Wife Support System

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

Three wives and five kids, all from different backgrounds and living together under the same roof, for the first time?

This was bound to be a delightful disaster so I knew this book was a must-read. What caught my attention was the book description, I had to know what happened.

I love the character development of this book because we see how each character grows because of the experiences they share with one another. The author uses multiple POV, this provides insights into every character’s thoughts. This also helps the reader understand each character’s action, we walk in their shoes.

You’re going to hate the actions of the characters sometimes, then you forgive them and go back to loving them.

This book explores a lot of themes, like friendship, love, relationships, marriage, motherhood, self-esteem, bullying etc. It also talks about domestic violence and life after DV.

There were some unexpected twist that I didn’t see coming even if the writer left some hints. Brilliant!

Overall I think the purpose of the book was fulfilled because it questions the essence of friendship. If you are 100% certain that you have a firm grasp of this thing called friendship, you might want to read this book for some revaluation.

Another insight I got from this book is that you don’t have to be perfect to be a good mother, It’s actually not possible to be perfect at motherhood, sometimes you need an extra glass of wine or maybe a really deep breathe, It’s all fine. No one is perfect at this.

Perfection isn’t what makes you a good mother.

There is also a healthy place for vulnerability in every relationship, you have to know when to accept help and when to let others in.

http://www.oliviasose.com/wife-support-system-book-review/

The lives of these three fascinating complex women and their everyday day drama and struggles of trying to keep all the various balls up in the air, is a story most moms can relate to. Kathleen Whyman brought this story together with wit, love, heartbreak and the sweet love of children.
I am that mom and wife that could have used a Wife Support System when my girls were growing up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hera Books for the arc of Wife Support System by Kathleen Whyman.


This follows 3 casual friends whom all have kids who then realise in which they actually need help that Erica is very proud of whom has a exciting career. Her husband who travels around for his work and with her h=job so she really needs and depends on a nanny to help out but the nanny ends up leaving so rapidly but why? Louise is the other friend in whom also has an interesting job, aswell as a lovely husband. But there isnt a connection anymore on the homefront... Then there is Polly whom is very shy and timid and even scared. But then Her husband died and she has a lot on her plate to cope and deal with. But Polly lives in a rundown state of a Bed and breakfast and then the three women decide that they will all end up moving in together and share their housekeeping and childcaring duties together with the three of them so they all are helping out and doing there bit...

4 stars

Gripping unique and new style of story for me

The concept of this book was interesting as any mother can attest to trying to do it all without a lot of support from her partner. The three protagonists of the book did hide behind a facade of lies whether it be age (Erica), her past (Polly), or why she needed complete control (Louise). Only when they got real within themselves and each other did they actually become happier people. They placed value in their friendship as well as their relationship with their children. I also enjoyed the update of the later months at the end of the book.

Loved it!! Every woman needs this book in her life. It’s just a great feel good story that takes you away from real life for a bit.

What a great debut book!
The title of the book drew me in, so glad I read it and thoroughly enjoyed!
Three women and their assorted children moving in together,three very different women each having a different agenda on what the house share will provide! Leaving behind their husbands/partners Erica and Louise plus children move in with quiet timid polly! Female solidarity, friendship and fun!The wife support system provides childcare, help with chores, company, friendship and humour! Lives and relationships are changed/altered for ever following the houseshare positivity,hope and second chances await the three women leading to them having a better work life balance,more meaningful loving relationships and a better handle of the trials and tribulations of motherhood! A must read for any mum juggling childcare, career, chores and relationships!
Thank you net galley for this early read!

