The story alternates between the three starting founders of the Wife App.

This story really gives one to think about; very creative concept for a novel. Kudos!

There is a facebook group that I’ve discovered recently (Friends and Fiction), their 2023 reading challenge included reading a YA novel. This introduced me to Carolyn Mackler; when The Wife App became available, I anxiously reguested it via NetGalley. The Wife App is Carolyn Mackler’s first adult fiction novel (after approximately 20 YA books). Seems that this was an easy transition for Carolyn Mackler, The Wife App is going to be a huge success for her!

There are a lot of characters (in my opinion). Three women, their ex's, children and stepchildren, ex's wives.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Carloyn Mackler and Simon & Schuster for approving my ARC request. Publication date is 27 June, 2023.

Most wives and mothers work a full time job only to come home to work another one. Imagine a life where you gained income from all of the tedious wife tasks that you handle on the daily! This is where I was hooked. It felt like I was living a fairytale through the words. These 3 friends come together to create an app as revenge to their ex-husbands for all of the the tasks they’ve done as wives. They each have their own storylines which are layered and complicated in their own ways….and a little messy. The author touches on contemporary topics such as mental health in children, co-parenting, & LGBT relationships. I do not recall any TW. This was a light read. Very enjoyable and relatable.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review.

Sometimes books find you at just the right time, and you fall in love with them and want to read them over and over again.

…And sometimes you find a book at exactly the wrong time and find it completely insufferable. With this book, I have to say it’s a privilege in some ways to not relate to it, as a woman married to a man.

I picked it up because it’s all about the invisible labor that tends to fall to women in a straight relationship. But the solution is that these same overworked women are going to get paid to do labor that would fall to other women. Like, where do we actually confront the men that are profiting off of this labor?

So here’s the personal conflict. It comes in two parts - the privileged and non-privileged parts. I am currently living with long Covid, and I spend 70-90% of my day in bed. I get exhausted by doing one load of laundry. That part of my life super sucks…but my husband has absolutely picked up the slack and taken care of our house and both of our needs without complaint for the past 11 months. So I can’t handle reading about these trash men - one of whom “doesn’t believe” in invisible labor.

So, I quit and am going to go back to my fluffy rom coms where men are written by women to be better than they often are in real life. And a thousand thank yous to my husband for making this book unrelatable.

🎧 The narrators are fantastic. The book doesn’t have chapter numbers and is just labeled by the character POV (at least the ARC I received was written that way), so if you like to go back and forth, make sure you have a player that has percentages or it’ll be very difficult to switch!

*A note about my rating: I know my toxic trait is not rating below 3 stars. I think this book will be super relatable to a lot of people, and is pretty well written. So it gets stars for that. I could see myself liking this book in a different context. Based on the reviews I'm seeing, I think I would like this book ok if I made myself finish it...but why finish a 3 star book when there are 5 star books in the world, you know?

Madeline, Lauren and Sophie are the three female cofounders of The Wife App. Their ex-husbands took their roles as wives and mothers for granted and didn’t value the invisible, unpaid workload that they carried.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful partner! While that mental load is certainly still there, we share it pretty well and value each other’s contributions to helping our household run smoothly. Considering my marital experience has been very different from the female leads in this book, it was difficult for me to connect to them and their motivations. However, I know that so many women do share in this narrative, and I appreciate the author’s desire to tackle this conversation in such a unique way in her adult fiction debut novel!

Here’s what I enjoyed most about this read:

• Taking place in New York, I instantly got Sex & The City vibes from their friend group!
• I loved that these women in business were looking out for one another and building each other up rather than tearing one another down
• I also enjoyed seeing a woman taking the tech industry, a traditionally male dominated field, by storm
• The back half of the book featured some very unexpected and beautifully compassionate LGBTQIA+ subplots
• I enjoyed getting this story from multiple POVs, especially Sophie’s!

I think many women will find themselves nodding along in agreement with the thoughts expressed in this book. While I didn't have anything I particularly disliked about this book, there also wasn't anything that propelled it beyond a 3 star read for me. A solid, good read! I will be posting my full review to my Instagram and Goodreads accounts on Pub Day.

A fun, escapist read that I couldn’t put down.

Many women have bemoaned the mental load, but no one has monetized it. Yet. Enter the Wife App, where you can hire a gig worker to be a “wife,” taking care of all those pesky chores that tend to fall on women.

The protagonists are a trio of divorced women struggling to raise kids in New York. They join forces to create the Wife App.

I loved the supportive friendships and strong sense of place in the New York City setting. Moms will be able to see themselves in the challenges of child rearing the protagonists experience.

