This is an outstanding story.

I was totally prepared to review this and say it's a great beach read, befitting its cover and release date. I went with that idea until about 50% of the way through; it wasn't revolutionary, but it was good fun, I thought. Then, it all changed.

I loved every character in this story with all my heart. This was surprisingly well researched, with a large chunk of the story taking place in 1950s Egypt seen through the eyes of Mallory's (our other protagonist) biological grandmother, Hannah. I honestly learned a lot about history that I had never looked into beyond the high school curriculum, and there's nothing better than seeing history as it would have been through the eyes of those who lived in it. The romance, for both characters, was cute and I was thoroughly invested in it. None of this, however, is what justifies this 5-star rating.

This is one of the most hard-hitting books I've ever read in terms of how much emotional pain this caused me. I was literally crying at least 3 separate times reading this, and that's saying something for me. I can't go into too much detail to avoid spoiling the story -- and besides, you just have to read it and experience it for yourself. The writing in this is absolutely fantastic. I hadn't heard of Beatriz Williams before this novel, but she's on my radar now for sure.

If you enjoy a second-chance romance, a steamy affair, or some good family drama, you'll probably like this book. Just the same though, if you enjoy uncovering lost family secrets, in-depth historical fictions, or heart-wrenching backstories, this is for you too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for access to an ARC! This is my honest review.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book! It took me a tiny bit to get into (I like one of the POV more than the other) but I ended up really enjoying it.

Told in dual POV in the past and present, I wondered how the two stories would collide. Beatriz Williams did a wonderful job weaving these tales together.

I also never want to eat a mushroom :)

This was my first Beatriz Williams book & I was thrilled to get it! I am not a huge romance reader, but I thought the different timelines would be interesting. A rock star & exotic Egypt - what’s not to like! I enjoyed it, but was more than ready for all the drama to come to an end. Many thanks to NetGalley for this read in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book as I do all of Beatriz Williams novels. It would have been a five star, However, especially in some of the earlier chapters right in the middle she would change time frames. For example, Hannah would be in present day and the next paragraph she would be back in Hungary. That made it very hard to keep up with. Too much jumping around from place to place in a single chapter, and this seemed to go on for much of the book. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the story and especially the ending.

Mallory Dunne and Monk Adams, best friends from childhood, then sweethearts, are the epitome of star crossed lovers in Beatriz Williams new book, Husbands and Lovers. Monk has never understood why Mallory disappeared from his life just when it seemed they would make a life together, but his budding career as a musical star takes him one direction, and Mallory heads another. Now a single mom, Mallory faces every mom's worst nightmare - her son Sam is hospitalized by a tragic accident, and while he survives, he needs a kidney transplant. Mallory's sister urges her to reach out to Monk as a potential match, but Monk isn't even aware of Sam's existence. Can a chance encounter between Monk and Mallory on a childhood beach make a difference? Is there any way to find a match for Sam? Mallory's mom was adopted and they don't know much about her origins; can they find her family and possibly a match for Sam? And what is the significance of the bracelet that Mallory's mom left her?

Fifty years earlier, after the end of WWII, Hannah lives in Cairo with her elderly husband. Having survived unbelievable tragedy during the war Hannah seeks safety and security. But Hannah has a secret; and that secret can be the key to Sam's survival.

Both stories, Mallory's and Hannah's, while very different, are stories of inner strength, secrets and love, and how the choices we make affect not only our own lives, but those of others whom we love. Absolutely a must read!

Beatriz Williams packs a lot of story into the confines of Husbands and Lovers. I read the author’s note at the back of the book where she talks about the extensive research she had done and it was almost as if she found all this interesting information so she created a big, unwieldy story to pack it all into. There are three timelines in this book—Hannah’s story, which takes place in Egypt shortly after World War II, and the other two that take place in New England as they follow Mallory’s past and present. The two stories are linked, but…

