This was a really fun and quick read, but still brought a lot to discuss. Gramazio highlights plenty of the pitfalls of modern dating and our instant gratification culture, but the book never feels preachy or too heavy. This will be a big hit for book clubs this spring.

3.5 stars

Thank you DoubleDay and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This premise was so original and interesting and COULD have been so very fun and entertaining…

Gramazio really pulled things together for the ending and earned back some more stars (loved seeing a husband POV and the glimpse of Sam was kind of dreamy so bravo). However, that middle just dragggggged on and turned incredibly repetitive. She should have cut a couple hundred husbands out, stuck to one dramatic attic return (Zach, not Amos) and generally tightened up the plot.

CW/TW: infidelity, gaslighting, stalking, fire, gun violence, drug use

"Delightfully witty and irresistibly charming, it is a delightful escapade into the world of modern romance. With its relatable protagonist and hilarious mishaps, it's a perfect blend of humor, heart, and self-discovery. The author's sharp wit and engaging storytelling keep you turning the pages, making it a must-read for anyone in need of a good laugh and a dose of feel-good romance.

I was truly enjoying this book, but it got way too repetitive. Poor Lauren has to keep being forced to deal with different husbands, which in of itself was not terrible, but she never gets a break. There is no guy outside of one that interests her, and even when she goes to visit him in a different timeline, he is lack luster, so she just keeps going through husbands. This book just drags. I wish there was a husband that maybe she had felt a little bit more drawn to and then something happened where she had to find him again, or that she kept a husband for longer. I just got exhausted, probably as much as Lauren was. This book is for sure not a romcom in any sense of the word. Or at least not one that resonated with me personally.
Thank you to Doubleday Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

At first I was really enjoying the premise, but after a while, it did start to become very repetitive. It was about 100 pages too long and lacked depth at times. If you’re into romcoms, this might be a great read for you. It would have been PERFECT as a novella!

Thanks to NetGalley for this book.

I LOVED THIS. The premise was fascinating.. reminded me very much of the movie Sliding Doors , a movie I think about quite often. What if I had made one tiny different choice? How changed would my life be?
Even though Lauren was annoying at times, I felt like she could be a real person- she was imaginable and a magic attic is the perfect amount of magic for me. Loved.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

The Husbands is a great idea—don’t like this husband, send him back to the attic for a new one! Much like a dating app though, there are so many choices/husbands , it’s hard to keep track. I enjoyed this one, it was a quick, and funny, read, but felt it was missing something.

SYNOPSIS
- One night, Lauren returns home to her flat in London and discovers a man who claims to be her husband.
- Despite having no recollection of him, evidence suggests they've been together for years.
- Meanwhile, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb, but suddenly disappears.
- In his place, a new man appears, and a new, slightly altered life forms around Lauren.
- She soon realizes that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, leaving her questioning what the right path and perfect match might be.

MY THOUGHTS
- Very unique plot. From the start, I was intrigued by what would happen. Major kudos to the author for creativity.
- Thoughtful and witty. Enjoyed the writing.
- Blends several genres (contemporary, sci-fi, literary fiction)
- Explores interesting concepts, like seemingly endless choices & overanalyzing your decisions.
- Lauren’s partner choice also impacts other areas of her life. Close friends, jobs, hobbies, decor, and all aspects of her life are different, depending on the husband that emerges from the attic.
- My only complaint is it got a bit repetitive in some sections, and I think it could’ve been shorter

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️one of a kind premise; good palate cleansing read.

Thanks to Doubleday Books and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on April 2, 2024.

🩵What I Loved
✨The clever premise

🩶What Could Have Been Better
✨I want to keep things positive, but this mostly fell flat for me.
✨I didn’t see any character development, and as a result the main character came across as a really unscrupulous person that I just didn’t like or connect with at all.
✨There were so many missed opportunities for connection with readers that just didn’t happen.
✨Lots of telling. Not a lot of showing.

I wanted to like it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Maybe you will, though!

This was such a unique premise and set up, and I was initially all in on this story. However, after about 1/3 I got tired of the flat husbands and switching and wanted more depth on what was/wasn’t working. It’s definitely unique and I’m sure will have great support.

“When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.”

This is a fun and quirky read. Lauren gets the choice of several different husbands by asking them to go to the attic and change a lightbulb. Her life resets and a new husband appears! Could you imagine!? It was an engaging read and I thought the concept was funny. The characters did fall a little flat for me and I felt like it was drawn out a little. Overall it’s a fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday books for the arc.

