When I see a book by Beatriz Williams I know it’s a must read. She is an author with the talent and skill to write a story that combines history, amazingly strong character development, romance, and important social issues. What more could a reader ask for?

Husbands and Lovers is set it three time lines and features two main characters. Hannah is a displaced European Countess living in Cairo in the 1950s. Her backstory is slowly revealed as the reason why she mired in a loveless marriage, which steers her to a relationship with a man who is hiding his real identity. . What happens as a result affects the lives of descendants she will never meet.

In the summer of 2008 Mallory , barely out of her teens, meets Monk, while working as a nanny for his half siblings. They become fast friends and then more. When Mallory leaves abruptly, she breaks Monk’s heart. They go their separate ways.

In 2022, Mallory, a single mom, is raising a son who needs a new kidney. Neither she nor her sister are matches and her young son must undergo dialysis until a suitable donor is found. She is visiting her sister back in the same summer place where she met Monk thirteen years before. Both have grown up with their own versions of what happened years ago. Monk, now a world renowned musician is about to be married to a beautiful and famous influencer. The characters are so real, so multifaceted, that I felt I was a part of their story. And nothing is simple in this story.

Beatriz Williams takes what might be just another romantic plot and infuses it with social issues so deep as to create a piece of historical fiction that is a page turner. From European refugees, to Holocaust survivors, to organ donors, class divisions in the USA, single parenthood, rape, homes for unwed mothers in the 1950s with forced adoption and more and more and more.

I couldn’t put this book down. Couldn’t wait to find out how ended. Although I’m not a great fan of multiple timelines and find the change in characters and setting distracting, in this case the stories do come together to provide a satisfying connection and conclusion. Four and a half twinkling stars, rounded to five, for a book that is so much more than a summer beach read. Publication date is very soon, June 25, 2024. Don’t miss it. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing me with an advance readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Husbands and Lovers could be an amazing novel, but it isn't. Williams tries to build in too many stories and ends up with holes throughout the entire novel.

1951 - Hannah is married to a Brit serving in Cairo. He cannot give her what she wants, a child, so she has an affair. After a mistake in Ismailia, Hannah is worried for her husband's safety; uprisings are occurring all over as Egyptian nationalists push the British out of their country. Hannah is all too familiar with invasion, nationalism, and the sorrows they bring.

2008 - Mallory is working for the Adams family on Winthrop Island as a nanny. Her friend from high school, Monk Adams, lives next door at his mother's estate. As the two friends grow closer, love blooms between them and plans. Plans for the immediate future and the dreams they are so close to achieving. But, one night changes everything.

2022 - Mallory, her son, Sam, and her sister, Paige, are visiting friends on Winthrop Island when Mallory sees Monk Adams for the first time in thirteen years. After leaving him in 2008, Monk is still reeling over Mallory, and Mallory must confront the secret she's been keeping from Monk since leaving him; their son, Sam. Sam is sick and in need of a kidney, but also a father. Can Mallory accept Monk back into her life and the tragedy that led to her fleeing Winthrop fourteen years ago to help her son?

Husbands and Lovers has two very unique storylines that, although interconnected, leave too many holes and unanswered questions. Williams tries to force too much into this novel instead of breaking it into two novels: one about Hannah and another about Mallory. She completely breezes by Paige and Mallory's trip to Ireland to learn more about their mother, while introducing family members at the end that leave the story open to a sequel, but also only add more questions for the reader because it comes out of the blue. Williams starts a storyline and then drops it (Ireland, Hannah's background, Monk and Lee, Paige and Jake) leaving the reader wondering about these characters with no answers. I would have liked to see a book focused on Hannah and her story over Mallory and Monk. I think Hannah's story is the meat to this entire novel and should have been the focus. A great sequel would be Mallory's story and a focus on learning about her heritage instead of trying to force together a story leaving holes and too many questions.

2.5 stars.

I don't know what it is lately with the ARC's I've been getting but I was not a fan of this one.

We have two storylines here, one of them I enjoyed a lot better than the other. Hannah's storyline from the 1950's in Egypt was generally decent, and this probably would have been a solid three star read if it was more focused on this part. I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of it, the setting and the characters had a post war essence to them that I have to appreciate.

