Beautiful but painful story. I struggled a bit with Hannah’s POV in the beginning. Fast paced once you get close 50%.
2.5 POVs, first and third person POVs, and multiple timelines!

Historical and Contemporary romance in one!

The best and my favorite love story was a father’s love. ❤️

Señor Gato song = Soft Kitty

Check trigger warnings

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantineand NetGalley for the ARC!

This was my first Beatriz Williams book and I am so excited to read more of her work now. This was so interesting with a mix of timeline POVs from strong female characters and historical fiction thrown in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for the ARC.

Did I like this book ?? Yes ... and no ...

Good storyline, but too many little incidental dramas occurring simultaneously. Characters were sometimes right-on ... and other times, meh! Some parts were believable, others were "give me a break" types.

A couple of interesting issues were addressed -- ancestry, DNA tests, organ transplant availability ... all very timely and important issues. The author handled the historical situation at the time of the Suez Canal crisis very well.

It would be a good beach read ... not too heavy, but still gives thoughts to some issues of importance. I would recommend it for a summer book club.

Honestly, "Husbands & Lovers" is a must-read. It's got everything — romance, mystery, drama — all wrapped up in a super addictive package. I'm definitely gonna be checking out more of Beatriz Williams's stuff after this!

This is a book that I will recommend no doubt.

This book had 2 stories going on a the same time, and the historical story took a few chapters for me to get into. This is a story ultimately about love and not just love between partners, all types of love.

The main character Mallory. She is a human trying her best. She's a single mom raising her son who is in need of a kidney transplant. Reading this story, I just wanted to hug Mallory and tell her it's going to be okay. As a reader, I thought some of her decisions were questionable but as you get to know her and understand her better, you see her blaming herself and thinking how life may have been.

I couldn't wait to finish this one! Kinda sad that it's over.


The only "negative" about this book was that the start wasn't as attention getting as the book deserved. The "historical chapters" took a while to really understand why they were necessary.

Once again, excellent work from Beatriz Williams. Read it start to finish in one sitting. I will never not pick up a new Beatriz Williams book just to devour it!

This by far is my favorite book by Beatriz Williams. I fell in love with all the characters. Each character was developed and defined by their history. This story is told in two different times, past and present. The story of Lucien and Hannah the past, and Mallory and Monk the present. I felt so pulled into each of their stories. Hannah and Mallory were written as strong women who suffered and survived terrible tragedies but showed their strength in how they persevered and pursued life after their tragic experiences. Lucien and Monk as the men who loved these women. I would recommend this book to all readers. Thanks once again for delivering another wonderfully written story.

This is the first book by Beatriz Williams I have read. This book is a story of two women 70 years apart. Their paths are united by an heirloom.
Mallory a single mother with a 10 year old son, Sam. She met Monk in her youth and he is Sam's father.
Hannah a Hungarian refugee is married to a British diplomat. She is living in Cairo in a loveless marriage.
A captivating story that was woven together by a bracelet.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book.

This book really interested me based off of the cover and the description! As I started reading, I really enjoyed the dual point story, one side told in a 1950s and the other side is told in current day. I will say that I like the current day story a little bit better, and didn’t fully understand how they were tied together.

I went in spurts of reading this book from not wanting to put it down, to taking a little bit of time to read it. But overall, I think this was a great storyline and something that could be turned into a movie.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC. This is my eighth Beatriz Williams book and probably my favorite thus far. Told in 3 different timelines it kept you very engaged. Historical fiction/contemporary romance melded all into one. I highly recommend this book and look forward to many more from her in this same style.

Ah, Beatriz Williams! She's good at researching and telling a story. Husbands & Lovers is set in two time periods and locations: post WWII Cairo and post COVID New England. Single mother Mallory has never been married, but she still thinks about a college age, summer love, Monk. Mallory's son, Sam, becomes very ill at summer camp and Mallory is faced with finding his famous father...who does not know he's a dad. Hungarian refugee, Hannah, settled into life after WWII, married to an older, wealthy British diplomat. They live in Cairo, a city full of spies and talk of revolution. Hannah's involvement with a handsome hotel manager leads to tragedy that effects multiple generations. Stories that are heartbreaking and brilliant are spun together to make an epic story of love, sacrifice and the steps women will take to protect those they love. Every Beatriz Williams book is a beautiful story and this one is no exception. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC I received in exchange for my honest opinion.

Beatriz Williams' Husbands & Lovers is a dual-timeline novel that explores the lives of Mallory, a current-day single-mother, and Hannah, a woman living in Egypt after World War II. I enjoy novels that provide two timelines and like books that reveal the intersections of women's lives and this book doesn't disappoint. I did feel like Mallory's story was much more compelling than Hannah's; I found myself wanting to hear more about Mallory and her sister and not really feeling compelled with Hannah. A solid four stars!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC; all feedback is my own.

