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Frances Garrood
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Women Behaving Badly: An uplifting, feel-good read Kindle Edition

by Frances Garrood (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 592 ratings
Your next summer read! Perfect for fans of Gill Sims, Sophie Kinsella and Jojo Moyes…

Three women, three affairs, and a self-help group with a difference…

Alice is a harried single mother dealing with a teenage son, an irresponsible ex, and a noncommittal lover.

Mavis is juggling caring for her elderly, confused mother alongside her long-standing affair with a hypochondriac father-of-two.

And Gabs is a high-class escort who’s fallen in love with someone completely unattainable.

All three women are behaving in ways very much frowned upon by the Catholic Church. But their priest, Father Cuthbert is determined to reform them.

As the three women strike up an unlikely friendship, each re-evaluates what is most important them. And it seems the not-so-holy trinity of Alice, Mavis, and Gabs can’t be ‘cured’ that easily…

WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY is an uplifting romantic comedy about women finding their identities and learning the value of female friendships. It is a holiday read about sex & relationships that is full of humour, wit and tear-jerking reality, from a strong voice in women’s fiction.

‘a deftly painted and witty story’ – Eliza Graham

‘an interesting story well told, with just the right amount of humour’ – librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.co.uk

‘Funny, clever, wry and poignant’ – randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.co.uk

‘Frances Garrood is a magnificent writer’ – thebookbag.co.uk

*** PLEASE NOTE THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS BASIC THEOLOGY FOR FALLEN WOMEN ***
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  1. Print length
    379 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 5, 2018
  4. File size
    1.5 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07CT126ZM
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (July 5, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 5, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.5 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 379 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 592 ratings

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Frances Garrood

Frances Garrood

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
592 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Ingdur
    5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best Kindle books I have read so far
    Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I have read about 450 Kindle books so far, and this is one of the best. It is not even my kind of book, I read mostly whodunnits. But this attracted me, and I have love every page of it. I hope the writer makes a follow up ! it is that good. Specially like the unusual ending ! Great book. Highly recommended.
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  • Patricia statham
    4.0 out of 5 stars sweet love story of three women
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2019
    Three women all of different classes form a great friendship through a self help group . Each woman has their problems and their quirks . Alice is trying to keep her teenage son on the straight and narrow while her ex is just a big kid . Mavis well she has her hands full with her elderly mother and tries juggling her long term with a father of two . And then there is Gabs, she is in love with someone that she knows she can't have . oh and did i say that she is a high class call girl . All three women strike up a great friend ship and play havoc on the church group .
    These characters are very well written and complex . Each woman has their problems but when they are together they come out well . Alice is sweet but also really frazzled single mom , who is trying to keep it all together . Gabs is hilarious character , she is sassy feisty and such a fun read . I love her so much. Mavis is the rock that holds them together is some ways . She is strong but also weak in ways that will have you loving her .
    This is a unique book , I sat down and started reading and was sucked in by the second chapter; each character is charming and they all have some past that interacts with each other . I love that they turn a church group on its head . The author takes us on an emotional fun filled ride through the trials and tribulations of these three women . You will love them and also want to hit them upside the head a few times with some of the stuff they do . I did find a few spots a little boring but it didn't take away from the story line at all .. This would be a great book for any book group and for you summer reading list . Check it out .
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  • *TUDOR^QUEEN*
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three unique women form "Adulterers Anonymous" group
    Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
    Thank you to Sapere Books who provided an advance reader copy which I chose to read and review.

    Months ago I read my first book by author Frances Garrood entitled "Dead Ernest" which I rated 5 stars. I thought to myself, "I've found a really good author here. I'll have to keep my eye out for her future offerings." A short time later Sapere Books offered me another Garrood tome entitled "Cassandra's Secret" which I again awarded 5 stars. Being "two for two" I jumped at the chance to read this one, but was sadly disappointed. Unfortunately, I can barely award this 3 stars and if I was reading this for myself would have probably abandoned it midway.

    For a brief synopsis, this focuses on the lives of three ladies with very different lives. They all attended a self-help group for adulterers at a Catholic Church. The group was really an "Adulterers Anonymous" of sorts, but to maintain confidentiality, the supervising priest dubbed the meetings "Theology for Beginners." There were meetings like this for other kinds of problems like drug and alcohol addiction, so why not for forbidden relationships? Of the original ten members, some ended their illicit unions, one divorced, another committed suicide...and these three remaining women remained unrepentant. To that end, the supervising priest felt he could no longer host these meetings at the church, leaving them to decide to continue the meetings amongst themselves.

    *Gabs is a very sexy young woman with a heart of gold. While working part-time for an adult care agency, she is also functioning as a prostitute on the side. One of her regular clients is a gentleman who (while naked) goes on all fours and pretends he is a dog. Gabs doesn't have a boyfriend and has never been in love, but finds herself hopelessly attracted to young Father Augustine at church.

