
Member Reviews

This unique premise sounded like so much fun BUT I didn’t really care for the execution. By the 50% point Lauren had met and rejected 160 husbands!!!
About at the halfway point, a husband emerges who really “gets” her. Will she decide to settle down, or will her quest to find “perfection” continue? I was hoping that this would be a turning point in the book.
For me, this would have been better with LESS husbands and MORE of an opportunity to really get to know a couple and root for a favorite !! But, honestly, I didn’t warm up to Lauren and can’t say that I was rooting for her either!

One of the best debut novels I have ever read! The concept was unheard of to say the least... An attic that gives you a new husband every time the existing one goes back inside? Yes! Of course, Lauren was shocked to see the first one given she was single when she passed out in her living room after her best friend's 'Hen-do' (that's a bachelorette party for you Americans). But really, an attic that gives you a husband... but if he's hot and makes you tea and changes the lightbulbs in the kitchen then --why not? And if he sucks you just beg him to go back and fetch you something else and... Voila! A new husband comes back down the ladder to replace him. Magical! Lauren figures out how it works and learns so much more about herself along the way. Loved it! I would give it 100 stars if I could.

After a night out, Lauren returns home to her London flat and her husband, Michael. The thing is, she's not married and has never met this man before. But everything from her friends to the photos on her phone indicates he really is her husband. That's until Michael climbs the ladder to the attic and disappears, only to be replaced by a new man. Lauren finds herself in the same flat with a new husband and a slightly different life. Her attic is a revolving door for husbands. All she has to do is send them up the ladder for a new husband — and a new life — to appear.
I was intrigued by the premise of "The Husbands." The concept is original and author Holly Gramazio does a fantastic job balancing both the wit and seriousness. Her writing style is light and easy to follow, which makes it well-suited for an audiobook.
But the novelty disappears after the first 100 pages. The pacing starts to feel uneven. There are almost too many husbands and the story begins to feel repetitive with the men interchangeable. Lauren herself is even a bit flat and I never connected with her. There was never really a "plot" or a conflict revealed. Instead, we're just moving laterally with Lauren through this strange alternate reality. It's too long for what's there and would have been better suited for a novella or short story.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was fun, creative and pretty entertaining but I didn’t absolutely love it. It was good though. This was definitely a light read that would be enjoyed poolside this summer. The story did drag at times, but the premise was so intriguing that I had to continue! I enjoyed the ending and I would definitely read another book by this author. Huge thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday books for allowing me to read and review this book!

When I first read the description for "The Husbands," I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. It was a unique premise I hadn't read before, and depending on how it was handled, it held a lot of promise.
Unfortunately, for me, this book didn't deliver on that promise. I didn't especially enjoy the main character, Lauren, at the start of the story, and as the story evolved, I liked her even less.
The whole exploration of how we navigate love, life and choice became a cautionary tale of self-centeredness. With every new husband, Lauren approached the relationship from the standpoint of "what's in it for me." And if the answer wasn't good enough, she gave up and tried again, sometimes going to great (and criminal) lengths in order to get that opportunity.
I did like the fact that each new husband had repercussions beyond the impact just on Lauren's life, but on the world they shared as well. Each of us does leave our mark, not just on those closest to us, but also on the lives they touch as well. But for the most part, in the story, it was reflected in things like what color the wallpaper or rug was. On rare occasions, the effects were on their friends or families as well.
Overall, the story was reflective of the throw-away society that's prevalent today. If you don't like X, don't worry. There are plenty more where that came from. Eventually, Lauren's closest relationship was with a plant that she had to keep going out to buy each time the world changed again. That was the relationship she put the most effort in to, but she did that because of how it made her feel. So even there, it's about the self-gratification of the decision.
Anyway, personally, I found this book to be unique, but also a bit disturbing.
Thank you to Holly Gramazio, Doubleday and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

