A clever, feminist thriller with a gender swapping 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘞𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 twist.⁣

Chandler Baker takes on influential, hard working moms with powerful jobs and their husbands. I personally got a huge kick out of the Stepford wives twist. It was a pretty accurate look at how hard it is to have it all and if that’s even possible. I appreciated how Baker explores the mental and emotional aspects of being a wife and a mother and still wanting to have a career and be powerful in the workforce as well. ⁣
⁣
Dynasty Ranch is a unique neighborhood, filled with intelligent, powerful women with husbands that keep the houses running so the women aren’t hanging on by a thread. Nora Spangler is thinking of moving in to the neighborhood when she’s recruited to help with a resident’s wrongful death case. With Nora feeling like her marriage and career are at odds, she can’t help but be intrigued by these women who seem to really have it all. Can you really ever have it all though and at what cost?
⁣
The premise was fun and relatable but the middle felt like it dragged a bit and I felt the explanation was a bit broad and took on a bit too much. Still, I loved this gender swapping twist on 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘞𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 and the ending definitely left me feeling satisfied! 😉 The audio was great and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I thought the premise was very interesting. It was a nice thriller to get me out of my reading slump! Now I want to read the Whisper Network by the same author!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio & NetGalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was quite interesting and not like most of the thriller books I have been reading lately. The book reminded me of the Stepford Wives, only with the roles reversed. It starts with Nora Spangler (who is a lawyer) and her husband house hunting and taking interest in a home located in a neighborhood known as "Dynasty Ranch".. Nora quickly falls in love with one of the homes in the neighborhood and wants to put in an offer. She meets the other woman in the neighborhood, and realizes that each of them have high profile professions. As she gets to know these women and their seemingly perfect lives and husbands, she is talked into being the lawyer for a recent death in their neighborhood, which is possibly a wrongful death suit. Nora begins investigating and starts to notice that things are not adding up. She begins to question the women and dig further into their lives and begins to put together pieces in relation to the death in the neighborhood. Things are not always what they seem...

While this wasn't a really fast read for me, I enjoyed the book and wanted to read it to the end. There were times I lost interest or really just wanted something more exciting to happen. I would actually probably give it more of a 3.5 rating. I recommend this book for those whole love books with strong female leads, successful careers and deception.

Ladies, get your book clubs geared up for Chandler Baker’s newest novel. It’s part mystery, part social commentary, but it’s the latter that packs a punch.

Baker examines the mental load that women carry as wives and mothers, particularly working women, and how it differs from what society expects of men.

Murder in the desirable Dynasty Ranch neighborhood has lawyer, and prospective buyer, Nora looking into what happened. With all the step ford style husbands she is meeting, she’s starting to wonder what kind of place Dynasty Ranch is after all.

I loved this book. It is a really fun, twisted and great thriller. It is also full of family drama, way over the top drama, which made it all the better. It is made me laugh a lot, but had a larger theme that had something really important to say.

Nora and Hayden are a loving married couple with a sweet daughter, Liv. Both work hard, but Nora starts to feel more and more that she does much more of the day to day tasks in the household and raising her daughter. She’s going for Partner in her Law Firm and is reminded she was ‘allowed’ to take some time off to have her first child. Now she is pregnant again. She knows her husband does help out, but it feels as if she must ask, remind, or the dreaded nag to get his help. I have read some comments saying he was too nice of a guy, but I think that was the point. Nora also makes her mistakes in the marriage. I think this made the story more relatable.

So, now Nora and Hayden are house hunting at Dynasty Ranch. She loves the wives, so smart and accomplished. Yet, the best part is the husbands. She is shocked at how they behave. They compliment their wives often, schedule things for the family without being asked, trade cleaning tips, and seem very content. Nora loves this community and absolutely wants to move there. Still, it seems too good to be true. Is this possible? Well, it might be. Read on and you will find out. I definitely am glad I did!

Thank you NetGalley, Chandler Baker, and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this book.

