Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for this ARC!!




"It's not a competition, we can both be really sad about our husbands if you like."

Imagine after a night of fun with your soon-to-be married bestie coming home to a strange man, not only coming home to a strange man but you're actually married to this man & the only one who is strange here is you.

Lauren experiences this, her life off in a tizzy & before she can even come to terms with it the mysterious man goes into the attic & out comes yet another STRANGE MAN. Over the course of days, she soon discovers this magic that lies dormant in the attic until a husband pops out & her life resets. She meets every type of man she could imagine; some are naked when they pop down, some are dressed as medieval men in crushed velvet, some are rich & some are so deeply in debt she gives no time to them. But as time goes by & husbands become faceless, nameless figures passed like ships in the night she wonders why everyone else gets to live their life linearly around her. Her friends are still getting married, working, selling their flat or even dipping their toe into the swinger lifestyle. Lauren can't seem to find a footing in any of the lives she's cycled through, it seems harder & harder to give up the magic property of the attic, its allure of skipping work & getting to cycle out new jobs with little to no extra work from her.

But can anyone actually sustain a life like this? I guess that's something that Lauren has to find out on her own.

Obsessed with this premise. Fascinating way to explore one of the worst part of dating apps: endless options that make it so hard to commit. Without spoilers, I’ll say the ending felt a bit rushed, I would have liked to dive in more. Also cover art is perfection!

I enjoyed reading the book The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest and personal review. Happy Reading!

I was not sure how I felt about the ending of this book when I finished it, and I’m not sure now, a week or so later. But what I do know is that it kept me entertained and not in utter despair as a stomach bug descended on our house and I was up until 2 a.m. two nights in a row cleaning up puke. That’s quite the accomplishment. It was funny, but at times quite reflective, and though the ending felt quite sudden at the time, I think I decided that it was fitting. There’s quite a bit of underlying commentary on dating and finding “the one” and settling that I found really interesting as well, and the metaphors (at least that’s how I read them) made the book work really well for me. I think I saw @shelfbyshelf post about this book ages ago, and it was one of my most anticipated of the year! So glad it lived up to the hype.

🪜Book Review🪜
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Summary: When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.

As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: this book just sounded so good, I had such high hopes for the premise. I love a good magical realism book. This one started off really strong but the premise grew pretty repetitive. At some point she was sending her husbands back into the attic for petty reasons like not being attracted to them or for the way they chew. The main problem is that the FMC was just not very likable and didn’t really learn a lesson about herself at the end. I feel like by the end she really needed to change and in my opinion she did not. Overall a very cool book idea the first half was great but after husband 200 plus it just got repetitive !
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QOTD- do you like magical realism ? Give me a recommendation if you do! My favorite is other birds 😍
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#thehusbands

It is a bit strange that my fiancé put me on to this book about alternate timelines with different husbands. He’s the kind of (future) husband who keeps an eye out for books I might like. So, I looked into it and requested an ARC on NetGalley. I was genuinely excited when it was approved. I started reading and found the exposition a bit underdeveloped and was initially disappointed. I wanted more reflection from this character who is suddenly able to generate new husbands, and lives, in her attic. I became as bored with the constant rotation as the protagonist. It wasn’t until nearly halfway through that I stopped being able to guess at what would happen next. This coincided with the main character’s experience as well. The last quarter especially had us both rattled. By the end, I can confidently say that I really enjoyed this book. It was a great one-two punch of exciting plot and reflective character development. Keep reading, you might just find what you’re looking for.

I received an advance digital copy of this book from Doubleday an imprint of Penguin Randomhouse and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this title. I thought it struck a great balance of science fiction and romance for those that don’t normally read fiction that relies heavily on some form of a romance storyline. I felt like it also referenced a Groundhog’s Day type narrative without being too close to that kind of a storyline. I think the only gripe I had with this story is that there didn’t seem to be much explanation why the main character happened to be stuck in this loop. I would have liked to be included in on a bit more of that side of the storyline. But otherwise, a very enjoyable read!

