Description 🔖

When Lina’s oldest friends unexpectedly announce they’re coming to stay, she has to think fast. No one knows she and her husband Brown are breaking up, and so she persuades him to act as if they aren’t… After all, how hard can it be to pretend to be married for ten days?

Turns out, a lot harder than she thought. On day one, she strikes so many couple poses that she throws her back out. On day two, she gets muscle spasms from smiling too hard at her husband’s jokes. On day three, she almost has a heart attack when she puts her hand far too high up his thigh at the dinner table. And on day four, when she accidentally grazes Brown’s lips when aiming for his cheek, she almost passes out in the middle of the restaurant.

By day five, Lina is starting to realise there’s a thin line between love and hate. And while she can try to fool her friends, she can’t fool her heart. Was she too hasty calling time on her marriage? Is this more than make believe? And does she even have enough time to find out if Brown feels the same?

General Thoughts 🤔

It kills me to write this review because I really wanted to like this book. The cover was what originally caught my attention because I’m basically a magpie and I get drawn to bright colours. Then I read the synopsis and thought it sounded fun and something I would enjoy. Unfortunately the book wasn’t able to deliver for me. I don’t want to give spoilers, but the plot is obvious and there was no sub plot to keep it interesting, so it felt like it was a story that could have been covered in a handful of chapters.

Characters 👫👭👬

I didn’t hate the characters and they did actually seem like a good bunch of people that I’d quite like to hang out with. Lina was a little highly strung, but her heart was kind and I imagine she’d make a very good friend. Brown seemed like he would be a funny guy to spend time with. Frankie was loving and probably the person I’d have liked to know more about as they seemed like they would have an interesting back story.

Sadly, the plot didn’t provide any of the above the opportunity to shine and show off their personalities. I wasn’t able to get close enough to them to really love them.

Writing Style ✍️

I haven’t got much more to say in this section other than what I’ve already said. One thing that I think could have made me enjoy this more is the addition of much more humour. The concept had the potential to have so many funny scenes included, but there wasn’t enough follow through of this to make me laugh.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I had high hopes for this book and was hoping it would have me laughing and make my heart thoroughly warmed. Unfortunately the plot didn’t quite make it for me and I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed. The characters were great and I wish I had been able to get to know them more via their stories. Hopefully there are plenty of other people who get on much better with this book, but for me it didn’t live up to my expectations.

I found this book kinda hard to get into.
Lina and Brown didn't have enough chemistry and I didn't feel like the plot of them saving the building was very interesting.

I was disappointed because I love second chance romances and this one didn't feel like one.

I am not going to post this review online as a follow up: just here.

I found this really unreadable. While I finished it, begrudgingly, it felt like a requirement more than something I really wanted to read.

I think the cover and description are a little misleading, and this was far less 'fun' then I would have expected it to be. I think the plot was muddled and trying to do way too much. I think there are a lot of books that deal with spousal issues well, and this just felt very...lost.

Also this is just a note: but the heavy, continuous, but at times very unclear focus on the pronouns of the one friend just felt completely off. I want to believe I'm in a narrator's head, but I couldn't find that when it felt like the author had to keep over-telling me pronouns. Just a thought; I prefer books where I feel like I'm in the narrator's mind, not where the narrator is spelling something out to me over and over.

How to Keep a Husband for Ten Days by Jessica Hatch is pitched as a romantic comedy but unfortunately I didn't think so.

I really liked the premise where a couple has to pretend that all is ok with their marriage while secretly facing some serious issues. I thought that it was going to be fun, lighthearted and funny.

Almost from the start there are several side characters that we are introduced to and I immediately found it hard to keep track of them. I found them opinionated and not very likeable.
I also thought that the language and the dialog was a bit stilted and unnatural.
I didn't particularly root for the main characters as they weren't all that nice and I didn't like the fact that we only had main characters point of view. The inner dialog was too much.

I unfortunately can't recommend this as a light and funny rom com.

Review: 2 stars

I tried giving it a chance, but unfortunately it wasn't really for me.

