This book is one of several that I have seen addressing the really important issue of society's misogyny and treatment of women as well as how women can lose themselves when they see themselves through the male gaze. Eve and Harry, a couple in their mid 40s, have brought up their teenage daughter Cass to speak the truth and take her space in the world. When there's an unpleasant incident involving Cass at a gentlemen's only fundraising night, their world is turned upside down. The aftershocks from that event are felt far and wide, having unforeseen impacts for people who weren't even there on the night.
I really enjoyed the first 2/3 or so of the book, but there were times towards the end when it felt a bit too much like a lecture - until then it was going to be 5/5.

This book showed the way women are often viewed. It felt real and scary to see these characters and stories as they feel so raw and relatable.

Bad Manners is a sharp, angry, and painfully relevant novel about power, gender, and the way society constantly fails women and girls.

The characters are so well thought out that they feel completely real, and Beashel does an amazing job of getting into their heads. Cass’s rage and frustration are palpable, Eve’s slow unraveling is heartbreaking, and Harry’s obliviousness is infuriating but believable. The dialogue is sharp and natural, making their interactions feel authentic, even in the most uncomfortable moments.

For such a heavy book, there are also flashes of dark humor that stop it from feeling overwhelming. Beashel knows exactly when to let a wry observation or biting comment slip in, making the story feel even more real. It’s the kind of book that stays with you, forcing you to think about how ingrained certain attitudes are and how much damage they do.

It’s frustrating, thought-provoking, and completely gripping. I’ll definitely be adding more of her books to my bookshelf

wow. what the. just wow. this book was awful. and real. and awful and real. it felt so apt for right now. its felt too apt for right now!
it feels good to have such topics on the page. it can be a lonely world out there. a scary one. and a very dangerous one for woman. to see these topics on book written by sch brilliant authors just helps. its helps to feel seen if only in a novel. it helps to see others similar thinking,fears and occurrences.
i think this book was also very clever in telling different points of view. including the mans. this happened to be the father in this book. his narrative felt very real and relatable. and i wanted to shake him a fair few times. the mum and daughter were also brilliantly told. the daughters rage, and fearful rage was just so pulling, and heartbreaking. and also again so relatable. and even the mothers feelings seems to ripple off the page.
such a timely book. and one that wasnt unnecessary in it topics but neither did it hold back in order to make it " handle-able."

I absolutely loved this book. I recognised some aspects of the Mum character in myself and it gave me so much to reflect on as a result! The split POV was really effective and I found it helpful that the Dad had a voice. So much food for thought and complex issues explored - this would be ideal as a book club choice. Very good indeed.

Thank you to the publishers for my ARC!

Beashel’s second novel felt very similar in tone to her first, Spilt Milk. I enjoyed the writing and the storytelling, lots of important topics are covered and it leaves you asking questions about society. Similar to Spilt Milk however, for me, the first half of the book is stronger than the second, and I started to lose a bit of interest towards the end.

A huge thank you to the team at Harper North, NetGalley and to Amy Beashel for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Bad Manners follows 18-year-old Cass and her mum Eve, predominantly through the aftermath of a men’s-only charity dinner which sees Cass, who was working as waiting staff, groped by some of the attendees. Over the following weeks, Cass and Eve experience and question the fallout of the event, as well as moments in their pasts where maybe they should have behaved differently.

I loved the idea of this book, which was inspired by the infamous Presidents Club dinners in London. It covered some very important topics including violence against women and men’s roles within the patriarchy, but it never quite became the sum of its parts for me.

It felt disjointed, and I often struggled to figure out whose point-of-view I was reading from or where they were. There was no clear distinction between the characters and they very much had the same voice. I also found the metaphor “I am made of [x] and [x]” so unbelievably repetitive that it drove me a little mad.

The storyline didn’t really go where I expected it to, either. It seemed to throw as many potential situations at you as possible, instead of focusing on what happened at the charity dinner. Things seemed to spiral in an unrealistic manner, and characters were picked up and dropped as and when they suited the plot.

This book had a great premise and lots of potential. Unfortunately the execution of this just didn’t hit the mark for me, and I felt like the book never really took off. If it wasn’t an ARC I would have DNFed and did consider “giving up” quite a few times.

