Advika is a little like Cinderella meets Bluebeard with a dash of Real Housewives & Evelyn Hugo.

Advika Srinivasan is struggling from the death of her twin sister Anu; she wants to work in Hollywood as a screenwriter and does bartending/waitstaffing to make ends meet. While bartending at an A-list event, she meets 5-time Oscar winning producer Julian Zelding, who is 40+ years older than her. They date and get married in mere months. When one of Julian’s ex-wives leaves her a million dollars in her will with the condition that she must divorce Julian, Advika finally learns the truth about the man she married by researching Julian’s former wives.

This novel is the cautionary tale of “the older, predatory white male with power” & how they’ve gotten away with harassing, demoralizing and demeaning younger women & those with less power. It was very accessible, engaging, and easy to read.

Advika is such an interestingly flawed character. At 26 years old, she makes bad decisions (uhm, like marrying this dude without googling him), is self-centered and unmoored (and really, who isn’t at that age) & does exactly the opposite of what you tell a heroine to do in a horror movie to get out alive.

What I liked: Advika’s relationship with her twin sister, the pop culture references, social media & trolling, the parallels between actual celebs with characters in the book, & the peek into the movie industry world of privilege (no one can say her name, so they give her a nickname). Advika had some smart thoughts on Indian American representation in film & media. All the wives!

What I didn’t like: You have to suspend your belief a bit, pacing issues, plot holes, & the wives did not get equal screen time, y’all. I’m not over the fact that Advika did not google this dude beforehand just because he told her not to! It’s 2015!. There was also just something missing...a certain je ne sais quoi that her first book Dava Shastri had.

I read it in both e-book & audiobook versions. The narration by Rukhmani K. Desai @rukdesai was fantastic. Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC!

I love stories of scandal - especially when it has a touch of romance. I was thoroughly captivated by this story.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Kirthana Ramisetti puts a dark twist on the classic Cinderella tale in Advika and the Hollywood Wives. As the book opens, Advika, a struggling screenwriter grieving her sister's death, takes a bartending gig at the Governor’s Ball, the Oscars’ official after-party. There, she meets Julian Zelding, a titan of the film industry, waving around his just-won statuette. Despite their 41-year age gap, the two begin a whirlwind affair and end up eloping.

First, Advika is caught up in the ease, luxury and glamour of her new life. But, a month into their marriage, Julian’s first wife, the famous actress Evie Lockhart dies and — in a twist the tabloids eat up — leaves a million dollars and a mysterious film reel to "Julian's latest child bride.” The catch? To receive her inheritance, Advika must first divorce Julian. Evie’s actions shake Advika out of her lovesickness and cause her to research her husband’s first three wives — through books, recordings and reality shows — and she discovers the man she married isn’t a prince after all.

Advika and the Hollywood Wives kept me turning pages late into the night and thinking a lot about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s marriage. (I won’t say more to avoid spoilers but will note there’s no Scientology in Advika.) Ramisetti makes Advika sympathetic. Readers understand why she’s making choices, even if they’re misguided, and they’ll root for her to pull through and find the truth.

Unlikable main characters, too long and boring plot, and no worthy payoff towards the end. The side characters too just existed as plot devices with not much personality, making it an overall very boring read.

I have had both of Kirthana Ramisetti's novels on my Kindle for a few years now, so I was excited when my work book club chose her first book, DAVA SHASTRI'S LAST DAY as the April pick. Unfortunately, didn't love it. But I thought I might as well follow it up with her second book, ADVIKA AND THE HOLLYWOOD WIVES. Again, unfortunately, didn't love it and Ramisetti's writing just isn't for me.

The novel is way too long, and extremely overwritten, though there are still plot holes and questions. The choices Advika makes after deciding to marry a Hollywood producer 41 years her senior are baffling and unrealistic, and as much as I love books set in the entertainment world, it just didn't ring true to me at all. She is supposed to be a screenwriter, but we have no real evidence that she's any good and has a severe lack of film and pop culture knowledge despite this line of work.

I enjoyed the REBECCA vibes, and was excited when I clocked that's what the author was going for, but it also kind of falls apart. I feel like Ramisetti's biggest issue is that she doesn't trust the reader - everything is over explained and it made me feel like she thinks I'm dumb. But in the middle of the over explaining, it's also a muddled and confusing story.

Really disappointing. The premise is wonderfully engaging in a way the actual book is not. I don't believe that protagonists must be likable, but Advika's selfish naivete was wearing after a couple of chapters. The secondary characters are all much more interesting than she was. The central mystery was aggressively fine, and the ending was a let down.

3.5 stars. This was a very interesting story. It pulled me in more than I was expecting - I went in blind, so didn't really have a great idea what the book would be about aside from an assumption based on the cover (which does not give much away...). I was torn at first - I didn't know what to think about the two MCs and it took me a while to warm up to the story and what was going on. Even then, the FMC wasn't my favorite. She had some redeeming qualities as the story continued to progress.

It was a timely read, since I read this as the Oscars/awards season was going on - so the Hollywood and awards element was interesting and top of mind contextually. I ended up listening to the audio version of this book and the narration really did help the story to move along. At the end of the day, this was a really well crafted story - with an ending that I appreciated. The age gap (41-years) trope isn't my favorite and there were a few times that I got an ick factor while reading just because of that gap and also how Julian treated Advika during most of the story.

