I definitely wasn't sure where this book would end up taking me but I was happy with the journey. Its a study of how powerful men can change the course for a woman without even knowing they did it. It becomes subconscious for them. Or is it? Powerful men have always been scared of strong and talented women.

What we women need to work on is our ability to lift each other and support each other. This is ultimately the point of The Work Wife.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book.

3.5 stars. I wasn't sure what to expect with this book and somehow had the mistaken impression that it was a thriller. Because I'm disappointed by thrillers 99% of the time, I was prepared to dislike it. As I worked my way through the book, I saw that it was not a thriller at all but more of a character study around three women affected by a #metoo situation in Hollywood. At around 40%, I nearly DNFed, but I'm glad I stuck with it. I loved getting the perspective of three very different women who were orbiting the same man and coming to terms with their own identities and what they had sacrificed. I would recommend this to readers who are interested in books with a #metoo theme or interested in a peek into the life of a Hollywood assistant.

Well written but I confused the voices. Expected something different but was satisfied with what I got. The cover is also beautiful

I’m glad I didn’t jump ship for this one. It was a very slow start until about 30% in the book when things really picked me up. An enjoyable read! Thank you net galley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Zanne, Holly and Phoebe all have something- a lot- to say about Ted Stabler, a Hollywood mogul with a secret Phoebe knows. This takes place over the course of a day when Zanne is trying to manage a big fundraising party for Holly and Ted. Phoebe, his former producing partner who he had cast out of the fold, turns up and turns things sideways. Each of these women have their own story- Zanne's effort to get the top job and her relationship with a younger woman, Holly as the "trophy wife" dismissed by Ted's peers and their spouses, and Phoebe, oh Phoebe. In some ways, these people are all tropes but the story does take a few surprising turns. It's a tad slow to start but once it gets going, you'll be turning the pages. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For fans of Hollywood novels.

3.5 stars!
Overall, this was a pretty decent book, especially for its genre. It did what it promised to do, but it didn't do anything other than that
THINGS I LIKED:
I connected with Holly almost immediately- I like her characterization a lot. Her internal monologue is so fun. But on the outside she's so different. There were moments that made me cringe so so much like when she was talking about Phoebe and being extremely racist, but you could also tell that wasn't the author behind it, it was the character. She sounded like a lot of white women that I know in real life which made her even more accessible in a strange way. I could give her a face easily.
I love Phoebe too!!! Her story stuck out the most to me and I love her POV. A lot of her parts are so, so powerful too
I like how all three POVs are so distinct
This fit a very niche genre that I am obsessed with
The plot felt very relevant and I enjoyed the concept.
The use of bisexual so clearly and explicitly was AWESOME!!! Especially since Gaby isn't questioning it and doesn't feel tormented about it.
The banter between Holly and Phoebe combined with Phoebe's inner turmoil was great
The world was fascinating to me. I love all the details that normally aren't included in books, like the actual verbatim job listing (even though it was hard to read in this format, I could still read the parts that were "circled" and "annotated"). It didn't feel all glamorous and glitzy. It felt real and awful.
Phoebe and Ted's dialogue was perfect. You could tell they were on the same page and communicating just enough to show their history but also they didn't have to explain things or give them away
The expose was written significantly better than Zanne's actual POV and I wish her whole arc had been styled like that.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
The beginning felt weird and stilted somehow. Like it was a lot of information all at once.
The descriptions could be nice, but sometimes they felt like too much. There was a lot of overexplaining
sometimes I found myself plodding through Zanne's POV to get to the other two. I'm not sure why she was the starting one since the next two chapters were so much more engaging.
I definitely overyhyped the book in my head, so I was slightly disappointed but I'd still recommend it
I don't understand why a lot of sapphic romances these days have such big age gaps. Gaby could've easily been in her early 30s at youngest and still have been trying to get her first job after lots of college. The whole her being a Gen Z thing rubbed me the wrong way and I don't understand the point. Also, it's weirdly hypocritical that Zanne is so judgy of Ted for dating someone eleven years younger than him when her girlfriend is 16 years younger than her?
I will say that the pacing was slow when I felt like I was promised a thriller. 70 pages in, I was still in the middle of exposition. I wanted more conflict. I don't think that all the characters are strong enough for this to be a character driven book. I think the plot has a lot of potential, but it's not being executed well
I don't understand why this wasn't in first person. I could always tell whose POV it was without them having to state it

Told from multiple perspectives and being VERY descriptive this one lost me. You have a high flying Hollywood producer with a wife, an ex-wife, and a work wife. It all gets exceptionally confusing. I went in thinking it was a light fun read and was caught in a quagmire. If you want to deep dive into the Hollywood scene and you love detail, this may be for you. For me, it grew tiresome and I couldn’t wait for the end to come. Thanks to NetGalley for advance read.

as someone in a similar position, this book really put a lot of things into perspective for me. i really like the dynamics and character work in this, and the story flowed beautifully throughout. would definitely recommend to others!!

