Member Reviews

The storyline was an interesting concept with a twist in choosing the "perfect" husband. I enjoyed it but after awhile I started feeling like Lauren was "judging a book by its cover" and not getting to know the husbands. I began asking myself, was Lauren perfect? Maybe the book was a little too long or there was not enough hook of one relationship for me to get sucked in, besides Carter. I did want to see what was going to happen there. But overall, it kept me interested.

Was this review helpful?

This is such a fun and unique book. It reminded me a little of Oona Out of Order but with a more romantic spin. It's one I will definitely be recommending this year. Top Ten Potential

Was this review helpful?

Super cute concept; and one that would be seriously the best movie, ever! Every time her husband descends into the attic, a new man exits. While this may sound like a good idea on some days (ya'll get me, right?) overall I feel for the main character. Struggling to build the life she wants with the man she wants, she goes through more than a few frogs before she finds a prince. How hard this must be, creating and remembering the life she creates with each man? The author did a superb job with this novel; cute, charming, and on some scales relatable, I thought this one was a winner!

Was this review helpful?

This was such a delightful, funny, and engaging read. The main character of the story, Lauren returns home one day and is greeted by her husband. The only problem, she’s never been married, and her last relationship was an absolute disaster. Shortly after ‘the husband’ arrives, she finds out that every time a husband goes into the attic, a different husband comes back down. You’ll go through a whole range of emotions as Lauren goes through husband after husband with their different personalities (some better than others), you’ll go through heartbreak when one particular husband disappears, and by the end, you’ll get the heartwarming finish you’ve been waiting for. Time to pre-order this one pronto!

Was this review helpful?

This quirky fun read will make you smile. As I usually read heavy murder/crime type novels, this one is decidedly different! Lauren is living her life when she discovers the stairs in her flat lead to a succession of husbands that she didn't know she had. You can imagine what a mess this can be! After many husbands being returned to the attic, Lauren decides it's time to make some decisions. This book is fun, just what you need when you want a bit of whimsy in your life.
Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

This novel starts out with a bang and continues its twists and turns throughout.

Quickly getting into the premise, we follow Lauren home from a night out, and as she stumbles inside, her husband is there to greet her. The strange thing about this is she isn’t married.

After sending him to the attic to change a lightbulb, he promptly disappears, only to be replaced by a new husband.

One by one, husbands keep disappearing through her attic as she tries to find the right one. Each new husband that appears changes her environment slightly, and she begins to wonder if it will change her as well.

Will she finally settle down and be content with what she has before her, or will she constantly be trading up for the next best thing?

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. With its quirky characters and science-fiction-like feel, this became more than just women’s fiction.

While the plot could have gone awry and easily could have seemed monotonous, Gramazio wrote with awareness and made it feel as if stagnancy was not an option. Well done.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank Net Galley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I am not sure how to describe this book. Fantasy, scifi, romance or just plain crackpot? Hard to pick. Let me try a synopsis- Lauren lives in London and is single. She goes out with her friend Elena who is getting married. She has a lot to drink and comes home to find she has a husband. Other things in her life are different as well, different friends, furnishings, interests. But the big thing is the husband. She has no idea who he is or what happened. She is able to piece it together through phone as to when they married, and everyone seems to like him. She tries to tell her neighborToby about it, but Toby doesn't understand. Lauren tries to make sense of it, and then Michael, her husband goes up into her attic, and a new man comes down. Every time a husband goes into the attic, he disappears and is replaced by someone new. Other things change as well, Lauren's job, the things in the house, friends ( although her sister Nat, Elena and Toby and his wife Maryam are constant).This book takes place over the space of 2 years, as Lauren careens from husband to husband, life to life.It was fun at first, but went on way too long, and quite frankly, I was hoping we would find out that Lauren was in a coma and this was some kind of coma dream. It went on way to long, and was actually cringy in a lot of parts.I see the other reviews loved it, but sorry., not my cup of tea.

Was this review helpful?

I found this book to be absolutely delightful and heartfelt and the concept so unique. My one and only complaint is that we never find out WHY the attic is full of husbands.

Was this review helpful?

Very interesting storyline! Lauren was living a very simple single life then one night arrives home to a HUSBAND! This story takes place in London, if you are not familiar, the author does a decent job of explaining things that may be foreign to people from other countries. But she did not explain what a roast was, thanks to Tiktok, I know! Lol.

I thought Lauren to be quite annoying and could not understand WHY she kept returning to a house that did not belong to her! I felt it was unnecessary and something else could have taken place instead of her returning to Felix's house TWICE. It held no significance to me, she could have figured out another way to get what she needed the second time around.

This story has A LOT of marriages involved and it made me wish I could return my husband sometimes when he annoys me! The author's writing kept me wanting to know more and where was it going to end and with who?

Not sure I loved the ending but I did not hate it. Definitely give this book a read for some great entertainment!

Was this review helpful?

