I have read 4 of William’s books. They are pleasant and predictable and also quickly forgettable. I guess they work as beach reading

This is my fourth Beatriz Williams book I've read and my favorite so far, with a solid 4.5 stars from me. I have been mixed on her thus far and I was a bit concerned about requesting this. I always finish her books but some have not necessarily lived up to the hype. I am happy to say this one does. Why do I always persist with her work? Because the summaries always lead me to believe that I will like them. I love historical fiction and she writes about time periods and places that interest me.
Ms. Williams always writes (or at least in all the books I have read) in dual timelines. This has had mixed results with me because sometimes I find this confusing. This book was easier to follow.
In the present, the protagonist is a single mother whose son ingests poisonous mushrooms at camp and gets very ill, damaging his kidneys such that he is on dialysis and needs a kidney donor. The father, a famous musician, never knew about his son. In reality, that part of the book could have carried the book on its own. In addition, the protagonist and her sister learn a secret about their grandmother and investigate that.
The historical timeline is about the grandmother in Egypt. For me, I felt this was the slightly weaker of the two timelines and I wonder whether the author shouldn't try her hand at a fully contemporary novel. I would love to see her do that.
Things are nicely resolved at the end and there are a few surprises toward the end. This is signature Beatriz Williams, though very well done.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

OH MY!!! I LOVED this story so much, I was so immersed in the storyline, the dual timelines had me in a chokehold. I was completely blown away. I dont know what I was expecting. There is a lot going on and you have to pay attention but the ride is worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

SYNOPSIS: Two women, in two different eras, connected by a single Egyptian heirloom, make difficult choices about how to live life and raise their children. With two timeless love stories, across a dual timeline, with multiple story lines, Williams spins a plot with a multi-generational twist that will leave you heartbroken and hopeful.
- Cairo, Egypt (1951): Hannah, a brave Hungarian in Egypt post WWII, who is married to an elderly British diplomat, falls in love with another man. Her heartbreaking past is uncovered.
- Winthrop Island, New York (2008): Mallory and Monk are best friends from school; she is asked by Monk if she would like to nanny for his younger siblings over the summer. This timeline follows their love story and how they fell apart.
- New England (2022): Mallory’s son, Sam, ate a deathcap mushroom at summer camp three years ago and is in desperate need of a kidney. While frantically searching for a doner match, Paige, Mal’s sister, uncovers a family secret that sets this timeline into motion to link with the one in Egypt.

MY REVIEW:
Why was I not prepared for this to be my favorite read of the year so far!?! I absolutely adored this historical and modern day romance full of family secrets, heartbreak, love lost and found again, and strong, brave female lead characters.

Husbands & Lovers alternates among three timelines, and usually when a book goes between timelines, I tend to gravitate towards one, but I loved all three timelines and couldn’t wait to see how they all fit together in the end. And when I say in the end, I actually mean right up to the final page.

Williams has written a novel comprised of deeply complex and human characters, faced with morally complex dilemmas and decisions to make. Hannah’s story was devastatingly sad, but I was enamored by her strength despite all she had gone through. I feel like she is a person that has lived many lives, but all with integrity and grit. I absolutely fell in love with Mal and Monk from the start; their relationship is the perfect picture of when privilege and class get in the way of what your heart truly knows is the right path. Also, Mal and Paige’s sister dynamic was perfectly executed.

I will recommend this book to everybody!!!!!

5/5!!!!!

historical romance, friends to lovers, love lost & found again, family secrets + lies, slow burn, Egyptian heirlooms, accidental pregnancy, betrayals, multiple timelines/povs, multi-generational twist

Beatriz Williams is top of my list of must-read authors, and as always, she hasn't disappointed with her latest release.

Mallory, a single mom, has fought to create the best life possible for her and her son -- but, an unexpected tragedy forces her to re-evaluate the past decisions and what might truly be best for her son. At the center of this story is a mysterious heirloom bracelet, which ties Mallory to another brave, fiercely independent woman from long ago.

Both women's stories captured me from the moment I opened the book, but for the first time while reading one of Beatriz Williams' books, I found myself so much more drawn into the modern-day storyline than the historic one (which for me, is really saying something!). The characters struggles, fears, love, and longings all came through so clearly, which has always been something I loved about Williams' work.

Once again, Williams has delivered the perfect work of historical fiction and the perfect summer read. Highly, highly recommend!

Husbands and Lovers is a multilayered story of two strong women told in 3 timelines.
We are first introduced to Hannah, who lost her husband and son in WWII Hungary. She is living in Cairo, Egypt with her husband who is a British diplomat. Hannah’s story is heartbreaking, and we learn her connection to Mallory through an heirloom bracelet.

Mallory is an artist and a single mother to Sam, who is in kidney failure. Midway through the book, we meet Sam’s father, Monk Adams, a famous singer/songwriter who met Mallory in her teens. They had a summer fling that produced Sam, only Monk doesn’t know. Mallory’s story is told in a dual timeline from her summer with Monk on Winthrop Island and in the present.

