Oh, this is fun.

Our characters are jaw-droppingly toxic. Even the nicer ones (few and far between), are toxic in their own ways. Lord save me from being around any one of them in real life!

The Tradwife stuff is delicious. I mean, it skewers!

I did find that one character, Cally, was almost completely unnecessary. I mean, except for a bit in the end, you could literally take her out of the book and change almost nothing.

Seriously fun beach read!

Madison March seems to have everything that she could possibly want - marriage to wealthy, attractive man with four beautiful children and a thriving internet influencer role as a traditional wife aka #TradWife.

Except that literally nothing here is what it seems - as Cally, the young tutor engaged to look after Madison's home-schooled children, finds out to her absolute horror.

Not that she can do anything about it. She has her own reasons for being in the March house and has signed a non disclosure agreement that will not allow her to publicly point out the outrageous hypocrisy of the Marchs' lifestyle.

Meanwhile, what Cally doesn't realise is just how much darker Madison's secrets actually are than what she has been able to surmise...

This is an enormously entertaining story with a lot to say about gender roles and the increasingly regressive social trends in parts of America. It also succeeds in keeping the reader guessing, before tying up all the loose ends very neatly at the end. My only gripe was with how far Michael March's ignorance of female biology was pushed, but perhaps even that can be viewed satirically. Overall, highly recommended - I hope to see more books from this author soon!

It’s been a while since a book’s twist left me quite literally SHOOK, and then this one came along!

I requested an ARC copy of this as I was so intrigued by the description, and it didn’t disappoint.

This book is like an episode of the secret lives of Mormon wives on steroids and I absolutely loved it.

The Tradwife's Secret is a fast-paced, can't-put-down thriller that dives into the dramatic and ugly world of social media influencers. Madison March is the most successful tradwife influencer on social media with millions of followers. When Cally is hired to be a tutor for Madison's children, she believes this is an amazing opportunity. Cally has obsessively followed Madison from day one. However, once on the March ranch, Cally realizes that not all is to be believed. After signing a comprehensive NDA and with her own dangerous secrets, Cally is forced to keep her silence as she watches everything she thought was real unravel.

The Tradwife's Secret is told through multiple POVs: Madison, Cally, and aspiring tradwife Briana. The author does a tremendous job of highlighting the differences between Madison and Briana's experiences. Throughout the changing POVs, I truly felt anger, disgust, frustration, hope, understanding, and then . . . shock. There were definitely a few twists I did NOT see coming. I love how the author weaves all of the storylines together. I will absolutely be recommending The Tradwife's Secret to anyone looking for an exciting, gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller for 2025!

The author let her personal feelings towards a political party take over what could have been a great book. This isn't a story about an influencer, it's a story about the most unbelievably radical right winged men and is filled with political and religious mockery. I understand there's an audience for this, but it should be portrayed honestly so people who aren't looking for someone's political stereotypes shoved down their throat, can pass on this one.

A marriage is between two people. And their millions of followers.
Madison March is the perfect wife, with the perfect family and the perfect life! Wow!! Stepford wives chilling!! This book was definitely a bit creepy! It had suspense, intriguing, murder, mystery, creepy characters, and some shocking twists and turns! The story was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

"There are dangers everywhere ... It's rarely the obvious ones you need to worry about."

Everyone knows that social media is a lie, but that doesn't stop influencers from keeping secrets. Madison March's brand is all things wholesome. Little does the world know she's hiding the biggest secrets of them all.

tropes:
So. Many. Lies.
Not what it seems
Slow build, high payoff

Content warnings:
this is a thriller. Nothing wild for a thriller takes place in this book. That being said, this book contains:
-domestic violence / abuse
- a LOT of misogyny
- sexual assault (on page)
- stillbirth
- murder

What I liked:
Loved this ending! I dont want to spoil it, so I will just say it was very satisfying.

What I disliked:
-I've never met a woman who legit found a man attractive despite herself. Does this ever happen IRL? I thought this was reserved for dark romance. Bad men are bad. Bad vibes are bad, bad men are bad, and the interest of a bad man isn't compelling, it is frightening. This was the wrong genre for that, imo.
-This is also a very small note, but the book is set in montana, and the copy i received was not only formatted differently than American novels are (didn't bother me), but the language was sometimes also wrong. ex: American's usually say flashlight, not torch.

other notes:
This book was sloooooow to start. I took an interest in the subject matter due to having been raised in christian patriarchy. I still found it quite compelling even though the action took quite some time to start, but others might have a hard time with slow reveals.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Tradwife’s secret is the story of social media star Madison March who dishes out content about her life and family on their homesteading farm in Montana. Buoyed by the income of brand partnerships, she is able to live a life that is quite different than what she posts on Instagram.

