A neighborhood book club has become the subject of debate on Reddit after its only male member said a fellow attendee’s husband asked him to stop coming.
The man wrote that he’s been a part of the club for about a year. Members rotate hosting duties monthly, and the group is otherwise made up of women in their late 20s to early 40s.
The thing that caused the confrontation — the club’s switch to dark romance books — wasn’t even his idea. A group vote chose the new genre. Besides, the OP adds, meetings since then have centered on things like character arcs and whether certain love interests are “actually redeemable.”
According to the post, after a recent meeting, the man was loading a folding chair into his car when one member’s husband approached him. The husband said he’d “appreciate it” if the man stopped attending, explaining that his wife had grown “way too excited” since the group started reading dark romance and that having him there felt “weird.”
The man wrote that the husband said he wasn’t accusing him of anything inappropriate. Still, the husband said the situation made him uncomfortable, and that the man quitting would “solve a lot of problems.”
The man responded in the only way that made sense, which was to tell the husband he attends because he enjoys reading. “I told him I wasn’t there to flirt with anyone,” he wrote. “I also said if he has concerns about his wife’s interest in fictional, morally questionable men, that’s probably something they should talk about together.”
Annoyed, the husband said he was being dodgy, and the OP eventually told him: “I’m not quitting a book club because you’re insecure about fictional men. If it’s THAT big a deal, just join?”
Reddit thinks he handled it quite well, all things considered
In response, one user jokingly quoted the husband as thinking: “Look, man. Now my wife expects me to read, ok? Stop making her think men do that!”
Another user added: “I don’t think he’s jealous of the book characters. He is jealous of OP and suggesting that OP is a threat by being present while all the wives are discussing the steamy book.”
“I had a husband like this,” wrote one person. “I guarantee he has already been giving her hell about this group and accusing her of things when it comes to you. Please do not call her out in front of the group.”
When asked about the title, the OP revealed it as Haunting Adeline, a best-seller that has garnered attention for its explicit content.
You can read through the responses for yourself here, but it’s safe to say the overwhelming consensus is in the OP’s favor.
Published: Jul 29, 2026 12:46 pm