The Scarlet Letter Society

by Mary T. McCarthy

Every fairy tale seems to end with a woman finding love after years of pining away for the Man of Her Dreams. They then settle down, buy a house with a white picket fence, have 2.4 children and live happily ever after. Well buckle up, because this is what really happens after ‘I Do’.

Meet Maggie, Eva and Lisa, founders of The Scarlet Letter Society. Named as such due to their various infidelities, both physical and emotional, the ‘SLS’ is these womens’ refusal to be shamed like Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic tale of forbidden longing. Maggie is twice-divorced and juggling three lovers—one of whom is her first ex-husband. Eva is trapped in a loveless marriage and has turned to her young intern and a seductive French chef for satisfaction. Lisa dreams of one day becoming a mother, but her husband has more romantic interest in her footwear than he does in her.

Once a month, these women meet at their local bookstore to discuss love, life and literature. Through their friendships and liasons, they attempt to gain insight into the curveballs life has thrown their way, and how each of them can find emotional and sexual fulfillment. Over the course of a year these women, plus several others who look to the Scarlet Letter Society for help with their own romantic dilemmas, will find lust and love, happiness and heartbreak, in the most unexpected places.

A witty, insightful and steamy novel about a group of women who have chosen to forge their own paths, and must deal with the ramifications of their past and present choices, The Scarlet Letter Society will appeal to anyone who’s found their fairy tale isn’t quite what Disney had in mind.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Book Club, Chick Lit, Contemporary

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 2009

About the author

Currently Senior Editor at SpliceToday.com, Mary McCarthy’s 25-year writing career includes Salon.com, the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, and editorial positions at regional magazines and newspaper humor columns. She has taught at American University and is an instructor at The Writer’s Center in Washington, D.C.

Her debut novel The Scarlet Letter Society reached #1 on Amazon's Erotic Romance bestseller list. Her second novel, The Scarlet Letter Scandal released in 2015 and her third novel The Scarlet Letter Storm released in May 2016.

Mary is a mother of four on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where she enjoys kayaking and sea glass hunting.She serves on the North American Sea Glass Association Board of Directors and is Co-Executive Director of The Sea Glass Center. She is a Reiki Master.

Reviews

[Mary McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In the tradition of Candace Bushnell and Jackie Collins, McCarthy has created a novel filled with razor-sharp social commentary and irresistibly dynamic, complex characters. At turns hilarious, scathing and seductive, THE SCARLET LETTER SOCIETY is not to be missed!”
—Kyra Davis, New York Times bestselling author of JUST ONE NIGHT

“Steamy sex infused with subtle social commentary; a beach read with a bite.”
-Charlie Smith, Here We Are Going

“It feels like Pop Rocks going off in the pleasure center of your brain.”
-Pamela Stewart, Splice Today

I'm putting words of other people here about my book because it's so shamelessly self-promoting to review your own book on Goodreads. I mean, it's an indie book, so I think it's ok. Right? RIGHT? Anyhow the book has lots of sex in it. You should totally read it, and let me know what you think!

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was beyond a page turner. I literally didn't put it down all day. The characters are amazing! I want to know these women in real life! I laughed with them, cried with them...maybe I too can fake an affair to be invited into the group. Also, I will never look at Pop Rocks the same..just saying..

[Charlie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review appeared originally on my blog, HEREWEAREGOING, here: http://herewearegoing.wordpress.com/2...

The Scarlet Letter Society, by Mary McCarthy, published by Polis Books, LLC

When a novel's first paragraph is, in its entirety, this:

"It's throat-numbing spray," she grinned mischievously. "For blowjobs."

-- it's clear that this is not your high school English class's Nathaniel Hawthorne. But, in truth, how much have things really changed?

The Scarlet Letter Society in the debut novel of the same name by author, Mary McCarthy, is a pseudo-book club comprised of three women who meet monthly to discuss literature and their various affairs of the heart -- and, notably and vigorously -- other organs. As we follow Eva the monied, bi-citied attorney; Maggie, the much married, bi-curious, vintage-clothing seller; and Lisa, the semi-outsider, bakery owner with a secret; (and eventually Zarina, who owns the coffee shop where the women meet and eavesdrops her way into honorary membership) through eleven months of meetings and raucous adventures, we are gently led to ponder whether Hester Prynne's Scarlet A is really a thing of the past?