This is a very uncomfortable read about the patriarchy, male privilege and the painful truth of what it is to be a woman. It’s told through the point of view of teenager Cass, her mother Eve and father Harry.

It was well written and a gut punch of a book but I just didn’t connect with it in the way I thought I would, I don’t know if it was the POV changes and different perspectives on the same events maybe but something made it a harder read for me, however there have been glowing reviews so it seems i’m in the minority.

Bad Manners by Amy Beashel is a gripping, fierce exploration of power, lust, and violence that hides behind closed doors. With its biting commentary on the misogynistic structures that permeate society, the book delves into the toxic dynamics between men and women, exposing the quiet rage and complicated realities women face in a world shaped by entitlement, violence, and systemic inequality.

The story follows Cass and her mother Eve, both grappling with their places in a world that often reduces women to objects of desire or fear. Cass, a young woman trying to navigate the murky waters of societal expectations, finds herself at a men-only charity dinner where the lines between power, lust, and violence blur. The evening quickly devolves into a night of uncomfortable interactions, lecherous behaviour, and dangerous undercurrents. Meanwhile, Eve, now ageing, is forced to confront the ways society perceives older women and the casual disregard for their worth.

Beashel’s writing is sharp and compelling, moving between the past and present as the two women look back on a pivotal night that will forever change their lives. The narrative is both disorienting and captivating, with its fragmented structure offering the reader a chance to piece together the full story from various perspectives. The book forces the reader to engage with the uncomfortable realities of misogyny, asking difficult questions about how power and violence can shape our relationships, perceptions, and lives.

The portrayal of Cass’s and Eve’s experiences—the catcalls, the pressure to be perfect yet not too perfect, the fear and discomfort around men—resonates deeply. Beashel masterfully explores these themes, making the book not only a psychological thriller but also a call to action for change. Bad Manners is unapologetically feminist, a raw and necessary exploration of how women navigate a world that too often seeks to silence or diminish them.

This is a powerful, thought-provoking read that will leave readers questioning the world around them, urging both men and women to reflect on their roles in shaping a more just and equal society.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

This was such an uncomfortable read. The story is masterfully written and the overall vibe stayed with me for a long time, it’s one of those books where you have to sit and stare into space for a while after reading. The subject matter is so depressingly familiar, the book is essentially a feminist call to arms. There is a lot of the subject matter that could be triggering for some, but it is well worth the read. A great read.

"These men tonight, they weren't sex. They were hands and faces and comments."

A compulsive tale of love and lust, brimming with secrets, silence and violence with a healthy dose of feminine rage. This book expertly shoves a crowbar through the locks of hidden parts of a misogynistic, selfish society: exploring how power, obsession and money can shape and infect our relationships, direct our lives or even make men think they’re entitled to hurt and kill to get what they want.

From the first few lines, I was besotted with Cass, seeing the weight of societal and traditional expectations being placed on her by simply existing around men, especially those considered powerful.
And then there’s her Mother Eve, slipping into another stage of womanhood and discovering what people really think of aging women.

"The thing is though ... the boys, the men, they're living it too, right? On the other side? But the numbers about how many of them are raping or assaulting or sending dick pics aren't so easy to find. How do we fix a problem when we're only looking at one half of it?"

Drifting between before and now, Cass and Eve show us themselves laid bare, experiencing the aftermath of a single party and every event that followed and looking back into their own memories to learn who they are and who they were. Then bringing in a deeply compelling perspective - you. Giving the reader their own role to play in the women’s stories, a major character in their life played by you; creating an uncomfortably voyeuristic but undeniable feeling. Moving in short bursts that at first was dizzying but then settled into a frenzied, fast pace - sometimes offering key details from only one perspective, or retrospectively, creating an interesting need for us to figure out what the truth is and pick apart just how one moment can be seen so differently depending on who you are. At times I felt like I was missing big things with the strange narration and the fact that simply so much happens but it definitely had something special.

I felt every story they told of growing up, the first catcalls, the sexism, the entitlement and aggression from boys, the feeling of fear around men old enough to be your grandfather, the crushing pressure to be perfect but never too perfect.

This was a masterfully written, powerhouse of a feminist novel — a call to arms for men to do better, women to stand together and for us as people to realise it’s not enough to just not be a bad guy.