I loved this - perfectly straddles genres of romance, science fiction, and literary fictions. The twist on the “Sliding Doors” concept was inventive and thought-provoking.

Was this review helpful?

I thought the concept of The Husbands was really cool and mostly really well done. I did have a few small issues that made it a little harder for me to be engrossed in the story, but I did still quite enjoy it. I have a feeling our book club will love it, so we will be purchasing multiple copies.

Was this review helpful?

The Husbands was a really pleasant surprise for me. I was honestly a little confused about how the author was going to carry this concept out, especially after I read the first couple chapters. But she somehow takes a strange and unbelievable situation and actually made me somewhat buy into it.

The novel begins with Lauren returning home to her London flat one evening and having her husband greet her. The only problem is that she doesn't have a husband. Lauren has been single for a while now, but this man definitely believes he's her husband and she quickly realizes they've built a life together and even have the wedding photos to prove it. While Lauren is trying to figure out how the heck this happened (even her family and her friends know she's married!), her husband goes into the attic and a different husband comes down.

And thus she realizes that something is happening with her attic that every time her husband goes up, a different one comes down. And it appears that these men are all husbands in alternate versions of her life. I mean, maybe you have to read it to totally get it?

All I know is that I was super impressed with how the story flowed and I found it to be a really enjoyable reading experience.

I can't totally decide how I feel about the ending, but I also spent much of the book wondering how it was going to end. And I'm not really sure how she could have written it in a way that would have been more satisfying to me.

Honestly, hats off to Holly Gramazio for tackling this plot... And as her debut, too. And now, I want to see it turned into a movie!

Was this review helpful?

Holly Gramazio is a new author to me and the premise of The Husbands sounds so different and fun that I couldn't help but be excited to start it.

Lauren comes home one night to find she is married (to Michael). The only problem is that she isn't married and has no idea who the man is. Just as she is figuring out that she really *is* married, Michael goes up in the attic to change a lightbulb and a *different* husband comes back down. Something in the attic changes husbands (but doesn't affect her). She doesn't like the second husband at all, So sends him up in the attic to exchange him for a different husband. And another, and another....

However fun the premise of this book was, the book didn't work for me and I couldn't finish it. I stopped before I was 1/2 way through it.

Was this review helpful?

I loved the premise but the book didn't live up to my expectations. I couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to settle into the story.

Was this review helpful?

This is the best book I've read in the genre of "what if I lived my life differently"? The premise sounds simple and shallow, but in fact the main character, Lauren, evolves in depth as she experiments with the opportunity to try out different husbands and lifestyles. The author has good control over the plot, forcing Lauren into a terrific combination of both thoughtful and absurd scenarios that had to be hard to write although the transitions between husbands and plot twists are fun to read and seem perfectly sensible. Best of all, the end was a complete surprise to me. I'm recommending this book to anyone who comes into the library looking for escape reading, magical realism, or a novel that truly depicts relationships between friends, sisters, and romantic partners.

Was this review helpful?

You can’t deny that the premise of this book is a lot of fun: Lauren comes home from a bachelorette party to find out she’s now married (question mark?)… but she wasn’t prior to the party. And she can exchange her husband for a new one by sending them into the attic. Reset her life, open new possibilities, rearrange the people and places of her life. I did enjoy it but it felt too long and I’d have loved to see certain parts of the story take more shape.

Was this review helpful?

Oh The Husbands! So many different husbands to choose from! This book was so cute and different - when you read a lot of books sometimes they start to mimick one another with the same tropes and themes. Not this one! This was really sweet and uplifting.

Was this review helpful?

Such a unique book! Lauren is single and lives alone so she's surprised to find a strange man in her house when she comes home one night. He happens to be her husband Michael and even though she doesn't remember him, there are photos of them together and her friends and family seem to know him. When he goes into the attic to change a light bulb, a different man comes down the stairs. Lauren sends him back up to look for Michael and a different man comes down the stairs. Anytime a man goes into Lauren's attic, a different man appears who is her husband. With the ability to change husbands without much trouble, how will Lauren ever decide which man is the correct husband for her?

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book and could hardly put it down! A real page turner, I just kept wanting to know what was going to happen next!
This is a fun romp that answers the question of how our lives would turn out with different partners. How would our friends, house, job be different if we were on a divergent path? She gets to find out in a very unique way!
Give this book a go, you won't be disappointed!

Was this review helpful?

Holly Gramazio has written an unusual book that shows what can happen when you have the opportunity to switch husbands via a magic attic. Lauren lives in a flat in London, and has never been married. Yet she returns home after her friend's hen party to a husband. She discovers that a different husband returns from the attic each time they go into it. She tries to talk to her friend Elena about it, but knows that she's not believed. To everyone else in her life, each husband is known and accepted. Her own life varies depending on who her husband is. How does she know which one is the right one for her?

I savored this book. The characters are richly drawn and add to the plot. I gave 5 stars to the novel because it kept me engaged from the start, and the ending was satisfying. I hope to read more from the author in the future.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?