Author: Nicola Moriarty
ISBN: 978-1-4607-5331-6
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Those Other Women is the first book I have come across by Nicola Moriarty and I am eagerly awaiting the chance to read it. I have heard really good things about this one, as well as her previous release The Fifth Letter.
It’s on my shelf clamouring for my attention, but it has also arrived on the doorsteps of dedicated Beauty and Lace Club members who have read it and are waiting for the chance to tell you what they thought.
Those Other Women takes a look at the very controversial issues surrounding women with children and women without. It is often said that mothers are forever being judged for every little thing about their parenting, from the things they can control to the things that they never really had a say in. But it isn’t only mothers that are being judged because childless women also find themselves on the receiving end of judgement for their lifestyles. I think as a society there is a lot more judgement these days, or is it just that the anonymity and the dutch courage provided by the keyboard allow people to feel that they can be a lot more vocal about their judgements because there is less chance they’ll be pulled up for it.
Poppy is suffering in the aftermath of one of the worst betrayal’s, her husband left her for her best friend and now they are expecting a baby; even though he never wanted children. Her work colleague becomes a new friend and is determined to make the most of their freedom. They start a Facebook group to meet other women like them in the area, and offer a safe space to vent a little.
A safe space to vent is a little too good to be true and when the group takes off the frustrations of members starts to spill out in the real world; cafes, playgrounds and offices all become battlezones.
What started as harmless fun is becoming a runaway train.
The debate about who has it better is as old as time and I don’t think there will ever be a resolution. I think a well written and compelling story highlighting the issues has to be a good thing for society as a whole. I think the best thing to learn from anything like this is that you never know someone else’s journey so a conscious effort to try empathy instead of judgement is always a good idea.
I look forward to picking this one up one day soon but in the meantime check out what our members had to say.
Nicola Moriarty can be found at her Website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Those Other Women is published by Harper Collins and is available now through Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Harper Collins 15 of our Beauty and Lace Members are already reading Those Other Women and you can read what they thought in the comments below. Please be aware there may be spoilers.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Those Other Women is written by Nicola Moriarty, and I was given the chance to read and review this book thanks to Beauty and Lace.
It is a different sort of premise to use for a book, Poppy never wants kids and events lead up to her creating a Facebook group with her friend Annaleise called NOP (Non-mothers of Parramatta) where she finds other like minded women to share stories and experiences. It is sort of a tongue in cheek nod to MOP, a group of Mothers on Facebook. It all sort of gets out of hand when a “mole” infiltrates the NOP group who is actually a real Mum and member of MOP, and starts sharing between both groups causing fights and writes an article to build more tension.
In the end, the book comes together and everyones stories are resolved and concluded nicely. That’s probably the part I liked most about the book, that everyone put aside their frustrations and fighting and opinions to realise there are bigger issues in the world. That women should be there to help all women, not just segregate them into groups and help only those. So the ending was nicely done.
I liked how the book slowly unfolded who the NOP imposter was, it was a nice twist I didn’t see coming as a few other tid bits threw me off the case. I also liked how the book told the story from 3 differing points of view, so you got an idea of the inside personalities first hand of the different women. What I didn’t like is the bitchyness and sort of high school mentality that all the women seemed to have, it sort of made me want to rush though the book more because I just couldnt stand the sly comments and judging of others. But thats just my opinion.
Overall it was a nice read, and my first Nicola Moriarty book. Thanks to Beauty and Lace for giving me the opportunity to read Those Other Women.
I was lucky enough to review “Those Other Woman” by Nicola Moriarty. I was so excited to review this book as I had heard excellent things about it and I have loved all the other books that the Moriarty sisters have written.
Poppy, a career driven woman with no intention of having children finds out her husband, who also agreed he never wanted children (or so she thought), ends up having an affair with her best friend Karleen, and they end up expecting a baby.
Poppy wants to reinvent herself after this. She makes a new friendship with colleague Annalise, who is a little more on the wilder side than Poppy. They become very close but Poppy knows there is a story behind Annalise and tries to find this out throughout the book.
Poppy find a Mother’s Facebook Group (MOP) and can’t grip why it is only acceptable to join the group if you’re a mother, so with Annalise help, they start a Non-Mother’s Facebook Group (NOP) – for woman who don’t want kids.
Something that was meant to be harmless spins way out of control when they find out there is an imposter…or 2.. in their NOP group who is telling the mums in MOP what they are saying – this then starts an online war between groups. It spreads out into the public arena and Poppy begins to see the reality of what she has caused.
Then there is Frankie, who also works with both Poppy and Annalise. As much as she loves being a mother, she also works and carries the guilt of missing her children do stuff at school etc and there are times she envies the child free lives of the NOP’s. I think Frankie was my favourite character and probably as I could relate to her the most and how much working mums have to do and the guilt we can sometimes carry.
After realising there was a 2nd imposter, I would have never guessed who it was, so it really made you want to keep reading to find out.
I loved the ending and how they all end up uniting and also the way the lives of Poppy and Annalise end up. I really enjoyed the way Annalise’s story was eventually told. It took me a while to get into her character but after reading her story it made you realise why she was the way she is.
I highly recommend Those Other Woman and ended up reading this book in 2 days and struggled to put it down. It was very well written and a great story line that a lot of woman could relate to in many ways.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the offer to review The Other Women by Nicola Moriarty.
