This book is basically ‘Real Housewives of Dallas’ meets ‘Dead to Me’ meets ‘Single White Female’ meets some uninspired porno that definitely has the word ‘MILF’ in the title. As you’d expect from a description like that, this book was a wild ride. It was addictive and super well-written...and it made me glad that I deleted most of my social media accounts a long time ago. I was left with all the weird feelings - unsettled, unnerved, uncomfortable, icked out (there are sexual relationships between some of the women and teenage boys - a/k/a statutory rape! and child grooming! yikes!!!!!!!), and with a deep-seated hatred for pretty much every character in the book (except for Graham and Erin), which I think was the author’s goal. This book definitely wasn’t what I was expecting it to be and it has me so out of sorts that I can’t even tell whether I liked it or not.

So hard to rate. Actually kind of hated this story but well written and definitely different. 3.5 stars
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This book kind of bothered me from the beginning. I really wanted to stop reading it. However, I honestly try to read every book because I know things change as you go through the story.

I never truly connected with the main character and when she started with some seriously questionable actions I wanted to close the book right then.

This story is about women behaving badly. It’s a mystery to a degree. I think for me it would have been more of an engaging read had the author spent a little bit more time with the who done it part. The ending to me was very rushed and I was so disappointed in the main character of what she did and lost. That really killed the book for me.

However, the author did a great job writing the story. It is definitely outside the box, totally unique, and I appreciate that about the story. It is wild and wanton, and even compulsive in a way. You just have to keep reading to see what else could possibly happen!

Personally, I failed to connect with a lot of the characters. I failed to follow the reason behind celebrating bad behavior and following the leader of the pack. Maybe I’m too old to get it.

Is this a story that I think others will absolutely enjoy? Yes. But for me it needed more of the thriller and mystery part which may have saved it for me. But I still don’t agree with many of the actions in the story. Just my personal take.

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

Hi, I'm Christine and my toxic trait is reading @netgalley books either a million years before they publish, or two million years 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

Today it was the former 🤷🏼‍♀️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 by May Cobb was begging to be read and I breezed through it in a few hours. It's juicy. It's sexy. It's scandalous. It's twisty and a little dark. It's 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙪𝙣! Without spoiling it for y'all, it's a little bit grown up 𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 meets 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦. 🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴 5/5 from me, check it out this May 😎 thank you @berkleypub for my copy!

This is an addictive thriller best read in a single sitting. Throughout this book I was constantly reminded of The Great Gatsby, much in the smalltown opulence and in the eccentric portrayal of Margot. As Sophie is lured in to a new social group, the plot quickly begins to thicken with the introduction of the elusive social club with a no questions asked attitude. For me there were still questions left unanswered by the ending, and I felt it was a bit rushed. However it's still a raunchy thriller with a lot of oomph to keep you coming back for more.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This is well written but not enjoyable to read because it’s about a bunch of privileged women treating each other and their husbands terribly.

Sophie has relocated to Mapleton, Texas, from the suburbs of Chicago. She left her job as a magazine editor to spend more time with her three-year-old son and take life more slowly. But she gets her errands done quickly and throwing herself into gardening only takes up so much of her time. So when she befriends a group of women who like to drink too much and shoot skeet on Friday nights, she enjoys the diversion. (Speaking of drinking, it seems like twenty-four hours a day Sophie is either drinking lattes, tea, wine, or hard liquor.) Some of these new friends of hers behave badly, and, while Sophie crosses the line a little, it’s enough to put her marriage to a wonderful man in peril, especially when the seventeen-year-old girlfriend of one of their sons ends up dead by a shotgun blast in the same place the women go to shoot skeet.

This does have a nice twist in the end. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 9, 2021.

This was...wow! Totally not what I expected. But in a good way.

It’s Women Behaving Badly...and I loved it.

I loved that none of the characters were really likable. So you don’t mind if/when something happens/happened to them.

I found it hard to put this one down.

A huge thank you to Berekely Pub and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review!

Overall, I thought this was a unique storyline and a fast-paced read. The steam between Margot and Sophie kept me engaged, as well as the "whodunnit" aspect of the book. However, I wish we got more of a backstory between all the ladies in the group, especially Margot. I felt like there was more behind her than what was given and I think she would have generated a bit more sympathy if we knew more about her.

I did have a fun time reading this book and I can't wait to read more by May Cobb!

Final rating: 3.75/5

Elements of The Hunting Wives were excellent, but I just could not relate to the main character Sophie and her seemingly adolescent crush on Margot. Frankly, since Sophie actually spent two years of high school in this town, it would have made more sense to me if this had been an adolescent crush that she never resolved because she moved away, but the author clearly states she never knew this gang back in the day. He rapid descent into excessive drinking and adulterous behavior were bad enough, but once the high school football players made an appearance, I could no longer muster even a modicum of sympathy for Sophie who just made bad choice after bad choice until the denouement of the novel. The book was very well-written and all of the characters were fully drawn, I just didn't like any of them (except Graham, Jack, and Detective Flynn). Ultimately a frustrating read because of my distaste for Sophie and her actions.

