I completely enjoyed "The Wife App" by Carolyn Mackler! a fun, empowering, current, girl power novel. Loved the concept, the friendships and personalities in this book. Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Okay wow. I INHALED this!! What a fun little romp!

This book has a very interesting concept and I loved reading about the development and implementation of the Wife App.

But I also just loved following the core group of ladies on each of their journeys. They were all interesting in their own ways and I loved seeing them grow and change and, most importantly, learn about themselves.

I actually went into this thinking it’s a romance and it does have romantic aspects to it but it’s ultimately so much more. It’s a book about friendship, relationships and, ultimately, learning to love yourself and be comfortable in your own skin.

So. I absolutely loved this!! Once I started reading, I could not stop. This is the perfect addition to any summer reading list!

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster & NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book! It was spicy, relatable, and fantastic. I adored each of the characters, and found myself laughing out loud but also getting angry with my (pretty great) husband. This is a book every wife will be able to relate to. I love the wit, fast pace, and general direction. Can't wait to recommend this book to my friends & book club!

3.5 stars because I love the premise that this book provides but had a couple of issues.

We follow 3 divorcees and friends who are tired of husbands taking advantage of the typical work load that a wife does (or that a spouse does in general).
Lauren finds out that her husband is cheating on her and wants revenge.
Madeline is the seemingly perfect mom but finds out that her ex-husband is trying to have their daughter come live with him in England for a year.
Sophie is struggling financially after her ex-husband refuses to pay for extra things for their children, forcing Sophie to cover the expenses, even though he is taking luxurious vacations with his new wife and baby.
The three friends decide to create an app to help wives (or spouses in general) get paid for jobs that they would normally do for free, entitled the "Wife App".

This was a very easy book to read and was a fun idea.
The pacing felt off at times, where a ton of things would happen, but then nothing would happen. It's hard to visualize an app like this working in the real world (which is how I think of contemporary fiction), but seems like a great idea, theoretically. I would have love to have more of the actual app in action vs spending 50% of the book coming up with the idea and putting it in motion.

There are other issues throughout the book (gender identity, anxiety, mental abuse) that were approached with great care and I loved how they were talked about. The way that CBT is presented positively was very thoughtful, especially with the stigma still surrounding mental health. I loved seeing different dynamics of families and wives.

Overall, this was a great, contemporary read and a great idea that I wish could actually exist!

Thank you to #Netgalley and #simonandschuster for an eARC of this title! All opinions are my own!!!!

The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler

What starts out as a joke between friends to charge for all of the responsibilities that a wife takes on in a marriage, turns into an app in high demand. The Wife App as it is called allows people to upload their "mental load" into the app and to hire a "wife" to take care of it for them. Responsibilities could range from filling out school paperwork to organizing household chores, etc.

I love that this book talks about the mental load of being a wife. It is real!! This is something my girlfriends and I talk about regularly so I liked that this book touched on something that is so pertinent to all of our lives. This was an enjoyable read. My one negative comment would be that it took me a little bit to get invested in the characters; but I loved the concept of the Wife App.

The synopsis drew me into this book and I was super intrigued because it was very original. I really enjoyed it!

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

I love the premise of the main characters, divorced women around age 40, figuring out how to monetize the unpaid labor in marriage and motherhood. The Wife App is a task app where anyone can hire out tasks like filling out school and medical paperwork; organizing and scheduling; planning birthday parties; and many other tasks that traditionally fall to the “default parent” in a family, often the woman.

I love the New York City setting and related to the season of life of the main characters, as I am a similar age and raising school-aged and teenage children, too.

Carolyn Mackler is a successful YA author and this is her first novel for adults. The Wife App feels like fresh contemporary women’s fiction. The novel critiques the patriarchy and the ex-husbands are very flawed and selfish. The novel wraps up quite nicely in the end, which some may find unrealistic, but I liked rooting for the women and seeing their success and happiness.