Firstly, the blurb is misleading, calling it a "hilarious and heart-warming romantic comedy". There was almost nil humour, minimum heart-warming moments and some romance, although the romance took a back seat to the plot. This book screams chick lit more than rom-com.

This book is sadly boring and I find the writing style messy. Everything was all over the place, with time jumping and scenes that sometimes make no sense. I felt like the characters were under-developed with the romance taking a backseat to the plot. The only saving grace was the friendships between the mains and the sides and Lina figuring out what she really wanted.

I was invited to participate in the booktour of this one and I was super excited for the premise!!! I will say that maybe it wasn't entirely for me, but that's a me problem... I can't stand when a relationship is falling apart because of a lack of communication and other thing I can't stand is when I found out the female MC requested divorce before even talking to her husband. I just stopped liking her and that made it hard for me.

But I loved the friendships!!!! Loved how close they were even whrn they're all a but different.

I do recommend it!!! I didn't enjoy it as much as i thought but, I repeat, that was my problem, not the book or the author's problem. For second chance romance lovers this is a great option

It was nice to read a book about second chances and this couple finding their way back to each other. I liked this book and will read more of her books.

I wanted to like this book....I really did. This, however was not my favorite book. Maybe I just wasn't the right time for me to read it ....sorry it wasn't for me.

HOW TO KEEP A HUSBAND FOR TEN DAYS was not the fun and rompy romance read I was expecting this Valentines season. It started off on the right track, but for lack of a better excuse it felt like some very obvious writing conventions and possibly a lack of authorial experience led this book to decline pretty quickly. The characters read with little chemistry and their story felt like something from a horrible Hallmark movie, and not in the good way (there CAN be a good way!!) I was excited for this one, but ultimately, found it to be a bit of a letdown.

The reality of the story doesn’t live up to the lively description of the book.

Lina and Brown are on the verge of a divorce. They are reluctant to tell their friends and pretend that everything is still a-okay when Lina’s best friend, Mara, comes for an unexpected visit. The visit and the pretense get extended when the group of friends embark on a quest to save a building from being developed into luxury apartments.

The author gave a realistic representation of how easy it is to get stuck in your head and how difficult it is to break that cycle of negative thinking. It’s also a good reflection on how no relationship is easy.

We only see the story from Lina’s point of view. It was difficult to know what Brown’s thoughts were. There could’ve been more interactions between Lina and Brown and most of their conversations were confrontational. Between the urgency of saving the building and living in Lina’s head the entire time, there was no relief. This isn’t a romcom, sorry. The blurb is the funniest thing about this book. I’m not going to lie, I lost any sympathy I had for Lina towards the end. I just wanted her to make a decision. It is possible to think something to death. And while I’m glad that everything worked out for them, by that point I didn’t really care anymore.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have never read a book by this author, but the title stood out and I couldn't help myself. That being said the book is kind of a mess to me. The characters, story, message, writing style came across as boring and less funny.

The story moves very slowly which is normal for a romance but what it lacks is the connection readers are looking for. Many characters are flat and not even interesting. The story doesn't move at all but instead stands still.

Instead of being funny it ended up flat. Readers just pass this romance and move onto the next.

PS It makes the Hallmark movie seem funny.

I really enjoyed this book so so much.

It was one of those books that I couldn’t wait to get a bit of free time to read it. It’s a second chance romance but it’s extremely realistic which I loved. Brown and Lina are separated heading for divorce but have to spend 10 days pretending to their friends that they’re still together. It forces them to deal with their problems head on and makes them both realise that they still love each other.

I adored the banter these two had with each other and the friendship they had with Freddie and Mara. It was the perfect take on found family.

It was a heart-warming, emotional and at times gut wrenching read that had me gripped from page one. It reminded me very much of Emily Henry’s writing so if you love her books then give this a read.

💕found family
💕second chance romance
💕divorce
💕housing crisis
💕inclusive

Will definitely be reading more of Jessica’s work 🥰

I’m going to start this review by saying that I always feel bad not giving a book a glowing recommendation but I also want to let others know my honest opinion of a book so that they can make the best choice going forward.

