I loved the idea of this story - literally swapping places and roles. There were some really funny moments as well as times when it really was about the workload that women carry, not just in the workplace. I found that I really felt for Sarah through her viewpoint but found it hard to read Will’s as it took a really long time for him to redeem himself to me. In fact I did dislike him actively!!! Despite that, this was a really good book and I enjoyed it

Would You Ask My Husband That? by Kathleen Whyman comes out today (7th August 2023) and it’s a contemporary women's fiction book.

Husband and wife couple Will and Sarah swap work/parenting roles after Will has been told he has to step down due to possible breach in the company, while Sarah gets a promotion. To make matters more interesting and worse Sarah gets Will’s job.

This was a delightful novel that I read in two days. At the start of the book I didn’t like either character, and as the story progressed I could understand both Will’s and Sarah’s perspectives and slowly I started to like both characters.

I thought Kathleen did a marvellous job at creating both Will and Sarah. I love realistic behaviours like resentment, expectations and the demands work and raising a family has on a person/couple- let alone the roles being reversed.

Thank you Kathleen Whyman, Netgalley and Embla Books for the digital copy of Would You Ask My Husband That? for reviewing purposes.

Sarah and Will are married with two kids, they both work at the same company with Sarah working part time. When Will loses his job Sarah is offered the position and their roles are now reversed. Will struggles with this and to be honest his character is unlikeable to the point that I didn't particularly want to read it from his point of view.

Sarah's character is conflicted with being a full-time working mum and trying to do everything.

There are a few laugh out loud moments and overall a quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Embla Books for the ARC.

I had a great time, laughing out loud and raging at some lines in this book. I’m not gonna lie half of the book (Will’s POV) had me fuming throughout! It was on purpose but I was ready to choke the character if he ever sprang to life.

I love a book that makes me feel things and this one had funny moments as well as angering ones while being entertaining from the very first to the very last one.

The book is split in two POVs: Sarah’s aka the now promoted to Director dutiful wife and mom of 2 (arguably 3 considering how her husband behaves most of the time) and Will’s, the newly fired husband who is now supposed to be a stay-at-home dad. Supposed is the key word here. I found Sarah’s chapters relatable (I’m neither a wife nor mom and yet had to deal with the same toxic masculinity in my relationships in the past) while Will’s chapters made me curse him out loud and gasp numerous times at his audacity. This novel was a classic example of how stereotypical gender roles are still observed while women work full time jobs but have to somehow be the sole home maker, while husbands get to just go to work and not participate in any of the planning required to run a household. The mental workload that women are expected to carry while never being acknowledged for their work is at the core of the narrative and it will most likely hit home for many women. The way the author wrote about it was light and witty while managing to address the key points clearly.

My only reservation was that I despised Will from page 1 which made it really hard for me to root for him at any point of the story. I wanted him out of Sarah’s life. I wanted a divorce, and I’m not even married to the man! But in all seriousness, I think that it would have been preferable to introduce a few elements of growth throughout the story and to have Will realise the workload that running a house requires slowly as he starts to do those tasks, instead of him having an epiphany at the end of the book brought up by another woman who shouldn’t have much impact on his opinion in the first place. It just felt a bit easy and I was left unconvinced of him having ever made any real effort until the very end. I didn’t see him struggle and he ended up getting everything he wanted. It just made me feel like life was rewarding his selfishness and mistakes, and making him even more spoiled.

The plot overall, although quite predictable, was still fun and fast paced. I just needed a bit more of an impact of this switch of ‘roles’ and the title to be mentioned at least a few times because that was really the essence of this book so Sarah actually saying ‘would you be asking my husband that’ would have given it that little something extra. I also wished for the kids to have a bit more of a voice and point out to Will the differences between when Sarah took care of them and when Will did (especially when they have been eating the same waffle fries, nuggets and frozen peas for days, I feel like any kid would start complaining about it).

Overall, I loved reading this book. The writing is light and funny, and I’m looking forward to read more from this author. The characters were interesting and full of personality and the topic was relatable and felt above all realistic in the way it was portrayed (except for Will being so detestable because realistically we would want a divorce).

Thanks to Netgalley and Embla Books for providing me with an arc of this book!

