Loved this story!! This will be one of my favorite reads this year. The story of Mallory and Hannah taking place with a dual timeline and in Egypt! Read it in a day! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Beatriz Williams outdoes herself with her 2024 book of the summer: Husbands & Lovers. She creates two vivid, unique settings of a modern New England beach town and post-WWII Cairo.

Williams writes amazing characters and this book is no different. My favorite character is from the Cairo piece: Hannah Ainsworth. Her cobra imagery is really special and she keeps it going throughout the novel. I also really enjoyed the relationship of the sisters: Mallory and Paige. It was easy to emphasize with them as they experience life and its tribulations.

I love when writers do the switching time periods/characters, tying the plots together, where the reader discovers the connection in the end. This one is especially exquisite. Post-WWII Cairo was especially incredible because it's not your typical historical fiction setting but it falls in line with all other historical fiction of WWII. It tells a different perspective (Africa/Middle East) that is relatable to lovers of WWII historical fiction and nuanced since it's a different area (not France/England/Poland) but at a similar time The lavishness of the British in post-WWII Cairo was especially gorgeous.

I would highly recommend Husbands & Lovers to any book lover, especially if you like historical fiction and the switching of people/perspectives, with multiple mysteries that are finally understood at the end. I couldn't put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this advance copy. First of all, I want to say how much I love the cover for this book. It is so timeless, eye catching and perfect for summer. I have read and enjoyed countless books from author Beatriz Williams. This one just wasn’t a favorite. The pacing was too slow for me. Williams usually has characters that are full of spark and jump off the page. These characters felt dull in comparison. Williams is still a favorite author and I have no doubt this book will find many fans.

Beatriz Williams is one of my favorite authors. Her rich language and characters keep me involved as a reader. This book is of particular interest because of the two very different stories that eventually meet each other: one taking place in Egypt and the other in New England, the wealth of Winthrop Island. I could indulge myself int he heat and pyramids in Egypt of 1940-1950's and then return to contemporary New England. Mallory has grown up to find what she thought was true is not true. Her mother kept secrets. Mallory is keeping secrets from her son.
We know that secrets are a source of mistrust and miscommunication. Very interesting story--

this was a nice read! exactly what i was expecting, a bit formulaic but enjoyable nonetheless. 3/5 stars from me.

Parallel stories about two women who face difficult obstacles but are strong. I enjoyed the modern storyline most because it was the story of a mother's love and was set in a time that I could relate to. The story of the 1950's in Egypt was also compelling because of the dynamic of the protagonist dealing with men who may have not had her best interests at heart. Both stories drew me in from the beginning and kept me enthralled.

Husbands And Lovers is an engaging and gratifying book, that will attract the readers of historical fiction, and drama. It is a book that examines the influence and the cost of love, and the challenges of family. It is a book that commends the strength and the adaptability of women, and the bravery of the human spirit. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a skillfully constructed and captivating story, with realistic characters, and a rich and varied historical setting.

A formulaic
but extremely quick, fun and
enjoyable read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



I wrote haiku reviews but am happy to provide more feedback!

What a treat to read a new Beatriz Williams. I have read it twice already I enjoyed it so much. Mark your calendars for June!

5 ⭐️

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.


Let me just start with the simple fact that I absolutely devoured this book. I loved the dual timelines, the characters oh my heavens were so lovable & imperfect all at the same time.

Monk was hands down my favorite, he encompassed this incredibly talented musician with some tulmoltuous family drama. But even though the odds were against him he made it to be a legendary music star.

There are so many captivating elements to this book. Mallory is a lovely young girl who is the nanny for monks dad’s children, but as you may guess.. monk & Mallory fall head over heels. Life throws them some very difficult hard balls. They end up not speaking for years, but Mallory has quite a lot to fill monk in on. I’ll leave the rest for you to learn, but it is absolutely positively a must read!

I have loved every book written by Beatriz Williams and this was no exception. I really enjoy how she weaves previous storylines and characters through her books to create connections without having to read them in any specific order. Williams writes believable characters and never shies away from the messy aspects of life. Another success for Williams!

I really enjoyed this book! From the start I was captivated by the authors writing style. I loved the character’s and especially loved that each chapter shared a different characters point of view. The author did a wonderful job of taking the reader to the beaches of Connecticut and then to Cairo, Egypt. I would have loved more closer to all of the perspectives we were given, but overall it was a great read and I’m interested to check out more of Beatriz Williams work!

I thought the author's acknowledgements were so interesting. 30% of people who submit their DNA to things like ancestry find out there's a discrepancy in paternity in their family. Isn't that crazy! I loved the way we went back and forth in time. I was compelled by both stories and enjoyed the result at the end. Makes me want to read some of her backlist as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing -Ballantine for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely LOVED this book! This is my first book by this author and I will be looking to read more in the future. The way that the modern day story was woven together with the story from the 1940s and 50s was just beautifully done. I was interested in both women's stories the entire time and the twists and turns were well done. The love story for both stories was the type that you only get to read every so often. I wish I could read this again for the first time. I just loved it so much!

