With The Husbands, Baker inverts the trope of The Stepford Wives in a twisty tale of what happens when the perfect isn’t quite what it seems. What Chandler Baker does here is thrillerize those think pieces on the emotional labor/invisible work that women often disproportionately carry.

It’s a solid summer thriller for sure. It’s a book about gender roles coming from a white feminist lens. And, it does that well. It does however feel a bit less of the moment than what other writers are exploring with gender as a construct across genres currently.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Ooh a whole lot of people are going to be able to relate to this book! Especially mothers. I don't have kids myself, but could definitely still relate in some ways and the main character Nora's feelings have been the same as so many conversations I've had with my friends.

Nora is frustrated with her husband Hayden. She loves him dearly, but is struggling with the nonstop pace of her life as a full-time lawyer and a mom of one with another baby on the way. Hayden certainly does more than a lot of the husbands she knows, but not only is most of the work left to her (and pretty much all of the emotional labor!), but he acts like he's doing a favor of "helping" every time he does something for the family.

When they go to look at a house in a new exclusive neighborhood, Nora is struck by how successful all the wives are and how supportive all the husbands are. There's definitely major Stepford "Husband" vibes. She can't quite figure out what's going on, but when she agrees to be the lawyer for a woman in the neighborhood whose husband died in a house fire, she starts to discover a bit more.

I really enjoyed this book and especially enjoyed the audio version of it. The narrator is great and you'll likely find yourself nodding along to so many of Nora's thoughts and feelings. The Husbands is a "thriller," but not really a traditional/scary or overly creepy thriller. It felt a little deeper than most thrillers and I definitely enjoyed it more than I usually do thrillers. I wasn't wild about the ending as I was reading it, but after I had some time to digest it, I realized it's actually quite good. This book is going to be a movie and I can't wait!

The narrator of this book was GREAT! I am not one for audiobooks usually, unless it’s a memoir, because I have difficulty with auditory processing. I listened to a good chunk of this book on audiobook and was really able to get into the characters. I like how the voices changed to depict who was speaking, which I feel like I didn’t get in a different book I tried to listen to. I’m going to finish this book by reading it on my kindle because it’s easier for me to process the information. However, so far the book has been great! I love the theme this book surrounds and how we are immediately inside Nora’s head. If you’re into audiobooks, I think this one is perfect!

The Husbands by Chandler Baker is another great book about gender biases in the work place and women balancing careers with being moms. I was drawn into all the different moving parts of this story and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Stepford Wives you’ve got nothing on these Stepford Husbands! The amount of juggling a woman endures is completely exhausting. How are successful women able to do both without family life or your profession lagging in some form. We say if only our spouse could understand the load we carry, help out more and do things without being asked. Nora a pregnant lawyer on way to partner is trying to cover all her bases. While searching for a new home for her family, she find a community of powerhouse women. These women seem to have it all, including husbands who throw themselves into all the household and child rearing duties. Perfect right? She’s asked to help legally with a murder investigation and things aren’t what they seem in this perfect little community!

I really enjoyed this novel and could easily related to the parallels in my own life of endless to do lists. It was a fun thriller and I thought the narrator made it an easy to listen to.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of The Husbands.

I had high hopes for this book. At first, it read like an episode of The Real Housewives. Slowly though, I found myself losing interest.

Another Chandler Baker book where I am aggressively nodding in agreement.

My husband and I have been talking exhaustively about "the mental load." I quit my job to stay home with our kids, so while I've agreed to a heavier mental load, I cannot do and be everything for the kids and my husband, while also maintaining household chores and a shred of myself. And this is even more true for working mothers and single mothers. You run out of pieces to give.

So, have I considered brainwashing or some kind of Stepford Husband scenario? Perhaps. Maybe one of those nighttime books on tape, like they used to recommend to help people stop smoking.

This was a fun read, and I definitely felt SEEN as a mother who just wants help with the mental load (even recognition of the mental load.) It did feel a bit slow at times, but it is a worthy and interesting read.

I wanted to REALLY love this book. I was expecting a tongue-in-cheek Stepford Wives reversal with a suspenseful undercurrent. While the role reversal was there- I didn't love the execution. Honestly, I think this may be because I listened to the book on audio- but Nora's voice came off little too whiny for me. As a female, I totally understand her problems and occasionally even nodded my head at some of her complaints. Hey, I've been there! But sometimes they were too much. I just wanted to scream, "you're putting too much on yourself- actually ask for help. Tell your Husband what you need instead of assuming he should know!" Which I honestly believe is one of the biggest marital problems today. But I digress...Also- Hayden seemed like a decent guy and kinda doesn't deserve the treatment he ends up getting. And I won't completely spoil things- but, I feel like Nora never really learns anything from the whole ordeal.

