Let me first say that I really liked the premise of “The Wife App”: three smart, capable friends who have been devalued by their (now ex) partners turn their rage into profit by developing the Wife App - a gig app that charges for mental load duties as well as the undervalued physical duties that often accompany the role of wife and mother. The execution of the premise, however, just didn’t deliver for me.

For one, the three women didn’t have distinct voices. For the life of me, I couldn’t tell the difference between Sophie and Lauren for the majority of the book. I also couldn’t distinguish which ex husband went with which character. None of the characters felt fully fleshed out and the surface level details just got muddled for me.

Also, there was so much cringey sex descriptions in this book that I think it detracted from what was initially a powerful message. In addition to the sex, at times it felt like the author was working from a list of “hot topics” and linking them to characters here and there to make the book more buzz-worthy.

The book felt very slow at times and just didn’t fully reach that A-ha moment I was hoping for. It was a decent book but I think the interesting premise could have been executed in a more powerful manner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie are best friends who are over worked with a full mental load . To stick it to their ex husband, they invent an app that monetizes the invisible drudgery of everyday life that is mostly taken care of by wives, ex-wives, and mothers. Overwhelmed by how much day to day work they have to do to keep their lives running smoothly, they toy with the idea of "hiring" a wife. As an ex-wife and single mother, I could certainly relate to this story. I mean, wWho wouldn’t want someone else to handle all the tedium of daily living? The concept was interesting and the writing was done well, but ultimately these women were not happy people and I think they needed more joy interspersed in the book. The end was appropriate to the story if not wholly satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. I loved the idea of the book, but I actually didn’t like the book at all. I wanted to put it down at 50%, but I’m no quitter. Going into it I thought, “YES! Working moms and wives, this is it. This is for us. Stick it to the man!” (not all husbands are bad, so don’t come for me)

The synopsis says 3 working moms who create a Wife App to get back at their ex-husbands and get paid for taking on so much of the mental load of raising kids. This screamed feminism. Awesome! The book even starts out with a quote from Sylvia Federici! As a working wife and mother I wanted this to be relatable because a lot of men truly don’t understand the work load of being a working mom. In the beginning it’s all very much about the moms and the mental load. However, the app had been created and “anyone can join the Wife App. Female or male.” Booooooo! 👎🏼 I felt like that took away from the whole point of understanding the “mental load” of women and wives.

The characters and the story were just all over the place and I found it difficult to follow at times. Glad others loved it, just wasn’t a hit for me.

"The Wife App" is a unique premise and does a solid job at exploring the mental/invisible load of women. While I enjoyed it I wasn't ravenous for more. Interesting and a little different, it's worth a read.

NetGalley provided the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion (thanks!).

The Wife App is a cute idea for a story. Three women decide to harness their skills of organization and getting things done to create an app that allows people to hire "wives" to complete all the tedious tasks in their lives: summer camp forms, permission slips, and preschool applications, for example.

Each of the women comes with a backstory of relationship drama. The storyline flips back and forth among the three women and also mingles the story of the app's creation and execution with the women's personal dramas.

While the idea was good, the book did not really hold my attention. It ran out of steam with the various wife job examples, making the book seem longer than necessary. The personal dramas were interesting, but then seemed to wrap up hurriedly at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this book; it was a solid four star read for me! It was easy to identify with aspects of all three women. The mental load as a wife and mother is often not seen in my reading so I enjoyed how relatable this book was. I loved being able to see the women take an idea and turn it into a business and all of the challenges that came along with the process. The alternating POVs kept the chapters engaging. Overall this was a fun quick read I would recommend to anyone who spends part of their days navigating life as "default" parent or spouse.

Thank you NetGalley for the prerelease Advanced Readers Copy of The Wife App , due for release June 27, 2023, and author Carolyn Mackler's first adult novel.

First of all, kudos to Ms. Mackler for securing a blurb by the Goddess herself, Judy Bloom! Very impressive.

I liked this book quite a lot, and felt Ms. Mackler had a little bit of everyone represented in the book, so most readers will relate on some level. The women seemed pretty smart and had a nice self-development trajectory through the story, and also a nice evolution in their relationships with their kids.

