“Talk about morbid gossip. I’m all ears.” - Brooke

Well, buckle that safety belt and hop on this psychological suspense roller coaster!
Reminiscent of:
Good Girls 📺
Desperate Housewives 📺
The Hunting Wives 📘
If that’s your thing, don’t miss this one!

This is one bingeable book! I could have easily read this in one sitting. If I didn’t have anything else to do, or a family, or out of town guests, or a new phone to deal with 😂

Brooke Davies, the young, beautiful mystery writer moves into uber exclusive Presidio Terrace in San Francisco with her newly married hubby, Jack - who also happens to be a billionaire tech giant. She quickly befriends her neighbor, local news anchor, Erin who is married to successful cosmetic surgeon, Mason King. Across the street lives Erin’s bestie, Georgia aka “The Black Widow” who has mysteriously lost two husbands - one “accident”, one “suicide”. They quickly form a tight trio and you’ll be on your toes contemplating the possibilities of what the heck is going on. No spoilers, but it’s fun. I especially loved the characterization of Erin because it immediately hit a chord with me. We have a local Houston news anchor, always perfect, who’s married to a prominent cosmetic surgeon. I’m sure that’s where the similarities end! 😬

I rated this 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley for the gifted copy! Publication date 7/20/2021

Reminiscent of Desperate Housewives this read is an entertaining story of the elite and wealthy and their lives in a private and exclusive gated community just outside of San Francisco. It is delightful storytelling with humor and an exploration of all the relationships within this community. The message here is: Be careful what you wish for!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC!

WOWSER!!! I just finished The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives by Kristin Miller. If you like Psychological Suspense, you have to get yourself a copy of this book. I laid awake in my bed last night trying to figure out this book. I thought I figured it out and went to sleep. I woke up thinking about this book and couldn't go back to sleep. What do you do? Well, you get up and finish the book to find out you were only a tiny bit right. This book is so much more than I thought it was!

The plot is fabulous and so well thought out. From the moment I started this book, I couldn't put it down. I tried to finish it yesterday but, I couldn't. I had to leave it until I could get a few hours of sleep.

There are some trusted authors that can involve my mind so totally in their story. I think Kristin Miller just moved up to that spot. This is my second book by her with In Her Shadow being the first. If you haven't read any of her books, I highly recommend you try one. I think you'll be hooked like I am.

I received a copy of this book from #Netgalley/#PenguinRandomHouse for a fair and honest review. Thank you!

Omg I loved this book! I highly recommend it as it’s the perfect summer beach read! I didn’t want to put this down and even when I did I grabbed it right back up! Sooo good!

This book started off really strong in the beginning and then my interest lessened a bit toward the end. However, for the most part, this was a delicious novel that was a lot of fun. It’s mostly Women’s Fiction with some mystery/thriller elements. It follows three married women in an affluent neighborhood where one of the women has an interesting history with suspicious deaths tied to her love life. 3.5 stars ⭐️, rounded up. I was prepared to give this 3 stars because I thought the ending was bit too much, but the final twist totally caught me off guard so I rounded up to 4 ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

This book felt really disjointed and wrapped up too quickly. There was too much going on to feel invested in any of it, and it felt like there were a lot of dead ends.

Great domestic thriller! This novel was well-written and fun to read. You’ll find yourself questioning everyone in the novel. Would definitely recommend.

I'm just going to admit right up front that I didn't think I would like this book as much as I did. I thought it would be OK. The description appealed to me and that's why I requested it. But the title had me a little less convinced and then I saw the cover. I thought that maybe this wasn't for me.

This was for me. I didn't think I would like the characters. I did. These were strong women in bad situations. Mostly, the story is told from Erin and Brooke. Erin, the perfect anchorwoman who runs the home owners association is starting to feel old and misses being the young woman everyone wants. Brooke is that woman. But she is also a writer with a brand new billionaire husband and a brand new home in the neighborhood. We also hear a little from Georgia, the Black Widow. Ok, a few of her husbands have died. Is that her fault? Depends on who you ask.

The story seems like it will be pretty shallow and maybe follow the same same formula as other mysteries, but this one went a little bit deeper. Look closely and you may see desperation and abuse. You may see friends that will do anything for each other. Some characters may react in over the top ways to things happening around them, but they may have their reasons. Or their plots. These three women were a joy to read about. I wanted them to win all of the things.

