For anyone who loves the “time loop/life loop” sub-genre that has blown up over the last few years. This is a creative take on the concept of “what if?”

My only qualm was that the writing is in third person, which makes it harder for me to relate to characters in fictional stories. So just a heads up for anyone who shares my preference in story perspective! :)

If I had a physical copy of this book I would have finished it in a day, but since it's on my work laptop I spread it over a week - which actually worked out fine, since I had more time to think about what Lauren was doing when she kept sending husbands up into her attic and wonder if she would ever find what she really wanted. Tightly written, dryly funny, and left me with a lot to mull over. I plan on purchasing this both for my work and my personal collection.

Fabulously funny story that kept me excited to read about who was going to come down the attic stairs next!

Lauren, a single girl living in London, comes home from partying with her friends to find a strange man in her house. This man claims to be her husband but Lauren has never been married. When he goes up to the attic to change a lightbulb, a completely different man comes down the ladder. This man not only claims to be her husband also, but her house and life are completely changed. This exchange of husbands happens every time she sends her “husband” up the attic ladder. Lauren decides she will keep sending the unwanted husbands up the ladder until she finds the perfect one. Trouble ensues and lessons are learned.

This was such an enjoyable experience in reading that I cannot wait to recommend to friends when this is released in April of 2024. Thank you Double Day Books and Net Galley for the Advanced Readers Copy. #TheHusbands #NetGalley

A clever commentary on modern dating. This book was hilarious and thoughtful. I would highly recommend.

3.5 stars, maybe 4. An interesting premise - a woman named Lauren comes home one night to her husband, Michael. The only problem is that she isn't married, and has no idea who the man in her flat might be. 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. She finally finds one she likes - but he hies himself up to the attic and is gone!

I tried to take this a a light 'n fun rom-com with a twist, but I kept coming back to trying to find a deeper meaning on connections and marriage and relationships. Then she gets a husband who also apparently can swap spouses, and they compare notes. He winks in and out of marriages - both wives and husbands, and spanning the globe. Lauren is always in her London flat regardless of the husband. Is that a commentary on men having more choices? Or just a literary device? Who knows.

It was a fun read, but I'm not sure I liked the ending. I didn't hate it, and I don't know what ending would have made it better for me, but I didn't love it. Still, I enjoyed the writing and the characters and look forward to this author writing more.

Please tell me this is on its way to being optioned and turned into a tv series! Scarily possible and creepily realistic this is made for tv, the character development was great for a book with a cast of many. I told the plot to my sig other and now we joke about "checking the attic for something". Applause for a wholly original story that had great readability and a human connection. Would love a follow up from the other side of the "husband' story. Fan fiction in the waiting...

The Husbands is a fun, quirky novel that will amuse readers of both Kevin Wilson and Emily Henry. The premise is hilariously inventive: the protagonist, Lauren, comes home from a friend's home one night to find a strange man there who claims to be her husband. And her husband he is — the photos on her phone, the names on her electricity bills, the testimony of her family and neighbors, and just everything else confirms that she is married to this man she's never seen before. But when he disappears while trying to change a lightbulb in the attic and another man climbs out, and then another, and then another, Lauren realizes that her attic is creating a seemingly endless supply of husbands for her. Her job, then, is to find the one who fits most perfectly into her idea of a good life and to stick with him. Easier said than done...

I was captivated from the very first page: from within the light, easygoing exterior of the plot, The Husbands examines the nature of contemporary relationships and decision-making. A magic attic may seem like an absurd thing, like something out of a video game (n.b. the author is a game designer by profession), but it really isn't all that different from the reality dating shows so many people love to binge or from the array of dating apps that we spend so much time swiping through — and this book very, very subtly puts across how that may be. Gramazio's writing balanced perfectly between commercial and literary fiction, allowing her to seamlessly inject her humorous narrative with clear-eyed observations about issues like class, gender, loneliness, and even corporate evil and the brazen state of the rental market, all without losing steam.

A great book to curl up with when you're looking for something easy and unputdownable, that makes you think a little and laugh a lot. I snorted a bunch of times, too, and you'd best believe they were delightful ones.

This was another unique read! I've been reading a lot of those lately!
It was so interesting to read about all the different husbands (even the not so great ones) and I found myself wondering who would come next. I also was super curious to see who she would end up with and what would make the "perfect husband" or does that even exist.
It reminded me a lot of the Midnight Library which is one of my favorite reads, as this book touches on the "what ifs" and the paths not taken, but with romance.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The writing is snappy and easy to read, the pace is good, and the topic is interesting. While I stopped after chapter 1 (2%), I wouldn’t be surprised if this book blew up with book clubs. Certainly an easy three to four stars, with five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC.

Loved this book! I had not read much of the blurb, so I was entirely surprised by the parade of husbands. (Publishers: might you consider not putting spoilers in the blurb?) The entire humorous and then darkly humorous journey was so engaging. Kudos to Holly Gramazio. I'm looking forward to her next book.

