This book was a great dark humor read. Although I felt the ending was a bit rushed, I loved the journey getting there. I grew up on Long Island and all the references were fun to read! It was my first by Ellen Meister but won't be my last!

When Laurel’s husband, Doug, is in a car accident she is shocked that she finds herself disappointed that he survived and is fine. She had a flash of her life without Doug, and it looked nice. Now that she has seen a glimpse of a free, clean, and quiet future, she can’t stop thinking about it.

This book was such a delight. I got a real kick out of it! It was funny in a dark way, but hit home with the look at frustrations within marriage. The characters were all a bit over the top which added to the humor. I liked how there was a hint of realism and even a lesson within the story. I would love a sequel because I got very attached to the characters!

“Oh, Doug, why do you have to make it so hard to hurt your feelings, and so easy to want to kill you?”

Take My Husband comes out 8/30.

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Laurel Applebaum has had it. Her husband of almost 30 years is driving her crazy. When she receives a call from a hospital, saying that her husband has been in a car accident, she is quite sure that he’s in a coma or dead. But then she starts to imagine her life without this man. Fantasize is more like it. Then she arrives at the hospital to find him most definitely not dead or comatose. Which makes her a bit crazy.

Crazy enough that she starts plotting ways to get rid of him. Her coworker at Trader Joes, Charlie, is a sympathetic ear with many suggestions as to how to accomplish this feat. At every turn, her plans seem to backfire. Doug isn’t going anywhere. He’s going to whine and plead his way to getting what he wants every single time, no matter how she feels about it. Well, Laurel has had enough. More than enough. She’s determined to collect that life insurance and spend the rest of her life catering to her own needs.

This is a hysterical novel, dark humor and wit, but still, every bit enjoyable. Poor Laurel just cannot find a way to make her marriage go away and provide her what she needs to live out her life as she desires. For those of us who at times imagine life without our spouses, we can get behind Laurel and her motives. Even though most of us would never dare to do the things that Laurel does, it’s a fun adventure to follow her hapless attempts.

As you can tell, I loved this one. It was a nice respite from reality. Not a how-to manual!

Ever found yourself fantasizing about single life? No husband to cook for, clean for, and basically, you feel like you’ve adopted a man-child? Yes, yes I have. And this dark comedy is just that.

Laurel has had enough of Doug. And to tell you the truth about 3 chapters in I also had had enough of Doug. And when she receives a phone call from the hospital telling her he has been in an accident, her imagination takes over and she feels maybe, at last, he is gone! But, alas, he is just needier!

While Laurel works herself to death at a supermarket and comes home to do everything but wipe his bum!

This takes a few dark turns, but really after Coved, isn’t everyone ready to get rid of a spouse?

Only in your head of course, because murder is illegal. And in the end, Laurel will discover her strength and how to put her own needs ahead of those who won’t lift a finger to help themselves.

I have to admit to yelling more than a few times, “Just leave him!”. But as I have been married twenty years I can say it just isn’t that easy. I really enjoyed this one!

NetGalley/August 30th, 2022 by MIRA

I really thought this was a super cute book, and I enjoyed reading it a lot. I loved their banter I think the most

Book: Take My Husband
Author: Ellen Meister
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Mira Books, for sending me an ARC.

I went into this one not knowing what to expect. I didn’t know how the comedy elements would play into a book about a woman wanting to kill her husband. It just doesn’t seem to fit. However, it does and it does so in a way that fits the story. In this book, we follow Laurel who is at her wit’s end. She has been married to Doug for thirty years and has had enough of him. His business failed two years ago and life has not been good since then. Laurel is out working, while he stays at home doing nothing. She gets a call that he has been in an accident and starts to fear for the worse. However, this changes. Instead, she starts to dream of a life of her own without having to cater to his every demand. She could have a dog, her cute apartment, and be there for the birth of her first grandchild. It could be a great life. This does not last long, because Doug is alive when she gets to the hospital. This sets her off on the course of attempting to kill her husband. After all, he expects her to bend to his every will and does not stop to consider her.

I did understand where Laurel was coming from. This story is told from her point of view, so we the view of Doug we get is from her. Doug comes across as someone who is lazy and very dependent on her. He can’t do anything and doesn’t seem to want to change this. He puts a lot of demands on Laurel, without ever considering how she feels. He is also selfish and only wants things to go his way. Laurel works full time and cares for him. She is tired and lonely. She, like Doug, has lost her way. She sees him as the thing holding her back. She dreams of a better life and doesn’t think he can be in the picture. Other men are also finding her desirable, which only adds to her belief that he has to go. Now, I know that this all just started as a dream, but she starts to take the steps to get rid of him. She comes up and tries ways to kill him. However, all of her attempts have the opposite effect Instead of driving them apart and killing Doug, it brings them closer together.

I think the idea of being together too much and having enough of each other is at the forefront of today’s world. We have pretty much been stuck with the same people for the past couple of years. We are nit-picking and thinking about life again. Those to whom we are the closest have this way of getting under our skin and bringing out the worse in us. That is what has happened here. Laurel and Doug have been together for so long that it’s like they are lost their way. Both have fallen into these roles and don’t know how to get out. Doug doesn’t seem to want to get out until Laurel starts pushing him. Laurel sees her only way out is to kill her husband. They are trapped in this cycle and they can’t just seem to break it. I liked this. I liked seeing a marriage that is struggling and how it all plays out. It gives us the messy side of life. It shows us that not everything is perfect and everyone hits rock bottom. I do hope that most people don’t take the same steps that Laurel takes.