McCarthy does a clever thing here. In a fast-moving, beach-read-worthy, chick-lit format, rife with eroticism and ovaries-to-the-wall, full on embrace of good sex, romance, and wham, bam, thank you ma'am (and sir and -- well, ma'am again) bang up prose -- which portions are purposefully anything but subtle -- she also manages to subtly sneak in with finesse an even more provocative social commentary about gender roles and societal expectations and chains and the continuing strain of Puritanism and sin-shaming in the culture.

The Scarlet Letter Society also salutes its forebears, mentioning Erica Jong's Fear of Flying and its introduction to the zipless-you-know-what, and too, manages to reference other literary works by using them as club-choices, pointing out in the process how all-too-common it is for literary heroines to suffer and die. These heroines do some suffering, there is some dying, and too, there is parenting and a big-gay-wedding, and sea glass collecting, and finding meaning in popular song lyrics, and doubting one's choices, and learning to compromise and growing up and giving back and knowing when to leave and all of it with a sense of humor, with an awareness of how far the world has come since the original Hawthorne Scarlet Letter, and yet, a bit of melancholy about how little - in some ways - things have changed at all.

If you're looking for a fast read with a healthy dose of zip-less, snap-less, button-less, velcro-less sexcapades, all delivered with brazen, bawdy brio, then pick up (or download) Mary McCarthy's The Scarlet Letter Society.

[Shell Roush · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit the main characters of this book had me worried before I read. I will admit that cheating is my jump-to-judgment issue(everyone has their own, cheating happens to be mine. Doesn't mean I vocalize it, but it is where I judge).

But I read because I started reading Mary Mac's Pajamas and Coffee blog about 5 years ago and have adored her ever since.

I fell in love with her characters and their complicated lives and all the thought they put into their choices. While I still get judgy about the cheating, the friendships and the characters make up for it.

I'd definitely read any other book she writes.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot, spicy, empowered women. One of the best things about this book is the strength of the female characters who, no matter how confused by life's twists and turns, own their sexuality. No guy is going to tell them how it's done... unless she wants him too. The addition of lyrics from great 80s tunes to the opening of each chapter is brilliance!

[Jacques Coulardeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel has become more than a classic. It is a myth, a cult. To cover this romance properly we would have to explore so many levels and details that thousands of pages would not be enough. I will concentrate on the child, Pearl, and then widen the discourse to the novel’s historical value.

We must keep in mind that the twelve gates of the messianic Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation are twelve pearls in a wall of jasper on twelve precious gem foundations:

18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. (King James Bible, Book of Revelation 21:18-21, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/..., accessed December 29, 2016)

Hence the child is the gate to this messianic Jerusalem that the Puritans pretended they were building in New England. Note the great pretention of these Puritans since this Jerusalem of the future has to be Messianic, has to be revealed by the Messiah, by Jesus, after his Second Coming and after the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment on Doomsday. This gives the fundamental meaning of the child in the book: She is a direct criticism of any puritan, moralistic, fundamentalist we would say today, approach of religion. Especially since this Pearl will disappear at the end of the book and will exist somewhere else that is not mentioned but we understand is England since Roger Chillingworth gave her land in America and in England. Anyway Boston was certainly not the Messianic Jerusalem the Puritans had in mind. And that rejection is based on the blasphemous character of this pretention. They made themselves a direct embodiment of Jesus Christ and God. They pretended they were Jesus Christ and God.

This is fundamental. The book was published in 1850 and when it appeared it was absolutely clear that there was no separation between the state and the church in the USA. There was no separation between the state and religion and this is still true. But at the time there was no separation of the state and the church, not one particular denominational church but the church in general: any one could be a member of the church of their choice, well within the limits of the area where they were living, residing and working, but the state was a direct emanation of the church in general, an abstract omni-denominational church that excluded the Jews and the Catholics. The exclusion of the Muslims was of course “natural.” The end of the book is typical: the new governor on Election Day had to be instated b y a sermon by the preacher and minister of the (only) local church. We must understand clearly that this story may be situated one century before or more, hence under English rule, but it is “revealed” to the public in 1850 and it is in phase with that public. That’s where the USA are coming from and how they accepted to be depicted in 1850.

