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The Trad Wife
The perfect wife. The perfect life. The perfect nightmare.
Faith is a beautiful 'trad wife' social media star with a beefcake husband, five cute kids and millions of followers of their picture-perfect life.
When they employ English content creator Melissa to promote their brand she has no idea what she has signed up for.
Behind the veneer of domestic bliss lies a nightmare - and she will be lucky to escape with her life.
A twisty, darkly comic thriller perfect for fans of Bella Mackie and Julie Cohen.
Faith is a beautiful 'trad wife' social media star with a beefcake husband, five cute kids and millions of followers of their picture-perfect life.
When they employ English content creator Melissa to promote their brand she has no idea what she has signed up for.
Behind the veneer of domestic bliss lies a nightmare - and she will be lucky to escape with her life.
A twisty, darkly comic thriller perfect for fans of Bella Mackie and Julie Cohen.
339 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 7, 2026
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May 8, 2026
Melissa's not living the trad wife life, not by a long shot—she's a single mother to a seven-year-old, living a fast-paced life in New York, and occasionally self-soothing by watching trad wife social media content. She even has a small-scale podcast on which she discusses not being a trad wife but trying to bring some of that vibe into her own life. Her favorite content creator is Faith, a woman living with her husband and six kids in rural Utah...and when Faith offers Melissa a job, well, it's too good an opportunity to pass up.
Except, of course, everyone has ulterior motives...not least Melissa.
Now. I went down a trad wife book rabbit hole recently, and this is one of the places I landed. This is not the first trad wife thriller I have read, and it won't be the last, and while it is fascinating to me that so many of these thrillers seem to have basically the same premise (podcaster/journalist investigates ballerinafarm-inspired influencer), that broader discussion will have to wait...because I have a whole (virtual) pile of books titled some variation of "The Trad Wife" to get through. And oh but I cannot tell you how excited I am to be able to discuss all of these as a batch.
But I digress. We're not there yet. In this particular narrative, Melissa is skeptical...to a point. From early on in the book, it's clear that she has something of a parasocial relationship with Faith; they've never met, but despite what Melissa knows about the realities of conservative religion and the lives of women whose freedom is curtailed by men, she idealizes Faith's more "wholesome", rural life: that Faith bakes her own bread, that her children never seem to throw tantrums, and on it goes.
It was clear to me early on that Melissa was maybe not...making the best decisions. She has reasons to want to leave her New York life, yes. She also has reasons to want to get close to Faith. But once she's actually out in Utah, her freedoms disappearing one by one (or perhaps dozen by dozen), she's deeply passive. Shut down her podcast? Okay, whatever, she can start it again later. Hired for videography and editing, but her duties include cow-milking? Well, okay, everyone has to pitch in. Shamed for buying store-bought dairy products and told to drink unpasteurized milk? Well, Faith does look healthy... Hand her child over for unaccredited homeschooling that mostly consists of force-feeding religion down the kids' throats? No biggie, they'll just listed to some extra Taylor Swift. Not allowed to learn to drive? Well! She'll have to put her foot down about that!
Now, there's a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek—there's a reference to the Australia mushroom murders, for example, and of course the whole thing is heavily inspired by, well, social media trends of today. (See: unpasteurized milk. Y'all, pasteurization is literally just heating up milk to kill off bad bacteria. Save yourself and your kids from potential, and potentially dangerous, food poisoning!) But Melissa is also maybe not the brightest bulb in the box, and by the time she realizes that every other adult on the property also has ulterior motives, she's in way deeper than she'd expected.
Melissa reads to me as, if not unhinged, having a screw or two loose—but as the book goes on it becomes clearer that a loose screw or two still puts her among the more stable adults around. I could have used, umm, a few more screwdrivers to go around, I think; the book escalates quickly, and gets a lot darker than I expected (except, still fast, so it didn't feel dark so much as a lot).
Content warnings for this one will likely be spoilery, so I'll put them in spoiler tags, but if you're someone for whom content warnings influence reading decisions, I'd consider checking them first anyway. So:
So where does that leave us...? This is the third book in this general vein that I've read to date (see Yesteryear and Her Beautiful Life), and it's not my favorite. But it's doing some very specific things, and I am genuinely fascinated by the sudden appearance of this subgenre...and eager to see where other books on the topic go with it.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
Except, of course, everyone has ulterior motives...not least Melissa.
Now. I went down a trad wife book rabbit hole recently, and this is one of the places I landed. This is not the first trad wife thriller I have read, and it won't be the last, and while it is fascinating to me that so many of these thrillers seem to have basically the same premise (podcaster/journalist investigates ballerinafarm-inspired influencer), that broader discussion will have to wait...because I have a whole (virtual) pile of books titled some variation of "The Trad Wife" to get through. And oh but I cannot tell you how excited I am to be able to discuss all of these as a batch.
But I digress. We're not there yet. In this particular narrative, Melissa is skeptical...to a point. From early on in the book, it's clear that she has something of a parasocial relationship with Faith; they've never met, but despite what Melissa knows about the realities of conservative religion and the lives of women whose freedom is curtailed by men, she idealizes Faith's more "wholesome", rural life: that Faith bakes her own bread, that her children never seem to throw tantrums, and on it goes.
