago and very insecure about her curvaceous body she has taken a tight hold of every aspect of her life. Dauphine needs to be in control of everything that happens to and around her and her refusal to take risks has all but paralised her. But, as is pointed out to her once she is introduced to the idea and the women of S.E.C.R.E.T

“That’s a tough one, control. (…) Too much and you never allow yourself to know others. Too little and you never truly know yourself.”

Dauphine has to battle all her self-preserving instincts but in the end realizes that, if she wants more out of her life than she has been getting so far – if she wants to stop being afraid – she has to grab this opportunity.

“Some things are fatefully divine and some are just divinely fated.”

And so begins Dauphine’s wonderful journey. A journey that will not only force her to face fears she didn’t think she’d ever overcome but will also teach her that she is beautiful and good enough. She has some wonderful encounters with equally wonderful men, although my favourite scene was the tango dancing one, taking place in Buenos Aires. And although part of me was disappointed that her journey got cut short – although the way in which was intriguing – it did make perfect sense in the story. By the time Dauphine returns from Argentina, she has indeed conquered the ten steps: surrender, courage, trust, generosity, fearlessness, confidence, curiosity, bravery, exuberance and liberation, even if she didn’t need all the steps or encounters normally required. And her reward more than lives up to everything she’d hoped for.

And I’m glad Dauphine got a happy ending since Cassie’s journey is proving a lot tougher. Although she knows that her hopes of a relationship with Will have forever been dashed she continues to work for him and can’t stop thinking and dreaming about everything that might have been. And just when it seems that maybe Cassie will be able to find happiness for herself, everything comes crashing down around her once again, leaving her dreams shattered but also bringing her to the realization that although she finished her nine-step program, she still has a lot to learn about being truly independent.

It is clear from the way this book ends that there is at least one more S.E.C.R.E.T. title to come and I will be looking forward to reading it. In fact, I can’t wait to get my hands on it because for once I’m not at all sure what ending I am hoping for when it comes to Cassie. I can see at least three possibilities and all of them have their charms as well as their down sides for me so I’m very curious to see where the author will take us.

This book was, like its prequel, a wonderful and very well written story. While “S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared” is definitely a very erotic story, it is so much more. This is a story about women helping and empowering women; a book with a very positive message for all the women out there who think that they are not (good, beautiful or smart) enough. It is great to read books in which women grow into themselves and everything they can be without the answer to their problems necessarily being a man in their lives. Yes, men play a huge part in the journeys these women undertake but they are only the means through which progress is made and not the reason why. For me it is impossible not to love a book that includes a quote like this:

“The word slut, unless employed by iron-clad feminists or ironically by irony experts, has no business coming out of a woman’s mouth, do you hear me. Not when she’s describing her own sexual behaviour and especially if she’s describing another woman’s. It’s the kind of word that can scar, Cassie”.  – Mathilda