DNF at 39%

Not enough was happening to keep me interested on either timeline. The dual POV felt very dry and I honestly didn't care AT ALL about the characters, I don't even remember their names.... just that the one lady in the current timeline was VERY selfish for keeping her son away from his father & the woman in the past timeline was boring.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

"Husbands and Lovers" centers around two women who share a family heirloom who live in different times and are going after the same thing: love. Mallory is a single mother, trying to keep her son comfortable while he is waiting for a kidney transplant and going through dialysis. Hannah is married to an important English man, but unhappy in her marriage. A second chance at romance is what these women need for them to achieve happiness.

I'm not typically gravitating toward historical fiction, but the premise of this story was something that interested me. The summary sounded much like the story "Lions of Fifth Avenue" by Fiona Davis, with interconnected characters from different eras. However, this story wasn't as strong as Davis' novel. I wasn't interested in the story until I completed 50% of the book. It seemed like there was a lack of direction at the beginning and it was hard to understand what the point of the story was.

I wanted to like this book and honestly, I liked some of it. That being said, I think it needed more to make it interesting.

I really enjoyed this book! Both of the perspectives (Hannah's and Mallory's) kept me hooked and guessing what would happen next. All of the characters were intriguing. Loved it! Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

Beatriz Williams never disappoints. This novel is a family drama that weaves the story of two generations and unveils secrets of family lineage and origins. Mallory and her ten-year old son, Sam, have a good life which is complicated by an accidental poisoning Sam suffered when he was seven years old. That accident resulted in kidney damage which requires dialysis for Sam until he gets a donor kidney. Mallory’s sister Paige thinks Mallory should reach out to Sam’s biological father to help with Sam’s kidney search but Mallory refuses. She has never told Sam’s father, the famous musician Monk Adams, about Sam’s existence. A secret she never intends to reveal despite the growing familial resemblance that even Sam sees. Mallory and her sister Paige have a strong but combative relationship but love each other very much. Neither of them are a match for Sam’s much needed kidney replacement. Paige invites Mallory to join her family for a summer vacation on the New England island where they grew up. This trip sets Mallory and Sam on a collision course with Monk and unveiling long held secrets from that summer over a decade ago.

When their mother passed away, she left Mallory a unique bracelet which was passed down through belonged to their grandmother. But unknown to them and their mother, she was adopted from an Irish orphanage in the 1950s. This bracelet is a link to the identity of their mysterious grandmother and they hope it may also mean they might find another path to a kidney donor. It does lead them on a trip to discover their grandmother, Hannah’s story.

Beautifully intertwined, the two storylines are so well developed, they could stand on their own. It is a novel you cannot put down.

This book is written in a dual timeline of 1951 in Cairo, Egypt where Hannah, the wife of an older British diplomat in Egypt, has an affair with a hotel manager who has saved her from a cobra attack. The other timeline is present day Connecticut where a single mom, Mallory, learns that her young son who is away at camp has eaten a poison mushroom and needs a kidney transplant to survive. We flash back to the 1980's where Mallory was also on Winthrop Island working as a nanny during her college years and meets a friend named Monk. As Mallory and her sister who is with her try to find a donor, Mallory is also trying to learn about her mother who gave her up for adoption at birth. As questions are answered and secrets are revealed, we discover the link between timelines. This book has well-developed characters, poignant stories and mysteries to keep the reader interested. It is historical and romantic yet moving and heart-breaking. This is a book to be devoured and remembered!

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read and give my honest review of this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I loved the two different time periods and how they are linked. Williams does history so well, I was fascinated with Hannah's parts of the book. The love stories in both time periods were sweet as well. I definitely want to read more from Beatriz Williams! I would recommend this to everyone. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an AR in exchange for an honest review.

OH. MY. GOD. AMAZING!!

I couldn't put this book down. Okay so, usually, I wouldn't say I like historical fiction but the combination of historical fiction and contemporary romance was *chef's kiss*. I also loved the characters, which I can find hard to do sometimes with romances (as sometimes they are cheesy but that was not the case with this book).

One of my favorite aspects of this novel was the back story of the grandmother. How her story mirrored Mallory's story was such a brilliant and compelling piece of the novel. The drive of a mother's love for their children was a compelling force that I could feel, and I am not a mother. There was only one slight problem I had that it was sometimes figuring out what time in Mallory's story I was in, but the dates in the chapter headings did help. The confusion was most likely my own fault.

A friend of mine led me to start reading the author's notes at the end of stories and I was even more surprised that this was loosely based around a news article the author read once. I LOVE THAT!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and of course, Beatriz Williams, for a copy of this amazing, beautiful story. All opinions are my own.

Well, not knowing much about the Hungarian Revolution the was so brutally put down by the Soviets. As well as the Cairo Fires. So much of the book covered this that the quick ending to this storyline seemed a little short. Specially after reading the author notes.

Now the Monk and Mallory plot was perfection. The true love that quickly developed was wonderful with of course the mishaps that are expected in a love story. The setting perfect for a summer read.

As a bonus in reading the author notes it references that two of her other books follow Monks family and Winthrop Island. Looking forward to reading the rest of her books.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this amazing Advice Reader Copy.

A beautiful gold bracelet shaped like a cobra with emerald eyes is the link between the past and present storylines of Beatriz Williams's Husband & Lovers. As the book begins in 2022, Mallory's son, Sam, has ingested a poisonous mushroom while at a summer camp and is airlifted to the nearest hospital. Mallory will do anything for Sam, but she is not with Sam's father and is raising Sam on her own. Her sister, Paige, calls with interesting news about their family which leaves the two women reeling.

