We’re calling it: The Work Wives is the ultimate love letter to female friendship.

When I graduated high school (which was a lot longer ago than I would care to admit), I felt as though my female friendships would change as we all went our separate ways.

I remember my mum telling me “your work friends will become your best friends”, and this turned out to be a golden nugget of advice I experienced firsthand.

I like to think of work wives as those friends you meet on your first day at a new office, but then grow to become your closest confidantes. You might start by nervously asking them how to use the photocopier, what the WiFi password is, or whether the cups in the kitchen are for communal use. 

Your interactions then start slowly growing from whinging about what so and so did in the meeting, to sitting down to eat your reheated leftovers together in the staffroom, to *gasp*, getting together for a coffee on a weekend! And then, without realising it, you both step over that imaginary (but very defined) line between work friends and real-life friends.

Rachael Johns is a former English teacher, cat lover, and ABIA-winning author of some of Australia’s most beloved romance and women’s fiction novels (including my personal faves Flying the Nest and The Art of Keeping Secrets). She has a unique gift of crafting characters that are complex yet relatable, and uses wit and familiarity to draw you into their lives.

Her new book The Work Wives is bound to become a staple on bookshelves as it celebrates the treasure of women supporting women, whilst including Johns’ trademark explorations of friendship, real-life issues, and romance.

Image: Supplied.

The novel is ultimately a story of female friendship, facing the past head on, and opening yourself up to the uncertainty and hopefulness of the future. And, with a bit of mystery and tension thrown in too, it serves as a pacy, page-turning drama that I found hard to put down.

The story centres around two incredibly close, yet completely opposite friends Debra and Quinn who both work at The Energy Co. 

Deb, a single mother sworn off men, is navigating the difficulties of raising teenage daughter, Ramona, in a social media driven world. Ramona is pushing the boundaries and demanding more freedom, while Deb has reservations about how much she is willing to let go. This relatable dynamic between mother and daughter causes Ramona to start digging at a part of her life that Deb would rather be left untouched.

Quinn, on the other hand, is free-spirited, dating-app obsessed, and desperate to find “The One”. Her relationship with her elderly neighbour is touching, and shows her depth as a character. As a reader you’re drawn to her likeability and care for others.

Despite the age gap between Deb and Quinn, they form an unrivalled friendship and carry each other through the pitfalls of office politics and their mundane jobs (whilst doing some of their best gossip in the photocopying room).

Image: Supplied.

The beauty of their friendship is the way they push each other out of their respective comfort zones. When Quinn encourages Deb to sign up to a dating app, Deb is initially sceptical but eventually embraces the opportunity having felt supported by her friend. 

This encouragement and support of female friendship is the real treasure of the story and made me quickly book that catch-up with my own work wife.

At the beginning of the novel, we quickly learn that The Energy Co has employed a new sales director, Oscar Darke. The handsome new addition to the company immediately becomes the man of Quinn’s dreams and of Deb’s nightmares. 

As the novel progresses with alternating perspectives between Quinn, Deb, and Ramona, relationships are tested between the three as secrets and lies come to the surface, forcing the reader to wonder how well they really know the people they work with, and by extension, their own friends.

There’s twists and turns weaved throughout the novel, with welcome surprises too (I’m looking at you, Tristan). I enjoyed the alternating viewpoints and felt as though each story drew me closer to the characters but also pieced together an interesting dynamic between friends, love, and family. 

I also find an extra bit of joy in reading novels that are set in Australia. The landscape feels familiar and comfortable, and when Johns describes the row of Darlinghurst terraces where Quinn lives, I could smell the waffle cones billowing from the nearby Messina Gelato shop.

It’s rare to find a book that hooks you from page one, and even rarer to find one that makes you laugh, cry, snort, and want to read all over again the second you read the last page.

The Work Wives really is the ultimate love letter to female friendships. It makes the perfect gift for your own work wives or female friends (it’s never too early for Christmas shopping!), and the heartfelt message of female empowerment and the importance of navigating the ups and downs of life with a female friend in your corner, make this book the perfect “thank you” note for your friends.

The Work Wives is published by HQ Books Australia, and now available in all good bookstores. Read a sneak peek here.

Feature Image: HQ Books/Mamamia.