This isn’t a lifechanger of a book, just a fun, easy read that will keep you company as you put one foot in front of the other in mom life.

This is a great women’s non fiction novel. Three women Madeline, Lauren and Sophie who were friends for a long time start an ingenious business together. Out of the ashes of divorce they find a way to make life better. It is told from from the point of view of the three main characters and gives the reader great insight into their lives. The story is an interesting page turner that showcases the modern independent woman.

Best friends Lauren, Sophie, and Madeline are divorced mothers who have to do all the work of running their families - buying groceries and clothes, planning playdates and vacations - but they also had to do all that when they were married. They come up with the idea of a "Wife App" that will allow customers to outsource this labor and the people who do it to be appreciated - and paid.

I really enjoyed <i>The Wife App</i>. It was a well written, quick read, with three very different but likable and believable main characters. Each of their journeys - in career, parenthood, and romance - was multi-faceted and interesting, and the overall story felt propulsive without too much angst or drama.

I was less interested in the fictional Wife App, which essentially provides a part-time household manager or personal assistant. Maybe there is a niche for this! But the idea that households require management, and that often the wife in heterosexual couples much of that management without pay or thanks is hardly revelatory, and I was frustrated by how all the characters acted as if it was.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the E-ARC. First and foremost let me just say where do I sign up for this app because Life. This was a good solid read I loved how the 3 MFC navigated life and motherhood. I enjoyed seeing them grow and feeling confident in their own skin. This book showed BTS of what it is to be a wife and a mother and a woman. It showed how FOMO is very real and messes with our minds and our self worth. But more importantly it showed that it does take a Village or in this case a APP.

Alright, folks, buckle up because we're about to dive into the wild and wonderful world of "The Wife App" by Carolyn Mackler. This book takes the concept of "every wife deserves a happy ending" to a whole new level, and let me tell you, it's one heck of a ride!

We're introduced to three best friends who have had enough of their ex-husbands taking them for granted. Lauren, the supermom of twins, wakes up to some serious Wife Alarm Bells and uncovers a dirty secret that explodes her marriage. Madeline, the epitome of having it all, faces the possibility of losing her child to her ex in England, which stirs up a personal tragedy from the depths of her past. And then there's Sophie, who's got FOMO and a serious shortage of cash, all while keeping her true desires hidden even from herself. Talk about some complex characters!

But fear not, my friends, because these ladies have a plan. It starts with a tipsy night out where they decide to monetize the mental load of being a wife. I mean, why not, right? So they come up with the brilliant idea of creating the Wife App, a genius invention that not only seeks revenge on their exes but also becomes the hottest start-up in New York City. These ladies are on fire!

But as we all know, life has a funny way of throwing curveballs at us. Love gets in the way, ex-husbands make surprise appearances, and before you know it, the consequences of their actions become larger than life. Mackler takes us on a rollercoaster ride of revenge and redemption that will have you laughing out loud one moment and holding your breath the next.

What makes this book truly special is the celebration of female friendship and love in all its forms. The bond between Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie is unbreakable, and their journey reminds us of the power of sisterhood. Mackler effortlessly balances the send-up of modern marriage with heartfelt moments that tug at your heartstrings.

And let's not forget the humor! Mackler's writing is witty, sharp, and oh-so-entertaining. You'll find yourself snorting with laughter as these ladies navigate the highs and lows of their newfound venture. The author's debut into adult fiction is an absolute triumph, and I can't wait to see what she brings us next.

So, if you're ready for a wild and hilarious adventure filled with revenge, redemption, and a whole lot of heart, "The Wife App" is the perfect pick for you. Grab a copy, cozy up with your favorite drink, and get ready for a ride you won't soon forget. Cheers to Carolyn Mackler for delivering a fantastic debut into the world of adult fiction!

The Wife App is definitely an original read! The concept of using an app to pay someone to do many tasks that are usually placed on a wife is something that I have never read before. IT follows three women, Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie, and gives the audience three different POVs as we follow their journey of life. I enjoyed the premise of the book thoroughly but the execution was not performed well enough for me. Because of this I was not able to connect to the three main characters at all, which in turn left me not caring about their stories.


This was a very quick read and I would recommend it to someone I believe could relate to the main characters. .

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm wondering if this didn't land for me because I don't have kids.

Three female friends, all divorced, come up with the idea to create a Wife App to monetize the mental load and other work that wives do for free in marriages. It was an interesting concept and I liked the main characters but I never felt strongly about anything going on in the story. There are a ton of characters so I got confused at times as to who was who.

I'd recommend this for readers of women's fiction.