I went into this book thinking it was a fun romance version of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with a marriage twist. However, it didn’t really read like a romance since the whole premise was pretending to still be a couple in order for others not to realize that their relationship didn’t work out. I also had trouble understanding why everyone was so worried about selling a building since that plot line seemed to come out of nowhere. Lastly, without spoilers, the ending confused me because I didn’t see too much growth or resolution which just made the story fall a little flat for me.

The truth is that the idea was definitely there and with a dual timeline and better exploration of the major plot points it would have been a great read. I’m definitely not saying don’t pick it up but maybe read some additional reviews first.

Thank you to BookOuture and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review of his romance novel by Jessica Hatch - 4 stars!

Lina met her core group of friends when they all lived in an apartment building in Jacksonville, FL. But eventually they all went their mostly separate ways. Unbeknownst to their friends, Lina and Brown, the married couple in the group, have filed for divorce. When the group gets back together to try and save their old apartment building from destruction, Lina asks Brown to pretend to still be married. How hard could it be?

This was a sweet story of friends, community, and second chances. I loved the friends' relationship and the progressive dinner parties they held at the apartment building. It's also a good reminder of what it takes to maintain a good relationship - communication - and to not be so quick to judge. However, some friends change over time and we have to accept that as well. Each chapter started off with a little humorous blurb of what was to come, which I liked too.

I truly enjoyed reading this book! It made me laugh out loud multiple times. I swooned and fell in love with the characters.

I have sat down to write this review and the words that come to mind are it was okay. I didn't hate it but I am not sure I could recommend it either. I feel terrible saying this as I know it takes a lot of time, effort and courage to write a book.

This is the second book by Jessica. I tried to read her first book but I ended up DNFing after about 30% as I just couldn't like the characters. I think after this book I won't be reading any more from this author. I just don't think she is for me.

It was funny in parts. It wasn't hilariously funny and definitely not enough to make me call it a rom-com. The romance was also pretty thin on the ground. I can't really think of any romantic moments between the two main characters.

The characters were all okay. None of them had anything special about them that made me really like them. I didn't connect or root for anyone in particular. Lina and Brown are poor communicators. Lina makes big decisions rather dramatically and doesn't discuss them. I found that by the end nothing was really resolved. It didn't seem like they were going to end up any differently. Also, no one has really discussed Sophie and what happened there. It's almost brushed under the carpet.

The cover annoyed me as the characters do not match their descriptions. Brown has blonde hair and Lina is brunette. Given this is an illustrated cover these are simple fixes that would go a long way.

The story felt underdeveloped and unfinished. Thank you to Bookoututre for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

While this one is billed as a laugh out loud rom-com, I found it more to be a study in friendship and marriage. I was a little disappointed at the start as my brain adapted to the reality versus what I was expecting. But once I altered my expectations, I liked the misfit group of friends. Lina is slightly neurotic from the start and it seemed to increase as I read. Told in multiple timelines in the past showing how the couple met and progressed in their relationship and in the present when they are separated and hiding it.

It shows the sad consequences when a couple doesn’t communicate. I liked Brown and I liked the forced proximity and fake marriage (kinda like fake dating, but marriage?) tropes. I think if you like slow burn dramas and aren’t looking for a rom-com, you could enjoy this one.

This was such a fun and cute read! I loved them and were rooting for them the whole time. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a good rom-com.

You're divorcing your husband when friends decide they're coming to stay, so it's time to fake your 'happy' marriage to keep up appearances. What could possibly go wrong?

It was an enjoyable read, although for me the pace was a little slow.

I love a second chance romance trope, and Lisa and Brown's rekindled relationship was heartwarming, with the inclusion of the housing crisis making it realistic and relatable.

Told in past and present timelines, with some diverse characters How to Keep a Husband is a quick, fun read and I'm looking to read more from Hatch in the future.

Many thanks to Bookouture for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐

just by the cover and the blurb i was really looking forward to a light hearted fun rom com.
sadly i thought this fell short but though not my cup of tea i can see it will appeal to others