This is an addictive thriller best read in a single sitting. Throughout this book I was constantly reminded of The Great Gatsby, much in the smalltown opulence and in the eccentric portrayal of Margot. As Sophie is lured in to a new social group, the plot quickly begins to thicken with the introduction of the elusive social club with a no questions asked attitude. For me there were still questions left unanswered by the ending, and I felt it was a bit rushed. However it's still a raunchy thriller with a lot of oomph to keep you coming back for more.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This is well written but not enjoyable to read because it’s about a bunch of privileged women treating each other and their husbands terribly.

Sophie has relocated to Mapleton, Texas, from the suburbs of Chicago. She left her job as a magazine editor to spend more time with her three-year-old son and take life more slowly. But she gets her errands done quickly and throwing herself into gardening only takes up so much of her time. So when she befriends a group of women who like to drink too much and shoot skeet on Friday nights, she enjoys the diversion. (Speaking of drinking, it seems like twenty-four hours a day Sophie is either drinking lattes, tea, wine, or hard liquor.) Some of these new friends of hers behave badly, and, while Sophie crosses the line a little, it’s enough to put her marriage to a wonderful man in peril, especially when the seventeen-year-old girlfriend of one of their sons ends up dead by a shotgun blast in the same place the women go to shoot skeet.

This does have a nice twist in the end. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 9, 2021.

This was...wow! Totally not what I expected. But in a good way.

It’s Women Behaving Badly...and I loved it.

I loved that none of the characters were really likable. So you don’t mind if/when something happens/happened to them.

I found it hard to put this one down.

A huge thank you to Berekely Pub and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review!

Overall, I thought this was a unique storyline and a fast-paced read. The steam between Margot and Sophie kept me engaged, as well as the "whodunnit" aspect of the book. However, I wish we got more of a backstory between all the ladies in the group, especially Margot. I felt like there was more behind her than what was given and I think she would have generated a bit more sympathy if we knew more about her.

I did have a fun time reading this book and I can't wait to read more by May Cobb!

Final rating: 3.75/5

This one was a spicy thriller of friendship, betrayal, and lust. The main character is being set up for murder and on her quest to uncover who is setting her up, she unravels several other lies along the way. Who can she trust and how does she also get herself out of the situation she is in. This is like desperate housewives meets Single White Female. I enjoyed most of the book but found the ending a little lackluster. This one gets 3.5 stars for me.

Okay, so I've clearly been typecast-- or whatever the literary equivalent is-- by publishers, so I'm sent far too many of these female-centered thrillers and they all wind up running together. Everything is too long and drawn out, either overly dramatic or not dramatic enough, etc. If you're in the same boat, and you've read too many generic novels in this genre, you're in luck. I flew through The Hunting Wives; it's readable and the characters and plot are surprisingly unique. I was not expecting the story to go where it went, based on the synopsis. I thought it was going to be about a group of rich women who had some kind of club where they hunted other people for sport. Luckily, it's not that at all. Sophie's attraction to and fixation on the enigmatic and sexy Margot is fun and interesting, and compulsively readable, even when it becomes uncomfortable. Definitely worth adding to your TBR list.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

There was so much drama, so many twists, so much to keep you turning the pages, I couldn't put this one down once I started it. But one of my favourite things about this book was the way the author painted a picture in your mind with the details. I could smell the espresso being brewed, feel the summer heat, taste the sharp chardonnay. I loved that there was so much gossip and scandal - it was fun to read when everything else in the world is so low. I'm a big fan of Big Little Lies and this felt right along those lines. Give me all the suburban drama - and I can't wait for more from May Cobb!

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie O'Neill is bored with living in Mapleton after her fast-ced life in Chicago. But wasquiet an time with her young son was what she was seeking with her husband. With little to do other then gardening, cooking and blogging, she becomes obsessed with socialite Margot Banks. This twisty and steamy book draws Sophie into a world of late night target practice and so much more. When the dead body of a young girl is found, Sophie belives she knows who did it, but has too many secrets to tell the truth. After Margot is found dead, she believes she is being framed for the murder. Her life is spiraling out of control. The book is raw. and graphic in parts.

