5 Stars
Synopsis according to Goodreads:

"Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, Charlotte has worked hard to move forward. Great job at a hot social media analytics company? Check. Roommate with no knowledge of her past? Check. Adorable dog? Check. All the while, she’s faithfully data-crunched her way through life, calculating the probability of risk—so she can avoid it.
But soon a shocking secret surfaces, forcing Charlotte to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness. And when a chance at new love arises, she’ll have to decide once and for all whether to follow the numbers or trust her heart."

Review
I legit have no complaints for this book. I did have low expectations because it was a rom-com and my first rom-com at that. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I found this book to be hilarious, weird, awkward and enlightening all at the same time.
Why would I give such a silly book 5 stars? Because it was great for what it was supposed to be. A light read with ridiculous twists and unrealistic situations. I found that the fact that this woman was carrying around her husband’s urn to be hilarious. You have to read it to understand more of why she walked around with it, but she does. The love interest actually has a huge flaw in which our protagonists acknowledges over and over and as a reader you aren’t left liking him too much. Which is why I love the book even more. The guy she ended up with wasn’t the perfect guy and did some pretty sneaky stuff that would turn any one off. But as life would have it sometimes you don’t get to choose who you love you just do. The protagonist also has many flaws and overlooks important people in her life and I really appreciate the author showing us the ugly side of humanity. How often we are so caught into our own worlds that we overlook the little things people do for us that amount to a lot of things. Also the theme of grieving and that process. I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone close, but I can empathize with what that feeling must be like. It can’t be easy, and the author did a great job in incorporating that in this book without changing the mood of the novel.

This is my first rom-com, so maybe in the future, I might change my stars once I get more familiar with the genre, but overall I enjoyed it!

This book was provided to my by HARLEQUIN- Graydon House books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted on Instagram @books_and_stilettos and my blog www.booksandstilettos.com on 1/17/2020.

For the past five years Charlotte Rosen has been living her life, trying to develop a dating app and living with a roommate. When her dead husband's ashes show up on her front door step, she's not sure what to do with them or her life. As she tries to make decisions about the ashes as well as her life, secrets come to the surface that she would never expect. Did she know her husband as well as she thought she did? Will she be able to move on with her life with the ashes or will it bring everything to a screeching halt?

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I first started reading this book, I had though I knew where this story was going to go, but there were twists and turns all along the way that I wasn't expecting. Charlotte has been a widow for much longer than she was married to Decker. For the past five years, she's been living her life trying to best not to let her past intersect with her present. But when her husband's ashes show up after the mausoleum he was buried in burns down, her whole world gets turned upside down.

This was the first book I have read by Emily Belden, but I look forward to reading more of what she writes. I know she has one other book called Hot Mess and I have added it to my TBR.

If you like romance books with a little bit of suspense behind them, you will enjoy this book. The title can have many different meanings in this book which I discovered after I finished reading it. At first I thought it might be the name of the dating app Charlotte was developing, then her husband's ashes show up so it could be that too.

Overall this book was very enjoyable and highly recommended.

DNF
I just couldn’t get into this book. I had no interest in learning more about the MC. I did skim to see if maybe there was something that would make me want to keep trying but the things that I did read just turned me off more. This didn’t read much like a romance, which isn’t a problem because I like women’s fiction too but only if the story draws me in. It just felt like the author was trying to hard to make this a poignant novel about loss but fell short.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley for voluntary review

This was one of those books you really want to read and have great hopes of enjoyment but about 30% in you are starting to question why! I had an issue relating to Charlotte and the romance was just not strong enough for my liking. I will be honest and say I could not finish it after skimming to just over halfway through. The blurb gave the impression of a different kind of read than the one I had.

This is inspiriting, joyful, motivational and humorous! Yes, this is just what I need and what I want after my long waltzes with thriller genre.

I just finished this inspirational, witty women’s fiction book. I have to emphasize this is not a romcom, even though we have too many funny, awkward situations and coincidences like we get used to see at romcoms but this book is a woman’s second chance to find herself and rebuild her life kind of fiction. Thankfully we have a creative, intelligent writer who could really bend the words, form them adroitly and presents us a heart-warming story which makes us smile too much that your cheeks could truly hurt after finishing it.

I may sense that not everyone could easily love or connect with our heroine Charlotte because she is quirky, withdrawn character with some many laughable, entertaining inner monologues. But I love her journey to fight against the walls she’s build around herself. She starts to dive into dating pool to make some changings in her life. But she is also young widow and she doesn’t like to share this information with the others.

She thinks algorithm will help her to make the right choice and help her to find the most convenient guy. But when she gets ashes of her deceased husband, she realizes that it was time to face her past and reveal all of her secrets she bottled up because if she doesn’t get the closure she needed and forgiveness about things happened long time ago, she cannot have her HEA!

