Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to get this ARC. This is my first approach to Carolyn Mackler. When I read the synopsis, I was very excited to read this book, unfortunately I couldn't relate to the characters. I am a mom that work full time so I thought this story was going to feel pretty close to home but that was not the case. I'd still like to read more about the author, it is just that this book was not for me.
The Wife App publishes June 27, 2023.

I really wanted to love this book, I thought the premise of the story sounded like it could be fun, but it just didn’t work for me, I couldn’t connect with the story, or the characters.. I am sure this will have a huge audience, unfortunately I am not part of it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance e-copy, which I voluntarily reviewed.

The concept of the book is really intriguing and current with the times -- women everywhere are trying to bring attention to how much 'mental load' they take on on a day to day basis and the impact it has on their mental and physical health, relationships, among other things.

The three women in the story have decided to do something about it, for reasons of their own. Even if I did not fully agree with some of their thoughts and actions, I realize the complex emotions involved in the process, and it was an interesting journey for them and for me as a reader.

The app itself was not fully fleshed out... and some obvious/basic steps were missed or ignored, but I understand that the book isn't about the app.

The language seemed to be a little too crass for me (I think there are classier words and subtler methods to describe their feelings and actions related to sex).

Overall, I think the premise is exciting and enticing... the execution of the story could have been better.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC!

#TheWifeApp #NetGalley

This clever approach to reimagining relationships first grabs your attention as it's characters come to grips with both the pitfalls and obligations of modern marriage. Their solution- to create an app that allows some of the tasks of wifehood to be brokered to parties willing to do them for compensation - is clever with more than a ring of truth. Would be interesting to see the impact of the app on the characters 10 years down the road.

Three friends, divorced with children in separate stages of their lives come together to build an app for WIVES for hire. These WIVES complete the day to day annoying mental load tasks. This book isn't just about the app, there is lots more: rekindling romances, dealing with custody of children, finding a new love after divorce. I enjoyed meeting Lauren, Madeline and Sophie, thought all the characters were relatable and their stores, their journey of acknowledging their self-worth and self-discovery. When can I sign up for this service? I would love some relief with managing the day to day "mental load." Overall a fun easy read. A few steamy scenes. I binged it pretty quick and really enjoyed this book. Its the perfect easy read for a beach vacay this summer. Thank you NetGalley and Carolyn Mackler and Simon Books for this eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I came to this as a fan of Carolyn Mackler's YA (especially THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS), and was excited to see her venturing into adult fiction. I loved when Judy Blume made the segue with WIFEY, which was mass market fiction but brutally honest and sexy. The premise here is great: a woman shoulders all the emotional load of her marriage and parenting, only to be left for a younger woman. What does she do? She creates The Wife App, and recruits her three divorced (or about to be) best friends, Instead of doing all the work of marriage for free, they will be paid for their work, plus remain unburdened by needy or emotionally unavailable men. I buckled in for the ride, hoping to be taken on an emotional journey through three different women's marriage stories. Maybe I'm just not the right audience for this, as this felt like a humorous reality show when I wanted to dig into the characters. The three friends felt kind of cobbled together and stereotypical: the rich, beautiful sexaholic, the smart techie who's been taken for granted, and the woman with a secret. I used to love Rona Jaffe's novels, like Class Reunion, so I don't have a problem with mass market fiction. It's just that these characters didn't resonate for me as real people. It felt like their lives were more in service of the overall concept of the book than unspooling before my eyes organically. I'm sure there are many readers who will enjoy this book. Mackler is funny, and her concept is excellent I just generally don't love concept books, and prefer complicated characters.

I can already see this cutesy revenge-lite girl power novel as a quirky fun movie!

I liked the idea of this more than the actual book, but that's probably because I don't usually read women's fiction or romcoms. Alas, this was a nice mind break from doing my own wifely menial tasks.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the way this took marriage inequalities and ran with it without fully discussing them

Loved this one! It was a different, tech-forward look at the lives of NYC women trying to have it all. Would definitely recommend if you like rom cons or womens lit!

Cute, quirky read about three friends who start a business to deal with the drudgery of mundane tasks. These are tasks that wives usually handle, tasks that require time and energy but are not given any consideration for the action taken to get all these tasks completed. The friends are divorced and are a great support system for each other. They decide to start this business after the last friend's divorce as there is always something that needs to be done, but not everyone wants to deal with these tasks. The idea of hiring a "wife" to handle scheduling appointments, picking up dry cleaning, and running errands is a bit odd, but once the app is up and running, the response is great. These women find strength they didn't realize they had and learn so much about themselves through this experience. Often women are seen only as wives and mothers. Their identities sometimes get lost. These women were able to grow and nurture themselves, and still be great moms. Moms never want to feel that they are failing their children, so that was important to each friend. The kids had situations occur that truly needed a mom's touch. Moms are seen as nurturers, so it was great to see the moms be amazing for their kids and still handle their growing business. If such an app truly existed, it would be great. But, until that happens, we will find a way to pack all we have to do into the time available to us and still make time for the important people in our lives. This book is a great escape from the laundry, dishes, and other chores that are waiting on me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this e-arc!

