Thank you so much for the ARC of this book. I might not have picked it up if I hadn't found it here; its cover gives off kind of romantic comedy vibes and that's not my usual jam. But this was different a lot of fun. I laughed a lot and just really enjoyed it, and I think our library patrons are going to enjoy it too! I think this is a great read if you are a little annoyed at your spouse.

This book was so much fun!

The premise of revolving husbands was giving alternate reality vibes but without time travel. Fans of This Time Tomorrow will enjoy this story, I think.

Bohai was such a breath of fresh air and I loved that he was included. Without him, things would have really started to drag. As it was, things were really starting to go off the rails at the end. The last chapter from Sam's pov was icing on the cake!

Will be recommending this one!

Coming home to her flat one night, Lauren is looking forward to getting a good night sleep alone. So she is surprised to be greeted at the door by her husband, most of all because she is not married and had never before encountered the person standing in her apartment. But the pictures on her phone and her text messages all indicate that they are indeed married. When her husband goes up to the attic, Lauren is again surprised when an entirely new man, who also seems to be her husband, emerges and Lauren herself seems also to have a new life.

Even though she cannot quite believe it, Lauren comes to the conclusion that she has a magic attic: it will generate a new husband, and a new life, every time the previous husband goes to the attic. Lauren finds herself grappling with what it means to be able to change husbands, and her whole life, with little effort, and the implications for her own happiness.

This was a fascinating, original, and engaging story. I am excited to see what comes next from this author.

Highly recommended!

First thank you to Doubleday books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Lauren comes home from a party and discovers a husband she doesn’t recall.. however when he goes up to the attic to change a lightbulb a new husband comes down. She soon realizes that she can swap out a husband anytime she wants by sending them up to the attic. Is this magic or something else?

What I liked: I thought this book was going to be a light rom com with a happily ever after but it is so much more. The author Holly Gramazio is a game designer in real life and really explored the gaming aspects of modern dating apps and butterfly theory. However she includes the human side of it including how the ease of getting a new husband/life lessens the value or satisfaction you get from it. She also plays with the idea of soulmates and how that can change quickly. There are some funny scenes but I really liked the whole picture including how this capacity impacts Lauren and others around her. I really liked her take on life when she switches husbands. So often in books or movies, that triggers many other actions that spiral but here she show how sometimes these actions might not dramatically change your life. It really made me think about how life can change quickly yet stay the same. One note is that I understood the point she was making with the switching of the husbands at first but thought she could have summed that quicker and devoted more time to the ending. I would have like some more at the end to see Lauren in a few months or years.

I would recommend that you read this book because it is such a unique perspective and concept. The writing is great and you will continue to think about long after it ends.

This book was a refreshing spin on a tale of parallel lives and infinite possibilities. I couldn't put it down! If you enjoy magical realism you will LOVE this book.

As a single girl, this book had such a cute and cheeky premise. However, with all the changes in Lauren's life (read: different husbands), it was hard to connect with any of the characters because so much time was spent adapting. However, it was fun and lighthearted and a pretty good palate cleanser from my usual thrillers.

Have you ever wondered is you found the right person? Well, in this trippy story, Lauren discovers that when her husband goes to the attic, he doesn't come back as the same person. I mean a whole different person, not the same in any way shape of form. Her friends all now the new husband and the decor and pictures all change every time that the husband is different. can she figure this out and find happiness with the one she is meant to be with?

What a unique story about being married. Lauren comes home one night to find a husband. A guy she has zero recollection of marrying. Her apartment is different, and her phone is filled texts and photos of the two of them. Then, he goes into the attic and out walks a new husband, again, again and again.

Her attic is her new dating app - he's grumpy, send him back; he's too tall, send him back; don't like his facial hair, send him back. Hundreds upon hundreds of men step down the attic ladder. This book was both hilarious and insightful into relationships.

Begs the question, what makes the perfect spouse?

Thank you, Doubleday

After a night out, a single woman arrives home and is greeted by a man she's never seen before -- who turns out to be her husband. When the husband goes up into the attic for something, he disappears, and a completely different/new husband emerges. And thus Lauren finds herself in a groundhogs day of husbands, able to reset her life (and partner) at her whim just by sending the current husband up into the attic.

Though I often find novels with magical realism way too gimmicky for my taste, I loved this book. "The Husbands" is a fresh, funny, compulsively readable debut that explores what it means to commit in the age of endless swiping.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

One night, Lauren comes home to her husband. But wait, she doesn't have one. And her apartment and life and appearance also look a little different. Where did this mysterious husband come from? The attic - duh. And when he goes back into the attic, he disappears only to be replaced by a completely new husband, and their completely new life. Lauren has NO idea what is going on, just that the attic keeps giving her new husbands. It's not the worst thing that can happen... right?

This book is funny, reflective, and light-hearted. I totally recommend it for a laugh and a feel-good read. However, I found it extremely hard to get to know the characters and relate to Lauren. This book never really went anywhere with the plot and Lauren's character didn't progress or ever feel 'deep'. So I think that was a bit of a miss. Even after finishing the book, I'm left with a "what next?" thought.

The writing was nothing special but certainly was not bad either. I feel like it was maybe a little too long, especially for how little actually happened in the book. But overall I did enjoy it. I was just waiting for a little something more that never came!