The two worst part of this book are the two main characters in the other timeline - Mallory and Monk in "present" era (2008 & 2022). UGH. I just can't with these two. Monk is the biggest wet noodle with absolutely no sense of humor, no spark, no personality other than his love for Mallory. He is supposed to be a superstar as big as the Backstreet Boys in the 90's and yet he is literally the lamest MC ever. I don't want to give away a part of the plot, but I don't buy that he would be "cool" with the big secret that Mallory keeps from him. To just buy into it and accept it like he does is so unrealistic to me that my eyes were rolling. Everything he said made my eyes roll.

Mallory gets all this praise from Monk, his siblings and family, her sister, and every other character in this book about how great she is, and I'm sorry but I just don't see it. She has done a lot of selfish things that should not be so forgivable. She is not likeable, and yet everyone talks to her like she's the best thing on Earth.

None of the other characters particularly stand out and half the time I forgot who some people were. They are one dimensional and lack substance.

I also hate how the cover of this book has absolutely nothing to do with this story. It is half historical fiction and half sappy soap opera romance, not a fun and breezy beach read like it leads you to believe.

I was so engrossed in this dual-timeline historical fiction novel that I read it all in one evening. One part of the story is set in Cairo in 1952. Hannah is the wife of a British civil servant, gets caught up in the uprising by Egyptian nationalists, and has to flee for her life as the city burns. The second part is set in 2022 New England, where Mallory, a single mom, is trying to find a way to get a kidney for her ailing son.
I love the way that Williams weaves her story strands across generations and continents. She's a marvelous storyteller.

I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know how it ended. I enjoyed how the stories intertwined. I can’t recommend this book enough.

A truly engrossing dual timeline story. Mallory is a single mom in the 2020s America coping with a son who has a life-threatening injury. Hannah, her grandmother, is living in Cairo in 1951 in a politically volatile time that could blow up any day.

The strength of the two women is inspiring, and the story is entertaining and intelligent. The characters are believable and likeable. All in all. It’s a great read. I highly recommend it.

I received an advance review copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱 "Husbands & Lovers" by Beatriz Williams
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Expected publication June 25, 2024

Many thanks to @NetGalley and @Random House Publishing Group for this digital ARC

I really enjoyed this new novel by Beatriz Williams- Mallory was a wonderful character and very well written. Readers begin in modern times, with Mallory and her pre-teen son Sam. She is a single mom, barely making ends meet and receives terrible news. Sam has been airlifted to nearby hospital after eating a toxic mushroom while at summer camp. His condition requires a kidney transplant, and unfortunately, both Mallory and her sister Paige are not suitable donors. Their estranged father is not an option for Mallory. Now does she reach out to the father of her child, the famous songwriter Monk Adams, whom she hasn’t seen since 2008 due to tragic events that separated them. She never even told him she was pregnant. And now Monk is about to marry a famous Instagram influencer, so no way can Mallory face him and their messed up past.

Mallory met Monk Adams in college and their love story was beautiful. It began on Winthrop Island when she nannied for his dad and stepmom. I loved the flashbacks to summer of 2008 and their young love.

While searching for a donor Mallory and Paige discover their grandmother was sent to give birth in an orphanage even though she was married. Curious so more digging into what all began in Cairo, in 1951. Hannah Ainsworth is a Hungarian refugee, and after nightmares from WWII still plaguing her she married a respectable British diplomat. Hannah gets bitten by a snake leading to her being saved by the hotel manager Lucien Beck.
So starts a passionate and very forbidden relationship with Beck. When she finds out she’s expecting, she has to make some big decisions all why the Egyptians begin to revolt against having been always under British rule.


#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

I got my hands on a physical ARC of this and all I knew was that it was historical fiction. I went in blind. I have never read Beatriz Williams but I certainly know the name. I devoured this book. I read over half of it in one day. I could not put it down. There are multiple timelines so sometimes I had to flip back and be like, oh, yeah, that's where we are. So we have New England 2022 and Cairo 1951. We also have some other years, but these are the main ones. I have read about the Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo so I already knew where that was heading but that is okay. So Mallory is a single mom and her son needs a new kidney. A few years after her mom dies she finds out her mother had been adopted. That leads us to the 1951 Cairo timeline. In Cairo, we have Hannah who finds herself having an affair with a man at the Shepheard's Hotel. Then Hannah has a whole life she lead before getting to this point and we get a lot of backstory about her. In 2022 with Mallory she never told the father of her son that he was a father and now he is a famous musician. But when your son needs a new kidney, maybe it is time to tell the father he has a son. There is so much going on in this book. I cannot do it justice and I do not want to spoil anything, but I enjoyed all of the timelines and finding out all we kept finding out. I literally gasped out loud while reading the last page! It was so good! I will definitely check out more of this author's books.