The historical parts of the book are so interesting and compelling, they would have made for a wonderful book on their own. Hannah was such a strong character and had overcome so much, there just felt like there was a lot more to her story that I wanted to learn. Being that Hannah’s story was told as part of Mallory’s backstory, she was an important but smaller part of the book when her life and times were the more interesting of the two characters. As for Mallory’s part of the story, I loved the New England setting and the descriptions of Winthrop Island. I loved Monk (so much) and Sedge—they were two of the most likeable male characters I have read in a long time—but what I failed to grasp was what made Mallory so special to them. I didn’t love her as a character and while I didn’t dislike her I struggled to find her interesting. I did like that the book ended on a happy note and I would be interested to read a follow-up book with Paige as the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Devoured in days! Beatriz Williams is at her best as she returns readers to Winthrop Island. With a strong female protagonist, the book alternates between present day and 1950s Egypt on the brink of independence. The story is fast paced and explores the boundaries of love and motherhood. The book takes the reader on several twists and turns. This is sure to be a huge summer hit.

To get you interested, Ms. Williams starts this book with a child who is being rushed to the hospital after consuming wild mushrooms. This singular event will change the lives of Mallory, Sam, Paige, and Monk. Paige and Mallory discover that their mother was adopted and set out on a journey to discover their family so that Sam can get a needed transplant. Monk and Sam will find a family they never knew of. That may seem simple for a plot, but there are all kinds of hills and valleys to get to what is needed, that transplant.

I read every book that Ms. Williams writes and this is the best one in years. It is a three-timeline book (How does she keep this straight?) 2022, 2008, and 1951.

Ultimately, this is a book about family, connections of choices, and a message to be careful about eating food from the wild and I highly recommend to the fiction fan.

Love this. The plot the characters. The writing. Swoon worthy. I would recommend to people who like historical fiction and are looking for an epic summer read.

I really enjoyed this story from Beatriz Williams. The books switches between the current and past. It isn’t hard to follow the time differences and know where you are at. The current and past are woven together by a cobra bracelet that was used to hide spy messages.

Current: Malloy was a single parent of a teenaged son who while at camp ate some mushrooms that made his super sick. He needed a kidney transplant to recover. For awhile they were looking for a donor. Mallory’s sister forced her to reunite with her former love interest and her son’s father. Until now, Mallory had kept Monk out of her life. He never knew he had a son. While in college and dating Monk, his father drugged her and raped her. She didn’t know whose child she was pregnant with, so she raised him on her own. Monk ended up being the perfect donor for their son.

Past: Hannah lived in the ‘50’s in Egypt. Once she was bit by a cobra. She married Alistar and was never truly happy with him. As a baby, Hannah was taken from her family and put in an orphanage in Ireland. Later on, the cobra bracelet was sent to the family who adopted the baby. Hannah ended up being Mallory’s grandmother and gave her the bracelet.

While Mallory was visiting Monk in the hospital, Mallory, her sister, and son opened up the bracelet to read the spy message.

I am a fan of this author's work, and her deep dives into history while creating intricate and interesting narratives within historical timelines. This story is essentially two women's stories about their love lives, but we also get to hear the perspective from the men in their lives which added a fun layer to this book. I loved that perspective - it gave a lot of power to the women to see how they impacted the men. In this book, we again get a more modern storyline and then another that takes place in the 1950s. My favorite storyline was probably Hannah's, because her meeting the hotel manager while she was married, and the choices she had to make, really impacted me with regard to what is right, and need and want - it drew me in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!

This was one of my most anticipated books of this year and I was so excited to receive a copy of this ahead of its release. And it did not disappoint! I'm always a fan of the whole concept of two POVs from different timelines, that intersect over the course of the book. I wasn't sure what the plot was going to look like, but I was already very intrigued by the timeline switches. Throw in a center storyline of family that derives from the different decades? Absolutely.

I was hooked on to the story very quickly, and while it took me a little longer to follow along with Hannah's POV than with Mallory's, I think I was fully invested by the time I was 4-5 chapters in. Honestly, I just really loved all the characters in this. They were so well-written with respect to the plot and so realistic, as were the minor storylines.

Mallory, Paige and Sam was such a cute family; I always appreciate when authors keep the character list small and build on them to really accentuate the dynamics. The growth and emotions these three characters went through was so riveting and I loved reading about them. The way the story unfolded with Monk was so heartwarming too. Honestly, the flow of how that happened was predictable, but something about the way the characters were written made it not even matter.

