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Tradwife: A Novel
Inspired by the #tradwifetok phenomenon, a novel in which trad wives with dark personal secrets in a small beach town find themselves embroiled in scandal when one of their husbands goes missing, and their traditional—and not so traditional—lifestyles become a national sensation, from the author of Rush Week.
In an idyllic coastal town, life appears picture-perfect—until it’s not. Families are drawn to Crystal Harbor for its more traditional values and gender roles, a step back in time to an era of female submission and patriarchal leadership. But beneath the layers of perfectly coiffed, manicured, and attired wives; freshly baked sourdough; faithful Sunday churchgoers; bake sales; and backyard barbeques, lies a secret lifestyle that’s only revealed when the sun goes down—and a man goes missing. Worse, the disappearance dredges up a dark truth several of them thought they buried years ago, threatening to shatter the community’s carefully maintained façade.
Told from the alternating perspectives of three women at the center of it all, Tradwife is a juicy, drama-packed novel that dives into the controversial, trending social media lifestyle and gender role stereotypes of tradwives, the taboo behind-closed-doors participation in wife-swapping, and what happens when the lies they’ve told themselves inside a gilded cage turn inside out, with the potential to not only destroy their existence, but end them…
In an idyllic coastal town, life appears picture-perfect—until it’s not. Families are drawn to Crystal Harbor for its more traditional values and gender roles, a step back in time to an era of female submission and patriarchal leadership. But beneath the layers of perfectly coiffed, manicured, and attired wives; freshly baked sourdough; faithful Sunday churchgoers; bake sales; and backyard barbeques, lies a secret lifestyle that’s only revealed when the sun goes down—and a man goes missing. Worse, the disappearance dredges up a dark truth several of them thought they buried years ago, threatening to shatter the community’s carefully maintained façade.
Told from the alternating perspectives of three women at the center of it all, Tradwife is a juicy, drama-packed novel that dives into the controversial, trending social media lifestyle and gender role stereotypes of tradwives, the taboo behind-closed-doors participation in wife-swapping, and what happens when the lies they’ve told themselves inside a gilded cage turn inside out, with the potential to not only destroy their existence, but end them…
1 pages, MP3 CD
Published August 4, 2026
About the author
Michelle Brandon
2 books117 followersMichelle Brandon is a pseudonym for Eliza Knight, an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author. A travel junkie and fan of wine, when she's not writing, she can be found lounging on the beach with a delicious book or taking a long restorative walk. Surrounded by palm trees and wild animals, she lives in the sunshine state with her husband, daughters, two slobbery doggies and a turtle named Fish.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advance review copy of TRADWIFE by Michelle Brandon. Expected publication date is August 4, 2026.
Novels examining the recent resurgence of the "tradwife" movement seem to be everywhere, and Michelle Brandon uses that cultural phenomenon as the foundation for a domestic murder mystery. Rather than debating whether women should embrace traditional gender roles, Brandon explores the personal costs that can accompany a lifestyle built around financial dependence, rigid social expectations, and carefully curated perfection.
Florida proves an inspired setting. Crystal Harbor is a small coastal town where church, family, and appearances govern nearly every aspect of life. Lifelong residents know one another's histories, opinions spread quickly, and conformity is rewarded while deviation is quietly punished. Brandon effectively captures the claustrophobia of a community where social acceptance depends upon fitting a narrowly defined ideal.
One of the novel's greatest strengths is its examination of women policing other women. Brandon shows that the pressure to conform does not come solely from husbands or patriarchal institutions. The women themselves often become the fiercest guardians of these expectations, reinforcing a system that ultimately limits their own independence.
Social media also plays a significant role. Brandon cleverly satirizes the perfectly curated tradwife aesthetic: homemade sourdough cooling on the counter, fresh eggs gathered at dawn, oranges picked from backyard trees, five impeccably dressed children, and a flawlessly made-up mother who somehow accomplishes it all before breakfast. The novel repeatedly asks whether these idealized online lives are authentic or simply another form of performance.
The story unfolds through three timelines and three female perspectives. Each woman illustrates a different consequence of embracing...or rejecting...the tradwife lifestyle. Particularly compelling is the perspective of the divorced former tradwife, whose financial vulnerability highlights one of the novel's strongest observations: unpaid domestic labor often leaves women dangerously exposed if their marriage ends. Brandon's cautionary message about maintaining financial independence is both timely and thought-provoking.
Unfortunately, the novel ultimately loses me as the murder mystery takes center stage.
While the mystery generates enough momentum to keep the pages turning, the increasingly sensational plot asks the reader to accept one improbable development after another. The social commentary feels grounded, but the thriller elements become so exaggerated that they undermine the novel's more insightful observations. By the final reveal, I found myself unable to suspend disbelief. Instead of elevating the novel's themes, the mystery overwhelmed them.
This feels very much like a popcorn thriller in the vein of reality television such as The Real Housewives franchise: dramatic, addictive, and designed more for entertainment than realism. Readers looking for over-the-top twists may have a wonderful time. Those hoping for a more psychologically believable exploration of the tradwife phenomenon may find themselves frustrated.
I genuinely wanted to love this novel because Brandon raises several interesting questions about gender roles, financial dependence, social media, and the pressures women place on one another. Had the plot remained more grounded, I think those ideas would have landed with much greater force.
Instead, I finished the book feeling that an excellent social satire had been buried beneath an increasingly implausible thriller.
⭐️⭐️ (2/5)
Novels examining the recent resurgence of the "tradwife" movement seem to be everywhere, and Michelle Brandon uses that cultural phenomenon as the foundation for a domestic murder mystery. Rather than debating whether women should embrace traditional gender roles, Brandon explores the personal costs that can accompany a lifestyle built around financial dependence, rigid social expectations, and carefully curated perfection.
Florida proves an inspired setting. Crystal Harbor is a small coastal town where church, family, and appearances govern nearly every aspect of life. Lifelong residents know one another's histories, opinions spread quickly, and conformity is rewarded while deviation is quietly punished. Brandon effectively captures the claustrophobia of a community where social acceptance depends upon fitting a narrowly defined ideal.
One of the novel's greatest strengths is its examination of women policing other women. Brandon shows that the pressure to conform does not come solely from husbands or patriarchal institutions. The women themselves often become the fiercest guardians of these expectations, reinforcing a system that ultimately limits their own independence.
