Reviews

The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler

acohen990's review against another edition

emotional inspiring relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

chelseakasten's review

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The idea of the Wife App is quirky. A lot of this book was a relatively light-hearted take on the very true idea of mental load and “wife” burden, and honestly it worked when it was being light and focused on the app. But it felt clunky in a lot of places and like too much was being shoehorned in. 

There were multiple bare-boned threads about wealth equity that were so poorly worked in and minimally considered that it felt more insulting than just acknowledging that this app is for wealthy people to use and not-wealthy people to take on more mental loads for money.

Also, this is a personal preference, but I totally checked out around the 80% mark when the “new” personal stories were being wrapped up. I didn’t care at all about any of the new love stories; they were so peripheral and felt so forced. I actually mostly skipped Sophie’s final and Lauren’s next-to-final chapters. Sophie and

Beatrice? Come on. I was already over the possibility of that happening when I caught the thread as soon as Beatrice was introduced. And then they BUY A HOUSE TOGETHER after being together for like 2 months? Truly an insult to Sophie’s character. 

The ending really damaged a lot of the good will I had towards this book. 

laurenscholle's review

4.0

surprise gay ending slay. this is a cool concept and made me glad I’m not in a heterosexual relationship. I liked the characters, too.

ashleyraemc's review

4.0

I really liked this! Seeing the title and cover on NetGalley immediately grabbed my attention. I'm so happy and grateful I was approved for the arc.

I am not a wife or mother, but Mackler writes in a way that even if you cannot personally relate to the characters, it's easy to see parts of the wives and mothers in your own life in Mackler's book. Something else I enjoyed was learning the ins and outs of how the women made the app. I also think all three of the leading three women had very unique personalities despite being similar on the surface. Sophie was my favorite character.

Overall this was a fun, lighthearted read while still bringing up the lack of recognization for the people primarily in charge of the second shift.

rendermespeechless's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Don't take your wife for granted. Three friends are divorced and come up with an idea to create the wife app. It is a feel good story. 

lisakerd's review

2.0

This is one of those stories where the great idea didn’t translate into a great book. I enjoyed the first third of the book, then it feel meandering, directionless, and trying to cover too much ground (tackle lots of different topics).

There was also a lot more logistical detail about the creation of an app than I thought was needed for a chick-lit novel.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

foxy_llama15's review

funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

gcawiezell's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

michelem's review

I haven't picked this book up in a year. Maybe I'll try again someday. Just wasn't super interesting.

terrireads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book was a breath of fresh air.  I must admit when I first read a few chapters I thought I wouldn’t like it,  but I love how each character had their own individual story which developed and the growth that these three ladies accomplished.