-"How you start out with all these paths, all these choices. And then you realize that once you choose one path, you can't go back. You think about all the paths you could have taken and didn't. So I guess that's what all those songs are about, really. Paths not taken."

-"A man is seldom lucky enough to fight for what he believes in. He just fights to stay alive."

-"The English don't ask awkward questions. It's not good form."

-"It's important to know where you came from. It's a part of you. But it doesn't have to define you. They give you the paper and ink, but you write the story yourself."

This is my first Beatriz Williams book but will definitely not be my last. I really enjoyed the multiple narrator, different timelines, and a story that transported me to a beach town and abroad. I found myself so deeply immersed in the story.

Mallory's love story cut short with heartthrob musician Monk had me on the edge of my seat and Hannah's experience in Egypt post WWII was unputdownable.

4.5 stars but rounding down because it was probably a smidge longer than necessary.

Thank you Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the advanced reader copy.

This is my second Beatriz Williams book, and sadly, I don't know if I will read anymore of them.

While Husbands and Lovers has interesting characters and a detailed historical setting, I found the story hard to follow at times. The way it jumps between different times made it confusing, though I liked how well she described everything. Overall, it's a book with great details and writing, but the storytelling could be clearer. I found myself struggling to fully connect with the storyline and while Hannah and Mallory are both immersice characters, I found myself flipping through the pages to finish it.

4.5*

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

There is a lot going on in this book, it's almost hard to write a review without spoilers because the description is so vague. There are dual timelines with Mallory in 2022/2008 in the US and Hannah (her grandmother) in the early 1950s in Cairo, Egypt. Their connection is revealed very early on in the book.

I preferred Mallory's storyline as I like any celebrity dating a normal person storyline, but Hannah's was enjoyable too. Both women are extremely resilient and dealt with a lot of things and came out the other side even stronger. I also liked the dual timelines with Mallory and how her relationship with Monk developed and the second chance romance.

Definitely recommend this one.

I could not put this book down! There are multiple storylines throughout this book, and I definitely had a favorite (the most contemporary thread), but I appreciate Beatriz Williams' efforts to weave two sets of lives and stories together. While I still rate this book 5 stars overall, I was a little underwhelmed by the earlier 1951 storyline, which felt too far removed and unnecessary to Mallory's 2022 storyline. I almost wanted a whole book devoted to the 1951 story, but didn't care so much about it as it ran next to Mallory's story. While the women's stories ultimately tie together, they don't feel compelling or necessary when viewed against *everything else* that is going on in Mallory's storyline.

Regardless, the book was fantastic and kept me engaged throughout. Williams' writing is so lifelike and emotive, you really feel like you know the characters (particularly Mallory and Monk, the protagonist couple). You'll laugh, you'll tear up -- all the emotions! After finishing this, I am excited to look up more from the author!

I must admit that I struggled a little bit to get into this one with the hopping back and forth between dual timelines (which I knew going in) - but there were also just a lot of plotlines going on. I also felt much more invested in Mallory's story vs Hannah's, so found myself looking forward to those chapters much more. Overall I enjoyed the book though and will continue to read others by this author!

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams is a deeply moving novel, filled with romance, mystery, and drama. This is a story that features two women and spans three timelines: the 1950s in Cairo with Hannah, the 2008 college years of her granddaughter Mallory, and their lives in 2022. Hannah, a Hungarian refugee married to a British diplomat in colonial Egypt, meets Lucien Beck and becomes his lover. In 2008, Mallory falls in love with Monk Adams during a summer job on Winthrop Island. By 2022, Mallory and Monk are separated, but their son is in need of a kidney transplant. Mallory also discovers her mother was adopted and sets out to trace their family roots.