A fun, fresh take on mental load and equal partnerships! I was surprised by this one. The title had me a little worried but overall I felt like this book really made you think while packaging it up in delightful storylines and bold female characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

I loved the premise of this book. It is well written and the book drew me in right away. As the story went along though I found some of the storylines a bit strange. I felt like the author was tackling every social issue she could think of but then didn’t get to fully develop any of them. I also found the repetitive talk about the mental load of wives and the thinly veiled male bashing to be a bit tiresome.

It should be noted thar there is crude language and sexual content. This was not bothersome nor distracting to me but it might be for some readers.

I’d probably round up to 3.5 stars. Basically good, interesting premise but the execution was flawed in ways that did impact how much I enjoyed the book. This was my first book by this author and based on this experience I’d definitely read another one by her.

#thewifeapp

Book Name: The Wife App

Author: Carolyn Mackler

ARC

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of The Wife App

Stars: 2
Spice: NA

Standalone
Multi-POV
Plot Centric
Contemporary Fiction

- Topics
- Division of Labor
- Unseen Labor
- Equality and Equity
- Mom/Wife Life
- FMC Queer Rep
- Thoughts.
- Hilarious
- Negative of SAHM Life
- 🎶Too Much Labor by Paris Paloma
- Multi-POV kept the pace up!
- HEA

This is a marriage and man-bashing book. I absolutely love being a wife and mom. I feel like this author at times disrespects that role. IE quote from the final chapter “Here’s to dismantling the marriage institution". SO This is a 2 due to that. I loved the concept but the execution was clunky at best

Newly divorced Lauren is fed up with the mental load of marriage and motherhood when she encounters the last straw - her ex-husband tells her he's been hooking up with their (much younger) babysitter. She enlists her friends and fellow divorcees, Madeline and Sophie, to set up the Wife App and attempt to monetize their skills.

The characters were relatable but I have to say I liked the premise of this book more than the execution. The writing style didn't work for me, and while I usually prefer multiple POVs, in this book it often felt like reading the same plot thrice.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster via NetGalley for gifting me with an ARC to review!

The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler (pub date June 27th!) is a delightful fantasy land for any ‘wife’ who feels like their mental load is just too much. I loved the concept of this novel from the very beginning, and was thrilled to receive an advanced copy. Mackler weaves in to the novel such a wide variety of issues that women and families face today. While reading, I often found myself laughing at how much I could relate to the situations in which the characters found themselves. I also loved the close friendship that she portrays through the three best friends. While not meant to be a self-help book, I even found myself reflecting on what I carry and where I should be outsourcing or asking for help.

The Wife App was such a fun read about being a mom in today’s world. I highly recommend it to any mom who could use an escape and some validation. 4.5 stars for me.

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for the digital ARC via NetGalley.

There was a lot going on with this one and I think the thing I loved the most was the celebration of adult female friendship!

This was fresh and a unique take on the “stale marriage” story line we so often see.

As a psychologist specializing in maternal mental health, I spend a great deal of time talking about the maternal mental load with clients. Boy is it real! My husband is also in the tech world and has developed some apps himself. So when I saw the premise of this book, I was in!

I really enjoyed the blend of the personal lives of these characters with the development of the business as well as the alternating between the three points of view. I think the author did a good job describing the mental load and its impact on individuals and marriages while still making the book a fun read. Very enjoyable!

🌟🌟🌟🌟
There’s few things more cathartic than watching a woman leave a toxic situation and thrive on her own; for the three narrators of “The Wife App”, this manifests in different ways.

I really enjoyed this story, and how each of of the three friends—Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie—had their own personal narratives that tied into their professional ones with the app. And The Wife App itself wouldn’t exist without their shared backgrounds: they’re all co-parenting with their ex-husbands, and they all contributed years of unpaid labor to their former marriages. It’s because of this that they’re able to think up an app that would see “wives” finally be paid for their efforts.

It was interesting to follow along with how Lauren created the app and expanded as needed, but the most interesting parts for me were the relationships between the friends themselves and their children. Sometimes their ex-husbands(or at least 2 out of 3 of them) were almost comically villainous. But the scenes where the women are trying to balance supporting one another while also being the best moms possible? Those were the best.

It’s an overall fun book, and it felt on par with watching a Netflix series at times. This is an easy one to recommend as a fun summer read—which is convenient, as it will be available on June 27 🩵

Thanks to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely adored this book. It kept my interest through the entire novel. Three women, three different circumstances, all divorced come up with a concept to lighten their own load. The women eventually bond and become friends.. I really enjoyed this and look forward to the author's next book!