Husbands and Lovers is a beautifully written novel. I loved it from the very first page.

The story unfolds through two timelines. One narrative is set in 1950s Egypt, where Hannah, trapped in a loveless marriage to a British aristocrat, finds herself amidst the political upheaval of Egypt’s revolt against British rule. The other storyline follows Hannah’s granddaughter, Mallory. Mallory has no knowledge of her grandmother’s past, adding a layer of mystery and discovery.

This emotional historical fiction novel is truly captivating. I highly recommend this book!

Beatriz Williams writes a solid historical fiction story. This is perfect, accessible writing for the summer. I really enjoyed it.

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams
4/5 🌟

This was such a journey and at times a bit slow but the overall arc was worth the pacing. I really enjoy the bits of history seeped into the past and how it was a journey of heritage and generations.

Mallory is a single mom of a son Sam who eats a nearly deadly mushroom at a sleep away camp. Her sister Page is helping her with the aftermath while Sam needs a kidney they both test and are not a match so they begin the journey to discover more about their bloodline. Their mother was adopted so it’s always been a mystery and now that she’s gone they use DNA test to trace her story. We flipped back in time to Hanna’s storyline, which is their grandmother. She was married and having an affair with a mysterious man in Cairo after WWII.

Present day, Mallory is telling her story about Monk and her relationship, which ultimately resulted in Sam. This was such a lovely young love story with so much promise, then dashed by Monk’s dad. There was a lot going on in every aspect of the story, but it does all connect and we have a satisfying/happy ending.

This story was heartbreaking & hopeful. I am not usually a historical fiction person but this one kept me hooked the whole time thanks to the dual timelines. I also really enjoy Beatriz Williams’ writing. Highly recommend!

A great book with historical settings. The characters were memorable with a lot of different trauma. It helps you reflect on happy book and grow from this.

Why did I wait so long to read Husbands & Lovers? Beatriz Williams' books have been on so many must-read lists, yet I hadn't picked one up yet. This book made me want to read her entire backlist.

Told in a dual timeline, we follow Mallory and Hannah as they navigate love, loss and tragedy. Mallory fell in love with her high school crush during a college-era summer on the coast, and it felt like the perfect relationship. However, the timeline skips forward 14 years and we discover that she has a 13-year-old son who has never known his father. Something happened that summer that Mallory has kept secret, and her heart has been closed ever since.

Hannah is a diplomat living in Cairo, married to a wealthy Englishman. She becomes wrapped up in an affair with the hotel manager, and eventually becomes pregnant. Her life is one loss after another, and she loses the love of her life more than once.

The writing in this novel was spectacular! It took me some time to get ensconced in Hannah's storyline, yet once I did I couldn't stop reading. Mallory was intriguing from the get-go, and I adored her love story with Monk Adams. My one quip is that Spindrift was referenced numerous time and it felt like a beverage ad at times. There was so much to this book: romance, secrets, genealogy, family relationships, self-discovery, and more. I couldn't get enough of the story and savored every page. I can't wait to read more from Beatriz Williams!

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams is a beautifully crafted novel that intertwines the lives of two women across different eras and continents. The story follows Mallory Dunne in 2022 New England, grappling with her son's health crisis and uncovering family secrets, and Hannah Ainsworth in 1951 Cairo, navigating love and intrigue amidst political turmoil. Williams' rich character development and dual timelines create a compelling narrative that keeps readers engaged. The novel's exploration of love, sacrifice, and resilience is both poignant and thought-provoking. While some plot twists may feel predictable, the emotional depth and historical detail make this book a rewarding read. Overall, it's a heartfelt story that fans of historical fiction and romance will thoroughly enjoy.

I was once again blown away by Beatriz Williams’ historical novel, this time alternating from present day New England and 1951 Cairo Egypt. As someone who dreams of visiting Egypt one day, this book captivated me from the start. 5/5 stars!

Definitely another winner by a favorite author. A beautifully told dual time line story. The adventures, the romance, so interesting. Historical fiction and romance at it's finest!

"Husbands & Lovers" by Beatriz Williams crafts a beautiful story that spans dual timelines and multiple continents. It's emotional, thought-provoking, romantic, and endearing. Everything you want in a book.

I was really looking forward to reading this as it had all the elements I usually enjoy, and I’d been excited to dive in. But I think I picked it up during a bit of a reading slump, and the slow start didn’t help pull me out of it. The beginning just didn’t fully captivate me, which made it hard to stay engaged as I went along.

