Wickedly juicy fun!

Grab an ice cold beverage and your sunglasses, because we are heading to a small town in Texas with big secrets! If you like books about rich people behaving badly, The Hunting Wives by May Cobb is your next read! Not to mention it is currently filming for a limited series that will premiere on Starz! Read on for my thoughts about the book and what I think we can expect from the television series.

Sophie is B-O-R-E-D

When Sophie O’Neill left her enviable career and city lifestyle in Chicago to move to a small Texas town with her husband Graham and her son Jack, she envisioned having the time and space to actually enjoy life with her family. It doesn’t take long for Sophie to realize perhaps she has a bit too much time. She spends her days gardening in the oppressive Texas heat, playing with her son, and scrolling social media while she tries to start up a lifestyle blog. She has one close friend Erin, but she misses a bit of glamour in her life. In other words? She’s completely bored with a capital B.

Sophie finds a new hobby

Sophie has seen Margot Banks around town. Margot is glamorous, alluring, and gorgeous—Sophie can’t help but stare when she sees her, but she hasn’t found a way to meet her yet. Until she spots an upcoming fundraiser Erin is planning that will be held at Margot’s. in-law’s historic mansion. Erin gladly provides her tickets, and Sophie finally gets a chance to meet Margot and her circle of friends—Callie, Tina, and Jill. After Sophie seems to prove herself to Margot, she’s invited to join the group on Friday night for a shooting club. The women call themselves the Hunting Wives, and they go out to Margot’s lake house and practice shooting…among other things.

Sophie spirals out of control

The Hunting Wives don’t just get together to practice shooting and have a few drinks. Sophie is soon pulled into their dark and dangerous world of partying. Sometimes the women hook up with men who aren’t their husbands, though they claim they never go all the way. It’s just a bit of fun, right? But soon Sophie is staying out way later than she should, drinking too much, and engaging in some flirtation that definitely cross the line. But she’s not obsessed with any of the men they meet, she’s obsessed with Margot. When a teenage girl who is close to the group is found murdered where the Hunting Wives meet—Sophie finds herself as the number one suspect. As her life spins out of control, Sophie doesn’t know if she can salvage anything… Did one of the women set her up?

Review | The Hunting Wives

Who should read this book?

This book seems to be polarizing, so I want to be clear with what the book is so readers can self-select out if it’s not their thing. This is a book about a group of women who behave very badly. They are completely out of control and reckless. For readers like me, seeing the lengths they will go to is part of the fun. It’s a fiction book and I don’t need to like the characters to enjoy them. May Cobb did something impressive here where I was both repulsed by and fascinated with these women—especially Margot. I didn’t want to put the book down. This served to put the reader (very tangentially) in Sophie’s shoes, where we can understand that two things can be true simultaneously: (1) Sophie knows she needs to stay away from Margot, and (2) Sophie can’t resist Margot’s allure.

Every word of this book is carefully crafted to elicit a reaction from the reader. This book is steamy, provocative, salacious, gripping, and jaw-dropping. These women are flawed. They are outrageous. They act in ways that blew my mind. Cobb is brazenly unafraid of writing an unlikable character, and these characters are deliciously unlikable. I devoured every twisted, salacious moment of it. If you need to like the characters in a book, this probably isn’t for you. But if you are looking for a peek into wealthy, bored, desperate housewives behaving very badly, this is your book.

What to make of our protagonist Sophie?

Sophie was an interesting character. Cobb builds a solid backstory for Sophie that makes some of her indiscretions understandable, though not forgivable. We learn that Sophie has major attachment issues from childhood, and this led to a pattern of her seeking out highly unstable relationships. With work, she acknowledged her destructive pattern and began to make better choices—this led her to Graham. And if I can say, Graham is kind of perfect. He understands that Sophie is struggling after the move, and he supports and encourages her new friendships (even though it often means she is out most of the night and he is home with their son).

Sophie is an example of someone who can do the work through therapy and life choices, but also find that tendencies engrained is us as children can be difficult to break away from. Sophie recounts several instances where she was tempted to go back to her old ways, and how she shut them down. Unfortunately, Sophie doesn’t recognize that Margot herself plays into those same insecurities that led her to make poor decisions in relationships. Sophie thinks that by avoiding going too far with the male that Margot throws at her, she’s in the right. As outsiders we can clearly see that she may be able to resist random men, but she can’t resist the “bad boy” type—or should I say “bad girl” because Margot is actually a dead ringer for previous subjects of Sophie’s obsessions. The only difference is, this time it’s a woman.

The most relatable part of Sophie (in my opinion) is her desperation to be in Margot’s friend group. Most of us have had the experience of being new and struggling to make friends, or being outside of a group and wishing we could be part of it. Sophie may take her behavior to the extreme, but her willingness to do anything to be friends with Margot has an authenticity to it that is heartbreaking and fascinating in equal measure. In every way that Graham and Erin represent Sophies good side—the side that wants to be a good wife, mother and friend—Margot represents her dark side—the side that wants to live recklessly and wild. The question is—which side will win?

