2.5/5

I am a day one Housewives fan, I never miss an episode and am obsessed with just about every franchise, so the minute I heard about this one I knew I had to read it! I expected it to be dramatic, over the top, glamorous and juicy and it was but it was also silly, shallow and not thrilling at all. Sadly, it’s a very middle of the road read for me and it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I did enjoy how this felt almost exactly like watching an episode of RHONJ down to the confessionals. I also loved all the nods to the franchise, lots of Easter Eggs that were fun! I didn’t expect to be bored and unfortunately I was and I also didn’t expect the mystery aspect to be so lackluster but it was. The characters had no depth either which sounds like it could’ve worked here but it fell flat. Overall a miss for me and I’m truly bummed about it.

As a diehard Bravo fan, I thoroughly enjoyed all the little Easter eggs in this book. It was a little slow in the middle but picked up towards the last half. Renee’s reactions at the very end of the book were a little out of left field but I liked seeing Eden’s transformation. A must read for any Bravo fan!

This was a quick and fun read, though I will say it felt a bit long. Not much happened in the beginning of the story, but the back half of the book was action- and mystery-packed. Overall I liked it, but have read better reality TV drama books.

I picked this one because I love reality TV shows, especially the Real Housewives of [Insert any City], so I was so excited that there was a humorous thriller that captured this setting. This was a really fun read that doesn't take itself too seriously. I would like to read more by Dahl.

Thank you to the publish for the gifted ARC!

This was super disappointing for me. This was one of my most anticipated reads, and it just didn’t deliver. Maybe it was because of my expectations (I expected more Perfume & Pain vibes), but aside from that, it just felt very two dimensional and filler-y for me. Nothing at all happened until the 50-60% mark. However, it seemed like the characters were all written to be shallow and vapid, and I hated all of them, so that hit the mark.

Literary guilty pleasure! This was everything I hoped it would be! The story centers around the Garden State Goddesses, a spin on the Real Housewives franchise. It was shocking, salacious, juicy, and had my favorite- amateur sleuthing. Sit back and enjoy the over the top personalities and storylines. This one is a lot of fun! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So, if you are a fan of the Desperate Housewives series and other shows that are similar, this should be your next read! This story is full of secrets, shallowness, trashiness, and overly dramatic rich mean girls! The murder thrown in on top of all of the above was icing on the cake!

For me, this was the perfect palate cleaner to my normal psychological thriller and serial killer reads.
So, if you are looking for a light but entertaining read a la Jersey Shore to start the New Year off with , look no further!

Such a unique plot about a murder mystery taking place during the filming of a trashy reality television show. Full of so much humor and entertainment.

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is a action-packed, funny, and thrilling book that is based on how things can go terribly wrong on reality TV. In this book, newly married, Hope, comes to NJ to start her life with her funny, handsome, and very Italian husband, Leo and to start as the newbie on the reality TV show, Garden State Godesses. Hope's cousin, Eden, is the showrunner and she is dedicated to bringing as much delicious drama possible to the show. The only problem is none of the cast members of Garden State Godesses are revealing their true selves and trouble is on the horizon for these ladies. This book brings the term "drop dead gorgeous" to a whole new level. When dead bodies start piling up, the women who are left standing start looking for answers and the fun continues!
Overall, I really liked this book. It was fast-paced and kept me turning pages throughout. I think it would also probably be really good on audio, if you like to digest your books that way. It is just the perfect kind of guilty pleasure book to start out the new year with. Definitely recommend for thriller drama lovers!

This was SOOOOO fun! As a lover of the Real Housewives franchise and a frequent mystery/thriller reader, this was the PERFECT blend of both! It was quirky and fun and a quick read! I finished it in one sitting! This was just all-around delightful!

I requested this book because I am a huge reality tv fan and although this book definitely has the quality of love to hate characters and the vibe of a reality show, it missed on the mystery aspect and the twisted and turns weren’t actually any twists and turns like most thrillers. It was a quick read and entertaining but I would have loved to feel on the edge of my seat instead of waiting for validation that what I thought was what happened…and it was.

This was a fun, easy and fairly light-hearted read. I enjoyed reading a thriller/spoof on the housewives reality show. The cast of characters were spot on, and they were just as shallow as you would anticipate. While this was a fun read, I found the twist to be very predictable and I figured out the killer maybe a quarter of the way into the book.

I thought the writing was very repetitive. The murderer was very obvious, and the characters felt fairly one dimensional. I did not like any of them. Also I do watch a lot of reality tv, and with this many people dying on the cast the network would not be able to continue filming at all.

