Netgalley provided the ARC for an honest review. I was really disappointed in this. It had a compelling plot and really could’ve taken off. I didn’t much care for Charlotte, whose motives I could understand, but I really disliked her personality and how she treated people. There were few characters in the book, and I can’t believe she forgave Brian for his actions so easily. The MIL did a complete 180, which didn’t fit her character at all. Pretty confusing.

I completely loved this book!

I absolutely loved the character of Charlotte, and how we get to see her grow throughout the course of the story. We see Charlotte go through some very difficult and tough times, which is really hard for her to deal with past memories and hurt which she has tried to bury.

The story deals with some tough topics, namely grief, which I feel has been tackled very sensitively and delicately. Having recently lost my Dad, I can understand the grief process and I very much sympathised with Charlotte.

Husband Material is a lovely, light-hearted read full of love, healing and emotions. I absolutely loved Husband Material and the way Emily Belden has created and written the characters is incredible. I would completely recommend this book to anyone.

Husband Material is the first book that I've read by Emily Belden. Overall, it was just okay for me - I didn't love it or hate it.

This book was just okay for me, nothing special. I've read some great rom-coms lately and this just couldn't hold a candle to those. The main character is so whiney. It was hard to read through her problems and feel any kind of sympathy or love for her. I'm sure others will love this book. It just wasn't high up there for me.

I will eventually feature this on my IG and blog. I've been on a break from posting because of the racial tension in the US. I feel at this point it's more important for POC and BIPOC authors to have the spotlight than it is for my own content.

Known as the “Numbers Girl” at her flashy tech startup, 29-year-old Charlotte Rosen has an unusual reason for being so attracted to the promise and potential of facts and figures: she is a secret widow --- and is desperate to reclassify her marital status. Part rom-com and part powerful redemption story, Emily Belden’s HUSBAND MATERIAL is a pop culture-filled romance about accepting one’s past and racing towards the future, algorithm-approved or not.

For five years, Charlotte has hidden her deepest secret from the world: she was widowed unexpectedly shortly into her marriage with the love of her life. Though she has worked hard to move forward, she has become increasingly inward-facing: she dives deep into her own spreadsheets and algorithms in hopes of finding Husband #2, but struggles to maintain any other real relationships or hobbies. Even her own roommate, Casey, does not know about her past. But when her husband’s ashes show up on her doorstep after a fire comes dangerously near the fancy mausoleum where her even fancier mother-in-law demanded her husband be laid to rest, Charlotte has to ask what this sudden twist of fate might mean.

Though readers have already gotten a glimpse into present-day Charlotte’s life --- full of Bumble dates, Instagram hashtags and sparkling influencer parties --- it becomes devastatingly clear just how far Charlotte has veered from her original plan. She has maintained close to no friends from “before,” cut off her mean mother-in-law and even avoided her late husband’s best friend, the man who introduced them. It seems as though Charlotte is sorely in need of a new start, but is so obsessed with facts and statistics that she has stunted herself at every turn, always choosing the most mathematically safe bet, even though her own introduction to her husband was a matter of fate. As she grapples with the return of her husband --- both the urn and her unwelcome memories of him --- a devastating secret comes to light, forcing Charlotte to reconsider her marriage, the last five years and how she must continue to live her life.

As much as I loved the premise and delightful cover, I struggled quite a bit to relate to Charlotte initially. As a character who lives on social media and tracks influencers for a living, Charlotte is decidedly hip --- occasionally a little too much so. Her constant references to viral posts and popular hashtags were light, but distracting. Though it soon becomes clear how and why she is hurting, she is, as a main character, unusually self-involved. Even when she is set to move forward in her career, she frequently blocks herself, creating unnecessary and unwarranted roadblocks that made her downright unlikable at times. The situations Charlotte found herself in were often laugh-out-loud funny, but I just felt so disconnected to her and her character arc. However, propelled by the more tender moments Charlotte spent at home with her quirky roommate and urn, I continued reading --- and I am glad I did.

HUSBAND MATERIAL ultimately proves to be less rom-com and more women’s fiction as the story continues. Charlotte deals with grief, depression and acceptance in truly satisfying ways; her character arc is fully fleshed out and beautifully realized. It is clear that Belden has a knack for witty, sparkling prose, but I would have liked to see these tender moments more clearly realized earlier in the book, at least to anchor me to Charlotte sooner. Where Belden makes up for Charlotte’s unlikability is in her supporting characters, most notably Casey, Charlotte’s goth roommate who helps draw her out of her self-imposed emotional prison. Even as I was rolling my eyes at Charlotte, I loved reading about her interactions with Casey and seeing their casual friendship evolve into something real.

Of course, we can’t discuss a romance book without a romance, so I will tell you now that Charlotte does indeed find a reason to move on from her late husband. Belden provides a likable love interest for Charlotte and some seriously swoon-worthy moments, but there was a bit too much “insta-love” for my taste. I cannot say that I found her new relationship believable at every turn, but, having come to understand her later on in the book, I was definitely rooting for her. This is another area where I wish Belden had applied some of the sensitivity that she infused into Charlotte’s relationship with her roommate and used it to more thoroughly flesh out Charlotte’s new life.

