Okay, y’all: if you’ve been here a minute or two, you might know how much I LOVE finding a new instant-buy author. Based on my recent reading of Trad Wife, I’m adding Saratoga Schaefer to that list. I could not put this book down!

Here’s your quick-and-dirty look at five things I liked about it.

01. Tight pacing

The pacing here is nice and tight. The voice is compelling, making the story move like it’s got somewhere to be. But – and this is the big thing – it doesn’t feel like it’s skipping steps. It hit all the beats I wanted it to without letting me put it down.

If you’re in a reading slump or need something that’s not gonna ask you to do a warm-up before you hit the ground running, this one might be right for you. It grabs and goes.

02. An MC who plays to her goals

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: we writers can have a tough time being mean to our characters. And that includes letting them make terrible choices that will set them off on a journey they can’t come back from.

Camille knows what she wants. This gal is laser-focused. Goal-oriented with a capital G-O. She commits to her own agenda with very little hand-wringing.

I loved that she wasn’t a passive or drifting character. She was 100% behind the wheel for this wild ride; she stopped at nothing to get what she wanted, and it was delicious.

03. The social media commentary

I can’t help it: I have a love/hate relationship with being perpetually online to promote myself as an indie author. I have lots of fun online, but I’m constantly aware that social media is basically melting my brain, and it can be so, SO bad for my mental health. I have to be super-cautious about my consumption to keep from landing myself in a heavy place.

So, yeah: my dark, twisty, spite-driven lil heart deeply appreciated that there was some bite here about influencer culture. It felt like it was written for readers who understand how absurd we can get about the performance layer of social media – that cultivated highlight reel we present to the world.

04. The supernatural character

Without spoiling anything, if you’ve ever had to take a Christian religion class, this character might feel familiar.

This element was so good. It’s symbolically loaded in a way some readers will clock immediately, and the way the relationship plays out between Camille and this creature is gorgeous, especially when juxtaposed with…

05. The realistically awful husband

I sure do love a villain who feels real and believable. If you’ve got a terrible ex (or two), you might just recognize them in this dude. And if you recognize them, chances are you’ll spend a good chunk of time rooting for him to get what’s coming to him.

If you harbor any snark about the trad wife movement online, you’ll be groaning the whole way through – and I mean that as the best of compliments. You will not be disappointed 😈

tl;dr

If you like fast-paced books with goal-driven characters, a little bit of snark about trad wife life, some lightly unnerving supernatural elements, and a healthy dose of gore, Trad Wife is worth the price of admission.

And now, dear reader, it’s over to you: do you prefer protagonists who are morally gray or ones who totally own their chaos?