Delightful, charming and funny! A perfect summer read for the online dating age. Holly Gramazio is a writer to watch.

What a weird, rollercoaster of a book. To be honest, I found myself amused at first, but then I was just increasingly annoyed. This story takes the idea of making life your own and flips it to the extreme. Makes it flippant. Fickle. I kept reading in the hopes to find some sort of resolution, but I did not like the characters one bit.

Thank you NetGalley, Doubleday Books, and author Holly Gramazio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A really interesting premise for a book. Everytime a husband goes into the attic, a new husband comes down. Well written, interesting premise and characters. One of those books that stay with you long after you have finished.

Story starts out well, despite the magic attic, but Lauren gets progressively desperate and you really start to feel bad for her. And why was there no way to turn off the stream of husbands??

This unique premise sounded like so much fun BUT I didn’t really care for the execution. By the 50% point Lauren had met and rejected 160 husbands!!!

About at the halfway point, a husband emerges who really “gets” her. Will she decide to settle down, or will her quest to find “perfection” continue? I was hoping that this would be a turning point in the book.

For me, this would have been better with LESS husbands and MORE of an opportunity to really get to know a couple and root for a favorite !! But, honestly, I didn’t warm up to Lauren and can’t say that I was rooting for her either!

One of the best debut novels I have ever read! The concept was unheard of to say the least... An attic that gives you a new husband every time the existing one goes back inside? Yes! Of course, Lauren was shocked to see the first one given she was single when she passed out in her living room after her best friend's 'Hen-do' (that's a bachelorette party for you Americans). But really, an attic that gives you a husband... but if he's hot and makes you tea and changes the lightbulbs in the kitchen then --why not? And if he sucks you just beg him to go back and fetch you something else and... Voila! A new husband comes back down the ladder to replace him. Magical! Lauren figures out how it works and learns so much more about herself along the way. Loved it! I would give it 100 stars if I could.

After a night out, Lauren returns home to her London flat and her husband, Michael. The thing is, she's not married and has never met this man before. But everything from her friends to the photos on her phone indicates he really is her husband. That's until Michael climbs the ladder to the attic and disappears, only to be replaced by a new man. Lauren finds herself in the same flat with a new husband and a slightly different life. Her attic is a revolving door for husbands. All she has to do is send them up the ladder for a new husband — and a new life — to appear.
I was intrigued by the premise of "The Husbands." The concept is original and author Holly Gramazio does a fantastic job balancing both the wit and seriousness. Her writing style is light and easy to follow, which makes it well-suited for an audiobook.
But the novelty disappears after the first 100 pages. The pacing starts to feel uneven. There are almost too many husbands and the story begins to feel repetitive with the men interchangeable. Lauren herself is even a bit flat and I never connected with her. There was never really a "plot" or a conflict revealed. Instead, we're just moving laterally with Lauren through this strange alternate reality. It's too long for what's there and would have been better suited for a novella or short story.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was fun, creative and pretty entertaining but I didn’t absolutely love it. It was good though. This was definitely a light read that would be enjoyed poolside this summer. The story did drag at times, but the premise was so intriguing that I had to continue! I enjoyed the ending and I would definitely read another book by this author. Huge thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday books for allowing me to read and review this book!

When I first read the description for "The Husbands," I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. It was a unique premise I hadn't read before, and depending on how it was handled, it held a lot of promise.

Unfortunately, for me, this book didn't deliver on that promise. I didn't especially enjoy the main character, Lauren, at the start of the story, and as the story evolved, I liked her even less.

The whole exploration of how we navigate love, life and choice became a cautionary tale of self-centeredness. With every new husband, Lauren approached the relationship from the standpoint of "what's in it for me." And if the answer wasn't good enough, she gave up and tried again, sometimes going to great (and criminal) lengths in order to get that opportunity.

I did like the fact that each new husband had repercussions beyond the impact just on Lauren's life, but on the world they shared as well. Each of us does leave our mark, not just on those closest to us, but also on the lives they touch as well. But for the most part, in the story, it was reflected in things like what color the wallpaper or rug was. On rare occasions, the effects were on their friends or families as well.

Overall, the story was reflective of the throw-away society that's prevalent today. If you don't like X, don't worry. There are plenty more where that came from. Eventually, Lauren's closest relationship was with a plant that she had to keep going out to buy each time the world changed again. That was the relationship she put the most effort in to, but she did that because of how it made her feel. So even there, it's about the self-gratification of the decision.

Anyway, personally, I found this book to be unique, but also a bit disturbing.

Thank you to Holly Gramazio, Doubleday and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

An excellent endeavor into the multiple universe genre. Somewhere between the Midnight Library and This Time Tomorrow. It explores the cause and effect consequences of the protagonist's choice of spouse.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

What a great read! Magical!