This debut novel’s bananas premise makes for a humorous read with themes of choice, relationships, and self-love. Lauren returns home from a hen (bachelorette) party to find her husband waiting at home in her flat. Thing is, she’s not married, and she’s never seen this guy before. Turns out, Lauren has a surreal problem. As soon as she sends Husband No. 1 back into the attic, a new hubby descends. “My weird attic is magic,” she says. “It’s been creating a whole bunch of husbands, and I don’t know what to do.” The novel brings us along on Lauren’s process of figuring out what she can control and what she can’t, who and what she gets to choose for herself. The ending had me scratching my head, but I enjoyed arriving there.

[Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

—— Review

Thank you for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

The cover really pulled me in and then to be told it was a story about a magical attic that produces endless husbands! I am such such a sucker for these magical realism stories. I really went in thinking this would take a “love the one your with” trope and was intrigued that it felt quite unique the first half of the book!
Lauren, who has never been married, comes home to discover her attic is producing endless amounts of husbands. It was quite comical and I really liked the main characters stream of consciousness that reminded me a bit of lit-fic.
The last 1/2 of the book kinda slowed and dragged testing out a million men and I lost my interest and the ability to keep names straight reading the physical copy (so I’m not sure I would recommend audio). The side characters felt so distant and flat. It felt rather anticlimactic with an abrupt ending that I liked the moral of, but could have been fleshed out more.
Not for me, really seeing a lot of mixed reviews on this one! If you read and posted a review, comment below I really want to read and share!


Ps) I am a star rater. I don’t tag authors. Stars are half its a good book half vibes. I think booksta community really need to chill on making them more than they really are with everyone’s philosophical takes on them. Most of book sales are predicted before even published & sales don’t represent “good books” always.

2⭐️

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio is an entertaining story about choice and relationships.

When I first read the synopsis for The Husbands by Holly Gramazio—a story about a woman, a magical attic and an endless supply of husbands—I thought it sounded charming and fun. And it is! But like many of these kind of time loop type stories, it gets a little repetitive at times. However, overall I did quite enjoy it.

This is a fun and entertaining read. It doesn’t ponder as much about oneself like others in the genre. It also leans much into humor, and never really takes itself or the scenario too seriously.

If you’re looking for a cute and easy read, this is a good choice.

Lauren returns home after a night out to find a man in her apartment claiming to be her husband but Lauren is single and has never met this man in her life. When he crawls up into the attic and a different husband climbs down, Lauren discovers that her attic produces an infinite supply of husbands. By the halfway mark of the book, Lauren has gone through over 100 different husbands. I was drawn in by the unique premise and stayed for the laughs. I found Lauren’s experience highly entertaining and it had me thinking about which flaws I’d be willing to tolerate in a partner. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this one and thought Gramazio stuck the landing with the ending.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @Doubleday for the ARC. The Husbands was such an interesting book. Imagine having a new husband every day. Don't like how he snores, send him back. Sounds Ideal, but what if out of 200 husbands non are a match? Lauren has to decide which reality is the best fit. Towards the middle of the book, the story starts to drag a bit and become repetitive. It picks up till the ending but not sure if Lauren truly gets her happy ending.

THIS. BOOK. WAS. SO. STRESSFUL. I loved it.

I wasn’t sure where it was going or how I needed to end, but damnit I was so relieved that it ended the way it did!

I will come back and hopefully have something a little more eloquent to say, but for now, I am impressed at how much this book pulled me in. It wasn’t a rom-com exactly, not a thriller exactly. Just a really good, weird story that had a lot more meat to it than what the premise would lead you to believe. The MC’s plight had me in tears more than once.

Many stars. All the stars!