The Hunting Wives..... holy shit balls did I flipping love this!!

Who is May Cobb and where have you been all my damn life?! Ok... has she been hiding under a rock because THIS is exactly the type of thrillers that I devour.

Sexy, dark, crazy, addicting, and conniving house wives at it's finest. Ok... I seriously could not get enough of this one.

Can we just talk about Sophie for a minute? Obsession and sexy is putting it lightly for this gem of a lady ;). Sophie is drawn to an inner circle who call themselves the Hunting Wives. I mean what's a harmless group of women that go hunting for the male species? Sounds innocent right? Until you had murder to that right? ;)

Let me just put this in a nut shell for you. This domestic thriller is NOT to be missed. Definitely one of my top reads for 2021.

5/5 stars!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 5/18/21
Published to GR: 1/11/21

While THE HUNTING WIVES had an alluring summary and seemed to start out strong, it quickly wound up feeling very repetitive and filled with cheap, tawdry drama without enough ‘why’ behind it.

THE HUNTING WIVES follows 30 something mom Sophie as she, her husband, and her son move to a quiet suburban town after she decided she wanted to escape the buzz of her urban life. Unfortunately, she immediately realizes her new life seems dull and becomes obsessed with Margot, a chic socialite in town. Sophie manages to gain an invite into Margot’s inner circle of ‘Hunting Wives’ (which has a double meaning) and rapidly falls down a black hole of obsession and desire.

Overall it just felt like the author was continuously trying to shock the reader by adding as many salacious storylines as possible (cheating, lying, betrayal, statutory rape etc), none of which had a strong enough backstory to make it seem plausible. This is a pass for me, unless you’re looking for shock and awe without the substance to back it up.

Thank you to netgalley for the copy!

WOW! I received this ebook as an advanced release from NetGalley to review. The Hunting Wives has set the bar high for the rest of my 2021 reading. It has the perfect amount of drama, suspense and thriller topped steamy scenes that will have you on the edge of your bed. Sophie is a character that I slightly hated at times all while cheering her on throughout the book. I loved all of the characters but by the end of the story Callie had my heart and I know Sophie will find her own way to thank her just so. May Cobb has hit the skeet (wink) with her must read novel "The Hunting Wives"!

Sophie has a good life, a loving husband and son and a new slower life than her career-driven Chicago life. But Sophie finds Margot through a friend on Facebook and can’t stop thinking about her. When they meet at a charity event and Margot invites Sophie into her friend group, it seems too good to be true. And it is. What started as girls nights with wine and skeet shooting turns into lustful and murderous hijinks. With time jumps and foreshadowing, Cobb makes readers care about these deeply flawed characters. With a summery setting and characters that readers will love to hate, Cobb has created a suspenseful page turner.

This book was fun! It was a super quick read and I found that I didn't want to put it down. The mystery kept me going quickly so I could figure out who the killer was, and why. There were some sexy scenes that were fun to read, too. My one gripe with the book was that the main character was kind of annoying. Her inappropriate behavior when she had a husband and small child at home was cringe worthy. She kept putting herself into situations that she never should have been in. But she redeemed herself towards the end with her detective work. Great read!

A special thanks to Berkely Publishing and NetGalley for my honest opinion for this ARC.

Wicked, wicked, wicked. Loved it!

A thoroughly entertaining novel with bold, alluring characterization. The storyline brims with lies, depravity, with and a bit of ladies club on the side. May Cobb has created a brilliant cast of characters with affluence, attitude, and charm. Readers will love getting to know them but even more, will absolutely love to hate them. The concept of the storyline was nothing short of fun with tons of twists, turns, and a bit of shock along the way. Great read for book clubs.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #BerkelyPub for the ARC of #TheHuntingWives which was won through #ShelfAwarenessPro. All thoughts and opinions posted by Wayward Readers Book Blog are original and offered voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC!

