The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives Hardcover – May 25, 2021

I have been obsessed with the Housewives since their inception. Growing up on reality TV (real and also scripted), I knew this was just the book that I needed to read. The Housewives tells the story of the Bravo series, but also gives behind the scenes insights and the historical background of the network and show. Everything in this book was completely fascinating, but also gave a nostalgic feel to take a walk down memory lane of iconic episodes.The audiobook is narrated by the author, Brian Moylan. Brian is completely entertaining and engaging. His words are snarky and many times, tongue in cheek. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times, because Brian is hilarious. He knows how to deliver a line and do a killer Housewives impression. I didn't have to speed up the narration too much, which is a first for me (and I loved it).This book is perfect for Housewives lovers or those that enjoy Bravo. I've already pre-ordered a physical copy and am sharing it with my mother in law, who also is obsessed with the housewives.The Housewives is out May 25.Thank you MacMillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

The biggest problem with this book is that it took too long between the idea inception and where we are now because the RH Universe in 2021 looks very very different than it did in 2018 and 2019. First and foremost, Salt Lake City. Secondly, the Bravo Blood Letting of 2021. It ends anti-climaticly almost musing that it is the end of the era. And yet, in a post covid world, RH is still an entertaining reflection of society in a channel that didn't necessarily pivot, but definitely adjusted to our new world order.The first half of the book, which looks briefly at the history and mostly at how things get produced is downright amazing. I have always wondered about the logistics that go into a season, specifically the more complex scenes and trips. In the second half of the book...the author was clearly blacklisted by NBCU at one point. Thus all of his reporting is him attending events or interviewing aggressively academic individuals about nothing. Oh and the chapter on the esoterica of the internet community with RH... I just don't know, it seemed redundant, and like he was trying to meet a page count here.That being said 4 stars for giving it the old college try. The writing was approachable and well researched. Just because I found parts of it boring doesn't mean you will. It's like how I hate reading about MFA's during their MFA... the minute things get overly meta, I just tune it out. It's my existentialist issues, not the author's problem.

There were a few reviews that were annoyed this didn’t have enough juicy tidbits but I really liked it. Because of Bravo’s nondisclosures The author couldn’t interview a lot of people but I felt like it covered so much interesting stuff related to the housewives. I loved hearing about how other fans just like me perceive the show. I loved when he talked about bravocon. The only part that was a little boring was towards the first half of the book when he went through the history of reality TV going way way back, and I got a little bored. But honestly that was the only part I found boring! I just thought it was so interesting and I wish I had more books to read like this. Usually when I read stuff in this genre it’s written by a celebrity who has a ghost writer and it’s honestly just never very good. This author is also just a really good writer and I very much enjoyed this book. He did a great job delving into the psychology of the housewives and the people who love them. Highly recommend!

Glows: This book was ~pretty~ good. It met my expectations and did reveal some interesting things about production and cast trips. There are a few funny lines.Grows: The book is simply not complete in its overview and history of the housewives franchise. Expect to have read some of his "reveals" in various blogs and articles over the years from various outlets and sources. Very few housewives were interviewed (a limit imposed on Moylan by Bravo). I understand this is not Moylan's fault but that element definitely felt missing in a book intended to be an expose or "tell-all." The explanation of reality television's allure by the academics towards the end of the book was also far too short and its brevity reveals Moylan's intended audience.The best part of the book was about Vicki! ;) The book is worth it just for the chapter about her.I guess us Bravomaniacs will have to wait another twenty years to read a true expose that includes many of the women or you could just become friends with some of them and they will tell you, as Moylan explains.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I sat down with this book, something maybe on par with Most Talkative. To my pleasant surprise, this is much deeper and more comprehensive. Brian clearly is a fan, which makes this book special in that it celebrates the franchise, yet at the same time, provides a very detailed, well researched, look at this global phenomena. As a lifelong student of pop culture (BA/MA in Media Studies), I am both impressed and jealous of his accomplishment. His analysis in latter chapters is on par with academic journals. My favorite chapters involve BravoCon and his Vacation with Vicki as they provide real insight into the personalities of fans as well as the Bravo machine. Honestly, aside from the food, I would love to hang with Vicki in PVR and I’m not even an OC fan.

As a student at the Real Housewives Institute, I was eager to get my hands on this book as soon as it was released. Luckily for me, this book was everything I hoped it would be and more. I am a weekly reader of Mr. Moylan's wonderful episode recaps and I have always appreciated that his articles are about more than snarking on cast members - they also point to the frequent undertones of the show and what is happening in society at large. This book is a must for any Real Housewives fan and certainly any fan of Mr. Moylan.10/10 a fun and informative read!