this book is a fast-paced summery drama with thriller elements it follows a woman as she gets wrapped up in a group of suburban housewives that drink copious amounts of alcohol and partake in socially unacceptable behaviors together in her new small town in texas. she begins to become obsessed with the perceived leader of the group and it goes down from there and boy does shit hit the fan.

i love a good suburban mom drama and the whole last 30-40% was very thriller and the twist and turns i loved. the last section was probably a 5 star for me because it really kept me guessing and reeling. while the beginning 50-60%ish wasn't bad by any means, it was mostly set up and the main character, sophie, getting indoctrinated into this group. while i do think that exposition was necessary it honestly dragged on a bit and felt slow at times. i see what the author was trying to do with building suspense slowly over time but it definitely could have had better pacing.

i enjoyed the small town aspects and how everybody knows everybody's business because i love knowing other people's business lol i haven't lived in a town like that since i was a kid and honestly i want to live in a small town one day just to know everybody else's tea and maybe something like this would happen to keep me entertained. the characters in this are all extremely unlikable but personally, i don't mind that, and especially in this type of story it really works for me. it may not work for everybody but i love morally grey characters.

this book definitely was giving vibes similar to big little lies but also this newer movie called deep water that just came out this year. the woman the main character becomes obsessed with was very similar to the character in that movie. i really did enjoy that aspect of it but it had the murder mystery and suburban drama of big little lies.

while this book was not perfect it is a really fun ride and i would recommend it for anybody who is starting to crave that domestic thriller vibes again with a twist.

thank you to berkley publishing group, may cobb, and netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this up because of Gabby. I enjoyed it and will check out more from this author. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

An explosive and dramatic women's fiction. I loved every page of this fun and exhilarating book. A great summer read by the pool.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

The premise drew my attention in immediately—Sophie, a young mother and wife moves back home and becomes immediately obsessed with a group of socialite wives; more specifically their ring leader Margaret. Unfortunately Sophie gets dragged into their world of secrets and lies that soon spin out of control until she is faced with the ugly consequences, the murder of a teenage girl found in the woods. Through reading each chapter I kept thinking what might have been going through Sophie’s mind as a character for her to continuously lie to her husband (I felt so bad for Graham 😭) and defend these viper like women. The novel had my attention until mid-way when Sophie started to contradict her own words. I felt that the story could have gone a completely different way but ended in somewhat of a character development for Sophie. Although the novel itself wasn’t a bad read, it wasn’t great either. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. Catching up on missed reviews & can't remember enough other to say what I liked about it.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. I'll hopefully try again in the future. Didn't capture my attention and engagement. I'll hopefully try again in the future.

Another book that I have to write a conflicting review about. The pros: the book is a fast paced page turner that will hook you until the end. The cons: I hated every single one of the characters. All the women just seemed so immature and kept making poor choices. I can deal with a bunch of characters like that if there is at least one character that I could connect with. Sadly in this book I couldn't. I would have rated it higher if it wasn't for the deeply flawed un-redeeming characters. I will say this, I believe that Cobb has some excellent writing abilities and I am looking forward to seeing what she has in store in her next books.

https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/books/2021/05/11/author-may-cobb-mines-her-east-texas-roots-for-the-hunting-wives/

This is a book about grown women behaving like college freshmen. They drink to excess (and then drive) at any time of day. Sophie is apparently a 35-year-old woman with a husband and a son that she's happy with, but for some reason she's obsessed with this woman she sees on her friend's Facebook page.

She goes out of her way to become friends with her and her group of friends, only they are not a very nice group of women. They barely seem to work, although somehow they need to afford the wine and bourbon that is constanly being consumed.

They shoot skeet on Friday nights, which is fine, but then they go out to the bar and flirt with other men. They only give their first names and they don't go "all the way." Unless you're Margot. They are all married, and their husbands don't know.

Sophie ignores her actual friend, Erin, and just acts dumber and dumber as the book goes on. It turns into a "crime" novel where the police don't listen to Sophie. So even though she's drunk all the time and dumber than dirt, decides to play armchair detective and does what the police cannot do.

The whole thing is so ridiculous it's hard to even follow. There are plot holes everywhere.

THE HUNTING WIVES is such a juicy and addictive read. Cobb crafted a thriller that has so many layers to peel back the reader will not be bored for one minute. The relationships with the women and the murder investigation set the stage for one great read.

I am disappointed because I was expecting more from this one. It's not a bad book, but didn't work with me.

2.5 stars.