A timely topic of mental load and weaponized incompetence. The solution: monetize it.

I wasn’t a fan of the idea that money could fix marital inequity but I did enjoy the characters, the idea of second chances and creative solutions to current problems.

This one gave really strong vibes of The Right Swipe & Lunar Love. I don't think this was my favorite rom com read of the month, but there's definitely strong potential for future works.

Hey, you know all those “wifely” duties you do because it’s part of being an adult? Yeah, but you know how these duties are often thankless jobs that people around us take for granted?

What if there was an app for that?

The Wife App introduces us to three friends who aim to revolutionize the imbalance between partners. Together they create an app that allows a “spouse” to hire out for those annoying responsibilities that suck time out of our days and don’t even have the decency to pay us for our efforts. Doctors forms, preschool applications, vet visits - all those things we have to do but can’t fit into the day. Now men, women, and nonbinary alike can sign up as “Wives” and get paid to perform these tasks.

Revolutionize your life and hire a Wife!

Much thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Wife App is the perfect summer read. It was fun, had characters that I could relate to and a plot that made me laugh out loud a LOT, much to the amusement of the people around me.

The three main characters each embodied traits that I could relate to and the plot makes you think about all things we actually do for our husbands and families.

I will definitely be recommending this to my friends and looking for other works from the author.

This was such a fun read. A little out of my norm but I couldn't put it down, I got so invested in the characters. I couldn't stop laughing and could imagine these same conversations with friends. Would recommend this book to any wife.

This is a tough one to review. While I enjoyed the premise of the story, and even had a hard time putting it down, I can't say I was blown away enough to rate it higher than 3 stars. There were a few plot holes and inconsistencies here and there. Sometimes it seemed like storylines didn't happen fluidly and left me kind of rolling my eyes and thinking 'yeah, sure it happened that way'. The three main characters built this Wife App out of a desire for revenge toward their ex's, but that aspect of the story didn't really play out. A few more turns of the knife would have been nice, especially since at least two of the ex's deserved it.

This book was a very different peasant surprise. It was well written and well developed and an enlightening new take on a serious issue Women face — the mental load. The book ok clearly articulated what is, for many of us, an exhausting phenomenon that is difficult to explain to anyone not experiencing if. A feel good light read that will have you cheering for the characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I want to start by saying thank you for the ARC! I've been really enjoy dipping my toes into older fiction. With the exception of mysteries/thrillers where the ages of the main characters don't matter so much, I've usually stuck to YA (where the characters are in high school), or fiction where the characters tend to be in their 20s. This story follows 3 women who are in their late 30s or early 40s. After Laura finds out her husband is cheating on her by paying for blowjobs from a prostitute, she decides to end her marriage. She was the one who was supposed to have a healthy marriage, but there she was joining the divorced club with her other two friends.
While drunk during dinner, they jokingly come up with the idea to start a Wife App. A place where you can charge to fill out school applications, plan trips, make sure the house is clean, and anything a wife might do. What had started off as a joke, becomes a brilliant idea Lauren thinks go make an actual app. And she does. What she doesn't expect is for it to become the fastest growing app in New York City.
The story follows the journey of the 3 women throughout their lives during the first few years of the app's creation. I always say this, but it's so difficult to write a book from multiple perspectives, because you're usually more interested in some perspectives than others. In this case, I was genuinely interested in all of their individual stories. The writing is really good. I enjoy the storytelling, and think the characters were all really well developed. My favorite character throughout this story was Madeline, and I couldn't get enough of her chapters. Overall, I rate this book 4 stars, and highly recommend checking this book out when it comes out in June!

I really wanted to love this book. I did enjoy the overall concept and. actually thought a Wife App would be successful in real life! The plot was cute but it just wasn't well written, overall and a lot of the included details were unnecessary. Not my favorite but I also wanted to see how it ended.

Three friends decide that they really need help taking care of the so-called wifely duties so they create an app that will link tasks to someone available and able to complete them. It really takes off.

The Wife App is an entertaining, feel-good novel about three friends who create a successful business in New York City, while rebuilding their lives and those of their children, post-divorce. Although the book is marketed as General Fiction and Women’s Fiction, there are romantic elements and glimpses of sexy times that might appeal to lovers of Romance. The novel is well-written, with good characterization and pacing. This reviewer found The Wife App a refreshing change from my usual Thriller fare. A fun read, perfect for a rainy day or the beach.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for offering an ARC to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*