Wife Support System by new to me author Kathleen Whyman was not only relatable on so many levels to me, as a woman, but was very clever and entertaining! So many women in the world are performing a juggling act, trying to balance careers, spouses, partners, children and home. Some women appear to manage it flawlessly but come on! They are either Stepford Wives or aliens.

This story introduces us to Erica, Louise and Polly who all share a common trait of many pots on the stove and not enough hands to stir. Erica has a brilliant suggestion after her nanny abruptly quits. Why not share a house with each other and see their respective partners on the weekends? Share everything…housekeeping, the shopping and the child minding. Erica’s partner of ten years, Dan, is hardly ever there and when he is, he can’t be bothered to help. Louise is uber organized and appears to be critical of her husband, Nick. Polly is a single parent who is struggling with anxiety and could use a helping hand but is afraid of letting anyone in close enough to ask.

One house, three women and five kids. As you can expect, it’s not long before tension and resentments build and relationships begin to feel the strain.

I loved this story for many reasons. Relatable characters with real world issues, concerns and problems are a huge draw for me. Add in the entertaining aspect of humor and tears and I couldn’t look away. I liked these women but I often felt like Erica and Louise were selfish and taking advantage of Polly, especially when it came to the child minding. Polly doesn’t work outside the home and it’s her house that everyone moves into. Though it makes sense for Polly to be the primary caregiver, I started to feel a little put out on Polly’s behalf when it started to feel expected.

Erica works on a television show and for a good part of the story is more plugged into her phone and her job instead of being available for her daughter but resents it when her daughter and Polly become close.

Louise struggles with her weight and has a lot of resentment towards her sister. She takes her husband for granted and there are major trust issues for her with her husband. She also ignores her children because she is so wrapped up in her own head. She is a bit of a control freak and it shows with the numerous lists she creates.

Polly is a bit of a push-over. She is dealing with major trauma in her life, raising two children after the man she loves dies suddenly. She is living in a very large house but it is run-down and she could use some friends.

As this story goes on, we learn much more about these women that made me see them more openly with all the baggage they each are carrying. I ended up rooting for all of them to come out on top and this story did not disappoint.

Kathleen Whyman is an author I will be on the lookout for. Her ability to create characters that the reader will connect to is wonderful. This story made me laugh, cry and even shocked me. The plot flows so seamlessly that I was a little surprised that it was ending. I could easily see it continuing and myself catching up with these women over coffee or wine. I went with the audio format for this story and Natalie Drew’s narration was fantastic. She does a brilliant job of conveying multiple emotions and tones for the characters that will draw the reader into the story.

My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this story to readers who like connecting to the characters on a deep emotional level, who like stories that are relationship driven and like surprises mixed in with the laughter and tears. This story reminded me that we all have times in our lives where a little support goes a long way and we just have to be brave enough to ask for it and seize it.

This book was a light-hearted and amusing way to keep my mind occupied while out walking.

The idea of three women sharing a house and responsibilities seemed great to me when the book started but the dynamic between the three ladies changed after some time living together and I definitely reconsidered!

The characters were those that you can’t help but like, even though they aren’t always the nicest of people.

There was humour and tender moments and these just knitted together to form a very enjoyable story.

The narration was very well done, with the narrator having a great range of voices. I wasn’t a fan of the children’s voices, but everyone else had a voice which suited their character.

There was a lot of depth to these characters, and towards the end of the book and the revelations made, I felt somewhat emotional for them.

This book explores what it would be like when a few women with children, some with careers, decide to share a house. There are arguments, failed plans, disappointment, its all very realistic. There's affairs, there's marriages falling through, marriages striving, new relationships.

This was a fun book.

Loved the premise of this book - women supporting each other to be able to work, get the housework done, and take care of the kids. It really is a difficult job to be a mother and wife! I was expecting this to be a satirical look at what it takes to be a mom and wife through the eyes of women who move into a B&B together to support each other. Instead, it ended up being more focused on the over-the-top drama of the women, who tend to blow each situation out of proportion to create more problems. I was hoping for more of "women empowerment" and "women can do anything together" vibes, but I think I just misunderstood the premise of the book. If you love drama and reading about middle-aged women, this is for you!

The narrator, Natalie Drew, did a fantastic job portraying the mood of this book in her narration.