Williams skillfully created scenes ranging from thrilling to shocking, with characters you can't help but both love and despise. Difficult topics like colonialism and social class divisions are addressed along with the intense emotional impact of a physical connection between two people. The entire book is packed with family secrets and unexpected twists that had me guessing until the very end.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#NetGalley #RandomHouse

This book grabbed me right away (BAM poisonous mushroom!). While I experienced a lull shortly after the first few chapters, it was brief, and then I was hooked all over again. Husbands & Lovers bounces primarily between two characters, one in the early 1950s and one in 2008/2022. Each time the character switched, I was unwilling to part ways. Both were written so well that I enjoyed reading their stories equally, as well as learning how they converge. This is the first of Williams' novels I've read, but I guarantee I will be reading more very soon.

At the beginning, I was put off a little between the prologue then jumping into the dual timelines. Soon I was entranced by Mallory Dunne and her love and care for her thirteen year old son, Sam, as he has dialysis three times a week while waiting for match for a kidney transplant. In the other timeline, it's 1952 in Egypt, and it's heading for turmoil between fights over ownership of the Suez Canal and attempts to create Israel. Both are fascinating, but my heart goes to Mallory who must reach out to her young love who turned into a celebrity musician to see if he could be match for the kidney. So many tantalizing and intricate plotlines kept me fascinated. Once I picked it back up this am, I couldn't stop reading.

This book surprised me in the best way. I’ve never read anything by Beatriz Williams before but have of course seen her name around. I thought all of the timelines were really well done. I didn’t anticipate caring about each of them equally, but I did. I’m rarely drawn to historical fiction, but this one had a couple of more current storylines so if historical fiction isn’t your thing, that’s only a third of the book.

I liked Hannah and Mallory quite a lot. They were good narrators and I felt they had distinct enough voices. I really liked seeing Mallory and Monk’s relationship from 2008 as well as Mallory’s relationship with her sister in 2022.

I did, however, have a couple of issues. First, I’m never a fan of books where I’m being placed in the position of rooting for infidelity. I mean, I guess that’s kind of the point of the whole book, but that’s just not something I want to get behind. Second, I feel like Monk has no growth between 2008 and 2022. He feels like the exact same guy (but he has readers now!) and I just find that hard to believe. Since 2008, he’s become this hugely famous person. He also is in a serious, committed relationship with an influencer. How do either of those things not change a person? Mallory has certainly changed and so I feel like that development was missing.

But overall, I was so obsessed with this book. I stayed up unreasonably late to finish it and only had mild regrets the next day.

Note: I received this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Split between two protagonists and three timelines, Husbands & Lovers is an emotional story about love, and human connection.

In 1950, Hannah is in Cairo and married to a diplomat in Egypt. It's colonial Egypt, not modern day. She meets and starts an affair with Lucien.
In 2008, Mallory and Monk fall in love during the summer while at a summer job. In 2022, they have separated and on of their children need a vital medical procedure.

The way that the story weaves into each other is masterful storytelling. Beatriz Williams know exactly how to draw a reader into multiple timelines and bring together a powerful and beautiful story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Husbands & Lovers is a historical fiction following a single mother as she navigates her son needing a new kidney in the present day, as well as Hungarian refugee in post-WWII Egypt. Their identities become intertwined as the story progresses.

I really enjoyed this book, I became very engrossed, particularly by the halfway mark, it was difficult to put down. Both storylines were entertaining, though I did struggle a bit with flashbacks within each characters' storyline. I could see the non-linear nature of the storytelling confusing some, especially since the timeline shift was not always clearly denoted. I learned a lot about the post WWII era, including the political climate of Egypt at the time. Overall, I think I was more drawn to the present day storyline, including the flashbacks within it.

Thank you to Beatriz Williams and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of Husbands & Lovers.

What a book. I want to start off by saying I loved one storyline more than the other. If this story was just centered around Monk and Mallory, it would have been an easy 5 stars. I loved their storyline so much. Meeting in high school, Mallorys mother gentle push, her nickname, his music, really everything.
The grandmothers storyline in Egypt was very confusing and too much, I did enjoy parts of it, but as a whole I did not think it added much to the book.
I will definitely try past books by this author.
4 stars