What do we make of Margot?

Margot truly fascinated me. Through Cobb’s expert writing, I could feel the pull of Margot. Not in the sense that I wanted to be with her as Sophie does, but I wanted her to reenter the scenes and felt an emptiness when she’d leave them. Margot is one of those characters who has the “It” factor. Everyone wants to be around her, with the exception of Erin. Erin seems to see straight through Margot to the ego-driven, selfish person inside. Margot isn’t all bad—there were things that made me empathize with her and even like her at times. However, Margot isn’t a character who is capable of caring for another person as much as she cares about herself. This quality is exactly what wreaks havoc on the women and men in her sphere.

Sophie is beyond obsessed with Margot. The obsession starts before she has actually met Margot. The early chapters chronicle Sophie looking Margot up on social media, searching through mutually tagged photos with Erin so she could see more of her, and nearly tagging herself on a picture of Margot’s cleavage when she tried to zoom in. After they meet, things escalate. Margot is that perfect mix of pulling someone in and then pushing them away over and over again. When Sophie is within Margot’s circle, its warm and intoxicating. When she’s outside, she’s desperate to get back in. Her self-destruction is a Sophie-problem—we can’t blame that part on Margot—but Margot is also aware of Sophie’s obsession and uses it to manipulate her.

Why did I love it?

The Hunting Wives is a perfect mix of sexy, steamy, dangerous, dramatic, and unhinged that I found irresistible. This was actually my third time reading it—I read it right when it published (when I was taking a blogging break), and again with a book club. I reread it this time when I heard the television series started filming because I wanted to refresh the story in my mind with the casting decisions—more on that shortly!

I barely touched on the central mystery to this story, but it’s gripping and horrifying at the same time. A tiny spoiler here that is revealed very early in the book, so it won’t detract from your reading experience—Margot is having a steamy flirtatious relationship with Jill’s teenage son that is hotter than a Texas summer. This part actually made my skin crawl, but it also added to the tension in the plot. We learn that previously Margot and Jill’s son had gone inside the house to get drinks and it was suggested that something may have happened. Jill later threw a drink in Margot’s face, and Margot iced Jill out of the group for three months until Jill was apologizing to Margot. See what I mean about Margot’s power to attract people?

I bring this plotline up because the teenager that is found dead is tangentially linked to the situation—the murdered girl had been romantically involved with Brad. This made the murder much more interesting. Who was behind it? In theory Margot had the strongest motive of the five women, but the motive doesn’t hold up well. Margot finds fun in the game, not in the relationship. Unfortunately, Sophie becomes the prime suspect, and she doesn’t have a great alibi. This happened on one of many nights that she drank too much and lost chunks of time while with the girls. The problem is that they all have an alibi—so who set her up? Was it one of the boys? Her husband? One of the other women? Erin? I could go on and on because I spiraled through so many theories while reading this book!

The other main piece that I enjoyed was watching the dynamic between Sophie and her husband Graham throughout the book. Sophie and Graham start with a seemingly perfect relationship. However, as the book goes on, Sophie’s obsession with Margot is slowly unraveling her marriage. Graham may not know it yet, but Sophie kept crossing new lines as things progress. I was anxiously reading, wondering if Sophie would be able to pull herself out before everything went too far.

There is never a dull moment with the Hunting Wives! Dramatic, racy, sinister, and scandalous—this book will have you in disbelief with each new chapter. Best read with a cocktail by a pool, read on to hear what we know so far about the television adaptation!

TV Adaptation | The Hunting Wives | Starz

This book is just begging for a television adaptation, so I am excited it was not only picked up, but has crossed that barrier that so many screen adaptations get stuck on—actually moving to filming! Brittany Snow has been cast to play Sophie and Malin Akerman has been cast to play Margot. These casting choices are amazing in my opinion. Brittany Snow’s past work proves that she’ll be able to capture the essence of Sophie—a woman doing her best to live life as a good girl but who can’t help but regress to her old ways when she is pulled into Margot’s circle. Meanwhile Ackerman has played these types of alluring characters before. It will be fun to see her playing the dark side of that character type, many of her previous roles have had a lighter feel to them.

A few other casting decisions have been announced—Dermot Mulroney will play Margot’s husband Jed. Evan Jonigkeit will play Sophie’s husband Graham. Chrissy Metz was just announced to play the mother of the teenage girl who gets murdered. Katie Lowes was announced to play Jill (I absolutely love this casting choice!). Jill is a fascinating character who I didn’t talk much about. She’s more wholesome than the rest of the Hunting Wives in a way. She feels like she was probably the Sophie of the group before Sophie joined, desperate to be part of Margot’s circle. George Ferrier will play Jill’s son Brad—I’m not super familiar with him so I don’t have an opinion yet. Jamie Ray Newman was cast to play Callie—another exciting choice. Callie is Margot’s best friend and right hand woman. She’s skeptical of Sophie joining the group and seems reluctant to share Margot’s attention.