So this story is about friendship, forgiveness, breaking the barriers, self-discovery, hope, joy, embracing the fullness of life.

I also loved our ideal book boyfriend Brian who is one of the sweetest and kindest guys as a supporting character and I also entertained the differences between Charlotte and Casey. Their characters couldn’t be so opposite of each other but they also balanced each others’ lives so perfectly.

And of course ending gives you so much “aawww” and deep sigh moments.

Overall: This is smartly written, riveting, enjoyable book with impeccably developed characters and heart-felting story gives me the hope, positive energy and relaxation I needed.

Special thanks to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN / Graydon House Books for sharing this joyful book’s ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.

Charlotte shut off her emotions and replaced them with obsessive behaviors five years ago, and now with the return of her husband’s ashes, everything is coming full circle. From a carefully constructed life with a cute little Frenchie, a roommate who doesn’t ask too much of her emotionally and a job that she adores, things were moving along swimmingly.

Until they weren’t, and her husband’s best friend, the one who she shared a night of ‘grief-passion’ with all those years ago has returned to her life, along with her former mother-in-law, someone she never got on with. Add to that a need to find a new place for her husband’s ashes to rest after all these years, and the pesky emotions that have her feeling off-kilter rather than in control and command.

A wonderfully complex story of finding new footing and acknowledging emotions and grief, while sorting through a ton of unanswered questions, discovering more than a few secrets, and finally finding a way to reframe her life and friendships, Belden takes us through the frustrating, the funny and the heartbreaking moments when retreat isn’t as comfortable as it once was for Charlotte. Sure to speak to everyone who has lost someone unexpectedly, or even when you “knew” it was coming, the unique experience of grief and the conflicting emotions and struggles as you navigate one very different day from another are clearly and gently defined and presented. An interesting read that isn’t truly a ‘normal light’ read – but one that provided an interesting perspective with an engaging (as much as she tried NOT to be) character who finds her way in the end to move forward.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aAp/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Romance isn't my usual go-to genre however I do like it as a palette cleanser from time to time and find it a really fun read around the holidays. When the publisher offered me a chance to read and review The Husband Material, I didn't put much thought into it and took a chance. Well, I can firmly say it was a chance that paid off.

Charlotte Rosen is nearing 30 and her career is really taking off. She loves numbers and analyzing things and just happens to have a job at one of the biggest social media firms in California. However, she also has a big secret - she has been a widow for the past five years. Charlotte is trying to find the perfect man using her pilot dating app when her husband's ashes show up on her doorstep. This new development sends Char reeling and she finds herself turning to people she shut out of her life years ago. But who knows what she will discover along the way.

I really loved the fact that this book was not all about insta-love. In fact, Char has been celibate since her husband's death. Yet she is still looking for her happily ever after. The Husband Material has a wonderful cast of side characters. Char's Gothic roommate is a treat and forces Char to do things outside of her comfort zone. Her boss Zareen is a typical boss with a soft side and Brian, Char's husband's best friend and new doctor, is cute and complicated.

So basically The Husband Material contained a lot more plot than I anticipated when I began. Char shows some great character development and I never found the plot predictable. It also contains the cutest flashback marriage proposal ever! Hint, it involves an adorable dog named Leno. If you are looking for a romance with more, then give The Husband Material a go!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Husband Material by Emily Belden will be a well loved book for anyone that is a fan of the rom-com genre! Charolette is living a great life in LA, she has a great job, a roommate who doesn't bother her, and uses her numbers-driven brain to develop the ultimate dating app to find her perfect match. However, Charolette has been hiding a very big secret; she has been a widow for 5 years. Suddenly, when the ashes of her husband show up at her front door along with her husband's best friend, Brian, she has to bring her past into the present.

This book was really cute. I thought Emily Belden did a great job of not making this your bread and butter rom-com. She really focused on the difficulties Charolette was going through and brought to light difficult topics such as mental health, grieving, and finding love/connections in the present time while still making it a humorous and fun read. This was a great read to start the year. I highly recommended for anyone who needs a quick, fun read (it is the perfect beach read)!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Husband Material wasn't a bad read, but a book that should have been finished in one sitting has been lingering for two weeks. There was nothing that compelled me to pick it up and continue, when I was reading I was easily pulled away. I came across a spoiler in another review and while I'm curious to see how THAT all plays out, I'm not curious enough to continue the book.

Charlotte thinks she's moving on with her life after her husband's sudden death, but she finds out that in reality, there's a whole lot she doesn't know and her journey isn't quite over.

That's the story in a nutshell.

