I loved Advika and thought she was a wonderful character. Is she a little naïve and makes some questionable choices? Sure, but she's 26 and struggling so it's understandable.

I read this over Oscars weekend, which ended up being perfect, as the story starts at an Oscars after party. The book starts with a charming, whirlwind romance between the struggling Advika and the Oscar winning producer, Julian. But as the relationship progresses, the doubts begin to creep in about how much she actually knows about him. And about his multiple famous ex-wives.

I couldn't put this down. It perfectly combines drama, mystery, and fictional Hollywood gossip to create a captivating story. Advika is a main character you will love and root for, even if occasionally frustrated with her decisions. The story will keep you interested from the first chapter to the last as Advika unravels her new husband's past and discovers why his ex's may think she needs rescuing.

DNF at 25%

There are a lot of elements about Advika and the Hollywood Wives that I love to read about - Hollywood, twisted relationships, and domestic secrets waiting to be unveiled. However, this book is taking far too long to get to all of those things and neither of the main characters are quite fleshed out enough to hold my interest in getting there. Because of that, I'm making the executive decision to DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This book was entirely believable. Unfortunately, when reading a book about a whirlwind Hollywood romance, I was hoping for an unbelievable, salacious story! Everything from the characters to the twists was expected and tied up in a pretty bow. Overall, an entertaining read, but not a good one.

This was a fun book! It's a bit mystery, a bit family drama, a bit Hollywood gossip...I enjoyed reading about Advita's story as an aspiring screenwriter in LA. While bartending for an Oscars party, she meets Julian, a legendary producer, much older, but still a "silver fox". They embark on a whirlwind romance, but is he too good to be true? Advita becomes curious about his former wives. Why did they all leave Hollywood? As Julian's demands on Advita start suffocating her, she decides to deep dive into the lives of her former wives and finds secrets that shock her. This was fun, and I enjoyed following along as she learned about the ex-wives. However, the ending was unsatisfying to me--there's some threads that were kept hanging and I didn't like seeing where Advita ended up. I couldn't see her having that ending. The writing is excellent, and I definitely want to read more from this author!

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!