I LOVED this book! It had such a unique and fun story and kept me interested the whole way through. It's the story of Lauren, a single woman living in London, until she comes home to find her husband in her apartment. The beginning was a little shaky for me as Lauren was figuring out how she has a husband and what is happening when a husband goes into the attic and comes back out as a different husband, but once I got past the beginning I found it so funny. It was such a silly story as Lauren “tries out” husband after husband. If you don’t like a husband, just send him back into the attic and a new one will come down! The characters were so real and I felt for Lauren as she was going through all the ups & downs of each husband. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say I liked the addition of Bohai’s story as well. If you’re looking for something fun and different I definitely recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Really enjoyed this book - great debut, and great concept. I think she wrapped it up in the only way that made sense, really, as we're stuck in this endless loop. I didn't love the friend character, but I did really enjoy getting these mini versions of what life could have been, and I REALLY enjoyed when she hunted down former husbands and saw that the grass wasn't always greener. Looking forward to more from Gramazio!

I really enjoyed this book but I wish we had more closure at the end. It was abrupt and I wish there was an epilogue! Otherwise, I thought it was charming, funny and a quick read. I gave it 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

What an interesting idea for a book - so many husbands. Without giving it away, know that it's a commentary on the relationship one has with a partner. I thought the book was well-written and funny at times and kept me guessing as to what would happen next - which is always a plus for me in a novel. I think this one would be good for a book discussion group because it would be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on what we would change or what we would want or if we would want this situation. Loved the originality of the concept - so glad I read this one. Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

I was very into the concept of this book in the beginning, but as it continued, it just became mundane. It failed to answer all of the questions I had, and the ending wasn’t satisfying for me. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in all types of marital relationships.
I want to give a big thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This was a lot of fun to read. It could have easily gotten monotonous but the author managed to keep the storyline interesting as the husbands cycled through. The narrator was quirky and interesting, although not always likeable. I prefer dynamic characters like that. She was way too calm about this scenario at times 😂


SPOILERS AHEAD







I have seen a few reviews that criticize the ending, but I enjoy it. I would have been turned off if a husband came down and they had an instalove moment. This ending was realistic (in a very non-realistic scenario).

Lauren's life is okay. Four years after a break up and she is still single while her closest friends are either married or coupled up. After a night out for her best friends Hen party, she finds a strange man in her house. He says he is her husband, everything in their home says he is her husband, yet she has no memory of him. When he makes a trip into the attic for, he suddenly disappears and in his place, a new husband. Does Lauren now have an endless supply of spouses, and would she be the one to disappear if she went into the attic?

I haven't read very many magical realism books, but the ones I have, I have enjoyed immensely. Especially when they have some sort of sci-fi element to them like The Husbands. Huge thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for an advanced copy for me to read.

There is no time travel in this book. Time doesn't stand still while Lauren shuffles through the many attic husbands. Life around her continues, but with each husband there are bits and pieces of her life that changes. She is no longer friends with this or that person, maybe she has had a promotion at work or she doesn't work at all. She could even wind up with a pet raccoon for all she knows, but she still forges on trading one husband for the next.

At first I thought this book was about feeling the need to conform to societal norms. Feeling like you have to settle down just because all of those around you are. That isn't the case though. Yes it does have some of those elements but it is more about acceptance. Accepting the life you have, and the realization that not everything will be perfect all the time.

The Husbands is a delightful read. Are we given a peek into every single moment of life with each trade in? No. Thank goodness because that would be a bit tedious. Gramazio's prose seamlessly blends emotion with amusement, offering a delightful combination of heartfelt sincerity and witty humor. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Holly Gramazio's debut The Husbands.

This premise sounded SO interesting, and it was in the beginning. But about halfway through I got bored and started wondering what the point of it was – was she going to find a husband she wanted to keep? Why were husbands coming out of the attic? And I just no longer cared. I'm trying to put books down that aren't holding my attention or that I'm not eager to pick up, so I set this down at 50% and had a friend who'd read it fill me in. It sounds like it does get more interesting, but that it could have been about 100 pages shorter.

This book was so much fun, I didn’t even realize that there would be a touch of magic in here, and I really appreciated it. Lauren comes back from a bachelorette night, celebrating her friend, and she comes home to a man that she never met, and who she is married to, wait what??????..... That was crazy, so clearly when they go to the attic to fix something or look for something, a new MAN/HUSBAND comes out. This woman goes through over 100 of these men, some she sent back for her own vain reasons and some for better reasons. The book kept getting repetitive and I couldn’t settle for getting to know the characters at all because she kept switching the men up. Less is more and after 50% I was getting a little bored, it does pick up, but it was not what I expected at all. I know this book would be for someone out there but it was not for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A woman returns home one night and is greeted by her husband, Michael... the problem is she's never seen this man before in her life. And before she can even begin to figure things out another man emerges in his place, and so on.

The premise is wonderfully unique. But sometimes less is more.
The book sounded like so much fun. But in the end, I didn't care for the execution of it. By the halfway point, she met upwards of 130 husbands...
even I was bewildered.
No need to keep track, because we don't get a chance to meet them all.

In the end, I feel like the book could have been better if there were fewer husbands and more of a chance to get to know them.
That way there's a "husband" or Two to " root for".

As I said; this one sounded great. But it just seemed like there was too much going on. I felt a bit overwhelmed while reading.