Reviews - The Wife App | The StoryGraph

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

306 reviews for:

The Wife App

Carolyn Mackler

3.58 AVERAGE

carsmarie's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 13%

Adult women called each other “mama” and I can’t handle that.

books_with_binx's review against another edition

3.0

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

brianaisgoingplaces's review against another edition

3.5

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This one is a hard one for me to rate. The Wife App follows the intertwining personal, professional, and romantic lives of three close friends who decide to create an app to help people meet Wives. The Wife App isn’t a dating app, but instead allows people to be matched with Wives who will take on the many tasks that often fall to women in relationships. More than the cooking and cleaning, Wives take on the mental load and show that the value of the free labor women do everyday. It’s a cool idea, and while not entirely the focus of the book, is interesting to see highlighted.

However, if you’re a young woman trying really hard not to be jaded by the way men are socialized and how difficult it can be to find a partner who is willing to actually partner with you instead of having you act as their second mom, this book will not help in those efforts. I often felt EXTREMELY frustrated for the characters and reading the things that they had to navigate with their exes. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, but I do think it mad me not necessarily enjoy the book.

In this book, we get to read the point of view of each friend. At first it was hard to keep track because the women didn’t really seem to have distinct personalities, but over the course of the novel, we got to see them grow and change. While the impetus for them creating the app made me roll my eyes and say “Y’all need therapy”, I think this was a story where we got to see each character grow and develop. I was proud of them and happy for them in the end.

All in all, I think I can finally come to terms with the fact that I’m not a fan of “women’s fiction”, but still be able to appreciate a book for the ride it takes me on.

Maybe I should read Fairplay as a palette cleanser.

3.5 rounded to 4

ladyalireadsalot's review

2.5

hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

sarakdot's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed this and appreciated receiving an ARC! It was so relatable as far as being a wife and having mental load. I loved that they “called work what it is”! I found small parts of each character relatable, but especially Sophie’s issues with FOMO via social media “highlight reels”. I deducted one star from my rating because of the pacing of the book and I also felt it was too short! I wanted a bit more!