This is the first book I've read by the author. Based on the description, I was excited to check it out. I liked the past/present angle in this story. I enjoyed Nellie's story line more, as Alice seemed a bit selfish. It's a quick read, but I was hoping for a bit more. There was a twist, but it was a bit predictable. The book was just okay overall. Nothing really wrong, but nothing really original or "wow," either.

Alice Hale is a young woman striving for success at a high-end Manhattan publishing firm. Newly married, she has an adoring analytical husband, a nightmare boss and a top notch best friend. Overnight her world comes crashing down. With her career destroyed, Nate surprises Alice with a beautiful fixer upper in the burbs and all the time in the world to get pregnant and finally write her novel. Feeling displaced in her new home by strange noises and thoughts of the original owner, Alice discovers a box in the basement filled with the life of Nellie Murdoch, a 1950’s housewife. Upon realizing their lives reflect startling similarities, Alice begins to find solace in cooking her way through Nellie’s antiquated recipes; Baked Alaska, Jellied Salads and Tuna Casserole. When additional secrets bloom in the garden the truth for both women is shockingly revealed. Highly recommend this clever, phenomenal story of what it means to be a woman and how very far we have come (or not) in the last 50+ years. If you loved bestseller Julie & Julia, don’t miss this soon to be released awesome read!!

The kind of book that needs to be discussed, Recipe for a Perfect Wife is a comparison of young, married women who must adjust to life under the thumb of their husband. The early to midcentury recipes interspersed with tips from turn of the century books on marriage are expertly chose and woven through the story to highlight the issues of women that may take different forms, but persist from generation to generation. A bit of a ghost story that reminds us how women's issues of the past still haunt modern women.

I finished this book four days ago and have been thinking about it quite a bit since then. We have a story told in dual narrative, in two different times. One story, is told in the present. We have Alice, newly married, moving to the suburbs of NYC with her husband. She has left her career in PR with plans to write a novel, keep house, and start a family. The other story is about Nellie, a young housewife in the 1950’s, known for her cooking skills and unfortunately married to a not so nice guy. As we turn the pages, we quickly discover that Alice lives in Nellie’s former house and finds some of her old things.

I love stories told in multi-narrative because I like seeing the different perspectives. I also love a good story with a cooking/food background. Some of my favorites include “Julie and Julia,” “Kitchens of the Great Midwest,” and “Kitchen Yarns: Notes on Life, Love, and Food.” This book has plenty of “vintage” 1950’s recipes which were staples in kitchens across America, as well as being served at dinner parties. When was the last time you served Chicken a la King or Baked Alaska?

I loved the whole premise of the book and how the two female characters found themselves in traditional housewife roles. I like how Alice discovered Nellie’s story and the development of that character. However, beyond that, I’d have to say that I like Nellie’s story a lot more because she came across as more authentic. I feel that Alice made her choices out of selfishness. Beyond living in the same house and both being housewives, there really was no other comparison of the two characters.

I would love to discuss this book in a group setting as I feel it would generate some interesting ideas and thoughts.

This is a quick read, and entertaining, but it left me hungry for a little more. Thanks to #Netgalley, and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion.

I received this advanced copy book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I really enjoy this author and have read all of her previous books. This one fell flat for me.
I did like the dual story line between two women in different timelines.
As with other Karma Brown books, there is a twist near the end. But this was pretty predictable.
Quick read and enjoyable chick lit.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife was a interesting read! I love how it’s a modern day woman reliving the not so modern day woman’s lives. The 50’s housewife has always interested me. But what I loved most about this book is the focus on women support women that Karma Brown filled the pages with. I really enjoyed this book!

3.5 stars

“ A modern woman who is of the contentious type is often amenable to love and reason. If she will only listen quietly--a process that is painful to her--you may firmly, rationally, and kindly convince her she is not always in the right.” Walter Galichan, Modern Woman and How to Manager Her (1910).

A reluctant housewife in the present finds herself drawn to a housewife from the 1950s in Recipe for a Perfect Wife.