This book made me want to throw open my windows, let in the fresh air, breathe in a rain storm, sink my knees into the earth. Yes, it was about a group or devious, sharp wives who shoot on Friday nights and cheat on their husbands, but the writing was so beautiful, reading the book felt like watching a summer storm.

This was my first from the author and I loved it. I loved her imagery, I loved her wives, especially Sophie’s vulnerability. I found myself relating to her thoughts of unrest all too well, and instead of it being worrisome, it was a comfort. Trauma and abandonment root deeply. I can’t help but understand why she acted the way she did sometimes.

But all in all, you do really have to admire a woman who takes charge of her future and does what she can to clear her name. I think that’s pretty badass.

And that twist made my jaw dropped, and I actually gasped.

The Hunting Wives was a solid thriller. I loved how conniving it was. I loved the nastiness of the wives. It was definitely a crispy apple type of read. I recommend this.

Overall, this is a solid thriller (with a great cover!). But personally I struggled with it. I think that's maybe due to where I'm at in life and how the characters made me feel.

This book has all of the right elements. The Hunting Wives are intriguing and their antics suck the reader in. While the whodunnit is bit easy to predict as you get closer to the end, there is enough mystery going on in this book to keep you guessing.

I think my problem is that I really, really hated the main character Sophie, who basically blows up her entire life for two reasons that are never really deeply explored in the story: her sexual attraction to Margot and her alcoholism.

I know that characters who make bad choices are the backbone of every good story. I accept that. However, Sophie rarely makes any GOOD choice this entire book. You just want to take her aside and explain, "you have a drinking problem and you are in love with Margot-both of which are overriding your ability to make good choices." Instead she keeps doing destructive things and then wondering, "Why am I doing this?" and then promptly doing them again (with a glass of wine). Frankly, it got tiring after awhile.

Maybe my reaction is a function of age. I know how much work it is to achieve all of the things Sophie has in her life. To see her throw those things away because she refuses to take a hard look at herself was ultimately hard (and unenjoyable) for me to witness. I guess I needed to feel like she had some redeeming qualities in order to have enough empathy to root for her throughout the story. I had trouble doing that.

This book has some solid storytelling, but again, perhaps not a great match for me personally. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was good. I just didn't click with the main character. This just wasn't the book for me. It's like Real Housewives (which I have never watched, so that may be inaccurate) and a murder mystery. Like Desperate Housewives based in a suburb of Dallas. It was good, but the main character annoyed me. She makes so many weird choices and acts like a jerk to her husband. There is something appealing about the cover, otherwise I may not have noticed this one.

* Alternate review to be published on mysteryandsuspense.com on 1/2/2021. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/author/michael-david/

Ever hear that saying, Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?

I think that should apply to every member of the Hunting Wives, a group of “friends” who like to drink and shoot skeet every Friday evening. Skeet shooting is not the only thing these women like to hunt. They’re always on the prowl.

When Sophie, new to a small town in Texas, finds herself bored with small-town living, she’s eager to shake things up...and is immediately intrigued by Margot and her elite crew. They make up the Hunting Wives. Sophie is swept up into their clique, but soon finds that it’s not all fun and games. Soon, she’ll be right in the middle of a murder investigation...and she won’t know who to trust.

This is a juicy and wicked thriller that traps you in its lair from beginning to end. The characters aren’t very likable, and Sophie makes one bad decision after another. She exasperated me, and I wanted to scream at her to get a freakin’ grip! Yet, I couldn’t stop flying through the fast-paced story.

There are plenty of twists and revelations to keep things interesting. I’m looking forward to reading more from author May Cobb.

Thank you to Berkley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Expected Publication Date: 5/18/2021

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com