Social media also plays a significant role. Brandon cleverly satirizes the perfectly curated tradwife aesthetic: homemade sourdough cooling on the counter, fresh eggs gathered at dawn, oranges picked from backyard trees, five impeccably dressed children, and a flawlessly made-up mother who somehow accomplishes it all before breakfast. The novel repeatedly asks whether these idealized online lives are authentic or simply another form of performance.
The story unfolds through three timelines and three female perspectives. Each woman illustrates a different consequence of embracing...or rejecting...the tradwife lifestyle. Particularly compelling is the perspective of the divorced former tradwife, whose financial vulnerability highlights one of the novel's strongest observations: unpaid domestic labor often leaves women dangerously exposed if their marriage ends. Brandon's cautionary message about maintaining financial independence is both timely and thought-provoking.
Unfortunately, the novel ultimately loses me as the murder mystery takes center stage.
While the mystery generates enough momentum to keep the pages turning, the increasingly sensational plot asks the reader to accept one improbable development after another. The social commentary feels grounded, but the thriller elements become so exaggerated that they undermine the novel's more insightful observations. By the final reveal, I found myself unable to suspend disbelief. Instead of elevating the novel's themes, the mystery overwhelmed them.
This feels very much like a popcorn thriller in the vein of reality television such as The Real Housewives franchise: dramatic, addictive, and designed more for entertainment than realism. Readers looking for over-the-top twists may have a wonderful time. Those hoping for a more psychologically believable exploration of the tradwife phenomenon may find themselves frustrated.
I genuinely wanted to love this novel because Brandon raises several interesting questions about gender roles, financial dependence, social media, and the pressures women place on one another. Had the plot remained more grounded, I think those ideas would have landed with much greater force.
Instead, I finished the book feeling that an excellent social satire had been buried beneath an increasingly implausible thriller.
⭐️⭐️ (2/5)
July 13, 2026
Thank you to HarperAudio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Tradwife was my very first completed audiobook, and it could not have been a better introduction to the format.
This story is told from three different points of view, and from the very beginning, I knew I was going to love the narrators. The full cast did an incredible job bringing these characters to life. Hearing the emotions, personalities, and dialogue made it feel as though I was sitting in the room with them.
Tradwife is women’s fiction filled with drama, secrets, and unexpected twists. There were even moments that made me laugh out loud because the characters felt so real and their interactions were so entertaining.
I was completely engaged from start to finish and would absolutely recommend this audiobook to readers who enjoy multiple POVs, drama, dark secrets, and stories that keep you entertained every step of the way.
Tradwife was my very first completed audiobook, and it could not have been a better introduction to the format.
This story is told from three different points of view, and from the very beginning, I knew I was going to love the narrators. The full cast did an incredible job bringing these characters to life. Hearing the emotions, personalities, and dialogue made it feel as though I was sitting in the room with them.
Tradwife is women’s fiction filled with drama, secrets, and unexpected twists. There were even moments that made me laugh out loud because the characters felt so real and their interactions were so entertaining.
I was completely engaged from start to finish and would absolutely recommend this audiobook to readers who enjoy multiple POVs, drama, dark secrets, and stories that keep you entertained every step of the way.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
ARC for review. To be published August 4, 2026.
2 stars
I read two ARCs with the word “tradwife” in the title back to back. It’s one of those things that I love to hate, despite the fact that I have never in my life actually watched one of their videos. It’s just the whole idea that skeeves me out and it seems so regressive, but, you know, you do you, I guess, I’ll just be over here vomiting and knowing it’s all fake.
Anyway, like the last book I read this one seems to be taking advantage of the popularity of the movement by shoehorning tradwife content into a relatively standard thriller, and it doesn’t really fit very well.
These people are all doing insane things…by the end REALLY crazy things (I won’t spoil) while they are….drinking mocktails. Uh-huh. Please. Like Imma keep my weekly appointment with a male sex worker while digging graves in the north forty, but Lord forbid a drop of the demon alcohol touch my virgin lips! Not biblical! Except how Jesus turned the water into wine. But I digress. This was dumb. If you must read a tradwife book wait for YESTERYEAR to be released.
2 stars
I read two ARCs with the word “tradwife” in the title back to back. It’s one of those things that I love to hate, despite the fact that I have never in my life actually watched one of their videos. It’s just the whole idea that skeeves me out and it seems so regressive, but, you know, you do you, I guess, I’ll just be over here vomiting and knowing it’s all fake.
Anyway, like the last book I read this one seems to be taking advantage of the popularity of the movement by shoehorning tradwife content into a relatively standard thriller, and it doesn’t really fit very well.
These people are all doing insane things…by the end REALLY crazy things (I won’t spoil) while they are….drinking mocktails. Uh-huh. Please. Like Imma keep my weekly appointment with a male sex worker while digging graves in the north forty, but Lord forbid a drop of the demon alcohol touch my virgin lips! Not biblical! Except how Jesus turned the water into wine. But I digress. This was dumb. If you must read a tradwife book wait for YESTERYEAR to be released.
May 21, 2026
In Crystal Harbor, the men are the breadwinners and the women are the homemakers, and every woman knows better than to step foot outside without her hair done and her bloodred lipstick in place like armor. (The men—they by and large do what they want to do.) But of course things are not always as they seem.
Tradwife follows a handful of women from this community: Miranda is the mayor's wife, determined to run this town...one way or another. Ariel used to be an actress, and maybe she still is, but now her acting skills all go straight into her influencing career. And Jennifer used to have it all, but since her divorce, she's been pushed out by her former friends and is struggling to stay financially afloat. And then there's Tara...
I'm intrigued by the recent rise of the tradwife thriller, so when I saw this I knew it was a must. This is the fourth I've read so far, and somehow of those four it's the first one that doesn't involve a podcaster or journalist trying to find the truth under the tradwife façade. (Ariel is an influencer, and Jennifer starts going public on social media early on in the book, but this isn't the same as someone coming in from the outside; everything that happens in the book stays within the Crystal Harbor community.)
