Probably the most striking thing about his book is that there are really no bad characters--just characters that don't always do the right thing (ok, there is one secondary or thirdly grade character). For instance through much of the book the reader believes that Clementine's husband is really rotten, but then, well I don't want to ruin it, but sometimes you can't tell a book by its cover. This is also a story about redemption--Wendy reconnects with her daughters at the same time she is finding her "second" act, love, and most importantly, herself.

The Wise sisters - Clementine and Barb - are falling apart and need their mother, Wendy. Advice columnist Wendy has a sixth sense about these things (as most mothers do) and goes rushing to the girls' rescue. When she arrives (out of the blue) she finds Clementine devastated by her husband's deceit (he used the down payment for their house to invest in his business and now they are getting evicted since they were only renting after all), and Barb exhausted by trying to be all things to everyone and fix all the things - both emotionally and financially- for those who are close to her. It turns out that Wendy also needs her daughters. Wendy was forced out of her beloved job at the newspaper so someone younger can take over the column, and in response, Wendy marries the guy she has been dating for a month and moves to a retirement community in Florida. Not only do her daughters not know about any of this, Wendy is absolutely miserable with what her life has become.

Three strong women fighting modern day battles and trying to find a life on their own terms is a theme in this story. I would offer this book to Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner fans, or those looking for women's fiction about pre-midlife crises.

A light-hearted story about 2 grown-up sisters, one sister’s sensitive son, and their aging advice-columnist mother as all their relationships with their significant others implode simultaneously. The banter between the family is witty, and it’s a warm, lovable family unit. But the startup/influencer storyline felt a little forced. It gave me Elin Hildebrand vibes with an NYC edge…. Fun, fluffy but a bit forgettable…

Wendy Wise has been dispensing advice through her Wise Words column for decades. Her traditionally-minded words have helped countless people with their various issues through the years and spawned several popular books. It seems the only people she hasn't helped much are her two daughters, successful NYC architect, Barb, in an on-off-on relationship with younger gym owner, Jill, and marketing advisor, Clementine, who is also mom to a sensitive, inquisitive and anxious six-year old son, Jonah. These are grown women with messy relationships of their own to contend with. When Clementine experiences a series of crises due to some questionable decisions by her husband, Steve, Wendy comes to save the day. Will her attempts to mother them now be too little too late?

I have to say I was nervous to pick this book up after some middling reviews came in, but I shouldn't have been. I really enjoyed it! Is it as messy as some of the relationships within its pages? Eh. Not really. Yes, there were a lot of threads going on, but I thought it was well-written and they all pulled together in the end, even if a little too neatly. It's a character-driven story full of dysfunctional people working through their issues, past and present, so if you don't enjoy that, this may not be the book for you. I, on the other hand, eat up the psychology of how people relate to one another, so this was kinda my jam. It's always nice to see people find their way back to each other.

Speaking of plot, a rather significant theme runs through the story about gentrification and repurposing, as it pertains to both physical buildings and the lives we live, which I thought was clever and eye-opening. There's also an interesting thread involving a social media personality and a little mystery involving one of the dumbest product names in history. Trust me - even the characters in the book all think it's dumb. Overall, I found this to be a warm-hearted, uplifting book, and I'll be watching for other titles by this author!

★★★ ½ (rounded to 4)

Thanks to Harper Publishing, NetGalley, and author Gina Sorrells for the opportunity to give my honest opinions on this ARC. It's now available.

WISE WOMEN centers around the life of two sisters (Clementine and Barb) and their mother, Wendy. Wendy is an aged out advice columnist who never takes the time to advise her daughters.

Barb and Clementine are having difficulties in their personal relationships while also dealing with financial issues.
The book intertwines the manner in which each woman deals with their issues while still trying maintain or build back their relationship with one another.

The twist is a nice feature in the book which allows for a satisfying ending.

The narrator was great. She made it easy to recognize the characters and provided a comforting voice to listen.

THE WISE WOMEN are all treading water; one advice columnist and her two adult daughters, all over-endowed with pithy sayings and under-endowed with good planning. While decades of their mother’s columns and books produce good quotes for their conversations, they’ve all been living on autopilot for years. Author Gina Sorell enjoys moving her characters through problems big and small and it’s not hard to imagine how everything will sort out in the end. But this book is fun to read and enjoy the plot along the way. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

"The Wise Women" by Gina Sorell is the author's sophomore novel!

Wendy Wise has been an advice columnist for four decades and raised two daughters mostly as a single parent. Recently she's let go by her employer for a much younger voice, marries husband number three, and then moves to Florida to retire. Wendy's daughters have no idea!

Her youngest daughter, Clementine Wise, is a hard working mom who's been snookered by her devious husband, Steve. He used her savings to finance his start-up rather than the down payment on her dream home. It turns out they're renting and three months behind. Clementine knows the threat of eviction is real!

Her oldest daughter, Barbara Wise, is a successful architect who's overworked and overextended financially. She's reuniting with her cheating and much younger girlfriend, Jill. She's worried for her business, concerned for her neighborhood, and she believes Jill is still unfaithful. Barbara's a mess!

