– take the setting of Desperate Housewives, add in the intrigue of Grosse Point Garden Society, and just a dash of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires –
Title: The Wives of Hawthorne Lane
Author: Stephanie DeCarolis
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
Pages: 320
Format read: ARC eBook
I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions, and quirky takes are entirely my own—because no one else can read between the spines quite like I do. Big thanks to NetGalley and Bantam/Random House for the ARC—and for fueling my TBR problem.
⏩ Read if you love:
a secret past catches up with you trope – one of the character’s has a secret…and now someone has found her. Can she keep the secret? Will she lose her new happy life? This trope is slow to unravel, but DeCarolis carefully weaves this vital, yet seemingly tangential, plot point into the story almost as a backdrop to everything else going on.
suburban/neighborhood settings – the backdrop for the story is a small upper crust cul-de-sac where everyone knows everyone, there’s a neighborhood fall festival the whole town attends, and an online community forum/chat to keep everyone apprised of what’s going on
women supporting other women stories – which the world needs now more than ever. If there is a young (or old) woman in your life who would benefit from seeing how women can and should help each other, this is a great piece of fiction to do so.
Get involved: https://www.thehotline.org/get-involved/
spoiler – click to read
a villainous victim trope – do you remember when Perry got got on Big Little Lies? Then the ending will not be so surprising to you. DeCarolis’ writing hints at the victim from the very beginning of the story and it’s not until almost the end you really begin to piece together the identity.
❌ Skip if you hate:
reading about abuse and violence against women – men abusing women is an integral part of the book. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 (800) 799 7233
suburban/neighborhood settings – while some love this setting, others aren’t pulled in by the quaint, everyone-knows-everyone books
🏅 Best Character Award Goes To:
DeCarolis creates easy-to-identify with characters. Characters with full lives, dreams, and flaws. If I can only choose one (why do I do this to myself?!?), I have to go with Georgina. Her life is picture perfect at first glance and DeCarolis does a masterful job of painting her life as perfect, only shining light on the flaws when necessary.
🎭 Scene-Stealer Moment:
The moment you begin to uncover the secret past haunting one of the characters. Warning lights began sounding off in my mind shortly before the connection is revealed.
🎯 Final Take:
A glass of wine, a cozy throw over the legs, next to a rain streaked window is the perfect setting to read this one. The pace keeps you wanting to turn the page.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 – Unputdownable
📚 Stack Placement: Definitely recommending to others.
Vibes: 🔥 Plot: 🧩 Ending: 🎁 Reaction: 👀 (legend)
The Quirky Spine 
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