This story follows two women living in different times. In 2022, Mallory is a single mom whose teenage son needs a new kidney. A past love, who is now famous, comes back into her life and things get complicated.
Hannah is a war refugee living in Cairo and married to a wealthy diplomat. She becomes pregnant with her lover’s baby and her life is thrown into turmoil.
This book is beautifully written with intertwining storylines. The story of heartache, longing and forgiveness is one full of emotion. I didn’t want this book to end and highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this story about Mallory and Monk. She is a really likable, strong woman trying to raise her teen son who is desperate for a new kidney. The other half of the book is the interesting story of Mallory’s grandparents and their struggles in a foreign land that is experiencing riots and upheaval. Great storytelling!

Beatriz Williams has done it again. A stunning historical novel told by two different women in different decades and locales.
New England in the 1970s and Cairo in the 1950s. The book is told decade by decade in the various places.

The end hit me out of the blue.

So well researched and the locations were brought to life in such a way that I felt I was there. I was so sorry to see this book end and can't wait for the next one.

Thanks to netgalley for this arc

Beatriz Williams does it again! If you are a fan of her books, you will not be disappointed in this new one. The book sucks you in from the get-go and you will find yourself thinking about the characters long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and get this book!!

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me an e-ARC!

**3 stars** This was a solid read! This is my first time reading Beatriz William's work and I am looking forward to reading her other books.

The story unfolds in alternating timelines and dual perspectives. We follow Mallory, a single mother trying to make ends meet. After her son ingested a poisonous mushroom, he is in need of a kidney. With the father out of the picture, Mallory exhausted all of her options and her sister suggests looking if his father is a match. Following her search of a kidney donor, she discovers her mother was adopted. The story seamlessly shifts to 1952 Cairo, where we meet Hannah, a young woman who has recently married a British diplomat. Thrust into a world of luxury, Hannah struggles to adapt to her glamorous new life.

A mesh of literary and historical fiction, Williams does a great job integrating the two genres. I didn't find one pov overshadowing the other. I genuinely was invested in both stories. An underlying family mystery adds another layer of intrigue, which urged me to finish this.

While the writing is strong, the pacing was often times slow. In Mallory's pov, we are given two timelines which sometimes disrupts the flow of the story. There was a lot of buildup and when we reach the reveal, it felt rushed. Despite the pacing issues I did enjoy this story and it was a great entry book to her other works!

I love Beatriz Williams books and Husbands and Lovers might be my favorite so far. The story is told in a dual timeline from 1952 to current 2022. Usually in a dual timeline I tend to pick one story I like the most but in this book I felt equally invested in both stories. Beatriz has main characters who really make their way into your heart and you can't help but cheer them on. Husbands and Lovers comes out on June 25th and I highly recommend you pick up a copy and read it poolside!
Mallory made a decision when she found out she was pregnant to raise her child alone. She was deeply in love with the father but his career was taking off and Mallory didn't want to throw any complications at him. It wasn't easy raising a son on her own and things got really complicated when she finds out her son needs a new kidney. Her sister pushes her to contact the father and see if he's a match, but Mallory knows all the feelings that never really went away will come flooding back. Hr love for her son out weighs her own feelings, but what if she can have both?
Mallory is also dealing with the death of her mother and a life she never knew existed. Her mother left her a bracelet that she never took off and Mallory and her sister want to know why this piece of jewelry was so special to their mother. Both sisters start doing research and uncover many secrets from the past, some that will help them understand their mother more but also help them discover who they are.

Thank you Beatriz Williams, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this ARC read!

Husbands and Lovers was a novel outside of my normal “go-to” reads. I initially struggled to get into this story as I am typically not a fan of historical fiction, nonlinear timelines, or dual perspectives. About halfway through, I began to find myself intrigued by the two stories of Mallory and Hannah and how their lives both paralleled and juxtaposed from the other’s, despite being separated by a few generations.
Upon completion, I found that this book was thought provoking and provided interesting perspectives on the challenges of life including health, politics, love, and motherhood. While the genre and various literary features aren’t my favorite cup of tea, I am happy and glad to have had the opportunity to expand outside of my reading comfort zone and try something new!

I want to thank Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an ARC of Husbands and Lovers by Beatriz Williams.
“-you’re who you are and I’m who I am.”
“But it did happen. That night it happened to me.”
“I want a child.”
Most of the book alternates chapter between Hannah beginning in 1951 in Egypt and Mallory beginning in 2008 on Winthrop Island in New York. . And just when you really get involved with what is happening the chapter abruptly ends! Of course we know that somehow, somewhere, there is a connection.
A poisonous mushroom
A cobra bite
A beautiful bracelet with a secret
Her characters are well developed and you have to keep reading!
Husbands and lovers publishes June 25,2024.