The book is totally geared toward women and I would characterize it as women's lit for those married with kids, mid-20's on up. I loved the idea of the app and can totally see something like that working. I 100% relate to the wives' Mental Load. There should literally be pre-marital and pre-children training courses to alert couples to all of the *Adulting* decisions and actions encompassed in living as a married couple, especially with children. But enough of that.

Is the book predictable in that the plot is tied up with a bow at the end? In general, yes, and that's ok and pretty much expected in this genre. I liked that aspect of it. It tries very hard to include many levels of socio-economic status and does get just a bit into gender identity and non-hetero relationships. I don't recall much in the way of ethnic diversity. My biggest gripe is the multiple use of the C You Next Tuesday word, despite this book not featuring super graphic sex scenes (and even then we can maybe consider using actual anatomy words). I can understand using the word once for shock value, but 3 times is a choice by the author, and not one I support as a reader. It was out of character for the writing in the rest of the book, and I feel will alienate many women readers.

With all that said, I would definitely recommend it and a strong 4-stars for me.

Five stars! I've been telling all of my friends that they need to read this new book - it's just the best! I didn't have high hopes that it would be as good as it was... I loved the three friends and how they stand up for each other and themselves and their kids. The story is well written flowing from one character's chapter to the next and so on. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I was invested and entertained throughout!

Three best friends 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.

It starts as a joke during a tipsy night out, as Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie rail against everything wives do for free. Let’s build an app that monetizes the mental load. And maybe get revenge on our exes in the process? Soon, the Wife App is born, and before long, it’s the fastest growing start-up in New York City. But then life intervenes. Love intervenes. Ex-husbands intervene. And the consequences are bigger than anything Lauren, Madeline, or Sophie could have expected. Carolyn Mackler marks her debut into adult fiction with a hilarious rollercoaster ride of revenge and redemption that is at once a send-up of modern marriage and a celebration of female friendship and love in all forms.
*******************
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
My review: I LOVED this this book. Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie are great friends who go way back. And they are all very different. That is the first plus about this book. The second is that they are all smart, resourceful, and interesting.

All three women have husband/exhusband problems. Over wine one night they decide to ease the burden of wives in NYC. Their idea is to hire themselves out to do things women routinely are expected to do FOR FREE. It’s brilliant, they are brilliant. The everyday issues that women face with work, kids, spouses, exes, and parents, added onto their existing “mental load” of keeping everything going can be insurmountable and overwhelming. The Wife App tackles all of it. Through this idea and the work it entails each of the main characters learns, grows, and thrives. I enjoyed their paths and I cheered for them the entire time. Plus, the jerky husbands get their comeuppance and the good ones stay good. This novel has humor, intelligence, highs and lows and contemporary issues. I loved the entire journey. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read if you like:
👯‍♀️ Who Runs the World- Girls! vibes
📱 Apps
🚫 Happily Divorced
💋 Romance
🙊 Revenge

This book! It was so dang fun and refreshing! I loved the three characters and how they were so different but all had the same goal- get wha they felt they deserved from their Exes….

I loved the way it was written as it was so smart, funny, and had a surprise romance I wasn’t expecting but worked so well with the book and how it was written!

If you want a f*ck the patriarchy vibe I 100% recommend you pick this one as it has all the vibes!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for my ARC in exchange for my review!

I really enjoyed this book!! This was a fun, cute, relatable read. I loved getting to know each of the friends and their back stories. The synopsis mentioned revenge on their ex-husbands but I did not really find that anywhere in the book. I guess Joshua and Eric KIND OF got theirs, in a roundabout way... but I would have loved to see THEIR reactions, or in a more upfront way.
I read this book in 2 days. It was easy to read and easy to follow which I enjoy. Overall this book was fun and relatable.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of The Wife App.

If you're like me, you find yourself telling your husband that you need a wife. The cooking, the cleaning, the kids, the husband, the shopping... all of that on top of a full-time job is enough to make anyone burn out and a little mental. I loved this story. It made me smile and laugh and cheer on our super awesome fictional friend group. This was a fun, light read that is a great pick for any Summer reading list.