I think Kirthana is a talented writer and can definitely write stories that paint a picture and evoke some sort of emotion - even if it's negative - toward the main characters in the story. Thank you to Grand Central and NetGalley for the eARC of this story and also to Grand Central for the physical copy. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own!

I was excited about this book, but sadly it didn't meet my expectations. I enjoyed the parts where we went back into Hollywood past looking at the lives of Julian's ex-wives. I saw a lot of the story coming, which was fine. I got annoyed by the naivete of Advika. I know she hadn't been married before, but it was hard to believe she was so overcome with grief still to go through with all of the things she did with Julian, including marriage. The warning signs pertaining to his true nature were apparent almost from the beginning of their courtship.

Although this wasn't my favorite novel I've read, I did enjoy Ramisetti's storytelling ability. I'll definitely look into the books she publishes in the future.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Fiction, Women's Fiction, Fiction with Suspense Elements
Spice Level: Medium (mostly non-descriptive but sex is on the page)
Language: Low-Medium (some profanity but not prolific)
Theme: Coming of Age for adults

Sometimes, I pick a book out of my wheelhouse just because I want to read widely. This is one of those.

I actually found this book engaging. The main character is naive and still grieving her twin sister when she meets a famous Hollywood producer.

The first half of the book is the story of Advika also called Addi and her relationship with Julian. The second half was Advika figuring out what to do and searching for the truth.

I thought the ending was satisfying too.

If you like suspense-thriller vibes, this one is for you. Or if you love Hollywood, pick this one up.

I recommend this book.

Happy reading!

after loving DAVA SHASTRI'S LAST DAY, i was very excited to add ADVIKA AND THE HOLLYWOOD WIVES to my reading list. i fell in love with Kirthana's writing style and her unique premises in books (which are hard to find these days tbh!). i really liked her latest--if you're a fan of THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO or books surrounding Hollywood and the rich & elite, add ADVIKA AND THE HOLLYWOOD WIVES to your TBR!

i'm honestly surprised to see meh ratings for this book! i will say i enjoyed the first half a bit more than the second and the ending is one i definitely can't wait to talk to other readers/friends about. the first half was fascinating to me - i LOVE reading about "normies" that fall into the lifestyle of the rich and famous. i was surprised this couple ended up together and was looking forward to figuring out the reasons, which we get in the backhalf.

i will say the MC was a bit unlikeable - both of them really. i think the female MC (Advika) is unlikeable because she's dealing with a lot of grief and emotional trauma, whereas the male MC (Julian) is just another privileged white male in Hollywood, LOL.

i think this book would be a great book club selection. it's also great for new readers as it's very bingeworthy and easy to read - i found myself thinking about it when i wasn't and it gripped me right away. the backhalf will give you major SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO vibes which i think readers will identify with and enjoy!

i think i favor her debut novel a bit more (which is in the works as an HBO series adaptation as i type!!), but she has become an auto-buy author for me and i'm so excited to see what she writes in the future.

thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the early gifted copy!

I thought this book was an interesting read but it definitely took a long time to get anywhere. The beginning very much dragged on and I found myself wondering if it would ever get juicer. When it finally did I got pretty into it so stick with it if you are reading it right now and feeling the same!

The premise of this book appeared to be engaging and fun, but I felt disconnected from the story and the characters. I thought this book had a lot of potential, but there were too many narrative holes, and it took too long to get to the essential plot. I've heard great things about author Kirthana Ramisetti and plan to read more of her work in the future. Advika and the Hollywood Wives may be ideal for another reader, but sadly, it was not for me.

This novel focuses on the glamour and the dark facade of Hollywood. It was a very light and entertaining read! I especially love how it explored Indian values. There were times that I found the plot to be very far-fetched. Nevertheless, it reads like a soap opera! I recommend this for fans of Did you Hear about Kitty Karr!

This book is phenomenal. The author did an excellent job of writing a story I want to read over and over again. The book is so good. I pre-order a copy for my mom, who is a Hollywood and TCM buff, and told her to give it a read. She loved it too!

If you like stories about the dark side of Hollywood and its marital drama, this is worth a read. The pacing felt a bit off and I wanted more from the characters and the story. It felt both unfinished and rushed towards the end. Still worth a read if you like books similar to Evelyn Hugo and The Comeback.

What a disappointment.

Plot holes are the most abundant thing in this novel. Our MC makes horrible decisions, of her own free will, and yet claims to be stuck in a situation she cannot get out of.

Maybe there are scenes missing and that is why this story is so bad?

I thought I would enjoy this novel more than I actually did. I found it difficult to root for Advika, the protagonist, due to her extremely poor decision-making throughout the novel. A major plot point only works if the reader wants to see Advika be successful and when I got to that part, I truly did not care about what happened to her. With that being said, I did like the setting of this book. I love reading about fictional celebrities (ex. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or Something To Talk About) especially when they are navigating the complexities of Hollywood. With some minor adjustments to the character of Advika, this novel would have been better.

This book is a dark horse. I went in not knowing what I was in for and the first 75 pages or so had me thinking one way only to be pleasantly surprised with the direction it turned for the rest of the book. I wish I had gotten to this on my shelf sooner— not to be missed!

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!