This is a unique plot and would make a great rom-com movie. The story is filled with humor, and it is an entertaining and light read. The revolving and endless supply of husbands isn’t as farfetched as it may seem when compared to reality dating shows and dating apps. The story makes the reader rethink past relationships and how every decision in life can lead to a different life led. As a reader, it would have been nice to see less husbands and maybe go into more depth with husbands Lauren really enjoyed. Lauren went through so many husbands so quickly, it was a shame she did not give each of them more of a chance. It is unclear if Lauren really learned anything as the book ended abruptly almost as if Lauren had had enough and just planned to stick with who she had. Overall, quirky and a fun read if you enjoy magical realism in a romantic comedy setting. (3.5/5)

This premise is one I'll be thinking about for a long time. I've noticed books like this can quickly fall into a Groundhog's Day sort of feeling, a repetitive, mundane drudgery. I would start feeling that with this book, but then something would change it up which I really appreciated. I will say that this book felt long. No idea if it was or not, I mostly listened. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it--I did. But maybe because I heard it hyped everywhere I expected more. It was still very clever and interesting. I do wish we would have had more of a build up to the resolution. I felt like it was 99% the dilemma and 1% resolution.

The first part of the book was intriguing, but it really slowed down as it played out. Lauren returns from a drunk night out with friends to find a man descending the ladder from her attic. The man is her husband, who she has never met before. She realizes that when he returns to the attic, a new husband will appear. The concept was unique and funny, but as there were hundreds of husbands, Lauren appears superficial and annoying. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend.

When Lauren returns to her flat after attending her friend, Elena’s hen do, she is shocked to find a man waiting for her and saying he is her husband, Michael. But she doesn’t know him and she doesn’t recognize her furniture. She also knows that she’s not married. However, he knows her and when she looks at her phone, there’s even a picture of both of them together. Lauren is shocked and tries to make sense of all this. Yes, she had had too much to drink when out with Elena, but this is more than a hangover.

The next day, Holly takes a walk trying to sort this out and receives a call from Michael asking her to pickup a light bulb as the one in the attic has gone out. Back in her flat, Michael takes the lightbulb up to the attic to change it out. There is a flash and down the ladder comes another man. Again, Holly doesn’t know what to think as she tries to find out if she has a magical attic. Sending the second husband up into the attic, down comes yet another man. This scenario repeats itself over and over. Some of the husbands are repulsive and one or two are appealing.

OMG! This is by far the most ridiculous and irritating book I have ever read. The meaning of it is nuts. Please don’t write another book like this. You will do nothing but bore your readers.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, which focuses on a woman who has husbands (and alternate accompanying lives) climbing out of her attic. I’m a fan of books that include time loops and alternate lives (Oona Out of Order comes to mind) and I thought the author did this one well. As with all time loop books, yes, it can get a bit repetitive at times, but there were enough plot twists and unexpected scenarios to keep me entertained. The premise was funny and unique, and the execution lived up to my expectations. I thought the constant cycling through and exchanging of husbands that the main character was able to do made an interesting (slightly alarming) satire of online dating and shows like The Bachelor, where people aren’t even seen or treated as fully human but instead are reduced to a quippy profile, a handful of pics, or a convenient tv persona. The book asks, how can you make a choice when you have major choice overload? How can you settle down when there might always be something better right around the corner (or just a ladder climb away?). It really was just an outlandish, over the top way of depicting something that’s actually all too relevant, and that was part of what really made it stand out for me

It was such a strange story, but I was transfixed. What if you could try on "Husbands" like you try on clothes to see if they fit. Would you give it a go? Everything is different yet the same, would you be intrigued. It's definitely a unique story with ever changing dynamics. How can you choose one life if you have so many options available to you. The ending was unexpected, but I'm not sure there could have been any other way to end the story other than the forever smorgasbord of husbands. It was enjoyable.

Single gal Lauren arrives home from a Hen Party for her friend to fine a man climbing down from her attic. Not just any man but her husband. This comes as quite a shock but after several, it’s old hat. She just send them right back up and another comes down on his place. Her world turns upside down every time but some things remain the same. Sometimes. It’s a confusing plot but you catch on after a while. Just like our MC. I expected a little more oomph to the ending but I did get the moral of the story. Took a minute, but it got there.