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Does your favorite guilty pleasure involve curling up on the couch to watch the latest episode of Next Gen NYC or The Real Housewives of Atlanta? Bravo’s reality shows are compulsively watchable, delivering a mix of personal drama and meme-able moments that are a welcome distraction from everyday life. But what if you’re craving even more backstabbing, betrayals, and booze-soaked girls’ trips? These six novels – one of them written by a Real Housewives alum – might just scratch the same itch. 

‘The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey’ by Astrid Dahl

This 2025 satirical thriller pays homage to one of the most iconic shows in the Real Housewives universe: The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The story focuses on the socialite cast of a reality show called Garden State Goddesses. When one cast member drops dead after drinking a poisoned cocktail at a gala, the showrunner steps in to find the killer.  

‘Followers’ by Megan Angelo

Megan Angelo’s 2020 debut novel Followers explores the dark side of a life lived in the public eye. Unfolding in both the present day and a dystopian future America, it follows a struggling writer who teams up with a wannabe star to achieve the fame and influence they both want. Three decades later, another young woman lives her life in a cloistered compound, part of the cast of a Truman Show-esque reality program created by the government. 

‘Hollywood Wives’ by Jackie Collins

Blockbuster author Jackie Collins cooked up a cast of characters Andy Cohen could only dream of for her 1983 bestseller Hollywood Wives. The book focuses on a group of women who’d fit right on in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, including a self-made woman in a crumbling marriage to a fading sex symbol, a powerful casting agent, and the daughter of a celebrity, following their rivalries and affairs. There’s a murder mystery, too, for good measure, but it’s Collins’ depiction of the seedy lives of the rich and famous that will keep you turning the pages.  

‘One of Us Is Dead’ by Jeneva Rose

The publisher describes Jeneva Rose’s 2022 novel as “The Real Housewives meets murder.” In One of Us Is Dead, the owner of an exclusive, members-only salon in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood must use her knowledge of her clients’ secrets and local gossip to find the killer when one woman turns up dead.

‘Skinnydipping’ by Bethenny Frankel 

Real Housewives memoirs are a dime a dozen. Some cast members, like RHONJ’s Teresa Giudice, have even published more than one. But a handful of Bravolebrities have tried their hand at fiction, including RHONY’s Bethenny Frankel, whose 2012 debut novel Skinnydipping follows an aspiring actress who ends up as part of the cast of a reality TV show. 

Want more fiction from former Real Housewives? Shereé Whitfield of RHOA penned Wives, Fiancées, and Side-Chicks of Hotlanta, while former soap star and RHOBH cast member Eileen Davidson has written several mystery novels, starting with 2008’s Death in Daytime. 

‘The Favorite Sister’ by Jessica Knoll

In Jessica Knoll’s 2018 novel, five women, including a pair of sisters, make up the cast of a NYC-set reality show called Goal Diggers. One sister, Brett, is the show’s fan-favorite star, while her sister and new cast member Kelly is seen as a hanger-on. But Kelly knows Brett’s dark secret, which comes out during the final, deadly weekend of filming. 

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