This was a super unique idea for a story. I like how it was sort of a comment on online dating culture. It did get a but repetitive through the middle, overall I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to other readers! It was a light read and it was a quick read.

I can barely finish, I skipped a few husbands too. The plot had promise but it turned out to be confusing and hard to stay with. I picked it up and put it down too many times. It became a ditto, same thing over and over again.

I read an advance reader copy of this story. Al thoughts and opinions are my own.

#netgalley #TheHusbands #HollyGramazio #doubleday

This one was so different than anything I'd read before. And funny too! But the ending was too short and left something to be desired.

This was a fantastic read. Quick moving and compelling. I've recommended it to several of my friends and book club.

Wow.

For the past few years, it has been hard to shock me (in a good way) with a story.

The Husbands proved I can still see innovation in literature.

What a cool and novel concept about a woman who keeps changing out husbands because of a magical attic.

Yes, that's what I said.

And I would recommend this for fans of Emily Henry with the offbeat humor of The Office. I cackled many times while reading and could not put it down. It was clever and warm and inviting. It was unique and out-of-the-box. I look forward to what this author puts out next.

One of my favorites of the year!

I described the reading experience of this book to a friend as something like a sol lewitt painting and I stand by that. It is lovely and strange and surreal all at once.

Go into this quirky, debut novel with a sense of humor!

The magical realism in 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 is obviously over-the-top, yet entertaining with its revolving door of husbands, especially in the first half. The plot is highly unique and thought-provoking as MC Lauren must decide what to do with this new magic attic. With each husband, the world around her changes.

With much potential and endless possibilities, I had no idea where this book was going after dozens of husbands. Lauren was equally confused, repeating the same process over and over, which is something many of us do when stuck in an impossible situation. Midway through it pivoted. With great British narration, the audio kept me listening/reading to find out where it landed in the end, which was pleasantly unexpected.

Gifted: @doubledaybooks @prhaudio • 4★

This was an odd little story, but enjoyable for the most part. The author requires immediate and complete suspension of disbelief, which isn't hard to do, but some readers might want more.

The Husbands is a hilarious debut title with a unique premise. When Lauren returns home from a bachelorette party, she discovers a strange man in her apartment who claims to be her husband. Lauren doesn’t remember anything but photos on her phone show their life together. Lauren soon discovers anytime her husband goes into the attic, he’s replaced by another one. As Lauren experiments with over 100 husbands each impacting her life in a different way, she questions if she’ll ever know when she has found the perfect match.

A delightful time travel story that delves into the philosophical question if people can ever be sure if they’ve made the right decision for their choice of spouse. The humor and inventiveness from the author save the groundhog day plot from becoming tedious. A fast-paced and upbeat read perfect for fans of Emma Straub or readers of modern day romances. Gramazio is definitely an author to watch.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio is a fun book that I thought about during the day and looked forward to reading each night. The concept: Megan discovers that she can switch husbands by sending them to the attic. Your husband makes dumb jokes, send him to the attic. He talks about his bathroom habits. Send him to the attic. He bullies teens online. Definitely send him to the attic! After each husbands goes to the attic, a new husband emerges and Megan is in a new parallel universe. Her house's walls may be white, or pink or blue in each new universe. She may have a different job. Or not. Megan never knows what to expect in her life to come when she sends a husband to the attic.

I really loved this book. I thought it was unique, fun to read and was actually very thoughtful. The Husbands is a debut novel and I look forward to reading more books by the author.

This one started with an intriguing premise and there was lots of collective hype, so I was excited to read it. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, and the author's voice is fresh. Unique. I liked the magical realism of the attic sending down a new husband over and over. Having said that, the polyamory with the neighbors was a bridge too far for me. Also, the notion that she didn't have to go to work or didn't always know where she worked seemed implausible. Thanks for the opportunity. This one is not for me.

If you’re looking for something completely original, this is it. Such a great story, it leaves you guessing until the end. I had been tortured by a few bad Romance novels recently, so this was a breath of fresh air. I’m officially a fan of Holly Gramazio.

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for providing me with an ARC for review.

What an interesting and thought-provoking read! I can truly say I've never read anything quite like this and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lauren comes home to find her husband there, only Lauren isn't married. She discovers the current husband disappears when they go up to the attic, and a new one comes down. She does through dozens and dozens of husbands trying to find the perfect one, but isn't sure what that actually looks like.