I was browsing Netgalley one day, looking for something fun to read, and The Husbands by Holly Gramazio appealed to me immediately—I couldn’t request it fast enough! I don’t normally gravitate towards novels with elements of fantasy or magical realism, but the plot of this one really piqued my interest. A woman endlessly swaps out a supply of husbands simply by asking them to go up into the attic to change a lightbulb, and then her life resets as a new husband suddenly appears! Sounds hilariously fun, right? It was. It really was…at first. I truly adored the unique premise, and it started off SO strong. I was giggling away, but then it eventually got old. The storyline didn’t really go anywhere, and the main character quickly started to grate on my nerves. In all honesty, the lack of character growth, and overall weak execution knocked this novel down a few pegs. Don’t get me wrong, this novel is entertaining as heck, but it just needed a bit more editing in my opinion. If you’re looking for something fresh and quirky, this debut is definitely it! The Husbands releases on April 2nd, and it gets 3.5/5 stars from me!

This book is an original take on modern dating and married life with a twist. Lauren is a single woman enjoying her life and after a night celebrating finds herself with a husband she has no memory of marrying. Different husbands keep emerging from her attic and Lauren has to decide who she wants to keep. There are a lot of funny moments anyone in a long term relationship can relate to. At times, it became tedious and could have ended a bit sooner. Her relationship with the husband who didn’t want her either was the best part and made the rest of the story easier to get through.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fascinating and quirky book about a woman dealing with a multiverse of parallel husbands. Enjoyable for fans of movies like Sliding Doors. Well done..

The Husbands
by Holly Gramazio
Pub Date: April 2, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • An exuberant debut, The Husbands delights in asking: how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options?
I absolutely love the premise and it would make for a great movie with a few tweaks. My main qualm was the length; there just wasn't enough substance to carry this story over 300+ pages. This would've absolutely banged as a novella. There's great humor and the 'lessons' would've popped more in a condensed story. However, I found myself getting tired of the revolving husbands without very little plot progression.
So for me it's a Meh. Not my favorite read.
3 stars

I ate up this smart and thought provoking book about a woman living in London who comes home one night to her husband Michael, except that she’s not married and she’s never seen him before in her life.

Then Michael goes up into the attic to change a lightbulb, and as he descends he is replaced with a new mystery husband!

The magic attack and the mystery husbands – I know, it sounds super gimmicky. But it’s not. It’s just fun. And thought provoking. And delightfully weird. (Perfect for fans of Kevin Wilson’s Nothing To See Here)

It’s more satire than rom com, a commentary of sorts on the nutty state of dating and marriage in the 21st century. I’ll be thinking of the wonderfully surprising ending for quite some time.

I loved this book and look forward to forcing many friends, both single and married, to read it.

2.5
Imagine a life of infinite husbands, but you only have one at a time and for an unknown period of time. If you don't care for the current husband, you simply ask him to retrieve something from the attic and a new husband emerges along with a new life, new hobbies, new decor etc. A very large magical element in this book!

This started off chaotic yet intriguing with the constant revolving door of husbands. There were times when Lauren liked and kept her husband and others when she quickly redirected them to the attic. Over the length of the book I found myself growing weary of the many many husbands, too many to keep track of. There were a couple that she held onto that we got to know and were privy to their relationship, but overall it felt like a complete hurricane of men. Too many guys and not enough story or details. I wished we'd been given only a few men that rotated through so we could get to know them better. I felt no connection to any of the characters. I presume I should've liked Lauren but by the end, I was just too removed because of the many removals of husbands.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for this complimentary eARC.

DNF at 36%. I thought the concept sounded so interesting and this was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024 but unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me. I found myself bored and disconnected. Thank you to the publisher for the free ebook and PRH audio for the free audiobook.

This debut novel got me from the very start. Lauren comes home from a night out to find her husband, Michael waiting for her. That would be fine, except she doesn't have a husband. At some point he goes into the attic, the light flickers, and a different man (also her husband) comes down. What she does with this attic of seemingly endless husbands is the rest of the book.

With each husband, Lauren's life (and home décor) changes, sometimes slightly, sometimes dramatically. To everyone else, the husband has always been there. Her life progresses otherwise normally. She has infinite chances to meet someone she'd like to be with, but how will she know if she's made a good decision or not when there's another husband waiting in the wings. And he might be better.

I was struck by Lauren's blasé attitude toward the attic and the men who emerge from it. If I came home to a stranger in my house, I'd be calling 911, not having a conversation. I also felt like the ending was disappointing. There were a lot of ways it could have gone, but the way it did wasn't for me.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable book if you can put aside your disbelief. There were times I laughed out loud and others where I was really pulling for Lauren.

My thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Husbands was a clever concept with one woman, who's single, repeatedly gets new husbands every time they come down from the attic. I loved the idea but the middle fell flat for me. Way too many husbands, but I still stuck with it because I had to see how it would end. If you're dating or have been on the dating apps, you'll see some irony woven through. I like how her friends stayed the same, but we always saw them in different stages of their lives.