The thriller part of the book was more of a slow build, but not bad. I wish it was a little quicker to come to fruition and that there was a little more action. But, overall I thought it was well thought out and executed in a way that still piqued my interest.

Overall, I did really like the book- and really think I would have liked this one a lot more had I actually read it- because then I would have been a little more responsible for the tone in which I was reading it. And in the end, it does make for an excellent Book Club selection, with lots of good questions. Like, what would you do in this situation? Would your life be improved by living in a place like Dynasty Ranch? I would love to hear everyone's answers!

This is one of the best books I've read (listened to) all year!
Oh my GOSH. This will be a booksta hit for sure.
I loved this domestic thriller. It was a great texas suburb murder mystery,
I would love to read a physical copy of this.
5 Stars for me

First of thank you Netgalley for providing me with this audiobook!
If you are a mother struggling to keep a work/life balance, you might enjoy this books a little more. We see how much Nora is going through and having to deal with an almost absentee husband, I mean, he could truly have atleast helped in putting their child to sleep once in a while! But the mystery surrounding everything that was happening in this new place was so cool to see. Although, let me be real, it was so creepy!
This narrator had a lovely voice without making any of the voice changes odd, she still had a variety of different voices for each character!

After reading the synopsis, I knew I had to read this one. I enjoyed the premise of the book but felt like it was missing some action. At times it felt like it was dragging and I kept waiting for more.

I wanted to like this book. Kept going in the hopes that the action would pick up and the thriller-esque parts would happen. Didn’t happen. Women, and mom’s especially are expected to do so much of the heavy lifting. If you’ve been through it, you’ll relate to those parts but prepare to be in a bad mood. So men have to be programmed or tricked into doing their share? Ick.

This one drew me in by the Stepford Wives vibes but with the "traditional" domestic roles in reserve (childrearing, household management, etc) with a murder mystery woven in! Really enjoyed this gripping domestic thriller by Chandler Baker! Looking forward to reading more novels by her :)

I had the great joy of being able to listen to The Husbands by Chandler Baker. The narrator did a fabulous job of using the perfect soothing tone for narration. She was able to differentiate characters without using any annoying voice changes. I could listen to her voice all day and not find it irritating. I actually found myself looking for reasons to listen to this book. Nora is interested in moving to a new house in the Dynasty Ranch development. She is slowly drawn into the lives of the seemingly perfect families who are already living there. However, she soon discovers that all may not be as perfect as it appears. Secrets are revealed and Nora must ultimately make the best decision for her and her growing family. Read and enjoy!

I really liked the premise of this book. I liked the idea of taking Stepford Wives and turning it on its head. And bits of the execution was excellent. I liked the way the story was set up with the wide variety of careers the women had and using each other and that as a way to build a network and power, which is something many men do. I thought the story was setup well with many examples of all the ways big and small that women carry the load and all the ways big and small that they worry/think nonstop about life as a family and all of its bits. How they carry a disproportionate amount of the load by such a large margin.

And yet. I also thought it was more stereotypical than I would have liked it to be because when it's that two-dimensional the story doesn't have as much of an impact as it could. It makes it easier for people to write off the points the author was trying to make. I do wish there were more combinations of couples and marriages.

Overall, I liked the time I spent with this story. It was a fast, fun read.

with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio in exchange for an honest review.

First there was Girls With Sharp Sticks, then there was the Hierarchies and now... The Husbands.

EXCEPT. In The Husbands, it is the women in control.... I can't finish that sentence without spoilers but if you've read the above you will have an idea of where I'm going. BUT that still won't spoil the spin with which Baker this take, but with the women in charge, with the Husbands.

Additionally, it is brilliant, insightful and brave in taking on the hard truths that women would get killed for speaking allowed re: women's rights... for one noting that it merely included additional or multiplication because when women went to work, men didn't pitch in.

They just assumed women would do everything they did before AND Now work, too. But as the author noted women, women can do anything, women can't do everything.


*note* it has been a long time since I've read a any book with a 3rd person POV. 1) It is written brilliantly- witty, dark and on point. Two, the narrator NAILS IT.