Mallory is a 30 something single mother dealing with an unfortunate accident that left her 13 year old son needing a new kidney. Her son's father is a famous musician who was the love of Mallory's life until their relationship ended part way through college due a tragic circumstance.

Hannah is a Hungarian women who has been touched greatly by the tragedy of war. She has married an English diplomat whom she is not in love with and is living in Egypt. She falls in love with a man while there and engages in a passionate affair.

Though parts of this story were incredibly sad, I felt like the overarching theme was uplifting. One of my top reads so far this year!!

This is a beautiful novel about two different women. One woman is in New England, in the present day, and the other is in Egypt in the 1950's. In New England, Mallory is a single mother raising her 10 year old son, who suddenly becomes ill, and needs a kidney transplant. Hannah, is a married woman, who has an affair, and falls in love during historic political upheaval in Egypt.
I loved this book and highly recommend it! It is beautifully written and well researched. The descriptions of New England, from the homes, and the people who live there, and the way they live behind closed doors, captured me. The way the author described Egypt during this time period was very detailed, and I could imagine what being there at that time must have been like.
The love story of Mallory and Monk was an extraordinary love, one which led them down different paths, and ultimately together again, for the sake of Mallory's son. The love story of Hannah and Lucien, her lover, was remarkable in its own way, and by the end, brought me to tears, tears which kept coming till the end of the book, bringing the two stories of these remarkable women's lives full circle.

Thank you Netgalley, Ballantine Books, and Randon House for allowing to read this ARC, for my honest opinion.

I loved this book from the very first words I read. Beatriz Williams is one of my favorite authors and I read everything she writes. However, this book captured my attention like no other and it was hard to put down. The characters and story line were so compelling, Maybe I was especially drawn to the story because I am the mother of sons. And I understood how the mother would do what ever she needed to for her son. I was also struck by how one small event can change the life of a person.
I also enjoy how Beatriz Williams always weaves small details from her other books into her latest stories. The places and people are connected in some way so there is a thread of continuity throughout the books. I’ve come to watch for these little “Easter Eggs” and they always give me a little chuckle. I highly recommend this book.

What a treat to head back to Winthrop Island for this new book by Beatriz Williams. Like having dinner with long lost friends while introducing them to fresh, fun new ones. Mallory is such a pure soul, direct and principled, yet she can’t be honest about the most important moment of her life. She has a brilliant relationship with her sister and I loved their dialogue. Only family and best friends can talk to each other that way.
The dual timelines weren’t seamless and I think Williams could have spent more time with the connection between Hannah and Mallor.y. Mallory's story regarding her son and long lost love was too big and the revelation about her mother’s adoption and back story felt sidelined when it could have been much bigger. Especially as Hannah was such an interesting character and her life so brave, tragic and full. I did enjoy the bracelet connection though and the touch points to it with such stunning descriptions.
Both characters had traumatic events that changed the direction of their lives. It was satisfying to know their stories ended positively. I do like a happy ending, however it is written. Don’t want to give any spoilers!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Past and present collide when single mom Mallory Dunne needs a kidney transplant for her young son, Sam. Spanning the globe from Egypt to Ireland to Nantucket, Husbands & Lovers is a heartwarming page-turner about family secrets, class divides, second chances and the things we do for the ones we love. (Elin Hilderbrand fans: you'll love this book.) Tightly plotted and poignantly written.

This book jumps back and forth between Mallory in 2022 and Hannah in 1951. Hannah is a war refuge from Hungary, who married a man who was stationed in Egypt. Hannah didn't love him but was seeking safety and economic security. She falls in love with a Jew in Egypt and ends up pregnant by him. They are living in Cairo during turbulent times. Hannah ends up in Ireland in a Catholic convent where she has her baby, it is taken from her and it is sold to an American family. Mallory, who is Hannah's granddaughter inherits a cobra bracelet that was given to Mallory's mother at the birth. Mallory is a single mother of 13 year old Sam. Sam is in need of a kidney transplant after ingesting poisonous mushrooms on a dare at summer camp. He has been on the transplant list for 3 years We don't know until the end why she hid her pregnancy from the biological father. Mallory reconnects with Sam's famous father, but he is engaged to someone else. When Mallory and her sister find out that their mother was adopted from Ireland, they begin the search to find out the truth about her adoption.

This is one of my favorite books so far this year. Beatriz Williams is a pro. Her writing is concise and she has a seamless way of moving us back and forth through present day, where a mother is worried for her son’s health after he eats a poisonous mushroom, and the past in Cairo, where the wife of a powerful man wants a better life.

Just Wow!! I will certainly be reading more from her and will be buying this one when it’s available!! Fabulous!!! Five stars!

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for this review in exchange for my honest thoughts!!!