Here's what it seems we can expect from the television series. First, the series was picked up for eight episodes, so I expect that some storylines and characters will be much more fleshed out in the series compared to the book. Jill and Callie were already named in the second wave of casting announcements, so I expect their characters to get more screentime than in the book. We don’t have word yet on who will play Tina (the fifth member of the Hunting Wives), so she may stay as a side character or not appear at all.

Second, I noticed that in the latest casting announcement some of the relationships have changed. Callie’s character will be married to the sheriff, which does add quite a bit of complexity to the murder investigation. This relationship didn’t exist in the book, but Callie was territorial over Margot and somewhat cold towards Sophie. Her connection to the Sheriff certainly won’t help! Meanwhile Chrissy Metz is cast to play a character named Starr who is the mother to teenage Abby. I don’t recall this character existing in the book—at least not in any active way (obviously we can assume Abby had a mother). Starr’s character is described as “a proud working-class woman who’s active in her church”. Religion wasn’t a part of the book, so this is another layer that I’m excited to see where it goes. In addition, Jill’s character is described as “the wife of a minister and queen of the mega church”—again, this is a new take on Jill’s character that wasn’t part of the book.

I actually love that they are adding the layers of religion and what is described as the mega-church that seemingly carries quite a bit of power in this small town. It feels authentic to many small towns in Texas, and it also builds out the plot in a way that added complexity and richness to the characters. This is the right way to go, rather than trying to stretch the source material too thin. Another thing I noticed is that there has not been a casting announcement for Erin. I already mentioned Tina not getting cast yet, so there are certainly more decisions to be made.

If Erin isn’t included in the story, that adds a different tension to Sophie’s character. I mentioned in my review of the book how Graham and Erin represent the life Sophie should prioritize—the one where she is a loving mother, wife, and friend. Erin is a beacon of light, often described as positive and joyful to be around, as well as devoted to charity work and acts of service. Erin plays an important part because she not only introduces Sophie to Margot, but Sophie pulls further away from their friendship the closer she gets to Margot. Erin is a barometer for how far Sophie has fallen into this dangerous group.

I’ll certainly be updating this if more news comes out that is noteworthy, but so far I’m excited to see how the book is adapted to the screen!

I couldn't get through this title. It ended up not being for me, but I hope it finds a hope with other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A lot of people have recommended this book, but it has a lot of problematic elements. However, if you like your books with a dose of infidelity, drama, skeet shooting, mystery, drugs, and generally over-the-top behavior, then you might enjoy this book. :)

One of the characters, Margot preyed on people and manipulated them, including 18-year-old boys, which is pretty gross. Really, they all behaved incredibly badly. I'm finding that the older I get, and the more I read, that I really need to like at least one of the characters to find a book tolerable...it's hard to like any of these people.

Wow wow wow you can feel the obsession and tension off the pages!
Sophie, our main characters , she has a very good life and a wonderful husband. Soon she becomes very obsessed with the rich and glamorous neighbor Margot? Sophie has become bored with her life so she is willing do almost anything to belong in Margot’s exclusive hunting club. , Sophie finds herself completely drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying. and her obsession with Margot grows until it threatens more than just her marriage. When the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet, Sophie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and her life spiraling out of control.

Woah, what a whirlwind of a story! I was completely wrapped up in the drama and loved it! This had everything from mystery, friendship, love, hate, anger, laughter, seduction and murder! I will admit, I had a hard time with the main character, only because I could not relate to her but then found I grew to love her throughout the story! All these women were a dramatic and I loved every second of it!

I must admit I was not expecting this book to be as risque, sexy, and full of such dangerous twists and turns as it did!

All of the crazy situations that the women got themselves into were insane and took the reading experience up to a whole new level.

This book was a really fun time and I really loved the adventure I had reading it.

I refuse to read a book that talks about pedophilia like it’s not a big deal.
Women in their 40s sleeping with high school boys is disturbing.

The Hunting Wives was a quick, unputdownable read for me! I loved the twisted storyline and the unlikable characters. Definitely recommend for those who love suspense and/or psychological thrillers!

This book was CHAOS.

Twisty, delicious and provocative. May Cobb is a new must-read for me. And as a Texan, I love a book set in Texas.

I went into this book hoping for something to distract me from every day life and it delivered. Honestly, were the characters likable? No! Was I here for it? Yes! The only word i could use to describe The Hunting Wives is salacious. The writing flowed well and I wanted to keep coming back to the story. I guessed the twist but I still love how it was delivered and ultimately, I really enjoyed the book as a whole.

