Women behaving badly. Bored housewives.

Never have there been more chilling villains than obsessed housewives that murder each other.

I went into this book not expecting to enjoy it because of several reviews I read, but overall I really liked it! The main character Sophie, and most of the female characters in fact, were pretty annoying. Also, some of Sophie’s actions were quite questionable and unbelievable. But, I was very invested in the story and eager for the mystery to unravel. A page turner for sure!

This book was a fun, fast read that left me uncomfortable at many points. For me, it felt a little lacking in character development. The main character was fairly unlikeable considering her half fleshed out, poor choices that she knew were not going to bring anything good to her life. The side characters were definitely interesting, and the mysterious nature of so many people kept me reading to understand why they are the way they are.
However, overall, I wish the author had done more to help the reader connect to some of the characters. I didn't feel strongly on anyone's side, because it just felt like all the characters were unhappy and doing nothing to help that. I was probably mostly rooting for the main character's husband, because he seemed genuine and understandable. Maybe dishonesty just doesn't make for fun reading for me personally?
I will say that I did not see the ending coming, so it was nice to not have guessed who was the murderer! The concept was great and I enjoyed reading something outside of my comfort zone, but I may not have finished it if it were longer or didn't make me want to know who done it.

Because of the content in this book I have chosen to DNF it at 30%. The content made me uncomfortable and in no way do I want to continue reading.

Sophie has just relocated from a hectic, magazine editor, big city lifestyle in Chicago to a sleepy suburb of Dallas, Texas. The now stay-at-home mom and wannabe mommy blogger thought she’d enjoy the peace and quiet but ends up feeling bored most of the time. Enter: the hunting wives, a group of rich middle aged ladies with a passion for skeet shooting, booze, and getting into trouble. Margot, the group’s intimidating leader, has gotten Sophie’s eye for sure. But has one of the wives taken it too far? And will Sophie get swept up in the chaos?

👌🏼What I liked 👌🏼
- fun cover (I meaaaaan 😍)
- loved the Texas local (even tho it’s north texas which I’m, admittedly, not the most familiar with
- perfectly paced ending — the book slightly redeemed itself for me in that way

🚫What I didn’t like🚫
- the unlikable characters (I know this was the point but I just could not get behind any of them and their actions). Like do you enjoy reading a book about a woman’s life entirely imploding? Cringe level high.
- the amount of drinking — it was just too major of a plot point?
- the sex with high school boys (totally lost me on this 🤢)
- I felt like the only two likable characters were Erin and Graham (the best friend and the husband) and they totally didn’t get enough presence in the book
- the way sexuality was addressed — hard to go into this without spoilers but I just didn’t appreciate how it was depicted in the book like same-sex attraction was just some hat you can occasionally wear. Idk just made me uncomfy reading it.

Y'all, this one hurt. It hurts so bad.
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I have decided to put down The Hunting Wives. May Cobb is so very talented. Unfortunately, for me, the storyline was a no go. I tried. I wanted to hang in. For spoiler reasons.... I could not.
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Here is the thing. I am the mother of young sons. Early 20's young. I just cannot you guys. I just can't. :-(
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I will absolutely support May by reading her again as I loved her first book Big Woods. L.O.V.E.D it. This might be a great fit for you, and I am staring it accordingly.

Unexpected! We bought it for our collection and it hasn’t been on the shelves once! We’ve been able to suggest it to patrons across the board

The Hunting Wives by May Cobb was such a sexy and scandalous read. If you are a fan of Desperate Housewives, you will love this book! These woman are deeply flawed, and the kind of women you love to hate. But you just have to keep reading to see what they do next. Great murder mystery that will keep you guessing and entertained!

💄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 ⁣💄⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Title: #thehuntingwives
Author: @may_cobb
Pub Date: 5/18/21⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Publisher: @berkleypub
Type: #ebook #arc (thanks @netgalley)⁣
Genre: #mystery #thriller #suspense
Must Read rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My thoughts:

-I am an IDIOT for letting this book sit on my shelf for this long. I was gifted an eArc by Netgalley last fall and never found the time to pick this up until yesterday. And folks, I finished it within 24 hours. I was addicted to this story and I could not put it down! The Hunting Wives will suck you in, keep you fully engaged and have you reaching for a stiff drink (or two!).

