Thank you for the advanced copy of American Housewife by Anita Abriel. I enjoyed reading American Housewife. It was a sweet and fun read. Ms Abriel had well developed characters and a rich storyline. There was suspense, courage, love, and dislike all rolled into a coming of age story for the main characters Maggie and Teddy. I would recommend this book! I gave it 4 stars.
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This was an okay book. I liked the theme of "can women have/do it all" because that is still prevalent today. I hated Teddy and felt like Maggie was a pushover but then again, that's what life was like in the 50s. The writing style was a little boring to me but the plot was good. I probably just wasn't the right demographic for this kind of book.

I need to preface this review with a couple of things: one, this book is a good read if you like lighter historical fiction pieces. Two, there definitely is an audience for American Housewife but unfortunately, I believe I fall outside of that demographic. Ultimately, I rated American Housewife 2.5/5 stars, but wish Abriel all the best on release day.

However, this would not be an honest review if I didn't explain my problems with this narrative. For starters, all of the underlying narrative arcs feel incredibly disjointed. Even once they all tie together, it unfortunately falls short - I think this is largely due to the incredibly low stakes of this piece. Maggie is given everything on a silver platter. Any genuine struggles she goes through as a protagonist are short-lived and resolved without consequence. At no point did I feel worried for Maggie, because the conflicts are set up in a way that suggests she'll come out entirely unscathed - which she does. The primary antagonist of American Housewife is unfortunately a walking stereotype of failing the Bechdel test, incredibly undynamic, and only emerged in the last ~40% of the book. The entire conflict of the book is tied up and resolved in a singular conversation between Maggie and her husband in the last ten minutes of the book, leaving an unsatisfying aftertaste.

While I can definitely see why people of more relaxed, straightforward narratives will appreciate Abriel's writing, the dialogue and scenes felt quite blocky and interrupted the reading experience for me. American Housewife fell short of my expectations, but I can understand and respect the angle it is written from. If you want a historical fiction that is more cozy and low stakes, I would full-heartedly recommend this book.

This was a pretty good book! I liked how it was set in the 1950s yet it still resonates with women today. Can women have it al? It is about the balancing act women have to do with work, friendships, kids, relationships, upkeep of the home, etc and what values matter to who and the perception of it all. It was a fast read, it was well written and I liked it!

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

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and I read it over the course of a few hours.

Despite the book being set in the 1940s/50s, the storyline is all too familiar in 2024. Can a woman have it all? What impact does a career have on a woman’s personal life? Should women give up their careers to have a family? Is it a problem if a woman earns more than her husband? These are all central questions in this book.

I enjoyed the flashback elements to explain Maggie’s backstory and I thought they were executed well, not too much to distract from the main storyline but enough to really understand the character and the choices she made.

I thought this novel was OK... but I'm still left with questions which weren't answered and the ending was just so implausible. When the story first began, it reminded me of Lessons in Chemistry but not as well executed, but I was intrigued to keep reading to see what happened as I really enjoy books set in this era as it makes you think about strong women and the challenges they've had.

The story tells of Maggie who has been offered her own TV show. As part of it, she has to sign a morality clause so to make sure that she doesn't have anything in her history which may impact upon her image. Meanwhile, her partner Teddy has stepped back on his career. Maggie seems compelled to help him as he seems to have demons from the war, but he just won't talk about it. As her TV show - which offers baking advice and life advice to housewives - takes off and Maggie becomes a household name, Teddy seems very happy to spend her money, to persuade her to buy a car, to keep pushing for more...

It's interesting to learn how Maggie gives advice to viewers yet doesn't take her own advice, to see the way she's trying her best but it doesn't seem to be enough and we also get to see what happened in her past which makes the morality clause she signed begin to be a bit tense...

But I just couldn't really like Maggie. I felt like she kept wanting to make Teddy be OK but allowed him to walk all over her. She never confronted him, never seemed to get angry or frustrated by how he was using her money. She was far too forgiving. I thought at the end she would find the strength to leave him, but no, instead she found the strength to FIGHT for him, yet I hadn't seen anything which was worth fighting for at all. So the ending didn't seem believable, especially the way in which she managed to get her past demons to go away - that really didn't seem at all plausible.

There were things which weren't ever addressed - her mother-in-law's art, the fact she could't cook or bake and that was never mentioned how she overcame it or if it held her back, her secret about needing glasses...

So this is quite a readable, enjoyable story to read, but could just have been improved a bit more with some more ends tied up and maybe making Teddy come across as actually LOVING towards her at some point at all in the story.

Set on the 50's this a fabulous tale of Maggie. She is a TV host, endearing herself as the all American perfect housewife.

Her husband however is a little sick and tired of it all and the marriage is rocky.

Secrets and lies enter the game and this novel tells of the stress and strains of maggie and her husband.

I loved this book. It has a stepford wife quality about it and I think it's just brilliant.

Maggie Lane hosts her own show as the ideal housewife but in real life not all is as it seems. Her marriage has secrets and things from the past could come to light. I loved that the book was about the 1950s. It was fun to be transported to that era. There was marriage trouble in this book from Maggie being on the show and her fame but that is all I will say. I enjoyed reading this book about Maggie and her life/career.

Its the 1950's and Maggie is your All-American girl, newly married and living a comfortable life as the host of Maggie Lane Baking Show. They love living in New York City, but as her fame overshadows her husband things get strained. They clearly love each other, but can they hold onto their marriage and keep their dreams alive?

They both have something in their past which they have not shared with each other, and when the truth finally comes out it will either bring them together or tear them apart.

I loved this book and the era. Thank you for the gifted e-ARC