An excellent endeavor into the multiple universe genre. Somewhere between the Midnight Library and This Time Tomorrow. It explores the cause and effect consequences of the protagonist's choice of spouse.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
What a great read! Magical!
Lauren returns home one night and is greeted by her husband Michael. Except Lauren isn’t married and has no clue who he is. he then proceeds to go into the attic to change the lightbulb, and a different husband comes down the stairs. Soon Lauren realizes a new husband will appear anytime the previous one goes up into the attic.
This was a really fun, magical, and unique story! I devoured this over the weekend! A wonderful debut novel by Holly Gramazio and look forward to reading what’s next from her!
📘: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
🗓️: April 2, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley, Holly Gramazio, and Doubleday Books for this ARC!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

Lauren is a single woman living in London. One night she returns home from a party to find her “husband,” Michael, whom she has never seen before. When Michael goes into the attic to change a lightbulb, a completely different husband emerges, and Lauren’s life changes with him. Soon, Lauren cycles through a seemingly endless supply of husbands as she tries to find the best version of her life. I enjoyed meeting all of Lauren’s husbands, both good and bad, and I laughed out loud several times while reading this.

What a delight of a book. I love a well-written, smart book that has a touch of irreverence and that's exactly how I would describe this one. After the first few husbands, I wasn't sure how the author was going to execute the remaining 200 pages but she landed the ship beautifully.

This was such a fun book! I recently divorced after 27 years of marriage and it was so fun to imagine what I would have done if I'd have had the option to "test drive" husbands until I found the perfect fit. Or if I would even want the option and the ramifications that would come with it. Would I realize I had it good (I didn't) and that the grass is always greener? Would I have learned to look past the little things and discovered what my actual deal breakers are? I also loved that with each husband, the author imagined the same-ish life, but slight differences, because of course your life would take different turns if you had different partners, even if you stayed on essentially the same path.

I really liked this story! Such an intriguing premise-I was really happy with how the story ended, and I appreciated that the author doesn't try to explain the magic of the attic, you just have to go with it. This is one I could see handing to lots of people. It has a lot of cross over appeal with sci-fi/alternate reality and relationships, great character development and a fast moving plot line.

This debut was so fun, the game of the novel (an endless supply of husbands emerging from Lauren's attic) made for a fast paced and engaging read. I can tell the author is a game designer, and the twist halfway through the book was really fun. I enjoyed the larger themes at play in the book--how the dynamic of a partnership shifts and changes both our inner (self) and nuclear (of the duo) worlds, as well as our outer world (how we engage with our friends, family, and co-workers/community once partnered). The myriad of possibilities that sometimes limit (and exhaust!) people from settling on a partner is something I think we don't often discuss in a typical romance storyline and it was nice to see it done so well here. Not sure how I feel about the climactic ending, but I shall not spoil it as I definitely recommend this read 4.5/5 stars!

It started out so well and intriguing. I even like the former title of the uncorrected proof, "Do you take this man? No, What about this One? If I saw this in a bookstore I would definitely pick it up. The title "The Husbands" not so much, but the description of returning home to find her husband and she is not married, going in the attic to change a bulb and new husband replaces the last one. Lauren goes through so many man and some repeat. I thought it would have been a bit better and happy with the outcome, but definitely different from other books.

At first, Lauren strikes me as the most shallow main character. I mean, she recognizes how picky she is - and then she cycles through possible husbands like the spring water cycle! Ice snow rain fog - seriously, we got all the Moods of Lauren.
I think my opinion started to change when she decided to get to know some of the guys. Honestly, it feels like maybe that was the lesson she needed to teach herself. Get to know the people you keep close. Not just the husbands, but the friends and family that make up her inner circle.
"The rules of the situation are becoming clearer to her. All of her husbands are men that some version of herself might have chosen to marry, and who might have chosen to marry her."
The change in Chapter 23 was welcome, but the ending was... weird.

3.5. This is a great example of a book that would make a phenomenal short story. I’m a bit conflicted on it because, on one hand, I could not put this down. On the other, reading this was exhausting. I found the concept so incredibly compelling, but it also got extremely repetitive. And for all of the hundreds of husbands we see Lauren meet, I left the book still feeling I don’t know much about her.
I think the book was trying to make a few different points about how no life or person is perfect, you can’t wait for an “ideal” life, there are a million versions of life that one person could have, etc etc. But I’m not sure if it quite stuck the landing on any of that?
Still, A+ for concept. Even though the execution wasn’t 100% for me, I still liked this overall and can say for certain it’ll be memorable.
I accidentally put this off until after its publication, but a belated thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

The premise of this book is super interesting! The many different lives and husbands held my attention for a bit, but most of the time, it felt like the book wasn’t going any where. All in all, it felt slow, and I was disappointed by the ending.

