3.5 🌟

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was really intrigued by the premise for this book - despite not being a reality TV fan, I can enjoy a nutty, camp novel with a cast of crazy characters.

Unfortunately this was not incredibly well developed and there were often jarring jumps in the plot with little explanation for what was happening. It felt like the first 60% of the book was setup, and the last 40% a rushed and not entirely satisfying conclusion. It wasn't bad, it just could have used a few more passes with an editors.

I did enjoy the characters a lot. My husband's grandma was a Sicilian spitfire named Carmela, so she was especially hilarious to me. The rest of the Godesses were so fun and I liked reading about their antics much more than I enjoy any sort of Real Housewives type show.

Yes yes a thousand times yes. Astrid Dahl, strangely one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite books this year wrote this book?? (Wink wink 💖)

If you are a Real Housewife of Bravo fan this is a MUST read. It will have you kicking your feet and giggling. So many inside jokes, so many twists and turns, so many.. murders?? I had a blast and you will too.

incredibly dramatic. not really or seriously a murder mystery, more like a reality show in book form. don'texpect any too awesome mysteries or any too elegantly done plot points, but it's fun. 3.,5 stars. would recommend. tysm for the arc.

✨️ARC REVIEW✨️
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Loved the idea of this but unfortunately some of the execution was a fail. A lot of female characters and most were indistinguishable from each other. Very shallow in development BUT I loved the plot. I love that it read like a reality show.

MENTION IT ALL!!

I’m a self confessed Housewives connoisseur. I remember when Aviva threw her leg across the room, when Jenna had a glass of wine thrown at her face, when Kim Zolziack claimed to have cancer, but, no, she didn’t. I can go on and on. Obsessed.

When I read the initial plot of this book - Garden State Goddesses, one of Huzzah’s (think Bravo TV) most popular shows is in need of a refresh. Great timing, because Jersey Housewives could use its new Manzos and Giudices, and just like that, there’s a murder mystery.

However, the murder mystery takes up about 20% of the plot, and the rest of the time is full of shallowness and relationship issues. While the concept is a concept of a plan, its lack of execution is where the problem lies. There are loads of characters, reminiscent of the old school Jersey housewives, although most are stereotypical, and not much character development.

I understand the reasoning behind writing this book, but the execution fell flat, as is neither Housewives relatable or even a murder mystery.

I'm one of the handful of people who have never watched one of the Real Housewives franchise shows and I don't know if I want to if the characters are really based upon their real life counterparts in Astrid Dahl's The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey.

Eden is a producer and brings in a relative to the gang of the Garden State Goddesses. There were a lot of characters introduced quickly, so I had to flip back and forth to the character guide (a great thing, by the way) for a bit until I got a handle on everyone, but once I was a few chapters in, it was easier to fall into the book.

There were drama queens, mean ladies, and eventually murder. Eden is trying to control the uncontrollable, and despite this being a long book, she was able to get character development that had me comparing the Sopranos/stereotypical mob families, and what I guess are the characters in the Bravo series.

It was a fun and easy read that kept me guessing for the most part until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this in consideration of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 40% because literally nothing has happened and when you promise a dead wife or more in the title, someone should be dead by now. Done.

This was a good book! I definitely think the New Jersey stereotypes were overplayed in this book, but it was still entertaining. I like to use and mix of social media and influencer and TV in this book. It had some twists and turns and some unexpected situation, and it was really good.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

The story is about a reality show, “Garden State Goddesses” that needs a makeover. When the showrunner, Eden, decides on the way that will give the show its much-needed facelift, things will get more chaotic and out of control.

I don’t want to reveal more about the plot, relationships, and the mystery in the book because I feel that might give away the interesting part of it which are not many. This story is less mystery thriller and more drama. The mystery part is hidden in the background and never manages to come to the forefront. The story has lots of drama, and by drama here I don’t mean it in a good way.

There are too many characters to follow for a short book. This is less than 300 pages, and having all these female characters made it more confusing. Unfortunately, the characters are not well developed. Yes, some of them are distinguishable from others, but even those needed more work to stay in my mind.

