Book Review: The Calamity Club

I went into The Calamity Club expecting something special and for a while, it really delivered. Unfortunately, what started as a promising and engaging story ended up being one of the more disappointing reads I’ve had in a long time. Not because it was poorly written, but because it never quite lived up to its potential.

A Strong Start

For the first half of the book, I was completely hooked. The story takes its time introducing the characters, giving us insight into their pasts and the circumstances that shaped them. I found myself genuinely invested in both Birdie and Meg, rooting for them and eager to see how their journeys would unfold.

A Turn That Didn’t Work

Then, somewhere around the halfway point, the story takes a turn that completely lost me.

The solution to everyone’s financial struggles? Opening a pop-up brothel.

Yes, really.

Set up near a university to cater to college boys, this plot point felt jarring and out of place. The brothel doesn’t even open until about 65% into the book, operates for only a couple of weeks, and somehow generates an unrealistic amount of money. It stretched believability to the breaking point and pulled me right out of the story.

Frustrating Character Arcs

Meg’s storyline becomes increasingly frustrating as well. She’s adopted into a new family, only for it to be just as unstable and dysfunctional as her previous situation. Her adoptive father (one of the few genuinely likeable characters) dies, which felt unnecessarily bleak.

Meanwhile, Birdie’s romantic subplot with a divorced man didn’t add much to the story. It wasn’t terrible, but it felt unnecessary and underdeveloped, especially given everything else going on.

Missed Opportunities

What disappointed me most is how much time the book spends on side plots, while skipping over the parts I actually wanted to see. I would have loved more focus on the aftermath: how the characters processed everything and rebuilt their lives.

Instead, the novel ends on what feels like a cliffhanger. Meg is reunited with her mother, but there’s no real sense of closure or direction for what comes next.

Final Thoughts

The Calamity Club had all the ingredients to be a fantastic read: compelling characters, emotional depth, and an intriguing premise. But it ultimately felt too long, too unfocused, and too distracted by detours that didn’t pay off.

In the end, it left me feeling more frustrated than satisfied.