While I preferred the present POV with Mallory more, there was a certain charm with Hannah's that I can't discount. The way the description, monologue and tone shifted slightly to match the 1950s backdrop was so genius to me, and I loved the way it was written. Obviously, the connection between Mallory and Hannah was pretty obvious from the beginning, but Hannah's life and the events described in this book were so interesting to read about. I don't think I've ever read anything like it before.

Husbands & Lovers was such an unexpected fast-paced read for me, and I wasn't anticipating breezing through this like I did. It's such a poignant but cute story of adventure, romance, family and reality, and a definite recommend!

Another great read from BW! I couldn’t put this one down. I was so interested to see how the storylines came together and really enjoyed the different time frames. Monk and Mallory’s story and Hannah’s were both intriguing. This will be a great summer read for many. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

This is definitely on my best reads of the year list. I have already told people to read this book. The story told through different times periods and different characters works so well. So well written, you connect with all of the characters. I didn’t want the book to end.

Husbands and Lovers tells is the story of two women: Hannah (told in Hungary and Egypt), who is married and unhappy, and hiding her past; and Mallory (told in the US in 2008 and 2022), a single mom who's son is on the kidney transplant list, and who's baby daddy is a famous singer and her first love. Mallory attempts to find out more information about her family to find a kidney donor. Overall, I really liked this story. I found the multiple timelines and viewpoints to be difficult at times, as Hannah tells her current story in Egypt and her previous story in Hungary, and Mallory has her two separate timelines. Because of this, I found different aspects of the stories to be more intriguing at different times. I wish we got more information on Hannah and her life, the end felt a bit abrupt (unless she gets another book????), but it also took me way longer to get into Hannah's story.
Overall: 4/5 stars!

I enjoyed how the author intertwined the multiple timelines and loved the historical fiction aspect of the story. Overall I liked this book but found one of the main characters unrelatable.
Two women that lead very different lives set in different timelines are united by a family heirloom. This is a good book for both historical fiction and romance lovers.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley, opinions are my own.
I did like the book, definitely a good beach read. There are two story lines , one is Hannah’s story in 1952. The other is Mallory and Monk’s story from their high school days to the present day. I definitely liked Mallory’s story more, I found Hannah’s story very confusing, it was hard to follow what happened in Hungary and when and how she got to Egypt and met multiple characters, some more important to the story, some less. I didn’t feel the Egyptian unrest had much to do with the story line.
I often had to reread paragraphs, and say, “wait, what” as one thought went to a completely other in one sentence. In Mallory’s and Monk’s story there were also “wait, what” instances, especially at the end when Monk ends up in the hospital. Since this was an advance, uncorrected copy, I hope some editing can fix these wait, what instances and then the novel will deserve the four stars.

Where to begin, I did not expect to not want to put this book down. I connected with Mallory right away as a mom wanting to do anything for her child, as Hannah's story progressed and evolved you felt the same pull. All of the characters were relatable and you felt as if they could be you, your family, friends, with their own story to tell. Rooting for all to be happy. I would highly recommend this book, it was the book I didn't know I needed. Thank you for the happy tears, the sad tears, truly a well written book.

As someone who regularly reads psychological thrillers, the blurb of this book intrigued me. An absolutely wonderfully written story.
I enjoyed the different eras of time for each chapter. It made me want to keep reading to see what was going to happen. The characters were developed really well and I got to learn a little more about history.
Do not close the book at the end. Please read how Beatriz came up with the book and the true stories that lead her to write it.
Thank you for the ARC. Loved it.

Absolutely loved this book - I have read some others of Beatriz Williams and really liked them and was excited to be chosen to read the ARC of her new book. Did not disappoint. I loved the interwoven aspect of the 2 stories - one set in present day and one set in the mid 1900's with then throwback stories for each story line thrown in. The main characters were well developed and there was just enough of a glimpse of the side characters to make them interesting without overshadowing the main plot. Overall a great read and kept my interest as I didn't want to put it down.