Winning at Crystal Harbor wasn't about playing fair. It was about playing flawlessly. (loc. 1133*)
For all that this is a tradwife book, and the town is deathly determined to be dry and saccharine sweet, the characters here are...well, they know that what is on the outside is not what is on the inside, and if 95% of the women in town do not have something hidden under the sink or in the closet, I'd be very surprised. Miranda in particular is determined to use her position as the holier-than-thou head honcho (or head honcho's wife, but...she knows better) to stir shit up...it's only the shape that that will take that is uncertain. Few of these characters are easy to root for (though some are less pleasant than others), and the ulterior motives are strong.
There's a lot of twisting near the end of the book, some of which I found more predictable than others. I would have liked a bit more of the in-between story; there's a then and a now, but not much, even at the end, to tell us how we got there. And: The tradwife lifestyle is thin, here. I'm genuinely curious to read books about the whole #tradwife thing (horrified, but also curious), but I don't actually think this shows much of it; mostly we see the characters figuring out how best to be awful to each other in a very Southern, smile-while-you're-insulting-someone way. Intriguing, but a low three stars for me.
And now on to the next tradwife thriller...
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
Tradwife follows a handful of women from this community: Miranda is the mayor's wife, determined to run this town...one way or another. Ariel used to be an actress, and maybe she still is, but now her acting skills all go straight into her influencing career. And Jennifer used to have it all, but since her divorce, she's been pushed out by her former friends and is struggling to stay financially afloat. And then there's Tara...
I'm intrigued by the recent rise of the tradwife thriller, so when I saw this I knew it was a must. This is the fourth I've read so far, and somehow of those four it's the first one that doesn't involve a podcaster or journalist trying to find the truth under the tradwife façade. (Ariel is an influencer, and Jennifer starts going public on social media early on in the book, but this isn't the same as someone coming in from the outside; everything that happens in the book stays within the Crystal Harbor community.)
Winning at Crystal Harbor wasn't about playing fair. It was about playing flawlessly. (loc. 1133*)
For all that this is a tradwife book, and the town is deathly determined to be dry and saccharine sweet, the characters here are...well, they know that what is on the outside is not what is on the inside, and if 95% of the women in town do not have something hidden under the sink or in the closet, I'd be very surprised. Miranda in particular is determined to use her position as the holier-than-thou head honcho (or head honcho's wife, but...she knows better) to stir shit up...it's only the shape that that will take that is uncertain. Few of these characters are easy to root for (though some are less pleasant than others), and the ulterior motives are strong.
There's a lot of twisting near the end of the book, some of which I found more predictable than others. I would have liked a bit more of the in-between story; there's a then and a now, but not much, even at the end, to tell us how we got there. And: The tradwife lifestyle is thin, here. I'm genuinely curious to read books about the whole #tradwife thing (horrified, but also curious), but I don't actually think this shows much of it; mostly we see the characters figuring out how best to be awful to each other in a very Southern, smile-while-you're-insulting-someone way. Intriguing, but a low three stars for me.
And now on to the next tradwife thriller...
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
August 4, 2026
Thank you to HarperAudio Adult & NetGalley for the ALC.
1.5 ⭐️
Oof. I made it to 50% and had to throw in the towel and DNF. I am BUMMED because every fiction/thriller book I’ve read about Trad Wives this year has been AT LEAST 4 stars for me, but this was such a disappointment. I didn’t really connect the story to the “trad wife” elements and it read more like a domestic thriller. Which I could have overlooked, but I just couldn’t get into it.
🎧: I appreciate the multiple POV’s and multicast narration format, but I was NOT a fan of the narrator for Jennifer’s character and found her to be too flat and robotic. I know it’s not an AI narrator, but it sure felt like it 🤖🫣.
The overall pacing was sluggish and it became really difficult to focus on the story and I just never connected with the characters. It’s too bad too because the premise was really promising. There might be an audience for this, but it just wasn’t for me ☹️.
1.5 ⭐️
Oof. I made it to 50% and had to throw in the towel and DNF. I am BUMMED because every fiction/thriller book I’ve read about Trad Wives this year has been AT LEAST 4 stars for me, but this was such a disappointment. I didn’t really connect the story to the “trad wife” elements and it read more like a domestic thriller. Which I could have overlooked, but I just couldn’t get into it.
🎧: I appreciate the multiple POV’s and multicast narration format, but I was NOT a fan of the narrator for Jennifer’s character and found her to be too flat and robotic. I know it’s not an AI narrator, but it sure felt like it 🤖🫣.
The overall pacing was sluggish and it became really difficult to focus on the story and I just never connected with the characters. It’s too bad too because the premise was really promising. There might be an audience for this, but it just wasn’t for me ☹️.
Read
July 9, 2026I will read any horror/thriller about tradwives, the whole phenomenon fascinates me. The premise here hooked me right away: a town full of tradwives, where the ultra-regressive lifestyle is the default? Whoa!
Premise - the coastal town of Crystal Harbor is perfect in the way of the Stepford Wives’ suburb, without the sci-fi spin. Then a man disappears, drawing attention to the town’s secrets and nighttime deviances.
The story is told in three POVs, all women close to the scandal. This vantage point into the story stretched a pretty tight timeline (one party, really, plus some investigation) into a novel-length work, but we didn't get to know any of the characters deeply and so I wonder if this might have worked better as a single or dual POV, with a deeper dive into that one chosen character.
Overall, I'd say this felt more like a standard popcorn thriller with tradwife set dressing than like a trad wife story following a thriller structure. If trad wife had been stricken from the text, this could have just been a 'rich white women in a conservative coastal town' story and nothing would have changed.
There were some areas where the tradwife label worked against the story -- for example, this is a dry town, but the is a sex party, and getting the people to attend wasn't a psychologically intricate manipulation rife with politics and counter assurances, etc etc. Yes, tradwives (and frontier fellas?) can have weird kinks, too, but if the whole town is so judgy you can't order a cocktail without repercussions, I don't buy that they'd willingly sign up for a swingers night *in their town.* They might swing and peg and do all sorts of things, but they would LEAVE town and go do it somewhere anonymous, like NYC (or whatever their nearest big town is).
Overall, I really wanted to feel the tradwife of it all more in the story. Tradwives are part of regular life, but if there's a whole town full of them, you now require significant world building! How does this affect education, the availability of certain public services, the typical schedule of a day, the clothing and how men and women relate to and address one another, etc.?