This one was a spicy thriller of friendship, betrayal, and lust. The main character is being set up for murder and on her quest to uncover who is setting her up, she unravels several other lies along the way. Who can she trust and how does she also get herself out of the situation she is in. This is like desperate housewives meets Single White Female. I enjoyed most of the book but found the ending a little lackluster. This one gets 3.5 stars for me.

Okay, so I've clearly been typecast-- or whatever the literary equivalent is-- by publishers, so I'm sent far too many of these female-centered thrillers and they all wind up running together. Everything is too long and drawn out, either overly dramatic or not dramatic enough, etc. If you're in the same boat, and you've read too many generic novels in this genre, you're in luck. I flew through The Hunting Wives; it's readable and the characters and plot are surprisingly unique. I was not expecting the story to go where it went, based on the synopsis. I thought it was going to be about a group of rich women who had some kind of club where they hunted other people for sport. Luckily, it's not that at all. Sophie's attraction to and fixation on the enigmatic and sexy Margot is fun and interesting, and compulsively readable, even when it becomes uncomfortable. Definitely worth adding to your TBR list.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

There was so much drama, so many twists, so much to keep you turning the pages, I couldn't put this one down once I started it. But one of my favourite things about this book was the way the author painted a picture in your mind with the details. I could smell the espresso being brewed, feel the summer heat, taste the sharp chardonnay. I loved that there was so much gossip and scandal - it was fun to read when everything else in the world is so low. I'm a big fan of Big Little Lies and this felt right along those lines. Give me all the suburban drama - and I can't wait for more from May Cobb!

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie O'Neill is bored with living in Mapleton after her fast-ced life in Chicago. But wasquiet an time with her young son was what she was seeking with her husband. With little to do other then gardening, cooking and blogging, she becomes obsessed with socialite Margot Banks. This twisty and steamy book draws Sophie into a world of late night target practice and so much more. When the dead body of a young girl is found, Sophie belives she knows who did it, but has too many secrets to tell the truth. After Margot is found dead, she believes she is being framed for the murder. Her life is spiraling out of control. The book is raw. and graphic in parts.

The Hunting Wives..... holy shit balls did I flipping love this!!

Who is May Cobb and where have you been all my damn life?! Ok... has she been hiding under a rock because THIS is exactly the type of thrillers that I devour.

Sexy, dark, crazy, addicting, and conniving house wives at it's finest. Ok... I seriously could not get enough of this one.

Can we just talk about Sophie for a minute? Obsession and sexy is putting it lightly for this gem of a lady ;). Sophie is drawn to an inner circle who call themselves the Hunting Wives. I mean what's a harmless group of women that go hunting for the male species? Sounds innocent right? Until you had murder to that right? ;)

Let me just put this in a nut shell for you. This domestic thriller is NOT to be missed. Definitely one of my top reads for 2021.

5/5 stars!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 5/18/21
Published to GR: 1/11/21

While THE HUNTING WIVES had an alluring summary and seemed to start out strong, it quickly wound up feeling very repetitive and filled with cheap, tawdry drama without enough ‘why’ behind it.

THE HUNTING WIVES follows 30 something mom Sophie as she, her husband, and her son move to a quiet suburban town after she decided she wanted to escape the buzz of her urban life. Unfortunately, she immediately realizes her new life seems dull and becomes obsessed with Margot, a chic socialite in town. Sophie manages to gain an invite into Margot’s inner circle of ‘Hunting Wives’ (which has a double meaning) and rapidly falls down a black hole of obsession and desire.

Overall it just felt like the author was continuously trying to shock the reader by adding as many salacious storylines as possible (cheating, lying, betrayal, statutory rape etc), none of which had a strong enough backstory to make it seem plausible. This is a pass for me, unless you’re looking for shock and awe without the substance to back it up.

Thank you to netgalley for the copy!

WOW! I received this ebook as an advanced release from NetGalley to review. The Hunting Wives has set the bar high for the rest of my 2021 reading. It has the perfect amount of drama, suspense and thriller topped steamy scenes that will have you on the edge of your bed. Sophie is a character that I slightly hated at times all while cheering her on throughout the book. I loved all of the characters but by the end of the story Callie had my heart and I know Sophie will find her own way to thank her just so. May Cobb has hit the skeet (wink) with her must read novel "The Hunting Wives"!

Sophie has a good life, a loving husband and son and a new slower life than her career-driven Chicago life. But Sophie finds Margot through a friend on Facebook and can’t stop thinking about her. When they meet at a charity event and Margot invites Sophie into her friend group, it seems too good to be true. And it is. What started as girls nights with wine and skeet shooting turns into lustful and murderous hijinks. With time jumps and foreshadowing, Cobb makes readers care about these deeply flawed characters. With a summery setting and characters that readers will love to hate, Cobb has created a suspenseful page turner.

This book was fun! It was a super quick read and I found that I didn't want to put it down. The mystery kept me going quickly so I could figure out who the killer was, and why. There were some sexy scenes that were fun to read, too. My one gripe with the book was that the main character was kind of annoying. Her inappropriate behavior when she had a husband and small child at home was cringe worthy. She kept putting herself into situations that she never should have been in. But she redeemed herself towards the end with her detective work. Great read!

A special thanks to Berkely Publishing and NetGalley for my honest opinion for this ARC.

Wicked, wicked, wicked. Loved it!