In fact, all three of 'The Wise Women' in this story are a mess! The characters feel cartoonish, unrealistic, like caricatures of 'stereo-typical' women. Wendy is the ditsy 'older woman'. Barbara is the chronically tired and angry 'business woman'. Clementine is the sweet, innocent, 'unsuspecting woman'. I didn't connect to any of these characters or to the wit and humor mentioned in the synopsis. None of this is what I was expecting from this Women's Fiction story!

What I enjoy from this story are the meaningful and socially relevant topics it covers: neighborhood gentrification, ageism and mental health, motherhood and family, empathy and forgiveness. With that said, the first half was slow and repetitive. The pace did pick up in the second half but it became predictable and the ending wrapped up a little too perfectly.

Sadly, I'm an outlier with this book, so please be sure to check out other reviews before you cross this one off your list! 2.75 stars rounded up to 3 stars for the meaningful and socially relevant topics!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper, and Gina Sorell for a free ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Loved this book about the three Wise women.
Wendy is a renowned advice columnist, although she doesn't always hit the mark giving advice to her two daughters Barb and Clementine. The daughters are now grown women who have their own problems with work and relationships. They learn that advice is great, but trusting their own instinct is most important.

Themes include mother/daughter relationships, anxiety and panic attacks, raising a sensitive kid, business, Instagram influencers.

The book is very NYC based with gentrification as one of the themes.

Well written, poignant, and not predictable.

Discussed on Episode 150 of the Book Cougars podcast.

This is the heartwarming story of the two daughters of a "Dear Abby"-type advice columnist, Wendy Wise. It explores their relationships with their mother as adult children, and parts of their past, which wasn't perfect (dad died when the girls were young, mom remarried and the stepdad was a cheater...). Life has caught all of them off guard, and this is a type for reckoning with the past in order to move forward. As well as navigating family life, the characters also navigate urban living in New York and its pitfalls. One of the more interesting aspects of the book is that sister Barb is a successful developer of high-price, high-rise apartments. You see her struggle with the ethics of her business, and how difficult it is to mitigate damage / gentrification to the neighborhoods. YOu see Clementine, the other sister, struggle to fit in in an overly gentrified neighborhood, in a house she's renting but can't really afford. I enjoyed that the sisters are in mid-life, and Wendy (mom) is in her seventies -- yet they are all starting over. By the end, a fresh start has been made by all -- if it's a little too nicely tied up, it's still a lovely read with a satisfying ending. Thank you!

A fun look at a family whose members are all struggling with life.

Wendy is an advice columnist who has been retired and now has no idea who she is or what her purpose in life is. Her two daughters are both facing struggles in their personal and professional lives. Wendy decides they need her and rushes in to help. Hilarity and tears ensue and in the end all realize what is truly important. A fun if somewhat predictable read, the characters are well written and make up for the typical story line.

Started out strong but then as the book progressed...nothing really happened. It slowed wayyy down and everyone seemed to repeat things that had already been established. Which was weird. The characters weren't especially likeable. Maybe Barb but even that came and went. Wendy gave truly awful advice and I can't understand how she ever would have had a platform to continue spewing her antiquated, misogynistic, BS. And Clementine just ate it up. Look what that got her.

short and sweet novel that’s perfect for flipping thru on an airplane or while curled up on the couch. the book is about two grown sisters — both living in NYC, one married with a son — and their relationship with their mother, a former advice columnist who still feels the need to dole out her opinion. this wasn’t a page turner for me, but I found the story cute and tender. the stakes felt a bit low, but I thought the characters were interesting and dynamic.

A character driven family drama, The Wise Women tells the story of Wendy, Barb and Clementine Wise. I loved reading about the family dynamics and the events which revolved around the loves and lives of the three women. This novel reminded me of some of Jennifer Weiner's female-character driven novels. There are some coincidences and convenient events .that occur, but the plot is entertaining and the characters realistic and I really enjoyed this.

Great read, gets into the big and small matters of family dynamics and how they leave lasting impacts. Characters are sketched out well and the mom’s insistent interference read honest. Not the most literary of novel, but good overall.

Such a good read! Definitely reminiscent of Eleanor Lipman and Cathleen Schine. This is a Woman’s novel, with too much that is a bit unbelievable, but nonetheless a fun trip. It’s the story of the 3 Wise women, a mother and her 2 daughters. There has been a lifetime of misunderstandings and resentment, yet the essence of mother daughter love does triumph.

When Clementine is in trouble, she is rescued by her sister Barb, and her mother. Despite years of estrangement, they work together to cobble a future. I loved the fact that even an inadequate mother can become a loving, devoted grandmother. The author doesn’t take the easy way out, but deals with marital issues in a sane and mature way.

I found the 3 main characters likable, with enough baddies to spice up the plot. As a New Yorker, I even appreciated dealing with the issues surrounding public schools that are a plague on the lives of NY families.

Thank you Netgalley for this engaging novel.