I am having a hard time getting into any other book after finishing this. I found myself so wrapped up in the lives of all the characters that I would go for hours at a time not even realizing where I was.

Having never been to Jersey, I had absolutely no trouble imagining the beach or the house, or Nora’s restaurant.

I felt for Lauren through most of the book. Jamie Brenner has a way of making you care about each character. I could feel the heartbreak Lauren was facing after losing her husband after such a short marriage. The pain in this book is very intense, but it is real. At times I felt like I was reading a biography.

Wrapped within this story is a deeper story about the injuries that professional athletes endure for the love of their sport, or for their position on the team. Jamie uses a beautiful story about family, love, and loss to bring the battle of athletes and soldiers dealing with CTE to the surface. So often we take for granted the entertainment we get watching these athletes, but don’t stop to think about the way they’re putting their bodies on the line. We also don’t think about how their spouses have to live because of their career.

I was very fortunate to receive a copy of this book via the Great Thoughts’ Ninja Review team. These thoughts are my own.

This book is so well written, extremely engaging and one that I could not put down. The story is seamlessly written blending all the emotion attached to each character into a perfect mix. There are secrets that are being held onto on so many levels and the disclosure solidifies the plot.

Rory Kincaid was a professional hockey player who left the NHL to join the Army Rangers. His death in the service created a media spectacular and drove his bereft wife, Lauren, into seclusion. aShe has become a recluse, shunning any and all media limelight and lives in her family vacation home on the Jersey Shore.

Her idyllic life explodes when three things collide: her parent’s financial/marriage problems; her sister’s impending divorce; and a documentary being made about Rory. Her parents, her sister and son, and the documentary film maker all descend on her quiet life in one fell swoop.

Matt Brio has been working on his documentary since Rory’s death. He only needs Lauren’s interview to finalize the deal. She is reluctant but outside forces push her into agreeing. A curious interest in Matt and a spark in her heart pave the way for a could be relationship. But, when secrets are revealed, Lauren wishes she could return to her former peaceful normal.

Excellent book! Jamie Brenner – I’m a new, but devoted fan!

Lauren’s husband and love of her life, Rory Kinkaid played NHL hockey for the LA Kings and he died serving his country in Iraq. Despondent and eager to get out of the public eye, Lauren retreated to her grandparent’s empty cottage far away from public attention.

Matt Brio, a film maker has an idea of happened to Rory and seeks to prove it. His older brother died in Afghanistan without press and fanfare. Making this documentary about Rory is a way for Matt to rejuvenate his lagging career and remind the world that all soldiers deserve to be remembered.

When Matt tracks her down and requests an interview, Lauren can’t remain anonymous anymore. Lauren’s parents, sister and nephew show up to spend several weeks in the cottage; the undercurrent of tension is palpable. Lauren is forced to deal with the pain and the memories she locked away so long ago and deal not only with the loss of her husband but also the issues within her family.

I received an advance review copy of this book from Great Thoughts Ninjas. All opinions are my own.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. The Husband Hour is my first read by author Brenner. While the story started slowly, it did pick up and was an interesting read. The bombshell and the end was unexpected and had me reeling. The love story was too forced though, it didn't feel natural, and I would have never expected those two together.

Jamie Brenner tells an incredibly important and powerful story in The Husband Hour. She takes a tough topic that is finally starting to gain traction in the media after way too much time being overlooked and ignored at the expense of pro (and even college) athletes and weaves into an engrossing and terribly sad story. My heart broke for Lauren because she was widowed so young, and she clearly struggled to live her life after Rory died. I liked that the focus was on both Lauren’s and Rory’s difficulties resulting from concussions related injuries; such damage affects many more people than just the individual directly injured by intense contact sports.

My favorite part of this book was the focus on CTE; the topic is terribly depressing, but it is necessary to begin to have these discussions. This has been an issue I have followed closely for the last few years, and I felt Jamie Brenner handled it effectively. This book should be required reading for the many coaches who place winning over the health of their athletes. Hopefully as more and more authors and others focus on this issue, change will finally come.

The Husband Hour is a must read for anyone who has children, spouses, significant others, or even close friends playing sports at a highly competitive level. Thanks to the Great Thoughts Great Readers Ninja Team for a copy of The Husband Hour in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As a young widow myself, I’m always interested in reading books that have young widows as the protagonist. Too often the late husbands are portrayed as perfect people when in truth we all have flaws. What I liked most about this book is that flaws were shown and complicated grief was accurately portrayed. Well done!

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Wow! This story was incredible. I love the fact Jamie Brenner brought CTE to light in this book. I can only imagine the amount of research that went into this. Lauren was really struggling to get on with her life after her husband's death, but through the story we learn many secrets. Then you have the whole family dynamic. Stephanie was a hot mess, but I slowly began to understand her. A brilliant story. Unputdownable!

