This title is isn’t only about a woman falling apart, it’s about a brand collapsing. Madison March believes she’s a perfectly filtered tradwife living on a Montana ranch, where everything is left to interpretation and manufactured to sell a fantasy. This book was ok it took me a moment to get into due to some of the grammatical errors.

In exchange for my honest review I received a copy of the galley from the publisher.

Madison March has a perfect family and a perfect life. Known to her millions of devoted followers as a trad wife, Madison spends her days baking sourdough bread and picking vegetables from the garden while watching her children play in the fields surrounding her Montana homestead. And she's also devoted to her husband Michael. Dinner is always on the table for him and they end their days sitting on the porch, watching the sun go down. At least that's what everyone thinks. Behind the scenes life in the March household is something else entirely. Will the facade crumble when a new tutor for the children arrives?

The Trad Wife's Secret is a domestic suspense novel. The reader knows automatically that something is wrong and the reader lets the Secret out slowly. We get chapters from Madison and Cally, the tutor. There are also chapters narrated by someone named Brianna. Besides wondering what lies beneath the surface of the March household we also wonder how Brianna is connected. Or maybe she isn't.

Madison has influenced millions of people. She has put a lot of work into growing her brand. Privacy is of the utmost importance. But it's not just because she's so well known. There are secrets and odd behavior. That's where the fun comes in. As more information is revealed the reader begins to root for certain characters more than others.

There are a couple of twists that I didn't find too surprising. I found myself really focused on the characters' personalities and behaviors and the ending is pretty satisfying.

The Trad Wife's Secret is a quick, enjoyable read.

📖 Quick Summary (potential spoilers)

Madison March is a popular "tradwife" influencer, portraying an idyllic life on her Montana homestead—cooking sourdough, homeschooling her children, and embodying traditional family values. Her millions of followers admire her perfect family and serene lifestyle. However, beneath the surface, Madison's life is far from perfect. Her husband, Michael, enforces strict rules, and the reality of their home is far darker than her online persona suggests.

I was interested in reading this book because it is such a hot topic right now (the dark side of influencing, as well as the tradwife movement). While I think it does a good job or reminding us that we are looking at two separate issues from Madison's POV, I think it takes longer than it should for us to get to the plot. It is really enforced how much Instagram and connectivity to cell phones are ingrained in these womens lives. Also, it should be no surprise by this point if you follow the budding genre of Influencer True Crime (ie. Ruby Franke), that the majority of the work is not done by the influencer, but by a team; the writer takes one of the savvier non Trad Culture characters and makes it out like the character was truly surprised by this; which for a Gen Z character surprised me.
In a few scenes between Michael and Madison, I think the writer is trying to build tension for the reader, but for me, it drug out the story. We get that Michael is intimidating and controlling of his wife and children; we don't need multiple passages of him doing the same behavior; it is clearly established in the beginning that he is abusive whenever he feels he has been disobeyed.
The twists are worked in well and make sense for the plot and characters.....until the end. The trope chosen in the Epilogue made me roll my eyes, but I won't spoil which trope it is. However, it did knock down my rating of the book because it is unnecessary to the entire book.
📅 Publication Details

Title: The Tradwife’s Secret

Author: Liane Child

Release Date: May 27, 2025

Publisher: HarperCollins HQ Digital

ISBN: 9780008755003

I’ve been hearing so much about tradwives and the homesteading lifestyle lately but hadn’t taken a deep dive—so what better way than through a novel?

From the first chapter, I was completely immersed in Madison’s world—a popular social media tradwife who, beneath the polished persona, is far from the perfect homesteader her followers believe her to be. I loved being inside her head as she wrestled with both literal and figurative demons, trying to keep it all together.

The other POVs—Brianna and Cally—were just as compelling. I really enjoyed seeing the homesteading lifestyle from three different perspectives:
• A successful tradwife with a curated online presence
• A new tradwife facing real, raw struggles on her path to (hopefully) success
• An outsider living in the home of a homesteading family, forming her own complicated opinions

And the plot twists just kept coming! I love a good, page-turning domestic thriller, and this absolutely delivered. I’ve read a lot of thrillers lately that feel flat—especially the ones marketed as “chilling psychological thrillers”—but this one stood out. The characters felt richer, more layered. They weren’t necessarily likable, but they didn’t need to be. I was hooked simply because I had to know what they’d do next.

This book is perfect for readers who enjoy domestic thrillers with multiple POVs, an atmospheric rural backdrop, and a steady stream of “what’s going to happen next?” moments.

𝟑.𝟕𝟓 ☆ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬. 🥧

❝𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙻𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚠𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜. 𝙸 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜.❞

📖┆𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝
🏷️┆𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: ℙ𝕤𝕪𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕣, 𝔻𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕣
📆┆𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝟝/𝟙𝟝/𝟚𝟝 - 𝟝/𝟙𝟟/𝟚𝟝
📋┆𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
”A marriage is between two people. And their millions of followers.”

