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katieprewett's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
lora_hogan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion
slavic_bookworm's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I enjoyed the first parts of the chapter with the recipies and advice from the 1950’s on how to be a good wife (although some of it was mindblowing and horrible). But that is where I stop liking the book. Nellie as a character was ok. I understand why she did what she did (even though I would never go to those lengths unless my husband was about to kill me and I was defending myself).
Alice on the other hand. Oh God where do I start with her! Horrible horrible person. Toxic, abussive as a wife and a friend. I felt really bad for her husband being shunned and manipulated by her time and time again. And honesty? What the hell is that? I bet she never heard of that word. And the fact that at the end Alice ended getting what she wanted, again by manipulating her husband is beyond me. At least of the author gave any indication that the narrative thinks it’s bad but no. I have zero sympathy for that woman and I wish her hubby would have kicked her to the curb and found a loyal and loving wife that he deserved!
Alice on the other hand. Oh God where do I start with her! Horrible horrible person. Toxic, abussive as a wife and a friend. I felt really bad for her husband being shunned and manipulated by her time and time again. And honesty? What the hell is that? I bet she never heard of that word. And the fact that at the end Alice ended getting what she wanted, again by manipulating her husband is beyond me. At least of the author gave any indication that the narrative thinks it’s bad but no. I have zero sympathy for that woman and I wish her hubby would have kicked her to the curb and found a loyal and loving wife that he deserved!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship
what_is_emma_reading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Miscarriage and Rape
caylincarmichael's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I absolutely loved this book! An easy read but with the added mysteries and small twists to keep you intrigued. I also love books that go back and forth between two different times and don't make it confusing. The only complaint I had was it seemed like the baby was a bandaid on Alice and Nates relationship. I would have like to see some more diving in to resolving their issues. .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Abortion
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Misogyny
Minor: Rape and Suicide
exhaustedreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape
kelly_e's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Title: Recipe for a Perfect Wife
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.'"
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.'"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Abortion
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
death of partner, parental estrangement, overdoserebecca_77's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, and Pregnancy
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.75
This definitely kept me engaged, but sometimes the foreshadowing was a bit heavy-handed. I don't love something being hinted at three times before actually coming out with it. But I was surprised by some events as the plot moved forward. 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 years
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, and Murder
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked up this book while I was killing time in a bookstore out of state. The title and cover really caught my eye, and I was so intrigued by the premise.
This novel follows dual perspectives and two different timelines. Nellie is a picturesque housewife from the 1950s. She seems to have the perfect life AND the perfect husband, but her life is not everything everyone believes it to be. Alice, a modern woman, was a successful publicist until she lost her job. Her and her husband decide to leave the city life behind and move into a house in the suburbs that needs a little TLC. Alice discovers letters that uncover the former house owner: Nellie. Alice becomes obsessed with learning what happened to Nellie in this house.
This is a very interesting book because one of the main characters is HIGHLY unlikable. Alice is insufferable at times, and despite having the seemingly perfect and supportive husband that most woman would kill for, she continues to make choices that hurt him, and she continues to lie to him even when she is given the opportunity to tell him the truth. I found it slightly unbelievable and entirely disheartening that she did not tell her husband why she got fired from her job, instead she told him that she quit. She also continued to lie to him about wanting children and strung him along, even though she was on birth control. Then, at the end she gives him an absurd ultimatum that made no sense to me (I get it from a novel perspective and furthering her character's state of mind, but as a soon-to-be wife, I hated it). Nellie on the other hand was amazing. She was thoughtful and tactful in her schemes against her abusive husband. I loved Nellie and I think she epitomes strength and intelligence.
I really enjoyed that we got Nellie's perspective through letters, and I also loved seeing her in comparison to Alice. Women have come a long way from the oppressive times of the 1950s. I think this book opens up the conversation that some women want to be housewives, and that is okay, but it is not okay when that is the only option. I loved this book, and I really enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Nellie.
The only reason I docked this book a star is because I hated Alice so much, but otherwise I highly recommend this!
This novel follows dual perspectives and two different timelines. Nellie is a picturesque housewife from the 1950s. She seems to have the perfect life AND the perfect husband, but her life is not everything everyone believes it to be. Alice, a modern woman, was a successful publicist until she lost her job. Her and her husband decide to leave the city life behind and move into a house in the suburbs that needs a little TLC. Alice discovers letters that uncover the former house owner: Nellie. Alice becomes obsessed with learning what happened to Nellie in this house.
This is a very interesting book because one of the main characters is HIGHLY unlikable. Alice is insufferable at times, and despite having the seemingly perfect and supportive husband that most woman would kill for, she continues to make choices that hurt him, and she continues to lie to him even when she is given the opportunity to tell him the truth. I found it slightly unbelievable and entirely disheartening that she did not tell her husband why she got fired from her job, instead she told him that she quit. She also continued to lie to him about wanting children and strung him along, even though she was on birth control. Then, at the end she gives him an absurd ultimatum that made no sense to me (I get it from a novel perspective and furthering her character's state of mind, but as a soon-to-be wife, I hated it). Nellie on the other hand was amazing. She was thoughtful and tactful in her schemes against her abusive husband. I loved Nellie and I think she epitomes strength and intelligence.
I really enjoyed that we got Nellie's perspective through letters, and I also loved seeing her in comparison to Alice. Women have come a long way from the oppressive times of the 1950s. I think this book opens up the conversation that some women want to be housewives, and that is okay, but it is not okay when that is the only option. I loved this book, and I really enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Nellie.
The only reason I docked this book a star is because I hated Alice so much, but otherwise I highly recommend this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship