I’ve always liked my women a little bad. Give me the imperfect, the wrathful, the vindictive. In my opinion, those are the women who have the most fun. In my debut, Women of Good Fortune, three women decide to dismiss societal expectations and make their own fortunes. Reluctant bride Lulu cannot imagine herself marrying her bland, rich fiancé, and so she devises a heist with her best friends, luxury-chasing Jane and career-oriented Rina.
If they can steal away the red envelopes that their well-to-do guests gift at Lulu’s wedding, then each of these women will get closer to the life she so desperately desires. As they get closer and closer to the wedding day, though, unforeseen obstacles appear, forcing the women to question their friendship and what they truly want.
I’ve included some of my favorite books with women behaving badly. Be careful of these ladies—they have charming smiles, but they bite.
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft
Bea has seduction down to an art form, rigorously trained into her psyche by her equally crafty mother. But she’s ready to retire, and what better way than to marry an established blue-blood and have all his assets within her disposal? Told in Bea’s sarcastic, cutting voice, the story is full of twists and turns, along with an arresting cat-and-mouse game that Bea plays with her target’s lovelorn best friend. I was rooting for our intrepid conwoman to succeed the whole way.
The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
London, 1905. Mrs. King gets unceremoniously let go from her position as housekeeper of one of the grandest homes in Mayfair. After the wrongs that have been committed towards her, she pulls together a crew of skilled women to ransack her former place of employment during a grand costume ball. It’s always refreshing to watch the wronged take back power for themselves, especially during a period when social hierarchy was defined so rigidly. I can never resist a good heist, and this one was no exception.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
It doesn’t get worse than stealing the unpublished manuscript of the woman who was supposedly your friend, all while appropriating an identity that was never yours. Yellowface is an unsettling portrayal of the publishing world and the lengths one woman is willing to go for recognition and fame, helped along by the arbitrary opinions of a judgmental public. June Hayward’s transformation into Juniper Song is chilling, more so because it hits a bit too close to home.
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
We’re all looking for side hustles these days to diversify our revenue streams. Counterfeit introduces one that you’ll kick yourself for not thinking of: scamming greedy consumers with luxury replicas. The book switches between the perspectives of straight-laced Ava and her calculating college roommate Winnie. The two of them band together to execute on this bold con, but there’s plenty of mistrust and suspicion. Beyond its many insights into the luxury goods trade, the book also explores the model minority myth, our modern-day obsession with consumerism, and Western exceptionalism.
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
There’s nothing like a dead body to ruin a wedding. So begin the trials and tribulations of our protagonist Meddy, who must team up with her nosy and distractible aunts to make it through a billionaire’s island wedding without letting anyone discover that there’s also a corpse onsite. The aunties steal the show—they’re equally as likely to shove a body in a trash bag as they are to peel you a mango. Layer on top an ex who happens to be the hotel manager and a bunch of unwieldy drunk groomsmen, and you’ve got unrelenting, hilarious chaos. Pick this up for a nonstop joyride.
Every Last Secret by A. R. Torre
Beautiful, stately Cat welcomes a new neighbor next door: ambitious, cunning Neena. Cat has everything, and Neena wants what Cat has. The stakes heighten as their lives becoming increasingly intertwined, and Neena meets Cat toe-to-toe in her efforts to lie, backstab, and assert her dominance. Unlikable as these women are, you have to respect their efforts. This is an exceedingly well-crafted tale of toxic friendship and a warning: you don’t know what these women are capable of.
The Whispers by Audrey Audrain
The Whispers starts with a child’s fall out of his bedroom window and brings us back in time to the events leading up to this fatal moment. At the center of this book are four women who live in the same neighborhood, but who lead very different lives. Over the course of the story, we learn about their struggles with self-doubt, perfectionism, and motherhood. There are plenty of secrets and betrayal, but the reason this story lingers is its raw, unapologetic look into womanhood.
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