Wow, this was better than I had expected. I have always been wary of so called influencers and their influence especially on the young but this was just shocking. Life, and folks are not perfect even if influencers are telling you that they can be. A prescient tale for today.

I really enjoyed this. Didn’t see the twist at the end coming at all! I liked how it was in multiple POVs too and the pace was perfect for a thriller

A Gripping and Relevant Read!

With the rise of "trad wives" on social media and the ever-growing discourse around influencers, this book feels incredibly timely. It offers a fascinating exposé on family vloggers and the realities behind closed doors, shedding light on the unseen layers beneath curated online personas.

From the very beginning, there's an underlying tension that steadily builds, keeping the reader hooked. As the story unfolds, we navigate the complexities of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, revealing the dark truths buried beneath seemingly perfect lives.

Madison, one of our central characters, leads a carefully constructed double life—prim, polished, and embodying the ideal housewife on the surface, yet utterly dependent on help behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Michael embodies patriarchal traditional values, coming across as domineering and deeply rooted in his beliefs. The novel is structured with quick, engaging chapters told through multiple POVs, striking a balance between variety and clarity.

While the book is gripping and fast-paced, certain elements left me wanting more. Caddy, one of the protagonists has some gaps in her backstory that felt a bit underdeveloped and I would have loved to learn more about her. Some aspects of the story require a slight suspension of disbelief, but overall, this was a twisty, compelling read that kept me invested from start to finish—I completed it in just 24 hours!

I'm eager to read more from Liane in the future.

A big thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this book!

The Tradwife’s Secret takes the reader behind the camera lens of an Instagram influencer, Madison March and shows that nothing is ever really as perfect as it seems.
I was really drawn to this book, with the rise of influencers and tradwife influencers especially, this seemed like it would be a really interesting view on them and what goes on behind the camera.
While I did really enjoy the concept and I liked the perspective of both Madison and Cally and the inclusion of Brianna to show the harsh realities of that sort of lifestyle, I’m not sure I liked where the plot took them in the end and the way it all ended up. I don’t think I was a fan of the big twist at the end but, it did show just how far some people will go to get the life that they want.
I still found it really interesting and it feels like a very relevant book, but I do think it slightly missed the make for me.

I gotta be honest, I grabbed this because I was thinking it was going to be a...not critique, but a look into how toxic the tradwife lifestyle is through the lens of one person. I was hoping it would be someone breaking out of that mindset. But there was only one character who had anything negative to say about tradwives and she was the "boston liberal with a nose piercing."

With all that being said, it truly was a pretty decent thriller. I felt sympathy for Madison and wanted the best for her and her children. I especially felt sorry for Lori, she's the true star of this novel.

SPOILER:
What really knocked my review down was the incredibly worn out trope where the reader is given two stories and we're meant to believe they're happening at the same time, when in reality, one is in the past and one is current. Even with the incredibly failure that was her first attempt at being a tradwife, Madison/Brianna was dead set on repeating the same mistake.

I was initially intrigued by this book because of the storyline and also being about a Trad wife living in Montana. I live my life as the complete opposite, so I found it interesting from the start. I also love that the main character is an influencer and this book was heavy on the social media. This book really hit for me and I loved all the drama, the twists, the turns and overall craziness.

What a fantastic books! A book that keeps you guessing that is so relevant in today's social media, trad wife world. Read this book, you won't regret it!

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It gave me mixed feelings. There were times I thought it was good, a real insight into domestic violence, influence culture and traditional families. And other times I just thought it was filled with junk writing.
The characters are fairly well rounded but the storyline didn’t keep my interest and the following day I forgot most of the plot.
It’s an easy read with a basic plot and twist so if you’re a new reader to psychological thrillers I would recommend it but if you’re an old hand like me, there are much more clever and riveting books out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Everyone at some point has seen an influencer or reality star doing something and so I found the premise of this book really interesting and couldn't wait to read it, however, it was so much better than I thought it would be.
It kept me hooked and I couldn't put it down I read it in one very short sitting. I would definitely highly recommend

Madison March is a Trad wife with a difference - she is an influencer with thousands of followers seeing her perfect life and family on line but the truth is very different. Her public persona is a lie as is her life with her controlling husband and as the mask starts to slip so does her future. I was not expecting the twist in the story about her past and it was done seamlessly. A very good but uncomfortable read at times.

This was quite a fun modern idea for a novel and certainly taps into the current obssession with influencer groups like the #TradWives.
Easy to read and with a few twists it was quite fun and pacy, BUT I think I would have liked it to be a bit more complex, really digging into the insecurities and darkness that could exist in such a world, or maybe the lack of feeling/connection with reality and the toll it takes to create such a superficial world. I liked the physical / criminal / thriller story but think could have benefitted from more of a psychological approach.
Also think there were some unexplored areas - like the relationship with rival influencer Camilla that could have gone further.
Overall a good read but still think there is scope for a novel to really dig deep into how influencer life can take over and affect your family, life, reality, soul etc.

This was such fun. I pretty much neglected everything in my life to read it in a day and a half. It’s told from three POVs and does a delightful job of telling a story full of secrets and lies. Recommended.

