kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Author: Karma Brown
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: January 21, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Dark • Illuminating • Unsettling
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When Alice Hale leaves a career in publicity to become a writer and follows her husband to the New York suburbs, she is unaccustomed to filling her days alone in a big, empty house. But when she finds a vintage cookbook buried in a box in the old home’s basement, she becomes captivated by the cookbook’s previous owner–1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. As Alice cooks her way through the past, she realizes that within the cookbook’s pages Nellie left clues about her life–including a mysterious series of unsent letters penned to her mother.
Soon Alice learns that while baked Alaska and meatloaf five ways may seem harmless, Nellie’s secrets may have been anything but. When Alice uncovers a more sinister–even dangerous–side to Nellie’s marriage, and has become increasingly dissatisfied with the mounting pressures in her own relationship, she begins to take control of her life and protect herself with a few secrets of her own.
💭 T H O U G H T S
After reading (and absolutely loving) Come Away with Me by Karma Brown earlier in 2022, I knew I wanted to read another one of her books before the end of the year. Since this one was on my shelf it's what I went with and came away having very mixed feelings.
What worked:
• the potential. Modern-day woman meets 1950s housewife exploring what it means to be a wife fighting for her place in a patriarchal society. Two women. 60 years apart. Dual narrative. Food. Identity. Love. Secrets. Yes. Yes. Yes.
• the vintage vibes. This aspect of the book is very well done. It gave me the feeling of living during a time period I didn't actually live through.
• the recipes and quotes to start each chapter. These offered perspective and added a humurous touch to the plot development. I even tested out a few of the recipes, without much luck though.
• the exploration of societal roles. I thought this was interesting to dive into.
What didn't work:
• a lack of connection. I never felt invested in the story or the characters lives.
• the execution. There was just something about it taken all together that didn't work as I anticipated it would.
Unfortunately, Recipe for a Perfect Wife was very anti-climatic despite having a strong foundation. It was reflective and mysterious while exploring how roles have changed and how they've stayed the same over the years. With that said, Karma Brown did wrote one of my favourites of 2022, so I look forward to exploring more of her backlist and reading her upcoming 2023 release.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the light thriller
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The sun always returned...as long as you were strong enough to wait for it."
"'Sally, the hardest question we have to ask ourselves in this life is, 'Who am I?' Ideally, we answer it for ourselves, but be warned that others will strive to do it for you—so don’t let them.'"
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, Blood, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Abortion, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Addiction
Minor: Murder, Death of parent, and Death
death of partner, parental estrangement, overdosegreatexpectations77's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Spoiler
Although the moral seems to be that life with men is at worst, abusive, and at best, vastly disappointing. Pretty bleak look at the lives of women barely improving in the last 60 yearsGraphic: Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Vomit, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Classism, Excrement, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, and Murder
rivbug27's review against another edition
2.5
Moderate: Abortion, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Addiction, Classism, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Vomit, Miscarriage, Rape, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Addiction
mikitiale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Abortion, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Infidelity, Chronic illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Addiction, Vomit, and Murder