It was clear to me early on that Melissa was maybe not...making the best decisions. She has reasons to want to leave her New York life, yes. She also has reasons to want to get close to Faith. But once she's actually out in Utah, her freedoms disappearing one by one (or perhaps dozen by dozen), she's deeply passive. Shut down her podcast? Okay, whatever, she can start it again later. Hired for videography and editing, but her duties include cow-milking? Well, okay, everyone has to pitch in. Shamed for buying store-bought dairy products and told to drink unpasteurized milk? Well, Faith does look healthy... Hand her child over for unaccredited homeschooling that mostly consists of force-feeding religion down the kids' throats? No biggie, they'll just listed to some extra Taylor Swift. Not allowed to learn to drive? Well! She'll have to put her foot down about that!
Now, there's a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek—there's a reference to the Australia mushroom murders, for example, and of course the whole thing is heavily inspired by, well, social media trends of today. (See: unpasteurized milk. Y'all, pasteurization is literally just heating up milk to kill off bad bacteria. Save yourself and your kids from potential, and potentially dangerous, food poisoning!) But Melissa is also maybe not the brightest bulb in the box, and by the time she realizes that every other adult on the property also has ulterior motives, she's in way deeper than she'd expected.
Melissa reads to me as, if not unhinged, having a screw or two loose—but as the book goes on it becomes clearer that a loose screw or two still puts her among the more stable adults around. I could have used, umm, a few more screwdrivers to go around, I think; the book escalates quickly, and gets a lot darker than I expected (except, still fast, so it didn't feel dark so much as a lot).
Content warnings for this one will likely be spoilery, so I'll put them in spoiler tags, but if you're someone for whom content warnings influence reading decisions, I'd consider checking them first anyway. So:
So where does that leave us...? This is the third book in this general vein that I've read to date (see Yesteryear and Her Beautiful Life), and it's not my favorite. But it's doing some very specific things, and I am genuinely fascinated by the sudden appearance of this subgenre...and eager to see where other books on the topic go with it.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
DNF at 50%
This one just didn’t work for me.
I made it about halfway before deciding to call it quits, mainly because the pacing felt very slow. At 50%, it didn’t feel like much had actually happened, which made it hard to stay engaged.
The FMC also really tested my patience. Watching her allow herself and her daughter to be treated the way they were was frustrating, and I just couldn’t connect with her character.
I also wasn’t expecting the heavy religious elements, and that ended up being a big miss for me. Had I known going in, I probably would have skipped this one altogether.
This was marketed as a darkly comic crime novel, but by the halfway point I hadn’t really seen much comedy or crime, which made it feel even more disappointing.
Overall, just not a fit for me.
This one just didn’t work for me.
I made it about halfway before deciding to call it quits, mainly because the pacing felt very slow. At 50%, it didn’t feel like much had actually happened, which made it hard to stay engaged.
The FMC also really tested my patience. Watching her allow herself and her daughter to be treated the way they were was frustrating, and I just couldn’t connect with her character.
I also wasn’t expecting the heavy religious elements, and that ended up being a big miss for me. Had I known going in, I probably would have skipped this one altogether.
This was marketed as a darkly comic crime novel, but by the halfway point I hadn’t really seen much comedy or crime, which made it feel even more disappointing.
Overall, just not a fit for me.
Read
May 27, 20263,5 Stars
📗The Trad Wife
✍️ Carrie Hughes
🗓️ May 7
🎯 Slow burn domestic thriller, instagram persona vs. reality, insight into Mormon community
Have you ever been enchanted by a trad wife online?
📗Faith Eversen is the epitome of a trad wife with a large follower group who shares bits and pieces of her cinematic life on the Lavender Field Ranch. As a Mormon, she is submissive to patriarchy, where her husband Marty Eversen is the undisputed head of the community.
Melissa Fairbrock, a harried single mum from NY is obsessed with Faith’s content and schedules a meeting to interview her as a journalist.
Following the interview, Faith offers Melissa a job as a social media consultant. Though Melissa turned away from church, she‘d finally have more time with her daughter Willow.
Sounds pretty straightforward, right?
⚡️Only, if there wasn’t a dark truth beneath Faith Eversen‘s homespun persona.
And only, if Melissa hadn’t any ulterior motive to infiltrate the inner circle of Faith and Marty with her co-conspirator!
🕸️A web of lies and deception is ahead of the readers who tap into the trad wife universe in a Mormon community.
The premise is great regarding trad wife + social media. The delivery left room for improvement ;)
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
📗The Trad Wife
✍️ Carrie Hughes
🗓️ May 7
🎯 Slow burn domestic thriller, instagram persona vs. reality, insight into Mormon community
Have you ever been enchanted by a trad wife online?
📗Faith Eversen is the epitome of a trad wife with a large follower group who shares bits and pieces of her cinematic life on the Lavender Field Ranch. As a Mormon, she is submissive to patriarchy, where her husband Marty Eversen is the undisputed head of the community.
