Welcome to Em’s Book Club! A monthly instalment of my carefully selected picks for your book club or just a great read to keep on your radar.  
 

For February, I’ve been spoilt for choice but decided to kick things off with Whenever You’re Ready by Trish Bolton.
A moving and heartfelt story of the shared relationships between three women whose lives are suddenly jarred by loss and the betrayal of someone they thought they knew.

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After finishing this book, I can confirm it has four of my immediate ticks:

• Family Drama with a capital D

• At least one gasp-worthy reveal

• Terrible people being put in their place

• Adorable dogs

But, a forewarning, this book does NOT pull its dramatic punches and I recommend keeping tissues on-hand. Diving straight in, the story starts with two deaths that shock close friends Lizzie and Alice, and Margo, Lizzie’s adult daughter. Lizzie and Margot’s relationship, which is tenuous at best, is further strained when Lizzie is confronted with a decades-old secret that affects her whole family and friendship with Alice. Add to that bubbling combo, each character’s own personal struggles including addiction recovery, overcoming infant loss, financial instability and growing invisibility they feel in their place in the world. I was unprepared for this story’s many hidden hooks, and Trish Bolton is an exceptional writer in bringing these women to life with wit, humour and grace. Alice, especially, was a stand-out for me.

Whenever You’re Ready stands in the same rank as Charlotte Wood’s The Weekend and Jacquie Byron’s Happy Hour
in its artful exploration of the complex lives of older women (and their adorable dogs). I give this book five out of
five watermelon slices. And now, it’s time for a cocktail.