I think the story as a concept is quite interesting. The execution needs more work, though. I can’t pinpoint who will be the right audience for this book. I thought I was among them, but it ended up being an OK book. I hoped for something better reading the synopsis.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster for the gifted digital ARC.

I'm sooo bummed to say I decided to DNF this one at 43%. As a big Real Housewives fan, this sounded so fun and very camp, but it ended up being a random hodgepodge of actual storylines from Housewives franchises and some actual dialogue, taglines, etc. mixed together in a way that just didn't work for me.

Ultimately it felt very derivative and unoriginal. An easter egg or two would have been fine, but it was definitely way more than that.

NetGalley is the only consumer site I will leave a rating or review for this book, I don't rate books that I don't finish.

This was a really fun thriller- housewives on the murder train. I really loved it! The characters were really entertaining.

Eden is the producer of a reality TV housewives of New Jersey show. When her California cousin marries into the Italian bloodline, the matriarch of the Ladies group cannot retract her claws. The story is engaging and enjoyable, although Eden is not the redeemable character we hope for all the time, she tries her hardest to solve the mystery of who killed her cousin and why.

I really enjoyed this! Although once the death happened it happened really fast … and all at once … it felt excessive but I think it was supposed to? I also wish there were more tie ins to New Jersey outside of the tittle and the stereotypical Italian.

It has it all; glamour, humor, trash reality. It’s campy and over the top and I loved every minute of it. Did I guess a lot of the thrillers twists? Yes. But did I care? No because I was having too much fun with the characters. I myself, never dabbled too deeply into any of the real housewives franchises but always have seen the viral moments and understood the references.

This book mirrors the experience of watching reality TV—it's flashy, a bit outrageous, and you don’t necessarily have to pay full attention to stay engaged. Imagine the vibe of a low-stakes reality show, one that’s entertaining yet allows you to fold laundry in the background without missing much. The characters, plot, and murder mystery are about as deep as a kiddie pool. But while the depth may be lacking, the superficial charm of the story captures the absurdity of wealthy housewives navigating a social world full of envy, drama, and power plays.

Although the murder mystery doesn’t take center stage, it does add a splash of intrigue amidst all the interpersonal drama, arriving a bit late in the storyline and without any shocking twists. The culprit is easy to spot, so don’t expect any plot surprises that would make Agatha Christie proud. Still, the story holds a campy, guilty-pleasure appeal, particularly if you enjoy watching shows like Jersey Shore or The Real Housewives. It might not be a highbrow read, but it's a fun one, and it hints at a sequel, which fans of breezy drama might find tempting.

This was a fun read with some themes and actions taken from the actual television show based on New Jersey Housewives. That show is my guilty pleasure. Eden was a character that I did not love, and most times she annoyed me but if this turns into a series, she will be the main character throughout, it seems. Since this book is coming out in January, the author and editor have time to take out any references to Sean Combs and should do so immediately.

The reality show trope has been done a LOT over the years. Thus, in order for one to stand out, it needs to be well-thought out, unique, and plausible, with fantastic characters that we love or loathe. For me, the characters were of of no consequence—I did not care about them, which is just as well, as they got picked off pretty regularly. I really could not tell the point of the reality show, this, something more I didn't care about. It was a humorous story and the ridiculousness of it propelled me forward. The one character I did enjoy was Birdie. I appreciate the advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. This was a really fun read. This book follows a reality tv show that Eden is the showrunner for. The cast of the show is full of different personalities that clash in the way you want people to clash on reality tv, making this a really fun read. I loved all the POVs, it was fun to figure out the secrets by putting the pieces from the POVs together. This was a really fun and dramatic read and I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect too.

This book was a sort of interesting blend of Real Housewives and Desperate Housewives. I was expecting it to be so much more but instead felt let down with almost too many characters and a plot that seemed to go nowhere. I didn't care for any of the characters and the humor was lacking.

This book somehow encapsulated everything I enjoy about reality TV housewives with a sprinkle of murder mystery. This story had a large cast but since everyone had such different personalities it was easy to keep straight who was who. This was messy, petty, and over the top as it should be. I found the mystery element to be a bit predictable but I had so much fun reading I really couldn't care. I cannot wait to read more by Anna Dorn ;)

p.s. If you haven't read Perfume and Pain?? what are you waiting for?