I've liked Jamie Brenner's previous books, but I just couldn't get into her latest. Maybe its because I am a devout Sun Devil - and even though I missed attending college with Pat Tillman by 1 year, I hold him in pretty high regard and in a lot of ways, this book seems like a capitalization on his life.

That being said, I know that so much more research needs to go into concussion research, especially among professional athletes and I think this book brings to light something that has been ignored for such a long time. I'm just not so sure that its place is in a romance novel.

Amazing. Jamie Brenner is fast becoming a must-read author for me. A couple of years ago, I read The Wedding Sisters and while I couldn't necessarily relate to that drama, I loved the story. Flash forward to this summer and flying through The Forever Summer, which I couldn't put down. I read it one lazy afternoon, floating around Long Lake. I jumped at the chance to receive an ARC from NetGalley of The Husband Hour. I couldn't put it down. Lauren and Rory's high school romance story was so real. It was truly compelling stuff, learning about Rory's career in the NHL and how his story came to a tragic end and how Lauren felt about it all, hiding on the Jersey shore where no one would bother her. All of her guilt, love and emotions came screaming through on every page. Lauren's family is also included and their stories are interwoven with Lauren and Rory's. It was a shame the book opened with Rory already passed away and we couldn't have had more Lauren and Rory interaction. As the story unfolds, you start to wonder if how things could have been different (I won't give it away but you'll understand when you read the book). I highly recommend!!

I received an advanced review copy of this book from The Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own. I really wish that I could give this book more than five stars because it so deserves it. Jamie Brenner made me cry and I am not a crier. It's a beautiful book that shows us just how human and flawed we all are. The characters are people you can relate to. Pre order this book now so you can clear plenty of reading time once it's in your hands.. Happy reading.

Jamie Brenner writes a compelling story about grief and dealing with the family secrets that are hidden. The characters in The Husband Hour were amazing. When I thought I had the story figured out Jamie threw me for a curve ball. I love that! I also adored the Jersey Shore setting. As a PA girl who has spent all her summers at the Jersey Shore I was able to picture everything and everywhere. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to read more from Jamie Brenner! She has truly become one of my favorite writers!

I love Jamie Brenner's books. I think she has the gift of writing something that is a great and exciting read, while weaving topical and timely material in the story.

Lauren Kincaid was married to the legendary hockey player/war hero Rory Kincaid. After his death as a war hero, she becomes the keeper of his flame until she is confronted by a documentarian trying to uncover the truth about her very flawed, late husband.

His focus is trying to connect the repeated concussions he suffered with the changes in his personality. The unearthing of the secrets strains the already hostile relationship with her sister, at the same time her parents are facing a marital crisis. All of us have become aware of the dangers of repeated concussive events in contact sports and their long range effects. Recently, some of these have become the basis of law suits.

Brenner is a gifted and insightful writer of the complicated relationships within families. There are shocking secrets that have torn apart the sisters. It is the digging of the filmmaker, Matt, that is the catalyst of the action and ultimate bearer of a happy and hopeful ending.

Okay, okay! This book deserves WAY more than just that. And so does the marvelous Jamie Brenner for her hard work and research. This week was incredibly tough for me emotionally hearing about the tragedy in Vegas. I needed that all consuming distraction to hide from reality and shield myself from the media and The Husband Hour was it. A lesser novel would not have been able to help me stop me stop worrying obsessively and fixating on this tragedy.

The Husband Hour opens with Rory Kincaid's memorial service. Rory was a pro-NHL hockey star who left everything behind to fight for the USA and this is the story of his widow, Lauren. More than just Lauren's story though, this is the story of Stephanie, Lauren's older sister and her young nephew, XXX. It is the story of relationships, both romantic and familial. It's a story about grief and how people process it differently. Following the opening chapter at the memorial service, the remainder of the book jumps ahead 4 years later, which makes the story of moving on a lot more realistic.

I was late to the game on The Forever Summer and read it around August, only about 6 weeks back. I'm glad for this. Why? Because it let me see the tremendous growth as a writer that's visible between books from Brenner. I really liked The Forever Summer and it impacted me in a way I didn't expect, but The Husband Hour is a book I will not soon forget.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a copy of The Husband Hour in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

High school sweethearts Lauren and Rory seem to have it all, and then Rory gets a spot on a coveted NHL team. No one is more surprised than Lauren, when her leaves everything behind to enlist in the Army. When he’s killed in action, Lauren escapes the pain and the press by heading to her family summer home on the Jersey shore. But if she’s looking for time alone to lick her wounds, she’s in for a surprise, her mother and sister are staying at the house too, and they are the last people Lauren wants to be around while her heart is breaking. Agreeing to a brief interview with Matt Brio, who wants to make a documentary about Rory was more of an escape from her overbearing family than an actual desire to share intimate details of her life with her husband. Still, as the summer wears on, Lauren learns that with the help of memories, time and even her family, she’s able to see a way forward. A moving and sensitive look at grief and the unexpected loss of a loved one