Melissa Fairbrock, a harried single mum from NY is obsessed with Faith’s content and schedules a meeting to interview her as a journalist.
Following the interview, Faith offers Melissa a job as a social media consultant. Though Melissa turned away from church, she‘d finally have more time with her daughter Willow.
Sounds pretty straightforward, right?
⚡️Only, if there wasn’t a dark truth beneath Faith Eversen‘s homespun persona.
And only, if Melissa hadn’t any ulterior motive to infiltrate the inner circle of Faith and Marty with her co-conspirator!
🕸️A web of lies and deception is ahead of the readers who tap into the trad wife universe in a Mormon community.
The premise is great regarding trad wife + social media. The delivery left room for improvement ;)
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
June 5, 2026
Carrie Hughes’ The Trad Wife is a brilliant, biting, and surprisingly layered exploration of the digital age, a sharp-witted critique of influencer culture.
I found the audio version of the book, and I’m really glad I did. Beth Lilly’s narration is superb; she captures the cadence of the social-media-obsessed world and the heart of Melissa. Ms. Hughes delivers a narrative whose tone is consistently fun and incredibly witty—and Beth Lilly nails that—keeping the momentum high even as the story begins to peel back the polished layers of “perfect” online lives. And then I really enjoyed how the story pivots from a more lighthearted murder-mystery romp into a subject matter that is far more serious and chilling than the premise first suggests. It is a deft balancing act that effectively exposes the darker realities often hidden behind any lens.
As some reviews have noted, you may have to be a little forgiving regarding the protagonist, Melissa. At times, her willingness to be drawn into certain situations feels a bit naive given the circumstances, and it requires a degree of suspension of disbelief to fully commit to her choices. But if you’re willing to lean into that premise, the resulting ride is an absolute blast.
This is a sharp, timely, and thoroughly entertaining cautionary tale. For anyone interested in the intersection of vulnerability and digital performativity, this is a must-listen that manages to be both thought-provoking and deliciously addictive.
I found the audio version of the book, and I’m really glad I did. Beth Lilly’s narration is superb; she captures the cadence of the social-media-obsessed world and the heart of Melissa. Ms. Hughes delivers a narrative whose tone is consistently fun and incredibly witty—and Beth Lilly nails that—keeping the momentum high even as the story begins to peel back the polished layers of “perfect” online lives. And then I really enjoyed how the story pivots from a more lighthearted murder-mystery romp into a subject matter that is far more serious and chilling than the premise first suggests. It is a deft balancing act that effectively exposes the darker realities often hidden behind any lens.
As some reviews have noted, you may have to be a little forgiving regarding the protagonist, Melissa. At times, her willingness to be drawn into certain situations feels a bit naive given the circumstances, and it requires a degree of suspension of disbelief to fully commit to her choices. But if you’re willing to lean into that premise, the resulting ride is an absolute blast.
This is a sharp, timely, and thoroughly entertaining cautionary tale. For anyone interested in the intersection of vulnerability and digital performativity, this is a must-listen that manages to be both thought-provoking and deliciously addictive.
May 20, 2026
Witty, fun, and well written. I especially enjoyed all the female characters in this book. very clever.
May 18, 2026
🧺🔪 The Trad Wife 🔪🧺
This one just wasn’t a good fit for me unfortunately. I really struggled with the writing style and felt like I had to force myself through the book the entire time.
I even tried listening to the audiobook and while I did enjoy the narration, I still didn’t enjoy the writing style.
Other readers might still enjoy this more than I did.
🖤 What to Expect
• Trad wife
• Social media influencers
• Domestic bliss
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: May 7, 2026
📝 Thank you to Hera Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
This one just wasn’t a good fit for me unfortunately. I really struggled with the writing style and felt like I had to force myself through the book the entire time.
I even tried listening to the audiobook and while I did enjoy the narration, I still didn’t enjoy the writing style.
Other readers might still enjoy this more than I did.
🖤 What to Expect
• Trad wife
• Social media influencers
• Domestic bliss
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: May 7, 2026
📝 Thank you to Hera Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
May 10, 2026
2.5 ⭐️ started off with a lot of promise, finished like a standard thriller
April 10, 2026
Thank you Hera Books and NetGalley for this ARC, coming out May 7th.
I’ve been fascinated by the trad wife movement for a while now, so I was genuinely excited to pick this one up.
Faith is living the picture-perfect trad wife life in rural Utah. Melissa, a single mum and social media marketing expert, is carrying secrets of her own. When Melissa is lured into working for Faith, she uproots her life and moves with her daughter from New York to Utah.
Then there’s Marty, Faith’s husband, a man with a full-blown god complex who has built his own little kingdom of patriarchy and self-importance. Honestly, the way he talks about himself gives very strong “certain president who thinks he’s the best at everything” energy. Subtle? Not remotely.
This is a gripping story about trad wife culture, patriarchy, control, and the influence of Mormonism. What really worked for me was the way the book explored manipulation, indoctrination, and the mental games at play. I also loved the snippets of Marty’s and Faith’s thoughts at the end of certain chapters - they added an extra layer of tension and made the whole thing feel even more unsettling.
