Aj Sterkel's Reviews > A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions

Have you ever finished a book and were disappointed, but y0u're not sure if it's the book's fault or your own fault? That's me with A Sisterhood Of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg. It's not what I expected, but maybe that's on me? I didn't do enough research before buying it.

A Sisterhood Of Secret Ambitions is alternate history set in the 1920s. It's about a secret society of women who infiltrate American politics by seducing powerful men and influencing their political agendas. At this point in (alternate) history, women don't have any political power. The only way they can make their voices heard is by getting men to speak for them.

The secret society identifies an eighteen-year-old man who may become a future presidential candidate. The main character and her friends are sent to insert themselves into his life.

I adore this premise. There's so much potential for backstabbing and manipulation and messy emotions. I mean, imagine being that eighteen-year-old future politician. Imagine discovering that your friendships and romance are based on lies. That would be unsettling! It would be even worse to discover that your mother contacted a secret society to direct your entire adult life.

However, that's not what the book is about. That's what I thought it would be about. The actual book is kind of bland. The writing is clunky. The pacing is a disaster. There's no character development whatsoever. The author really beats you over the head with the "women are important" moral.

In reality, the main character doesn't want to be in the secret society. She's not interested in being a wife. She doesn't care about politician boy's feelings. It's a story about a teenage girl ignoring a secret society and becoming a writer. She learns to be the #GirlBoss of her own life. That's great, but I've read this story before. I was hoping for something new.

I understand that the author is subverting tropes. She doesn't want to write about bitchy women squabbling over a powerful man. But, the story didn't have to be that. The secret society is intricate and fascinating. I feel like the author threw away a bunch of cool world-building to give us a stereotypical historical fiction plot.

This book isn't what I wanted it to be. That's probably my fault and not the book's. My expectations were very, very wrong.