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ann Marie Gideon, Eva Kaminsky, Amanda Stribling, and Hillary Huber. They did a solid job with the text and their voices were quite distinct, which made it easier to tell who was speaking, even when my attention started to drift.
Thanks, NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Premise - the coastal town of Crystal Harbor is perfect in the way of the Stepford Wives’ suburb, without the sci-fi spin. Then a man disappears, drawing attention to the town’s secrets and nighttime deviances.
The story is told in three POVs, all women close to the scandal. This vantage point into the story stretched a pretty tight timeline (one party, really, plus some investigation) into a novel-length work, but we didn't get to know any of the characters deeply and so I wonder if this might have worked better as a single or dual POV, with a deeper dive into that one chosen character.
Overall, I'd say this felt more like a standard popcorn thriller with tradwife set dressing than like a trad wife story following a thriller structure. If trad wife had been stricken from the text, this could have just been a 'rich white women in a conservative coastal town' story and nothing would have changed.
There were some areas where the tradwife label worked against the story -- for example, this is a dry town, but the is a sex party, and getting the people to attend wasn't a psychologically intricate manipulation rife with politics and counter assurances, etc etc. Yes, tradwives (and frontier fellas?) can have weird kinks, too, but if the whole town is so judgy you can't order a cocktail without repercussions, I don't buy that they'd willingly sign up for a swingers night *in their town.* They might swing and peg and do all sorts of things, but they would LEAVE town and go do it somewhere anonymous, like NYC (or whatever their nearest big town is).
Overall, I really wanted to feel the tradwife of it all more in the story. Tradwives are part of regular life, but if there's a whole town full of them, you now require significant world building! How does this affect education, the availability of certain public services, the typical schedule of a day, the clothing and how men and women relate to and address one another, etc.?
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ann Marie Gideon, Eva Kaminsky, Amanda Stribling, and Hillary Huber. They did a solid job with the text and their voices were quite distinct, which made it easier to tell who was speaking, even when my attention started to drift.
Thanks, NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 30, 2026
🏡🔍 Tradwife 🔪🏡
This is definitely one of those books where everyone sucks and everyone is unlikeable. My favorite. 🤣
It was pretty predictable, but also satisfying! I had a feeling about where the story was going and ended up being pretty much spot on. But honestly, that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. I was very invested in watching everything unfold. 👀
It was also a fairly quick read. I listened to the entire audiobook in just a few hours🎧
What to Expect
🏡 Domestic Suspense
👀 Multiple POVs
🤫 Small Town Secrets
🔍 Missing Person
❌ Betrayal
_ _ _ _
⭐ Audio Score: 4.5 Stars
🎙️ Narration: Ann Marie Gideon, Eva Kaminsky, Amanda Stribling & Hillary Huber
📅 Pub Date: August 4, 2026
Thank you to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.
This is definitely one of those books where everyone sucks and everyone is unlikeable. My favorite. 🤣
It was pretty predictable, but also satisfying! I had a feeling about where the story was going and ended up being pretty much spot on. But honestly, that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. I was very invested in watching everything unfold. 👀
It was also a fairly quick read. I listened to the entire audiobook in just a few hours🎧
What to Expect
🏡 Domestic Suspense
👀 Multiple POVs
🤫 Small Town Secrets
🔍 Missing Person
❌ Betrayal
_ _ _ _
⭐ Audio Score: 4.5 Stars
🎙️ Narration: Ann Marie Gideon, Eva Kaminsky, Amanda Stribling & Hillary Huber
📅 Pub Date: August 4, 2026
Thank you to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.
2026
January 28, 2026📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Avon a
August 12, 2026
Thank you Michelle Brandon and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook of this novel.
3.5 Stars
I have read a few books with this trope lately, it's very popular right now so it's easy to compare.
That being said, the writing is decent but the plot wasn't anything that would scream out memorable to me in the long term. The characters are the kind you love to hate picking on the tradwife lifestyle.
The narration performance was great. No issues there.
Okay read.
3.5 Stars
I have read a few books with this trope lately, it's very popular right now so it's easy to compare.
That being said, the writing is decent but the plot wasn't anything that would scream out memorable to me in the long term. The characters are the kind you love to hate picking on the tradwife lifestyle.
The narration performance was great. No issues there.
Okay read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Many thanks to HarperAudio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review
★ 2.69 stars ★
me everytime the word "Tradwife" was said:
The Tradwife movement/trend is a very interesting one and I was incredibly excited to see it explored in a tongue-in-cheek way while also being deadly serious (literally).
Unfortunately, that is not what I got. It seems that Michelle Brandon actually has no idea what a tradwife is or does nor the sociopolitical roots associated with the movement. Because of this, her portrayal falls completely flat. I can't be sure since I wasn't there but I have to wonder if she even did any research or just went based off of TikToks since the blurb literally states "Inspired by the #tradwifetok phenomenon."
This also seems to be a mistake she has made before. TikTok hashtags do not a novel make. And I feel this should've been clear after the first one did so poorly.
The biggest bummer is that this could've been something amazing but the plot had more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese.
But honestly, I just keep coming back to the tradwife thing because can forgive a a plot full of holes... I love a plot full of holes... as long as it's enjoyable.
but the tradwife thing was just so inaccurate and unenjoyable... I grew up in a community of tradwives. My mom used to be a tradwife (before I discovered my gayness and woke-i-fied us into the 21st century). I know what tradwives are. And this wasn't it. At least, not in my experience.
I think this book would've been much better set up for success if it had been marketed as a Desperate Housewives-esque type novel. The behavior of the characters fit that type of environment much more.
All this being said, the reason I didn't round this book down to 2 stars is because it's not a net negative. It's fairly enjoyable, well narrated and easily read as a quick beach read or car trip novel. If you're looking for a psycho neighborhood wives novel, this might scratch that itch. Just go into it with the right expectations. This isn't a tradwife novel.
------
this book made me realize that there is a tradwife culture and Michelle Brandon has absolutely zero idea what it is...
full review to come
★ 2.69 stars ★
me everytime the word "Tradwife" was said:
The Tradwife movement/trend is a very interesting one and I was incredibly excited to see it explored in a tongue-in-cheek way while also being deadly serious (literally).