❝𝙸 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚊 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎, 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.❞

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ★★★.𝟕𝟓
ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 𝟹.𝟽𝟾 ☆ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ
ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ: ʜᴏᴍᴇᴍᴀᴅᴇ ꜱᴏᴜʀᴅᴏᴜɢʜ ʙʀᴇᴀᴅ 🥖
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: 📻 ᴀʟʟ ᴀᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀɴ ʙɪᴛᴄʜ ♪ ᴏʟɪᴠɪᴀ ʀᴏᴅʀɪɢᴏ
ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ?: ʏᴇꜱ!

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
🥧 ɪɴꜰʟᴜᴇɴᴄᴇʀꜱ
🥧 ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴛᴡɪꜱᴛꜱ
🥧 ꜱᴏᴄɪᴀʟ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴀ
🥧 ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴘᴏᴠꜱ
🥧 ᴅᴏᴍᴇꜱᴛɪᴄ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀꜱ

❝”𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚎. 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍.”
𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎 - 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚒𝚡 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚢𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎 - 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔.
“𝙾𝚑, 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢,” 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚜, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝.
“𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚖. “❞

💬┆𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
• When I reach for a thriller lately, I want something different, something that hasn’t been done yet, something where I can’t guess the twists. And let me tell you, The Tradwife’s Secret sure did deliver.

• I’ve been hearing the term tradwife quite often lately from some influencers, I had to Google it.
⤷ <b>Tradwife:</b>
short for "traditional wife”
a woman who embraces and practices traditional gender roles and expectations within a marriage
involves a focus on homemaking, domesticity, and nurturing
often leaving a career to prioritize family needs

• With that, let me introduce you to our main character, Madison March, the tradwife of all tradwives, the Queen Bee, the OG. Her millions of followers love the wholesome content she posts on the daily; from sourdough starters to baking homemade cherry pies with her children, she is adored & has it all… or does she? Is Madison’s life as Instagram worthy as it seems? Or is she selling a lie?

• I loved the concept of this book, the execution, & the writing as well. I loved that this was a different type of thriller than anything I have yet to read & I’ve read a lot of thrillers. It was a breath of fresh air to not only have a new thriller concept, but also not being able to guess any of the twists!

• Where it fell short for me: Cally. I think her whole existence was pointless. Sorry, girl. She did nothing for the plot. Her whole subplot annoyed me. She was there to homeschool the March children & get paid a pretty substantial amount to pay for a debt for her brother. She kept acting like this was the only option for her brother to get out of trouble, meanwhile throughout the book, Cally constantly mentions how her brother makes a good living, could take out loans. I mean, the guy has options. And I’m sure if she told him how toxic the March household is, he would understand. But it seemed like she wanted to be the hero & save her brother, even though she said herself she is not the hero type. I just think I would’ve enjoyed the story a lot more if Cally wasn’t in it & instead of her chapters, we focused on more of Michael, for example, & why he was the way he was. What made him become a doomsday prepper?!

• Despite my issue with Cally, I think The Tradwife’s Secret is going to be a big hit for all the thriller fans out there.

<blockquote>❝”𝙳𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚕𝚏 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜?”
“𝙸𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚡𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚗?”
“𝚆𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚢.”❞</blockquote>

Thank you NetGalley & Harper 360 for providing this eARC
in exchange for an honest review. Be on the look out for The Tradwife’s Secret, hitting shelves on May 22, 2025!

The story does a good job of showing how social media can affect relationships and how people sometimes care more about appearances than real connection. Madison is an interesting character—smart, driven, but also trapped by the image she’s created.

The book is easy to read and moves quickly. It’s part drama, part social commentary, and makes you think about how much of our lives are lived for an audience.

If you like stories about modern relationships, fame, and the hidden side of picture-perfect lives, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of a tradwife or that movement which is a woman surrounding all opinions, rights, and self to wait on her husband and children. Not a fan. But I read the book anyway. Not a fan of it either. None of the characters are sympathetic character to be found, they're either a horrible person or brainwashed by a horrible person. And the Cally subplot is ridiculous and unbelievable - a drug dealer giving you a year to pay a debt? No. I did like the alternating viewpoints but that was the book's only good feature. The plot was very thin and the 'surprise' reveal was kind of a dud. **spoilers** Jonah just popped up all of a sudden. Why was he in prison, how did he find them, what was his goal? Just seemed a convenient way to get rid of the husband. That was a disappointing death - I wanted him to suffer and we didn't even get an account of his demise. Madison's ending was a let down as well. Just another mean girl beating the system and winning. And anyone who doesn't already know that social media is fake lives in a cave. And how did Lori not go to jail and end up with all the kids - I know they're hers but social services and the courts would have needed to get involved. So, it's a miss for me but I will give Child another chance if she releases a second novel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

What can I say about this story. I wasn’t impressed at all. Madison is the well off wife of a rancher. She’s also very much kept in line as are the children in their home. She has an Instagram account where she shares her life and sometimes includes her children. Brianna is an emotionally abused wife who is expected to do all the heavy lifting type work in the house where her and her husband are “homesteading”. She is pregnant with their first child. The first 80% of this book was boring for me although the end is a big twist. I received a copy of this book free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this E-ARC.