-This book was just FUN. Without giving a lot away, it's super sexy, scandalous and unique. You'll love to hate these characters and I am glad that I was only a voyeur looking in and not a part of this group of insane women!

-A piece of advice - take this book at face value. There will likely be things about the story line, characters, etc. that you don't agree with, but I still found this one to be intoxicating!! Go in with an open mind and just enjoy the ride. I think the pacing of this book is what I loved most. I felt compelled to read this one at every available opportunity. I bet this would be excellent on audiobook!

Well, well, well! Nothing like a smash up with Mean Girls and Desperate Housewives! These woman are the quintessential small southern town cougars that you love to hate but can’t help but want to read about! They love shooting guns and like their men young...well except their successful husbands of course!

So sexy and scandalous, and I hated that I loved it so much. Great murder mystery that will keep you on your toes!

Loved the pace. Didn’t like the actions of the characters but that’s what makes you keep reading I guess. It’s a guilty pleasure read for sure.

DNF at page 82. Not comfortable with where the story seems to be going, so I think it's best to put this one aside.

I'm a little torn on this one. The pace was great, I found myself staying up for more chapters. The story was in theory very good, a group of women with a little mystery and scandal. There were parts that I was a little uneasy with - specifically the relationships with high schoolers but the thriller aspect of the book was well done. I would've liked a little more of an epilogue as well.

Well this was not what I expected....these women took hunting to a whole different level & gave it a whole different meaning. I did like it & it was a fast read especially with how it made me think I figured out the mystery but I was totally wrong! Lots of gasp* moments but also a few where I was a bit irked by...overall a decent summer read!!

When I first saw this one as a Book of the Month pick….I couldn’t click the ‘make my book of the month’ button fast enough. Not only is the cover eye catching and memorable, but the description sounded tantalizing. I have been on the look out for a really good domestic thriller lately, something in the vein of Samantha Downing and this one sounded perfect!

I am sure many of you have seen this book on a number of ‘hot releases’ or ‘most anticipated’ lists this spring and all the buzz made me equally excited and wary. I mean clearly I bought into the hype since I couldn’t get my hands on this one fast enough, however there was part of me that worried that I wouldn’t love it.

The last domestic thriller I read that was getting all the buzz I did not like at all so there was part of me that tried not to hype this one too much in my mind because if I didn’t like it, I didn’t want to feel fully let down. I would say this book fell firmly in the good category for me. I mean I didn’t love it in the way that I hoped but I was content with the book and how things played out.

Summary
The Hunting Wives share more than target practice, martinis, and bad behavior in this novel of obsession, seduction, and murder.

Sophie O’Neill left behind an envy-inspiring career and the stressful, competitive life of big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in a small Texas town. It seems like the perfect life with a beautiful home in an idyllic rural community. But Sophie soon realizes that life is now too quiet, and she’s feeling bored and restless.

Then she meets Margot Banks, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. Sophie finds herself completely drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying. As Sophie’s curiosity gives way to full-blown obsession, she slips farther away from the safety of her family and deeper into this nest of vipers.

When the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet, Sophie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and her life spiraling out of control. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
The easiest way to describe this one is Mean Girls with murder. That’s what intrigued me about this one in the summary and I couldn’t get that comparison out of my head. The book was well written and fast paced with characters who made some serious bad choices. There was an obsessive quality about this one (in multiple ways) and I flew through it in a couple of days. Secrets, lies, murder, rich bitches. There was a lot to enjoy and a lot to satisfy your guilty pleasures. It felt like the ultimate vacation read for me while I was in Arizona.