If you're looking for a great poolside read with Housewives-esque drama & some light mystery & thrills, look no further than Kristin Miller's "The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives"!

I had a really great time with this, it somewhat resembled a modern day Desperate Housewives but set in San Francisco (one of my favorite cities, ever). I loved getting to know the ladies of Presidio Terrace, each of their storylines both separately & together were really interesting & there were plenty of twists & turns - some of them were pretty standard, but there were a few (the end!) that were really great. I live for campy, bitchy dialogue & humor & this book was filled to the brim with it - props to Miller for all of the great snark (especially from Erin, lol)! I do wish we would've gotten a little bit more from Georgia's POV, but I can also see how leaving her perspective mostly in the dark added to the overall mystery.

All in all, this was pure escapism, a really great summer read (but can totally be read anytime throughout the year) - if you're a fan of the Real Housewives franchise, this is something you've got to put on your radar! Thank you so much to Kristin Miller, NetGalley & Ballantine Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Brooke is a token trophy wife, former mistress, of Jack Davies--a man twenty-two years her senior. Seeking the perfect home, they settle on the exclusive neighborhood Presidio Terrace.

During their first visit, Brooke meets Erin, a news anchor and president of the community board. Erin is about ten years older than Brooke and feels threatened by her, but decides to befriend her instead.

Georgia "the Black Widow" lives in the neighborhood as well. Her first two husbands died "mysteriously" from an accident and alleged suicide. She is now approaching marriage number three while everyone around eagerly anticipates the future.

I was not sure how all of the pieces would go together until the epilogue--and WOW! This should be on your TBR list soon because you'll love it!

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the e-arc for review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin/Random House for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a bit silly but also entertaining and I had a hard time putting it down. A light read of a soap opera type story involving 3 Housewives that live in a plush community. Told from each wives point of view they each tell there version of events that unfold in this mystery.
Fun light summer read. 4 stars.

Silly and forgettable this may be the worst mystery I have read in some time. Not sure why I even picked this one at all.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives by Kristin Miller is escapist fun! Reading this novel landed me somewhere in the middle of a daytime soap opera and a season of “Real Housewives of….” (you fill in the blank.)
Presidio Heights is the setting, a posh neighborhood in San Francisco. The story involves three women and their respective husbands and/or fiancée, who are involved in secrets, affairs, and cold-blooded mayhem/murder.
The narrative is told from the points of view of the women—Erin, a well-known TV news anchor; Georgia, her wealthy neighbor known as the “Black Widow;” and Brooke, a writer who is newly married to a tech billionaire. These multiple POVs keep the narrative moving, and there is plenty of action. It is far-fetched but still entertaining.
I enjoyed the novel’s location in San Francisco, and appreciate the author’s intent to show women helping other women. For me, the characters were all unlikeable and self-absorbed, or just shallow, and the soap opera quality of the action and dialogue became less engaging as the book went on.
This book is good light entertainment and can be a fun escapist beach read.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

This was the first time, in a long time, that I was not rooting for any of our main characters. I just could not connect with any of the women. But the story was pretty good and kept me from DNFing the whole thing.
There was one reveal that literally made me gasp out loud.

Brooke and her new husband are moving into an exclusive Bay Area neighborhood. He demands a certain standard from her and she doesn't mind being his adoring wife. But things do begin to change a bit once she befriends two of the neighborhood's most prominent figures. One woman is a local news anchor, whose marriage isn't as perfect as she'd like you to believe. The other woman has been dubbed The Black Widow after the deaths of her first two husbands.

This book would make a great beach read.

Thank you so much to the author, Ballentine, and Netgalley for this ARC to review

This was such a fun read! Going to the beach, read it! Staying home, read it! So totally not what I expected, I expected a Real Housewives episode, but this is that and more!

Brooke and Jack move into a mansion in an exclusive gated community. Brooke is a mystery writer, and wife #2 to rich Jack who expects perfection. Brooke befriends besties Erin, a news anchor quite full of herself married to a handsome plastic surgeon and Georgia, dubbed ‘Black Widow’ because her first 2 husbands have turned up dead and is planning her wedding to #3. Who did it? Will it happen again? Are these women for real? Over the top and stretched to the max of imagination and reality! Sucks you in from the beginning scene in a hospital room till the ending when, you’ll just have to read it and see!