A hilarious trading-places comedy that will have you clutching your sides. Ruptures occur in the family when Will is fired, and his wife Sarah is offered the role. With a family to feed, "no" isn't an option, but how will the family dynamics change?! The roles are suddenly reversed. Will finds himself knee deep in laundry and household chores, managing the home and embarking of the gauntlet that is the school run. Sarah commutes all week into the city and fields work calls on her weekends. But is there really such a thing as equality between the sexes, and in marriage? Can Sarah enjoy the same freedoms once employed by Will, without causing earthquakes in her family and marriage? A fun read with a strong and compelling message. #wouldyouaskmyhusbandthat? #kathleenwhyman #embla #netgalley

I’m afraid I really enjoy this book - I felt like I was in the middle of a messy divorce and hated Will, so ,much so I would have loved Sarah to have stabbed him with the corkscrew in the kitchen and turned it into a completely different genre. I didn’t find the story funny, but stressful and it made me cross. I’m sure if you haven’t lived through those emotions you may find it amusing. On a positive note, the book was well written but just not for me.

A very interesting storyline where a husband and wife swap their jobs. Laugh out loud, well written. This is my first read of a book by this author and will look our for more.

Really enjoyed this hilarious novel with an undercurrent of truth.Told through both points of view it kept me laughing & relating to the ups and of modern marriage.Hilarious laugh out loud moments.#netgalley #emblabooks

Loved this book as it deals with the question why can't women be a director of a business instead of the husband,
This follows the story of Sarah who is a senior manager and her husband Will is hoping to become director but when he loses his laptop on a train he is sacked and they ask Sarah to be director.
Suddenly the roles are reversed as Sarah who did everything from looking after the kids to shopping, cooking the meals, washing the clothes and Will becomes responsible for everything while Sarah carries on working.
I really felt for Sarah trying to do a good job but Will turns out to be a selfish husband who does not appreciate what Sarah did running the home and suggests that when he finds a job Sarah can give up her job and return to running the house.
Really enjoyed how the author explored the situation with funny laugh out moments thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley & Embla Books for a ARC.

This is a story about that age-old marital disagreement. Who's job is that?
Sarah and Will are a happily married couple with two kids, they both work, though Sarah's career went on a bit of a back-burner to have and start raising their kids - as is often the case for women. Sarah then becomes the breadwinner of the house, and Will struggles to accept this. He feels emasculated, but he doesn't realise that, and so he acts like a total pronk (once you finish the book, this will make sense!)
Will is a selfish, sexist man who is quite often unlikeable.
Sarah is a conflicted mum, who I really felt for. I, too, have felt that struggle of working mum, housework, no time for friends or family, and wondering if I'm failing.
I really liked the friendship of Sarah and Tonya, though I wish there had been a few more scenes with them.
There were quite a few laugh out loud moments and a really nice happily ever after ending.
Quick read that many will enjoy.

I immediately identified with Sarah as my husband worked away for the first five years of our daughter’s life. It really is exhausting trying to earn a living, run a household and raise children single handedly. Then add in the need to be a perfect wife and things do become complicated.
Sarah’s career is on an upward trajectory with the offer of a directorship on the table, she realises that whilst flattering, it’s just a pipedream. However, when a foolish mistake sees her husband sacked, the window of opportunity reopens as they swap places, and he becomes a house husband and Sarah moves into the job of her dreams.
This witty, insightful look at role reversal did resonate with my personal experience as it was not a natural transition for my husband to become a homemaker and house husband at the drop of a hat. Part of the problem may have been my expectations and that is certainly evident in this account. As the story follows their experiences, remaining loyal to their marriage seems increasingly difficult and it’s easy to identify their challenges.
I must admit that my instinct was to remain on team marriage and hope that they could both avoid the pressures of their outside distractions. From the Friday Fizz group to the draw of a handsome colleague, it was a challenge.
I enjoyed this book and hope that you do too.

Sarah is a mum with two young children who works part time. That is until her husband who works at the same firm as Sarah suddenly looses his job and Sarah is asked to step up to fill in his position.

So now Sarah is doing everything, raising the children, doing all the housework, batch cooking for the whole family at weekends and being an executive of the company. She misses the children when she is working as she isn't used to being away from them for such long times. She is trying to juggle too much and as we all know when you are trying to do absolutely everything something is always bond to break.

Although I'm sure alot of people will love this book and find it easy to relate to. I found it to be just a tad annoying. I really didn't like the husband whose ego was bruised when his wife happened to get the job he used to have and did it much better than him and the wheels being turned when she is now the main bread winner. He realised a tad too late that he was being an absolut fool.

