Grade: 4.5 out of 5

The Professors’ Wives’ Club tells the story of four women who do battle with a ruthless dean at Manhattan U – a university which looks a lot like NYU where my own husband is a professor! The power hungry dean is set to bulldoze a faculty garden. What he hasn’t bargained for, however, is the guts and will of four professors’ wives who are determined to halt the demolition plans and save the garden which has become their meeting place and refuge. In their fight with the dean, the women expose the dark underbelly of academia – and find the courage to stand up for their own dreams, passions, and lives.

I was lucky enough to get this book from the author herself and sometimes I get really scared about taking on a book sent to me from an author because I know that the author will be expecting a review and if I don’t like a book, I’m going to be honest about it. I’m glad that I can say with a sincere heart that I really enjoyed this book.

This book is about a garden that brought 4 different women with different issues, backgrounds and personalities together. It’s about friendships and conquering your fears and about dealing with issues that need to be dealt with in order to move on with your life. We have Mary, who is married to a fame seeking dean who is abusive then we have Hannah, who is an ex model pursuing her art dream in which her husband doesn’t understand or fully support. Ashleigh is a young lawyer who has a secret to tell her staunch father and Sofia, a stay at home mom who used to be a hot shot agent for Hollywood’s hot shot actors but gave all that up to be a Mom to her kids but is finding out that being a SAHM isn’t all it’s cracked out to be.

Four different women, all of whom we get to know very well over the course of this book and while you’re cheering each woman on in each of their own little journeys, you see each of them coming together to save the garden that brought them all together. You see, the evil Dean Havemeyer is plotting to destroy their favorite little garden to build a parking lot and they aren’t going to stand by and let it go without a fight.

I don’t even know which woman was my favorite because there was something in each of them that I really liked. I liked that Mary had a plan of action in place and when things were altered in her life, she didn’t let that stop her from going through with her plan. I liked that Hannah finally stood up to her husband and did what was best for her instead of blindly following him wherever he went. Ashleigh was aware of how retarded she was acting, she wasn’t blind to her faults and I loved that she owned her thoughts, her actions and when she finally stood up to her father, I was glad that she had understanding Sam to be there with her through it all. With Sofia, I really enjoyed her spunky attitude. Her take charge attitude got things done for these four women and I loved how they all grew close just by enjoying going to the garden.

I liked how they all stood together, supported each other and were the best of friends even after knowing each other such a short time. This book made me treasure the friends that I have and made me realize how lucky I am to have the friends that I do. My ride or die chicks, who would totally go to war with a nasty dean to save a garden, I have the same kind of friends these women became to each other and that’s always a good thing.

The story as a whole was a good one. I wasn’t bored reading the story, I enjoyed it and am glad that I had the opportunity to read it. I’d definitely recommend this to those chick lit lovers who are looking for something light and full of friendship. This is the perfect read when you’re at the park, sitting under a great big tree, it’s a delightful story to fall into and you’ll be cheering the characters on throughout the book.

A great read!

This book is available from NAL Trade. You can buy it here or here in e-format.