The second element is that Pearl is seen as unchristian because she is born out of “fornication”, “adultery”, though in fact out of passion and love. This is clearly shown by the rejection this Pearl is forced to suffer along with her mother, as if this Pearl that should open onto the Messianic Jerusalem and the trees of life that bear twelve crops of fruit a year and whose leaves are the cure for the nations (which may imply all nations, at least all Christian nations in their diversity):

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. . (King James Bible, Book of Revelation 22:2-4, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/..., accessed December 29, 2016)

But this Boston could not be seen as such a Messianic Jerusalem since it was opening on the wilderness, or at best the ocean since this Pearl gate lived on a peninsula. There is no cure in Boston for those who are not perfect according to the decrees of the Puritans. There is no forgiveness, no tolerance, no freedom either there. One essential Christian value is missing and it is love. This story is a love story in Puritan garb or under Puritan duress. It is the glorification of love that is stronger than anything else, than any punishment, any estrangement, any rejection. Note, and it is only hinted at a few times, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale did not commit any sin against Roger Chillingworth since he had disappeared and had been “captured” by Indians and it was two years before he reappeared on Hester Prynne’s public exposition on the scaffold. The sin is in the fact they did not respect the proper rules like making their love public and sanctified by some marital rite. But love it is and it is clearly explained during the meeting of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale in the forest when they decide to go away from Boston.

It is important here to understand a common trick of the 19th century and the play on names.

Chillingworth is simple: he is bringing the chill of dying and death. He is worth the chilling experience of mental torture. Dimmesdale is also simple since he is a dale of dimmer existence and things, the dale of unpublicized love, the dale of secret penance and punishment. But Hester Prynne is quite another story.

We could be satisfied with the Biblical Book Esther and the Jewish character during the Babylonian exile who became queen and saved the Jewish people. She thus becomes the savior of the community of Boston, of the New Jerusalem, of the Puritans themselves. But that’s not enough. Hester comes from Oistir in Welsh and Irish tradition and has a Germanic origin where it is connected with a beech tree, and is a reduced Anglicized form of a Gaelic word, Ó hOistir ‘descendant of Oistir.’

This last element is complicated in Irish tradition: “** spl Ostuarii, doorkeeper to the monastery of Iona. The first of the family came over from Ireland with "Colum Cille," but causing the displeasure of that saint, he invoked a curse on him, by which it was decreed that never more than five of his clan should exist at the same time. Accordingly, when a sixth was born one of the five was to look for death, which always happened until the race was extinguished. A female who died about the middle of the 18th. century, in Iona, was the last person who could trace a lineage to the doorkeepers of this monastery.” http://www.cairnwater.co.uk/gaelicdic..., accessed December 29, 2016. Hester then would represent the end of an exclusion, the final redemption beyond the curse. Hence the Puritan tradition would be identified as a curse.

If we go back to the “beech” another connection has to be developed in the runic tradition, the runes of Germanic and Scandinavian origin vastly present in the Anglo-Saxon world, hence in the English heritage. Two runes refer to a beech tree, both meaning black. “Nauthiz” carries a bunch of key concepts: “Need, resistance, constraint, conflict, drama, effort, necessity, urgency, hard work, need-fire, life lessons, creative friction, distress, force of growth, the consequence of past action, short term pain for long term gain.” (http://runesecrets.com/rune-meanings/..., accessed December 29, 2016) “Peorth” carries a very dense meaning. It is the “rune of fate and the unmanifest. Rune of probability and the role of luck in the evolutionary process of the all things. Universe at play.” (http://runesecrets.com/rune-meanings/..., accessed December 29, 2016) This meaning gives Hester a tremendous power in the story. She is fate and she is going to bring down the Puritan dictatorship in the field of love, mental and sentimental freedom, and through her own daughter she will bring salvation, at least escape.

And her surname “Prynne” is also meaningful. The origin is Norman and the name was introduced by the Normans after Hastings ‘1066). “'Prin' is a 'descendant' of the Latin 'primus' meaning 'first' and it was given as a baptismal name to the first born male child of a family. Some learned academics of the 20th century have suggested that the name may be a nickname for one with 'lordly airs', but this seems unlikely. The similarity with the surnames 'Prince' (originally the French 'prins'), and 'Prime', which is directly from 'primus' cannot be avoided.” (http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Pryn..., accessed December 29, 2016) Thus she is the person of first importance who is going to lead this Puritan settlement to salvation.

