So clever and funny and wise about relationships and compromise. I don't think I've ever experienced a light romantic comedy that felt genuinely hard to put down before, but this was it.

This was a very entertaining read!
Not only does the husband change every time they go into Lauren's attic, but her whole life changes too!

"When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?" This sums it up so nicely!

As Lauren strives to find the "perfect" husband and the "perfect" life - she must ask herself exactly that. Is it ever going to be enough - probably not. Is it ever going to be perfect enough - probably not.

Loved this book! So much fun! Some sort of magic portal opens in Lauren's attic and men keep falling out. Men she's married to! She figures out that when a husband goes up into the attic a different husband comes down. There's lots of comic potential here and Holly Gramazio is up to the task. Lauren learns a lot about herself throughout the process and the ending is very sweet without being saccharine. Considering it's what would be called 'chick lit' there are some interesting possibilities for book discussions here - what are your must-have qualities in a potential spouse; are any of those qualities worth compromising on if the chemistry is right; and should you ever make snap judgements in matters of the heart?

This reminded me of Midnight Library, but instead of different choices represented by books, we have different choices represented by husbands. Lauren comes back from a bachelorette party to discover that she's married to someone she has no memory of meeting. Each time her husband goes into the attic, a different husband comes down. Each one represents a man that she may have married if some circumstance in her life was slightly different.

As the husbands change, the decor, her career, her friends, and other aspects of her life change. As this goes on, she tries to find a pattern to the husbands, begins to wonder if she should pick a husband and stick with him.

About halfway through the book, she gets a husband who looks at her differently than the rest of them did, and this is the beginning of the end of her husband swapping.

This isn't a romance, which I appreciated. The author did a good job thinking through a lot of the complexities, but it's impossible to solve all of them. To enjoy this, the reader should be able to suspend some disbelief. After all, this is a magical attic we're talking about.

I liked Lauren's insights into herself, how each husband represented or amplified certain of her personality traits. The idea that it's harder to hide parts of yourself and bad choices some version of yourself could've made when you're literally shown the life where they occurred.

In all, this was a fun literary fiction read with a little magical realism. Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I'll order for my library.

I loved this book so, so much.

Lauren comes home one night to find her husband waiting for her; but she doesn’t remember having a husband. And yet her apartment and the photos on her phone suggest they’ve been together for years. She’s confused; even more so when that husband climbs into the attic, and a different one comes down. She soon realizes that all she needs to switch lives is to send her husband up into the attic. And so we follow along with her as she does just that.

This book was funny, and smart, and infinitely readable. Lauren is incredibly relatable and often something of a mess, but in the most lovable possible way. I was genuinely sorry to see this book end; I could have followed Lauren through her various lives for much longer. I hope desperately that someone turns this book into a TV show. 5 stars!!!

Thanks to NETGALLEY and St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books for eARC

Plot: 5
Characters: 5
Writing Style: 5
Cover: 4
Enjoyment: 5

Top Ten of 2023 (read, since it comes out 2024). So much so, in fact, that I didn't even make any notes. I was too engrossed in the thoughtful, delightful, hilarious story. I almost want it to be adapted from page-to-screen, but I'd also be nervous if it were, that something as short as a movie wouldn't do this gem of a debut proper service. I kept sharing quirky lines with my own husband. We get Britishisms & UK English spellings, something I enjoy. Exposure! Culture! And I'm nostalgic for it, having lived in Suffolk for three years. I can't say much beyond the concept is fantastic and a favorite (similar to things like "Groundhog Day", "Happy Death Day", etc, minus the timeloopy bit), the characters are well developed and complicated; you'd want some in your own life.

Our main lady, Lauren, tells the story in third person POV and has growth by the end of the novel. There's a perfect amount of shenanigans and seriousness, and I would buy this. If a spin-off occurred, either told from a husband or from someone else experiencing the same magic attic, I would also pick that up.

And bonus points for animal advocacy!! -- "She had started to avoid pork even before she went vegetarian ; pigs are as clever as a human three-year-old, she heard once, the same day she went to her nephew Caleb’s third birthday party, and that was it." -- Trufax, let's go!

This is a fascinating and original story. A concept I’ve never read or seen. I had no idea how this was going to keep going or end. I’m glad she had Bodhi, It has Midnight Library vibes and I hope it does just as well because it’s a great book.

This was a surprise.

I really clicked with the premise, because the premise is pretty fun. As a housewife, I can relate to some of the annoying things that dudes tend to do. I also really liked the messaging behind the ending. I also appreciate that she was very firm in her stance about not wanting kids and advocating that at every turn.

I did run into an issue with pacing. At times the book dragged a little, and I had points where I could have easily put it down and it would have gone into the ADHD never pick it up again zone. But other than some pacing issues, the story was fun and if one wants to get married, this is a very interesting way to experience it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday for an e=copy.

What an Original Story! You sort of fall in and go along for the ride. Funny, sweet, and terrifying...

What would you do if your attic kept sending you new husbands? Londoner single woman Lauren opens her attic steps one day....only to have a husband climb down. And then she discovers she can reset her universe-- but keep her own memory intact-- by sending up the husband and have a new one come down. Everyone remembers Lauren, but she doesn't "know" anything about her new life. Lauren careens through universes and husbands, until she realizes...she's bored and unhappy. What then?

Debut novel, The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio explores the anxiety of “am I making the right choice?”, on hyperdrive.

When Lauren returns from a hen do and finds herself face to face with a husband she didn’t know she had, it only gets crazier from there. Lauren meets boring husbands, charming husbands, flat out awful husbands, and more. As the husbands come and go from her attic, some forced, some accidental, this zany tale examines modern love, choice, and destiny.

For fans of Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin.

If this book doesn’t get made into a movie I’ll be very disappointed. I can’t wait to see A-listers popping in and out of the attic.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book, what a unique and fun premise. Written well and it gets you thinking about your own choices and attic doors? Anyway, highly recommended and I'm still thinking about the story.
Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC!

Hmm where to start, this was a very unique story with the attic of endless husbands. I liked the concept and the message behind the story but it got a little confusing in some parts but I give it a solid 4 stars because I loved all the characters

I have never been so enthralled by a debut author before like I was with The Husbands. The premise was so amazingly original and I loved Lauren. Watching her grow through the story was an incredible journey!

I devoured this snappy debut in a day! While the tone is decidedly lighthearted, Gramazio also gently probes at the nature of love, marriage, friendship, and fate in this zany romp. Bonus points for the London setting—I enjoyed googling all the neighborhoods.

This book was a refreshing surprise. The main character discovers she has a new husband who has appeared out of the blue. Then we follow her adventures with this new husband and a lot more surprises to follow. I love the pure novelty of this story and truly not knowing what direction the plot was going. It was definitely a book I didn't want to put down and I really enjoyed pure originality of the concept. Overall a great story, I was a tad disappointed that the ending seemed a bit abrupt and not quite as satisfying as I expected. Still a fun read you don't want to miss.
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Husbands was a super cute romcom! I could see this book getting made into a movie. Holly Gramazio is a talented writer!

Part mystery, part rom-com. I really enjoyed this book. Holly Gramazio is a new writer. I look forward to reading more!

The premise could have been gimmicky-- but what's brilliant about this book is its commitment to the bit,to pattern, escalation and improvisation. Truly enjoyable. Reminded me of some of my favorite TV, including Russian Doll and Hang the DJ but was v original.

This was a fun and fast read. It was a really good concept, different husbands come out of her attic until she picks one she wants to stay with.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for my honest opinion