Told in the voices of all 3 women, not necessarily likable characters in itself, in fact, no one in this book is really likable, but somehow it all works together. This is what a summer read is all about. Over the top living, women who want to be eye candy and be taken care of, men who think they own the world and can do anything they want, until it all comes crashing in around them. Totally unrealistic for the average person but it makes for a fun read!

Thanks to Ms. Miller, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this fun escape. Opinion is mine alone.

Brooke Davies, mystery writer, and her much older, tech-mogul husband, Jack, move into an exclusive San Francisco neighborhood called Presidio Terrace. Brooke soon befriends two neighborhood women, Erin and Georgia, who have been best friends for years. Erin is a newscaster at a local station and is married to Mason, who is a plastic surgeon. Georgia has money from her first two marriages, due to the untimely deaths of her husbands, and has earned herself the nickname of "Black Widow". Georgia is engaged to marry again, to a well-to-do man named Robert, and the women crack jokes about how long it will be before he dies too.

This story is told in alternating voices, from the viewpoints of Erin, Brooke, and Georgia. It's easy to get sucked into their lives as the story unfolds. The reader will form a love/hate relationship with all three women throughout the book. As you dive into the stories of each character, and learn about their seemingly perfect lives, you begin to wonder who you can actually trust.

The Sinful Loves of Trophy Wives is a lite psychological thriller. It's an easy one-sit read that has some fun twists. It is the first novel I've read by Kristin Miller, but it will not be the last.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroup-Ballantine for an ARC of #TheSinfulLivesofTrophyWives by #KristinMiller for an honest review of the book. 4 stars!

Mystery writer Brooke Davies & her tech-billionaire husband, Jack move into Presidio Terrace, San Francisco’s most exclusive neighborhood, only to find out they will be neighbors to Georgia St. Claire, better known as the “Black Widow”. Georgia supposedly murdered her first two husbands and is now engaged to be married a third time. Brooke strikes up a friendship with Georgia, and with Erin King, news anchor and chair of the community board who is also Georgia's best friend. As Brooke spends time with the two women, she decides to work their characters into her current murder mystery. Days before Georgia is set to wed again the groom goes missing and Georgia is the prime suspect.
I really wanted to like this book. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed those, but this one fell flat for me. It was like a real housewives murder mystery meets daytime soaps and I don't mean this in a good way. I really can not in good conscience recommend this one.

This was a very fun and quick read. Clocking in at less than 300 pages, this book was full of a lot of lies, deciet and deliciously wicked women. The pacing was fast and I really enjoyed the 3 different female POVs. This is an unlikely bond between women, let alone neighbors. I thought this was well executed, even with a few undeveloped plot points. A solid beach

Presidio Terrace in San Francisco, CA is a gated community with residents who are looking for privacy and security.

Brooke is married to billionaire Jack who is 22 years older than her. She is an author but she is basically just seen as a trophy wife.

Erin is married to a plastic surgeon and she is on the local news. She walks out on her job one day and assumes her husband will enjoy having her home more often but he has become used to her not bring home in the evenings and Mason has become used to his routine.

Georgia is engaged and about to marry husband number 3. Her first 2 husbands both died under suspicious circumstances and everyone believes she killed them. Everyone calls her the Black Widow.

There are a lot of secrets that will be revealed during this fast paced book. It is a fun and light read. I wish I liked the characters a little more…not much depth at all. I did really like all of the surprises that finished up this book.

Thank you for the early digital copy!!!

The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives is full of rich people behaving badly.

This was a soap opera full of larger than life characters and crazy events. The plot moves quickly as we follow two POVs, both from wealthy women are friends with the "Black Widow"- a millionaire whose previous two husbands have died-right before she gets married a third time.

I enjoyed reading Brooke's chapters, but I had a hard time with Erin. She seemed to live in a fantasy world where her expectations did not match reality and she did things that made no sense, even though she seemed like she was supposed to be a smart, ambitious woman. The ending had a twist I did not see coming that made me go back and reread some chapters, but there are still some things I was confused about and unsure why a character acted or said a particular thing. [If Brooke knew all along Georgia's secrets, why was she so curious to go digging for them? If she's such a great planner, why did she get caught so easily in Georgia's office? And she didn't seem to have much reaction to shooting her own brother.