Loved this one! Already recommended it to multiple friends/colleagues. Such a great concept. Work IS work and we should all be compensated fairly for it. I adored the friend dynamics in this just as much (or more than?) the romances. The whole novel was a delight and I plowed right through it.

The author's note and publisher's notes book made me interested but leary. I was hopeful for this book. At 41% I was done. I can't stand the characters. The author claims to be happily married but I have my doubts based on this book. It feels like a marriage and man hating book. I absolutely love being a wife and I feel like this author doesn't respect that role. I appreciate NetGalley for this ARC but this book is not for me.

I really Liked this book! It was such a unique concept. An App that hires a wife to do the menial tasks that spouses can’t be bothered to do. It was a fresh and original story. Plus, one of the characters had my name so that was fun.

I enjoyed this and appreciated receiving an ARC! It was so relatable as far as being a wife and having mental load. I loved that they “called work what it is”! I found small parts of each character relatable, but especially Sophie’s issues with FOMO via social media “highlight reels”. I deducted one star from my rating because of the pacing of the book and I also felt it was too short! I wanted a bit more!

Overall, I enjoyed the premise of this book more than the actual implementation. While the topic was important, I wasn't invested in the characters themselves and had to push myself to finish this one. I also read this during a stressful time so perhaps this is a "it's not the book, it's me" situation as many did enjoy this book.

The Wife App focuses on three close friends, Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie, who all understand the mental load of being a wife, the toll it took on their marriages, and the difficulties of divorce and the rollercoaster of co-parenting after a breakup. During a night out, the women jokingly propose a Wife App to monetize the huge jobs that wives take on. Lauren invests her settlement money on building an Uber type app in which anyone can request a “wife” to take on their mental load for significant compensation. The situations that arise, the attention the app draws, and the ramifications both positive and negative of such an enterprise are fun, new, and interesting. While it was engaging to meet such well developed characters and see the mental load of running a household, raising children, and working be celebrated, I found it a bit long and a bit patronizing. The husbands featured were very stereotypical and not reflective of my own experiences in marriage. Thank you NetGalley and Simon&Schuster for this fun ARC.

The Wife App had an interesting premise and a promising hook of a first chapter. However; as I continued reading I couldn't connect with any of the characters and often found myself lost in the complex storyline. I did not finish this book at forty-two percent.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of The Wife App in exchange for my review.

The Wife App is the brainchild of three friends who have all been through divorces. They realize that as wives, they have been responsible for the mental load of raising children and running households without any recognition or compensation for their efforts. They create an app that lets people outsource their mental loads for a price, hopefully leading to more equitable relationships and garnering more power for women.

Through the story, each of the women deal with challenges and fallout from their failed marriages and co-parenting issues. As the app grows, the women work through their personal issues, sometimes even relying on the app for their own mental loads.

This is a fun and empowering story of friendship, life after divorce, and business risks. It was a quick and engrossing read with characters who felt well defined and real. I recommend this book and would be interested in reading future books by Carolyn Mackler.

Timely, satisfying story taking on the mental load that’s often unfairly pushed on women.

During a chat about how their ex husband’s took the unpaid work they did for granted friends, Lauren, Sophie and Madeline, hatch a plan for an app that monetizes the mental load.

While this delves into how invisible this load is to men, the many ways relationships (familial and romantic) can be fraught this is ultimately a romance with an edge.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise of this book. It hit on a lot of important points surrounding women and their roles within marriages. I especially liked how inclusive the book was and the MCs' different backgrounds. However, this book definitely had its issues, no matter how well intended. The plot also didn't flow as well as it should have with the time jumps. It was clear the author wanted to keep a "realistic" timeline, but it made for awkward reading.

