What an amazing debut novel! It's funny and tender at the same time, and I couldn't put it down.

Mum-friends Erica, Louise and Polly need the help of each other, so they come up with an unusual arrangement: they'll live together at weekdays, to share childcare and house chores, and go back to their homes on weekends. What seems as a brilliant idea soon stars falling into pieces, as the three of them (and their children) are very different from each other.

I loved the three main characters, as they were so well developed, and I fell in love with Erica's sense of humor from the beginning of the book.

If you have ever been overwhelmed with juggling your career, children and housework, or if you don't but you want to have a good time reading about it, then this book is definitely for you!

This is my first book by Kathleen Whyman as this is her debut novel, but it won't be the last!

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion **

This book had an intriguing premise and I was definitely eager to read it. If you're given the chance to move into a B&B with your friends to share childminding and house costs, who wouldn't? Being a mother certainly isn't easy and it takes a village to raise a child after all...

I wanted to love this but felt like I couldn't connect to the characters. All of the women, bar one, were lazy and insufferable. I felt sorry for their children. They seem to spend a lot of their time drinking wine and arguing over a whole host of mundane and trivial things. It seemed to drag for half of the book until we finally got some character development and start to see that they are hugely flawed.

The book tackles some sensitive subjects and manages to do so sensitively. The topics covered range from self-harm, friendships, relationships, domestic violence to bullying and depression.

I loved how it showed that nobody is perfect and that we are all imperfect in some way. Nobody is an ideal mother but children deserve to see their parents and shouldn't feel as though they are always second to work.

A well-written book that tackles difficult subjects sensitively. I liked this but wanted to love it. I wish the characters were more relatable because this had the potential to be fantastic.

I love to discover new authors and Kathleen Whyman is certainly a new author for me.  I read the synopsis for 'Wife Support System' and it certainly sounded like an interesting read.  I couldn't wait to get started and so without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down to start reading.  I did enjoy reading 'Wife Support System' but more about that in a bit.

I have to be honest and say that the character of Erica particularly irritated me.  It wasn't anything that she did really but it was the way she acted and the way in which she treated certain people.  She's the sort of person that I think I would fall out with.  I didn't warm to her at all but at the same time I had to find out if she modified her behaviour and to see how the story panned out for her.  

It didn't take me long to get into this story.  In fact by the time I got to the end of the first chapter, I knew that I was going to be in for one fun and light hearted read.  I was spot on too.  I couldn't read the book in one long binge because I had other stuff on but I did manage to read it over the course of a few days.  When I picked the book up, I would become so engrossed in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly the pages were turning.  All too soon, I reached the end of the book, which I was disappointed about.

'Wife Support System' is well written.  The author has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with.  In fact reading this book felt more like a chat with friends or listening into a bitching session between a group of friends, rather than reading a book.  The author grabbed my attention from the start and drew me into the story from pretty early on.  I really did feel as though I was part of the story myself and that's all down to Kathleen's very vivid and realistic storytelling.

In short I did enjoy reading 'Wife Support System' and I would recommend it to other readers.  I will be reading much more of Kathleen's work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

I really enjoyed reading this book, which tells the story of 3 woman who moving in together in 1 big house, thrown in 5 kids into the mixture and you have this amazing book.

I really enjoyed reading this book, with thanks to Netgalley and Hera books for the copy of this book in exchange for this review.

Three wives, five kids, and a house. Kathleen Whyman has written an entertaining story with plenty of food for thought. Louise, Erica, and Polly are on vacation complaining about their partners (or lack there of) when Erica has a great idea. What if we all live together during the week share childcare, household chores, and cooking. Then on the weekends we go stay with our partners? At first both Louise and Polly are hesitant, but eventually they come around to Erica‘s way of thinking. When the women first move into Polly’s big house it is wonderful. They are enjoying the camaraderie, the companionship, and the shared responsibilities. BUT it doesn’t take long before things go slightly sideways. Erica is a workaholic, Louise is constantly checking out, and Polly is left doing the bulk of the child care. When things start getting personal over a argument about who’s turn it is to purchase toilet paper, it is time to reevaluate this experiment.