What could have been stronger for me was Melissa’s reason for going to the farm in the first place. The blackmail angle felt a little stretched, and I would have liked more of her backstory and upbringing, especially because her past feels so essential to understanding her choices. Melissa is flawed, which I actually liked, but she makes a series of frustrating decisions despite knowing exactly what kind of situation she’s walking into, particularly given her childhood.
That said, I was completely hooked. I genuinely enjoyed trying to work out who was orchestrating everything — Marty or Faith? And the ending gave the story the closure it needed.
Overall, this was a solid 4 to 4.5 star read for me. The fact that I stayed up reading until 5am says plenty.
I’ve been fascinated by the trad wife movement for a while now, so I was genuinely excited to pick this one up.
Faith is living the picture-perfect trad wife life in rural Utah. Melissa, a single mum and social media marketing expert, is carrying secrets of her own. When Melissa is lured into working for Faith, she uproots her life and moves with her daughter from New York to Utah.
Then there’s Marty, Faith’s husband, a man with a full-blown god complex who has built his own little kingdom of patriarchy and self-importance. Honestly, the way he talks about himself gives very strong “certain president who thinks he’s the best at everything” energy. Subtle? Not remotely.
This is a gripping story about trad wife culture, patriarchy, control, and the influence of Mormonism. What really worked for me was the way the book explored manipulation, indoctrination, and the mental games at play. I also loved the snippets of Marty’s and Faith’s thoughts at the end of certain chapters - they added an extra layer of tension and made the whole thing feel even more unsettling.
What could have been stronger for me was Melissa’s reason for going to the farm in the first place. The blackmail angle felt a little stretched, and I would have liked more of her backstory and upbringing, especially because her past feels so essential to understanding her choices. Melissa is flawed, which I actually liked, but she makes a series of frustrating decisions despite knowing exactly what kind of situation she’s walking into, particularly given her childhood.
That said, I was completely hooked. I genuinely enjoyed trying to work out who was orchestrating everything — Marty or Faith? And the ending gave the story the closure it needed.
Overall, this was a solid 4 to 4.5 star read for me. The fact that I stayed up reading until 5am says plenty.
May 31, 2026
2.5 ⭐️ Hopping on the trad wife trope at the minute and it’s fair to say I love the trope! however this thriller didn’t give me everything I wanted it to give, I felt like the pace was too slow and the main female character was insufferable because she never made the right decisions and wasted everyone’s time- like what do you mean you wouldn’t get your daughter out of there ASAP? like I understand she was running from her life outside, but willingly allowing a cult to override her child?? absolutely not
May 31, 2026
Literalmente vino tu hija diciendo cosas como “si no rezas vas a arder en el infierno” y vos… estas okay con eso? Literalmente no hay red flag mas grande.
Odie lo tonta que era la protagonista. Salí de ahí boludaaa
Pero me entretuvo y estuvo bueno el voice acting del audiolibro
Odie lo tonta que era la protagonista. Salí de ahí boludaaa
Pero me entretuvo y estuvo bueno el voice acting del audiolibro
June 2, 2026
This book is what I expected when I read Yesteryear. I found this intriguing and entertaining. It was a very enjoyable read.
May 20, 2026
Meh.
I hated the ending. The wrap up was too neat for my taste.
I hated the ending. The wrap up was too neat for my taste.
June 9, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🎧
Not a new concept but delicious nonetheless!
Not a new concept but delicious nonetheless!
May 18, 2026
Most of this was simply… boring. The trill, suspense, and mystery just was not there for me up until around the 80% mark. The FMC just kept making such awful choices that I could not root for her.
June 5, 2026
Why, why, WHY did I not check to see if I had read anything from this author before? Had I done so, I wouldn’t have wasted my time on this one. What a mess of a plot. It’s like she changed her mind 1/3 of the way through and decided to go a different direction without re-writing the start. It’s just awful. The kind of awful that has you yelling at the author every other page asking WHAT ON EARTH was she smoking while writing this.
June 13, 2026
I had a few issues with this book. It was overly cliche and predictable. It was trying way too hard to be a Frieda McFadden novel. It also felt oddly disrespectful.
Look, I’m not a Mormon, but I still felt like the criticism of religion was unfair and overly negative. It felt disrespectful and overly stereotypical because it didn’t offer a balanced portrayal of what the LDS church is actually like vs the book’s portrayal of the LDS church through the lens of patriarchy, control, manipulation, and cult-like dynamics.
Look, I’m not a Mormon, but I still felt like the criticism of religion was unfair and overly negative. It felt disrespectful and overly stereotypical because it didn’t offer a balanced portrayal of what the LDS church is actually like vs the book’s portrayal of the LDS church through the lens of patriarchy, control, manipulation, and cult-like dynamics.
June 9, 2026
This is truly a horribly written story. It was so disconnected. It was like a plot outline got chopped up and mixed around. Characters appear half way through that the reader is supposed to know (Zack!?) and other characters that were introduced early in the story as important disappear. How did the aunt and dad even meet the brothers? US v UK. Where is the brother now if he was so central to the story. Just out there. Someone should have at least run it through AI for plot holes. Also I won’t even touch the poorly researched Mormon background to the story. Not worth the time.