In the early 1950s, Nellie, an early 20 something has married Richard, a man in his mid-thirties. Richard swept Nellie off her feet and she thought that she had found her prince charming, but as their marriage progresses, Nellie realizes that she married a controlling and abusive man who cares more about appearances than his wife.

In 2018, Alice and her husband, Nate, move from NYC to a suburban money pit. Ali, who was fired from her high profile job, decides she will play the doting wife to cover up the lies she told her husband about the demise of her career. Once she and Nate move into their new home, more and more lies are told throwing their marriage into a tailspin.

Each chapter starts with an excerpt from books written from the late 19thc. To the early 20th century with advice on how to be the perfect wife. I loved reading these little snippets, they were horrifying and fascinating at the same time. Other chapters begin with a recipe, some of which sound disgusting, and other delicious. These were my favorite parts of the book.

The narrative switches between Nellie and Alice's POV's. I loved Nellie’s story and character, but Alice’s character wasn’t fully developed. Her storyline was predictable and filled with cliches. I also felt Nellie’s story could have used another chapter. Overall, I think the plot could have been more complex and nuanced.

Even though this was fluffier than expected, in the end, it was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

“The average man marries a woman who is slightly less intelligent than he is.That’s why many brilliant women never marry. They do not come in contact with sufficiently brilliant men, or fail to disguise their brilliance in order to win a man of somewhat less intelligence.” Dr. Clifford R. Adams, Modern Bride (1952)

A great story with a couple of twists. Not a perfect ending, which I loved! We will buy this and promote it!

Recipe for a Perfect Wife is an interesting view of a modern woman reliving (through magazines and letters) what it means to be a 1950’s housewife. Part memoir with a focus on woman supporting each other and learning who they are in both current and past times.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

Alice Hale & Nellie Murdoch would appear to have nothing in common with the exception of the house they live in. Alice is a modern woman who just left her publicity career in NYC to live in the suburbs with her husband - Nellie Murdoch was a 1950's housewife who left behind plenty of artifacts from her life including an old cookbook. Both women's seem to have secrets & Alice soon becomes consumed by the cookbook and the life of the woman who once owned it. This intriguing/troubling story will have you thinking about feminism and living in a patriarchal society.

This was a bittersweet little read. I definitely didn’t agree with choices characters made but the story was interesting and the characters were easy to latch on to.

Well this certainly took a turn I wasn't expecting! I'm still not sure how I feel about that turn. I definitely liked the shift from present day to the 1950s and comparing and contrasting the main characters lives.

Brown's novel was an enveloping read. The narrative switches between Nellie, a 1950's housewife and Alice, a new modern housewife. I liked the storyline and it flowed well, I liked how each chapter began with some wifely advice, derived from various help books from 1910-1960. I liked Nellie the best. Trapped in a marriage that is not what it seems, she finds a way out, through the assistance of her mother. Nellie had secrets and they are eventually divulged. I didn't care for Alice. I thought she was deceitful and very self absorbed. Even at the end, although her husband wasn't exactly truthful with her, she forced him to bow to her whims, and she still had more lies. I thought she was repugnant. It's a novel that delivers.

What fun this was! Not only did it remind me of beloved recipes I grew up with in the 40s and 50s, but it also reminded me of the copious advice from a myriad of sources concerning wifely duties. It also reminded me of how smart women lived within and worked the system!! The author could have benefited from someone who actually lived during those times, but all in all, it was delightful.

Chick lit to be sure.

