I absolutely LOVED The Wife App. This book was a fantastic page turner with a trio of awesome women. After going through a divorce Lauren decides to jump into business with her best friends, Madeline and Sofie, and create The Wife App. Think TaskRabbit, but for all of the stuff that you're expected to do as a wife. The author captured the running theme of "the mental load" that wives face on a daily basis. How many times have you had to pack your husband to go on a trip because "he doesn't know how". How much paperwork is involved behind the scenes to keep your household running smoothly? I feel like every wife should read this book so they all can realize that this is real. Thousands of women are doing free labor because it is expected of them. Now if you like all of that stuff, good on you. Not here to yuck your yum, but The Wife App exists to show solidarity with those women out there that despise all of it. Reading through Lauren, Sofie, and Medline's lives you see so many diverse issues that all women can relate to. To name a few: co-parenting, step significant others, emotional abuse from spouses and parents, gender identity, LGBT identity, and the list goes on. Of course running through all of these life issues and building this huge business, there is a subtle undercurrent of romance. Each of the women finds new love in unexpected places and it's just a really cute and wholesome subtle romance. The one thing I will say is that I wish Madeline's story line was finished out a little more. I feel like all of the women get happily ever after's all wrapped up in tidy bows. Madeline's just felt unfinished. Now, if this was intentional and the author is going to give Madeline her own book, SIGN ME UP. I will take all of that back!

Usually, I mainly read romance novels but when I heard of this book, I was intrigued with the story. This book is about three divorcees who develop an app that gives jobs that usually wives do for free. I felt connected with this story and loved the positive message the book gave its readers. It’s a book that should have been written long ago and is much needed by readers. This is a very well-written story with a great plot line and conflicts. Told from multiple povs, the characters were very well-developed and I enjoyed their stories. There are some sex scenes but it’s the side part of this book. The ending was a bit disappointing as it didn’t feel special or unique. Overall this book was very well written and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good women’s fiction novel.

The concept of the app and the book is interesting and highlights the invisible work wives and moms do behind the scenes. Even if one is happily married, the author is accurate in her portrayal of the mental load women carry daily to keep their families running. The story is told from the three POVs of the best friends as they monetize the mental load. The story is relatable, full of diversity and I liked how the wives both working for the app or requesting a “wife” could be male, female or non-binary. The reader sees the characters grow and change as people and mothers throughout the story. This contemporary fiction is women-centered, relatable and a fun and quick read. It is a bit predictable with a very neat ending but still enjoyable.

Thank you to netgalley and Simon Books for the ARC of this book. This did not impact my review.

The Wife App was a fun read. I loved the idea of taking back the power of being a wife and also of delegating the mental load tasks that you may not excel at or may need help with. There are many times I wish I could hire someone to take my sons to the dentist for me! Fun concept and excellent execution.
I love that the story deals with the process of dealing with divorce and betrayal and the different ways people approach marriage/divorce/life after divorce. The fabulous HPE was a nice change of pace from my usual thriller genre reads.

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Thank you so much for this ARC!

The Wife App is about three best friends who are divorced but still do all the parenting work. After a night of drinking, they decide to make an app that will monetize all the FREE things that wives do. They had no idea how popular it would be, not just for the wives but for the husbands as well. The book was entertaining, well-written and had a feel-good factor.

You can read if you want:
Feminist themes
Multiple POVs
Family drama
New York City setting

I couldn't get into this one and didn't end up finishing it. It felt a bit slow-moving, and I just couldn't get myself to care too much about the plot or the characters to keep picking it up. There wasn't anything I hated about it, either — it just might not have been for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was absolutely fantastic and I flew through it! It was so fast paced and the plot was so unique and different than any other book that I’ve read before. I loved how we followed all three of the best friends to see what all they had to contribute to the story and how the app affected their life. I also loved how the reader was able to see the characters develop and change throughout the book. This was just such a refreshing read and definitely one that I will recommend!


This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

New York City

Three best friends are tired of being taken for granted as wives and mothers. So, they decide to do something about it.

Lauren is the mother of 12-year-old twin girls. Her husband is keeping a secret that destroys their marriage.

Madeline lives in a wonderful apartment and has a 14-year-old daughter, Arabelle. She is quite wealthy from inherited family money. She fears that her ex-husband may be trying to get Arabelle to go live with him in London.

Sophie never has enough money and has problems with her ex-husband’s family. She is mother to two sons, Charlie and Noah.

One day while discussing all of the things they have to keep up with like scheduling appointments, filling out paperwork for the children, and other mind-numbing tasks they having to do, they decide build an app and call it the Wife App. People can sign up to take on tasks for others too busy to do it and then get paid for it. It starts off a little slow and then builds quickly.

We follow the lives and tight friendship of these three women as they navigate their own problems in their individual lives. It is a wonderful story and I loved getting to know these women and the struggles they each had. Sometimes it was an ex-husband, children and their worries, money struggles and family drama. I was rooting for each of them along the way. A terrific book that I enjoyed very much. Now, I wonder if I can find a little part time job using the Wife App. Hmmmm…..Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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.