When Lauren returns to her London flat after a night out, she's shocked to discover her husband waiting up for her. The problem? Lauren doesn't have a husband, she's never been married and she lives alone. Despite never seeing this man before in her life - the photos on her phone, friends and newly designed apartment tell her they've been together for years. As Lauren tries to figure out how everyone but her seems to think she's married, her husband goes up to the attic to fetch something and a new husband comes down in his place. Soon she realizes that her own attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands.

The Husbands is such a fun and strange novel. I think it greatly captures today's dating society, but in a unique poignant way. It combines something that seems permanent and difficult to get out of - marriage - with today's landscape of swiping and dating when you're constantly thinking that there must be someone better out there. The novel kept me guessing and Lauren's way of choosing husbands based on various criteria turns the mirror back on the reader. As the reader you're led to ponder you're own preferences in a partner - some shallow and some not. The Husbands combines a fun, unique read while still saying something about ourselves and the pursuit of trying to find a partner in today's society.

Such a fun story about a woman whose attic can produce husbands. Every time a husband goes up, a new husband comes down. She experiments with many husbands before finally figuring out how she wants to live her life. Fun and a little thought-provoking.

The Husbands by debut author Holly Gramazio has a fascinating premise. Lauren comes home from a night out and is greeted by her husband Michael. The only problem is that Lauren is NOT married and doesn't know Michael. Michael goes up into the attic to change a lightbulb and a different husband comes down. It turns out that Lauren's attic has an infinite supply of husbands. With each new husband Lauren's life looks a little different...different friends...different job etc.

I found The Husbands to be a fresh and entertaining story. It did take me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did the payoff was worth it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this innovative story.

Lauren stumbles home to her London flat after a night of drinking at her best friend’s hen party and is greeted by her husband. The problem is, Lauren is decidedly single and never been married. What follows in this entertaining debut novel is a series of husbands for Lauren, all descending from her attic. Seeing how each man may have fit with Lauren and how she may have said yes to each proposal is entertaining and leads to questions about choice, fate, and soulmates. When there are no longer any boundaries to whom you can marry, when your options are seemingly endless, how do you choose one husband? Lauren is relatable in her confusion and her reactions are amusingly honest and realistic in an unrealistic metaphysical situation.

This was the most fun I've had reading a book in a long time. The premise is wildly engaging, Gramazio is so witty in her style, and it manages to get weird and a little scary while still landing a romantic comedy ending. This is perfect entertainment.

Speed dating gets a hyper makeover in Holly Gramazio’s debut novel, #TheHusbands Arriving home one night from a bachelorette party to find a strange man in her house claiming to be her husband is just the launch off point for the craziness that follows, for Lauren quickly discovers her attic is a husband generator and the moment she tires of one, she can send him up and another one comes down. I’ll admit in the early stages of the book I started to wonder if I was going to be able to stick it out, the repetitiveness and volume of man after man entering and exiting reduced down to short descriptive bursts almost numbing, and yet that’s kind of the point.
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But then, Gramazio does two interesting things with the plot, one I expected and yet was surprised by the ultimate outcome and the other I never saw coming which changed both the trajectory and showed how clever this really was. I’m not going to spoil either thing here but I ultimately found this meditation on who is enough in the endless pursuit of “the one” both smart and thoughtful. Additionally I did this one on audio and narrator Miranda Raison is excellent and I would highly recommend.. #TheHusbands is out now, and then listen to our conversation with Holly Gramazio on the @gaysreading podcast.

The Husbands started out SO promising: a woman returns home one night to discover a strange man in her flat. It turns out, not only is she not single, but this man is her husband. Her phone is full of years' worth of texts and photos, her mom and bestie know all about him. Things get even stranger when Michael climbs to the attic...and a different man descends, a man who her friends and family know as Lauren's husband, a man whose texts and photos go back years in her phone.

A magic attic that provides a seemingly limitless supply of husbands, for better or worse.

Unfortunately, there were TOO many husbands. When all's said and done, Lauren had accumulated over 200 men -- eventually it felt like even the book itself became bored with these guys as they became little more than one-line caricatures: one collected his nail clippings in a jar to eventually use in gelatin, the only description another husband gets is that he eats two figs every day for breakfast.

The few husbands who are fleshed out were intriguing and I wish the book would have focused more on these relationships, I especially wanted a better resolution to Carter's storyline.

I'm very happy the plant survived.