 A fantastic read for women of all ages |
| Reviewer: Nelaine Sanchez, Miami, FL USA |
Three best friends, Kat, Carla and Elise, are back together in the same town after many years apart. They are now in their mid-40's and are each at a turning point in life:
Kat just recently lost her job in Manhattan because her superiors have decided younger employees are the way to go and upon finding her much younger boyfriend having some cyber fun, she has decided he's got to go too. So she packs up and heads back home to St. Louis and her two BFF's.
Carla is the town's news anchorwoman... a celebrity of sorts. She's hot at 40, and she knows it, not to mention she's going out with the young Sportscaster at her station. But she suddenly finds herself in a déjà vu moment, when a younger woman is a threat to her job... just like she did once upon a time to her predecessor.
Then there's Elise - whose life seems to be the most stable. She's been married for years, her children are grown and gone from home and now she finds herself in a rut. Her marriage and sex life sucks and her husband is quite possibly cheating on her.
Their unofficial "Cougar Club" is what they'll need in order to see, get through and move forward from these not-so-great moments in life.
This was a fun and quick read that had it's funny and light moments but also had some moments that were thought-provoking. I love the idea of a cougar. Why? Well because I've never felt that age should define a person. Plus I give kudos to any woman who at 45 can still live and look like they are in their late 20's, early 30's. You go girlfriend!
Ms. McBride's writing is hip and fun. She really brought these woman to life - made you feel as if you could know someone like them in real life. The issues and struggles they face were realistic and most women over 30 can definitely relate. I truly enjoyed this story about friendship, love, and just life in general.
I loved the Club's motto:
True friendship never dies, the only way to live is real, and you're never too old to follow your heart.
I think that is so true and certainly something every woman, no matter the age, should live by.
This was a wonderful treat to read and I definitely recommend it. |
Loved it
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| Reviewer: www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/, Montreal, Quebec |
The Cougar Club has everything that I love in a chick lit book, particularly the fact that this book is written about women who are over the "young" age of 40 something and are looking for younger men! Gasp!!!!! I loved it!!!! Its about time we reverse the roles here and this book basically describes my life to a "T". Yes, people, there are no guys my age left (or at least it feels that way) and actually, one of the only men I have ever loved was 10 years younger than I - so, I had a lot invested in reading this novel.
First of all, the characters are smart and witty and interesting. No wimpy little "poor me" characteres here and led by Kate - they are about to go on an interesting and kind of scary trek into the world of dating younger men.
The writing, although very smart, is also funny and down to earth. I found myself shaking my head at so many of the descriptions in the book and particularly at the reflections made by the women as they try to naviguate their way through romance and men of all ages.
I also like that the overall message is positive and optimistic - never give up on love (although I have, personally, wanted to do this many times). I loved, this chick lit book and I suggest you get to know The Cougar Club.
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navigateing the minefield of men and life makeovers at middle age.
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| Reviewer: Julie A. Earhart, St. Louis, mo United States |
Meet Kat, Elise, and Carla---the three fabulous women who star in author Susan McBride's new series, The Cougar Club. With this new book, McBride leaps from Maggie the hard-boiled detective; Andie, the dropout debutant; and the three high school debs to ahem, women of a certain age. Closer to forty-five to be precise. McBride's trademark style of humor and sarcasm makes the leap effortlessly, providing readers of all ages a guaranteed laugh.
When Kat loses her Manhattan advertising, she realizes she has also had enough of her boyfriend/boy-toy, Roger. She packs her stuff and heads back home to St. Louis. The Gateway City is just what Kat needs to soothe her soul. Not only is it "home," it's where her two best friends have stayed.
There's local newswoman Carla, the face of St. Louis, who is being nudged out of her anchor chair by a blond bimbo, in much the way Carla forced out her predecessor. To round out the trio is dermatologist Elise, who everyone thinks has the perfect marriage, the perfect husband, and the perfect kids. However, poor Elise is suffering from a less-than-perfect sex life with the only man whom she's ever slipped between the sheets.
While Kat tries to decide what to do with the rest of her life, she helps Elise and Carla navigates the minefield of men and life makeovers at middle age.
The Cougar Club is not only a celebration of women but of friendship and life and, finally, getting what you want out of life. There are three surprises waiting for the three friends and for the readers that will leave them with an OMG-I can't-wait-for-the next-book longing.
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fun tale
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| Reviewer: Harriet Klausner, |
Forty-five year old New Accounts advertising team leader Kat Maguire is downsized after fifteen loyal years at her firm; when she finds her twenty-eight years old lover Roger having cyber sex she downsizes him. She decides to go home to St. Louis where her family and two BFFs live.