This book was a lovely read and I enjoyed it for numerous days. I really can't recommend it enough to readers who enjoy Beth O'Leary books too.
The story is about 2 women who are having issues at home, since one of the (Polly) has a huge B&B they all decide to move in together, kids in tow. Will all their problems be solved? Will everyone take part? Will their friendship survive when they can't escape each others company?
I adored the brilliant humour that was injected throughout this book, but it also highlighted some real-life issues such as depression and anxiety.
Each 'wife' has a completely different marital situation, Erica was juggling her career with her daughter and her husband who spent 90% of his time overseas didn't intend on doing anything to help; Louise felt her marriage was fine until her husband, Nick suggests moving into Polly's B&B is the best option for their difficult situation. and then there's Polly , who's husband has passed away and she is left with this large house and no one bu there children to fill it, moving in her two best friends seems like a good option, although we don't really know much about Polly's story until the latter part of the book. I also think that Polly's character has an air of mystery which automatically draws you into her particular story.
To summarise, with an unexpected ending, lots of laughs and moments where tensions are running high; Wife Support System is a fabulous book which you need to read immediately! I also couldn't believe this was a debut novel for Kathleen Whyman. She reminded me so much of some of my favourite authors work and she is definitely on my must read list for any future novels. Thanks so much to netgalley and Hera books for the advanced readers copy.

This was an engrossing story of three women at different stages of relationship/marriage no are finding life’s constant juggling act difficult to manage due to lack of support structures. They decide to share a large Somewhat dilapidated house and pool resources, new and childcare.
Of course, personalities, money differences, parenting styles, housework duties, and a mix of children’s personalities all conspire to hinder the perfect plan. For anyone who has been exasperated with their lot trying to manage too much, this addresses those difficulties.
An enjoyable read with a realistic premise which develops characters and scenarios well.
If you on reading this during stressful lockdown, or have ever holidayed with another family, you are bound to identify with or recognise the difficulties faced by these three women.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

💥💥💥💥Can’t believe you’ve dealt with all this on your own. You should have told us. How do you carry on day to day?’💥💥💥💥
Such strong lines with a great insight!, that every one(especially woman) needs to hear occassionally....
❤️❤️❤️
Erica, Polly and Louise are busy moms, who decides to move in together to Polly's enormous house, -with five kids-for sharing childcare and household works, for easy management of professional and personal life. Its the perfect world for them in the beginning, but issues starts to rise up eventually. How their friendship helps them balance their life, in all the hurry-burry things around them is what constitutes the story.
Everyone's concepts of perfect motherhood comes as a hindrance to them.
.
.
.
It took a while for me to catch the pace, but once I was on it, I really enjoyed the book. Author presents all troubles faced by a modern 'working mother' -at workplace and at home. Woman are not shown as struggling without men, but trying to manage by themselves, with all their physical and mental power. Common real life situations are blended with humorous elements, which makes the flow of the story more interesting.
.
.
.
Ultimately the book makes us realise that life is not a roller coaster ride for anyone-neither to people seemingly happy from outside nor to those with full luxury.And that, no one is ever perfect in whatever they do and it doesnt matter at all.What matters is, we get to live with small moments of smile, every single day.
***thanks to Netgalley for providing the book for a review before its publication***

Polly, Louise, and Erica are three moms who struggle with the challenges of parenthood, career, and relationships. Polly has a big house and is a stay at home mom who wants adult company. Louise and Erica are career women who need childcare, and a change of scenery. So the three of them join forces, living together with their children, and living back at their homes on the weekend. What ensues is not anywhere near the idyllic situation they each anticipated.

I couldn’t wait to read this book, especially because a few mom friends and I have often dreamt of the same sort of scenario, thinking it would be a way of having our cake and eating it too. Reading this book, I could instantly see the problems just such a situation could present. The miscommunications, the sometimes selfish behavior, the grittiness that comes with being a human, this wasn’t an easy ride, I saw facets of women that I didn’t want to believe exist, but know that I’ve struggled with myself. I really enjoyed that while the support system is flawed, the characters each learn from their mistakes and try to correct them.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that each woman was flawed in a way that was almost painful to read. Wife Support System will make me think and reflect on my own relationships for a long time, and in the end, that is what I want from a book.

I received an advance copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When three stressed mums decide to solve their problems by sharing a house and childcare for a month, what can possibly go wrong? One is so wrapped up in work she hardly ever sees her daughter, one is so organised with safety checks and domestic rotas she drives everyone (even her own husband) up the wall, and one has panic attacks and is hiding her scars as well as her secrets. Each of them changes as the story progresses, discovering things about themselves and making much-needed life-changing decisions. They all, in different ways, find love. I enjoyed the book, and the way alternating chapters are written from the three different points of view, although the structure changes in the final few pages which try to merge their three stories/voices in combined chapters and tie it all up in an epilogue that didn't quite work for me.