To go back to Pearl, she is also the symbol of what must go along with forgiveness and love, which is repentance, but not the repentance that is imposed as a punishment onto the “sinner”, but the repentance that comes from the soul, from God, from the heart. The book clearly shows that public – though here imposed – repentance is torture but a bearable torture that strengthens the victim of the punishment, whereas secret repentance is an unbearable self-inflicted torture that gnaws at the heart, the soul, and the body of the person who is refused the possibility of public repentance. At the same time the book hints at the possibility that Roger Chillingworth used his knowledge in plants to slowly poison Arthur Dimmesdale to satisfy his own vengeance.

And this is because there is no forgiveness in this society, no possibility for the sinner, no matter who he is and what position he holds, to be forgiven if he repairs the harm he has done, in this case if he marries the mother, since the husband of this mother had disappeared two years before and re-appear under another name. Pearl becomes the symbol of this forgiveness at the very end of the novel, the being who is willing to forgive publicly in front of those who had refused to forgive for more than seven years. That desire of hers to be held by the Minister in front of everyone, and her desire to hold the Minister in front of everyone and eventually to kiss him and let him kiss her was a constant demand from her to her mother.

In other words, Pearl becomes the signpost on the road to love and also some kind of angel or even archangel who shows the way to human salvation, and God's salvation is always on the side of repentance, reparation, forgiveness and love, never on the side of permanent or irreversible human punishment. In fact, the only judge is God, the only one who has the power to judge, what's more to try, is God, and God has entrusted humanity with the mission to enable sinners to repent and be forgiven, not to punish, or even torture or execute. This religious meaning is absolutely obvious all along and can only be the conclusion at the end. If Hester comes back to Boston it is to prove that the redemption has worked, that they have learned how to forgive the sins of others. Note it is never said or hinted that by forgiving the sins of others you open the ^possibility of your own sins to be forgiven by the same others. This egocentric way of forgiving is not Christian and is not envisaged I this book.

Pearl is thus the symbol of an open reading of the Gospels and in a way the signpost on the road to some better future for human beings on earth. This better future is definitely expressed by the post mortem contrition and repentance of Hester's first husband who adopts Pearl as his heiress, hence his own child. His repentance comes after seven years of vengeance, but it does come, and he is the only one to repent among the hostile people in Boston. Though the lack of hostility against Hester after her return seems to indicate the change has occurred, and Hester is there to remind everyone of the “episode” since she will be wearing her Scarlet Letter till death them does not part, in fact unites them forever.

If thus the sinners' child, Pearl, is redeemed at the end of the book and escapes the punishing Puritans, it is because she represents light, sunshine, God's illumination. She is the star that should lead us on the way to the future on earth and beyond: forgiveness and love, and we all must respect love as a divine and sacred value that is stronger than any law, rule, habit or custom, and the lack if not the refusal of respect for love is the direst and ugliest sin a human being, a creature of God can commit.

Hawthorne is the author that illuminates best the worst gothic context and produces a shiny romance with the darkest and bleakest material. And this romance becomes the testimony that in the middle of the 19th century a change was taking place in the USA: the recognition of the freedom to love not as a simple Christian obligation but as a human dimension. And this emphasis shows a debate at the time not only on love and society but on the concept of God himself.

The concept of God is ever present but never really expressed and specified in words. Not one single sermon by Arthur Dimmesdale is ever given. The final Election Sermon is only indirectly evoked. The concept of God obviously is that of the punishing God of the Puritans founded on the vision of Him we can get in many biblical texts or many Christian or non-Christian documents from the first century CE, after Jesus' death, from the Dead Sea Scrolls for instance. This very strict respect of the Law and its requirements has always survived in Christianity as a dark background for many centuries and then as a reference when Puritanism emerged as a religion per se.

One is pure or one isn't. If one is pure, one must not in any way live with someone who is not pure and if someone is not pure the community of the pure ones (that does not include the non-pure ones who are expelled from the community itself) has to reject him or her, and that rejection must become God's punishment, in no way human but entirely divine. This punishment has to be both public and totally interiorized. And here is one of the most important theme of the novel: Hester can satisfy these two characteristics with the scarlet letter and her interiorization of her « sin ». But her lover who is condemned by her (is it only her or do they agree on that point?) to remain unknown can only be punished inside his own self, hence he can only punish himself.