Mallory has an older sister Paige, who is devoted to her nephew and always has her sister’s back. The sisters’ relationship and their discovery that their mother was adopted in a significant story in the book.

Throughout the book, Hannah, Mallory and Paige survive heartbreak, loss, and betrayal. Their grit and determination to survive these personal tragedies make for a compelling story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story was comprised of 2 different storylines over 3 time periods. Mallory's story was told in 2008 and 2022 and I really enjoyed reading her story with both Monk and her son. Hannah's was based in the 1950's and I found myself skimming a lot of her chapters. Overall, this book felt pretty choppy due to the various timelines. My main complaint would be that it seemed the author tried to leave most chapters with a bit of a cliffhanger and then you'd switch to a different character/timeline. That's fine for some chapters but by the end it felt a bit exhausting when I just wanted to know what happened to the character in that timeline.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good multiple timeline story--but that's key. They all have to be engaging and draw me in so I'm excited about the next time I visit that storyline. And "Husbands & Lovers" did just that.

Mallory's ten-year-old son eats a mushroom and winds up needing a kidney. She and her sister visit her sister's friend who happens to live on the same island that Mallory's ex, now a famous rock star, spends his summers on, and naturally, they run into each other. While there, she remembers about the summer she nannied for his family and their plans for the future that didn't pan out.

Hannah is a bored WWII survivor living in Cairo with her much-older husband as he and other Englishmen determine the future of Egypt. Hannah falls for Lucien Beck and they have an affair.

Beatriz Williams takes us on a journey with both Mallory and Hannah as we wonder how they're connected. I found the characters well-written and interesting, but I do wish that since the book was about women and their journeys, it wasn't called Husbands and Lovers. It centers the men unnecessarily when the book is focused on women, their experiences, their struggles, and their disappointments and dreams. I loved the place settings, as both Egypt and Winthrop Island were written in ways that made me feel like I was there.

I really enjoyed this book! Many thanks to Ballantine Books, Random House, and NetGalley for my honest review in exchange for the chance to read this as an ARC.

A novel with two different but intertwining storylines: the first is about Mallory, a single mom of a 13 year old who is on dialysis because of a freak accident when he was 10 - he needs a kidney but she never told his famous rock star father of his existence so she cannot ask him for help. The second storyline is about Hannah who survived horrible tragedy during WWII and is now, in 1951, married to a wealthy older British man and living in Egypt but is drawn to an Egyptian hotel manager and has an affair with him. Both characters are developed through backstories with flashbacks throughout the novel.

I have enjoyed all of Williams’ novels that I have read (and I still have a way to go with her backlist) and this one was no different. While I predicted almost everything that happened in the novel I still appreciated the story and how it developed so I think that says something. I grew attached to the characters and in the middle of reading this, when I had to go out to dinner with my family (I read on vacation) I was thinking about the story and wanted to just get back to my hotel room and finish. It was definitely a great vacation read by the pool for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC to review

I quite enjoy Beatriz Williams's novels, and several characters from varying books and eras live rent free in my head. It's always so fun to try to unravel how the stories of the two main women across time will come together and connect. "Husbands & Lovers" was no different, although I may like it even more with one of the women, Mallory, also having a split timeline between modern day as a mother of a tween son and her youth on Winthrop Island one summer. The settings were beautifully written, the characters were wonderfully complex, and the conflicts were both big, historical challenges and common afflictions, love included. It's the perfect novel to start your summer vacation.

The always reliable Beatriz Williams's newest offering is told in 3 timelines, mainly focusing on the present and the story of a single mom, Mallory, raising her son, who has kidney failure after a tragic accident. He needs a kidney and there is no way she's telling his dad, even though she is hopelessly in love with him. The backstory tells the story of Hannah, a woman in Cairo in the 1950s, whose connection to Mallory becomes apparent as the story unfolds. Yes, it's a lot and it took me some time to sort it all out and settle into the story. If I'm being honest, both stories were interesting and could have been told on their own. This was a very compelling read!

I love Beatriz Williams's books, and Husbands and Lovers is no exception.

The story weaves together two timelines, each with a strong female protagonist. I found the current timeline more engaging than the past timeline, but I appreciated the level of detail used to fully immerse the reader in both. The story packed an emotional punch, too.

Fans of the author's previous works will enjoy this one, as well.

A good read and a well-developed story. You will enjoy it if you like Hilderbrand-style summer novels and a touch of historical fiction. (Beyond the island/New England setting, I saw similarities with E.H.'s Summer Affair, which I am also rereading right now. Having a major music star for an ex-boyfriend is an obvious thing in common here, but the books follow different paths.)

What I liked:
- The book is well-paced, and the points of view/chapters from different timelines switch with great timing to deliver the twists and suspense.
- The historical fiction part is fascinating, if a bit convoluted.
- The central love story is great and gets fair treatment throughout.
- The main character is likable, and her motivation becomes clear after some things are uncovered.