May 26, 2026
I must confess, so it seems that the whole new Trad Wife trend passed me by somehow. Nevertheless, the synopsis to "The Trad Wife" had me immediately at the beginning and the cover was also promising and so I started reading it.
I expected something totally different. Well, "a twisty, darkly comic thriller". At least. Sadly, nope. I was so incredibly bored by this book. I kept reading, because "didn't finish" is not an option for me lately, I just feel obliged to read the book I requested till the end. I will never get my precious time back.
This book felt so surreal. The more I read, the more surreal, like a story full of errors. It was faster and faster and when the characters discovered a new word, for example "honey", they repeated it all the time. Oh, and "Patriarchy". The MC Melissa was so, so weak, the only thing she did was promising revenge and that she's going to escape and... nothing. Absolutely passive. Closing the podcast? Okay, for the time being. Cow milking? Well, why not. Not being able to close her own doors? She'll take care of this. Nope. She didn't. The red herrings that were probably supposed to make me gasp for air left me absolutely disinterested. And then everything so, so lovely and neat at the end... There were many triggers, but on the whole they all felt so forced and simply unrealstic that I didn't fell for them.
I tried. But this book is not made for me.
I expected something totally different. Well, "a twisty, darkly comic thriller". At least. Sadly, nope. I was so incredibly bored by this book. I kept reading, because "didn't finish" is not an option for me lately, I just feel obliged to read the book I requested till the end. I will never get my precious time back.
This book felt so surreal. The more I read, the more surreal, like a story full of errors. It was faster and faster and when the characters discovered a new word, for example "honey", they repeated it all the time. Oh, and "Patriarchy". The MC Melissa was so, so weak, the only thing she did was promising revenge and that she's going to escape and... nothing. Absolutely passive. Closing the podcast? Okay, for the time being. Cow milking? Well, why not. Not being able to close her own doors? She'll take care of this. Nope. She didn't. The red herrings that were probably supposed to make me gasp for air left me absolutely disinterested. And then everything so, so lovely and neat at the end... There were many triggers, but on the whole they all felt so forced and simply unrealstic that I didn't fell for them.
I tried. But this book is not made for me.
June 6, 2026
This not good at all. Uninspired, unoriginal and unbelievable. I don’t think the author understands much about the FLDS. The plot is ridiculous and uninformed. It’s free on audible for a reason.
April 6, 2026
Huge thank you to Hera Books, NetGalley, and Carrie Hughes for trusting me with my very first ARC in exchange for an honest review! Such an honor and pleasure (especially since I loved it!)
As a working mom and wife, the whole “trad wife” trend has always been… complicated for me. Equal parts fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating in the way that “how/why do people gravitate towards this?!” and frustrating in how oppressive and regressive it all is. And this book? It taps into that tension so well.
Hughes does an incredible job planting early seeds of unease, especially when it comes to Marty. You know something is off, but the way it slowly unfolds keeps you locked in and needing to know more. It’s definitely a slow burn, but the short chapters help the pacing, and WOW… that ending absolutely explodes. For me, the buildup was 100% worth it. Just wish we got more Joel time 😉😂
Melissa enters the story thinking she’s there to expose Marty’s past… but she has no idea how dark and disturbing his present really is.
This story dives deep into deception, control, cult dynamics, religion, and the curated illusion of social media all wrapped in a thrilling dark humored critique of the trad wife trend and its oppressive, regressive undertones. A gripping, unsettling slow burn with a finale that makes it all click.
Pub Date: May 7 2026
As a working mom and wife, the whole “trad wife” trend has always been… complicated for me. Equal parts fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating in the way that “how/why do people gravitate towards this?!” and frustrating in how oppressive and regressive it all is. And this book? It taps into that tension so well.
Hughes does an incredible job planting early seeds of unease, especially when it comes to Marty. You know something is off, but the way it slowly unfolds keeps you locked in and needing to know more. It’s definitely a slow burn, but the short chapters help the pacing, and WOW… that ending absolutely explodes. For me, the buildup was 100% worth it. Just wish we got more Joel time 😉😂
Melissa enters the story thinking she’s there to expose Marty’s past… but she has no idea how dark and disturbing his present really is.
This story dives deep into deception, control, cult dynamics, religion, and the curated illusion of social media all wrapped in a thrilling dark humored critique of the trad wife trend and its oppressive, regressive undertones. A gripping, unsettling slow burn with a finale that makes it all click.
Pub Date: May 7 2026
May 23, 2026
If you think it is going to get better, it doesn’t.
April 9, 2026
I fear the trad wife trope has me in a chokehold. So naturally, I had to pick this one up. Melissa was the only perspective in this, and she was an interesting character to be in the mind of. One minute I was rooting for her, then the next I was shaking my head at the dumb decisions she was making and dragging her daughter along for the ride. You can tell that Melissa had ulterior motives, and I wanted to know why. When you see the behind the scenes of the ranch, you can tell that things clearly aren’t perfect as they are made to be on social media.