Unfortunately, that is not what I got. It seems that Michelle Brandon actually has no idea what a tradwife is or does nor the sociopolitical roots associated with the movement. Because of this, her portrayal falls completely flat. I can't be sure since I wasn't there but I have to wonder if she even did any research or just went based off of TikToks since the blurb literally states "Inspired by the #tradwifetok phenomenon."
This also seems to be a mistake she has made before. TikTok hashtags do not a novel make. And I feel this should've been clear after the first one did so poorly.
The biggest bummer is that this could've been something amazing but the plot had more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese.
But honestly, I just keep coming back to the tradwife thing because can forgive a a plot full of holes... I love a plot full of holes... as long as it's enjoyable.
but the tradwife thing was just so inaccurate and unenjoyable... I grew up in a community of tradwives. My mom used to be a tradwife (before I discovered my gayness and woke-i-fied us into the 21st century). I know what tradwives are. And this wasn't it. At least, not in my experience.
I think this book would've been much better set up for success if it had been marketed as a Desperate Housewives-esque type novel. The behavior of the characters fit that type of environment much more.
All this being said, the reason I didn't round this book down to 2 stars is because it's not a net negative. It's fairly enjoyable, well narrated and easily read as a quick beach read or car trip novel. If you're looking for a psycho neighborhood wives novel, this might scratch that itch. Just go into it with the right expectations. This isn't a tradwife novel.
------
this book made me realize that there is a tradwife culture and Michelle Brandon has absolutely zero idea what it is...
full review to come
August 2, 2026
I wanted to love this one because the premise immediately hooked me. The recent wave of tradwife inspired thrillers is absolutely my kind of reading, and I was hoping this would fully embrace the social media phenomenon and all the unsettling dynamics that come with it. Instead, it felt like the tradwife angle was mostly surface level. Remove that label, and this could have been about any wealthy, privileged neighborhood hiding dark secrets.
The audiobook ended up being the highlight of the experience. With narration by Ann Marie Gideon, Eva Kaminsky, Amanda Stribling, and Hillary Huber, it’s an absolute dream team. Their performances made the story far more engaging and helped distinguish the multiple perspectives, which was especially helpful since some of the characters felt fairly similar on the page.
The story itself moves quickly and is easy to get through, but the mystery never really landed for me. One of the viewpoints is intended to keep readers guessing, yet I found the reveal so obvious from the beginning that I didn’t even realize it was supposed to be a secret. Looking back after finishing, I realized just how predictable many of the twists actually were. Add in several convenient coincidences and plot holes that require a generous suspension of disbelief, and the overall execution never lived up to the potential of the premise.
Perfect for Readers Who Love
* Wealthy neighborhoods hiding ugly secrets
* Multiple POV domestic suspense
* Fast paced audiobook thrillers
* Gossip, scandal, and dysfunctional relationships
August 26, 2026
Audiobook 3.5 stars!
Is revenge better served after years of plotting and infiltrating lives? Tradwife follows the upper class white suburbia community, where perfection is only surface level. Everybody has their secrets and one person in particular has a score to settle from a wrongdoing in the past.
I love books with drama that is out of my tax bracket. However, I felt like this one had a plot that we’ve seen over and over again. While I was hooked because I just love juicy drama nothing shocked me. I wanted this to be a little messier a little, possibly more taboo. I also found that because there were so many characters. The narration was a little hard to follow, even though it was multicast. I would probably recommend the physical book or e-book over the audiobook. However, I did love the narrators voices, there were just too many characters to keep track of.
I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a juicy drama filled thriller but nothing that’s gonna blow your pants off.
This book was sent to me via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Is revenge better served after years of plotting and infiltrating lives? Tradwife follows the upper class white suburbia community, where perfection is only surface level. Everybody has their secrets and one person in particular has a score to settle from a wrongdoing in the past.
I love books with drama that is out of my tax bracket. However, I felt like this one had a plot that we’ve seen over and over again. While I was hooked because I just love juicy drama nothing shocked me. I wanted this to be a little messier a little, possibly more taboo. I also found that because there were so many characters. The narration was a little hard to follow, even though it was multicast. I would probably recommend the physical book or e-book over the audiobook. However, I did love the narrators voices, there were just too many characters to keep track of.
I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a juicy drama filled thriller but nothing that’s gonna blow your pants off.
This book was sent to me via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Did Not Finish
August 3, 2026I got about halfway and couldn’t keep going. It has one of my lest favorite plot devices, where one of the main characters repeatedly alludes to the reader that they have a secret they’re hiding from everyone. Personally, I just get annoyed with every chapter ends referencing there’s a secret. We get it.
Also, it’s about a group of trad wife influencers who live in a small, religious, dry town. One woman starts a tiktok account bashing the tradwives, and refers to it as an anonymous account. It made no sense because everyone would know who it is from her first post. She’s posts her face in the second post and still continued to refer to it as an anonymous account while pondering that maybe she shouldn’t have shown her face. It just made no sense.
Overall, I’m sure it’s a fine book, but it’s not for me.
Also, it’s about a group of trad wife influencers who live in a small, religious, dry town. One woman starts a tiktok account bashing the tradwives, and refers to it as an anonymous account. It made no sense because everyone would know who it is from her first post. She’s posts her face in the second post and still continued to refer to it as an anonymous account while pondering that maybe she shouldn’t have shown her face. It just made no sense.
Overall, I’m sure it’s a fine book, but it’s not for me.
October 1, 2026
In Crystal Harbor, perfection is practically a religion. The wives are polished, the homes are Immaculate and the sourdough always rises perfectly. The husbands are the breadwinners and the wives are expected to embrace the picture perfect life of a modern day trad wife. But behind the manicured lawns and carefully curated social media posts, secrets are simmering. When one of the town's husbands suddenly goes missing, the perfect facade begins to crack. Three women at the heart of Crystal Harbor find themselves caught in a web of scandal, buried secrets and betrayal. And the disappearance threatens to expose a dark truth they thought they had successfully buried. Because in Crystal Harbor everyone has something to hide.