Alternatively narrated by Madison, tutor Cally and aspiring tradwife Briana weaving together a plot about the hidden side of achieving influencing perfection. While Madison thrives at selling her brand of traditional values, she is living a life that is very different then she displays on social media. March family Callie is continually shocked at the true reality of the March’s lives and remains stifled by an ironclad NDA. And out in Wyoming, young Brianna feels trapped in her circumstances, her desire for the perfect homestead crumbling—the dilapidated land giving a glimpse to her true footing. Though their circumstances may differ, all of these women are struggling.

Child weaves together a compelling tale of the dark side of social media, of the realities of what we tell our followers and how it often differs from the less glossy reality. The core mystery delivers many shocking twist, right up until the very end. Five stars for this compelling, ultra-entertaining read.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

As someone who was raised Mormon and has oft been inaccurately accused of being a “tradwife,” this book triggered all of my itchy nerve endings. The veneer of perfectionism. The hidden secrets. The patriarchal society. The exhausted and underestimated but over-utilized women. The constant demand for children and meals and spotless houses. The unobtainable standards. And underneath? The Christian nationalism and right wing authoritarianism and censorship and historical revisionism and sexual deviancy and end of world prepping. I was thoroughly riveted, completely convinced, and utterly creeped out. This book, at this moment, hits hard. I could not put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for this Advance Reader Copy.

Since watching the show featuring the Momtok women, I have been intrigued (and a little horrified) by the whole trad wife thing so I had high hopes about this book. And it did not disappoint! A really pacy thriller that kept me totally engaged throughout and guessing until the climax of the book. I would recommend.

You all know what a tradwife is, don’t you? An always smiling, beautiful, perfectly made up woman who believes in submitting to her husband. Sometimes she has an influencer career on Instagram where she features her with perfectly groomed and behaved children and her start from scratch home meals. That describes the public personage of Madison March @_TrulyMadison. Behind the scenes, it’s all a lie, a lie discovered by Cally, hired to be the children’s tutor. Two sets of lies, one in the present and one from the past, set the plot in motion.

The Tradwife’s Secret is a quick read, exposing the underside of the world of influencers. Madison works for hours with assistants and videographers to film a short film spotlighting Madison making a healthy breakfast for her husband or teaching a lesson to her home schooled children. Madison is under so much pressure to be perfect and to hide the deeply buried lies that threaten to surface. How far would you go for money, fame and glamour? 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and Liane Child for this ARC.

THE TRADWIFE'S SECRET BY LIANE CHILD.
5 HUGE STARS.
If i could give it 10 STARS i would.
The cover is stunning.
The blurb had me hooked.
As soon as this book landed on my kindle i instantly started reading.
The prologue alone sucked me right in.
I wish there were more books like this one.
Loved the whole settling of this story and how it was all laid out.
I found it thrilling, entertaining, mysterious, eye opening and i couldn't read this book fast enough.
It kept my attention on every page and every word.
Honestly can't wait to see what other books this author brings out as I'll be reading as soon as they come out.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I went into The Tradwife’s secret thinking it would plot out like a typical thriller with perhaps a woman slipping into the Tradwife role (which is gathering steam on social media right now) while hiding secrets and exposing herself as actually detesting the role. This is not what I got, and I must say I was surprised throughout because of the turns the plot took and the twists it threw out. Written from multiple points of view but majority focused on Madison, the tradwife (who loves it, even if her social media success doesn’t actually align) and Cally, a tutor who is still working out what she wants to do in life (and hiding a secret that led her to take the job tutoring Madison’s kids), these two ladies take us down a complicated path. Other points of view do give us intriguing glimpses into a wannabe tradwife who watches social media tradwives with envy, the mysteries in this one are multiple, the tragedies are poignant, and the inside look into a frankly weird domestic situation are fascinating.

The mysteries are too tied together and complex to artfully hint at, but this is definitely a good read if you enjoy a thriller and to perhaps hate follow the tradwife trend.

As someone that loves all things influencers and reality TV, this book was literal catnip for me! Scary and surprising, the ultimate reality thriller!