The Boys' Club

A Novel

By: Erica Katz

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sweetbitter meets The Firm in this buzzy, pause-resisting debut novel - already optioned to Netflix - about sex and power in the halls of corporate America.

One of Buzzfeed's Most Anticipated Books of 2020, Cosmopolitan's Best Summer Reads of 2020, and the New York Post's 30 Best Summer Books.

Alex Vogel has always been a high achiever who lived her life by the book - star student and athlete in high school, prelaw whiz in college, Harvard Law School degree. Accepting a dream offer at the prestigious Manhattan law firm of Klasko & Fitch, she promises her sweet and supportive longtime boyfriend that the job won’t change her. Yet Alex is seduced by the firm’s money and energy...and by her cocksure male colleagues, who quickly take notice of the new girl. She’s never felt so confident and powerful - even the innuendo-laced banter with clients feels fun. 

In the firm’s most profitable and competitive division, Mergers and Acquisitions, Alex works around the clock, racking up billable hours and entertaining clients late into the evening. While the job is punishing, it has its perks, like a weekend trip to Miami, a ride in a client’s private jet, and more expense-account meals than she can count. But as her clients’ expectations and demands on her increase, and Alex finds herself magnetically drawn to a handsome coworker despite her loving relationship at home, she begins to question everything - including herself. She knows the corporate world isn’t black-and-white and that to reach the top means playing by different rules. But who made those rules? And what if the system rigged so that women can’t win, anyway? 

When something happens that reveals the dark reality of the firm, Alex comes to understand the ways women like her are told - explicitly and implicitly - how they need to behave to succeed in the workplace. Now, she can no longer stand by silently - even if doing what’s right means putting everything on the line to expose the shocking truth. 

©2020 Erica Katz (P)2020 HarperAudio

It's not for me

I do this thing when I can't decide what to listen to next--I search for the newest releases narrated by Julia Whelan and pick the first one that sounds like it might be interesting. It's usually a solid strategy since Julia is an A+ narrator and tends get good books to read, and it's led me to many enjoyable discoveries in the past. So that's how I ended up with The Boys' Club in my headphones.

The story starts out well enough, following Alex through the challenges of her new career at a big shot law firm. She's an ambitious, likeable person you want to see succeed. And for me, that good will lasted about the first third of the book. By Thanksgiving, her career had turned her into a decidedly unlikable person, and things just went downhill from there. When she decided to pick up a cocaine habit to fit in with the guys in Mergers and Acquisitions, I was done. Did not finish.

The things she does and experiences are all likely enough, I guess, and I can see the appeal this story might have for many readers. Personally though, it was grueling to be in the head of an insufferable jerk, and I don't need more of that in my life.

This Messy B!t#h...

After reading some of the reviews before purchasing and seeing one say that they felt like they were stuck inside the head of an unlikable person, I was bracing myself for the same feeling to come around. Which, to a point, it did. However, as a bit of a workaholic myself, I've been in a much smaller scale of her shoes, so I still had a layer of empathy for Alex. I was simultaneously rolling my eyes in agreement with her in the "what did you do all day, Sam?" instances while also cringing at the way she snapped on her mom.

HOWEVER - girlfriend is a MESS. Multiple times I was pearl-clutching while thinking "honey, you need to get your $h!t together..." I think that's what made it more fun and bearable. I didn't see Alex as someone I *HAD* to like or feel sorry for, I took it as like watching a reality show for the drama and the mess and the escape.

I thought Peter was a dull-as-dishwater character. The only part where I could see the appeal was the oyster bar. I was certain (and hoping) she was going to get with Jordan, instead, and I was kind of disappointed that it never went in that direction.

The end came up fast and fell a bit flat and I wish there would have been more of a big, climactic unravelling, which is why I only put 3 stars instead of 4.

I looooooved the excerpts of "question/answer" before some of the chapters. Like how it lead you into what "topic" was coming up. That was brilliant on the author's part.

The author used some phrases multiple times and had some overused descriptions ("let out a breath they didn't realize they were holding" is an example), which as an amateur author, I have a tendency to catch probably more than the average person. Not a huge deal, just something I noticed.

Julia Whelan, though. I've started looking up new books just because she is the narrator. Her voice of Matt was incredible. I fully believed it was an entirely different person. When I publish my own novel someday, my life's goal is to hear her voice reading it. She is the real MVP, the GOAT, the end-all-be-all. She is a rockstar.

Amazing book...

Great book. Julia Whelan of course is a great narrator which is a plus, but the entire world of Big Law was presented in a fascinating way. Right out of Harvard, “Skippy” gets hired on at one if the countries most prestigious law firms. She decides to specialize in M and A ( mergers and acquisitions ) . There’s a lot of detailed information that is interesting ,but it’s the way she changes and adapts to the world of “Big Law “that I liked most.
The story is linear, making the protagonists journey of successes, failures , disappointments and straight up bad decisions relatable.
What happened to these women shouldn’t happen, but it does happen and thank goodness for strong women and men who attempt to make those responsible accountable.
Highly recommended+++

Julia Whelan is brilliant. Her narration is magical!

Wow!!! Not my usual genre, I probably wouldn’t have chosen this one, but when I saw it was narrated by my absolute favorite, Julia Whelan, I knew I had to get this one and I’m glad I did. As usual, with her pitch-perfect vocal tones and characterizations, Whelan made it all worthwhile. Author Erica Katz pens an exciting and intriguing tale, following a law graduate as she joins a prestigious law firm and all that it encompasses. So highly recommended, I can’t see to the top. Just get it. Worth a treasured credit and one of my favorites in my vast Audible library. Kudos to Katz and Whelan as they both work perfectly together to bring us a spectacular and surprising body of work. Epic, I say, EPIC!!!
👏✍🏻⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✍🏻👏

Just okay

I enjoy legal dramas & thrillers and Julia Whelan is my favorite narrator. I check out 10-15 reviews and the title was a good hook so I made the purchase. The author definitely knew her legal terms and fortunately, the story did not get bogged down by legal intricacies. She is a good writer, I was with her emotional descriptions. The problem is the main character’s character. I started out cheering for Alex, but as she became more and more of a shallow, kinda mean, party girl, I thought: How many times can she get wasted (with such frequency, gusto and approval) and hungover-again? Or how she gets 72 emails in 15 minutes We get it already. I kept waiting for her to say, “enough!”. But it takes almost to the end of the book before she does (kinda) and due to awful events. Otherwise she becomes her mentor, I suppose. Julia Whelan was the only reason I I still liked Alex enough to finish. All said, I will try another one of the authors books.

Loved it

Everything about this book was great. It really hit home for me in my profession. Awesome narration!

Excellent

This book exceeded my expectations! I was sad when it ended. Absolutely loved it. Definitely worth a credit

I can’t believe this book isn’t a best seller...

This has been my favorite book since I started listening to audiobooks in March of 2020. Alex is a great character and Julia is the perfect narrator. I didn’t want this book to be over. Trust me when I say, this is a must listen (or read for you readers). You won’t be sorry.

Sexual harassment and assault

Good look into how to survive harassment and assault permeate and fester in big law firms.

Better than any recent Grisham

This book is very well written! The story itself is timely and relatable, the narration is top notch.
If you ever liked Grisham, you will love this book!
The protagonist is seduced by the world of being "one of the guys" in an elite law firm. She finds that her indiscretions are not judged the same as the men in the firm. She is then determined to stand up and face the Powers That Be, cleverly tiptoeing around the career destroying landmines that are everywhere she turns.