Beth and Gina are neighbors who happen to love the same man, Beth's husband. Beth thought she had a happy marriage and family with two teenagers until she discovered the affair. Two weeks later when Beth's husband is found dead, she, of course, is the number one suspect! Beth leans on her neighbors, including Gina, while trying to clear her name. This book has it all! Friendship, it is funny at time, and thrilling at others. I am already recommending friends pick it up as soon as it goes on sale, January 12, 2021.
Thank you NetGalley, and Jennifer Snow for the advance copy in exchange for a fair review.

A thoroughly enjoyable book with interesting characters and a mystery with a twist that is certain to surprise you. I struggled with the wife and mistress getting along quite as well as they did but if you can look past this you will enjoy this book.

Beth’s husband just died. Sad, except he was found on the kitchen floor of Gina, her next door neighbor and the woman he’s been having an affair with. When the verdict changes from heart attack to poison naturally Beth is first on the suspect list. Her female friends/neighbors, as well as Gina rally around her and decide to go on the offensive to find the real killer. Between these women, her snarky kids who seem to prefer Gina, and the handsome detective who think she’s guilty, what else could go wrong. Turns out, plenty.
With a huge twist near the end that makes this an interesting murder indeed, nothing is like it seems. Really enjoyable.

I finished "Housewife Chronicles", by Jennifer Snow this morning. It only took me about a day and a half to read. Now to be honest with you I really didn't know if I was going to like this book or not. It is not the usual type of books I read but I thought it sounded interesting so I figured I would give it a try. I am glad I did. I ended up enjoying it.
The book centers around 2 main characters Beth, a middle age housewife with 2 teenage children and a dead unfaithful husband, and Gina, the young 20 something neighbor next door with the perfect young body who stole Beth's husband. After being told of her husband's cheating by a group of women from the neighborhood who are Beth's friends, her husband moves out and into the house next door with Gina, only to end up dying within two weeks from an apparent heart attack. As Beth tries to deal with the betrayal and the death of her husband, with the gossipy support of the other housewives she is thrown another curve ball. A visit from a police detective leaves her shocked and stunned, her husband didn't die of natural causes but was apparently poisoned and the worst part of it all, Beth is the prime suspect of the investigation ! She is the only one it seems that had any motive to kill him. Trying to prove her innocence Beth and her housewife friends, along with Gina band together.
This book looks at relationships, at how the most unlikely bonds form through unusual circumstances. It is a book about friendships among a diverse group of women, and about the relationships between mothers and their children. It also looks at our relationships as wives and husbands and how some women lose themselves in their relationship, giving everything of themselves to their husbands and children and leaving nothing for themselves. It is about finding yourself again, about taking control of your life and learning to live independently focusing and depending on yourself. It is about seeing yourself as a separate person, worthy of success on your own for who you are, not dependent upon who your husband or others are or what they think.
I thought this book was going to be a fluff piece without much substance, i was pleased to see that I was wrong.
The writing flows and the characters are real and have substance. They are likable and believable. I would recommend this book to fans of women's fiction, and general fiction lovers
I give this book 4 out 5 stars and would like to thank #NetGalley and #Jennifersnow for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
#HousewifeChronicles
#NetGalley

Housewife Chronicles
Jennier Snow
January 12, 2021

Beth Cartwright lost her husband to an untimely death. No one had predicted it but she had thought about it happening for a while. No, she didn’t kill him except the news that he was having an affair with a woman in her neighborhood, her mind went to evil thoughts. Gina, Howard’s mistress, started inviting her two teens, Tyler and Alana to spend time at her house with them once Howard had moved in and made it official. Nasty thoughts flooded into her mind. It was just a few days ago that Howard was found dead in Gina’s bed. (She was probably off leading one of her yoga classes in the studio while he slept late.) Well, the world knows now. The police are doing the investigation and the coroner is doing the autopsy since the cause is unknown.
As far as Beth was concerned his death was not the problem. She was stuck with all of the expenses of a single mother. The house, the kids, the utilities, etc, etc, etc. Beth is an artist. She has a pottery studio in their home. It added to the finances but in no way met the budget. The neighbor ladies in the group decided it was time for a meeting. They hold regular gatherings when one of them needs guidance. The day came and Beth trudged over thinking the worst as the Detective in charge of Howard’s case had stopped by to ask more questions. His cause of death was due to rat killer. It had been added to his food and drinks. Little by little it killed him. Now, this was a murder investigation. As the impending irate ex-wife, she seemed to be first in line. The group started their own examination of locals who had grief with Howard.
This was a humorous study of what I came to realize was akin to Desperate Housewives, the TV show. That is not to say I did not enjoy it, just not what I expected when I chose a book by Jennifer Snow. I had read her Alaska Mystery series not long ago and thought this could be another suspense romance - almost but not so much. It is well worth picking up if you are a fan of fun mysteries. Housewife Chronicles by Jennifer Snow is published by Jennifer Snow and will be published on January 12, 2021. I appreciate her allowing me to read and review this novel via NetGalley.