Thanks to Saga Egmont Audio for the copy of this audiobook.

Erica and Louise are struggling with family life and childcare. When the idea comes up to move into Polly's large home, and share cooking, cleaning, and all things relating to the children, they jump at the chance. How will the women find the experience, and how will the men in their life fit in?

I had the audio book version of this story, and I'll admit I struggled as I didn't like the narrator's style. I also found myself not actually caring about many of the characters, so I turn I didn't really mind what happened to them! The only one I did find myself liking was Polly, I longed for her to have a happy ending - to find out if she gets it, you'll need to read or listen to the book!

Great book, easy read, with every emotion you can think of. For those who have recently given birth this would be a great book to read. Would definitely recommend

Thankyou so much to Netgalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the audio arc.

A very unique, entertaining and compelling book that had me laughing out loud in places.
A light-hearted easy story that I highly recommend, it will be great if your in a reading slump or need am easy read that won't take alot of attention.
There are some heart breaking moments which for some maybe difficult to read, but I 100% think this book is proof that no matter how people act you never know what's going on behind closed doors or what they are feeling emotionally.

The audiobook is brilliant, Natalie Drew really brings life to the characters and does the story so much justice. I was not disappointed.

A group of friends who all have flaws and are struggling with parental, marital and personal issues. They are also trying to juggle their career, housework and children.
I love their development throughout, a brilliant debut, and I can't wait to see what else she has to bring.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I thought it was quite a comforting listen - to keep returning to these three characters, it was really comforting and perfect escapism.

Erica, Polly and Louise are all very different parents, but one thing they have in common is that they are the main carer for their children as the fathers to the children are either no longer around or are too committed to work. They are struggling to cope with everything on their own, so decide to move in together so that it makes childcare easier...

But of course, these three very different women have conflicts with each other and each other's children once they're all under the same roof. This was of course predictable, but it didn't stop me from enjoying listening to the story. I liked wondering what direction each of the women would go in and how it would be resolved at the end. I felt like I kept learning a lot about myself too whilst listening... thinking mmhmm I do that! or Yes! that annoys me too!!

This is a debut book, so I'm excited to see what else this author will write in the future.

Kathleen Whyman's debut novel introduces us to Ericka, Poppy and Louise three moms who met at the school gates and all struggle to juggle jobs and kids. They decide to form a Wife Support system and all move into the one house in order to share the childcare and chores with challenging results. I really enjoyed this book as the idea of mom's moving in together to support each other is a very interesting concept... in theory

#WifeSupportSystem #NetGalley

Review of Wife Support System by Kathleen Whyman - Audiobook

This is the entertaining story of Erica, Louise and Polly who are all struggling with the demands of everyday life. Erica come up with the great plan of living together with the five kids (between them) in the week and sharing all the household chores and just spending the weekends with their partners. This was a really enjoyable read, with some great funny moments. Loved the writing and the characters. This was the audio version which was well read and easy to listen to. Recommended.

Wife Support System tells the story of 3 women who are all struggling with different aspects of being Mothers and Wives, from childcare to feeling loved. So they decide to all live together in one big house with their kids in order to support each other and relieve some of the pressures. As I'm sure you can imagine, things don't go perfectly and there are some bumps in the road along the way with some really funny moments.
I really enjoyed this book and I think the author got it just right with the tone of the book. Even though it is mainly supposed to be a light-hearted chick lit it isn't just full of comedic moments, laughter and sunshine. Wife Support System did a really great job of touching on a few heavier topics such as the unbalance that some women feel in their parenting / work roles, domestic violence, and body confidence after having children and how that affects relationships.
I liked all three of the women in the book and found that I could relate to each of them in different ways and identify with some of their thoughts and concerns. All three women are very different in their personalities and their issues and I really do think that most Mums would be able to relate to one of them in some way. This was an easy book to get stuck into and I found myself laughing out loud at times or nodding away in agreement with something one of them said. I actually listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job of making each character distinguishable and engaging.

This Audiobook was funny, heart warming & a easy listen.
The story follows a group of friends (mothers & wifes) who all have their own troubles, they join together to help each other out with some funny and sad stories along the way.
The book shows the love and support friends can have for each other.
Narrator was very easy to listen too and clear.
Thank you to net gallery and Saga Egmont Audio for the opportunity to listen to this wonderful book.

