One of the things I find that is making this a difficult book to follow is that the time frame for this book is a bit wonky- I thought it was 2022 or 2023 - apparently, I was wrong. And had I done a better job of reading the book's description, I would have known this LOL! This would be why Juliians' age was not as old as I thought it was.

I kept reading this novel because I had hoped it would improve. I also wanted to know why Advika was left with that odd proposal in one of the wives will. But you know what? It never did. What this book did to me was to wind me up, and I kept hoping that the ending would be worth it, but it wasn't.
Frankly, I knew just by how the characters were badly written and ego-driven, the conversations stilted, and the plot line unbelievable that there would be no wonderful ending, not even an ah-ha moment.

I had never met two such unlikeable protagonists in my life. Advika whining, immature, and spineless. Julian - well, he was just plain crazy, and nobody ever even noticed?

*ARC supplied by the publisher Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley.

There were some fun elements in this book, but overall I thought it was just ok. Since the main character, Advika, was into rom-coms, this story was told in that style. However, the actual story was pretty serious and rather sinister, so the style didn’t really fit, in my opinion. I did appreciate the elements of cultural diversity in this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting Hollywood Cinderella story turned happily never ever but with a plot holes and miserable MCs that couldn't keep the magic alive.

After a whirlwind romance, 20 something Advika finds herself married to hollywood exec Julian, but when Julian's first wife dies and offers Advika a million dollars and a secret in her will, Advika realizes something is very very wrong.

What I Struggled With:
- The Main Characters. I understand Advika is young, grieving, and down on her luck, but she's truly unlikable and I found her hard to sympathize with. NO ONE TOLD HER TO MARRY THAT MAN! She is mean, self centered, and clueless. Julian sucks. He's sucked from the moment we meet him, so there was no buying into this romance and then being surprised when he turned out exactly as we expected. Anyone could have called it a mile away, which made for a very matter of fact read and again, the inability to sympathize with Advika.
- The Plot. Too Long. Too Holey. Anti-Climatic. Everything could've been revealed and solved in half as many pages. Too many details and drawn out events. Just get to the point. And when the reveals did happen, they felt underwhelming.
-Useless Side Characters. Characters only showed up when their expertise was needed to do something or as a talking point. We meet and/or never further talk about character that seem very relevant to the broader story (threatening god daughter, weirdly loyal maid and assistant, her parents??). All of the character feel extremely one dimensional.

Also this read had very dark undertones that could've made for an exciting, relevant read about power, money, and control but it's light execution forced it to feel choppy, disingenuous, and just weird. And the final reveal at the end? Dumb. For an MC I didn't care for...Justice for Advika.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ahead of publication.

Advika and the Hollywood Wives started slow and then continued to build to an explosive and impactful ending that made me glad I stuck with the story to the end.

I haven't read another book quite like this one. The concept of the three "Hollywood" wives was very intriguing and all of their characters added a lot to the story. Advika on her own was a confusing and selfish character at times, overwhelmed by grief from losing her sister and in a way, also losing her parents. It was rewarding to see Advika develop into a more empathetic and aware individual who understood the impact she was having on others around her.

To understand Julian and his motivations, I had to make a lot of "worst case" assumptions about him. He ended up being pretty despicable, but, we didn't get much on his background other than what happened in each of his marriages.

The ending was incredibly dramatic compared to the "slow burn" feel of the rest of the book, but I did feel satisfied with the ending and didn't have many questions left.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

A treasure! I feel like I just hit gold, best book I’ve read this year. It is destined to be on the BEST BOOKS lists for 2023. I was enchanted by Advika’s story from the moment I started it. My own fixation with Hollywood and films drew me in, but the great plot and wonderful writing kept me going.

Advika, an aspiring and unsuccessful screenwriter, was easily swept off her feet by a Hollywood legend. Once she became entangled with, and later married, the legendary Julian Zelding, it seemed like this would be a Cinderella story with an elderly Prince. Oh, but the author made it so much more. There are sinister notes injected as Advika delves into his past and seems gaslighted by his omnipresent staff. I was transported into their mansion as I followed her growing understanding of her husband and his own Hollywood wives.

As a film lover, I was charmed by the inspiration the story took from so many great films of the past. This book is certainly destined for a mini-series. I was casting it as I read about the well-drawn characters. It is rare for me to feel this level of kinship with a novel, but this one is special. How about Richard Gere as Julian? LOL.

THANK YOU Netgalley for this delicious holiday gift. Can’t wait to share it with all my readers.

Advika and the Hollywood Wives is the triumph of women, on the page. I love love loved this story -- the writing was phenomenal, the characters were incredible -- relatable enough, but just far enough out of reach to seem otherworldy (as Hollywood often does). Advika is a treasure, and I thank Kirthana Ramisetti for the thought and poise behind this phenomenal novel.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

ADVIKA AND THE HOLLYWOOD WIVES is a tribute to all the women who's dreams were dashed by a man who thought he knew better. The story's main character, Advika Srinivasan, is a struggling screenwriter barely making ends meet in Los Angelos. Suddenly, in a rather Cinderella-esque fashion, she's swept into a life of luxury by one of Hollywood's top producer, Julian Zelding. Desperate to escape the shadow of her twin sister's death, Advika begins to mold herself into Julian's vision to keep him happy-- convinced he knows best. However, the death of Julian's first wife and unexpected inheritance begins an investigation into the three women who came before her.

While ADVIKA is a slow burn, it was a fascinating premise that held commentary on several current issues surrounding Hollywood. Each wife's story unlocked new insight into the workings of stardom-- and what it means to be used by the one you love most. While the ending, specifically concerning the film reel, felt a little out of place (there wasn't enough build up to the reveal)-- readers will be satisfied with Ramisetti's newest novel.

This was my first book to read by this author but won't be my last! The story and its characters will stick with you long after you finish the story. Highly recommend!

Advika Srinivasan is stuck in no-end job grieving the untimely death of her twin. In college she won a prestigious screen writing award, but since then, she has been stuck working on the service side of Hollywood as a bartender and caterer, rather than a writer. When a chance meeting after the Oscars puts her in the orbit of a famous film producer, her life literally takes off.

It's not long before she finds out that the producer has a bit of a history. Her friends and family are quite worried but it's not until one of producer's ex wives leaves Advika something in her will that she is forced into action.

A super fun story! I loved it! #GrandCentralPublishing

Advika and the Hollywood Wives was a great and thrilling read, with insight into the Hollywood scene. I enjoyed learning more about Advika and her relationship with Julian.

finished this ARC from @netgalley a couple of nights ago. happy to say i really enjoyed advika and the hollywood wives by @kirthanaramisetti ! it follows a young woman named advika who marries and becomes the fourth wife of julian zelding (a famous film producer). this book isn’t just about love but about grief, ambition, and secrecy. as the story unravels, advika learns the truth about her husband through the lens and experiences of his past wives. this book will keep you hooked and was such a unique and enjoyable read. book comes out in april of 2023 and i recommend you pre-order if this sounds like your jam! also check out the author’s first book, dava shastri’s last day (being turned into an hbo series!).

I think this was a great follow-up to Dava Shastri -- the perspective was very different, but it retained the elements of frothy seriousness that made the first fun. Advika was a somewhat frustrating character, but the author did a good job in terms of showing how she got sucked into Julian's orbit. I would have liked a little more development for Louisa and more information about Harley, and there were some inconsistencies with age, but the latter might just be galley issues.

Advika is having a terrible time bartending at the 2015 Governors Ball when she meets the award-winning producer Julian Zelding. They wed - but when she grows suspicious, Advika must rely on her wits and her husband's ex-wives to get out of this mess.

A MC of Indian origin in a book set in Hollywood? Marital drama and strange secrets? Sign me right up!

For the most part I quite enjoyed this book. Advika is an unusual lead in that she is often very unlikable, but you still empathize with her youth and her guilt over her sister's death. I liked that the author was not afraid to engage with contemporary issues of racism and feminism, focusing on how women are often subsumed into their relationships with powerful men.

However, I did wish we got more of an understanding of Julian and what drove him; his side of the story remains rather ambiguous, which may have been the point, but it does leave the reader without much resolution. I also felt that the secret of the film reel came out of left field and was not at all given the due it required, ending up more a throwaway plot device.