This is women's fiction at it's best.
Two weeks after Beth learns of her husband's affair with the young, sexy yoga instructor living next door, he's dead. With an erection.
Beth is trying to keep it together- her kids are lying; her creativity is dead. Thank goodness for her coffee club- neighborhood women meeting weekly to gossip.
Gina is utterly devastated. As the other woman, obviously she lacks the community's support- she's adrift. Her twin brother, Gino, stays for a few weeks to lend support and guidance.
Then Howard's death is ruled a homicide.
Told from both Beth and Gina's point of view helped not only define both characters but also add suspense to the mystery of Howard's death. Women uplifting women, providing support and humor.
Great read. Highly recommend.

Beth, a recently widowed potter, has the unfortunate bad luck of living next to her husband’s mistress, yoga instructor, Gina. But the stakes are raised when Beth is suspected of murdering her estranged husband. Told using alternating point of views between Beth and Gina, Housewife Chronicles looks at the compassion necessary when there’s a seismic shift in family makeup. The prose is fast-paced and blunt at times with plot twists and turns at every corner. Fans of Big Little Lies and Not That I Could Tell will love this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy.

HOUSEWIFE CHRONICLES
BY JENNIFER SNOW

There are so many amazingly well written books out there waiting to be discovered. I feel extremely bad giving a bad review to an author's work but I must maintain my honesty and this book "Housewife Chronicles," written and self published by Jennifer Snow was very disappointing and I am sorry that I requested it because although some reviewers on here gave it five stars, I can't in good faith recommend this as anything different than a bad TV series written in the style of that show about The Real Housewives of (fill in the blank city). This work of fiction about a community of housewives reminded me so much of that senseless surface like women who don't use more than two brain cells in their interactions. It starts off talking about fake breasts and none of these women work or do anything but gather together to gossip about a very highly unrealistic scenario in which a man named Howard and who is responsible for killing him. He has been dead for two weeks and his wife Elizabeth who he had been married to for several years with teen aged daughter Alana and a son was caught cheating with his next door neighbor named Gina who can be seen giving yoga instructions in her home studio. She even babysits and being the homewrecker that she is has a relationship with Elizabeth and Howard's children so suddenly. AS IF...

All of the other airhead wives in the neighborhood gather to come up with a suspect most likely to have poisoned Howard with Thallia which is a slow acting poison that takes a while to build up in your system in order to have the lethal affects that killed Howard. Gina's twin brother named Gino (how imaginative) is an physically body sculpted male specimen drifter that aimlessly camps out in Gina's back yard by pitching a tent. Again, there are so many well written with rich characterizations and wiser plotted novels with which to choose from it is incredibly hard to believe that this example of superficial one dimensional character's is written by an author that has many other books under her belt. This is poorly written and I like to learn something new about a historic place or an important part of historical character that also incorporates some emotional truths that can also fill in the gaps as fictional dialogue recreated from extensive research or there are many, many more entertaining mysteries than this drivel is. I am sorry to sound harsh but this just wasn't for me and although I forced myself to slog through it and finish it--I have to say that the content was mindless and the vocabulary was course. I wouldn't even give this one star but that isn't an option. This was a complete waste of time and probably one of the worst published novels that I have ever read and reviewed. Thankful and grateful to be on to the next one.

Thank you to Net Galley and Jennifer Snow for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and HONEST review. All opinions are my own.