What happens when three mums and their children live together in an attempt to share childcare, housework and emotional support? Is it a winning formula or a recipe for disaster?

Wife Support System is a great read; when I first read the description I thought it would be your standard fluffy beach read. But it's so much more than that. The writing really delves into the lives and mindsets of the three main characters - Erica, the career woman with huge mum guilt, Louise, lacking in self confidence and overcompensating with organisation and Polly, single mum with a dangerous secret. At times you will love and hate all of the them, and find yourself identifying with many of the situations they find themselves in. What's also great is that the storyline doesn't pan out as you expect, and the full facts don't appear until towards the end of the book. Although it might seem on the outside that you're the perfect mum, being ultra nurturing or showering your child with expensive gifts, not all is as it seems.

Wife Support System was a really engaging read, and I found myself carving out the time to indulge in a few more chapters. It's a modern take on motherhood; it's not all sunshine and flowers, sometimes there are huge sacrifices to be made.

Bunching a group of women together to help and support one another sounds idylic to many as a solution to child care and loneliness. Wife Support System shows the highs and lows of this arrangement and how difficult it truly is to live with others, especially when your outlook on life and parenting is quite different! But you don't know this until you try.
This was a good read. The characters were all very different and the author had me loving and hating them at different points in the story. Each one had their own demons to sort out and it was a pleasure to journey alone with them through the pages of this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy to review.

#WifeSupportSystem #NetGalley
Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to get a free e-arc for Kathleen Whyman's debut book "Wife Support System." When I saw the book cover, I was intrigued by the cover and the summary. The truth I expected to be more a straightforward woman-fiction story, but the truth is the plot has some themes that I didn't expect.
I want to give a trigger warning for cheating, self-harm, physical & emotional abuse. Even though I enjoyed it, each of the main characters, Erica, Polly & Louise, have their secrets that they keep from each other. But those secrets are the part that builds their friendship at the end.
The dynamics between the women are lovely reading, and I loved how the author tackled various aspects of parenthood from the "my child would never do that" to the "can you pick take so and so to school scenarios." While each of the women has personal lives and problems, there is also the new challenge of working together and finding compromises; this does not work so well.
Ultimately the book makes us realize that life is not a roller coaster ride for anyone-neither to people seemingly happy from outside nor to those with full luxury. And that, no one is ever perfect in whatever they do, and it doesn't matter at all. What matters is, we get to live with small moments of a smile every single day.
"Wife Support System" comes out on July 29th.

This was an enjoyable read. The sypnosis promised me something different from what I've ever read before and I'm glad I gave it a shot. It was fun, funny, light, easy to read and just overall enjoyable.

What an amazing debut novel! It's funny and tender at the same time, and I couldn't put it down.

Mum-friends Erica, Louise and Polly need the help of each other, so they come up with an unusual arrangement: they'll live together at weekdays, to share childcare and house chores, and go back to their homes on weekends. What seems as a brilliant idea soon stars falling into pieces, as the three of them (and their children) are very different from each other.

I loved the three main characters, as they were so well developed, and I fell in love with Erica's sense of humor from the beginning of the book.

If you have ever been overwhelmed with juggling your career, children and housework, or if you don't but you want to have a good time reading about it, then this book is definitely for you!

This is my first book by Kathleen Whyman as this is her debut novel, but it won't be the last!

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion **

Three wives, five kids, and a house. Kathleen Whyman has written an entertaining story with plenty of food for thought. Louise, Erica, and Polly are on vacation complaining about their partners (or lack there of) when Erica has a great idea. What if we all live together during the week share childcare, household chores, and cooking. Then on the weekends we go stay with our partners? At first both Louise and Polly are hesitant, but eventually they come around to Erica‘s way of thinking. When the women first move into Polly’s big house it is wonderful. They are enjoying the camaraderie, the companionship, and the shared responsibilities. BUT it doesn’t take long before things go slightly sideways. Erica is a workaholic, Louise is constantly checking out, and Polly is left doing the bulk of the child care. When things start getting personal over a argument about who’s turn it is to purchase toilet paper, it is time to reevaluate this experiment.