Thank you to #NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. The book begins when aspiring writer Advika meets producer Julian, 41 years her senior and a member of the Hollywood elite, who immediately woos her and provides a respite from her grief following her twin’s death. Only after their marriage does she figure out who she married— partly via learning about the three wives who came before her. This was a deliciously fun read, even though it started a bit slowly. I quickly became swept up alongside Advika, and was eager to see her unmask her new husband.

Even better than the first! I was so looking forward to this sequel and am thrilled that it lived up to the hype!

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was how the writing style kept changing. There were a lot of characters, and I had a bit of trouble keeping them all straight. Overall, a good read!

Advika is a young aspiring screenwriter who gets swept up in a swift romance with an older, established Hollywood producer named Julian. However, what starts as a whirlwind marriage quickly unfolds into suspicion, scrutiny, and fear as Advika uncovers secrets left by Julian's previous wives that leave her to question his character and true intentions.

I wanted to love this and was hoping I’d be able to connect with the characters as an Indian American woman myself. However, I really struggled to finish this novel. Though I was initially compelled by the book's premise, it failed to deliver.

The characters were poorly developed and defining character details were often haphazardly revealed, as if an afterthought. Further, there were far too many characters to keep track of, many of whom were tangential or entirely irrelevant to advancing the plot.

The dialogue was painful, unoriginal, and inauthentic. None of the conversations seemed realistic.

Though I appreciated that the author's attempt to layer in elements of a contemporary discourse around diversity, equity, and inclusion (#Oscarssowhite, that bit about nova being Mexican) it felt contrived and out of touch.

The style of the chapters switched between traditional prose, text conversations, and interview transcripts. The flow was choppy and not all of these styles suited the author's strengths.

Finally, this book could easily have been a third of the length.

Ironically, the part of this book I enjoyed the most was the author's acknowledgements that state, "this novel is an ode to the women whose accomplishments have been diminished, their careers unjustly derailed, or whose worthy stories have never been told. Thank you for your sacrifices and perseverance. Your light reaches us still." It was only then that I realized what this book was meant to accomplish and the broader purpose it was trying to fulfill. Unfortunately, this did not come across in the novel itself.

I appreciate NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hmmm… this is a little slow burn for me! It’s a story embracing different genres including women’s fiction, mystery and romance. Diversity representation and feminism vibes blended in appropriately.

My hesitation to get into the story is about heroine Advika : she met with five time Oscar winning producer at governor’s ball: when she was working as bartender. She’s struggling screenwriter. She’s still suffering from losing her twin sister and being abandoned by her parents who moved back to India, slowly drifting away from Sherman Oaks childhood Indian friends circle! So I can relate with that I can clearly understand her frustration and how she is wooed by Julian! Because there are so many things missing in her life!

But for god sake! The man is 67! Not 47! There’s 41 years age difference! He’s even 6 years older than George freaking Clooney! And that man didn’t put a gun to her head to move on with him after dating a few days later!

I understand Advika is broke, soon to be homeless and jobless so she sees him as her savior. But she doesn’t even try to find a job after moving into his house, not saying no to use his Amex card and not rejecting the expensive gifts she’s taken!

Why the hell she didn’t interrogate him about his past or his previous wives!

When the first wife of Julian offers 1 million dollars to his baby bride to divorce him before she dies, things get a little interesting but still the revelations were not so heart shattering or jaw dropping for me!

Advika should have thought twice to make decisions! Again I’m repeating she was not at gun point at the time she said “ I do”

So I’m giving my solid three stars! It was still enjoyable to read a book telling more about movies and dark side of industry!

I am still intrigued to read other works of the author!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed reading this, I enjoyed getting to know Advika Srinivasan. I thought the plot was well done and worked for this type of book. I was invested in the characters and what was happening, it was a beautifully done story. I enjoyed the way Kirthana Ramisetti wrote, she had a great writing style and I enjoyed reading her work.

“Well, thank you for reaching out,” she told Lucia, starting to feel nervous about what Evie’s friend would reveal to her. “I didn’t know whether to believe it was you or someone trying to pull a fast one on me.” “Totally understandable.” Lucia reached for a green macaroon. “It was impulsive of me, although it did take three hours and my neighbor’s assistance to understand Instagram and how I might be able to contact you.”