#HousewifeChronicles #JenniferSnow #NetGalley

This book is enthralling! Written from both the wife and mistress’s point of view, It is filled with healing and unlikely friendship.

Beth is a stay at home mom of 2, insecure in her body and struggling to make ends meet after her cheating husband dies.

Gina lost the love of her life, her neighbor’s husband. She thinks well of Beth and is just trying to help her and the kids out.

Are they both crazy?

The reason this was not a 5 star read was because the wrap up at the end of the book felt a little too easy. Jennifer did a great job of keeping the reader on their toes and developing her plotline. I wish we’d seen a little more of that in the last couple chapters. However, I am still in love with this book and will be buying it when available

Beth's Cartwright 's husband is dead. But Howard wasn't just Beth's husband, he was their neighbor's lover. And Gina wasn't just Beth and Howard's neighbour, she was Beth's yoga instructor. So, when detective Banks walks into the scene, the whole neighborhood (at least the part most familiar with the involved characters) is on board and ready to jump into the investigation. If they are willing to have the situation cleared up or if they have different ulterior motives, that's still unclear.
I loved this book! The characters are very solid, and the writer uses their inner thoughts in the most spectacular way. They are witty but still innocent with the same intensity.
The pace is remarkable and the epilogue is without any doubt surprising. I didn't see it coming.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I call this book “messy fabulous.” It brings out the messy parts of a marriage, yet the fabulous ways a life can turn out, even after tragedy.

There’s Beth - the devoted housewife who’s in a marriage she “never knew” was headed south. She’s at times a woman defeated, trying to revive the spark in herself. The author is good at expressing the feelings, both good and bad, a mother of a teenage daughter would have.

Then, there’s Gina - the stereotypical peace and love yoga instructor who thinks she’s done nothing wrong. Is she involving herself in others lives for good or for bad reasons?

The revelations in the book are somewhat predictable, but did not deter from my enjoyment of the book. It’s lighthearted with humorous parts, as well. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Snow.

Reading this book was a slow crash and burn for me. I wanted to like it but it is very reminiscent of "if I am ever murdered, I want suburban moms to solve my murder in their spare time" type of vibe. Much of this book involved Beth's friend meddling and concocting ways to insert themselves into the investigation because they had nothing better to do. The entire book could have been summed up by keeping Ch. 1-3 then the last 2 chapters, at least I would have said that was a fun read now onto the next. The whole mistress having a "conscience" by hiding evidence but playing the role of mother to Beth's kids because they don't want to stress Beth out even further was so ridiculous. The plot could have gone down a more sinister, yet insteresting story saving road with Gina's character but rather it is just clear Gina needs therapy and her own life. Thanks NetGalley for the preview.

I read Housewife Chronicles in ONE day, I LOVED it! After reading the summary, I assumed this was going to be a light, fluffy, “chic lit” type of read, but it was not what I expected at all! There was so much more substance to it than that, and though there were certainly some humorous scenes between the housewife friends, there was also some sophisticated mystery, romance, and drama to round it all out. Aside from the author’s talent with her writing prose, the characters are what truly made this a great book. They were so eclectic, unique, and enjoyable and I found myself entertained and intrigued page after page, especially by Beth. I love her! Great book!

Housewife Chronicles was a bizarre read. It was so twisted, convoluted, and messed up. Beth’s husband was having an affair with the next door neighbor, who was also her yoga instructor. Then the husband died. There are suspects and arrests with the neighborhood becoming involved. I just found the attitude of Beth toward Gina at the beginning implausible, along with the easy acceptance of the kids concerning their father’s affair. I didn’t like any of the characters except for the detective. The interaction between the characters was just not believable.