    *Alice is a journalist and mother to teenage Finn, a product of a drunken one night stand at a party. As Finn's biological father, Trot has been stepping up to spend more time with Finn. Alice barely remembers their coupling on that fateful night, and in the sober light of day is really not interested in a permanent romantic relationship with Trot. However, she has been conducting an affair with married Clifford for many years, a recent retiree with an obsession for his imagined (and sometimes real) medical conditions.

    *Mavis has been working for decades at Mr. Strong's menswear store, helping confused wives choose socks, shirts and ties for their husbands. She lives in a small home with her elderly mother Maudie who suffers from dementia and drags around her foley catheter that collects urine (makes it so much easier not to worry about it!). For years, Mavis has been involved with a doctor named Jay behind the back of his lawyer wife Angela. Mavis never married or had a child and often thinks she wasted her youthful years on Jay.

    The story takes place in England (as all of Garrood's books have that I've read) which is always appealing to me. Garrood has a quiet and simple way of writing about ordinary lives that I love, much in the way author Anne Tyler's books affect me. However, this story just didn't gel for me or snag my interest. It's hard for me to put my finger on just what exactly is wrong with this story, but after some hard thinking the words silly and improbable come to mind.
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  • JAR
    5.0 out of 5 stars Original, unique, humorous! What a ride!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2018
    Behaving Badly by Frances Garrood first published as Basic Theology for Fallen Women in 2012, is a most original tale of three very different women. Alice, an early forties journalist and single mother, Mavis., a fifty-something spinster who cares for her aged mother and works at a haberdashery, and Gabs, a young health care worker with the elderly and self described tart, seemingly have absolutely nothing in common.

    The three women first met in an archdiocese program given the misleading name of Basic Theology. The program was actually set up to encourage adulterers to shun their ways and return to their marriages and the tenants of their religion. Alice and Mavis have both been in long term relationships with married men. Gabs has a lucrative sideline of escort of the role playing kind.

    The program had a large degree of success, leaving only these three women in the group. When the priest in charge feels he can do no more, they set forth to be their own little group inasmuch as they find great solace in having people they can openly talk to about their lives and relationships. Although so vastly different, these women become close and reliable friends.

    This story encompasses the evolution of their lives, their meetings, and those people closest to them. For Alice it is her son and his ne’er do well father Trot, who is involved peripherally in his son’s life and is a struggling artist. Mavis’s aging mother Maudie is a loving albeit forgetful lady who touches each one’s heart and will make you smile. And Gabs has her sister Steph and all the things her life brings in to play as well as interesting relationships with clients and employers alike.

    Through their loves, losses, errors, and trials, these ladies prove to be more family than friend. With surprising twists and humor that will bring laugh out loud responses, I truly enjoyed this very unique story. I have never read anything like it before and I definitely recommend this book!
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Meerkat
    4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, made me laugh out loud. Sometimes sad but very good reading.
    Reviewed in Australia on June 6, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    It was a very easy book to read. This stuff happens in our real lives. So funny I laughed and then so sad I cried but then the book had a way of making you happy again. I loved it.
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  • asandas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Goodness
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I have ever read anything like this book. I have read many books and this has and will be highly recommended to friends. The characters are fantastic lovable friendly women that will become friends. I laughed and oh did I cry. The storey so gently unfolds and the women develop along with it. You are not forced into needed to know everything about all the characters straight away. With the developing relationships you get to know them along with each other. Fantastic.
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  • Linda
    5.0 out of 5 stars women Behaving Badly
    Reviewed in Australia on September 13, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book gave me many laughs. Just what I needed at this time of stress to lift my spirits. Well written.
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  • D. C. A. Price
    4.0 out of 5 stars Another fun read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Having loved “Ruth Robinson’s Year of Miracles” I downloaded Fraces Garrood’s other books and read this one next. Didn’t enjoy it quite as much tho still entertaining. The characters just seemed a little too much like caricatures- downtrodden mistress, tart with a heart (well, mostly with a heart!) and mum trying to avoid telling teenage son about her married lover. And the author does seem to like characters who are hypochondriacs - Clifford in this book and Uncle Silas in “Ruth Robinson”. But still a lovely bit of escapism and so witty and well written.
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  • NoMercy
    3.0 out of 5 stars A huge blot on the feel-good aspect.
    Reviewed in Australia on January 14, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This was the last of Garroods books left for me to read and I think I was put off by the Title. It was just as well-written and engaging as her other books, but for one very jarring element.
    I was disturbed and horrified by the predatory activity and rape that took place in the book. The aftermath of this was glossed over and the behavior never taken seriously or called out for what it was. It's as if the perpetrator just got away with it, which never sits well.
    It made it very hard to appreciate the character and I feel it's presence in the story could have been avoided, or been the whole story.
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