Juggling childcare and work is always challenging, particularly when your partner isn't interested in helping. Erica needs an alternative and so she comes up with a unique idea. Three mums, lots of kids and one house. They share childcare, cooking, cleaning and household chores. What could go wrong? This book was full of drama, romance, sex and comedy. The characters were easy to like and each have their own secrets.

Three 'friends', none of whom are particularly likeable, living together to fix the various issues they have - A lot of women will identify with a life spent juggling childcare and a successful career, including the sinking feeling you get when you're let down with childcare. Likewise, there will be many readers who, like me, are desperate to loose weight and gain body confidence. I guess fewer will identify with Polly as suddenly finding herself a widow with a baby.

In many ways, this is a pretty effective illustration of raising a family and experiencing relationship issues; one where not everything is perfect - but I didn’t find myself liking, or sympathising with any of the women, who mostly treated each other abysmally. There were a couple of 'reveals' which made the story more interesting but I wasn't particularly invested in the characters.

Many thanks to NetGallery and Saga Egmont Audio for allowing me a copy of is book.

Full of over-the-top situations, exaggerated humor, and deeply flawed characters who experience significant emotional growth by the end of the story, this book makes for a good light read (or listen, in this case). The narrator of the audiobook did an excellent job of holding my attention bringing each of the characters to life.

I was really interested in this story line which seemed unique and fun, but the characters fell flat. I feel like there was a missed opportunity for a lot of drama that could have happened when mixing these three lives together but overall it was a bit of a bore and dragged on. Some characters were better than others but I found most of them to be whiny and shallow so I wasn't able to connect to any of them or really feel invested in their story.

I listened to this one as an audio book and I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between the three different women. I found myself getting frustrated at the men in their lives and then also getting frustrated at the women who began to act exactly like the people they were trying to avoid. I will also say, I liked the audio except for the children, I absolutely hated when the children had any lines in the book because the way that the person did the children's voices was like nails on a chalkboard. Overall, I think that this was a good book, definitely something to make the commute to and from work a bite more bearable.

Loved this fun, heartwarming, fast paced read! Fantastic debut from this author, Kathleen Wyman!

Three very different characters, Erica, Louise and Polly, all mums are bright together on a cheeky holiday wth their children. Due to childcare issues and (all with lack of father roles) and juggling work, Erica manages to persuade the other two what a great idea it would be to all move into Pollys rundown large ex B&B.

The plan to share childcare, housework and cooking etc soon falls short with Erica and Louise heavily relying on the lovely, sweet Polly. However, they soon realise this comes at a cost!

The story follows the three separate journeys, each one I loved. Pollys unravelled unexpectedly (and quite sad!) I enjoyed her journey the most. It was so lovely to watch her grow stronger and happier.

Friendships are tested throughout but also discovered and each learning from the other and the situation.

Btw I also enjoyed the kids journey. It was also very interesting watching developing from initial excitement of all friends living together to some challenging moments!

I could really relate to the motherhood juggling and the story was refreshing and brought to life by the wonderful narration from Natalie Drew.
She was so good!

I will defo be looking out for Kathleen's next book and more narrations from Natalie!

To conclude this was an awesome, fun, read. Great plot, original concept and imaginative. Thoroughly recommend this book if you like a chick-lit, holiday read then this is a must!

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Egmont and the author for allowing me the pleasure of this advance copy of this audiobook.

Being registered blind its a wonderful thing to read /listen to such a good book!

Thanks to Net Galley, and the author for allowing me to access an audio of this book.
This book gets a solid 4 from me!
I read this over a week, it had the perfect mix of hilarious and seriousness.
There were points where I hated the characters, but I soon got over that, and like them again. The story lines of each of the "wives" were believable, but obviously as a fictional book, in comparison to real life I doubt you'd find a group of 3 ladies who go through and have been through what they have, who know each other, then again Maybe you would as you have no idea what's happening behind closed doors(this is not a criticism).
I shall be looking out for more books by Kathleen :)
I recommend this book.

Really enjoyed this audiobook. Fast pace of storyline. Clear and understandable narrator. I would recommend- and would quite fancy a 'wife support system' myself!