This excuses the « husband » who will avenge himself on this lover because this « husband » will become the punishing tool used by God, and yet the interiorization of the punishment by the lover himself will enable him to evade and escape the vengeance of this “husband” by making his sin, his contrition and his reparation public on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, and the “husband” will in the end be frustrated of his vengeance and punished in his turn. Is that God's punishment?

Yet there is another concept of God that is emerging and ever present in the novel. It is the concept of a God of love. Love is threefold in this perspective. It is sensual first and it may lead to sin when it is not controlled and when it breaks a moral rule. Then it is love coming from human reason which may lead to insanity when a social reasonable rule is broken and no repair can be found, and there is no repair except through a social punishment that does not repair anything but is a repayment for the unreasonable fault. Finally, it is also spiritual and in this dimension love becomes Christian because it leads to forgiveness and love for one's enemies and love beyond mistakes and faults.

This love calls for repentance but not for punishment, at least not in the hands of men. Repentance is a great privilege for someone who « sins » but repentance has to be public in order to lead to forgiveness. If there is no forgiveness in society their God is not a really Christian God. If there is no repentance on the side of the “sinner” he or she is not Christian since she or he refuses to be forgiven or he or she makes forgiveness impossible. We can see that Hester in her repentance leads the whole community to forgiving her, whereas Arthur, her lover, not being able to repent publicly, is forced to repent in silence in his own soul without any possible forgiveness from anyone.

If there is no forgiveness there is no salvation possible, there is no Christian solution.

This leads to the ending of this book: Arthur is literally forced to live his repentance as a slow sacrifice in the eyes of God: he has to die to redeem himself, his society, Hester and Pearl, to « crucify » himself on the scaffold with his women at his feet.

But what about Hester who needs in the novel Arthur's sacrifice to be fully redeemed?

And what about Pearl who can only find the strength to kiss her father, hence to forgive him, hence to love him, when the sacrifice comes to its end?

Is Hester vain and selfish in her human love for Arthur by condemning him to suffer in silence?

Is Pearl beyond any Christian definition in her incapability to love her father except when it is too late to save him?

Is the romance a condemnation of puritanism and a vindication of human sensuality and sensitivity as the only way to redeem humanity?

Is the concept of God limited in time and space? And then is the future godless?

These questions that you are free to answer the way you want are showing a tremendous turning point has been reached in American history and probably in human history. But the point that has to be made is that hardly ten years later history will completely put this perspective upside down. Indians are seen as marginal or rejected to the wild forest in this book with the distant and undescribed exception of Apostle Eliot and his Indian converts who live far away from Boston. But slaves are not even mentioned, not even as indentured workers who were common in New England at the time of the story. And history will come back on this emerging love concept with the Civil War and one extra century of segregation and an unspecified number of decades more of PTSS, and we have not reached the end of this long-lasting hatred and un-forgiveness and lack of justice.

The freedom of love is maybe not that simple to develop in any society, human society, meaning a society torn between the two sides of man, or woman as for that, the loving nature of human beings some call libido and the death instinct often articulated on the survival instinct of the human species. But yet it is the first expression of the freedom of love in modern society, and as such it is just as dramatic as Romeo and Juliet, but it is also maybe less tragic. There is hope somewhere in this story, whereas I don’t see any in Romeo and Juliet.

Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

[Chelsey Wolford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary McCarthy’s debut novel was everything I hoped it would be. I was anticipating a guilty pleasure read when my eye ran across this novel on Goodreads, and a guilty pleasure I got! This novel tours the lives of three women who participate in a monthly book club called The Scarlet Letter Society, where they allow the story of the adulteress Hester Prynne to inspire their mission. All three of these women, Lisa, Maggie, and Eva, are having affairs outside of their marriages and they meet monthly to discuss their many issues, travesties, and small victories. The story, however, is about more than just the cheating that goes on behind the scenes, but more about the troubles that each woman faces within her own marriage. Each of them are struggling to answer questions that have long gone unanswered. This club serves as a journey for these women, and together they find out more about themselves than they ever knew to be true.

