Wife Support System

by Kathleen Whyman

We’ve got the balance all wrong. Instead of living with our partners, struggling to do everything by ourselves and only seeing each other now and then, we should do it the other way round. We should live together and see them now and then.

Erica knows her suggestion sounds extreme, but when her nanny leaves without notice, she’s extremely desperate. Polly and Louise aren’t convinced, but when circumstances force them to move into Polly’s enormous but run-down house, they have to admit life’s much easier when the childcare and work is shared.

At first, communal living seems like the answer to their prayers – childcare on tap, rotas for cleaning and someone always available to cook dinner (no more last-minute pizza delivery!). But over time, resentment starts to grow as they judge each other’s parenting styles and bicker over cleaning, cooking and whose turn it is to buy toilet rolls.

And as one woman has her head turned by a handsome colleague, one resorts to spying on her husband and another fights to keep a dark secret, they need each other more than ever. But can Polly, Louise and Erica keep their friendship and relationships strong? Or will their perfect mumtopia fall apart?

Essential reading for anyone fed up with never-ending housework/homeschooling/preparing healthy meals that their kids reject … Fans of Why Mummy Drinks, Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life? and Beth O’Leary won’t want to miss this one!

JENA’S REVIEW

Wife Support System by Kathleen Whyman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wife Support System is more than a clever title. There’s a lot of heart and humor in this story about “three women, five kids, and one house.” You may have heard of “book club fiction”. A book club would have so much fun diving into this book.

What makes a book a “book club book”? First, it should have perspective you’ve never considered. Wife Support System has a most creative perspective- 3 casual friends with kids who realize that they need help! Erica is proud of her exciting career. But, with a husband who travels for his career, she depends upon her nanny. What happens when her nanny suddenly quits? Louise also has an interesting job, and a nice husband, but things just aren’t clicking on the home front anymore. Polly is timid and scared. Her husband died and she has a lot on her plate. Polly lives in a rundown (which is a compliment in this case) B&B and the three women decide that they will move in together and share their housekeeping and childcaring duties. They will visit their own homes and husbands on the weekend. Now, that is a perspective I have never considered!

Second, to be a “book club book”, the characters that must explore a theme. Many interesting and important themes are presented throughout the story, including domestic violence, body image, infidelity, women’s career choices, and bullying.

Third, a “book club book” must have an ending that makes sense yet is open to interpretation. Book clubs love to discuss, “Where do you see these characters five years from now?” Wife Support System has a “happy for now” ending for each character. Through living together, each of the woman does grow and becomes more mature.

Readers will enjoy reading about each character and their humor and observations are entertaining. Book clubs could discuss, “Who is your favorite character?” “Would you have acted/responded like Erica/Louise/Polly?” “How have you handled these situations?”

“Book Club Fiction” sometimes describes an upmarket or literary fiction book. Wife Support System is not like that. It’s a friendly, upbeat book. Enjoy! Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.

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Meet the Author Kathleen Whyman

Kathleen is a writer for Writers’ Forum magazine, a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and her second book was recently longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Comedy Novel prize.Social Media Links – https://twitter.com/KathleenWhyman1