Anyway, I found this to be a very good escape and something to think about. It brings up a lot of questions about the people around you.

This book comes out on August 30, 2022.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/-ZY8vNnLTPU

Cute dark comedy with interesting and funny characters. Must have really good and a little twisted sense of humor.

When hardworking Laurel learns her husband Doug has been in a car accident, she realizes how much she hopes that he has died. Instead, his injuries are mild, but Laurel has been awakened to her feelings. Surprisingly, so has Doug! Essentially a simple car accident serves as a catalyst for life changing feelings for both Doug and Laurel.

This is a nice woman’s novel about finding the sweetness that self-revelation can bring to life.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Laurel and Doug have been married for almost 30 years. This is a humorous story of how Laurel decides to take her life back after only focusing on Doug’s feelings. I enjoyed the humor of this story as well as the serious moments. I loved watching Laurel find a new path for her life!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book. I really enjoyed Take My Husband. The storyline was totally unique, and relevant to many women. While some of the characters were depressing and sad, they needed to be for the story. I had a hard time putting this down.

I'm in the minority here but I found this one to be a bit over the top and didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to, given the description and early feedback.. I really liked the beginning.

The concept and setup were engaging and original and played out really well until about the halfway point, when things started to feel repetitive and a bit monotonous. From there it felt like it would never end - and when things started to "happen" and resolve themselves, it all felt very tidy and not terribly plausible.

From the blurb I was expecting black comedy - what I found was a lot more dramatic and Chick Lit-like, which is not my usual cup of tea... I think this just wasn't a great fit for me. Meister certainly knows how to tell a story, it just turned out this wasn't the story I was expecting.

So many thoughts reading this book. First, as written, it’s a dark comedy about a wife envisioning her husband dead and how easy or carefree her life could become. That’s the book and the dark dark humor.

But it should come with a trigger warning as the husband is incompetent and the wife does everything which to me is emotional abuse and trauma. Her self esteem is so low. The red flags are on every page of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

An incredibly funny story of a wife who has had it with her husband. It was fresh, funny and very real. Loved every page! Marvelous read!

Ellen Meister knows how to write about insecure middle-aged men. Take My Husband is a funny yet sad story of Laurel's plan to create an opportunity for her husband to die. After 29 years of marriage and one failed retail business, Laurel is working at Trader Joe's while her husband, Doug, sits at home at watches CNN and snacks. Laurel is tired and weary and devises plots for Doug to die so she can reap the financial benefits of his life insurance policy. Laurel befriends and older co-worker, Charlie Webb, who sympathizes with her plight and offers suggestions on how might Doug accidentally meet his demise. The novel benefits from a good group of minor characters who weave in and out of Laurel and Doug lives.

What happens when you get the phone call everyone dreads? The one telling you that your spouse has been in an accident and that you should come to the hospital ASAP.

What if, as you make that drive you process this bad news so fully and completely that you not only come to terms with it but also realize you feel relieved?

Now imagine that you get there and he's fine...

So begins one of the better books I've read this year, and I read 250 books a year.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy. It is my pleasure to write an honest review.

This story was tough to get into in the beginning, but hang in there, you're not going to want to miss a thing! 4 stars, definite beach read!
Laurel has had enough with her husband Doug's dependency on her, she does everything for him while he stays home and she works a full time job. Also throw in her doll collecting agoraphobic mother, and she's reached her end. She starts to imagine life without her husband, and it's looking pretty darn good. With outside help, her coworker Charlie, she gets tips on how to help his demise along.
As I said, parts are dark, but honestly what wife after thirty years together hasn't thought about this at least once or twice or numerous times! Sit back and enjoy this one!

Not a terrible book but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would which disappointed me a bit! In the end though it wasn’t terrible

Take My Husband is a triumph. This exploration of relationships during the era of Covid is spot on and reflects the feelings of many. The dark comedy is delicious, at once laugh out loud funny and then deadly serious. A page turner for sure, with absolutely hysterical and quirky characters that propel this story to a hugely satisfying finish! Meister is a master of the darker side of comedy!

Take My Husband by Ellen Meister

I don’t know of anyone who has been married for a long time and doesn’t ever get irritated by their spouse. In this case, Laurel is downright disappointed when her needy husband has an accident and isn’t terribly harmed. Laurel allows herself the fantasy of imagining herself free and happy, living in a beautiful apartment with a cute dog and a carefree life instead of being bogged down by a jobless husband who needs her for every little thing.

This kicks off a very funny story that is dark yes, but relatable all the same. We are rooting for Laurel from beginning to end. I loved this book!

PLOT:

In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it’s about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug’s death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there’s the insurance money. Laurel’s dreams seem so close. There’s just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it.

Coming out on August 30.

I could not find the humor in this dark, sad story. There is so much that is just sad. I could not come to terms with the drama and aloneness. The story is different and it is a good read, but do not expect fairy dust with this one.