Her buddy Carla Moss is a successful news anchor, but the station seems to be grooming a bimbo replacement. She also has personal problems as her beloved mom is losing her grip on realty.
Dermatologist Dr. Lisie Randolph has been successful at work, with raising her kids and apparently in marriage. However, the empty nest syndrome is hammering at her while her spouse whom she married in college ignores her.
These three middle age women in terrific shape physically, but a bit down mentally unto they re-forge their friendship and go on the prowl as cougars hunting young male meat. However, each knows deep inside their soul they really seek love, commitment and the meaning of life.
This is a fun tale of three women seeking their groove as middle age has each wondering if that is all there is to life while attempting to hang onto their dwindling youth. The characters are solid including the support cast of each of the lead females and the rotating point of view enhances understanding what each wants. Although somewhat unlikely perhaps even over the top of the Arch, fans will root for the Cougar Club members to get what they want.
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Always love cougar books
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| Reviewer: Sonja Paris, Ohio, USA |
Society has come far over the years. For hundreds and hundreds of years nobody thought anything of it when an older man married a much younger woman. Now us middle-aged women turned the pages. I think this time is the best time of all to be a middle-aged woman, and books like this make aware of it. I am glad to see that!
Sonja Paris, author of MAKE THE COUGAR PURR |
FUN BOOK
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| Reviewer: ITZME, Dallas, TX |
| This is a fun book involving three 45-year old women friends in crisis. Kat is an advertising exec in NYCity, Elise is a married St Louis MO mother of an 18 year old and she is also a dermatologist, and Carla is a STL newscaster. Their lives all take a turn for the worse. Good advice ito be gleaned from this book. |
A Sparkling, Bubbly Novel with the Bite and Roar of a Tiger
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| Reviewer: birchleaf, |
Susan McBride's "The Cougar Club" is humorous and at times, so serious you want to cry for Carla, Elise and Kat. These three women grew up in Missouri. Then, each one followed their particular destiny. Now, after hitting their forties, the women come back together in St. Louis to share where they've been, what they've been doing and most importantly what has been done to them by "men" and society. Each woman's emotional pain was so deep I could not choose one as the most victimized. I did wonder about how much control we allow or must allow men to have over our lives. I do believe it is easier for a man to turn forty and older than it is for a woman.
What I liked about the book is the reality of the situations.The Cougar Club is about a woman's fear of aging, the strain to prove ourselves as still and always necessary parts of society and always making time for women who are facing the same obstacles. Becoming "catty" is not the wise way to gather strength to your heart and soul. In "The Cougar Club" Susan Mcbride tells just what is needed to get through this narrow tunnel in our lives. These women needed one another, friendship. Honest friendship allows for tears, anger and plain out runaway, wanna-quit fatigue. Thomas Wolfe wrote a book titled "You Can't Go Home Again." How beautiful when just the opposite is true, and you can go home again.
I like a book when all of my emotions are rubbed raw. Susan Mcbride took me out of my home and put me in the homes of other women. I felt like a woman listening to some parts of my past all over again. Boy, I asked myself hard questions. I laughed about not knowing how to dance with the boy I most wanted to impress at the party. Still, I won the masquerade party prize for the best costume. My mother made that costume. It was lovely. So, I would like to thank Susan McBride for a bit of nostalgia. "The Cougar Club" also reminded me of Erma Bombeck's famous words or a book title. "If Life is a Bowl of Cherries-What Am I doing Down in the Pits?"
Is it possible Susan McBride can read minds or is she just so in tune with a woman's spirit? Because at the end of the book Susan writes "Susan's Five Fabulous Rules for Forty-Somethings." Since I'm well past forty, I tend to think her words of wisdom are useful to any woman at any time.
By the way, through the wonders of the virtual world, I had the chance to meet Susan. What a lady! Remember to cliche "he or she doesn't meet a stranger?" That is a good description of Susan McBride. She is not false. She is a woman made to befriend other women through her books or just sipping a glass of lemonade at a cafe and sharing a heavy conversation. |
Reading with Tequila
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| Reviewer: Jennifer Sicurella, New Jersey, USA |
Reading The Cougar Club was a sad and joyful and even a bit scary experience. The women in The Cougar Club were not anything like how cougars are usually portrayed. Three friends are reunited just as their worlds threaten to crumble. The book shows the importance of having real friends you can count on to be there for you in good times and bad.
Getting older as a woman can be terrifying. The toll aging takes on women in their business and romantic lives is the main focus of The Cougar Club. It's dealt with beautifully here with a lighthearted humor that makes the book comforting and reassuring.