I really enjoyed Chandler Baker's first novel, The Whisper Network, so when I saw a new book by Baker, I was definitely intrigued. The Husbands is part crime/discovery novel, part The Stepford Wives role reversal. Nora, a lawyer vying for partner in her firm, and her husband Haydn, salesman, are expecting their second child and are constantly haunted by an accident involving their first child (don't worry, she's alive). While house hunting to find a place large enough for a growing family, they happen upon Dynasty Ranch. You're immediately gripped by this group of successful women with husbands that are more than eager to support their wives success. This is the part of the book that reading the back of the book or a basic review will give you. What was compelling to me was how Nora reacted to the husbands. When all of the pieces start coming together and she gets deeper into their world, she must decide which instinct to follow: this is wrong and I shouldn't treat my spouse this way... or wow it's really nice to not have to do everything around the house myself. As a working mom, I loved the constant uplift of working moms and how moms in general need help. There's a lot of brain power that goes into maintaining your family life, and it was awesome for fiction to acknowledge that. Overall, a fun read with a just the right amount of malice. Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listener copy. Review posted to Goodreads.

Definitely a "be careful what you wish for" book!

Nora Spangler is tired. She's an attorney. A wife. A mom to a daughter. And is expecting her second child. Her husband works hard. Or so he keeps telling her. But why does she feel like she's doing it all?

They househunt and stumble upon Dynasty Ranch. It's sort of the Stepford Husbands there, but Nora is down for that. These men do it all - the groceries, the laundry, running kids to practice, etc. It seems too good to be true.

Nora starts to realize there is more to Dynasty Ranch and it may not be all good. The mystery draws her in deeper than she planned and it was one that kept me interested and listening! Nora (and I along with her) discover much more than I'm sure either of us ever saw coming.

Many thanks to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Husbands is a story fraught with material that psychologists would have a field day with. If you have a fascination with Stepford Wives, then let me introduce you to their counterpart... Stepford Husbands.

Nora Spangler is struggling. She is a super successful attorney, but it feels like she is also the sole executor of the domestic side of her life. All she wants is for her husband to help, but every time she asks, she feels like he ignores her. Her husband isn't a bad guy, but when they realize that Nora is pregnant with baby #2, she knows that it's time for her husband to step up or shut up.

When Nora and her husband start house hunting, they come across a house in the elusive and exclusive neighborhood, Dynasty Ranch. The residents of the neighborhood include a tight-knit group of friends consisting of a CEO, a neurosurgeon, a therapist, and an author -- all women with super supportive husbands (like... on the creepier end of supportive). Nora envies these women with their seemingly perfect lives and wonders what would happen if she were in the same boat. As she is sucked into their world, she begins to see the cracks in their facade.

I did enjoy this book a lot. Listening to it gave me the illusion of the creeps, just enough to make me feel uncomfortable, but I didn't want to stop. There were definitely moments where I felt like there was an overt amount of details and backstory that may not have been necessary. I found certain parts just dragged on, and it wasn't until about 60% of the way through that it seemed that anything major happened. I wish that the pacing of the last quarter of the book was consistent throughout the first 75%. I did enjoy the feminist message that Baker was trying to convey, but would have liked to see it executed just a bit tighter. Despite this, be sure to thank the moms in your life today... They probably need it.

Overall rating: 3.5/5 (rounded to 4)

The Husbands will be available for purchase on August 3rd. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and see where it's available to buy. Also, be sure to check out Chandler Baker's website!

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a really fun, semi-creepy critique on work culture, sexism, capitalism and social order. I loved it, even though I’m not married or a mom. I especially enjoyed the use of blog, social media, and internet posts and user insights—I’m hoping this are either real with the names change or loosely based on real posts. It adds such a fun, modern and realistic discussion to the topics of this book and it is a creatively interesting device. Every parent should read The Husbands, as I’m sure they’d relate even harder to the subject matter than I did.

Having been a female attorney at a male dominated plaintiff’s firm run by three male partners, I definitely still felt very connected to Nora’s plight, the sometimes childish opposition she faces from her male coworkers, and her daily toils as a young, female attorney looking to grow her family and her professional life in direct proportions.

There’s also of course the engaging and slowly-unfolding mystery of the wrongful death case Nora is investigating throughout the novel. Lots to hold a reader’s interest within the pages of this fun, fast read.

Release date is August 3rd. I highly recommend the audiobook as the narration was excellent and engaging.

Thanks so much to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy audiobook in exchange for an honest review.