So what didn’t I love about this one? Well…..the main character was fully unlikeable. But it wasn’t just her. None of the characters were likable for me—-at all. While I might not have liked the characters at all, I think there was a truth in their characters that was honest and ugly if not a little darker, that I could appreciate. Sophie (the main character) was also pretty unreliable and I thought that added some unease for readers which fans of the thriller genre will enjoy. It would have been nice to have more of a tether in the fire storm of drama though.

And there is drama. So. Much. Drama. If you are looking for a book that hits all the morally questionable decisions, sex, drugs, and rock and roll this is it. It felt like an indulgence for me, like a train wreck that you don’t want to watch but you just can’t NOT watch. This book had all the juicy drama—not that I agree with the decisions and choices made by various characters, but the drama was on point in this one let’s just leave it at that. If drama is your thing then this is your book!

I really wish I had liked at least one of the characters or at least could sympathize with one of them but sadly at every turn I just couldn’t connect with any of them. Perhaps that’s the point of this one but in some ways it would have made it a more enjoyable read for me. So where does that leave us in the rating of this book? I went with 4 stars. I enjoyed it and thought it was a good, worthwhile read, but would have been 5 stars if the characters would have been a little more likable.

Book Info and Rating
368 pages, Hardcover

Published May 18, 2021 by Berkley

ISBN9780593101131 (ISBN10: 0593101138)

Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: mystery, thriller

I’ve been in reading slump for a couple months and this fast paced, suspenseful book did the trick of getting me back on track with my reading! Fun read about suburban moms behaving badly and murder. Highly recommend!

I could not put this book down!! Totally incredible!! This book was a trainwreck you wanted to walk away from because you couldn't bear to see what happens -- but you find you can't do it!! You need to know what is going to happen. Sophie is an ordinary housewife with a social media business but bored. She joins a club after becoming obsessed with the group leader - Margot. You want Sophie to walk away and go back to her normal life -- but she can't and because she can't things happen and spiral out of control. I loved May's writing and I can't wait for her next book!!

Well, this book was completely not what I expected, and I don’t say that in a good way. The premise sounds really juicy and full of drama. A group of wealthy wives get together to shoot skeet, drink, and gossip. But there’s something sinister about their little group. Reading about cheating spouses and underage relations was not something I enjoyed. I skimmed through to the end so I get answers but I didn’t personally enjoy this one.

Thanks to Berkley for my copy!

In what might be the best thriller of the year, May Cobb solidifies herself as one of the most engaging writers in the genre with The Hunting Wives.

The novel focuses on Sophie, a magazine editor who left her busy life in Chicago with her husband and child, for a new life in a laid-back Texas town. She quickly becomes restless though, and spends her time obsessing over one of the towns socialites, Margot.

The two quickly become good friends, with Sophie getting sucked into Margot's life of drinking, gossiping and target shooting. Sophie's life rapidly spins out of control, as her obsession with Margot turns into a relationship filled with toxicity. It's too late when Sophie realizes Margot and her friends aren't who they portray themselves to be, and there's a history there that should have be left untouched.

With The Hunting Wives, May Cobb breathes new life into the thriller genre. The novel is fast-paced, intoxicating and more intimate than most thrillers are.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC!

The Hunting Wives was a domestic drama/thriller with an ending I did NOT see coming.. What more could you want?

The first half of the book follows Sophie, a SAHM to her adorable toddler and wife to her kind husband. They've recently moved to a small city in East Texas, to escape the city life from their original Chicago home. It is there that Sophie meets the "Hunting Wives" - a group of four women, all wealthy, who meet every Friday to shoot skeet and "blow off steam." The leader of this group is Margot Banks, a woman Sophie quickly becomes obsessed with. Things seem to be going well for Sophie, as she is now invited into their group... until a body shows up on Margot's land.

This book is one of those that was fascinating because of how terrible these women truly were. It did make me cringe a little while reading it (I feel like it's a spoiler if I say what it was - but let's just say these women were doing some very cringey, not okay to do things). Nonetheless, I gobbled this book up, and I did not see the ending coming. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read it!