I enjoyed this story. A story of a NYC woman who moves to Georgia to be with her new military husband. A new setting, new friends, new lifestyle, very interesting to read. I loved watching the series, Army Wives, and this was very similar.

I really enjoyed this one. Loved the story and the characters. Took me a bit to get through, but overall a good read.

This was a barn burner of a memoir. An inside look at what life is like for the families left at home while the men and women in the U.S. armed forces deploy, this blunt account of the authors’ experiences left me stunned by the level of sacrifice and grateful for her and the other wives living this out day to day. One of the most interesting parts of this memoir is that when the author met and dated her future husband, he was not in the military. So she did not go into their marriage with an understanding of what their life would be. She does a great job of laying out, scene by scene, how she coped with the changes her husband’s choices brought them, and what it cost her. I was surprised by her resilience and dedication, and inspired by her strength. I’m really glad I read this book. Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for providing me with a review copy.

A wonderfully written memoir that really gets you thinking about we truly need to form community in order to live our best lives. Simone leaves her New York City job when her new husband, a military career person, is transferred to a small town. Simone feels isolated and ill at ease, until she begins to form friendships with her fellow wives, a diverse group of people she may never have encountered had she stayed in New York. Her life is expanded, as is her outlook.

"The Wives" caught my attention because, as a military mom, I recognize that it's not just the soldiers who are affected by the life they choose, but their families as well. So, I was interested to see what Simone Gorrindo had to share about her experience as a military spouse.

Everything she wrote resonated with me. It is amazing how a military connection suddenly puts us in the company of people we might not have ever met or chosen to know otherwise, and how they suddenly become the few who really understand us.

I found "The Wives" to be at times compelling, and at others heartbreaking. While some may view military service as "just a job," it is so much more than that, and I think Simone's story sheds light on the sacrifices that are made that no other job would be legally required to ask of you.

If you're looking for realistic insight into what it means to be a military spouse, you'll want to read this book.

Thank you to Simone Gorrindo, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

The Wives
Simone Gorrindo

Memoir ~ Army wives ~ Marriage ~ Columbus, Georgia ~ Friendship ~ Strong women ~ Deployments ~ Secrets ~ Babies ~ Love ~ Military life ~ War ~ Coming of Age ~ Mental health issues

I recommend this book. I enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley & Gallery/Scout for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. It was very moving and beautifully written. I liked the bond the wives form with each other and the friendships that grow with each other. I highly recommend this book.

[4.5 stars]

This debut memoir about what it's like to be the wife of someone in the Army, in this case Special Operations, is a high quality memoir with depth and nuance...and it took me by surprise. Simone reluctantly moves with her new husband from New York City to Columbus, GA when he joins an elite Army unit. In GA, Simone struggles with life alone while her husband is deployed, but meeting a group of “Army wives” changes things for her. Simone goes through a tumultuous emotional journey with her feelings about the military and her husband becoming a "trained killer." She shares the brutality of not just the physical distance the military creates between married spouses, but also the emotional distance, and the personality changes someone in the military goes through. But, The Wives is ultimately a celebration of the bond and support network she’s a part of with the other wives who are in her same boat. Simone's writing is gorgeous and I was totally immersed in her story (despite having no particular interest in or experience with the military).

I had high hopes for this one but it fell a little flat. One thing to acknowledge before you start to read this is that this is a memoir and not a fiction book so it will be a little slower and more dry as the author is retelling memories.

I had a few places where I didn't agree with the author and at some times I hated her, there will always be a slight discomfort and hate with war times but she made it seem more than what I would expect. She comes off as entitled and bitchy at times. Maybe get rid of the scene where she is insulting the flag?

A great modern memoir. This is the perfect companion to the Women by Kristin Hannah. These two books are among the best of 2024 and compliment each other perfectly. Outstanding!

Loved this memoir so much more than I thought I would! I am always interested in reading about various groups of people and I was intrigued by the military wife dynamic. However, Simone Gorrindo brought new perspective to the military family- I love how she openly questions war, guns, and the obsession with the American flag. My heart broke for her at times and cheered for her at others. She is such an amazing storyteller and I loved how her various relationships were woven together in this book.

The story of a group of Army wives that are stationed in Georgia with their husbands who are all part of a Special Operations Unit. It is a memoir about their lives and the challenges that they must endure. There are moments of talk about deployment, training, and reintegration upon returning home. Mostly they talk about surviving and finding the people in their lives that they can count on especially when there is no one else. Thanks to NetGalley for this moving read.

Highly recommend this one!! This is my first time reading one of their books but it won't be the last! This book sucks you in from the get-go and you will find yourself thinking about the characters long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and get this book!!

We often read about soldiers' experiences in the Army including in Special Force operations. We do not often have the opportunity to look as closely into the lives of their wives. In this carefully written book Simone Gorrindo gives us that chance. She weaves the story of her upbringing and that of her husband 's to give us insight what that life is like. Having not come from a military background this reader found the memoir moving and illuminating. It gave me perspective as to what her experience was like (as well as his) and how in many ways we fail as a country to give the support necessary to make these important and difficult lives more tolerable.

This memoir, about the author’s experience as a new military wife, and the relationships she forged with other military wives, is fine. Interesting enough, but I certainly wouldn’t say it’s compelling.
Thanks to #netgalley and #gallerypress for this #arc of #thewives in exchange for an honest review.