The story is full of humor and talks about big issues that many families in today’s world face. Each of the leading ladies gets to talk readers through various chapters. The alternating viewpoints was very well-written. You might find yourself automatically connecting to one of these women over the others, and you might find yourself feeling sorry for them as well. This book was so easy to breeze through and when I was done I found myself still thinking about the characters and their stories. This book is not for the faint of heart and because I know a lot of readers that do not like stories that have anything to do with cheating spouses, I tell you to proceed with caution. However, I had no issues with this book and even though I disagree with the idea of stepping outside of a marriage, the reality is that it happens every day. Mary T. McCarthy handled a very tough topic in a very professional way!

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Polis Books in exchange for my honest review***

[Eileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review originally posted on INFORMAL GUIDES blog: http://goo.gl/i4cqzh


A group of women who are unfaithful in their marriages decide to form a club because they refuse to be shamed by their actions, hence the name – Scarlet Letter Society. The fairytale ending has two of them getting divorced and finding love with one of their lovers and the third woman working things out with her husband.

I was drawn to this book because of the name “Scarlet Letter Society” I assumed it would be an intricate tale of women’s lives in the 21st century paralleling the story of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s main character. The women did meet to discuss literature where female protagonists were branded as adulterers but for the most part they barely discussed these topics in depth which missed a large opportunity to make the book really meaningful in a social commentary way.

There was no real point to the whole novel except for the sexual fantasy of women being able to have their cake and eat it too with little consequence. The story had a certain Sex In the City feel and was an easy read, flighty enough for summer. All the same, I would not recommend as it just did not have enough substance, intrigue or entertainment.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Scarlet Letter Society is a wonderful summer read! The Scarlet Letter Society is group of women that meet monthly to discuss a book (with an adultery theme) and to be a member of the Book Club, you must also be cheating on someone, where it's your first husband, your intern, your second husband with your first husband...etc. This book is a wild romp, the characters are incredibly likeable and all learn more about what they really want out of life and a relationship throughout the novel. Many blush worthy scenes, it's not for the faint of heart, the story told throughout is engaging and a fun read. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loves a great story about romance, relationships and friendships.

I received this novel from the author in exchange for my honest review, this did not effect my review or enjoyment in any way.

[Michelle Colston · Rating 5 out of 5]

McCarthy's debut novel is not only clever and witty; it's heartfelt and engaging. The SLS tells the stories of women and their relationships--broken commitments, broken hearts, painful pasts, explosive orgasms, and a sh*t load of neuroses that just about every woman in America can identify with. Throw in forbidden erotica and Pop Rocks sex, this book will have you turned on, loving love, and feeling relieved that you're not the only one who fantasizes about straying every once in a while. Kudos to Ms. McCarthy for coming up with such an original concept.

[Alisonjgoldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

As another reviewer mentioned, the first few sentences of the book set the stage for this sexy, witty, and totally fun read. Not for the faint of heart, this book with have you laughing your ass off, turned on, and wondering how these fabulous characters can get any better. A fantastic and quick summer read.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Das Cover ist zwar schön, aber letzten Endes für die Story unpassend. Schließlich sind hier die Frauen die Hauptaufreißer. Der Klappentext und die Leseprobe klangen eigentlich ganz viel versprechend, aber ich wurde bitter enttäuscht und sogar in eine Leseflaute getrieben. Denn was zunächst als interessanter Frauenclub mit einem Hang zur Untreue anfängt (und hier eines meiner wenigen guten Punkte: ich finde es toll, dass die Frauen (außerhalb ihrer Bücher) nicht abgestempelt und verurteilt werden, sondern dass offen damit Umgangen wird - sowohl die Fremdgeh-Thematik, als auch, dass Frauen auch mal eine vulgäre Sprache an den Tag legen (dürfen)), endet es mit wenig Charakterentwicklung, zu vielen Seiten des Chaos und hin und her und generellem Stillstand und langeweile. Frau A ist einsam obwohl sie mit all ihren Lovern schon kaum noch logistisch einfach ein Gangbang haben konnte, Frau B will nicht ihren Mann sondern nur ein Kind und A und C heulen rum weil sie sich "betrogen" fühlen. Als Fremdgänger. Werfet den ersten Stein.... vieles ändert sich zum Ende hin, aber halt nicht genug.