This book is about three friends Lauren Sophie and Madeline they’re all at different stages in their life Madeline is the rich divorce with a beautiful daughter who wants to go live with her dad in London. Lauren is a technical wizard and she is newly divorced after finding out her husband was cheating on her with call girls She has twin daughters Katie in Amelia and they are 11. then there is Sophie she has two boys Charlie and Trevor and she is struggling to make ends meet Charlie his anxiety problems and despite the fact her ex has a new wife and baby daughter and goes off the trips to Maui and spends Thanksgiving in LA and refuses to help with his therapy she decides to pay for it herself. She is also questioning her future and what that will look like exactly she is from the Christian family and struggles with her real sexuality. After divorcing and a conversation with her BFF Madeline, Lauren came up wife The Wife App which is like a virtual assistant and people sign up to pay others to do those tasks that a wife would usually take care of. The app is supposed to say something about the patriarchy but a lot of the things that were done and can be done on the app ranges from necessity to the vein things such as find a horse, fill out and stand in the line with the application to get a two-year-old into an affluent preschool and bring the dog to the vet to have their butt shaved. Lauren and Sophie were my favorite Madeline has her own issues between being obsessed with her teenage daughter Annabel and finding men to sleep with on bumble she has a pretty full life she was my least favorite as I find anonymous sex gross and pointless and can lead to many devastating events such as unwanted pregnancy sexual disease and even hooking up with a sadistic partner but this is just my opinion it’s clearly not Madelines. I also thought she seemed quite codependent on her daughter either way I digress I love the whole premise of this book about three women trying to make it in a world full of big bad horrible man but I also love how much Sophie and Lauren learned about their self Lauren through her divorce in Sophie through trial era and heartbreak. I don’t like the turn that books are taking where mothers seem codependent on their children an act as if there another credible opinion in the Home it could be disrespectful if they want to but this is just my own opinion I also thought Sophie should’ve taken her ex back to court because if he’s rich and she’s poor why would she have to work extra to pay for her sons therapy that’s not just her son especially if he’s vacationing in Maui… Really? That really drove me crazy and what’s even worse is I know that happened in real life but either way the endings to two of the stories were awesome the third was kind of predictable but it all makes a really enjoyable read! There’s feel good heartbreak in a second chance at romance and I enjoyed it all. Even the parts I didn’t agree with I still kept reading it really is a great book! I received this book from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind to dictate my review.

I’ve never felt more seen than while reading this book. The Wife App brilliantly puts into words the immeasurable burden of the mental load on default parents/spouses.

I loved that the book featured three strong female protagonists making the best out of undesirable situations. I was worried that this would be a “bitch about your spouses” book and come off whiny/paint wives as complainers, but this was NOT that at all. Everything was so incredibly relatable, even to someone who hasn’t stepped a foot in New York City(and honestly, doesn’t want to).

I can’t recommend this novel enough! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler

Published: June 27, 2023
Simon & Schuster
Pages: 367
Genre: Women’s Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Carolyn Mackler is the author of the popular teen novels, The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (A Michael L. Printz Honor Book), Infinite in Between, Tangled, Guyaholic, Vegan Virgin Valentine, and Love and Other Four-Letter Words. Carolyn's novels have been published in more than twenty countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark, Israel, and Indonesia.
Carolyn lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.

“Who the hell knows if anything will ever be fine?”

Lauren is a devoted mom to her twin daughters, and she tries to be a good wife. But lately, things have felt different with her husband. Sophie is a busy single mom, trying to get everything done while trying to be okay with hiding a big piece of who she is. Madeline is trying to figure out what she wants to do. She has different worries than most, but money can’t buy happiness.

This was very cute. I loved the women supporting women aspect. And how open, accepting, and genuine these characters were. The idea of this kind of app is both fascinating and weird.

I liked our three main characters. They were all different, but their similarities were what made them great. I love that they each had to overcome something within themselves to grow and unleash their inner strength and peace.

This was an easy read with a nice pace. The topics covered were relevant, and the mix of humor was great.

The mental load of a mom is very real and it is heavy. And those of us working moms still have that same mental load but we also have double duty of the weight of our jobs. It’s a doozy. I just saw a TikTok on this about how men are destined to be more successful because they don’t have to bear the mental load like women in the same position do.

Finally a book addressed all of this and my heart is full. I loved loved loved The Wife App by @carolynmacklerbooks . It is the story of 3 mom friends who start an app to have “wives” get hired to handle the mental load for others - making pediatrician appointments, buying birthday gifts, school forms, camp packing (!!!), all of the day to day that weighs us down This book had everything. It was so timely and spot on with the weight of what women handle. It felt so real and relatable. It was also poignant in how these 3 women took some blows in their lives but remained stoic and strong for their kids. I loved the friendship of the 3 women and the support they provided for each other. And it was laugh out loud funny with witty banter and quick one-liners. If you are a mom, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Ever felt overwhelmed by the mental load you're expected to carry out each day? In charge of remembering every event? Planning each event? School forms, vacation planning, packing? Well, what if you could pay someone to do all of that for you? What if there was an app for that? These are things the book The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler tackles.

Three best friends, fresh off one friend's divorce from her cheating husband, come up with the idea of The Wife App. The book follows the women through the first year of the app, showing how their lives grow along with it.

