- Published: 1 April 2025
- ISBN: 9781761345999
- Imprint: Penguin
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 320
- RRP: $34.99
The Sex Lives of Married Women

















- Published: 1 April 2025
- ISBN: 9781761345999
- Imprint: Penguin
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 320
- RRP: $34.99
Marriage, motherhood, sex: excellent. Congratulations!
Madeleine Gray
The novel's strength is in its depiction of friendship, especially among women wrestling with who they used to be and who they've become. The conversations - funny, intimate, slightly desperate, annoyed but trying not to be ... capture the strange mix of nostalgia and disorientation that often shadows middle age. It ultimately offers and energetic sprint on race, choice, change and the quiet rebellions hidden in plain sight.
Amy Gray, The Saturday Paper
Readers at a crossroads in life, those who enjoy stories about female friendship, and fans of Marian Keyes or novels about contemporary womanhood will find much to appreciate.
Marina Sano, Bookseller + Publisher
Three women bond over their marriage issues, their burning desires and their wildest dreams. Confessions are spilled over coffee and cocktails as the women navigate motherhood, misunderstandings and ... masturbation. Yes, there's still plenty of sex nestled between the important topics of female friendship, privilege and purpose.
The Australian Women's Weekly
The Sex Lives of Married Women feels like the kind of book that will be quietly passed around the SUVs at school pickup. Come for the risque title, stay for the deep and intersectional exploration of friendship, marriage, parenting and privilege. Saman Shad expertly pivots to darker, deeper territory in this compelling novel about desire, secrets and shame.
Clare Fletcher
Funny and pognant. It reveals the interior lives of women who seem to have their shit together but who, behind closed doors, grapple with more than you might expect.
Katharine Pollock
A story of friendship, relationships, parenthood and the migrant experience.
Cheryl Akle, The Australian