The first 50% of this book was really intriguing! There are three main characters that we follow:
-Lauren: finds out her husband has been unfaithful, then divorces him and they navigate being co-parents to their kids, Amelia and Cady
-Madeline: single parent of teenage Arabella, who may go live with her dad for a year in London
-Sophie: who is caught up in FOMO of her ex-husband, his second wife and their family

The women realize they have done so much labor as "wives" for free so they create an app to get paid for it! Fun enough premise, and it frustrates me to no end that this is such a universal theme that so many people can relate to. Cishet men: DO BETTER. BE GROWN UPS. WE'RE OVER YOUR BULLS$H%&

Anyway, I felt like the middle dragged on a bit but I did appreciate the parenting issues they tackle, such as navigating conversations around sexuality, gender identity (non binary character), friendships and when their co-parent begins dating a new partner.

I'd read the author's young adult novels and thought this was a fun first adult novel for her!

The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler is a treat that showcases women’s perseverance and entrepreneurship. This novel follows three best friends who decide to monetize the mental load and seek revenge on their ex-husbands. As their app becomes a roaring success, their lives take unexpected turns, testing their strength and friendship.

Mackler’s storytelling is engaging and filled with humor, making it easy to get lost in the lives of these dynamic women. While the ending feels a bit rushed compared to the well-paced beginning, it doesn’t overshadow the overall enjoyment of the story.

The concept of the Wife App is intriguing and serves as a clever commentary on modern marriage. Mackler expertly combines elements of revenge and redemption, resulting in a rollercoaster ride of emotions that keeps readers invested until the very end.

In conclusion, The Wife App is a highly entertaining debut novel from Carolyn Mackler, showcasing her ability to craft compelling characters and explore themes of friendship and empowerment. Despite a slightly rushed ending, this book is a delightful read that reflects on the complexities of love, entrepreneurship, and self-discovery. I highly recommend it, giving it 4 stars for its engaging storytelling and relatable characters.

I am not typically someone who reads contemporary fiction, but wow this really blew me away! I thoroughly enjoyed the female friendships and self-reflection aspects of this book. Each of the main characters really felt like 3 different people as I was reading their perspectives. I also really enjoyed getting into the minds of each of the characters as well, seeing into their lives and thoughts really added to the realistic story-line. As far as the concept of having a Wife App, this was so interesting. I feel like this could really have been a true story, I will be recommending this to everyone! I can't wait to see what else this author puts out. A new "auto-buy" for me.

I had such high hopes for this book but unfortunately it fell flat for me. The sex scenes in this book felt awkward to me. The 3 main characters seemed so unrelatable it was hard for me to get through. For me the premise of this book seemed so interesting but unfortunately I don’t think it was well executed. Thank you for the arc net galley

I enjoyed this one! The whole concept was hilarious and all too real. Carrying to load of the family unfortunately can fall on just one person's shoulders and it can feel all consuming. It is a fresh and funny take on the what would you do if you could change something idea.

I feel seen! This book perfectly captures the weight that wifes and mothers bear…. Men need this book to understand what mental burden is! And we need a real life wife app ASAP! A perfect summer read.

This book is such a smart cultural critique on the labor that women do in their everyday lives. As a sociologist, I loved how it takes academic ideas and interweaves them into this story. I loved the story about the wife app, but even more I loved the stories of each of the women. I tore through this because I had to know what happened to each one.

I love the premise. The mental load of motherhood and of being a wife is not talked about enough. Monetizing a solution seems brilliant. I just didn't care enough about any of the characters. The hot topic issues seemed stuck in to check a box without any real heart or development. At times, the situations were repetitive, and it felt like a slog to get through.

This book was a really enjoyable read! It’s told from 3 different perspectives, which I don’t typically like but it was perfect for this story as they were easy to follow. I don’t read a lot of books that deal with the enormity of what mothers and wives have to deal with, so this was definitely worth the read!

I enjoyed everything about this book! The premise was so original. It was told in 3 POVs and I liked every character equally, which is rare. I didn't mind when the character changed because I was vested in all of their lives. The writing style was terrific. It was a little steamy. I definitely look forward to more from this author.