This book is absolutely insane. I could not put it down. If I didn’t have to go to work, eat, sleep, and walk my dog I would’ve sat on the couch until I finished it all in one sitting. I am a little speechless from this book. I personally like to go into books blind so I don’t try to figure out the plot, so I don’t want to share too many details incase other readers feel the same way. However, this book is absolutely amazing. When I finished it I sat staring into space for about 10 minutes. Contemplating what had just happened. At one point I felt so incredibly proud of myself for figuring out the twist, only to have it revealed in the next sentence. Do yourself a favor and run to the stores on the release day. It is absolutely amazing and you won’t regret it.

Madison March is made for the Trad wife life. Her husband is the head of the household and her duty as a wife is to make sure that everything he can possibly need is already prepared for him. She takes care of their house, the kids, and her husband. She wants to spread this message of her perfect family and life by posting about it on social media. Making sure everyone knows how lucky she is and that the best way of living is to be a stay at home mom that makes all the food and clothes. And everything we see on social media is true, right?

Except it’s not. Madison March’s life is a lie.

Why is this important? You’ll just have to read the book to find out.

The Tradwife's Secret . is one humdinger of a novel.There are so many twists and turns and such nerve-racking mystery that you will not be able to put it down. The tradwife definitely has a secret but so do many of the other characters and they are all entwined to make for a wonderful mysterious book. Of course, my nerves were shot at the Tradwife's deceptions before all disaster broke loose but sticking it out to the end was spectacular.

I couldn't put this one down. I'm a sucker for stories about influencers and tradwives alike, so this was the perfect story for me. While some aspects were a bit ridiculous, I'll admit that some of the reveals surprised me. Told across three points of view — tradwife influencer Madison, her children's new tutor Cally, and a young girl named Brianna who's been inspired by homesteading and tradwifing influencers — the story unfolds to show that what you see on social media isn't always the truth.

To be honest, the character of Cally didn't add much; I assume she was meant to be an audience insert, someone through whom we could view this whole crazy situation, but that was about it. There are a few other characters who would have made a more interesting POV. My other issue is that everything was just a bit too British. Not just the author's writing, but also some of the dialog. It took me out of the story a bit (as did the repeated references to people's "Montana accents" or "Montana drawls," which are... not a thing).

While it's a twisty story that kept me wanting more, people should be aware that there are descriptions of domestic violence that may be disturbing to some.

I received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Snack-Size Review] The Tradwife’s Secret, by Liane Child

Quick Bite: Tradwives are fake, news at 11.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

What It’s About: Madison March is the traddiest of tradwives, with 10 million followers addicted to her content, featuring her perfect children, husband, home, appearance, and so on and so forth. But if something seems too good to be true, it’s probably a lie.

A Word From The Nerd: Duckies, like many of you, I am grossed out by the whole tradwife thing. EVERYBODY knows it’s fake, except for the poor unfortunate souls who find out the hard way when they try to emulate the lifestyle without the benefit of a full staff and a few million in the bank. So I should have loved this one, right? I’ll admit that it was fun, quick, and twisty, but also completely unrealistic. Like, tradwife level of impossible. But if you’re looking for a junk food book for a quick snack, you could choose worse.

The Nerd’s Rating: THREE HAPPY NEURONS (and a spotless kitche--HAHAHAHAHA, who am I kidding.)

A large family on a homestead, millions of followers on Instagram, money, a husband who adores you, and a secret you’ve hid for over a decade.
This book built a mystery up and didn’t leave enough room to end it right. It needed a few chapters to explain more of what happened.

This is a great book! Love the cover and it fits the book so much! I highly recommend this book! You will never look at housewife’s the same again!!

Liane Child’s The Tradwife’s Secret is a sharp, unsettling thriller that delves deep into the curated world of influencer culture and the dark underbelly of performative femininity. At its center is Madison March—an Instagram darling who has crafted an immaculate brand centered on obedience, simplicity, and wholesome motherhood. With four angelic children, a rugged husband, and a picturesque homestead in rural Montana, Madison embodies the “tradwife” ideal to her millions of followers. But behind the filters and perfectly arranged tableaux lies a disturbing truth: Madison’s life is a high-gloss illusion, built on secrecy, control, and fear.