This was such a fun book. I absolutely loved this refreshing plot line. Anyone who has ever had a roommate knows it is all about compromise. In this book not all the women were always willing to do this. I found Erica particularly selfish. I really wanted to like her, but I had to question a few of her actions. Louise was a hot mess! I really felt for her and how consumed she was with her luxe. The saddest part was she had a husband who loved her just the way she was and she didn’t appreciate it. Polly’s story was heartbreaking, but I have to admit it was the story I was most interested in. She really had a big heart and I was really thrilled with how this book ended for her. What I loved the most about this book was the interactions between the women and the growth these characters had throughout the book. A well done engaging debut.

This book in emojis. 👩🏼 👩🏼 👩🏼 👦🏼 👦🏼 👧🏼 👧🏼 👧🏼 🏚 🐶

*** Big thank you to Hera Books for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Three wives and five children decide to live together for a month to share household and childcare responsibilities. What starts out as a crazy idea turns out to be a life altering decision for all the three women. The premise of the story is realistic and relatable. The multiple points of view narration gives us not only the perspectives of the characters but also their transformation. The book is filled with a lot of emotional and comic moments. It was a pleasure to read the book. I am looking forward to reading more books by the author. Thank you Net Galley and Hera Books for the Arc. The Book is releasing on 29th July 2020.

4☆ A Lighthearted, Entertaining, Unique Read that had me giggling in all the right places!

Erica, Polly and Louise are friends through their children's friendship, but they aren't particularly close. But all that is about to change!

Erica has just had her Nanny walk out on her leaving her in an awful predicament. Her partner Dan is never around and always away on business trips, so can't help with childcare.
But there is just one way out of her predicament and that's.....to move in with Polly and Louise and share childcare responsibilities.
Erica's got it all worked out...live together 5days a week, go back home to their partners at the weekend!

All she has to do now is convince the others it's a fantastic idea!

Polly is struggling with grief after her husband tragically dies.
She's living alone with her 2 children, in her b&b and it's lonely.
Her 8yr old son Oliver convinces her that she should let Erica and Louise move in after she has yet another panic attack. But Polly is afraid to show the others her vulnerability. Maybe this is exactly what she needs to help her heal.

Louise and Hubby Nick are not in a great place. Nick is feeling unloved, unappreciated and fed up with how Louise treats him and the twins.
So when she mentions to him about Erica's idea about them all living together during the week, he thinks it's just what they need!
He can't take it anymore and believes this change might just save their marriage!

But can they make this move work for each of them and improve their lives and friendships, or could it cause more problems than they anticipated!

I really enjoyed reading this unique book. It's a wonderfully lighthearted story about friendship, support, anxiety, coming together, new beginnings, self discovery, change, family, relationships and helping each other along the way!
There is plenty of ups and Downs as we discover their trials and tribulations of motherhood, and their relationships and friendships. Let's just say it's not all plain sailing, there's plenty of humour, drama, emotion, poignant moments and joyous ones too. It really does have a lil bit of everything.
The characters are wonderfully developed, very relatable, endearing and complex but I really liked them.

Overall Wife Support System is a Unique, very Entertaining and Compelling read.
If you enjoy Women's Fiction and want a Lighthearted and Enjoyable read then I highly recommend reading this fab Book!


Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A fun, mommy lit style story. An interesting premise but some of the characters were a bit of a struggle to like.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley. This is a incredible debut both funny and relatable.

It deals with the everyday chaos of being a parent but also with heavier subjects.Each women brings a lot to the story with their flaws but also their approach to parenting.

A warm,witty book with a original storyline. Not only do the women get closer to each other but they grow in themselves which enables them to deal with their issues .

I look forward to reading more from her

Published 29th july

Just finished this book about 3 very different women and their children. Erica is the fancy one, Louise is the frumpy one and Polly is afraid of her own shadow. I did enjoy the book but boy was it long. It also made me glad I don't have small children now. Living in a house with 3 women is my idea of a nightmare but at times it really worked for the 3 of them. When one was falling the others were mostly there to pick up the slack. Again not my thing but I'll bet there are a lot of women out there that could use the backup from these girls.