I really wanted to love this one because the premise had so much potential! A coastal community built around traditional gender roles, wealthy families, social media personas and all the secrets lurking underneath? I was ready for the drama! Unfortunately the actual trad wife culture just wasn't as prevalent as I wanted it to be. The trad wife angle was only surface level and I definitely wanted it to be more deeply woven within the story and to drive the plot rather than feeling like an afterthought. It felt more like any other wealthy and privileged neighborhood with rich people behaving badly. Which there's nothing wrong with that, but when I read trad wife I really wanted trad wife! There is plenty of drama, secrets and questionable behavior to keep things moving but I kept waiting for the darker side of the story. Overall this was a readable thriller with an intriguing setup but the execution didn't quite give me the messy and unsettling drama that I really wanted.
Thank you to Netgalley, Michelle Brandon, and Avon and Harper Voyager for this eARC!
I really wanted to love this one because the premise had so much potential! A coastal community built around traditional gender roles, wealthy families, social media personas and all the secrets lurking underneath? I was ready for the drama! Unfortunately the actual trad wife culture just wasn't as prevalent as I wanted it to be. The trad wife angle was only surface level and I definitely wanted it to be more deeply woven within the story and to drive the plot rather than feeling like an afterthought. It felt more like any other wealthy and privileged neighborhood with rich people behaving badly. Which there's nothing wrong with that, but when I read trad wife I really wanted trad wife! There is plenty of drama, secrets and questionable behavior to keep things moving but I kept waiting for the darker side of the story. Overall this was a readable thriller with an intriguing setup but the execution didn't quite give me the messy and unsettling drama that I really wanted.
Thank you to Netgalley, Michelle Brandon, and Avon and Harper Voyager for this eARC!
August 12, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook. I did enjoy this book. The narrator was pleasant. It was definitely a lot of back and forth with the characters and got confusing some times but at the end it all made a lot of sense.
August 14, 2026
A fast paced addicting thriller that you won't want to put down! I LOVED THIS BOOK! Michelle Brandon ( Eliza Knight) writes about female relationships and a thrilling mystery in Tradwife. I am so impressed by her take on social media Tradwives and how they are usually lying about their lives. Michelle Brandon is well researched and teaches important lessons about what lies beneath 'perfection'. This book is so well written and the mystery was thrilling and unpredictable. The audiobook is a full cast narration and is highly impressive. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to be whisked away to an idyllic Florida town where the major issues are slowly appearing and every one starts to fall apart. I just love a story like that.
July 11, 2026
My Selling Pitch:
A poorly written domestic revenge thriller.
On my do not read list.
Pre-reading:
My fourth? trad wife horror of this year! She is TRENDY.
(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Imagine you see this as your neighbor lmao. Like it’s too early for this lady.
Yeef, fuck stick is aggressive. Also-just to nitpick, not generally used for ladies on account of the STICK part.
I love a dirty soda, but I love a beverage in general.
All the girlies including me are feral for Alanis. They're so good.
Fuck Timmy. Hate that boy.
The chicken cutlet commentary is-
Ayy a me!
Ballerina Farms really has a chokehold on this genre.
Also, aren’t you gonna need to shower again now that you’ve been barefoot in a barn? Be so for real.
The alliteration in this needs to chill. It’s just coming off as cringe, not clever.
It’s reminding me a lot of that stupid AI Connecticut thriller, Next to Heaven.
This is very bad lol. It's like one step above Wattpad.
The dog better be OK, but I have a bad feeling. (Dogs are fine!)
So who had a lesbian affair back in high school? Because you know that’s coming.
Do you post pictures on TikTok?
Is this fucking play about us? My brain’s a hellscape.
Detritus sin
Are we like not supposed to know Benjamin is Jamie? Like is that gonna be a twist later? Surely not. Surely she doesn’t think the audience is that stupid. (Unclear, but it does kinda seem like that was meant to be a late game reveal.)
I’m so checked out from this book.
So how would he just not recognize his own sister?
Post-reading:
I hate when a thriller is too unbelievable to function. You know, I'm willing to suspend some disbelief, especially if the story leans into the inherent campiness of that. This is borderline unreadable. Somehow all these high school friends stay in the same town, marry each other, and have ridiculous amounts of money. Law enforcement doesn’t need a body to close a missing teenager’s case. Somehow no one recognizes her, not even her twin brother. Somehow she’s been functioning with forged documents that hold up to prenup and murder investigation inquiries this entire time even though she was underage and penniless when she would’ve needed to acquire them. It’s just a garbage plot.
The characters are annoying and one note. All their voices read identically so the POV switches aren’t effective. For a book called Trad Wife that features a character speaking out against that identity, it has no interest in engaging with or interrogating that community’s beliefs. The author’s knowledge of tradwife behavior amounts to sourdough starter and dirty sodas. It’d be laughable if the author weren’t so earnestly urging women to save themselves from the lifestyle.
It’s hamfisted. It’s slow. It’s painfully predictable. There’s really nothing redeemable about this. It’s coherent enough to get through, but why bother? You’d be better off picking up one of the many other new releases jumping on this trend. I wouldn’t read this author again.
The audiobook is multicast but the three female voices aren’t different enough from each other to make an impact, and none of the performances were notable, but to be fair, they also didn’t have great material to work with.
Who should read this:
Popcorn thriller fans
Ideal reading time:
Summer
Do I want to reread this:
No
Would I buy this:
No
Similar books:
* Next to Heaven by James Frey-revenge thriller, ensemble cast
* Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer-domestic thriller, prank rank, social commentary
* Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke-domestic thriller, unreliable narrator, family drama, social commentary
* She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge-crime procedural, revenge thriller
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A poorly written domestic revenge thriller.
On my do not read list.
Pre-reading:
My fourth? trad wife horror of this year! She is TRENDY.
(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Imagine you see this as your neighbor lmao. Like it’s too early for this lady.
Yeef, fuck stick is aggressive. Also-just to nitpick, not generally used for ladies on account of the STICK part.
I love a dirty soda, but I love a beverage in general.
All the girlies including me are feral for Alanis. They're so good.
Fuck Timmy. Hate that boy.
The chicken cutlet commentary is-
Ayy a me!
Ballerina Farms really has a chokehold on this genre.
Also, aren’t you gonna need to shower again now that you’ve been barefoot in a barn? Be so for real.
The alliteration in this needs to chill. It’s just coming off as cringe, not clever.