The Husbands might hit really close to home for any full time working professional mom trying to maintain her sanity while raising small children. So much of this story rang so true, the exhaustion with all the little things that are taken for granted but add up to so much: packing lunches, arranging childcare, bedtime. The list goes on…
As relatable as that was, at times the story dragged a bit. I found myself more stressed and annoyed with thinking so much about the reality of so many woman I wasn’t always eager to listen to more.
In addition to that overall theme, the book also throws the curve of are the seemingly perfect husband of the Dynasty Ranch homeowners association really that great or is there something more nefarious going on. That story line was intriguing enough to continue on in search of the truth, but overall the book moved a too slow for me and I felt frustrated by the ending. 3 stars. Recommend for moms who need to feel validated in their working mom frustration, but also identify this book just may trigger more of that exact frustration!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Husbands by Chandler Baker
is a bit realistic, twisty and murderous. Nora is anxious, tired and frustrated. Her and her husband work but for some reason all the housekeeping, child care and errands seem to be her responsibility. When she gets involved with a group of influential career women with husbands who not only cook and clean but take care of the kids she can't wait to move to their neighborhood. But a house fire, a dead husband and an odd marriage counselor has her suspicious of this idyllic suburban life.

I loved how realistically narrator Allyson Ryan
became a frantic filled Nora and then a calm counselor with a personal agenda. With a wink at the Stepford Wives this writer gives us much to ponder and will have you looking at ball point pens in a whole new way!

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own

This book is described as a gender swap version of The Stepford Wives and tackles what it takes for women to get men to be equal participants in running a household. It was incredibly relatable and really does unapologetically tackle feminism and what it means to be a woman in the modern world. I found myself frustrated at the husbands due to my own experiences. This kept my interest throughout, but I did find it to be a bit predictable towards the end. I also missed a few things while listening to this that I had to go get clarification for (aka the pen clicking and its relevance) and wish it had been spelled out a bit more for listeners like myself. All in all, I did enjoy this and found the characters to be interesting but it wasn't the most memorable book I've ever listened to.

This book was SO good. I used to love thrillers and had to put them down years ago because I was suddenly a scaredy cat. I have been easing my way back in. This book was perfect for that. It kept me questioning and on my toes the whole time without being too gory or scary.

The characters in this book were well developed and I wanted to live in their neighborhood…until I didn’t. It was so well done!

The Husbands gave me Stepford Wives vibes- except it's the husbands who seem a bit robotic. Something is definitely going on at Dynasty Ranch, but I hope you like waiting because you're not going to find out until almost the very end of the book, and even then, you're going to have questions.

The premise will feel relatable for any women who feels she carries more than 50% of the load in her home, so maybe there is some catharsis in seeing someone else understand what you're going through. However, the thriller aspect was lacking and I found myself upping the audiobook speed t try to reach a point where something would happen.

Nora Spangler is like many women out there. Overworked, stressed, and taking on more emotional labour than her spouse, Hayden, while being a successful attorney. They are looking to move into a suburb called Dynasty Ranch, which is home to many other successful women, and husbands that seem to just help with everything.. without being asked, nagged, or reminded. How and why are they willingly doing this while Nora has to beg Hayden to watch their child or pick up his laundry?

Another reviewer called The Husbands a “domestic noir” and I couldn’t agree more. Not quite a thriller, this book is a great twist on The Stepford Wives. It is relevant because of all the discussion surrounding the emotional labour women take on over what men take on. Whether they have children or not, many women take on more emotional labour than their partners as well as domestic duties, often while holding a full-time job. I am sure many women will relate to this book on some level.

I enjoyed the audiobook and story very much. It is more of a slow-burn and I found some of the pacing was a bit off and some of the plot went nowhere, but I enjoyed the ride.

What a cool twist on the Stepford Wives! Narrator did a wonderful job, and I am so happy I listened to this on audio. I think any working woman will resonate with the struggles of the women in this novel. Even when you don't want to sympathasize with a character, the female personal and professional sturggles make you feel empathy for the lives they are trying to curate. After the Whisper Network and The Husbands, Chandler Baker is a must buy author for me.