Lauren returns home one night and is greeted by her husband Michael. Except Lauren isn’t married and has no clue who he is. he then proceeds to go into the attic to change the lightbulb, and a different husband comes down the stairs. Soon Lauren realizes a new husband will appear anytime the previous one goes up into the attic.

This was a really fun, magical, and unique story! I devoured this over the weekend! A wonderful debut novel by Holly Gramazio and look forward to reading what’s next from her!

📘: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
🗓️: April 2, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Holly Gramazio, and Doubleday Books for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

Lauren is a single woman living in London. One night she returns home from a party to find her “husband,” Michael, whom she has never seen before. When Michael goes into the attic to change a lightbulb, a completely different husband emerges, and Lauren’s life changes with him. Soon, Lauren cycles through a seemingly endless supply of husbands as she tries to find the best version of her life. I enjoyed meeting all of Lauren’s husbands, both good and bad, and I laughed out loud several times while reading this.

What a delight of a book. I love a well-written, smart book that has a touch of irreverence and that's exactly how I would describe this one. After the first few husbands, I wasn't sure how the author was going to execute the remaining 200 pages but she landed the ship beautifully.

This was such a fun book! I recently divorced after 27 years of marriage and it was so fun to imagine what I would have done if I'd have had the option to "test drive" husbands until I found the perfect fit. Or if I would even want the option and the ramifications that would come with it. Would I realize I had it good (I didn't) and that the grass is always greener? Would I have learned to look past the little things and discovered what my actual deal breakers are? I also loved that with each husband, the author imagined the same-ish life, but slight differences, because of course your life would take different turns if you had different partners, even if you stayed on essentially the same path.

I really liked this story! Such an intriguing premise-I was really happy with how the story ended, and I appreciated that the author doesn't try to explain the magic of the attic, you just have to go with it. This is one I could see handing to lots of people. It has a lot of cross over appeal with sci-fi/alternate reality and relationships, great character development and a fast moving plot line.

This debut was so fun, the game of the novel (an endless supply of husbands emerging from Lauren's attic) made for a fast paced and engaging read. I can tell the author is a game designer, and the twist halfway through the book was really fun. I enjoyed the larger themes at play in the book--how the dynamic of a partnership shifts and changes both our inner (self) and nuclear (of the duo) worlds, as well as our outer world (how we engage with our friends, family, and co-workers/community once partnered). The myriad of possibilities that sometimes limit (and exhaust!) people from settling on a partner is something I think we don't often discuss in a typical romance storyline and it was nice to see it done so well here. Not sure how I feel about the climactic ending, but I shall not spoil it as I definitely recommend this read 4.5/5 stars!

It started out so well and intriguing. I even like the former title of the uncorrected proof, "Do you take this man? No, What about this One? If I saw this in a bookstore I would definitely pick it up. The title "The Husbands" not so much, but the description of returning home to find her husband and she is not married, going in the attic to change a bulb and new husband replaces the last one. Lauren goes through so many man and some repeat. I thought it would have been a bit better and happy with the outcome, but definitely different from other books.

At first, Lauren strikes me as the most shallow main character. I mean, she recognizes how picky she is - and then she cycles through possible husbands like the spring water cycle! Ice snow rain fog - seriously, we got all the Moods of Lauren.

I think my opinion started to change when she decided to get to know some of the guys. Honestly, it feels like maybe that was the lesson she needed to teach herself. Get to know the people you keep close. Not just the husbands, but the friends and family that make up her inner circle.

"The rules of the situation are becoming clearer to her. All of her husbands are men that some version of herself might have chosen to marry, and who might have chosen to marry her."

The change in Chapter 23 was welcome, but the ending was... weird.

3.5. This is a great example of a book that would make a phenomenal short story. I’m a bit conflicted on it because, on one hand, I could not put this down. On the other, reading this was exhausting. I found the concept so incredibly compelling, but it also got extremely repetitive. And for all of the hundreds of husbands we see Lauren meet, I left the book still feeling I don’t know much about her.

I think the book was trying to make a few different points about how no life or person is perfect, you can’t wait for an “ideal” life, there are a million versions of life that one person could have, etc etc. But I’m not sure if it quite stuck the landing on any of that?

Still, A+ for concept. Even though the execution wasn’t 100% for me, I still liked this overall and can say for certain it’ll be memorable.

I accidentally put this off until after its publication, but a belated thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

The premise of this book is super interesting! The many different lives and husbands held my attention for a bit, but most of the time, it felt like the book wasn’t going any where. All in all, it felt slow, and I was disappointed by the ending.