It’s reminding me a lot of that stupid AI Connecticut thriller, Next to Heaven.
This is very bad lol. It's like one step above Wattpad.
The dog better be OK, but I have a bad feeling. (Dogs are fine!)
So who had a lesbian affair back in high school? Because you know that’s coming.
Do you post pictures on TikTok?
Is this fucking play about us? My brain’s a hellscape.
Detritus sin
Are we like not supposed to know Benjamin is Jamie? Like is that gonna be a twist later? Surely not. Surely she doesn’t think the audience is that stupid. (Unclear, but it does kinda seem like that was meant to be a late game reveal.)
I’m so checked out from this book.
So how would he just not recognize his own sister?
Post-reading:
I hate when a thriller is too unbelievable to function. You know, I'm willing to suspend some disbelief, especially if the story leans into the inherent campiness of that. This is borderline unreadable. Somehow all these high school friends stay in the same town, marry each other, and have ridiculous amounts of money. Law enforcement doesn’t need a body to close a missing teenager’s case. Somehow no one recognizes her, not even her twin brother. Somehow she’s been functioning with forged documents that hold up to prenup and murder investigation inquiries this entire time even though she was underage and penniless when she would’ve needed to acquire them. It’s just a garbage plot.
The characters are annoying and one note. All their voices read identically so the POV switches aren’t effective. For a book called Trad Wife that features a character speaking out against that identity, it has no interest in engaging with or interrogating that community’s beliefs. The author’s knowledge of tradwife behavior amounts to sourdough starter and dirty sodas. It’d be laughable if the author weren’t so earnestly urging women to save themselves from the lifestyle.
It’s hamfisted. It’s slow. It’s painfully predictable. There’s really nothing redeemable about this. It’s coherent enough to get through, but why bother? You’d be better off picking up one of the many other new releases jumping on this trend. I wouldn’t read this author again.
The audiobook is multicast but the three female voices aren’t different enough from each other to make an impact, and none of the performances were notable, but to be fair, they also didn’t have great material to work with.
Who should read this:
Popcorn thriller fans
Ideal reading time:
Summer
Do I want to reread this:
No
Would I buy this:
No
Similar books:
* Next to Heaven by James Frey-revenge thriller, ensemble cast
* Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer-domestic thriller, prank rank, social commentary
* Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke-domestic thriller, unreliable narrator, family drama, social commentary
* She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge-crime procedural, revenge thriller
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 13, 2026
Tradwife was one of those audiobooks that hooked me from the very first chapter and never let go. Every time I thought I had the story figured out, another secret surfaced that completely changed what I thought was happening. The pacing was excellent, and I found myself constantly wanting to listen to “just one more chapter.”
I really enjoyed the multiple points of view because they gave a fuller picture of what was happening behind the seemingly perfect lives in Crystal Harbor. The contrast between the town’s polished, traditional image and the dark secrets lurking beneath the surface made for a fascinating and suspenseful read.
The characters were complex, and I loved slowly uncovering how their lives intertwined. There was plenty of drama, mystery, and tension throughout, but what truly made this book stand out was the ending. I genuinely did not see that twist coming! It completely caught me by surprise and was the perfect way to wrap up such an addictive story.
If you’re a fan of domestic thrillers packed with secrets, deception, and shocking reveals, I highly recommend picking this one up. It kept me captivated from beginning to end, and that final twist is one I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, the publisher, and the audiobook team for providing me with an advance listening copy. Tradwife releases on August 4, 2026, and it’s definitely one to add to your TBR.
I really enjoyed the multiple points of view because they gave a fuller picture of what was happening behind the seemingly perfect lives in Crystal Harbor. The contrast between the town’s polished, traditional image and the dark secrets lurking beneath the surface made for a fascinating and suspenseful read.
The characters were complex, and I loved slowly uncovering how their lives intertwined. There was plenty of drama, mystery, and tension throughout, but what truly made this book stand out was the ending. I genuinely did not see that twist coming! It completely caught me by surprise and was the perfect way to wrap up such an addictive story.
If you’re a fan of domestic thrillers packed with secrets, deception, and shocking reveals, I highly recommend picking this one up. It kept me captivated from beginning to end, and that final twist is one I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, the publisher, and the audiobook team for providing me with an advance listening copy. Tradwife releases on August 4, 2026, and it’s definitely one to add to your TBR.
July 7, 2026
I’m fascinated by the whole tradwife movement, and this is the third or fourth book I’ve read that explores the theme. Some have been thrillers, others mysteries or literary fiction, so I was excited to see what this one would do with the concept.
The story centers around a community where many families embrace traditional wife values, creating an interesting divide between the women who wholeheartedly choose that lifestyle and those who don’t. It was a premise that immediately drew me in, and I thought it had the potential to be a really compelling mystery.
Major Spoilers Ahead
Unfortunately, the story lost me as more of the mystery unfolded. The reveal that nearly everyone had gone to high school together and was connected by a long-buried secret felt like too much of a coincidence. I also found myself questioning how all of these people ended up living the same lifestyle years later. There seemed to be a disconnect between the characters’ pasts and the lives they were leading in the present, and I never felt that transition was fully explained.
The biggest hurdle for me, though, was the ending twist involving the sister. The idea that she had supposedly died but returned, and that no one—including her own twin brother—recognized her, stretched my suspension of disbelief too far. Once that reveal happened, I struggled to stay invested because it no longer felt believable within the world the story had established.
It’s unfortunate because I really enjoyed the premise, and I think there was the foundation for a strong mystery. In the end, though, there were simply too many plot holes and unanswered questions for the story to fully come together for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to preread and review this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2026
I ventured into something a bit different from what I'm used to read but I liked the cover and the blurb.
To be honest, I'm not sure I cared a lot about the 3 female characters, they were not really likeable but the author succeeded to make them feel real. Real beyond the careful image of the traditional wife, that is to say.
I didn't care that much either about the crime solving and the mysteries. I did guess one of the twists very early in my reading and I was very happy each time I catched a little thing corroborating my theory.
What I really loved was the atmosphere, the town, the ugly reality behind closed doors. That is what made me read the book in two days.
To be honest, I'm not sure I cared a lot about the 3 female characters, they were not really likeable but the author succeeded to make them feel real. Real beyond the careful image of the traditional wife, that is to say.