Fazit:
Leichte Lektüre ohne besonderes Highlight / ohne Spannungsbogen und mit ziemlich flachen Charakteren die nur eine minimale Entwicklung durchleben dürfen. Für mich absolute Zeitverschwendung.

[Stephanie Cianci · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book... meh...

I read it because a friend was giving it away and figured I would give it a chance before donating it. I found the writing to be very meh and the sensual parts were pretty cheesy. I'm glad it was a quick read because I don't know if I could have finished it had it been much longer.

I get that there is supposed to be a women's empowerment type theme running through this but I had a hard time feeling empowered between the meh sex scenes and other rather sad and serious themes.

[Gilber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow and hard to finish.

I had a really hard time finishing this book. Felt more like a chore, didn’t care much what happened. I really wanted to like it, and it explores a few good ideas, but at the end, it doesn’ fully grab the reader’s attention.

[Islandgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary's style of writing is a no holds barred approach which makes The Scarlet Letter Society trilogy funny, sexy, mysterious and unpredictable. I absolutely loved her humor, the story line and the characters. It was a fun series to read. Can't wait to read more from this author!

[Heather Buckley · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a weak story, with several grammatical errors. The book is about a small club, called the Scarlet Letter Society, where the female members have all cheated on their significant others. Each chapter had a different escapade in it, and in the end, there wasn't much of a story.

[Chelse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash. Also so many typos.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was like a cross between My dad wrote a porno and Fifty Shades of Grey... not what I was expecting ....

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

boooooring. i think i just read a romance novel or something. well, a little over half of one anyway.
i failed to notice the author's middle initial.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, pretty good book. It was about women navigating love and relationships. Had a few steamy parts which was fun but wasn't the best romance book I've ever read.

[Erica Renee · Rating 1 out of 5]

🤦🏻‍♀️

[Rosalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know Mary McCarthy's work from her blog, Pajamas & Coffee, and the online publications Splice Today and Salon.com, and have been a huge fan. McCarthy's writing there has always made me laugh, and cry, out loud, and left me feeling superbly connected and deeply touched.

The Scarlet Letter Society, though very different from her other work, didn't let me down. The main characters, Maggie, Lisa and Eva, are women I cared about, notwithstanding their sometimes lumpy concepts of honesty and loyalty. They accept each other and, better still, help each other through the transforming phases of their respective relationships, never judging or second-guessing. I see this as a story more about friendship than romantic endeavors, though McCarthy does deliver some nice bits of good old fashioned boffing to make this a wildly fun read.

I have to say that my guess is that Charles, one of Eva's lovers, is modeled after McCarthy's husband, Bob. McCarthy's writing outside of The Scarlet Letter Society is unapologetically personal and revealing, and reading about Charles' tenderness and vulnerabilities took me immediately to Bob.

I'm excited about The Scarlett Letter Scandal, McCarthy's next book, though, I admit that what I'm really looking forward to reading is the raw, beautiful, honest, make-me-cry-in-the-beginning-of-the-paragraph-and-leave-me-laughing-in-the-end McCarthy books I've cleared a shelve to house. The woman has a talent most of us can only wish for, and an honesty that refuses to tuck itself in so that she pleases the masses. I truly love this writer!

[elciesbooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this story we meet three women, Maggie, Eva, and Lisa, who all have troubled marriages. Whether their infidelities be physical or emotional, they bond together in friendship and through their club named ‘The Scarlet Letter Society’ in refusal to let themselves or society shame them for their situations in life. Each one has their own reasons for why they are in their current situation, and with it their own burdens to carry, but at least they can count on each other to never be judged or turned away from.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was that it had a ‘happy ending’. Maggie, Eva, and Lisa were still alive at the end of this story, which is pretty novel if you’ve ever read any other books where the lead characters are female and who are cheating on their husbands. Through friendship and some life changing events, each woman is able to get to the root of what’s brought them to where they are in life and able to make peace and move forward.


You can see the rest of my review, and my interview with the author, Mary T. McCarthy, here -> http://momsmack.com/the-scarlet-lette...

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that had it not been for my book club, I would not have made it beyond the first chapter of this book. There were a couple of issues that I had to power through in order to keep reading. The first was the opening itself. It felt clunky. I had a hard time tracking the characters, something I rarely experience. I think this difficulty stemmed, in part, from my instant dislike of the women I was introduced to. They appeared callous and shallow, but mostly selfish and immoral.