This was such a fun book. I absolutely loved this refreshing plot line. Anyone who has ever had a roommate knows it is all about compromise. In this book not all the women were always willing to do this. I found Erica particularly selfish. I really wanted to like her, but I had to question a few of her actions. Louise was a hot mess! I really felt for her and how consumed she was with her luxe. The saddest part was she had a husband who loved her just the way she was and she didn’t appreciate it. Polly’s story was heartbreaking, but I have to admit it was the story I was most interested in. She really had a big heart and I was really thrilled with how this book ended for her. What I loved the most about this book was the interactions between the women and the growth these characters had throughout the book. A well done engaging debut.

This book in emojis. 👩🏼 👩🏼 👩🏼 👦🏼 👦🏼 👧🏼 👧🏼 👧🏼 🏚 🐶

*** Big thank you to Hera Books for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Three wives and five children decide to live together for a month to share household and childcare responsibilities. What starts out as a crazy idea turns out to be a life altering decision for all the three women. The premise of the story is realistic and relatable. The multiple points of view narration gives us not only the perspectives of the characters but also their transformation. The book is filled with a lot of emotional and comic moments. It was a pleasure to read the book. I am looking forward to reading more books by the author. Thank you Net Galley and Hera Books for the Arc. The Book is releasing on 29th July 2020.

I liked the book although it was a bit hard to get to it at first due to the number of characters. It was a nice, feminist read but I think it lacked something.

Erica, Polly and Louise are all at different stages of their lives. Balancing marriages, relationships, motherhood, and all the intricacies of being a successful mother lead all three woman to a crossroads in life.

The women decide to uproot their lives and live communally in Polly's fixer upper B&B. At first the arrangement seems to be a blessing, shared childcare, housework, errands, etc. but as the women spend more and more time together, they all begin to pick at each other's mothering, housekeeping, and individual lives.

Will the three women and their friendship survive the new arrangement, or will their lives implode from the change?

With likable, relatable characters, any reader can see parts of themselves mirrored in one or more of the women. I highly recommend this book!

What do you do when your spouse isn’t helpful with the kids and chores? You move in with two other run down moms and try to group raise your children, what could go wrong?

With work, childcare, household chores, potty training, and a social life, it’s a wonder how most mothers do it. With the help of each other, Erica, Polly and Louise move in together to tackle life as a team. However, this is much easier said than done. The women bicker and disagree and even take advantage of each other throughout the book. But as each woman grows and learns and begins to understand that bettering yourself is always possible.

Although I liked the story, I didn’t find myself liking any of the women. They are all flawed, in their own ways, but they got on my nerves. They made silly decisions and treated others wrong. I didn’t find myself cheering for any of them at all.

I really struggled with this book. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, and found that the multiple perspectives probably didn't help with that. There were some good bits of drama and comedy though.

This was an enjoyable read. The sypnosis promised me something different from what I've ever read before and I'm glad I gave it a shot. It was fun, funny, light, easy to read and just overall enjoyable.

Bunching a group of women together to help and support one another sounds idylic to many as a solution to child care and loneliness. Wife Support System shows the highs and lows of this arrangement and how difficult it truly is to live with others, especially when your outlook on life and parenting is quite different! But you don't know this until you try.
This was a good read. The characters were all very different and the author had me loving and hating them at different points in the story. Each one had their own demons to sort out and it was a pleasure to journey alone with them through the pages of this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy to review.

#WifeSupportSystem #NetGalley
Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to get a free e-arc for Kathleen Whyman's debut book "Wife Support System." When I saw the book cover, I was intrigued by the cover and the summary. The truth I expected to be more a straightforward woman-fiction story, but the truth is the plot has some themes that I didn't expect.
I want to give a trigger warning for cheating, self-harm, physical & emotional abuse. Even though I enjoyed it, each of the main characters, Erica, Polly & Louise, have their secrets that they keep from each other. But those secrets are the part that builds their friendship at the end.
The dynamics between the women are lovely reading, and I loved how the author tackled various aspects of parenthood from the "my child would never do that" to the "can you pick take so and so to school scenarios." While each of the women has personal lives and problems, there is also the new challenge of working together and finding compromises; this does not work so well.
Ultimately the book makes us realize that life is not a roller coaster ride for anyone-neither to people seemingly happy from outside nor to those with full luxury. And that, no one is ever perfect in whatever they do, and it doesn't matter at all. What matters is, we get to live with small moments of a smile every single day.
"Wife Support System" comes out on July 29th.

This book was the perfect chick-lit book that I didn't know I needed. Three friends decide to move in together with their children to help with childcare. It would be so fun to live with your friends, right? Well, most of the time it was fun, but lots of hidden secrets and lies were also discovered while they lived in Wife Support.