Couldn't put it down.
Delighted to include this title in the July instalment of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see review at link)

I'm going to be honest I didn't care for this. For me to be interested in a thriller it has to be really unique or have a really great twist. This book just didn't have that. This just felt like the same kind of story. There was nothing unique here. If you really like thrillers you'll probably like this.

The book weaves a story of one day in the lives of four different people but we only get three POVs. The story was captivating and kept me curious what would come next. “Seeing” the inside lives of a neurotic almost reclusive filmmaker and the personal assistant whom he relies too heavily on was very interesting. The ending fell a little flat for me because it was more open ended and I was hoping for more resolution. The author was able to turn two characters I liked throughout the book very quickly into people I no longer liked after some of their actions came to light. I like the way she paralleled this timing with Zanne’s self awakening. Overall I definitely recommend for a compelling read.

Rating: 3.5 to 4 star
Genre: Fiction

Let me start by saying that this book deals with some heavy topics that are very poignant and important (#metoo movement and gender equality). I loved the underlying messages and I believe that this book is important. The book spans one day through three different woman's perspectives. All three narrators are connected to the same storyline.

All of that being said...I felt like there was too much detail and too little detail. Some of the small details lost me at times and some of the bigger things could have been discussed more. I didn't connect with this book as much as I wanted too; however, I would still recommend looking into this book! I might be in the minority on this one.

Read this book if you:
-Enjoy books around the #metoo movement
-Like books with heavier themes
-Enjoy books with multiple narrators that are all connected in some way

Absolute banger. It did NOT take the direction I thought it would from the description, and I'm overjoyed. A nuanced, fresher take on how the metoo movement affected Hollywood. Proper diversity without shoehorning.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It hooked me from the very beginning and kept me on my toes the entire time. Highly recommend.

This was not a book for me. It started off with too many characters, too many situations, and too much background info. It made my head swim. The character Ted was totally a Steven Spielberg copycat- down to the 8mm camera of his youth- but then the book compares him to Spielberg. I couldn’t finish it.

The Work Wife is a story of Zanne, a personal assistant to a billionaire movie director. It’s also a story of Phoebe, the ex wife of the same movie director. Their stories converge in a way that is slightly expected but still engaging. The strength of both women as they overcome adversity in a mainly mens world is refreshing, but I feel like the ending was rushed and not fully developed. I was left wanting to know more. I would have given more stars if there were less loose ends.

When I first started this one I was thinking, ok this is gonna be kind of a light read, definitely some drama but nothing too deep. Well I was wrong, this absolutely went darker and even though it wasn’t what I was expecting I ended up really liking it. It’s told over the course of just one day and you get three perspectives. Zanne, a personal assistant to a Hollywood power couple, Phoebe who was business partners with Zane’s boss Ted years ago and Holly who is married to Ted. It pulls back the curtain and gives you a glimpse at the dark side of fame when Zanne uncovers some shocking accusations from the past. I’ll stop with plot details there and just finish by saying that if you want a book that feels like a summer read but still has depth and dimension give this a try. It would also be a great book club pick as it brings up a ton of questions too.

So we follow the day to day of an assistant to a wealthy man basically. There’s some stuff surrounding sexual assault and this man’s relation to it. That’s pretty much all I can say as far as the plot.

I honestly found this book kinda boring. It talks about some important ideas. Power dynamics, men exploiting their power, sexism, micro aggressions but, it just wasn’t for me. I was truly just uninterested. But I was able to finish the book and remain relatively entertained. Overall 3/5 stars

This could have and should have been better than it was. The potential was there. Alas, this disappointed me. SMH.

Cannot recommend for my tastes, I am a fair reader with broad tastes but am picky about my expectations. This did not meet them.

Thanks to NetGalley, Alison B Hart and Harlequin Trade Publishing Graydon House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 7/19/22

While reading this book I knew that this one was not going to be one that a lot of people might now like. The reason why I do not think people will like it is because it has a lot to do with the Me Too movement. I actually studied gender, sexuality, and women's studies in college. So I was very excited to read this one. With that said...this was just not the book for me. I do love how the woman wanted to get justice and stand up for themselves. But I just found the plot of this book very boring. I found myself not really caring for the characters and there stories. I also think there are a lot of books that deal with the Me Too Movement much better than this one. I am so sad I did not like this one that much, because this one seemed right up my ally.