What I questioned:
- Honestly, the title of the book could be better. It is a bit misleading to what the story might entail, if a reader does not look up the premise/description. There was some adultery and some husbands and a certain lover. Just think there must have been a better name that ended up in the reject pile that might have been a better representation of the book.
- The class difference is a bit on the nose at times.
- There could have been more of a connection between the now and the history. There are some threads, but I felt it could have been extended.
- The Instagram-influencer-fiancee gave me major Parent Trap's Meredith Blake vibes - did she have to be completely evil to move the story along? Simultaneously, did we really need Sedge's character here just to show that Mallory has options? And if he did, could he be a bit deeper, beyond the "rich and good in bed?"
- The love-making scenes are a bit strange - we get too much detail at times, then none at all.
- The language is a bit uneven. I am all for swearing and edginess, but I felt it wasn't always fitting.
- I wish we got one more chapter from Hannah - that story felt unfinished in a way.

Thank you, NetGalley, Random House, and Beatriz Williams for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The book is out on June 25.

Thank you net galley and Beatriz Williams for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review! I have this book 3.25 stars which I rounded down to 3 on Goodreads’! Decent book descent read had trouble connecting with the characters

A passed down family bracelet leads a single mother to understand her family history and opens her up to second chances.

Dual times lines can be hard for me. I loved the contemporary timeline of this one and unfortunately found myself wanting to skip the other parts to get back to it. Hannah’s part it Egypt, while I loved the setting, I just couldn’t get into it. It was important to still read as I needed to understand how it all came together in the end.

“You can choose to live again or not. But I can make you remember what it was like to be alive.”

Husbands & Lovers comes out 6/25.

I wanted like this book so bad! The premise is so intriguing ( dual POV, Mallory and her boyfriend in 2008/her son in 2022, and Hannah in Cairo in 1951). I got 60% in, and loved all of the Mallory parts of the dual POV. The Hannah parts dragggggged. I felt zero connection to Hannah and her story. I don’t know if I needed to push a little farther, but I thought 60% was generous, and despite knowing that the stories connected, I couldn’t see how it was going to happen. I am still curious about the resolution of Mallory, her son, and Monk, but not enough to continue right now. This author seems like one I should like, so maybe I need to try a different title of hers.

I couldn't put this book down! Set in early 1950's Cairo and (mostly) modern day New England, Husbands & Lovers is two love stories. Hannah Ainsworth survived WWII but the heartbreak and loss she suffered made her think she would never love again. Mallory Dunne got pregnant in her early 20's and decided to raise her son on her own, but she's never gotten over her relationship with her son's father, even though he has moved on. Hannah and Mallory each rediscover love, and as their stories are revealed, we realize the two women are connected across time. I loved the richly drawn characters and their captivating stories, which Beatriz Williams expertly peels back layer-by-layer. One of my favorite reads so far this year.

Two generations of women, one bracelet, link the past to mysterious upbringing of Mallory Dunne's mother. These women upend the lives of the men they love to save the one thing they love, their children.

Let's meet the women:

Mallory Dunne - A mother to Sam who is currently on the waitlist for a new kidney. An absent father only because he’s literally unaware after a love affair one summer in college. Sam's Dad is forced to reconcile the past to accept the future of "why" Hannah ran away, and didn't tell him she was pregnant. A second-chance at love awaits Hannah and Monk after truths are revealed.

Hannah Ainsworth - In 1951, Hannah's grandmother is living a diplomatic life in Cairo with her husband. Left often alone, Hannah finds herself in the arms on the charismatic hotel manager. Longing for a child, her lover gives her a chance to be a mother. Danger lurks in Cairo so Hannah must do what is necessary to save the baby, Hannah's mother.

These two timelines collide for an epic conclusion as secrets are revealed from Hannah's mother past and her own. Fabulous story!

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books

A book with dual timelines, this is the story of a family with a mysterious and previously unknown past and a story of young love interrupted. While the storyline was, overall, interesting, I found this just didn’t hold my attention. The ending wrapped things up, but I didn’t think the story seemed finished.

I really, really hate to do this. I think I’ve only ever DNF’d one other ARC, but this is definitely not the book for me and life is too short to waste reading bad novels. I have no idea how it has 5 star reviews. Outside of glorifying an affair in one storyline, in the other one, the main character is insufferable. Absolutely intolerable. She treats others so poorly. The main catalyst for me is that she is not doing everything within her power for her son. My child has a condition that there is no cure or transplant for but if there was the slightest chance I could provide that for her, I would contact ANYONE I possibly could. I would do ANYTHING I possibly could for my child. That selfishness, and there is no other word for it, leaves me unable to care at all what happens with her in this book. I want Sam to get his happy ending but Mallory does not deserve one so I’ll just stop reading now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.