Keep some pen and paper handy when first sitting down to read this book because there are A LOT of characters. This reads like a reality tv show but it’s not totally entertaining. Kinda reads more produced than anything else. It didn’t seem authentic. It’s not bad but it’s not good either. I’ve read better reality tv based novels before

I’m not embarrassed to admit that the early seasons of the first Real Housewives franchises (New York, New Jersey, Orange County, Atlanta) were my guilty pleasure. I couldn’t wait to see what over the top antics they would trot out in each episode. Cattiness, jealousy, opulence, back stabbing - it was all on display. Those OG Housewives were instantly recognizable and inspired subsequent seasons set in other cities with cast members who were chasing fame. It wasn’t the same.

I was hoping THE REAL DEAD WIVES OF NEW JERSEY would harken back to the glory days. The book, while clearly spoofing the original concept, didn’t live up to the GOATs it emulated. Sure, there was table flipping, but it lacked the magic of those early BRAVO goldmines.

There were many characters to track, secrets waiting to be revealed, and murders to solve. Written in the format of reality programming and from multiple perspectives, the confessionals were the best part of the book. Hardcore Real Housewives fans may find more to love than I did. I did love the snark and bitchiness, and would have liked more of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

DNF

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey: A Disappointing Spoof

"The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey" promises a clever blend of reality TV and murder mystery but delivers neither. The novel's fatal flaws include repetitive dialogue, a glacially slow plot, and an exhausting fixation on Hope, the new cast member's naivety. By the 40% mark, little happens beyond repeated descriptions of Hope's sheltered background.

Despite targeting reality TV enthusiasts, the book fails to capture the genre's entertainment value or provide any meaningful mystery. The multiple character perspectives feel redundant rather than insightful, creating a tedious reading experience.

**Recommendation**: Skip this book. Watch UnReal instead

This book was entertaining but I felt that it peaked at around the 60% mark and the rest of the book just dragged on. It read like a reality TV show which is the premise of the book. Everyone has secrets of course but many of the characters just aren't interesting. I think it started off strong but I didn't like the ending.

One thing about me, I love reality TV! So, naturally, this is a book I was really excited to read. I thought the characters were funny and the transcripts of the confessionals was a nice touch. It was a bit chaotic and campy, and I really liked it at first. As the book progressed, I felt like the author was holding our hand more and more, telling us what the characters were thinking and their motives with everything they said and every action they took. It all felt a bit redundant. I would have appreciated more showing and less telling. Towards the end I was just rolling my eyes. There were so many missed opportunities for twists/surprises. This was a short and fun read but nothing crazy or exceptional.

I've been wanting to read Astrid Dahl's debut novel, THE REALLY DEAD WIVES OF NEW JERSEY, from the moment I heard the title. I love all the Real Housewives (besides Dubai) and am a total superfan housewives dork so I knew that I needed to read this one. This book is a satire of the Real Housewives franchise with multiple fan fiction twists and turns that any fan can recognize, but there's a unique story that presents itself to the reader as well.

The book details five women on a popular reality tv show called, Garden State Goddesses (literally, think of Real Housewives of New Jersey) and the introduction of a new castmember from California, Hope. Hope recently married Leo Fontana, who's sister Valerie and sister-in-law Carmela are on the show with bisexual jewelry designer Renee (who has a prosthetic foot Aviva Drescher style) and grand dame drunk Mrs. Robinson type Birdie (think Sonja Morgan mixed with Lisa Vanderpump). Hope is joining the show to help further her music career and escape her small town in Northern California. Her cousin Eden is a producer of the show and in fact introduced her to Leo! When one of the castmembers collapses during filming, Eden will be forced to find out what's going on and also come to terms with how her manipulation has caused devastating consequences.

THE REALLY DEAD WIVES OF NEW JERSEY dives into the social phenomenon of reality television and the Real Housewives and how fame can change people for better or worse. The story has a few queer characters which I was pleasantly surprised about and also has a lot of fun banter for any housewives fans! The book is over-the-top by means of satire so if you're looking for something more literary, stick with Chris Whitaker! I really had a blast with this book and it was one of the more fun books I've read lately. This book is the PERFECT popcorn thriller!

10/10 it gives real housewives down! You can tell the author knows her stuff the way the book also keeps you on your toes was everything. My only gripe was the opening chapters were a bit of a snooze but something happens around the 12% mark they kicks the book into overdrive.