This was an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown. Perfect wives, indeed, Also perfect recipe for the stories of Nellie and Alice. Enjoyed the recipes throughout the book the secret family spices one was an eye opener for sure. Will be looking for Ms Brown backlist and future books.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I loved this book! I am a huge fan of everything Karma Brown writes and this may be her best yet.
Dual timelines in past and present combined with a hot topic for women, now and then, had me flying through the pages anxious to learn how it would end.
In the present day, Alice has moved to a fixer-upper in the suburbs, fresh out of a city she so deeply loves. She's newly married and babies are on the brain- of her husband, not so much herself...not yet. She struggles to find her place out of her city and away from the full-time career she loved, to be a housewife and want-to-be novelist (though she hides the fact she has not written anything) She emotionally struggles with where life has taken her, as well as with a secret she keeps from her husband. When she's in the basement of her new house, that never feels like home, Alice discovers a cookbook and letters of the previous homeowner, Nellie, from the 1950's. The letters and cookbook connect the two women as we learn how Nellie also struggled to belong, wanting so much more than staying home and cooking dinner and appeasing her terrible husband.
As we shift between the two women's lives, we realize that while time may pass, women's desires to find a place in the world were just as crucial back then as it is now.
Finding your place in this world, your place as a wife and possible mother, managing a career, tending for a home and above all, finding true happiness are timeless issues that the author beautifully brought to life.
I thought this book was fascinating, thought-provoking and engaging. I loved the recipes, made by Nellie that Alice tries to recreate, that were sprinkled throughout. The characters were incredibly developed as if you knew them personally and there are enough twists to keep you reading past your bedtime! I won't spoil the ending, but I never saw it coming.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an ARC of this book to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've been in a reading slump lately, so I was thrilled to find Recipe for a Perfect Wife. I think it would be an excellent book club pick. It's part chick-lit, part ghost story, part mystery.
About mothers and daughters, Karma Brown says a lot in very few words. I loved that insightful part of her writing. About marriage, she presents it as the mixed bag it tends to be. The 1950's husband is an entirely unsympathetic character, but the modern husband is, in many ways, to be pitied. The traditional roles of women, particularly cooking, are handled with respect. Yet the modern conflict for women - is "traditional" valuable enough? - rages in Alice.
And the ending leaves a lot of room for discussion. Enjoy!

I was provided an advance copy of this book by NetGalley.

#NetGalley
#RecipeforaPerfectWife

This was a great book! I really liked dual plot lines and thought the back and forth was wonderfully navigated. Both of the women were intricate and relatable.

The last 1/3 of the book was paced perfectly and I literally could not put the book down. The ending had a few loose ends though that made me wish there was was just another chapter or two.

Wow!! Recipe for a Perfect Wife was a surprise hit for me and I just enjoyed it so much. This was my first book by Karma Brown and it definitely won't be my last! I loved the format of the dual timelines and I became very immersed with both of the main characters.

Brown introduces us to Alice, who has recently moved out of the city to a fixer-upper with her husband. As her roles are shifting in her own home life, Alice discovers a cookbook and magazines from the previous homeowner. This discovery introduces us to the other main character in this book, Nellie.

The storyline then goes back and forth between present-day Alice and Nellie a "housewife" in the 1950s. I loved how Brown took us back to that era and really dove into what life was like for women and the expectations there was of Nellie as a wife in that time period.

The story shifts between Nellie's narrative, and Alice's discovery of Nellie's past while also learning more about her own marriage. Each chapter started with quotes from marital advice from the (not so distant) past and it really helped set the scene for how different life was in the early and mid-1900s.

Brown keeps you super involved in both storylines and I loved that while it was a completely engaging read, it took on some powerful and timely topics. The twists at the end were satisfying, clever and bold. Recipe For A Perfect Wife will definitely stick with me and it would make a wonderful book club discussion.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I really, really love Karma Brown's books, so I was very excited to get my hands on her new one early.

This one has a Julie/Julia vibe to it, though much more readable. The story in both timelines moves well. It was interesting having both Alice and Nellie having struggles that while not exactly the same, were similar enough that the two women felt linked beyond living in the same house.

The twist caught me by surprise (I had my money on something different happening). It was a bit eye popping, but I think those are the twists that Karma is best at delivering. The modern day timeline felt like it had a few subplots that were just left hanging there, and the story never seemed to resolve, but I guess that's life.

If you like Karma's other books, you'll definitely enjoy this one.