When single Londoner Lauren's attic starts making husbands appear, she is thrown into a journey of different life paths. While some husbands will stay for a while, others she dismisses by sending up to the attic again. What does make a great partner? How does it affect life? How do you know when you find the right one? It was a fun journey with Lauren as the attic's rotation of husbands leads to a clarifying conclusion. This original read will appeal to fans of The Midnight Library.

The premise of this book had me hooked from page one. I was completely wrapped up in the shock of Lauren finding the first husband in her apartment. Her decision-making process was fun to be a part of... until it wasn't. By the end of the book I was just irritated because it felt so very repetitive when it didn't have to be. And, the ending? That was one of the most abrupt endings EVER. I wanted to love this book, but I just didn't.

The Husbands is a brilliant concept-- wholly original and ambitious in scope-- with decent execution by debut author Holly Gramazio. If it feels a bit like a video game, it may be because it's eerily similar to the endless swiping so many of us do on apps, but it may also be because Gramazio is a game designer in her real life. The book is a fun, if anxiety-inducing, romp through the love(ish) life of a London woman named Lauren, as she cycles through husband after husband, trying to find a connection with an ideal partner and simultaneously trying to find herself-- what circumstances led her to marry these men? But where the novel struggles is in character development. Despite its length, which did start to drag in the middle, it does little to develop the main character and even less to develop the various husbands who pop in and out of her life, many in a matter of moments. Though I do think this frustration with the repetition (as a reader) does help to place you in her head; the dread she feels as yet another husband descends the ladder from her attic is definitely felt, whether for better or for worse. Even with its stumbling blocks, overall, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it.

The Husbands is being marketed as one of the big books of 2024, which would imply it has broad appeal. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the case. The plot (an abundance of interchangeable husbands for our heroine) flirts with the genres of absurdism and magic realism that was challenging for me as a reader of mostly realistic fiction. The premise just felt like... too much. I'm sure this book will find its audience and will be loved by some readers but I just don't think it contained enough general appeal for the average reader. That is certainly ok, and not necessarily a fault, it just wasn't for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Husbands from the moment I started reading, from its plot, points of conflict and compelling language. Reading this book made me so curious to discover what would happen next, like, it was very easy to get sucked into the story.

It doesn't feel like a straight romance novel or a women's fiction fluffy beach read as the title might suggest, but I'd describe it as a piece of literary fiction. It also very much feels like a satire about the modern dating world with apps and whatnot. Plus, the open-ended conclusion was fascinating as it made yet another parallel to the real world with its lack of a known Happily Ever After. All in all, this was a good one. Surprised me, but, yeah, a good one.

From Lee Boudreaux, VP & Executive Editor, Doubleday: “Is The Husbands a rom-com about finding the perfect partner? Is it a quirky thought experiment about the paralysis caused by navigating endless options? Is it a cheeky critique of dating apps? Is it all of the above?”

I agree: it’s all of the above. And it was also fun and quick and super creative. Four rather than five stars because Lauren, our heroine, makes some completely bizarre, out-of-character, kind of horrific choices that really took me out of the story, but 95% of this was amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday!

Holy crap I don’t know what I was expecting but this book hooked me in right away and I didn’t want to put it down!

This has a great story and the delivery is funny if some what slow, then fast, then crazy. overall I enjoyed it, but I didn't really get the ending until I thought about it for a few days.

It's a fun and cute concept. It made me think about the choices I've made in my life and what it would be like if something changed. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Lauren has an attic that provides a different husband every time a man steps into it. Lauren isn't married. very cute story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Husbands.

What a great premise! The moment I read it, I knew I had to request it!

Lauren has a secret attic that generates a new husband each time a husband steps in. The strange thing is, Lauren isn't married.

As Lauren discovers her attic provides an endless supply of husbands, she must confront the existential question of how do we know the person we marry is the right one? When does regret end and life begin? Can we ever choose the right person for us?

What a great concept! It's like dating, but better!

You can sample a diverse array of guys and try them out without repercussions.

But, Lauren soon discovers this Groundhog Day style of revolving husbands is exhausting, and disturbing in a dark comedic way.

She has a wonderful connection with one guy but loses him, accidentally, to the attic, and his loss weighs heavily on her soul.

How long can she do this? How long can anyone?

I wanted to like this more but I found the revolving husbands tedious after a few chapters. It was amusing...until it wasn't.

Then, I wasn't sure what was the point of these husbands.

Was Lauren supposed to have an epiphany like Phil in Groundhog Day, about being a better person or being a better wife and partner?

She wasn't a compelling character; I didn't know much about her except she has a sister and a niece and nephew and her mom lives in Spain and she broke up with Amos not too long ago.

Who is Lauren? Why is this happening to her? Why does Amos appear 3x as a potential husband?

The ending wasn't surprising, I sort of expected it, but I felt Lauren didn't really learn anything.

Was she supposed to?

She understood she couldn't keep going through husbands ; it would drive anyone to madness, but what was the point? What did she learn from the experience?

To be satisfied with what you have regardless of who comes down the attic stairs, warts and all?

I would have preferred to know what kind of person Lauren was before and how she evolved (learned) as a result of this unique quirk in her attic.

The Husbands is a fun and sometimes funny read. The premise of the ‘magic attic’ from which Lauren receives and rejects husbands is a fascinating idea and Holly Gramazio makes it work.
The novel is a quick and satisfying read, an interesting look into the world of marriage and choosing a spouse or date!

Lauren comes home to her London flat to her husband. The only problem… she’s not married. As she tries to figure this out, he goes into the attic to change a bulb and a new husband emerges. She realizes her attic is creating infinite husbands and her world slightly changes with each.

Oh boy did I love this one! The synopsis sounded a little silly, but the story is great. It was clever, witty, and so darn engaging. I laughed out loud many times. I tried to explain it to my husband, but he didn’t really get it- thankfully he still agreed to participate in my book picture! I love stories like this where a hint of magical realism is within a contemporary and realistic story. It reminded me of Ashley Poston’s most recent books I read.. and also loved!

“She’s had so many lives. And some of them were bad, but a lot of them were good and maybe there isn’t a single best path forward that she has to find.”

The Husbands comes out 4/2.

Lauren’s married, sometimes only for a few weeks and sometimes for only minutes. Her attic can churn out new husbands as fast as she can lure the old ones up the stairs into the attic. Up goes the old husband, down comes the new, and she’s never sure of who’s going to appear.. Each life is different as well. All she knows is her husbands number in the hundreds and she’s still not completely satisfied. Clever and fun with an imaginative plot I’ve not encountered before. A light hearted romp that’s also serious about marriage and the relationship we have with our spouses. It’s fresh and original and well worth the read.

This one is so solid. A truly comedic plot where Lauren just has husbands coming out of her attic- men that truly aren't who she has imagined her life with. Men who have funny hobbies, men who smoke, drink, watch the same television shows, a few mean ones and a lot of unremarkable guys.

Here's the deal - the premise is good, the writing is solid but it can drag a bit. In theory, this one is short but it does feel like a slog 50-72% of the way in. After Bohai comes along, it gets a bit quicker.

I'd definitely recommend this to friends that like books that don't ruffle feathers, that are basic readers or for a book club that is just starting out. It is a truly safe bet, cute and funny in all the right places with a nice ending.

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!!!