Wow!!! To say this book was a shocker would be an understatement. I think Baker really represents a woman's struggle with the work and life balance well. Some of the book was pretty predictable but there are enough twists and turns to keep me wanting to not put the book down! You might think you want to perfect husband and the perfect job but do you really?

This is a story about the fact that no one can have it all without help… so what’s a wife and mother to do?

I really enjoy the recent crop of twisty thrillers with subversive social commentary woven throughout. The author expertly built a sense of impending doom, in a way that made me doubt my own suspicions about the neighborhood. Perhaps there was nothing sinister occurring? Maybe this was just a contemporary and I wrongfully assumed there was a thriller element? The ability to lull a reader into a false sense of well-being is such a skill!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 💫/5

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan & Flatiron books for this ALRC!

This is a gripping domestic suspense/psychological thriller sure to please all the moms out there who are feeling unseen or unappreciated and hoping for just a little extra help from their partners. Chandler Baker does a great job exploring the many reasons why women struggle with wanting to HAVE it all but never being able to DO it all in this creative reverse Stepford wives situation. Nora is hired to look into the death of a widow's husband in a small Texas home association where the high-powered working women have figured out a way to get their husbands to be the supportive spouses we all long for. Newly pregnant with her second child, trying to climb the career ladder at her litigation firm and struggling with feeling overwhelmed by it all on the home front this community seems like paradise to Nora (right until it doesn't). There's also a mysterious incident alluded to throughout the novel that we slowly learn has become a source of deep guilt, shame and resentment in her marriage. Everything comes to a shocking revelation as Nora makes her way into the exclusive community and uncovers their dirty little secrets. Highly relatable and perfect for your summer reading pleasure with one of those perfect mic drop one liner endings. I enjoyed this one A LOT and was so excited to have received an advance listening copy from NetGalley and Macmillan audio.

I have to start off by saying I'm kind of disappointed the women end up being the villains. I mean I knew it was coming as this has a similar vibe to The Stepford Wives, but I really wanted it to veer away.

As a working mom/wife I so very much identify with the frustrations of the women in the novel. We all achingly want to have an equal partnership with our spouse, but it rarely happens. Everyone says remind them, make a list, it's your fault for allowing it to happen without admonishing the male counterpart for being the "lazy traveler".

So yeah I get that ending totally.

I supposed instead of ending with a delicious note of men wanting to step up and partner is just sad to realize in the book (and probably life) most men will not unless they're coerced in some horrific way. And I hate that that makes women the villain.

The narrator did a great job voicing an average white American woman trying to balance work and family without much help from either end.

Nora Spangler does it all, she’s a successful attorney and a mom and homemaker to boot. Why does it seem that she works 24/7 when her husband seems to have plenty of free time when he’s not at work? All that is about to change though, when the Spangler’s look at moving to a new suburb called Dynasty Ranch. The women there are all successful and so…happy. When Nora agrees to help one of the women there in a legal matter, she uncovers the reason the women are so relaxed. I LOVED this feminist take on the Stepford Wives. I want to live in Dynasty Ranch!

The Husbands:

“We hear over and over that we aren’t enough. Not thin enough, not pretty enough, not stylish enough and now we’ve added to it- not successful enough, not professional enough, not tough enough. So what’s the natural reaction to hearing ‘not enough’ over and over and over? Of course it’s to take more. To shovel ‘more’ onto ourselves so that no one can accuse us of not being enough”

Oh man, this is so relatable. As y’all know, my kids are very close in age (5,3,1). I work 40+ hours and was considered a massive workaholic before I gave birth. (and honestly, still have to pull the reigns that my family is more important that my job) I’ve worked from home for the past 7-8 years, so I do a lot in the home and still work my ass off. I do a lot. A lot. I get Nora’s frustration and her arguments. I’ve had the same exact ones! Where’s my clicky pen? Can I buy those in bulk? 😂

I enjoyed the different articles and chats or posts about moms trying their damndest and needing help. We are not invincible. But, we try to be. I just kept think “Yes! Finally” the entire time.

The Husbands has a very eerie feeling around it, and it’s good! I wish there could have been a bit more explanation in the reveal as to how, but I really liked the reveal. I also wish Andi had more of a role in the book. I felt like she could blown the entire story open and been in Penny’s position.

Overall, this is a juicy, relatable, great summer read. This is the book you’re turning the page while yelling at your daughter to give her brother his truck back without looking up. This is the book you bring to the pool and sip your White Claw and enjoy the heat from this book! Thank you so much FlatIron and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy! If you are a fan of The Stepford Wives, or Two Truths & A Lie, The Husbands is for you. The Husbands is out June 29th! It’s a wickedly quick (I finished in under 24 hours) fun read.

2.5 stars rounded up

The authors view of feminism and my interpretation of it are two completely different things. This book is 80% a compilation of complains and frustration enunciated by women who are mainly wives and mothers acting as if they are the first one to be a wife or a mother.
The leading character Nora, is a lawyer. Therefore we can easily suspect that money is not an issue, Nevertheless we constantly hear Nora complying that she doesn't have time to clean the carpet or buy milk. In this day and age, why would she, especially being a mother of a toddler and being pregnant and working full time. Why not hire someone to clean the house? Why not getting your groceries delivered??
In addition we have Nora constantly complaining about her husband not helping her, but when she is being asked what exactly she wants him to do, she's speechless. Everyone knows that men work better with well defined tasks. So this book is full of complains and frustrations generated by pure stupidity.

The mystery of the burned person is very interesting, even though it occupies a very small part of this book, however my suspicion of what was happening behind closed doors was proven right and for that reason it was very disappointing. Not only because I saw it coming, but because the entire scenario is ridiculous.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I enjoyed Chandler Baker’s Whisper Network, but The Husbands was even better! Stepford Wives meets Get Out - a chilling look at suburbia and the age old question of whether working women can really have and do it all, with or without the help of a supportive husband, that is. Twist ending was so fun; perfect summer book!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.