Unfortunately, this novel fell flat for me. I found the characters unrelatable and somewhat robotic in a sort of creepy way. I could not connect with any of them, and therefore the plot and drama that unfolds was not compelling at all. Perhaps the author was trying to create the detachedness of New York, but for me this did not work. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

An engaging and interesting novel. If you're a fan of novels that examine the lives of the rich and wealthy (especially in New York), then I think this will be of interest. It caught my eye shortly after I read (and very much enjoyed) "The Nest" by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney . It's a very good novel about the lives of the women who live on the edges and at the centre of well-heeled, modern New York life - complete with examinations of their lives, loves, desires, ambitions, and pasts.

Recommended.

I really wanted to live this one because it sounded so interesting, but I hated most of the characters and just couldn't get invested in their story. This was a bit of a bummer for me!

This has everything I like. It's a character-driven story, with a focus on customs and manners of a certain class. It's not quite a manners novel, though, because there are secrets and scandals, too, not just descriptions of stylish, wealthy motherhood. There's also a commentary about class and power, but you can enjoy the gossipy drama at the same time.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I tried on several occasions but could not get into it, Thank you for the advanced copy.

Didn't come close to finishing this book. Characters were whiny and predictable, and I couldn't make myself care about their lives.

I really enjoyed Caitlain Macy's other books but this one just didn't work for me. It was way to slow and the story was choppy.

I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate this book. I just ultimately couldn’t get into it. I didn’t feel for any of the characters and really just couldn’t relate to them or the plot.

I couldn't finish Caitlin Macy's Mrs. Sadly, I just couldn't get into it. It reminded me too much of the Big Little Lies HBO series (can't speak for the novel it's based on), but it was so much better written and more engaging than Mrs.. Also, when I received this ARC, the book had already been in print for a month. Obviously a lot happens between the "upload to NetGalley" date and the publication date, but I did not enjoy what I read.

"In the well-heeled milieu of New York's Upper East Side, coolly elegant Philippa Lye is the woman no one can stop talking about. Despite a shadowy past, Philippa has somehow married the scion of the last family-held investment bank in the city. And although her wealth and connections put her in the center of this world, she refuses to conform to its gossip-fueled culture.

Then, into her precariously balanced life, come two women: Gwen Hogan, a childhood acquaintance who uncovers an explosive secret about Philippa's single days, and Minnie Curtis, a newcomer whose vast fortune and frank revelations about a penurious upbringing in Spanish Harlem put everyone on alert.

When Gwen's husband, a heavy-drinking, obsessive prosecutor in the US Attorney's Office, stumbles over the connection between Philippa's past and the criminal investigation he is pursuing at all costs, this insulated society is forced to confront the rot at its core and the price it has paid to survive into the new millennium.

Macy has written a modern-day HOUSE OF MIRTH, not for the age of railroads and steel but of hedge funds and overnight fortunes, of scorched-earth successes and abiding moral failures. A brilliant portrait of love, betrayal, fate and chance, MRS marries razor-sharp social critique and page-turning propulsion into an unforgettable tapestry of the way we live in the 21st Century."

A modern Golden Age?

I really want to like Mrs. by Caitlyn Macy. However, the lack of likable or truly unlikable characters in this book make it a challenge. Further, the structure of the book with way too many characters, shifting viewpoints, and a very slow pace make it a challenge. If I read the first few chapters and the last few chapters, I would get the entire story. The rest is simply a circuitous route to connect the dots from beginning to end, unfortunately making this not the book for me.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/06/mrs.html

Reviewed for NetGalley

Thank you for the NetGalley of Mrs. ! I enjoyed this novel - I'm a sucker for the New York socialite/rich-and-famous scene, but done in a literary way (think: Rules of Civility over The Devil Wears Prada). It felt a bit like Gossip Girl grown up, and the vibe is, truly, a bit reminiscent of Big Little Lies as promised, with the story centered around a group of individuals who all have children at the same preschool and the ways that their lives are tied together under the surface. Gossipy, but still literary rather than fluffy, and totally readable.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

Mrs. was a solid slow burn for me as a reader - while I wasn't sure in the beginning if I was going to be able to get thoroughly into it or not, I am happy to say, it turned out to be a book I enjoyed quite a bit in the end.

Caitlin Macy writes very distinctively - in this story, especially in the beginning, the story simply dips into the lives of the various women in a loosely affiliated Upper East Side community. All of the women come from wealthy, influential homes, and all the women share the distinction of having their children attend the same highly sought after preschool. Beyond that, all of the women are vastly different, although the parallels and intersects of their lives are continuous.

As a reader, it took me awhile to catch the flow of this book, and to get into the story. Partly because of the movement between characters and jumps in the timeline. But I am sincerely happy to have stuck with it, as Caitlin did masterful work of weaving seemingly individual threads together into one complete storyline. I found myself flying through the last few chapters to see how the story ended - and for me, it ended in a wildly dramatic and satisfactory way.

This is a great read for those who love a slow burn character drama.

Three women, Philippa, Gwen, and Minnie. Their children go to the same prestigious school in the Upper East Side, but their lives are connected even by events from the past that they are trying to conceal. In the meantime, their husbands have their secrets, too, but soon things spiral out of control.

