While she works as a bartender, struggling screenwriter Advika Srinivasan meets Julian Zelding, an Oscar-winning producer. Despite their four-decade age difference, Advika falls in love and marries Julian, promising not to dig into his past. But when Julian’s first wife passes and offers to pay Advika 1 million to divorce Julian, the young bride must secretly investigate her husband through his exes’ lenses.

WIVES is a captivating read for those interested in the messiness behind Hollywood glamor. Ramisetti weaves her background in media into the dynamics between rich/famous stars and working-class people trying to make it in the industry. I can almost picture the scenes when reading WIVES, and I think it’ll make an engaging series as the readers peer into Julian’s failed marriages. WIVES make an excellent alternative for fans of THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO (Taylor Jenkin Reids).

Advika is a deeply flawed character. At times I want to shake her and tell her how ridiculous her blind trust in Julian is. But maybe that’s the point Ramisetti is making. When there’s a profound power imbalance in a relationship, do we tend to blame women for their naïveté rather than the older men who have shown a pattern of exploiting young individuals?

The ending has a trope that isn’t my personal favorite, but it adds more drama to the story, which I think is part of the “written for screen” books geared more commercially. Overall, ADVIKA AND THE HOLLYWOOD WIVES is an entertaining & lighter read that explores power inequality in relationships.