Faith was also an interesting character, but I didn’t trust her at all. You didn’t know what was behind the veneer that she not only showed social media, but even with Melissa. As the book went on, you can slowly see the cracks behind her “perfect” facade. I thought I knew where the story was going, but in the last 95% of the book I was proven wrong. The conclusion shocked me in the best way, because me being the thriller queen I was so sure I had it figured out. Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and recommend this to readers who enjoy a strong atmosphere, revenge, secrets and underlying tension.
Faith was also an interesting character, but I didn’t trust her at all. You didn’t know what was behind the veneer that she not only showed social media, but even with Melissa. As the book went on, you can slowly see the cracks behind her “perfect” facade. I thought I knew where the story was going, but in the last 95% of the book I was proven wrong. The conclusion shocked me in the best way, because me being the thriller queen I was so sure I had it figured out. Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and recommend this to readers who enjoy a strong atmosphere, revenge, secrets and underlying tension.
May 3, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm actually super torn about giving this a low rating because I think it's better than I'm giving it credit for but MAN were the flaws prominent imo. I think a lot of people will like this way more than I did.
The pros: The meat and potatoes of this book is honestly fantastic. By that I mean the commentary on Mormonism and the trad wife trend (and their intersection), of course. I've never been Mormon but I went to school with many when I was in Arizona, and from my knowledge, this is a very good critique of both the religion and tradwives. The villains are phenomenal—I don't think its a spoiler to say Marty is one, and he was genuinely unsettling. I loved that he was treated as the creepy villain he is. I wasn't a huge fan of Melissa's voice, but I loved her as a character, and I loved Willow and their relationship, especially how it was tested. And while they (obviously) have less time in the story, I loved the other people in Melissa's life, too (Beverly, Alexandra, Eric, Joel, etc). Once the story really got going (about a third of the way through), it was frequently quite gripping and often got very intense, especially near the end. And I want to give a special shoutout to Faith, because how could I not mention the titular trad wife herself! I love the versions of her we see, I love the stages of understanding her that we and Melissa go through. I found her fascinating!!
The cons: I feel the need to point out that someone (not a child) says "fricking bitch" completely unironically in this book. But anyway. Part of this is on me; I'm realizing I don't really like thrillers. But I especially don't like bad thrillers, and I feel that this is. We get information around a third of the way through that is meant to be a recontextualization, an interesting plot twist—but it isn't. It just means Melissa, despite being in a close 1st Person, has been lying to us for the first third of the book. This twist is cheap and only gets cheaper when we learn more about it. Not to mention the absolutely relentless drops of Melissa's Secret Mission and What She Knows About Marty, and so on. I swear to god, for a while, it's every single chapter. Another Bad Thriller Thing I hate is having like eight twists at the very end. This doesn't have that many, but it does have like three in quick succession, and it felt super cheap to me. Aside from that, there is a small romance aspect in this that (rightfully) never takes center stage, but it is insta-attraction followed some time later with a makeout session that had absolutely no buildup. Every now and then we get a section in italics that's not from Melissa, and these do absolutely nothing to serve the story. As a matter of fact, they detract from it. I can't remember the number of times I was actually interested only to have the tension ruined by these little asides just saying shit and ruining the suspense. One of the villains is even kind of ruined for me by these little asides, shifting them from the master manipulator they're said to be to just kind of mustache-twirling and full of shit. I also wasn't a huge fan of how Melissa is kind of the Only Good Woman in this book. I kind of get it, it's far from the top of my list of grievances, but it didn't sit right with me. To top it all off, this book ends with disaster (in the fun way), and then it is all wrapped up nicely in a bow—in the epilogue. We just get a real fast summary of what happened afterward. No scenes, just telling. What an ending.
Overall, this book had a good core, and I think other people will like it more than I did.
I'm actually super torn about giving this a low rating because I think it's better than I'm giving it credit for but MAN were the flaws prominent imo. I think a lot of people will like this way more than I did.
The pros: The meat and potatoes of this book is honestly fantastic. By that I mean the commentary on Mormonism and the trad wife trend (and their intersection), of course. I've never been Mormon but I went to school with many when I was in Arizona, and from my knowledge, this is a very good critique of both the religion and tradwives. The villains are phenomenal—I don't think its a spoiler to say Marty is one, and he was genuinely unsettling. I loved that he was treated as the creepy villain he is. I wasn't a huge fan of Melissa's voice, but I loved her as a character, and I loved Willow and their relationship, especially how it was tested. And while they (obviously) have less time in the story, I loved the other people in Melissa's life, too (Beverly, Alexandra, Eric, Joel, etc). Once the story really got going (about a third of the way through), it was frequently quite gripping and often got very intense, especially near the end. And I want to give a special shoutout to Faith, because how could I not mention the titular trad wife herself! I love the versions of her we see, I love the stages of understanding her that we and Melissa go through. I found her fascinating!!