None of the women were out to randomly score with young guys in the predator-like way the name cougar suggests. Women feel bad about themselves when men abandon them for newer, shinier models both personally and professionally and that was the message here. The younger men were mostly in the background. The Cougar Club is a humorous and hopeful novel about truly finding yourself after 40. |
Smart Womens Fiction
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| Reviewer: Staci, Michigan |
| I enjoyed every single page of this book. I'm 41 and could so relate to how each of these characters felt about their bodies, faces, careers, and lives in general. I connected immediately with Elise because I know how hard it is to keep a marriage going, having children, and still trying to find time for yourself. This book was perfect timing for me because when I look in the mirror I see a frumpy looking woman staring back at me...who is that person??? I don't feel my age, but damn sometimes I look it!! Saturday I had my hair cut and colored, it's amazing how just a little bit of time spent on yourself can change the way you think about your appearance. The cougar term is one that I don't necessarily like, but I do know that I feel pretty good when a younger guy does a double-take...makes my self-esteem go up just a bit. For me, though, there should not be a term like this for when a woman loves a younger man...if they have that connection then I say go for it...regardless of the age!!! Overall, I felt that this was a very well-written novel and totally enjoyable!! I can honestly recommend this to any of my friends....even those younger ones, because believe it or not...you will be 40+ someday!!! P.S. The discussion guide with the author at the end of the story is fantastic!!! |
A great read.
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| Reviewer: Monica Garcia, Arlington, Texas USA |
When Kat gets fired from her advertising job after 15 years she flees Manhattan for her home town in St. Louis. She leaves behind a much younger boyfriend who won't make a commitment and much worse, she doesn't fully trust. After a few days of feeling sorry for herself she finally gets up the courage to look up her old best friends, Carla and Elise.
Carla is the city's top rated news anchor yet her ex-husband, the station manager, is gently pushing her aside to make his much younger (and bustier) girlfriend the next big thing. Now "What comes around, goes around." is all to true as she remembers doing the same to secure her own job many years ago.
The Empty Nest Syndrome has got Elise very firmly in it's grasp. After her son leaves to college in Austin, Elise realizes that her husband has grown distant in recent months and she has a nagging feeling that he's seeing someone else. But she doesn't have the courage to confront him so she goes about her days as if nothing is wrong and spends night after night torturing herself with thoughts of what her husband might be up to.
For the three women in their forties, being back together again is just what they need to snap them out of their blues and find their true happiness, even if it means being on the hunt for a much younger cub.
The Cougar Cub was a great one-day read. Being 36 I could totally relate to these women because their stories were genuine. Their friendship keeps them strong and after a few rough patches they each come out on top to do as Kat says and, "Live Real". I highly recommend this one for fans of chick-lit. |
A Well-Written, Humorous Novel!
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| Reviewer: Marilyn W., Chicago, IL USA |
McBride has done a wonderful job on this novel, crafting it with wit, sophistication and heart. The three heroines of the story (Kat, Elise and Carla) are very different from each other, but they're each struggling with their lives as forty-somethings and they're at a place where they need to reevaluate what's working and not in their relationships and careers.
I think any woman who's lived long enough to deal with aging beyond thirty and society's expectations and misperceptions of what our lives "should" look like, will greatly enjoy this humorously written novel and will appreciate the insights and character growth of these three friends.
A delightful and fun book! |
More about friendship than cougars, so don't be alarmed
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| Reviewer: Megan Snider, Maryland |
After decades apart, high school best friends Kat, Elise and Carla are reunited in their hometown of St. Louis after Kat loses her position at a New York City-based advertising agency. Now in their mid-forties, the three ladies who comprise their unofficial "Cougar Club" share their trials and triumphs over a glass (or two) of champagne -- and teach each other, and the reader, that age really is just a number.
THE COUGAR CLUB lets us alternate seeing the world from each woman's perspective which, when done well, works great for me. I'm happy to report McBride made Elise, Kat and Carla individual women and successfully blended their unique, sometimes snarky "voices" with that of the omnipresent, all-knowing narrator. It was easy to flit back and forth between each friend as she struggled with the myriad of issues doing a number on her energy and self-confidence, though I liked Kat's sections best.
Where does all the talk of "cougars" come in? Both Kat and Carla have their respective "boy toys," which isn't really a fair term for them. Kat was in a committed relationship with a man almost twenty years her junior and, though it didn't work out, it was a real relationship -- despite the chiding of her family. Carla's trysts, on the otherhand, come off the most "cougarish" of them all... and I can't say I was entirely comfortable with that! But they didn't offend me on a deep level. It was just a tad awkward.