In 1952, Hannah receives the bracelet after she is nearly bit by a cobra while staying in Cairo. Cairo is not stable while Hannah and her English
diplomat husband socialize with other English diplomats and their wives.. Hannah is a Hungarian WWII refugee and her past unfolds throughout the book.

Beatriz Williams is a master storyteller weaving the past and present storylines, both with interesting plots. I sometimes do not like a dual storyline because only one of the storylines is always more interesting. Husbands & Lovers drew me in and I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read the ARC of Husbands & Lovers.

“Husbands & Lovers” by Beatriz Williams is a truly enjoyable novel that takes place in three eras: Egypt in 1951 and New England in 2008 and 2022. Reading this book is a bit like peeling an onion, because every layer that gets pulled away brings you to another layer. Mallory Dunne is a single mother, raising Sam, who because of a tragic accident, needs kidney dialysis until a donor kidney can be found. The boy’s father, the famous rock star Monk Adams, doesn’t even know he has a child. All he knows is that Mallory left him when they were deeply in love and never contacted him again. By chance, they meet up and Monk immediately knows that Sam is his son. Meanwhile, Mallory and her sister Paige learn that their mother had been adopted from an Irish orphanage in the 1950s—something their mother had never known when she was alive. The two sisters dig into their mother’s background and discover a side of themselves they never imagined existed.

This is a wonderful book about family secrets and enduring love. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. This is the first book by Beatriz Williams that I’ve read, but it certainly will not be the last. My opinion is my own.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ℍ𝕦𝕤𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 & 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤
𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘇 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀
Fiction
368 pages
Pub Date: June 25, 2024

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs
Mallory finds herself looking to the past when her son eats a poisonous mushroom and needs a kidney transplant.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs
Husbands & Lovers has multiple timelines. Each chapter is titled to keep each timeline clear. It runs from 2022 in New England to 1951 in Cairo.

I was drawn into this story immediately by Beatriz William’s well thought out and emotionally gripping look into this family’s life.

Although I wasn’t looking for a big revelation towards the end, I got one. There is a secret that reveals itself, making the story even more raw.

The characters are so “human” with flaws and secrets. They make mistakes, and some own up to them. They love deeply and suffer, sometimes unimaginable hurt.

I was all in with this book. It is so natural that it seemed as though I was part of the story. I find Beatriz William’s way with words to be spellbinding.

💕Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

The title and cover really sucked me in! This story goes back and forth between Egypt in the 1950s and contemporary New England. A multigenerational saga that includes love, loss, hearbreak, etc. this book was excellent! I could not put it down! The ways the characters connected were wonderful, and I loved learning about more and more connections throughout the book. The finale was perfect!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Ballantine Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Beatriz Williams. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Two women, separated by decades and continents, discover second chances at love as well as their own strength. Mallory is a single mom to Sam, who suffers kidney failure after eating a deadly mushroom at summer camp. We go back a little bit in time to see how Mallory and Monk meet when they are younger. Then we go back even further to meet Hannah in Egypt during and after WWII.

This is one of those books that cause me to get so involved in one storyline, only to get even more involved when it switches. In the past, Hannah fled Hungary and met her diplomat husband, but it wasn't a marriage made of love. In Egypt, she meets Lucien who saves her from a potentially-fatal snake bite. The resemblances to Mallory's story are similar, and a bracelet ties the storylines together. I got more invested in Mallory and Monk's relationship, but this book highlights what both women did to protect those they loved. It's atmospheric, full of family secrets and betrayals, and love. Highly recommended!

This book gave so much more than I was anticipating. It’s a tale of love stories and heartbreak spanning decades and historical eras. Mallory and Hannah are excellent protagonists who each have relatable qualities. Everything in this book felt possible which made it even better.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced copy.

Another entertaining story from Beatriz Williams! I loved Mallory and Hannah, as well as the incredible settings. I was hooked with each page and enjoyed the multiple timelines. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

Williams, has a tent for weaving past into present while creating strong connections to all characters throughout her novels. This one does not disappoint. She is able to create dramatic situations that lead to fully culminate the ending to the book with a full circle moment by each character.

I am speechless. The journey I was just on was breathtaking. The stories and how they were intertwined were beautiful, and I wanted more.

Husbands and Lovers is a wonderful historical fiction novel that carries you through the past, earlier past and present. It had me in tears wanting to know how it could possibly end. I fell in love with each storyline, with each character. It was an excellent adventure, and I'm so grateful I took it.

I highly recommend for anyone who loves a beautiful love story of family, hope and survival.

Thank you NetGalley and Beatrice Williams for allowing me the opportunity to read the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately this book was not for me and I ended up not finishing it at 25%. I had a very hard time getting in to the story and connecting to the two timelines.

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams is one of my first of her standalone novels (I have read ones written by her and two co-authors) and it did not disappoint! The entanglement of historical fiction, love stories, and a tinge of mystery is what I so adore about Williams' novels. The first chapter had me sucked in and sitting on the edge of my seat wanting to know what would happen to Sam and how this story would play out. Beautifully written, engaging, and a perfect summer beach read.

I very much enjoy Beatriz Williams books, so I was very excited to open this new one. Unfortunately, it didn’t all work for me. Most often in a dual timeline story, I feel myself drawn to the older timeline - that was not the case at all here. I found it confusing and really didn’t draw too much connection to the present day timeline beyond the obvious familial one. I did like the present day timeline and thought Williams threw in a big twist at the end - I certainly did not see it coming but it explained an awful lot. I think the present day story could have been told without the other one very easily and it might have made it richer and even more engrossing.