This book was a slow burn mystery. It has a Stepford wives vibe but with high-powered women.

Nora wants to move into a new house at an exclusive neighborhood.. When the women in the neighborhood discover she is a lawyer, they are eager to have her move in and even ask for her legal assistance with a recent accident that happened at one of the homes. During her time trying to help with the legal case, things get a bit weird….

While the story was entertaining, there were certain parts that could have benefited from a more subtle approach in detailing the differences between men and women. This is most obvious at the beginning of the story but slowly normalizes after the first quarter of the book.

Although it was quite predictable, this book was interesting, fast-paced, & compelling enough to be the first audio book i ever finished. The narrator was very good, I loved the really distinct voices, accents, and mannerisms we saw from each character.

I enjoyed the concept, even though i guessed pretty much every twist and turn. I liked it well enough, and it was fascinating to explore the lives of these privileged wives and mothers, and the way the weight of the emotional (& physical) labour taken on by women in most heterosexual relationships.

I enjoyed the addition of the articles, posts, & discussions after every few chapters.

While the book wasn’t maybe as relatable to me as The Whisper Network (maybe since i’m not a wife and mother) - it was believable, and I saw a lot of truth reflected in these pages.

“ ‘You must be Nora.’ He nods once. He has the regal air of a greyhound.” <—I will never 𝒏𝒐𝒕 choose a quote about greyhounds 🤩

“She enjoys looking at the sorts of books other people keep. It’s the only socially acceptable form of snooping.” 👏🏻👏🏻

To what lengths will a woman go for a little help from her husband? Nora Spangler is overwhelmed. She is a mom, a wife, and a successful attorney. Her husband works too, but why does Nora feel like she’s always working harder? Enter Dynasty Ranch, a housing development just teeming with high powered and successful women. Nora wants to be a part of this world. She NEEDS to be. She needs her husband to be like the dutiful husbands she sees here. But what will it take to accomplish that? And will it cost her her marriage in the process?

This book is described as a gender swap version of The Stepford Wives. Having been a working mom, I understood Nora on a visceral level. I have thought allll of the things that she was thinking. How can I do it all? And do it all well? Why doesn’t HE have to do it all?? But as the story progresses Nora became a bit annoying. She loves her husband, sure. But she fell into the trap of not appreciating all that he was for the hope of what she thought she wanted him to be. Which didn’t end up being what she wanted once he became it. My brain hurts now 😂.

The audio of this one was great! I really enjoyed the narrator as she brought a little something to each individual character. I find audio books so much more enjoyable when there is a differentiation between the voices so that I can just get lost in the story without having to try to follow who is who. It’s part of why I enjoy audios so much!

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, Flatiron Books, and the author for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one!! The tone reminded me a lot of Big Little Lies in the “small town, stepford wives do evil things” kind of way. Just what I wanted it to be! Loved the twists and turns!

Was unable to listen to this audiobook. Damaged my phone and had to get a new one. When I opened my netgalley app, I was unable to listen.

Oooooo! This one was interesting 🤔 you go from thinking it’s going to go one way, then it goes another, then another. Think….. EVIL Feminist STEPFORD WIVES. There was always something happening. It stayed entertaining throughout. The ending kind of lulled, it wasn’t awful.

This was a great twisty thriller! The audio was a great listen and I would recommend this one. It was good right up until the end and not what I expected at all!

This is such a fun twist on a classic story. Nora was frustrating at times, but I understood her guilt and her feeling of being overwhelmed with all the emotional and physical expectations placed on moms. When she spotted that envelope with the check inside, my heart sunk. Who hasn't dropped the ball a time or two in the midst of school chaos?

I loved the twists, this idea of this neighborhood. The ending was shocking and I loved it! The narrator did a great job with the audio. As we got in to the last few chapters, I held my breath to see how it would all turn out. I loved this one!

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>