I didn't care that much either about the crime solving and the mysteries. I did guess one of the twists very early in my reading and I was very happy each time I catched a little thing corroborating my theory.
What I really loved was the atmosphere, the town, the ugly reality behind closed doors. That is what made me read the book in two days.
September 28, 2026
I completely ate this domestic thriller up! Trad Wife by Michelle Brandon is what you pretty much expect reading the description of the book. The twist was kind of predictable about halfway through the book. But, with that being said, sometimes you just need some petty revenge drama in your life. Figuring out the big reveal beforehand didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this audiobook. I enjoyed the story, the pacing was great, and the narrators did a fabulous job of relaying what the women in this book were going through. This was a fun, fast-paced listen/read.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio Adult for the advanced listener copy in exchange for my honest review.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio Adult for the advanced listener copy in exchange for my honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2026
2⭐️
thank you avon for the arc, all opinions are my own.
i was craving a fast paced thriller and was so excited to pick this one up! sadly for me, this was such a letdown. i was drawn to the premise and with the tradwife phenomenon happening, i was easily hooked in the beginning, the murder mystery was intriguing. but i feel like i got lost somewhere in the plot because suddenly that was all that was focused on. i also just could not get on board with the absurd events happening (aside from the actual murder). i also found the pacing of the book eventually dropped about halfway and i really struggled to get through the rest of it.
thank you avon for the arc, all opinions are my own.
i was craving a fast paced thriller and was so excited to pick this one up! sadly for me, this was such a letdown. i was drawn to the premise and with the tradwife phenomenon happening, i was easily hooked in the beginning, the murder mystery was intriguing. but i feel like i got lost somewhere in the plot because suddenly that was all that was focused on. i also just could not get on board with the absurd events happening (aside from the actual murder). i also found the pacing of the book eventually dropped about halfway and i really struggled to get through the rest of it.
August 12, 2026
Thank you to net galley, Michelle Brandon and the publisher for letting me read and review
This book grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. You will never see the twists and turns coming. I love hiw much drama is in this book and I love mean girls and there are alot in this book. This book is so full of juicy drama, backstabbing, snobby women, its absolutely perfect and a top read of the year. I highly recommend
This book grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. You will never see the twists and turns coming. I love hiw much drama is in this book and I love mean girls and there are alot in this book. This book is so full of juicy drama, backstabbing, snobby women, its absolutely perfect and a top read of the year. I highly recommend
September 14, 2026
Our characters live in a cozy little community where behind closed doors they’re each going through their own personal issues, and one night they have a block party that turns into something that no one expected and changes the group forever
You would think with that kind of plot that youd be going into a pretty solid story, but unfortunately none of these women that we meet are very interesting- they are very one dimensional and surface level. There's not much closure to the story either it just sort of ends. And the story in between was just okay. The tradwife genre is all the rage right now and I guess Im kinda burn out on them but I think if this is your first one you’d probably enjoy it.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review
You would think with that kind of plot that youd be going into a pretty solid story, but unfortunately none of these women that we meet are very interesting- they are very one dimensional and surface level. There's not much closure to the story either it just sort of ends. And the story in between was just okay. The tradwife genre is all the rage right now and I guess Im kinda burn out on them but I think if this is your first one you’d probably enjoy it.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review
August 21, 2026
Trad wives are all the rage right now. This story is told from multiple POVs. So many characters had me a little confused at first. The sorry wraps up with a plot twist that makes the read worth it.
August 31, 2026
This book was an interesting thriller. Dual timelines, multiple POVs, and a murder mystery. The characters are the “love to hate them” type and there were so many interesting neighbors living around this lake in Florida. I did the audiobook which has a cast of 3 narrators. Two of them were great, one sounded kinda like a robot (I think it was the voice of Jennifer).
My main issue with this book is that it feels like it’s incorrectly titled/marketed. This is not really about trad wives. It was about an unsolved mystery that happened in the past and it’s also about revenge. I feel like this actually has nothing to do with trad wives at all…there are just characters that are trad wives in it. 😂
So if you’re looking to delve into the trad wife book trend or are looking to scratch the itch that Yesteryear did this may not be the book for you. But if you’re just looking for a fun and quick murder mystery thriller I’d recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult / Avon a for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.
My main issue with this book is that it feels like it’s incorrectly titled/marketed. This is not really about trad wives. It was about an unsolved mystery that happened in the past and it’s also about revenge. I feel like this actually has nothing to do with trad wives at all…there are just characters that are trad wives in it. 😂
So if you’re looking to delve into the trad wife book trend or are looking to scratch the itch that Yesteryear did this may not be the book for you. But if you’re just looking for a fun and quick murder mystery thriller I’d recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult / Avon a for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.
July 20, 2026
I enjoyed the read, but I do have a few major issues with the plot.
Firstly, the characters were very difficult to keep straight. Not only as individuals, but as couples. I constantly forgot who was married to who.
Secondly, it feels like it’s supposed to be some big mystery/eventual reveal who the divorcees POV we read from ex husband is. This is super obvious the whole book and not at all a reveal.
Thirdly, the final twist. Really? I’m supposed to believe…. I digress.
BUT I was invested in the story and overall would recommend the book. Take that as you will.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC
Firstly, the characters were very difficult to keep straight. Not only as individuals, but as couples. I constantly forgot who was married to who.
Secondly, it feels like it’s supposed to be some big mystery/eventual reveal who the divorcees POV we read from ex husband is. This is super obvious the whole book and not at all a reveal.
Thirdly, the final twist. Really? I’m supposed to believe…. I digress.
BUT I was invested in the story and overall would recommend the book. Take that as you will.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC
September 21, 2026
Give me a picture perfect beach town where everyone has secrets and I’m curious. I definitely wanted to know what was happening behind all those perfectly curated doors, and these characters are very much the kind you love to hate. There’s plenty of drama and a new secret around every corner, plus an interesting look at the trad wife lifestyle. I enjoyed reading it, but when I finished, I just didn’t feel like it was a story that would stick with me or one I’d be rushing to recommend.
August 22, 2026
We get it she’s ballerina farm
Solid thriller
Solid thriller
August 9, 2026
Was not that interesting to me. Really predictable where I hoped it wouldn't be
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