This is a Women's Fiction with a little bit of Romance and Mystery mixed in. This book is told by Beth (widowed and single mom) and Gina (next door neighbor to Beth and Beth's died husband's mistress). This book is I fill about women that are not normally friends become friends and stands by each other. I love this book so much. It is written very well, and the characters are so well done. I also feel the character change and grow during this book, and I love when that happens in book. There is so much put into this book, but it is written so well it takes no time to get though this book. The pacing was great is was not to fast or to slow, and there was enough going on that you did not want to put it down at all. The romance was not very big in this book, so do not pick this book up looking for a romance book because you will be disappointed. The mystery was a little big part of this book then the romance parts, but I would say the mystery is like a cozy mystery book not a thriller or a regular mystery book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author (Jennifer Snow) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is schedule to be release on January 12-2021.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

This one was pretty twisty- some more obvious than others but still an enjoyable ride. You really do you fall in love with the main female character and the humor lands well. . Solid four and half, but I’ll round up

I cannot tell you how much I was taken in by that cover, by the promise of a dark comedy, a lil murder mystery, and female friendships. I was genuinely excited to read this one, and unfortunately it fell flat on its face (or my face, seeing as I've wasted three hours of my life reading it). I would absolutely not have finished this book if it hadn't been an arc, or if I hadn't been at least a tiny bit hopeful that I'd eventually see some of these 'unlikely female friendships' (hint: we don't). It was a quick, mostly-easy read and that's legitimately the best thing I can say about it because I had some problems.

1) All the women in this book are horrible. Genuinely awful people. So are basically all of the men, for that matter. Speaking of the men - I don't know how you can sell your book as having a 'focus on female friendships' when SO SO much of this book revolves around men. And often ENTIRELY unnecessary men. There was several (and I do mean several) romances shoehorned in, and of course every single man was Greek God Attractive. The female friendships were almost entirely unexplored, very shallow, or just not friendships that any person would enjoy having. At this point I am genuinely concerned as to what the author thinks friendship means.

2) This is honestly one of the bitterest books towards women I have ever read in my life. I think the author was trying to go for some sort of candid humour? But never, and I mean never, have I ever read so many descriptions of breasts. Or so many body comparisons. From the MC saying she's not surprised her husband cheated on her with the ~perfect-bodies yoga instructor, to the yoga instructor saying that the cheating was probably due to the wife's insecurities, and adding in a healthy dose of 'it's always surprising when someone is intelligent and large-breasted' (this is not about the mistress by the way, who is written to be SO naïve). Here's some choice quotes to demonstrate this:

"That's right ladies, this middle-aged, single, divorced/widowed woman without the gel nails, fake tits, and tattooed eyebrows has caught the attention of the hottest man on the planet."

"Everyone always forgot [she] was a triple b threat - boobs, butt, and brains - because she only ever used two of them to her advantage."

"Right, because who expects the stay at home mom with the triple d boobs to save the day?"

3) I do not like infidelity in books - but from the description it was obvious that infidelity had occurred and I knew this going in. What I didn't expect, however, was literally half of the book to be from the mistress' perspective - whining about how nobody offered her sympathy for losing her lover, nobody brought her casseroles, how what the MC + the husband had wasn't real and meaningful like what SHE had with him, how well she got on with the kids of the MC. It was gross. I don't need to spend that much time inside the mind of a naïve 'homewrecker' - no matter how badly she's written.

4) THIS BIT'S A SPOILER AND I DON'T CARE. At one point the mistress is staring at the husband and spontaneously orgasms. This is literally written into the book. And even if I was willing to suspend my disbelief (I am not) - she then wonders if the wife is capable of spontaneously orgasming upon staring at her husband, as if she's special for being able to? Or as if the wife doesn't love him enough to? IT WAS VERY WEIRD.

5) There are multiple romances shoehorned in for, as far as I can see, no good reason. I'm gonna put the next bit behind a spoiler wall but I'd recommend you spoil it for yourself anyway:

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
The main romance is between the MC and the cop investigating the case, a case that she is an active suspect in. This carries on throughout the investigation, and when the MC brings forth some info that is incriminating towards herself, right before they're about to shag, he states that he will have to arrest her now. <b>And then!! They decide to wait an hour! So they can shag! And they make some "joke" about her being in his custody!!!!!!! WHICH SHE IS!!!!!!! As if this isn't a real and horrible thing that happens to people, as cops abuse their power, and is actually rape. But sure. Sexy sexy.
END SPOILER END SPOILER

I just can't, esp in 2020, see why you would write such pro-cop, abuse-of-power shit. Including the following quote, when the MC quips to the cop that he must be well paid:

"Nope. We're still overworked and underpaid, dealing with assholes on a daily basis." Grim.