The book was a little different than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be funny and shine a light on the issues that come for us women and the stupid questions absolutely everyone asks us and what the world expects from us. However it wasnt really like that and I felt a tad disappointed.

Brilliant book challenging some of the "norms" of society. Thoroughly brought into the story and the characters. Whilst you knew what was going on to some degree, it was still great to watch it play out.

I enjoyed this book, particularly the humour. Told from the dual POV of husband and wife Will and Kate, I think it’s very relatable for a working mother. Will came across as self absorbed and childish for much of the story and I thought the workplace sabotage was fairly obvious. I did like the practical end solution. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. The entitlement of a supposedly loving and supportive husband. Why are a lot of females expected to work and run the household?
Frustrations, sabotage and Hurt feelings get in the way for both husband and wife.
Can they work it out or is it divorce time?

An enjoyable light read although a little predictable. I kept thinking that I'd read it before as it seemed quite familiar. Certainly a common enough plot with a situation encountered by many working couples not just high flying professional people, although maybe not so much nowadays.. Good character development and totally believable. More than a touch of humour throughout. Good holiday read

I'm not sure about it being an absolutely hilarious, laugh out loud page turner, but Would You Ask My Husband That? was a good representation on what it's like to carry the mental load and work full time for a lot of women.

I did find Will annoying, the fact that Sarah had to batch cook on weekends when he is not working became infuriating for me. I also found it annoying that Sarah wasn't picking up on Tom's sabotage when it was fairly obvious from the outset. To me, it just came off that she wasn't as smart as we are lead to believe but we know that she is, as she is the one to come up with all the ideas. Why did she not start to question his motives? Or twig on what was going on?

Regardless, this was a very easy to read book and there was some funny parts but I thought Will's redemption came too late in the book.

"Would You Ask My Husband That?" by Kathleen Whyman features a family who's dynamic is changed when the female parent becomes the family breadwinner.

Sarah works part time after having two children at the same firm her husband works at. However, when her husband ends up loosing his job she is asked to fill his position.

Sarah reminds me of a few of my friends, she becomes an executive and yet is still batch cooking at the weekend to make sure her husband doesn't have to think about dinner on the weekdays. She misses seeing her kids during the week even as they make her life difficult. She is really trying her best to be everything and thinks the best of everyone.

Will, her husband, was more than typically annoying. I had to stop reading at points because he was so annoying. He has a real attitude problem for most of the novel, raging against Sarah rather than dealing with his feelings, and comes very late to the realisation that he is being an absolute tool.

I think my problem with the novel is that the turn around in Will's character comes too late at the end. For the most part he comes off as completely unlikeable and I wish we could have seen more of him being a good husband and father earlier on. By the time he looses his job he's established as someone who blames other people for his own problems and we don't see anything that makes him seem competent at his job or family life.

The character I have to say I loved most was Lauren. Lauren is another mum who seems to be doing it all but actually has chosen what she cares about and what she doesn't and I really appreciate her Inclusion.

Overall this was a very entertaining read that made me feel seen!

'Sarah had taken my job. My job. And she expected me to look after the kids and clean the house and do all the crappy jobs...'

Their lives may be a stressful, precarious house of cards, but Sarah and Will are like many married couples with young children and full-time jobs, juggling everything to make it all work. However, when Will abruptly loses his job and, unbeknownst to him, Sarah accepted that same job, the reversal of roles quickly becomes a comedy of errors, 'I was sick of Sarah accusing me of not pulling my weight; bored by the monotony of getting kids up and to school every morning...fed up with chauffeuring them to clubs, cooking dinner...and getting them to bed each night'.

'Would You Ask My Husband That?' touches on a reality that many families face navigating; highlighting the often presumed roles and responsibilities with witty truisms. Told with alternating husband and wife viewpoints, the irony of the increasingly ridiculous and unraveling situation becomes plain to see, '[I was] fed up with being treated like a loose Jenga piece that could be pushed out and repositioned...' Any fans of the BBC TV series, Motherland, will appreciate this witty snapshot of family life, as well as readers currently performing their own juggling acts trying to keep family life sane!

I have never read a book by this author before but the title , cover and synopsis sounded really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I work part time while my husband works full time so completely emphasised with Sarah and her life and I thought it was a great relatable story.
It was also very funny in parts and had me laughing out loud and also shouting in others(no spoilers)
A great feel good story with a lovely ending.
Thanks to Netgalley, Embla Books and Kathleen Whyman for an advanced copy in exchange for and unbiased and honest review.