This was a definite page-turner, however, I hated literally every character. Every one of these women just sucked. A lot. And they were all so goddamn stupid and annoying lol. All in all, the ending was a tad predictable and the whole storyline kind of dumb, but it was still a fun, mindless read (when I wasn’t busy hating the characters so much hahahaha).

Nonetheless, thank you to Berkley Publishing & NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the e-book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. Not my cup of tea. I found the characters kind of insufferable and I honestly don't see what's so scandalous about going out with your friends and flirting with men after you're married. It was suggested that the ring-leader of the group was sleeping with a high school kid, and it was treated more like a naughty dalliance than a sexual assault. (I don't recall if the kid was 18 or not, but still.)

I read 40% of the ebook before putting it down for good. I have to assume something more compelling than late night partying and hookups happen, but I was over it before we got there.

I had to read this book when I heard it being compared to Desperate Housewives. I just watched that whole show for the first time recently, and I loved it so much! This book has the same kind of drama and murder mystery. Sophie and her family move to Texas where she becomes obsessed with a socialite, Margot. Once they meet, things start to go downhill quickly at their weekly hunting nights. I certainly felt like none of these characters could be trusted. Some of the things that happened were rather over the top, but that’s about what I was expecting. I sort of guessed who the killer was but overall it was an engrossing story with lots of drama.

I had the hardest time with this book and I'm not sure why. I really hated it while I was reading it and @booksandcoffee_hawaii reached out to me to talk about it and she REALLY opened my eyes and slightly turned it around for me.
She helped me realize that this is an almost satirical take on men in society, although I don't think the author intended that. The story follows a group of women who have a hunting club; shooting guns, drinking alcohol, and then afterwards, they throw house parties where they invite over high school boys that they cheat on their husbands with...? They basically do all things that our culture associates with men in society.

The hardest part of this book for me was that these women were making terrible choices, and they were terrible people in general. They literally had no redeeming qualities. I couldn't even enjoy the fact that women got to act like men. (*Alexa, play "If I Were A Boy" by Beyonce) It took the most terrible parts of men; the sleeping with underage girls, the cheating on their perfect spouses (for no reason other than boredom), and left me feeling unattached to the characters to the point where I just wanted to see them all fail.

I also had a huge issue with the author having them sleep with high school boys, and never commenting on how wrong it was. She even went so far as have the main character research the laws on sleeping with 17 year olds, only to find out it was FULLY LEGAL where she lived. It was truly a disgusting take on sexual assault.

At the end of it all, I don't know where I stand. I despised it truly, but I do see the draw. And I had so many discussions with people who truly loved this! I think sadly, this was just not the one for me.

DNFd this one. This book was soooo boring. And disgusting. Adult minor relationships give me the creeps!! Would love to not give this book a single star!

I thought this was an interesting thriller. I liked the twists and turns, but I did not enjoy the characters! I just felt like they were not enjoyable at all. The story though, it excellent, and drives you to keep reading!

These suburban dramas are still pulling me in. I just can't get enough of the secrets and lies that surround bored wealthy house wives.

Sophie left a bustling city life. She decided to do what was best for her family and move out of the hubbub and into a rural setting. A drastic difference to say the least. No matter how hard Sophie tries she can't help but miss the life she left behind. That is until she crosses Margot's path.

Margot is one of those suburban enigmas that sweep in everything within their reach. Housewives want to be her, husbands want to have her and the lesser masses just hope for a glance in their direction. It's almost like poor Sophie didn't stand a chance.

All it takes to shatter the newfound glory is the discovery of a teenage girl where the ladies usually meet. Now suspicions are cast about the group. Each one claiming innocence, but knowing that at least one person isn't being completely honest.

In my opinion...Sophie should have tried to find a better hobby....hehe. Overall it was a very intriguing story. I was definitely pulled in and was eager to get to the ending where everything would be revealed...and let's be honest to see if my guesses were correct.

When Sophie moves into a new town, she wonders if she'll be able to fit in and find a new friend group. Then she meets Margot and her squad. Margot is like no one Sophie has ever met before, enigmatic, incredibly beautiful, and intriguing. Soon, however, Sophie finds herself doing many things she would never have even thought of doing because of Margot's wishes and the very strong urge to get approval from Margot. This is a wild ride of obsession, betrayal, scandal, and sex set in Texas where the rich housewives, dubbed The Hunting Wives, have found the most unique ways to spend their time.

This book. It was horribly horrible in the aspect of the characters' behaviors, but I couldn't stop reading!! If you like a thrilling book with a lot of deceit and scandal- this is one to read. I am really looking forward to more books by May Cobb. Definitely loved this one.