This was a Book of the Month Club selection and has received a lot of buzz. It lives up to the hype!! A terrific mystery with complex characters. Sophie O'Neill is a very much a layered character. When she leaves a high powered job in Chicago for a small Texas town, she thinks she's stepping into a quieter, more fulfilling life, but nothing could be further than the truth. She immediately is swept up into a world of lies, deception, passion and murder. Highly recommend.

In trying to finish the BOTM challenge this year, I’ve picked up a few books I’ve been wanting to read forever. One of those books is the Hunting Wives by @may_cobb! I really loved this over the top Real Housewives on steroids story!

Sophie has recently moved to Mapleton, Texas with her family for a slower pace of life. Sophie and her husband and her young son, Jack are enjoying exploring their new town and hitting up the farmers market each week. While trying to make friends, she meets Margot at a charity event and she’s enraptured by her. She’s glamorous, social and seems to know everyone.

Sophie is invited to Margot’s house one weekend for skeet shooting and a lot of wine. The other girls are fun, but there’s something about Margot. She loves to drink and flirt with men; sometimes they are even the barely legal sons of her friends. Margot invites Sophie privately to a few of these events and she stays out to the wee hours of the morning and her husband is starting to get jealous and concerned for her.

One day a young girl goes missing off on Margot’s property and it looks like the Hunting Wives might be involved. This is where you will need to read for yourself be use this books is a wild ride!!

Wow wow wow. This book had me reading and rereading sections like did that just happen? The book is very soapy and exaggerated, but I really found it fun. It’s a quick read once you get going. I don’t think this one is for everyone, but I personally thought it was a very enjoyable book.

This book was FUN! Loved it. Such a popcorn thriller and drama! Juicy and entertaining! Couldn’t put it down!

The Hunting Wives is a fast-paced, twisty drama about booze drinking 30 something year old women who make bad choices. Gives me the Real Housewives tv drama vibes. Being set in a small town in Texas (where I am from), is one of the reasons I picked up this book. It is a page turner and I got thru it quickly. My issues steamed from who the women hooked up through the story and Sofie's infatuation with Margo got repetitive.

I must say this was an entertaining book - a bit of a mean girls/real housewives/desperate housewives mashup! Being from Texas - I loved the setting and the East Texas references in it. The Hunting Wives was an elite clique of grown women behaving badly - which is really an understatement. They are definitely not a bunch you would want to be friends with. Main character Sophie's life becomes a train wreck once she begins hanging out with them. This one was a quick read - it was a bit risque in parts filled with catty women, alcohol, steamy affairs and murder. Sorry I waited so long to pick this one up but glad I finally got around to it.

This book kept me guessing until the very end. A Big Little Lies feel! Rich women behaving building with guns. You wont be able to put this one down.

Okay, so if you're a fan of any of the Real Housewives book, you will LOVE this juicy and fun book! It's a quick read, and I found myself not really liking any of the characters but in the best way. Lol! This was definitely a fun one! This book was on so many of my friends' TBR lists, and I'm glad I didn't miss out!

this book is a fast-paced summery drama with thriller elements it follows a woman as she gets wrapped up in a group of suburban housewives that drink copious amounts of alcohol and partake in socially unacceptable behaviors together in her new small town in texas. she begins to become obsessed with the perceived leader of the group and it goes down from there and boy does shit hit the fan.

i love a good suburban mom drama and the whole last 30-40% was very thriller and the twist and turns i loved. the last section was probably a 5 star for me because it really kept me guessing and reeling. while the beginning 50-60%ish wasn't bad by any means, it was mostly set up and the main character, sophie, getting indoctrinated into this group. while i do think that exposition was necessary it honestly dragged on a bit and felt slow at times. i see what the author was trying to do with building suspense slowly over time but it definitely could have had better pacing.

i enjoyed the small town aspects and how everybody knows everybody's business because i love knowing other people's business lol i haven't lived in a town like that since i was a kid and honestly i want to live in a small town one day just to know everybody else's tea and maybe something like this would happen to keep me entertained. the characters in this are all extremely unlikable but personally, i don't mind that, and especially in this type of story it really works for me. it may not work for everybody but i love morally grey characters.

this book definitely was giving vibes similar to big little lies but also this newer movie called deep water that just came out this year. the woman the main character becomes obsessed with was very similar to the character in that movie. i really did enjoy that aspect of it but it had the murder mystery and suburban drama of big little lies.

while this book was not perfect it is a really fun ride and i would recommend it for anybody who is starting to crave that domestic thriller vibes again with a twist.

thank you to berkley publishing group, may cobb, and netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this up because of Gabby. I enjoyed it and will check out more from this author. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

An explosive and dramatic women's fiction. I loved every page of this fun and exhilarating book. A great summer read by the pool.