I thought this was going to be something like Gossip Girl meets Big Little Lies so I was really looking forward to read it, but I was disappointed. It didn't have the same vibe or the same sharpness. The characters are not really likable and they are a little flat (and mostly drunk). I wish I had liked it, but I really couldn't get into it.

Mrs. by Caitlin Macy delves deep into the world of the upper class in NYC, a world of nannies, hedge funds, and luxuries. This book has quite a few main characters to keep track of but the author does a smooth job of twisting their story lines into one combined tale. There's insider trading, prostitution, and infidelities. There might also be some gossiping. This is one juicy tale. Read and enjoy!

I ended up buying the audiobook but thank you for the approval!.

My review on goodreads:
Have you read this book? The blurb at the top of GoodReads suggests this could be the next Big Little Lies.

Philippa Lye appears to have it all when her life is shaken up by Gwen and Minnie. Women can be caddy right? At the center of this novel is Philippa's reaction when Gwen’s husband uncovers an enormous secret from her past that’s sure to ruin her reputation and standing in the community.

I enjoy books about the messiness of life which makes this a good choose for me. There are a lot of characters to keep track of which can be difficult when listening vs reading.

3.5 elegant stars to Mrs.! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .5

Caitlin Macy’s novel, Mrs., is a character study featuring Philippa Lye, a socialite who has it all, or so it appears to be precariously portrayed. Her life is shaken up when two other women enter the scene, Gwen Hogan and Minnie Curtis. The dynamics between the three women are fascinating to watch. How will Philippa cope when Gwen’s husband uncovers an enormous secret from her past that’s sure to ruin her reputation and standing in the community?

Philippa, Gwen, and Minnie live on the Upper East Side of New York City, and while I found none of the characters particularly likable or relatable, I enjoyed watching how the story unhurriedly unfolded, exposing betrayal, secrets, and lies. The storylines were dramatic and at times a little stereotyped.

Overall, I found the characters to be vividly depicted, and the story was engaging and well-planned.

Thank you to Caitlin Macy, Little, Brown and Company, and Netgalley for the copy to read and review.

I wanted to love this book because of how deeply observed it was, but the clumsy plot mechanics got in my way. Ultimately this achieved Big Little Lies-esque drama and awesomeness, but it was a frustrating road to get there.

Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. At the halfway point there just did not seem to be anything happening. The writing meandered a little to much for me - I could never really pick up on the flashbacks/thoughts that each character was remembering.

I'm not ashamed to admit that one of my go-to genres is Wealthy People Behaving Badly. There is just something about reading (or watching) people with stupid amounts of money acting foolish and, hopefully, getting caught doing it. It's the small, petty part of my psyche, but I own it. When I read the synopsis for Caitlin Macy's new novel Mrs. I thought I'd struck gold. Something juicy to sink my brain into. The ingredients are there-rich women clustering every day outside their children's elementary school, gossiping, some richer than others, and secrets all around (almost a trope now that Big, Little Lies blew it up on HBO)-but does Macy bring them together and get the pot to boil in time?

Just as the school is the central location for much of the drama in Mrs., Philippa Lye is the character around whom mystery swirls. Beautiful and aloof, she is the woman all the other women want to acquire as a friend. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Gwen Hogan, a quiet woman who most often gets mistaken for a nanny at pick-up. She has no interest in any of the social scheming but she knows Philippa from their hometown. Her husband, Dan is a U.S. District Attorney, prosecuting financial crimes in Manhattan. He has a vendetta against, John Curtis a hedge fund manager with shady financial dealings who has recently returned to NYC with a new wife and a stepdaughter who gets immediately accepted at St. Timothy's, an unheard-of feat. The circle closes with Philippa's husband, Jed Skinker, who runs his family-founded bank and who soon seems to be in some kind of business arrangement with John.
Macy gives Mrs. a lot of ways to go but the novel doesn't begin to move until the last quarter when the key plot point is revealed. Prior to this, there are plenty of hints about all the main characters, but the overwhelming feeling is one of reserve and ennui. Even when the truth starts to come out, as Gwen and Dan are discussing what is happening around them, they are talking at each other without understanding the other's point. It makes for confusion and the sense that none of these people belong together. It isn't even a case of antagonism or animosity; all the couples interact with the emotion and intimacy of chess pieces. Macy moves them around the board well enough but they are stiff and almost completely devoid of emotion.
Marketing blurbs liken Mrs. to Henry James's masterpiece The House of Mirth, but honestly, that comparison is as overworked as anything suspenseful being called "the next Gone Girl". STOP. IT. How the plot or theme relate to the James novel I couldn't say. The only similarity is in the writing style-cerebral, with the minutia of the characters' lives and very little action, much like many of the classics. If you are a contemporary reader then Mrs. is going to feel like the Sahara, shimmering with the hope of a drama oasis far off in the distance. If you are a reader ready to slow down and willing to wait, Macy writes well in exposing the not-so-pleasant aspects of people with wealth and, ultimately, explodes secrets everywhere.