The cons: I feel the need to point out that someone (not a child) says "fricking bitch" completely unironically in this book. But anyway. Part of this is on me; I'm realizing I don't really like thrillers. But I especially don't like bad thrillers, and I feel that this is. We get information around a third of the way through that is meant to be a recontextualization, an interesting plot twist—but it isn't. It just means Melissa, despite being in a close 1st Person, has been lying to us for the first third of the book. This twist is cheap and only gets cheaper when we learn more about it. Not to mention the absolutely relentless drops of Melissa's Secret Mission and What She Knows About Marty, and so on. I swear to god, for a while, it's every single chapter. Another Bad Thriller Thing I hate is having like eight twists at the very end. This doesn't have that many, but it does have like three in quick succession, and it felt super cheap to me. Aside from that, there is a small romance aspect in this that (rightfully) never takes center stage, but it is insta-attraction followed some time later with a makeout session that had absolutely no buildup. Every now and then we get a section in italics that's not from Melissa, and these do absolutely nothing to serve the story. As a matter of fact, they detract from it. I can't remember the number of times I was actually interested only to have the tension ruined by these little asides just saying shit and ruining the suspense. One of the villains is even kind of ruined for me by these little asides, shifting them from the master manipulator they're said to be to just kind of mustache-twirling and full of shit. I also wasn't a huge fan of how Melissa is kind of the Only Good Woman in this book. I kind of get it, it's far from the top of my list of grievances, but it didn't sit right with me. To top it all off, this book ends with disaster (in the fun way), and then it is all wrapped up nicely in a bow—in the epilogue. We just get a real fast summary of what happened afterward. No scenes, just telling. What an ending.
Overall, this book had a good core, and I think other people will like it more than I did.
May 25, 2026
This is the sleeper trad-wife hit that actually gets to some of the root motivations of how and why women might be primed to live the dichotomy that is trad-wife content creation. And let me be extra clear about the level of detail happening inside these pages: this book is speaking inside baseball. (If the author isn’t LDS or LDS-adjacent, she has done exceptional research. The nuggets she deftly tucks inside the text are manifold!)
It is unquestionably based on the image of Ballerina Farm, while also not being about them at all. It is unflinchingly about Mormonism and the LDS Church, while not being about the religion as such. It’s a fictional imagining of power, domination, and belief wielded as a weapon.
Carrie Hughes paints the portrait of domesticity, so appealing and serene, yet also deeply unbelievable. Melissa snags a coveted interview slot and leaves NYC for the farm-life out west, her young daughter in tow. Things begin to turn dark - quickly.
Objectively, this book has some hurdles. A lot of Melissa’s backstory and primary motivations for the interview trip come rather late in the plot, which doesn’t necessarily help build her character arc. I predicted the plot twist after about two interactions on the ranch. Faith is a fascinating character, and I do think the book helps get to her motivations better than Melissa’s. And as many reviewers have noted, the ending is short and swift. It’s related after the fact to the reader, rather than shown as it happens, and that removes a lot of emotional potential for all the characters.
It is unquestionably based on the image of Ballerina Farm, while also not being about them at all. It is unflinchingly about Mormonism and the LDS Church, while not being about the religion as such. It’s a fictional imagining of power, domination, and belief wielded as a weapon.
Carrie Hughes paints the portrait of domesticity, so appealing and serene, yet also deeply unbelievable. Melissa snags a coveted interview slot and leaves NYC for the farm-life out west, her young daughter in tow. Things begin to turn dark - quickly.
Objectively, this book has some hurdles. A lot of Melissa’s backstory and primary motivations for the interview trip come rather late in the plot, which doesn’t necessarily help build her character arc. I predicted the plot twist after about two interactions on the ranch. Faith is a fascinating character, and I do think the book helps get to her motivations better than Melissa’s. And as many reviewers have noted, the ending is short and swift. It’s related after the fact to the reader, rather than shown as it happens, and that removes a lot of emotional potential for all the characters.
May 28, 2026
I wasn't a big fan of this authors previous book The Woman From Book Club, but I wanted to give her another shot and I'm so glad I did because I really enjoyed this!
I love a book about a trad wife (I have no idea why) and as this was described as a dark, comic thriller for fans of Bella Mackie and Julie Cohen, this sounded right up my alley and it certainly was.
Whilst I didn't find it that funny, in fact I would leave that description out of the blurb completely, this definitely read more like a thriller to me and that is probably why I liked it more than I expected too.
Another thing I liked about this was the setting. This is set first in New York City and then Utah. Although neither place really had that much influence on the story, I love books set in both of those places, so that was another thumbs up.
The plot had me hooked right from the start. I was utterly absorbed by it and was totally invested in the plot and the characters throughout.
I liked our main characters Faith and Melissa and was intrigued by their relationship, even if there were no surprises in the story for me as to how it would all play out.
I loved the short chapters in this too, it was such a page turner, that I couldn't put it down. The pacing was great and it really built the tension up well.
I enjoyed this WAY more than the authors previous book and I highly recommend you check this one out.
Thanks to Hera Books for the ARC I received in exchange for an honest review
I love a book about a trad wife (I have no idea why) and as this was described as a dark, comic thriller for fans of Bella Mackie and Julie Cohen, this sounded right up my alley and it certainly was.