Even though Nicola has written other books this is the first one I have read. Poppy is a woman who has never wanted children. Poppy and her husband had agreed on that from the beginning so she thought everything was fine in her marriage. Until one night when her husband and her best friend Karleen announce they have been having an affair and her husband is leaving her. Her life changes just like that. It seems he did want children and later on they do have a child together.
Of course Poppy is devastated and her friend Annalise is there to console her. Annalise is an interesting character and throughout the book you start getting glimpses of her story which comes out in the end.
Together Poppy and Annalise decide to start a Facebook group NOP, which stands for Non Mothers of Parramatta. They had seen a Facebook group MOP which gives mothers a chance to talk to each other. So that’s when Poppy and Annalise started NOP, for women who don’t want children. NOP women discuss many things including their beleif that mothers have it easier in the workplace and get preferential treatment. For example they get to take time off and go home early because of their children.
The story becomes more interesting when their is someone, a mole who has joined NOP. In the end we find out it is a mother who is also in MOP. She becomes a troublemaker and causing fights between the groups. At the end it is surprising to find out who it is. The surprises keep coming when they find out there is a second mole.
The character of Frankie is great and seems very real. Frankie is a mother and like all mothers has mothers guilt. Trying to divide time between work, children and husband.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others. In the end I got the message that we as women should be supportive of one another, regardless of your life choices.
I think this book is a good book for women to read so that they can understand other women. There’s always more going on the new think. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
I am a huge and long time fan of the Moriarty sisters and am half way through this book which is the first one I’ve read of Nicola’s. Unfortunately I’m already waning and losing interest in the story. I will persist. It could be because I’ve had opportunity to read some amazing books lately thanks to beauty and lace.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace once again for allowing me to read this book.
This book is all about ‘sisters uniting’…..and by that I mean all women looking out for each other.
YES sometimes we get frustrated with each other , get annoyed, criticise and easily look at blaming others.
In this book we see many different characters, some of which I thought were amazing strong women and some who were bored with their lives and were looking at a little excitement.
This is a light hearted read and easy to follow.
This was a first of Nicola Moriaty I have read and enjoyed it heaps.
Thank you Nicola !
Those Other Women- Nicola Moriarty
I was lucky enough to be selected to read this book so thanks very much Beauty&Lace, I absolutely loved it! I binge read it in one night, I couldn’t get enough- the lies, secrets, twists, who did what?!?
As a women that doesn’t want children, I connected to this book in so many ways. Ive been a part of facebook goups that begin as a vent session about child free issues and have watched them turn so quickly into vile and vicious pieces of work. Ive also faced the constant disbelief that I could want to choose not to have children and have had a relationship breakdown because of it so it made poppy that much more relatable as a character for me.
The character of Annalise is wonderful, she seems 100% down to earth at the start but in the middle and towards the end of the book she is shrouded in mystery and I began to wonder if Id ever get an answer as to what was going on
Id highly recommend this book to others it gives you a great view of opinions from both “sides” and also pushes the important message that women no matter what should lift each other up not tear each other down
Thanks to Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read Those Other Women by Nicola Moriarty
Poppy has just broken up with her husband, he left her for her best friend who is now pregnant with their child. She befriends Annelise who says that she doesn’t want children and together they form a friendship. Time after time they get annoyed with women who have children and get privileges because of the fact that they have children.
After they hear about an online site for women with kids and decide to start up their own site exclusively for women who don’t have children. What begins as a bit of a social meet up place soon turns nasty when the two groups clash. They discover there is a mole in their group.
This is a interesting look at motherhood and the online dangers, where things are said, that you wouldn’t say to someones face. What is written online can be misinterpreted easily and go viral. The issues and the characters are instantly recognisable and well described.
Nicola Moriarty has captured modern life and the consequences of social media interaction. I would highly recommend Those Other Women!
Women against women!
Nicola Moriarty ‘s “The Other Women” is an entertaining read on a compelling look at what happens when people judge others. With the involvement of social media, this book is a modern take on how things can spiral quickly out of control when misunderstandings happen.
Poppy has never wanted children but when she is betrayed by her husband with her best friend who then falls pregnant, she forms a Facebook group with her newly found work friend Annalise to vent about mums. This seems to be the therapy she needs. Then on the other side, there’s Frankie, the working mum, who loves her children but sometimes needs a break too.
Nicola Moriarty has beautifully captured the feelings of each character as we learn about situations from their perspective.
Should women be taking sides on the whole ‘women with kids versus women with no kids’ dilema. Or should we all get along, allowing others to make their own life choices without judging them.
This is a fast-paced easy to read book that I recommend to other readers, and maybe we can all show a little empathy and acceptance to others instead of forming our own judgements. Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review this book by Nicola Moriarty. I have never read any of her books before but now I will keep an eye out for any future books.
Well, this certianly was a breath of fresh air! ‘Those Other Women’ is a book about this horrible attitude us women get, the whole ‘Yeah those women, they do this and get this and blah blah’. This world of social media where everyone has an opinion, and the whole girl love, have each other back has just gone out the window. Nicola nailed it! I love that this book makes the reader see from all sides, all lifestyles that yes we all have issues and we need to have each others backs. I loved this book! I enjoyed the different characters and couldn’t wait to finish it and tell my friends.
Thanks for the fab read 🙂