I read a digital ARC of this book via netgalley.

I really didn't know what to expect when I started reading this, to be honest I didn't even know what a Tradwife was!

But what a great psychological thriller.

Madison March is a trad wife with millions of followers, a perfect husband, children and family life.
Her instagram account paints this perfect picture for all to see, and in this day and age, what's unusual about that?

This twisty thriller made this book hard to put down, I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I absolutely hate the whole trad wife trend so I thoroughly enjoyed how this one ended.

Tomorrow I'm putting in my two weeks' notice.  From now on, I will be a proper, submissive wife, just as the Lord intended: to cherish, serve, and obey my husband; to cook his food, mend his clothes, and, most importantly, to keep the home fires burning.

Yeah... I would never do that.

Madison, on the other hand, made that choice and dedicated her life to her husband and children. This Wonder Woman is also a top influencer. She's got hundreds of thousands of followers and nearly as many dark secrets.

I loved the book! It's gripping, twisty, and dark, keeping you on edge the whole time. I'm usually quite good at predicting book endings, but I didn't see those twists coming!
You should definitely read this!

Living life online. Trad wife lifestyle. Totally dominated by rancher husband.
Life is not what the camera protrays. Secrets and lies. Dual time lines of living a traditional life.
You will be horrified and amazed as the story unfolds.
An unexpected ending that will astound.

Madison March is the perfect wife, with the perfect family and the perfect life. Her Instagram shows she spends her days baking sourdough and picking vegetables from the garden while watching her children play in the fields surrounding her Montana homestead. Dinner is always on the table for her husband, and they end their days sitting on the porch, watching the sun go down.
It’s a life anyone would dream of and aspire to and as the snippets and comments from the TradWife's Instagram show many do aspire to live that 'dream'.

In reality though, as this clever book shows, that dream may in fact be a nightmare!

Having just finished watching the Netflix Documentary Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing when I started reading this book I was struck by similarities between the two - particularly the manipulation by mothers of their children to portray a particular picture (and also ensure a particular lifestyle). The patriarchal, misogynistic backdrop in which the main protagonist finds herself is similarly also very disturbing with clear elements of coercive control evident throughout. So the book itself has lots to make you think - and to make you grateful for ie not being in that TradWife's life! I have to admit that I hadn't guessed who the man was who was coming to the farm looking for Mrs March and I thought the end twist was great. I enjoyed this book and am grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

An easy read thriller that grips you from the start and has some good twists I didn’t see coming. The world of Trad Wives was alien to me and the insights given into it in this book made me think it’s best left like that. Seemingly perfect lives posted on Instagram but hiding dark secrets. It’s a very well written book - none of the characters are particularly endearing, some are very easy to dislike and add a decidedly menacing element to the story. Overall a very good read that will keep you turning the pages.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review and to the author for her insights, imagination and hard work.

💭 #QOTD What is your favourite meal?

Title: The Trad Wife's Secret
Author: Liane Child
Pages: 350
Rating: 3/5
Spice/Romance level: 🩷🩷 (FTB)

#Arc eCopy ( #gifted ) - review left voluntarily
UK publish date - 22nd May 2025

Madison March portrays the perfect wife, perfect family on her Instagram. Where "men are men" and the wives are subservient (even if the men might be wrong)

They live on a homestead. Everything is made from scratch and the aesthetic just seems like a "perfect life" but is everything really as it seems?

When I saw the Instagram post announcing the closure of @_trulymadison_ I had to read this book. I was intrigued.

The book is written from different perspectives and I really enjoyed the plotlines. There were even some twists that I just did not see coming!

I found some of the story validating. I find myself sometimes comparing myself to the perfect instagram influencers. Their homes. Their lifestyles. (My mind went to Mrs Hinch and Stacey Solomon) And mostly, I feel a bit rubbish about myself. So this book validated that the perfect aesthetic is just that, and there is a lot more going on behind the camera, and that life isn't suitable for everyone!

I was pushed to feeling uncomfortable with the m!sogony, and how things are just accepted because whatever the man says goes. Even if you don't agree with it! The same with

I enjoyed the intensity . The questioning of how far would you go to be loved. To be wanted. To be seen and for all of your followers.

There are things that happened in this book which had me infuriated. From domestic and child abu$e, r@pe, lack of consent, the "you owe me" mentality. Without it the plot wouldn't be able to contribute but it had me frustrated that someone would stay in a relationship like this.

Overall, I was completely hooked. This was another book I binged in a day. It was fast paced and gripping, with a great unexpected ending!

You'll love this book if you like
- thriller
- secret lives
- trad wife secrets
- books with twists
- behind the Instagram
- so many lies

I love the hype there is around this book at the moment but that always makes me nervous to start it! However I can definitely say this title not only lives up to the hype but surpasses it by a mile! An amazingly twisty thriller peppered with social media quotes and insights. I love the complex characters of both Madison and Cally and the differing views they have throughout the story. A deliciously untraditional thriller which looks at how social media and real life don’t always align. @_trulymadison_