The novel was less about "cougars," a term which makes some cringe, and more about friendships -- developing them, keeping them, learning from them. At the heart of this book are three women who care for each other and try to protect each other as they all search for that big, elusive love. Even if, you know, he's young enough to be her son. (Or at least a much younger nephew.) THE COUGAR CLUB is a quick read sure to please lovers of women's fiction with some genuinely hilarious and poignant moments. |
Enjoyable, but a little too much product placement
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| Reviewer: Word Gal, Detroit, MI USA |
I really did enjoy this book. It was a breezy summer read, and I finished it very quickly, because I liked the characters and wanted to see how they all ended up. I also think the author is a good writer.
My only quibble is the excruciating amount of detail. One of the characters mentions that someone gave up a mansion off Litzsinger in Ladue. Another character couldn't just drive down the Interstate; she had to drive down the 64/40 and get off the Fourteenth Street exit and turn left on Clark Street and end up in front of the Scottrade Center (paraphrasing here). Realism is one thing, and I appreciate that she seems to know St. Louis really well, but do we really need exact directions? That same character's mouth was foaming with Colgate. Why not just say toothpaste? Love isn't just comfy and warm, it's comfy and warm like a Snuggie. I know I sound like I'm nitpicking, but it just got annoying after a while and took me out of the story. A few mentions scattered through a story are atmosphere; too many and they become commercials.
I would definitely read another book by her if she would just dial down all the details, though. So if that sort of thing doesn't bother you, I can recommend this one. |
Delightful book about women's friendships & life
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| Reviewer: LovesCatsBooks&Music, Illinois |
| I am a fan of Ms. Mcbride's mystery series so I had high hopes going into this book. Luckily I was not let down. I loved each woman in The Cougar Club and her quest for love & happiness. The writing is as quirky & charming as her debutant dropout mysteries. Women past 35 will esp. enjoy this and find so much to relate to. |
The Cougar Club
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| Reviewer: Samantha J, Des Moines, IA |
The Cougar Club by Susan McBride isn't to be passed just because you aren't a cougar! A cougar, a term coined popular by celebrities such as Demi Moore, is when an older woman hooks a young man, such as Ashton Kutcher. The three characters in this novel are high school friends that drifted apart but are now coming back together, all in their 40's and at a crucial point in their lives. Kat has just been fired from her cushy job and broke off her relationship with her younger man, and ran from New York to her hometown of St. Louis in need of the comfort from her family and friends. Carla is the top anchorwoman that is determined not to let a much younger bimbo steal her job and spotlight, and Elise is watching her marriage fall apart, convinced her husband is having an affair. The three friends tighten their bond and help one another through their separate journeys.
I found The Cougar Club to be a smart, witty, and thought-provoking novel. The characters are all extremely likeable and down to earth, making it easy to feel their problems and search for the solutions along with them. I am not in the "cougar" age yet, but that didn't hinder my reading experience at all. The life lessons, love lessons, and overall meaning of what true friendships are all about makes this book a must read for chick lit fans.
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Don't let the title mis-lead you - this is about friendships
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| Reviewer: Bermudaonion, |
Kat worked in advertising and lived happily with her younger boyfriend. Her world suddenly came crashing around her all in one day - she lost her job and discovered her boyfriend watching porn on his computer. Shattered, she returned home to St. Louis and rekindled her friendship with Carla and Elise - her two closest childhood friends.
Carla, the evening news anchor, is obsessed with staying fit and youthful, so she can keep her job. Her boyfriend is the station's younger sportscaster.
Elise is a dermatologist married to her childhood sweetheart, a plastic surgeon. Their only child has gone off to college and they're not only suffering from empty nest syndrome, but their marriage seems to have lost its spark. When Elise's son's old hockey coach comes to visit her about a rash, Elise is appalled by the attraction she feels.
The three friends are able to pick up where they left off and re-kindle their friendship. Along the way, they discover just how much good friends can mean.
I think the title of The Cougar Club by Susan McBride is a little mis-leading. Yes, the women are in their forties and they're each involved with a younger man at some point in the book, but that's not really what the book is about. It's about being true to yourself and the importance of friendship. I enjoyed this book and I liked all three of the main characters, even though I didn't like everything they did. I also think the book had a good message about surviving and taking care of yourself.
Susan McBride says the characters in the book don't like the term "cougar" and at the end of the book she shares how she became an "accidental cougar". |
Just couldn't finish it.
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| Reviewer: Renee Pruett, |
| I can usually make it through a book, even if it's not that great. We get attached to the characters and need to see them through. I just couldn't finish this book. The dialogue is so predictable. The story is predictable. The author tries to hard to get the point across. No credit is given to the reader. Things are over-explained. This was a boring read with shallow characters. Well, at least half of the book is..... I don't know about the last half. |
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