What happens when three mums and their children live together in an attempt to share childcare, housework and emotional support? Is it a winning formula or a recipe for disaster?

Wife Support System is a great read; when I first read the description I thought it would be your standard fluffy beach read. But it's so much more than that. The writing really delves into the lives and mindsets of the three main characters - Erica, the career woman with huge mum guilt, Louise, lacking in self confidence and overcompensating with organisation and Polly, single mum with a dangerous secret. At times you will love and hate all of the them, and find yourself identifying with many of the situations they find themselves in. What's also great is that the storyline doesn't pan out as you expect, and the full facts don't appear until towards the end of the book. Although it might seem on the outside that you're the perfect mum, being ultra nurturing or showering your child with expensive gifts, not all is as it seems.

Wife Support System was a really engaging read, and I found myself carving out the time to indulge in a few more chapters. It's a modern take on motherhood; it's not all sunshine and flowers, sometimes there are huge sacrifices to be made.

This had such a bizarre plot I was intrigued to read more.

It follows the story of 3 mums and their children who move in together to provide a support network to each other for one month.

Workaholic parents Erica and Dan have just lost their nanny and neither are able to look after their children due to their work commitments.

Louisa, also a workaholic mum, seems to leave everything to her husband and their marriage is at breaking point, despite her pretending it's not.

And Polly, a widow with 2 children suffers extreme anxiety since the death of her husband.

In this fabulous story, boundaries are crossed, friendships and relationships are tested, and secrets unravel. There are betrayals of trust and each woman's parenting skills come into question.

I thought this was a brilliant debut novel from Kathlyn Whyman. It was easy to follow, had a bit of everything and there were lits of surprises along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed it, a 5 star read.

A lighthearted and fun look at how to juggle the roles of mother, wife and career woman - and how perhaps it's easier for other women to understand what's going on.

This book was a lovely read and I enjoyed it for numerous days. I really can't recommend it enough to readers who enjoy Beth O'Leary books too.
The story is about 2 women who are having issues at home, since one of the (Polly) has a huge B&B they all decide to move in together, kids in tow. Will all their problems be solved? Will everyone take part? Will their friendship survive when they can't escape each others company?
I adored the brilliant humour that was injected throughout this book, but it also highlighted some real-life issues such as depression and anxiety.
Each 'wife' has a completely different marital situation, Erica was juggling her career with her daughter and her husband who spent 90% of his time overseas didn't intend on doing anything to help; Louise felt her marriage was fine until her husband, Nick suggests moving into Polly's B&B is the best option for their difficult situation. and then there's Polly , who's husband has passed away and she is left with this large house and no one bu there children to fill it, moving in her two best friends seems like a good option, although we don't really know much about Polly's story until the latter part of the book. I also think that Polly's character has an air of mystery which automatically draws you into her particular story.
To summarise, with an unexpected ending, lots of laughs and moments where tensions are running high; Wife Support System is a fabulous book which you need to read immediately! I also couldn't believe this was a debut novel for Kathleen Whyman. She reminded me so much of some of my favourite authors work and she is definitely on my must read list for any future novels. Thanks so much to netgalley and Hera books for the advanced readers copy.

When three stressed mums decide to solve their problems by sharing a house and childcare for a month, what can possibly go wrong? One is so wrapped up in work she hardly ever sees her daughter, one is so organised with safety checks and domestic rotas she drives everyone (even her own husband) up the wall, and one has panic attacks and is hiding her scars as well as her secrets. Each of them changes as the story progresses, discovering things about themselves and making much-needed life-changing decisions. They all, in different ways, find love. I enjoyed the book, and the way alternating chapters are written from the three different points of view, although the structure changes in the final few pages which try to merge their three stories/voices in combined chapters and tie it all up in an epilogue that didn't quite work for me.

This was an engrossing story of three women at different stages of relationship/marriage no are finding life’s constant juggling act difficult to manage due to lack of support structures. They decide to share a large Somewhat dilapidated house and pool resources, new and childcare.
Of course, personalities, money differences, parenting styles, housework duties, and a mix of children’s personalities all conspire to hinder the perfect plan. For anyone who has been exasperated with their lot trying to manage too much, this addresses those difficulties.
An enjoyable read with a realistic premise which develops characters and scenarios well.
If you on reading this during stressful lockdown, or have ever holidayed with another family, you are bound to identify with or recognise the difficulties faced by these three women.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review