Though “widow” often implies a certain age bracket, I feel I must stress that this is definitely a very 20-something book --- which is not a bad thing at all. I think 20- and 30-somethings will find a lot of Charlotte’s life relatable and interesting, especially as it pertains to dating and balancing a career in social media. Some of the references will fly over your head, but the tone behind them is always just playful and biting enough to keep the humor going. Funny yet sensitive, HUSBAND MATERIAL is a delightful palate cleanser for those used to reading darker books but are not quite ready to commit to a full genre switch into romance.

#4 In my Naughty & Nice Book review weekend with author #Emily Belden. Just by the cover you can tell she is funny but she is hiding secrets.Charlotte Rosen is a widow of five years.And has a hot social media job.The perfect roommate,adorable dog,and until a knock on the door is giving love a chance again.Whats at the front door?Buy the book and have a good laugh.Read about her difficult ex-mother-las and her dead husbands best friend who will not leave her side.
Thank you
#netgalley,#Harlequin,and#Emily Belden

I dnf this one around 60 percent. I lost interest in the story and didn't really care what was happening. it was kind of slow and I kept putting it down to read other things.

Thank you so much for the copy. I tried to pick this one up but it did not work for me. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

Charlotte Rosen is almost 30-years old and she’s in search of the perfect husband. Sound familiar? Yeah, it probably is, except in Charlotte’s case, she already had a perfect husband, one who passed away suddenly almost 5 years ago. Now Charlotte is trying to move on with her life and career, living with her roommate Casey and her French bulldog, Leno. But when the mausoleum where her husband’s urn is housed gets in the way of the California wildfires, she has to find a new “home” for her husband, and work through all of the memories that come back as well. I thought this book would be a little more humorous (yeah, I know—dead spouse funny, in what world?) and on the chick-lit side, mostly based on the cover and title, but I found the characters to be well-written and loved the level of description the author provided. I’ve had this in my queue for a couple of months now, and I’m really glad I finally got around to reading it.

Note: A special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyable, fast read that was exactly what I was in the mood to read but the book lacks character depth. I kept hoping the characters would learn and grow but instead they stayed stagnant. The plot was predictable but true to the genre. I did really love the ending.

Special thanks to Harlequin for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

I've heard such great things about Emily Belden. I had really high hopes for this one, but I just couldn't get into it. I did put it aside & don't really feel the desire to pick it back up.

Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

This one didn’t really work for me, I don’t love women’s fiction but I think those that do could love it. I just couldn’t get into the plot or characters. DNF at 18%

I really enjoyed this book, it was just what I needed to read. It was a mix between a rom com and woman fiction. It was perfect!

This book was so sweet and heartfelt. It was the story of a young woman mourning the loss of her husband. Five years after his death, his ashes show up on her doorstep. She is now having to face her feelings of loosing him all over again. She is also not where she expected to be in five years. She is missing her husband, and doesn't know how to move on into the dating world again.

This was a very good read, with relatable characters. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

This book surprised me. I wouldn't describe it as a rom com or chick lit because it felt more than that. Charlotte Rosen is a widow, a secret she has kept for years as she's thrown her self completely into her career as a data analyst at social media firm. Charlotte is forced to face her grief again, when her husband's ashes suddenly show up on her door step. Suddenly she is stepping into her past, dealing with anything or anyone associated with her dead husband. In the midst of grieving all over again, secrets and betrayal are laid bare, but it gives her what she needs to face her grief and move on.

There were times I could not tell where this book was going, and ultimately, I was surprised where it ended up. It was often uncomfortable to see, or read Charlotte's grief. It felt very raw, but that is credit to the author's writing.

I very much enjoyed reading Husband Material. The plot was original, the romance believable, and I never once felt like the characters were purposefully misunderstanding each other to create obstacles. The obstacles seemed organic to the plot.

The characters in Husband Material were shockingly relatable, especially considering I have never been to Hollywood let alone known anyone from there. By centering the book around Juliet's loss, the book is grounded enough that the lightness usually found in contemporary romance doesn't overwhelm the entire novel.

I really liked the love interest specifically because of the ending. Emily Belden vaulted Brian from best friend of the dead husband and potential love interest to a vital and legitimate character in his own right.

4.5 stars for this one.

This book was WONDERFUL. I wanted a light read without too much thought and this gave me just that without being too predictable. There were some twists and turns that made me want to keep reading. The characters were so well developed that I felt like I knew them. I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this one. I went into the book thinking the book was a romance and really it was about way more!

This book was insightful and funny. It was coming of age with a little romance thrown in.

After reading this book from NetGalley, my public library had the audio on their Libby app, so I downloaded it and I was not disappointed at all! This book is full of fun twists and lots of tension that keeps you coming back for more because you MUST know how it all ends up!

This was my first Emily Belden and it certainly won't be my last!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9dZcEgANWf/

27) Husband Material
by: Emily Belden @emilybelden l
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This was my last book of February, and it was SO GOOD. (I will admit I’ve been in a @pumprulesbravo rabbit hole and also super busy at work.)
#callireads2020 #romcombooks #netgalley