Whilst I didn't find it that funny, in fact I would leave that description out of the blurb completely, this definitely read more like a thriller to me and that is probably why I liked it more than I expected too.
Another thing I liked about this was the setting. This is set first in New York City and then Utah. Although neither place really had that much influence on the story, I love books set in both of those places, so that was another thumbs up.
The plot had me hooked right from the start. I was utterly absorbed by it and was totally invested in the plot and the characters throughout.
I liked our main characters Faith and Melissa and was intrigued by their relationship, even if there were no surprises in the story for me as to how it would all play out.
I loved the short chapters in this too, it was such a page turner, that I couldn't put it down. The pacing was great and it really built the tension up well.
I enjoyed this WAY more than the authors previous book and I highly recommend you check this one out.
Thanks to Hera Books for the ARC I received in exchange for an honest review
April 28, 2026
Melissa is floundering in her inner city life. She is a single mum struggling to balance motherhood with an unrewarding career. Her one escape is watching Faith - a trad wife
influencer as she leads her simplistic, back to basics life. Is that all there is to it though? When Melissa and Faith’s paths cross, Melissa is given a chance to immerse herself in Faith’s world - but what if there is a secret agenda or two that is less than pure?
I enjoyed this book. The plot got under my skin easily and I was mentally watching between my fingers as Melissa is lured into an existence cut off from the rest of the modern world. The pace really picked up halfway and became so chaotic and claustrophobic that I couldn’t put the book down. I wanted more for some elements of the plot and the motivation for some events didn’t seem to fit in but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy a domestic thriller.
influencer as she leads her simplistic, back to basics life. Is that all there is to it though? When Melissa and Faith’s paths cross, Melissa is given a chance to immerse herself in Faith’s world - but what if there is a secret agenda or two that is less than pure?
I enjoyed this book. The plot got under my skin easily and I was mentally watching between my fingers as Melissa is lured into an existence cut off from the rest of the modern world. The pace really picked up halfway and became so chaotic and claustrophobic that I couldn’t put the book down. I wanted more for some elements of the plot and the motivation for some events didn’t seem to fit in but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy a domestic thriller.
May 15, 2026
This was my first “trad wife” style read, and definitely not my usual genre. The concept itself was interesting and kept me curious enough to keep reading, especially seeing the contrast between the polished online image and what was happening behind the scenes.
For me, though, this was very slow burn. A lot of the details felt dragged out longer than necessary, and I kept waiting for the thriller side to really take off. The ending had potential, but it didn’t fully come full circle in the way I wanted from a psychological thriller.
I also wasn’t a huge fan of some of the political and cultural commentary woven throughout the story. At times it pulled me out of the plot more than it added to it.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad read — just not fully my style. If you enjoy slower, commentary-heavy domestic thrillers with influencer/trad-wife themes, you may enjoy this more than I did.
For me, though, this was very slow burn. A lot of the details felt dragged out longer than necessary, and I kept waiting for the thriller side to really take off. The ending had potential, but it didn’t fully come full circle in the way I wanted from a psychological thriller.
I also wasn’t a huge fan of some of the political and cultural commentary woven throughout the story. At times it pulled me out of the plot more than it added to it.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad read — just not fully my style. If you enjoy slower, commentary-heavy domestic thrillers with influencer/trad-wife themes, you may enjoy this more than I did.
June 12, 2026
Given the cover and the title, I was not expecting a nuanced representation of the communities represented in this piece, but even with low expectations, this was caricaturish and had all the subtlety of a jackhammer. The character of Melissa was frustrating in how incredibly short-sighted she was, particularly given the background she supposedly came from. Her backstory and motivations were unnecessarily convoluted. Having the story in first person from her perspective, while still trying to hold back details she would have no reason to hold back from the reader, also just felt weird and frustrating, and made the reveals feel like heavy handed exposition. This was a total miss for me, and I would not have gotten through it if it hadn't been the audio version.
May 26, 2026
Omg shut up this was SO good!
Melissa is a content creator/manager who gets employed by Hope, a successful Trad Wife social media star.
I loved the dive into Mormonism and religion, it's very clever where it shows you how quickly people can get sucked into cults, and get trapped!
The plot twist was really good, but i do think the ending was maybe a little rushed? Overall, I really enjoyed this!
Remember, Trad wife hobbies, not trad wife values!!
Melissa is a content creator/manager who gets employed by Hope, a successful Trad Wife social media star.
I loved the dive into Mormonism and religion, it's very clever where it shows you how quickly people can get sucked into cults, and get trapped!
The plot twist was really good, but i do think the ending was maybe a little rushed? Overall, I really enjoyed this!
Remember, Trad wife hobbies, not trad wife values!!
May 3, 2026
Firstly I just want to say I really do like Carrie’s writing style and find her books easy to read. However, I just don’t think I am the right target audience for this kind of book, I can see how it would work for others but for me the whole topic is just too infuriating. I will continue to read more from Carrie’s backlist.
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