When three divorced friends get together and joke about making an app where you can hire a wife, Lauren decides to actually go through with developing the app. With the help and input of her other two friends, they are able to launch an app that allows someone to hire a Wife to help with the Mental Load. The story follows the life of our three friends, Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie, as they navigate divorced life, careers, love, and camaraderie.

The Wife App is a cute, chick-lit type story about 3 divorced friends who create the Wife App after commiserating over their failed marriages. They all felt unfairly burdened with the lion’s share of the mental load and the daily tasks. So they create an app in which spouses can hire a wife to fill out medical forms, or apply to preschools, or create photo albums. I enjoyed the premise of the book a lot and identified with the 3 main protagonists. It was a quick read, not complicated at all. There was some romance near the end, but it was more about the women supporting each other and their families.

I enjoyed The Wife App. I love when a book bounces between different points of view. Lauren, Madeline and Sophie (even with their three different lifestyles) felt relatable. I absolutely loved the idea behind The Wife App and how the three of them used the mental load that women carry to become profitable. I feel like the story touched on a number of different topics and how the three women navigated them between themselves and their children. The book read quickly, but more importantly I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I did feel like it wrapped up with happy endings, but not in a corny type of way. The focus remained on the women and how much a wife truly does versus creating a happy ending narrative. It just felt good that every ended up in a sense "where they should be" without it all feeling too far fetched.

I loved the premise of this book, and it definitely had me thinking about sharing the mental load in marriage. It felt a bit long, and the surprise relationship toward the end was maybe supposed to be a surprise but instead felt forced and a bit performative. Maybe that was just me. I did enjoy the book and the ending was great. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

If there was a app that would help you with daily living would use it and what for?
My Thoughts
When life gets hard for three divorced women and they had enough they get together and create an app. The app they create is designed to help them with every day life.
After creating the app the women’s life changes which causes them to go through some up and down and twist and turn. This is story that will make you feel and think about your life weather or not you have anything in common with the characters but I think we can All relate.

A surprisingly fun read. I really
enjoyed this book! Definitely recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Well, this app seems like a winner! If you as a wife, or significant other got paid for all the household, childcare, and yes, husband tasks, you manage, well, you wouldn’t need another full-time job. But wives do all of these things, because honestly, they wouldn’t get done if they didn’t, and most of us have been brought up expecting this(hopefully it’s becoming less the normal every generation).
Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie each have been through traumatic relationships that just haven’t worked out for various reasons. Lauren is the newest member to join the divorced club, and soon they band together to create The Wife App. A place where people get paid for handling all the chores that often fall on a wife’s shoulders. Each of them have experienced different degrees of success(if you can call it that) managing their exes and their children.
Well, now I won’t say anymore, since the fun of this book for me, was seeing whether they would succeed or fail. Also, how this joint venture might benefit them both personally and professionally.
Not my(I’m more of a Mystery and Thriller addict), usual type read,but I spread my bookish wings as outdoor beach reading season gets into high gear. I will say I liked all three women, but Sophie’s growth/transformation won my heart. A page flipper not too light and not too heavy, but with just enough topics discussed to make me think about some things that I’ve probably taken for granted. I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Sadly, this was a DNF for me at the 50% mark. The story dragged for me and I did not connect or care for any of the characters. There was character development and the author writes them well, I just didn't relate to any of them.. I felt the story kept repeating the same issues and the story did not develop fast enough, which made me lose interest. It tended to jump around a lot and felt disjointed. It did have moments that made me smile, but then would lose me. Once I set the book down, I did not have any desire to continue, hence the DNF. Thnk you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could get paid for all the tedious wife and mother stuff we do all the time? That’s just what best friends Lauren, Sophie and Madeline think when they create “The Wife App” a way for people to get paid to do all mental work loads that other people don’t want to do! Can the wife app fix even the messiest of lives?

This overall was a really cute read! I loved all the characters and loved their growth and humor and friendship. The book did feel a little rushed and sped up through time. A lot of gaps!! Cute story but could’ve been better!

3.5/5 ⭐️