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acohen990's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
chelseakasten's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The idea of the Wife App is quirky. A lot of this book was a relatively light-hearted take on the very true idea of mental load and “wife” burden, and honestly it worked when it was being light and focused on the app. But it felt clunky in a lot of places and like too much was being shoehorned in.
There were multiple bare-boned threads about wealth equity that were so poorly worked in and minimally considered that it felt more insulting than just acknowledging that this app is for wealthy people to use and not-wealthy people to take on more mental loads for money.
Also, this is a personal preference, but I totally checked out around the 80% mark when the “new” personal stories were being wrapped up. I didn’t care at all about any of the new love stories; they were so peripheral and felt so forced. I actually mostly skipped Sophie’s final and Lauren’s next-to-final chapters. Sophie andBeatrice? Come on. I was already over the possibility of that happening when I caught the thread as soon as Beatrice was introduced. And then they BUY A HOUSE TOGETHER after being together for like 2 months? Truly an insult to Sophie’s character. The ending really damaged a lot of the good will I had towards this book.
There were multiple bare-boned threads about wealth equity that were so poorly worked in and minimally considered that it felt more insulting than just acknowledging that this app is for wealthy people to use and not-wealthy people to take on more mental loads for money.
Also, this is a personal preference, but I totally checked out around the 80% mark when the “new” personal stories were being wrapped up. I didn’t care at all about any of the new love stories; they were so peripheral and felt so forced. I actually mostly skipped Sophie’s final and Lauren’s next-to-final chapters. Sophie and
laurenscholle's review
4.0
surprise gay ending slay. this is a cool concept and made me glad I’m not in a heterosexual relationship. I liked the characters, too.
ashleyraemc's review
4.0
I really liked this! Seeing the title and cover on NetGalley immediately grabbed my attention. I'm so happy and grateful I was approved for the arc.
I am not a wife or mother, but Mackler writes in a way that even if you cannot personally relate to the characters, it's easy to see parts of the wives and mothers in your own life in Mackler's book. Something else I enjoyed was learning the ins and outs of how the women made the app. I also think all three of the leading three women had very unique personalities despite being similar on the surface. Sophie was my favorite character.
Overall this was a fun, lighthearted read while still bringing up the lack of recognization for the people primarily in charge of the second shift.
I am not a wife or mother, but Mackler writes in a way that even if you cannot personally relate to the characters, it's easy to see parts of the wives and mothers in your own life in Mackler's book. Something else I enjoyed was learning the ins and outs of how the women made the app. I also think all three of the leading three women had very unique personalities despite being similar on the surface. Sophie was my favorite character.
Overall this was a fun, lighthearted read while still bringing up the lack of recognization for the people primarily in charge of the second shift.
rendermespeechless's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Don't take your wife for granted. Three friends are divorced and come up with an idea to create the wife app. It is a feel good story.
lisakerd's review
2.0
This is one of those stories where the great idea didn’t translate into a great book. I enjoyed the first third of the book, then it feel meandering, directionless, and trying to cover too much ground (tackle lots of different topics).
There was also a lot more logistical detail about the creation of an app than I thought was needed for a chick-lit novel.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC
There was also a lot more logistical detail about the creation of an app than I thought was needed for a chick-lit novel.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC
foxy_llama15's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
gcawiezell's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
michelem's review
I haven't picked this book up in a year. Maybe I'll try again someday. Just wasn't super interesting.
bargainsleuth's review
4.0
For this and other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com
Madeleine is a trust-fund baby who also has an amicable divorce and is devoted to her daughter, Sophie is a divorced teacher and mother to two sons, one of whom has issues. Lauren is a newly divorced mother of two girls and is also a web developer. She divorced her husband because she found out he was paying for hand jobs from some random women. And that’s when she gets a brilliant idea.
If only there were an app that could outsource all the thankless jobs wives and moms are traditionally saddled with. So Lauren develops the Wife App, which offers any spouse service besides sex. She pours almost all of her divorce settlement into the app and is interested in finding backers. Sophie, Lauren and Madeleine start out as the first “spouses,” and the app has a soft launch with just a few New York zip codes being offered.
The app gets off to a great start, and the author does a good job of showing how these women balance their personal and professional lives. As the app becomes more successful, additional spouses are hired to take on additional work. There are quite a few conversations about class and privilege, and the women decide to offer a sliding scale for payment.
The success and expansion of the app still has the trio looking for a big-time investor, and they each have to deal with their burgeoning romantic lives, too. I have to admit there were a couple of random sex scenes that seemed forced and weren’t needed; however, I can see how the author might need to show the women express a sense of empowerment in all aspects of their life, including their sex life.
The book kind of dragged during the last 20%, but all came to a satisfying conclusion. I especially like Sophie’s resolution. It wasn’t unexpected because of foreshadowing, but found it a nice twist to the story.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Madeleine is a trust-fund baby who also has an amicable divorce and is devoted to her daughter, Sophie is a divorced teacher and mother to two sons, one of whom has issues. Lauren is a newly divorced mother of two girls and is also a web developer. She divorced her husband because she found out he was paying for hand jobs from some random women. And that’s when she gets a brilliant idea.
If only there were an app that could outsource all the thankless jobs wives and moms are traditionally saddled with. So Lauren develops the Wife App, which offers any spouse service besides sex. She pours almost all of her divorce settlement into the app and is interested in finding backers. Sophie, Lauren and Madeleine start out as the first “spouses,” and the app has a soft launch with just a few New York zip codes being offered.
The app gets off to a great start, and the author does a good job of showing how these women balance their personal and professional lives. As the app becomes more successful, additional spouses are hired to take on additional work. There are quite a few conversations about class and privilege, and the women decide to offer a sliding scale for payment.
The success and expansion of the app still has the trio looking for a big-time investor, and they each have to deal with their burgeoning romantic lives, too. I have to admit there were a couple of random sex scenes that seemed forced and weren’t needed; however, I can see how the author might need to show the women express a sense of empowerment in all aspects of their life, including their sex life.
The book kind of dragged during the last 20%, but all came to a satisfying conclusion. I especially like Sophie’s resolution. It wasn’t unexpected because of foreshadowing, but found it a nice twist to the story.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.