This is such a clever book that had me cackling and crying in tandem. A powerful “take back what we lost” narrative that shows strong female friendships along with strong female characters that are relatable, loveable, and wonderfully flawed. The Wife App is sure to be a favorite this year.

book featured here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuFJCJMrE-n/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

This book was such a joy. I was completely enthralled and loved every page. I binged it over the course of three nights and didn't want it to end!

It's not often enough that we talk about the mental load - the unseen work that goes on behind the scenes. Filling out forms, staying up to date on doctors' appointments, remembering birthdays and buying gifts, meal planning, cycling out the outgrown clothes and swapping in the new items, researching the camps and after school activities, and the list goes on and on. Maybe because I'm in the thick of it right now, but so much of this book resonated with me. Often overwhelmed by the mental load, it was amazing to feel so seen and validated and VALUED!

The Wife App didn't feel preachy to me which is key. I also really connected with the characters, loved their stories, and appreciated how different each of the women were. Each friend really brought something to the table and I loved seeing them shine and come into their own as they each took on different parts of the app and brought it to life.

This was a really clever novel and totally unique. While some parts were a little far fetched and everything seemed to move pretty quickly and easily for them, it was overall a tremendous story and one I really enjoyed.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the copy. I highly recommend!

This is the story of three women in different life situations who are tired of being taken for granted and decide to do something about it. They build an online business to make money from "wife duties". They and their employees do the things that a wife is expected to do and charge for the service. They find that their business is exploding and their lives are changing at the same time. All three women find solutions to their happiness in this wonderfully entertaining story. I look forward to other books by Carolyn Mackler. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book for my honest opinion.

The Wife App is a creative women's fiction novel, that imbues a lot of social commentary through the characters. Three divorced women create an app where people can outsource the mental load and invisible labor that's traditionally the purview of wives and mothers. Each of the three main characters face different challenges with their children and ex's.

I felt conflicted about this book. On the one hand, it was entertaining to read about three women attempting to receive the value of their time and energy that they spent doing so much of the unseen labor of motherhood and wife-dom. On the other hand, the premise of the book and the execution of the wife app they create seemed slightly tone deaf and simply became a "pay to fix your problems" solution that isn't realistic for so many people . I never really understood the whole revenge on their ex-husbands component, because it wasn't as if the husbands were now having to manage their own lives in any way. A few times various characters bring up the inequalities of a gig economy, and point out the fact that poor women can't afford to use the app, and beyond acknowledging the problem, nothing is really done to fix it (aside from a sliding cost scale that is mentioned).

Things I Liked:
- Sophie's story arc and the surprising relationship she forms by the end
- the dark humor of the tasks the women have to complete through the app
- the premise of the book is creative and original

The book is fiction, not a social doctrine or policy paper on how to resolve inequality. I think the problem is despite the entertainment of this fantasy app and scenario where women can live their best lives, by the end of the book I was just depressed about reality outside the book.

This was such a fun easy read! I can definitely picture this as a Netflix series, along the lines of The Working Moms. Three tipsy best friends decide to come up with “The Wife App” - monetizing tasks that wives tend to take on for free - as a way to get revenge on their ex-husbands. I laughed and commiserated while reading this, so much of it was painfully true, but with an edge of flavorful fiction added to make it even more fun and compelling.

Because every wife deserves a happy ending.

This was my first one by Carolyn Mackler, and it was a light, fun, and entertaining read so I will definitely find more of her books. Even if you are not into romance, this book has so many lovely characters and the side characters have their parts played out in much detail. The story is told through the eyes of three best friends who are navigating life after divorce. None of them are perfect, but they are doing the best they can with their given situations. I will be recommending this book to my friends.


Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝙰𝚙𝚙
𝙱𝚢 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚢𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚛
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝙳𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟸𝟽, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟹

“Because every wife deserves a happy ending.”

The WifeApp is an incredible idea and I totally wish it was real! In this story we follow the lives of 3 friends, two being already divorced and one recently divorced.
Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie are out one night to celebrate Lauren’s divorce where they start talking about how wives do so much and all for free. A mental load with a lot of stress and takes a lot of work. There is an app for everything out there and that’s when The WifeApp starts to become a great idea that turns into a real thing! With Lauren’s background in tech, Sophie’s great can do it attitude, and Madeline’s trust fund, these friends are a fierce force.

I really enjoyed this book. As a wife and a mom, our mental lists just keep growing and get longer each day. Sometimes our daily duties can make us feel undervalued from our spouses. This book was such a fun and empowering book. If it’s not on your list to read, it really should be!

Thank you @netgalley , @simonandschuster for this gifted copy!

𝐐𝐎𝐓𝐃: 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞?

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I loved the premise of this read - what if you could outsource all the mental load, minutiae of your day, for a cost?

Three friends approaching different transitory periods are struggling in different ways. When this idea pops up, they take a gamble and try running a wife app. When the app starts gaining traction, what does it mean for each of them? and how does it change them?

I enjoyed seeing Sophie, Lauren, and Madeline work through this in their own different ways!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I loved the premise of this book - who wouldn't want an app to help you take care of all of the tasks you avoid to complete as a wife/mom? All things come with strings attached though, and the characters in the book figured out that their creation was not necessarily the perfect answer to their and their clients' problems.

I'm glad to have read this one, and would definitely recommend!

This was a cute little rom-com! Not a favorite, fell kind of in the middle for me but I still enjoyed it. The concept was interesting, I love books about apps or technology.

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up
Unfortunately this book really wasn’t for me.

Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie have all had relationships that ended. One night they are all talking about the high mental load they carry and how they are expected to do it all for free.
Using her expertise, Lauren launched The Wife App as a way to be paid for the things they have to do anyway.

I felt like a good amount of this book focused on Madeline’s love lives, which I didn’t really care to read about. I also didn’t agree with her fighting her ex the entire book. He was a good guy. The only reason their relationship ended was because they grew apart. Not because of anything nefarious.

I appreciated Lauren and her ability to talk to her daughters and support them in their emotions and decisions (at least for the most part.

I guess this book was mostly just okay for me mixed in with some story that I didn’t care for, so it ultimately fell flat.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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.

I posted this review on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5118820231

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAMHhDrIXE/?igshid=YzcxN2Q2NzY0OA==

And Amazon

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.