Simone Gorrindo has written a memoir that is so absorbing that at times it read like a novel to me. In telling her story of being the wife of someone on active military duty, she is telling the story of many. However, it is also a story that is uniquely her own.

Simone, who wants to write, never expected to be a military wife or to move to Columbus, Georgia. She went because her husband had decided that he needed to be in the army. This put Simone in a small home near a base where she only knew one person at first, another wife. What will happen to Simone while her husband has his own experiences? Readers will want to know.

This is a story about the military, about the things we do for those we love/marry, how we find our way through situations we might not have chosen, the women who become our friends and more. I recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher of this book for the advanced copy!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of the TV show, Army Wives, which I also enjoyed. We are not a military family, so it is eye-opening, inspiring and sometimes shocking to learn what a military family goes through. Often, we thank soldiers, but don’t remember that their family is also affected by their service.
This author touched on so many different topics, from politics to religion to abortion. I sometimes got confused with all of the names and couldn’t keep the wives straight, but still got the gist of the book and what was occurring. The end happened a little abruptly as well. I felt like I lived through years with this couple and then, all of a sudden we have a baby and it’s years later. The end felt a little rushed, but I did enjoy living through each deployment and getting to know the ins and outs of military life.

THE WIVES was an intimate look into the life of a woman married to a man in the military. It was fascinating to learn about the “unwritten rules” of military life and the interactions and hierarchy between the wives. I could relate to some of Simone’s experiences of navigating life feeling solitary despite being in a loving and supportive marriage with a husband who also has a demanding career. I enjoyed the themes of creating a life, community, and found family when away from home. Readers who appreciate glimpses into the lives of others will appreciate Simone's memoir.

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: April 9, 2024

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this text as an advanced copy through NetGalley.

So, this one was hard for me to finish. I know the title itself suggests the story is meant to focus on the spouses rather than the men leaving to combat, train, etc. I spent a lot of my time feeling bad for her husband.

I did not grow up as a military-child nor am I married to somebody in the military. I am putting that out there before saying that to a certain point, if I were to marry somebody who signed up to serve I would anticipate deployment and time away from his family. Prior to reading this book, I did not realize how much they actually miss, but was that because the military as a whole was active?

The author did a great job of describing the bond that the women established and how they came to rely on each other, and overlook differences that they may not have in "the real world" because that community was who they had to rely on while their husbands were away. She also took us through the anxiety of receiving a red-call... Not knowing exactly why the call was made, Who was hurt, or Which one of her friends she'd have to be a shoulder for.

The reason for the lower rating is because this book comes off more on the side of criticizing the way the military is doing certain things and at times, the author seems to overshare information that isn't necessarily hers to share. Either having to do with the Military or information about other couples/wives.

Earlier this year I really enjoyed Kristin Hannah’s “The Women,” a novel based on the experiences of the Army Corps Nurses during the Vietnam war. That book about those very brave women still sits at the top of my “Best Books of 2024” list. When I read the blurb for “The Wives,” I was immediately intrigued because of the “opposite subject matter” pertaining to the women of wartime. These women were left at home. They had it much easier than those on the front lines, right? Infinitely easier. Yeah. I have read a lot of wartime stories, but never once have I read an entire book about those left behind. How bad could it be? I had to read it to find out!

Andrew, the fiancé of the author Simone, once stated that if he had to choose between her or the Army, he would pick the Army. I was impressed when Simone made the decision to marry him anyway. In for a penny, in for a pound. More like 10,000 pounds. This book is a real eye opener. What these wives had to endure to support their husbands’ desires to serve! It’s no wonder they ended up gravitating to each other. As the men bonded together to form makeshift families during deployment so did the wives back at the base. How hard it must have been for Simone and the other wives to keep stiff upper lips during the cryptic 60-second monitored phone calls that they were allowed to have with their husbands. And how little their husbands could tell them because of the strict rules against sharing ANY info regarding their duties. How difficult that must have been to be unable to communicate feelings openly and honestly and how that in turn would affect the husband-wife relationship. The wives essentially had little choice but to become each other’s support. They understood each other and leaned on each other. They were the ones who would respond in a crisis situation at home as the husbands were unavailable. And what about the knowledge that at any moment their husbands could be killed? Waiting for that ominous knock on the door must have been hellacious. Furthermore, the wives never knew exactly when they would be seeing their husbands again let alone what their mental and physical conditions would be like. And to think this could be their way of life for many years. The loneliness, the shared stress, and the inevitable need for support not surprisingly led to some extremely close and lifelong friendships amongst the wives.

Again, this book is so enlightening. I wondered how these women could cope long term. But cope they did. I found the way Simone sacrificed her own aspirations and more for her marriage incredibly inspiring. I’m not sure I could have done the same. Simone and her husband Andrew made the brave move to periodically engage in couples’ therapy in between his deployments in an attempt to keep their marriage intact. It wasn’t that their love had burned out, but that they had such difficulty relating to each other due to the inevitable breakdown of honest and direct communication.

Though The Wives is a memoir, it reads like a novel. Simone writes beautifully and honestly, and I was engaged almost from the get-go. She is a writer by trade, and I hope she writes another book whether fiction or nonfiction. I will be there with my finger on the Kindle button if she does.

As a final note, I see the reviews here are divided. Reading between the lines I think those with more liberal views will enjoy this book more than those aligned with “The Other Guy.” I hope the former aren’t dissuaded by the latter from reading this most interesting and important memoir. Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Net Galley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Simone Gorrino for the advanced copy. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.