Bad Manners
By Amy Beashel
Published by HarperCollins Publishers

Would it kill you to smile, darling?
A hand, a touch, but no consent!
A look, a glare and so the story unfolds.
A men-only charity dinner. A collection of young waitresses, naive to the job.
The jokes are uncomfortable.
The banter is course.
The hands linger too long!
The looks linger too close!
Behind closed doors, the wine flows, the money flows and the power is all male!

From the author of Split Milk comes another page turner, plot twisting, power struggle. Dark, uncomfortable and complicated are the facts surrounding patriarchy, coercion and male privilege that night, in society and beyond.
But questions are asked when we call it out!

As layer upon layer are uncovered, through generations past and present the truth must be told, heard and changed.
But revenge is sweet, carefully planned and brilliantly executed.
Justice comes to those who are willing to speak out, no matter how much or who it hurts.

A fabulously fierce read full of power and love. The love for ourselves versus the love for our families is a hard one to juggle. But the truth must prevail!
And change MUST come!

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgalley

Wow, this is definitely a book that has such a powerful message and opens your mind up to the world around you. It will definitely stay with me for a long time and be a talking point with friends and family. I like how the story is told from different POVs within the family which really helps you to understand things from different perspectives and see how impactful our words and actions can be on other people without realising the effect it can have. The book covers a lot of difficult topics but also explains real life circumstances and the series of events before and after, and the vulnerabilities we have.
Such a powerful and poignant book.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

A difficult read and not just because of the subject matter. I struggled to stay informed on which character we were following and what timeline we were in. With so many flashbacks and no real time stamps, this quickly became confusing and a little overwhelming. I like the message the book was sending, the uncomfortablility of womanhood, but the execution fell a little flat for me.

I found this to be a fascinating, albeit at times uncomfortable, read. Exploring the life of women in a man's world. It's very timely, with reference is made to real life events. A powerful novel, which all should read.

A book that depicts a woman’s life in a world made for and by men.
Such an emotive and inspirational read, that deals with such heavy topics in a light way.
It’s written in three different p.o.v’s: a mother, a daughter and a father. And we learn how each deal with the same issue in different ways.
It also depicts the problems of lack of communication. Especially between the character of daughter and father.
Themes: Body image; sexuality; sex; family; women in man’s world
This is just a book that everyone should read, men, women, teenagers. It’s a recurring problem that has yet to be dealt with.

"I know I've always told you to use your voice [...] But you need to keep quiet."

What is a woman’s life in a world made for men? “Bad Manners” meditates on this question but doesn’t really come up with any new answers, ideas to ponder, or solutions. It does, however, present a thrilling idea for revenge. Being a multi-layered story, there are many characters in the book, most of them engaging and relatable, but there are a couple who don’t really bring anything to the table, but while some characters may not contribute significantly to the plot, the overall narrative remains compelling. There’s a lot of action crammed into just over 300 pages, but it's not a criticism, this actually makes this a engrossing read and a page-turner.

Beware, you might be feeling simultaneous rage at the injustices portrayed and a sense of solidarity with the characters. It's a relevant, if not powerful book. I give this somewhat utopian revenge story 3.5 stars.

That said, I agree with my fellow reviewers: “Bad Manners” is a book that should be read by women, young girls, and especially, I think, men.

With many thanks to the publisher.

Powerful, important and difficult to read at points. Beashel doesn't shy away from the truth however ugly it is. I loved Spilt Milk and I loved this.

"Bad Manners" by Amy Beashel follows the intertwining narratives of a British family and their relationship with sexism, violence, and activism. Cassandra, the 18-year-old daughter, has experienced her life falling apart after a night acting as a waitress at a dinner for privileged men. Eve, her mother, is grappling with her past and seeing her daughter in similar circumstances. Harry, the father, is faced with the harrowing realization that he is not, in fact, such a "nice guy".

This novel centers around sexism and many narratives parallel real-world events. Andrew Tate is explicitly mentioned. Cassandra mentions a court case that mirrors Depp vs Heart. The novel mentions two missing women, mirroring Sarah Everard and countless others. Something I appreciated about this novel is that Beashel takes an intersectional look at these issues. She understands how these experiences manifest differently for people of color.

While it does come as a gut-punch, I think the final page of this novel was a necessary addition, as it accurately reflects the fact that men often get away with their transgressions.

Overall, I found this to be a very well-written and realistic novel.