I’ve also realized I tend to struggle with dual timeline books, especially when one of the timelines is set really far in the past. That was definitely the case here. I found myself more interested in the present-day storyline and losing focus whenever it shifted back. It might just be a “me” thing and not the book itself, but overall, it didn’t quite click the way I hoped it would.

Husbands & Lovers
By Beatriz Williams
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
She’s does it again, I first fell in love with Beatriz stories when I read A Hundred Summers. Her artistic weaving of stories between past and present leaves the reader at the edge of their seat after every chapter. You can’t help but to love the characters, regardless of their indiscretions. There is a reasons for their actions and through the stories it all unfolds. Admittedly I am bias when it comes to Beatriz novels but this is no exception.

This is a dual timeline story set in New England and Cairo that centers on an unusual family heirloom. It blends historical fiction and romance. I had a hard time following all the characters and stories in this one, so it wasn't my favorite of hers.

4.5/5 - This was a fabulous read! To be candid, I started it during a vulnerable time and the first chapter is a bit brutal to read as a mother, so I had to put it on hold for a bit. That being said, when I approached it with a fresh perspective I was able to see how that uncomfortable and painful moment is such a critical that plot point to the entire story.

I love a complicated and messy FMC, and Mallory sure was that! A thoughtful, independent, strong-willed single mom with a secret, Mallory is relatable and often times frustrating. After a present-day run-in with her childhood best friend turned summer love, Mallory's carefully built walls start to fall all around her, and her past comes back in a big way. This present day tale uniquely connects with Hannah's story, in 1940s Cairo, a more somber and tragic tale.

Candidly, I love a dual timeline (I prefer it with a dual perspective but understand why that didn't make sense here) and while I liked Hannah, I wasn't as consumed by her story as I was with Mallory's. I was desperate for Mallory and Monk to figure their shit out and lay it all on the table - past and present - and basically couldn't put down this book until I knew how it ended.

Overall this was full of feeling, with complex and layered characters and thought-provoking themes like grief, parental expectations, independence, self worth and motherhood. It was one of those books that really stuck with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Probably one of my favorite books that I read this year! Two separate stories that are intertwined with very likeable strong female characters.

I do love a book by Beatriz Williams and this was no different. I loved the character of Mallory and seeing her arc from young college girl to adult mom was really well done. I liked the love story between her and Monk Adams. The view we had of Mallory and Paige‘s mother and grandmother, the woman that they never knew was so interesting very well done dual storylines. While I had an early digital galley I borrowed the audio from the library of this book and it was very well done

Reading a Beatriz Williams book (for me) is a bit of investment. They can suck you in or they can simmer a bit. For me, this one sat on my shelf for a bit, waiting for enough free time to really dig into it. (I think if there were any threads attached to some of her previous book worlds I would have been less reluctant to dive in, but alas, there is no Tiny, no Pepper, no Annabelle, no Gin Kelly, or Octavian, my list could go on and on.
Anyway, here we have Williams signature styling - two timelines seemingly unrelated that eventually thread together through family timelines, hidden secrets, and (almost always) questionable DNA donors.
I enjoy the immersive nature of Williams' writing, for it seems she is always sweeping us up in some exotic, historical place full of glamour and hardship. Post-WWII Egypt was an amazing historical setting and I ridiculously imagined those Indiana Jones scenes as contemporaries and slight predecessors of this visual timeline.
The contemporary heroine, Hannah, is that archetypical struggling mom whose sacrifices have dulled her shine a bit. Some may find her annoying or may relate to her and root for her/empathize with her.
Thanks so much for the ARC! A solid read that will be well received, I think.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. Both storylines were compelling, but I kept feeling that I wished they were not intertwined, that I could just read one, then the other. For me, the connection between the two was a little too obscure for me to value what each brought to the narrative as a whole. Although the connection was made in the end, I found the back-and-forth distracting as I was reading, and really just wanted to stick with one story. I should note that this novel is highly rated, and I'm probably in the minority. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Wow, this one was SO GOOD. I loved every bit of it, the drama, the twists, the incredible ending. It definitely gave me ALL the feels and I highly recommend! 5 stars.

Williams has been an author I automatically pick up each time she publishes a novel. I enjoy her handling of multiple timelines, well written settings, and even the sometimes over-wrought actions of the characters. Husbands & Lovers is no different and I really enjoyed the depiction of Cairo in the 50s and the wealthy beach enclave of the early and current 2000s. I also kind of need a drawing of the bracelet that is described in the book, or a reproduction of said bracelet. Overall a lovely read.