The Husbands is the ultimate what if book. What if you could change your husband every time you wanted to?
Lauren comes home from her best friend's hen party to find a strange man in her flat. He says he's her husband, and when she looks at her phone, she finds evidence he's telling the truth. When he goes into the attic to get something, there a strange noise, the lights glow, and a new man comes back down.
Over the next year, she tries out hundreds of husbands, hundreds of different ways her life could have gone. But time keep marching forward, even if everything resets each time she gets a new husband.
This is a unique concept and I really enjoyed this book. You do have to suspend logic, not just because of the impossibility of this situation, but how she manages to handle this for an entire year without losing it. Readers of women's fiction will enjoy this, even with the dash of magic.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

QUICK TAKE: Do you want to be the coolest kid on spring break this year? I’m telling you now, if you plan to be poolside, pack a copy of THE HUSBANDS (out Tuesday!), the delightful new novel from debut author Holly Gramazio. It’s one of my favorite books coming out in 2024, and I can’t recommend it enough.
A mix of GROUNDHOG DAY and THE BACHELOR, #TheHusbands has a really fun premise: a single woman comes home one night to discover a strange man in her house claiming to be her husband. Before she can figure out who this man actually is, he heads up to the attic to change a lightbulb, only to come back down…a different person. Our female MC soon discovers that said attic is a magical porthole that allows her to try out new marriages. Every time her husband goes up, a new husband comes down; it’s Tinder with real-time consequences, and damn, it is so much fun. It’s sexy, and romantic, and laugh-out-loud funny, and Gramazio’s ability to elevate what could be a cute romcom into a poignant coming-of-age story about a woman discovering who she actually is so impressive. Just when the concept starts to get a touch tedious, the author pulls off a really great twist that takes the story into a completely new direction.
Fans of FINLAY DONOVAN and OONA OUT OF ORDER and REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES and SYLVIA’S SECOND ACT and LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY…you’re going to LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. It’s one of my favorite reading experiences in the last year, and it was one of the biggest book-to-screen film auctions of recent (20+ companies chasing the tv/film rights!!). That’s a sign of a GREAT book, and I absolutely expect it to be a top ten pick for me at the end of the year.

🤷♂️ OMG, this was so much fun! I loved it. Thanks to @doubledaybooks for giving me an advanced copy. I somehow forgot to put it on my ARC list so I didn’t get it read by pub day 🤦🏼♀️. But ya know, it’s a @readwithjenna pic so I think it’s ok. 🤣
🤷♂️ ANYWAY— I ended up listening to this and it’s a fantastic audiobook! This had me hooked from the first couple of paragraphs, and I so enjoyed it. I kept wondering how the author would progress the plot— but I honestly think she nailed it. She did a great job of progressively upping the stakes as time went on! While the end felt a bit rushed, I also appreciated the conclusions the MC had come to and I think it delivered on its message.
🤷♂️ This was certainly a fresh take on the soulmate vs. choosing to make it work with a person narrative, and I can’t recommend it enough. It reminded me a bit of both Expiration Dates (premise) and Good Material (humor). Some moments had me laughing out loud. Although, as a Colorado native I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention her thoughts on Denver— ouch, Holly!
🤷♂️ I definitely think you should check this out if you’re curious- and recommend the audio enough.

This one was so fun and quirky. Lauren comes home from a night out to discover that her life has somehow dramatically changed to include a husband she doesn't remember, and her house and phone are filled with photos of their lives together. But when he heads up to the attic, a new husband comes down, and so it continues. There are plenty of completely mid husbands, some truly terrible, and a few that Lauren finds herself interested in. It's fun to see what subtle changes happen in Lauren's life to go along with the husbands- some of the time she's wealthy, some of the time she's doing different jobs. It is also so much fun to read the different ways she sometimes has to get husbands back in the attic- there are some over the top moments that had me doing some wide side eyes. A quick, entertaining read.