I did enjoy this book very much. More women's fiction than romance (although there are elements of romance), I was captured by this story and couldn't put it down. Inhaled it. I have to give Emily Belden kudos for a story that could have been a very tear-y read. She kept things positive and enlightening for Charlotte. I really liked that about it.

I'll be looking for more titles from this author in the future.

A complimentary copy was provided for review.

Emily Belden's first novel, Hot Mess, appealed to me because it was set in the restaurant world, and my husband and I owned a restaurant at one time. Her interesting characters and sharp writing style (which had lots of clever lines that made me laugh out loud) hooked me right away.



I was pleased to see that she has a new novel, Husband Material. Her new protagonist Charlotte, who works in analytics for a social media influencers company, is hiding something from her roommate and coworkers: Charlotte lost her husband five years ago when he died of a sudden stroke.



Charlotte is working on a new dating app that analyzes a person's social media posts and history to predict if the person is the perfect match. It gives her stats on how likely a second date would be, how likely they would be to marry, and how likely they would be to divorce. She has been trying it out on herself, but to no avail. Her Tinder dates haven't gone any better.



She brings a disastrous first date to her best friend's wedding, a setup by her best friend. He looks like a contestant from The Bachelor, and unfortunately he acts like one too, or as she puts it "he reminds me of a guy who gets sent home on night one of The Bachelor." Charlotte is so appalled by his comments and behavior, she asks him to leave before dinner is served.



When she returns home from the wedding, a package is waiting for her. The mausoleum where her husband Decker's ashes resided burned during a wildfire, and now the urn with his ashes are in her apartment. A letter accompanying the urn states that the company is no longer in business and she may do what she wishes with them.



This throws Charlotte for a loop, and brings back people into her life she hasn't seen since her husband died. Charlotte goes to the home of her former mother-in-law, a wealthy woman who has no love lost for Charlotte since she blames Charlotte for her son's death.



Charlotte also reconnects with her husband's best friend Brian, now a pediatrician. Brian offers to help her find another resting place for Decker's ashes, and then asks her if she'd like to go to a baseball game with him.



Husband Material contains the interesting characters and sharp wit seen in Hot Mess. (I wonder if her next novel's title will be two words beginning with H and M?) Brian's fancy car has air vents that can be customized to release scents like "freshly baked waffles", and Charlotte lamenting that her "aerobic capability caps at power walking to my Ubers before I get charged the late fee" are two examples of her wit.



While it would have been easy to make the mother-in-law strictly a Wicked Witch of the West character, a plot twist near the end shows a different shade. The plot twist is one I didn't see coming, and it certainly throws a interesting curveball.



Emily Belden's second novel Husband Material is even better than her first. I liked that it's not strictly a romance, it's more a story about Charlotte facing her future by dealing with her past. I highly recommend it.

This was a sweet, thought provoking story that I really wanted to love more than I did. Following the aftermath of her husband's death, the story focuses on Charlotte and how she is dealing with life after becoming a widow at such a young age. We pick up 5 years after her husband's passing, when his urn appears on her doorstep out of the blue and all the progress she felt she has made in processing it all suddenly starts to crumple.
We are introduced to a wide array of characters from her quirky roommate, the mother in law that she clashes with, and her husbands best friend, Brian. I felt the story started out pretty strong but sort've lost steam as the storyline progressed. I really wanted to be on board with the whole relationship between Charlotte and Brian but I just didn't feel that spark between the two. There were dashes of humor sprinkled throughout this otherwise quite serious read. It was not a terrible story, in fact I was intrigued the whole way through it just fell flat for me once I was all finished with it. I really liked Charlotte and thought she was such a strong, snarky main character who had to go through such a terrible thing and came out the other end stronger. I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

This was such a cute rom-com and I enjoyed it. This was great for beach reading and and I was quickly taken in by the story. It was a quick, light read and the characters captured me.
Many thanks to Harlequin-Graydon Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sometimes the past can come back to haunt you unexpectedly, which is undoubtedly the case for Charlotte. Faced with both the choices she made in the past and new decisions that arise, she handles it….okay. I thought the author kept the plot moving at a decent pace while allowing Charlotte to grow and come to terms with events both past, and present. A little twist of mystery adds some intrigue. All in all, it was an interesting story of personal growth with a bit of romance thrown in. For more thoughts, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. This review was written based on a pre-release, digital ARC of the book.

3.5
I think book had a lot of potential to be an amazing emotional book. It just feel short for me. I thought it was ok but I didn’t love it. There was a plot twist in the book and it just didn’t work for me. There was some romance in it but I felt like it wasn’t needed. I feel like all the pieces of the book just didn’t click for me. However, I liked how she took a chance and was able to have a lot character development throughout the book.

This is my first book by Emily Belden, and right away I knew I liked her writing. Her main character Charlotte has a quirky kind of snark about her that is right in my “I love you, we should be BFFs” zone.