I realize now that I should have anticipated this, but as this book did not get my book club vote, I hadn't really read the book's description as closely s I should have. They voted, I bought it, and then I read. As I read, I found the casual approach to cheating on ones spouse to be in direct opposition to my own moral code, which made me less than sympathetic to the characters.

Why then the three star rating? While I found the opening difficult to stomach, eventually the women seemed to develop more depth and complexity than I first expected. I don't want to post spoilers - my book club has yet to meet and this will be shared on FB - so I'll leave this here for now.

[S G · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Scarlet Letter Society" is the kind of fun read every woman is likely to enjoy. It's about a group of ladies who continue to be in touch with their romantic and sexual selves, despite all that married and adult life tends to throw at us. Bravo, gals! We should all be so open and so bold.

What I liked most about this novel was that it was irreverent, but in a classy way, and very contemporary in its references and in its analysis of what faces wives and mommies today. Underneath the Pinterest pictures, it isn't always all that pretty. I was glad to see a book that finally references that reality because otherwise, some of us might actually believe in that yoga-doing, cupcake-baking, Eva Longoria-looking mom who still gets laid, and yes, does it all.

These women laugh together, love together, and ultimately help each other heal. I predict this could be the next big thing, the "Waiting to Exhale" of our generation - all it needs is a fantastic movie option deal. I'd personally buy a ticket to see it in a hot second!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of three women trying to find their way through their relationships with men and themselves. I enjoyed the book. It was not exactly what I expected but in a good way. If you are someone who can't deal with reading about infidelity then this is not for you... I don't condone it or feel anyone should just do it... There are 3 sides to every story - his, hers, and the truth.no one knows what goes on behind closed doors or what someone is thinking and this book just puts that out there honestly for people to read and decide on their own. I am glad I took a chance on this. Now if you are reading this for some hot sex scenes then this isn't necessarily for you but there are a few to keep the fires going.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Scarlett Letter Society - a "book" club for Maggie, Eva, and Lisa to gather and discuss less about the book they decided to read - the ones with the themes of adultery/adultress and more about the lovers/husbands they have.
Maggie, the one who with deep trauma, has gone from lover to lover, husband to husband, yet always keeping the first husband in the queue. Eva, seemingly having it all with career, children, husband, two lovers, but most always keeps emotions at bay from everyone. Lisa, looking to fill a void with a child, a husband who loves his shoe/foot fetish more than the expense for fertility clinics.
Sometimes the book seemed a little disjointed, a little too rushed, the characters less developed and some downright unlikeable, maybe this just wasn't a book for me.

[Laura Olson · Rating 1 out of 5]

How does this book have so many 5 star reviews?!? The characters were boring and had no depth and some of the review I read said they were such strong women...are you kidding me. How? They can't even communicate properly. Not only we the characters boring, but the story was predictable and the writing was horrendous. I could barely keep track of who she was writing about because all the characters were pretty much the same and again boring. Also (spoiler) pop rocks in your vagina, can you say yeast infection. I thought this book would have at least been good to ramp up a sexual drive but all it did was piss me off with porn like scenes, sorry I will never have sex on wood stars...can you say splinters and back aches.

[Michele Niec · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for any woman who loves coffee, has friends, and knows the highs and lows of love. Mary has an uncanny ability to not just tell a story, but to invite you in to live the experience. Throughout the entire book I felt like I was right there, having a conversation with friends. When it was over, I couldn’t believe a year had passed. It went by too quickly, leaving me wanting more. I believe, rather I know, there is a little bit of Maggie, Lisa, Eva, and even Wes, in all of us, and you should take the time to get to know them. Kudos to Mary on this novel. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

[Zeeque · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the idea of bringing in the stories of books of woman having affairs being read by women having affairs. The book is a little more brazen than I am used to but I got through it fine. One woman in my book club would not read it.

I am sure this book will go be passed along very quickly at the beach. I gave it to a co worker for his wife on a Thursday and he returned it to me on Monday. LOL.

I quickly read through the second and am waiting for the additional book to be available through Kindle.

Not all affairs have to have a sad ending. Woman do not have to be ashamed of desire or the need for passion or intimacy.