6) The mystery was unfortunately very predictable. And the mystery portion also featured some magic, extremely long-range, spyware pen. Like, I can suspend my disbelief for a spy movie maybe? But for some random lawyer, absolutely not.

Overall, I hated this. I just did. There was so so much wrong with it throughout. The dialogue was extremely unrealistic in places, they had an evil-MIL trope, the brattiest kids you can imagine, and just awful people being awful about each other. I think it was going for some sort of vulgar comedy (ft. murder), but it was a weirdly sexist, anti-woman, looks-obsessed, flimsy romance (ft. murder). At this point, if you told me Jennifer Snow was the pen-name for a horny, male cop I'd believe you.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion, and bravo to whoever designed that cover and wrote that blurb cause I feel wholly swizzed out of a good read. This is out on kindle on the 12/1/21, or apparently available to buy as a physical copy now. Enjoy.

Housewife Chronicles is a captivating combination of mystery, drama, humor, and romance. The characters were delightful, and the story was filled with details that made the book hard to put down. This was a very entertaining read!

[2.5 Stars]

-- Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review --

I seem to be of an unpopular opinion compared to others in regards to this book. I'm conflicted because I found it enjoyable, but there were still major aspects I took issue with:

1) the final twist at the end revealing more about Beth and her knowledge was completely unnecessary and did nothing for the plot. Instead, it just made me frustrated with the fact that we had been told one thing the whole time only for that to be a lie, and it didn't add anything to the story since nothing was done with it except now we knew. I wish Snow had picked one and stuck with it instead of pulling an unnecessary bait and switch.

2) no one cums just by thinking about how hot their fuck buddy is. Especially not while watching him play volleyball with his kids in a public place and the mom right there. Just...no

3) the focus on Beth's body was....a lot. You're just constantly being bashed over the head with how she had a 'mom bod', 'ever-expanding ass', 'flabby tummy', etc.. And it was especially obnoxious when compared to the constant praise of how hot Gina's body was. I hated it. It was mentioned several times that the 'decline in her body' was why her marriage fell apart, and Gina even theorized that Howard left Beth because of how insecure she was. That's bullshit. Howard left because he's an asshole, and Gina was enabling his behavior. It is not Beth's fault that he cheated and there's no need to be focusing on how she gained some weight. It's unnecessary.

4) there was also a constant angle to feel bad for Gina because she lost the love of her life and no one cared. She wasn't given casseroles like Beth was by the other women in the neighborhood and how rude that everyone turned on her. boohoo. I can't with that attitude. Yeah, I understand that it's super tragic how she lost the guy she loved, but she needs to understand that he was not a single man. He was cheating with her on his wife and family. Gina's behavior is not something that's easily forgiven and although Beth later does start to accept Gina, it's not something that's necessary for her to do. Beth is justified in every aspect of being upset with Gina and how she meddled with her life (before and after Howard's death).

5) I found the presence of the love interests really unnecessary. I didn't see what they added to the story other than being the push for Beth to return to her art. But even still, you don't need two dudes for that, one will surely suffice.

Overall, this was an intriguing murder mystery featuring a fun group of kinda friends who become real friends over the course of the story. It's heartwarming to see how they changed and grew together. I even kinda liked how Beth grew to welcome Gina because although it wasn't necessary for her to do, it is a healthy way to move forward. Despite this, I really couldn't ignore the issues I found within the novel and they largely subtracted from my reading experience. I just felt bothered by how unnecessary they were and how they didn't move the story in any purposeful direction.

Housewife Chronicles, Jennifer Snow.

Her husbands death should of been the worst thing to happen to her all year. Of course though there was the affair she discovered two weeks before... with the mistress who lives next door and then when police discover the death was actually a murder... well things start to get very complicated.

This dark domestic comedy is an easy read, with a group of women coming together at their absolute worst and on their absolute worst behaviour. It is tough to like either of our narrators here, but I never mind a narrator that is tough to like. Lots of hopping about whilst trying to unravel a murder that nobody, specifically the deceased’s kids, actually seems all that torn up about. Plenty of raised eye brows on behaviour all around, with lots of dry laughs but not a lot of feeling, this is one to enjoy with a glass of wine or with your bookclub.