Charlotte works at a social media company that specializes in bringing couples together using the beloved “algorithm” (we are all familiar with that wonderful thing, the use of that word throughout this book just cracked me up). But Charlotte doesn’t seem to have much luck with relationships on her own, either. She is only in her 20’s and has lost her husband 5 years ago. When his ashes suddenly arrive on her doorstep unexpectedly, it causes her to have to “man up” and finally face her past and the emotions she has been struggling so hard to move on from for so long.

This wonderful romcom was a quirky way for the author to address the serious topic of grief and the loss of a partner, and I really enjoyed it. Talking about grief and loss and finding a way to move on is not an easy topic, and there is no way better (in my opinion) than to grab a laugh out loud kind of romance with a snarky protagonist to help make the heaviness of the subject matter land a little softer. I think Emily Belden did a brilliant job with this book, taking on more of a serious topic, reminding us that romance doesn’t always give us the Tom Hanks ending we want. There is a great cast of characters and a ton of stuff all of us can relate to. I truly enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of Emily’s previous and upcoming books. 4 Star read.

Thank you so much to Emily Belden, Harlequin Blog Tours, and Graydon House  Books for a gifted copy of this book for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I read Eighty-Sixed from Emily Belden years ago and it made me want to read all her books, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read Husband Material. I ended up giving the book three stars. I liked it and it had some really great moments, but I felt like it took awhile to get into it or for things to happen. I struggled a little bit with it and it wasn’t what I expected it was going to be. That doesn’t mean it was bad book though, because I did like it and I really liked the characters. Charlotte had to navigate life the best she could after losing her husband. She battled with her own demons and guilt in regards to that and things from her past resurfacing. There were a couple little things that I didn’t see coming, so that was a plus. I’m glad it wasn’t too predictable. While I didn’t love Husband Material, I did enjoy it. I would still recommend checking it out.

Husband Material by Emily Belden was such a sweet read. The writing is lighthearted and charming, and the story of Charlotte, the MC, is both touching and humorous. On the surface, Charlotte is a single, successful social media analyst, busy trying to develop a brand new dating app. Looking at her, you'd think - besides her kooky Craigslist roommate - she's the girl that's got it all together. But Charlotte is harboring a painful secret: she's a widow. It's not something she's shared with anyone and tries not to think about, but when her late husband's ashes arrive out of nowhere on her doorstep one day, Charlotte's carefully cultivated veneer begins to spiral out of her control. Now, she has to face the pain and guilt she's been running from, as well as the reappearance of her late husband's angry mother and his best friend. A best friend that comes with even more secrets, ones that make her question her entire marriage. Husband Material, at its heart, is a story about the pain of grief and the bittersweet beauty that comes with allowing new beginnings to bloom in your life. It's about love and forgiveness, about learning to open your heart, and take risks. All in all, Husband Material has tons of heart, and you will fall in love with - and laugh out loud at - Charlotte and her antics!

* I was provided an eARC copy of this book by Harlequin and Netgalley (thank-you!). All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.*

Husband Material is a cute, refreshing read about a young widow who needed to get out of her world of numbers, stop hiding from the past and start living life on a whim. After an unexpected chain of events, will her life turn around?  A must read for fans of rom com novels!!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Netgalley, and Graydon Books for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Sorry for the mix-up earlier fam. Spending hours in the ER and totally spacing on making sure I had this review up the right way was not on the priority list unfortunately, but here we are, and thanks for the early likes!

So this book pretty much broke my heart because I personally couldn’t imagine losing my husband like that. Even in general, I don’t know if I could imagine having to deal with my husband dying and then having to deal with the aftermath. So low and behold my true feelings when I read more about Charlotte trying to move forward in her life, and doing a very good job at it, if I do say so myself.

And she’s such a young widow too. It’s not common to have storylines about late twenty-year old widows, and while this immediately makes me think about young military widows – ha, my husband is in the military so that is a constant fear of mine whenever he has to go out to sea – I know that it’s not always the case. I also felt a certain type of way that she totally immerses herself into risk-analytics to try to make sure that she doesn’t take any negative risks in her life ever again. How sad is that though when you think about it? But if I was smart enough to calculate that too, I know I would do the same thing.

Charlotte even handles things better than I do because I don’t know if I would be able to handle having any memories of my late husband around me, mostly his mother or his best friend. It would just be too painful, and honestly I don’t know if I could even bring up the courage to talk to them ever again. I know their pain would probably be worse than mine, but still. Just don’t know if I could do it.

But despite some of the tears that this book brought up for me, there were moments of happiness, some silliness, and it gave me some sort of hope that Charlotte would be okay no matter what. Grief is a process and I think that this may be a part of getting through it.