The novel unfolds through the perspectives of three women. Cally, a long-time follower and the new live-in tutor for the March children, arrives on the homestead expecting a dream job—and instead finds herself stripped of her autonomy, warned to stay silent, and gradually disillusioned. Thousands of miles away, Brianna, a young woman hoping to model her life after Madison’s, begins to sense that the online “trad” community she idolizes might be more trap than haven. And then there’s Madison herself: both perpetrator and victim, carefully maintaining the façade while privately navigating her own traumas and manipulations.

Child excels at peeling back the layers of online influence—how it’s built, monetized, and ultimately weaponized. The narrative deftly explores the psychological weight of performance and the dangerous extremes of traditional gender roles. Madison, in particular, is a standout: a morally ambiguous figure who is difficult to sympathize with but impossible to ignore. Cally provides a grounded counterbalance to Madison’s unreality, while Brianna’s emotionally resonant arc shows how aspirational lies can reshape the lives of ordinary women seeking refuge from modern burnout.

The plot is fast-paced and twisty, with short chapters and multiple POVs that keep the momentum going—though the transitions between narrators can sometimes be unclear, especially early on. The middle section drags slightly, and a few elements—such as Cally’s backstory and the characterization of Madison’s domineering husband, Michael—could benefit from more depth.

Still, these are minor issues in what is otherwise a bold and juicy read. The atmosphere is deliciously menacing, and the story crescendos into a viral scandal that forces all three women to confront their roles in maintaining or resisting the systems that confine them. In a genre that too often centers male violence and female passivity, The Tradwife’s Secret offers a refreshing shift—spotlighting flawed, complicated women who find ways to challenge the expectations placed upon them.


If you're drawn to the sinister side of social media, curious about the costs of curating perfection, or just craving a thriller with real bite, The Tradwife’s Secret delivers. It entertains, but it also provokes, asking important questions about power, performance, and the price of being perceived as “ideal.” Thank you Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Well, overall a quick read that was both interesting and infuriating. However, I was waiting for a huge secret (given the book’s title!) and I was definitely let down.

I’m fascinated with the concept of trad wives (though I fundamentally disagree with the movement), and I really enjoyed the parts of this that lifted the curtain on trad wife influencer accounts—and how they don’t actually do everything; just like everyone else in the influencer world, they have PR people and assistants who make their lives easier.

I hated the husband, and think dudes like him are absolutely what’s driving the rise of toxic masculinity in the country right now. They aren’t the center of the universe like they want to be, so they become toxic.

As the various secrets were revealed, I kept rooting for Lori and Callie, and don’t know how I feel about the ending. But overall, a good read that was pretty quick!

This book had so much potential!! The twist was good and could have been amazing with some work! I’m not sure what stage this arc is in but it felt incomplete compared to other arcs I have received. Almost like a first draft with no edits yet. There are some plot holes and some details in the book that need some work.
I could see this being so good if it was reworked a little. The ending was pretty good and I liked how this book showed the life of these Instagram influencers and how a lot of times it’s not always what it seems.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc!

Thank you NetGalley, Harper and the author for sending me an ARC copy of this novel.

A marriage is between two people. And their millions of followers. Madison March is the perfect wife, with the perfect family and the perfect life.

She spends her days baking sourdough and picking vegetables from the garden while watching her children play in the fields surrounding her Montana homestead.

Dinner is always on the table for her husband and they end their days sitting on the porch, watching the sun go down.

It’s a life anyone would dream of.

And it’s all a lie.
This book is a good depiction of what we see happening in the world today via social media. Since the pandemic, it appears that many are choosing to stay closer to home, live more simply, and feed their sourdough (no judgement, I bought the supplies). Lie on social media is obviously not always as it seems and Madison March certainly has some skeletons in the closet. I think given the timing, it was smart by the author to release this book. I did find it a bit slow and contained some unnecessary information that didn't add to the great twist. If there was time, I would lose Cally and just focus on Madison and Brianna. The underlying moral of the story is there along with some pretty disturbing truths and this is what kept me engaged. The timing of this release is good as we just saw the release of some influencer documentaries hit popular streaming services.

Pub Date: 5/27/25
I gave this one 3 loaves of sourdough 🍞🍞🍞

This one started really slowly, i didn't like the POV of Cally at first. Then once I continued reading it I really enjoyed it and finished it within 2 days.

This book is DARK and heavy on women hating themes. So triggger warning for people who are affected by ridiculous sexism. It was still a delicious thriller with outrageous twists and turns and could very possibly leave the door open for a future sequel. It has the darkness of “A Simple Favor” and a touch of Gossip Girl to make it extra juicy. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.