Madeline, Sophie, and Lauren were very compelling characters, and I found myself instantly drawn into their stories. I was fully invested in each woman getting their happy ending. I felt the pace of the novel was great, and the idea of the plot brilliant. I couldn't put the book down. I needed to know each woman would be happy when everything was finished.

If you're looking for a fun read that will make you laugh, make you cry, and deliver you a happy ending, this is the book for you!

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley, and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you @SimonBooks #SimonBooksBuddy for the free book!

“Every woman who has children struggles with whether she’s made the right choices. It’s never easy, especially if you’ve been told you can have it all.”

Omg ladies WE NEED THIS. Someone smarter and more tech savvy than me make this happen please! And thanks. 😊

The premise of this book is genius. An app where you can “hire” someone else to do wifely duties that you either don’t want to do or don’t have time for. Can’t plan that fifth birthday party because you have a big case? Use The Wife App. Need someone to make emergency medical appointments and fill out the paperwork? Yep. The Wife App.

Three divorced women friends put their minds together to try to solve one of the most common complaints from wives…that wives themselves could use a wife. You follow their stories as they navigate single parenthood, remarriages, old flames and, ultimately, success.

Three women, sick of being undervalued by kids, ex-husbands, etc., decide to create The Wife App; if you do the chores, you may as well get paid for it, right? This was a fun read with multiple POVs. I enjoyed getting each of their perspectives throughout the book. This book definitely tackled important subjects like gender inequality, socioeconomic status, and the interworkings of relationships, in a funny and genuine way.

OMG I need this app in my life for real for real!!!!!! We meet 3 women, Lauren, Madeline and Sophie, best friends, divorced and moms. Lauren is newly divorced, and she went through it with her ex, and throughout that stage and having the support of her friends, she came up with the Wife app. Now this app is genius, pretty much you hire a wife to do things around the home at a fee, so pretty much do everything the wife does, except the sex, for a fee. I am telling you, its genius.

I love a great character buildup in this book, the women al had a story to tell, and we got to see what they went through, they are all so different, but they go through all of this together and on their new journey as entrepreneurs. I love the topics being brought up in this book about anxiety in children, and sexuality, it was so well done. I loved the humor, and the fact that they find their happy endings along the way. This journey was about self-discovery, knowing your worth and living life in your own terms.

This book is a Gem worth reading. Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster and Carolyn Mackler for an advanced copy of this book!!

When I first read the concept of this book I knew I needed to read it! Three divorced women decide to monetize the mental load and unpaid labor that wives, mothers and caregivers do that go unnoticed. I recently became a mother and knew that this was going to be good and I was definitely not mistaken!

The concept of this book was obviously incredible but so was the execution. You get to know all three main characters individually and really connect with them. You get to see their inner feelings but also what’s happening around them in their own individual lives, even though they are embarking on this venture together!! This book is fun, unique and so funny. I laughed out loud but also felt so validated as a mom and wife. I loved this book so much I had to own a copy for myself and can imagine I will reread it. I also know that I would and will recommend this book to everyone I know because it was absolutely incredible. I could read hundreds of books about this friend group. I loved it so much!

The Wife App- Thank you so much @simonandschuster for the gifted copy! This one follows 3 best friends who decide they’re finally done with their ex-husbands taking their work as wives and moms for granted. They’re ready to monetize the mental load, stick it to their exes, and have a wild ride in the process. This was such a cute concept and totally out of my comfort zone genre wise, but I loved these characters! Such a cool book idea 😍

Super relatable & funny!! 3 best friends are all divorced now living in NYC. Over drinks, they joke about how wives should get paid for everything they have to do and are expected to juggle. So they create an app because there is an app for everything right? Lots of family drama & kid drama and friend drama to keep you entertained and reading the whole way through.

This was heavily consumable, and I didn't want to put it down! I was surprised to hear that this book is the author's adult debut, and they typically write for YA audiences.

If you're a mom, you should definitely read this book. I am not yet a mother, but I especially liked how she wrote the main three women in our featured friend group and how they interacted with their children.

I identified with most of them, and had some flash backs to relationships I've had in the past where I carried the majority of the Mental Load. The woman I least identified with was Madeline, but I appreciated some discussion about privilege through her story line.

There is some good queer representation in the novel as well. One of our core three characters is queer, and several side characters are as well. Some are brief mentions of a classmate who has "two dads," but things like that are lovely to see as just normal. There's also a great storyline with one of the moms helping out their child who is questioning their gender identity. Additionally, on the Wife App, men and nonbinary people are also free to become Wives.

I would love to watch a movie version of this.

CW: infidelity, drug use (mentioned, off page)