This book was just the distraction I needed. Work has been bonkers, my Mom has not been feeling well and reading is what takes me away from my thoughts for a little while.

Imagine a secret doorway of revolving husbands. Each one comes down full of possibility. Don’t like one? Send him back into the attic and get a new one.

Sounds awesome right? Well…maybe not so much. While it would be great to have a spouse that is perfect- that’s not the way life works. As the main character starts to learn, relationships are a give and take. Successful couples meld their weaknesses and strengths.

This book was a light and fun look at the possibility of endless choice. Each one also affected other parts of life including sibling relationships, friends and jobs. Where do you draw the line at what makes a perfect spouse?

I really enjoyed this one and felt like the ending was fitting. It brought the reader to a place of doubt and surprise.

Thank you to @netgalley and @doubledaybooks @penguinrandomhouse for the ARC to read and review.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I really enjoyed this book and found it so interesting. I was immediately sucked into the story and very curious to see which husband was coming next and if Lauren was going to keep him or not. This was a quick read that I couldn’t put down.

The concept of this book was quite intriguing. Different husbands that came with a different life for the main character, Lauren. While fun at the beginning, Lauren came across so superficial and it was clear that no matter who stepped out of the attic she would find something to complain about. Granted there were some husbands I agreed she definitely needed to throw back. However throughout the process there was no true reflection on her part...did she make a good wife in comparison to those husbands? #Netgalley

The Husbands was an entertaining read with a very unique storyline. I did think it was a little too long, I think that the message the author was trying to convey would have been more impactful with a tighter storyline. I enjoyed such a unique premise though!

3.75 stars

In Holly Gramazio's THE HUSBANDS main character Lauren is single but finds that her attic creates husbands for her. If she doesn't like the husband the attic gives her, she can send him back up the stairs and a new one will come down.

This is a novel concept, and it holds most things about our world constant with this as the only change in the new world. So time moves as it normally does. Lauren has the same sister, best friend, neighbors, etc.

My main problem with this book was that I didn't like the main character Lauren. She was self-involved and not at all insightful for most of her journey, but she wasn't deliciously evil enough to root for either. The vast majority of the husbands were blink and you miss them. None of them captivated my attention, which was likely the point. There was one scenario that I really enjoyed. That was when she lands with an ex-boyfriend who has become her husband, and he leaves her right away. That allows Lauren to be on her own two feet withOUT a husband for a portion of time. I liked seeing her single.

I enjoyed the character of Bohai, who is navigating the same "problem" Lauren is, and he's a delightful friend (and role model) for the back half of the book.

I found the ending satisfying, as it does show a lot of growth in Lauren, but I'm not sure that ending has been earned. However, I felt happy as I closed the book, so the ending achieved what it was hoping to.

I think this novel is an interesting speculative fiction title to check out. It would be a good book club discussion.

What if your attic had a never-ending supply of husbands? I can't say this is something I've ever thought about before but it was a fun premise for a book. I felt like the first third (basically the set up) was solid but then didn't go anywhere very interesting. It felt a little flat. Maybe it should have been a short story instead? It didn't seem fleshed out or finished to me.

In the vein of The Midnight Library but with a romantic twist. Laugh out loud funny and a perfectly weird, lovely story for people who like their romance with a bizarro twist.

This book was CRAZY in the best possible way. Lauren comes home from a night out with friends and her husband is coming down the ladder from the attic--but Lauren isn't married. Who is this guy? And why, when she sends him back up to the attic to find something, does a totally different guy come down the ladder--and her world 'resets' to her married life with this new husband?

The book's premise works because Lauren totally believes it is happening--she doesn't (completely) freak out at each new husband (and she can send them back pretty quickly if they don't meet her standards) and all the while her life continues, changing as husbands come up and down the ladder.

It's a book about love and marriage, about figuring out what we want, about what we will negotiate to have the life that we think is the life we are supposed to have, and the importance of friends who stay with you for the long haul.

I really liked it.

I really wanted to love this book. I think the concept is so novel! But, it didn't work for me for a variety of reasons. First, just the sheer number of husbands made me manic. I would have much preferred there to be a half-dozen husbands that I cared about than 147 or however many there are. Also, I really wanted there to be a link between the husbands and her actual life. I think only one or two had connections to her life, and one was an ex that was not likable at all. Why did that one keep coming back? Finally, I just don't like Lauren by the end of the book. She actually seems to go crazy and then (spoiler alert) the book just ends?! There is no depth, and certainly not a happy ending. Maybe I am missing it, but this was a disappointing read.

The Husbands
A Novel
by Holly Gramazio
I did read the book in its entirety. It was just ok for me. Maybe for YA or 20ish. The humor was just too much, as in everything was a joke.