What an incredible book! I was so lucky to have the opportunity to read an ARC from NetGalley. I devoured this book! I enjoyed following the three different storylines and how they eventually all came together. The ending was a twist I did not see coming! 100/10 stars!

All I can really say is wow. Husbands & Lovers is a bit out of bounds of one of my usual reads, but I was absolutely blown away. First of all, the settings alone were mind-blowing. The flashes between New England and an Egyptian scape was so wonderful and such a pleasantly stark difference. Both Mallory and Hannah are absolutely captivating. They are messy and real and see such satisfying character development throughout. I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page.

A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

Beatriz Williams never disappoints, and her books are such a unique blend of romance and family secrets. In Husbands and Lovers, there is a modern timeline in which single-mom Mallory is caring for her son, Sam, who needs a kidney donor after ingesting a poisonous mushroom at summer camp. Mallory and Sam are staying with her sister, Paige, on Winthrop Island, New York. After some geneological research while searching for a kidney donor, the sisters find out that their mom was adopted. We learn what happened to Mallory's family in a narrative thread that centers around Hungary during WWII and Egypt in the 1950s, which was truly fascinating to learn about. Mallory also reconnects with the love of her life, Monk Adams, whom she met while nannying for his siblings on Winthrop Island years ago. This modern second-chance romance was so amazing, and this book delivers all the big emotions and a satisfying ending. I can't wait to see what the author writes about next! Thanks to Netgalley, Ballantine, and the author for the librarian preview copy.

Loved the characters and both of the storylines! I really enjoyed how the timelines alternated and seeing how the 2 were entangled throughout the book. Beatriz Williams always has great settings & historical aspects. I was rooting for Mallory & Monk the whole time!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

What a great book! It kept me coming back from the jump. I couldn’t wait to hear what was happening next with Mallory and Monk, or Hannah. I thought I would be annoyed about jumping back and forth between story lines but there were great cliff hangers for both. I could envision this book being made into a movie so so easily. The social media fiancé juxtaposed against Cairo hotel scenes. Just enthralled with the whole story. Highly recommend this book!

This is a book that I wanted to read until I actually got into it. Like so many books today this is set in two general timelines. One timeline was World War II and the others in current times. The chapters alternate back and forth which is easier to follow than some but it just did not involve me in the story. I stayed with it thinking suddenly I would get into it but sadly I did not. Mallory is the present day single mother with a son who experiences a medical emergency and needs to identify his father. The other, Hannah, is a Hungarian living during World War II. There are many twists and turns in the story and I found it distracting most of the time. The author introduces a lot of characters and several complex story lines. The multiple story lines were just too many for my taste. That being said I have to say I really did not love this one. The search for the mystery of the cobra bracelet would have been a great story all by itself. Wish that had been more of the focus.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an interesting dive into the past and present life of a single mom reconnecting with the father of her child. I thought this book was a very interesting look at parental guilt as a single parent (like her constantly blaming herself for her son's health problems), which was a perspective I do not have given that I am not a parent.

I thought a strong point of the story was the way it was able to weave multiple storylines and timelines together without overloading me as a reader. I definitely felt like I found the older timeline more interesting than the newer timeline, especially since the newer one kind of felt like a fanfiction to me (I also think it wrapped up a little too nicely). This was definitely a page turner, but I do wish the more historical timeline was explored a little more.

3.5 stars rounded up!

My first Beatriz Williams but definitely not my last! Loved the characters and complex setting. I traveled cross country today and this little gem took the journey with me. I totally enjoyed sinking into this book. There were so many emotions! Had all the feels for sure. Compassion, secrets, lies and the power of love. The perfect storm.
Thank you NetGalley, Beatriz Williams and Random House Publishing -Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to get into this story. Beatriz Williams is one of my favorite authors and I am saddened to not fall in love with the story she was telling. I wish both the author, and the publishing team, much success upon the book's release.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

This book is really 2 books that were combined into one. If it had just been one story or the other, I would have given it a higher review as I was invested in the stories and truly enjoyed them. After reading the author's note, I do understand why the portion from Egypt was included, but it was superfluous. I do not always mind twinned chronology, but it didn't work as well for me in this instance.

The main story is of Mallory Dunne and Monk Adams. Childhood friendship turned romance turned disappearance and a child that Monk never knew about. This story was fabulous. There was so much to it, though I do not want to give away too much. The important part is that Sam, their son, nearly dies when he is 10 and is in need of a kidney. While they have tried everyone they know, they have yet to find a match. Cue the genealogy search and a push to tell Monk about Sam. This is the story that I wanted to read and that I kept coming back to. This was a modern romance novel in a wonderful way and I wanted more.

The secondary story takes place in Cairo in 1952. It turns out that Mallory and her sister's mother had been adopted, something neither of them knew. The second story has to do with her conception and birth. It is a fascinating historical fiction, but muddied up the story. I also had problems with slurs like "dirty Jews." Not something I ever want to read, but current political issues make that even harder to bear. All of this was written before the current climate, but it cut a bit too close for comfort.

In the end, I think it comes back to the fact that I wanted more of Mallory and Monk which made the Cairo timeline less enticing. Still definitely worth reading.

I enjoyed this book very much. As other reviewers have noted, there's a lot going on. However, I thought that kept me engaged throughout the book and made me want to read just one more chapter. I will also say, Ms Williams is a MASTER at taking two seemingly dissimilar ideas and weaving them together in a way that makes perfect sense to the reader. The ending was open-ended enough that I am expecting more stories containing these characters, which I would gladly devour.
I will be recommending this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

I am a Beatriz Williams fan but this one fell flat for me. I was VERY excited to get an advanced copy from NetGalley and I was very excited to start it. The cover - put me right in the mood for summer!

But the story didn't go well with the cover or the title. While I did enjoy the story, there was a lot of bouncing around of timelines and there were some times (especially in the 1952 timeline) that I had to figure out if the character was in 1952 or during WW2. It felt a little all over the place. The ending though might be the start of a good plot for her next book!

Also, there should be a trigger warning about a certain situation in the book!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I am not a reviewer who will retell the plot, just my feelings towards the book as the reader can look up the plot themselves.

I had high hopes for this book. For a minute, I thought it was emulating the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo but it fell very short for me. I liked the idea of the dual timelines abut then I felt like the story was dragged on. It took me so long to finish this. It seems like I am in the minority.

Ekk! I love Beatriz Williams and I loved this book. A little bit romance, a little bit historical fiction with a great author's note at the end. My kind of book. I was swept away and learned something new.

I love dual timelines and family secrets/drama so when this landed in my inbox, it seemed right up my alley. The story follows Mallory in the modern day as she grapples with trying to find a kidney for her son after he ate a poisonous mushroom and she must reconnect with her past in two different ways, with the boy's father and with a strange family heirloom she and her sister know nothing about but begin to unearth details on. It also follows Hannah in 1950s Cairo as she's caught between two men and holding secrets of her own.

I did enjoy Mallory and Monk's storyline more than Hannah's. Hers was difficult to understand and connect to and seemed more abrupt with less attention given. The juicy drama in both timelines did keep me turning pages and I liked how it wrapped up. Overall, a great book if you like stories with family secrets and drama!

Wow, wow, wow is all I can say about this one. I've never read anything by Beatriz Williams, but I will read everything by her from now on. Husbands & Lovers is an easy five stars for me.

This dual-timeline novel is set on Winthrop Island in 2022 and Cairo, Egypt, in the 1950s. It follows Mallory, a single mother who is navigating raising a son with a chronic illness, and Hannah, who is living in Egypt while her British diplomat husband is there on assignment.

This was a book I could not put down because the end of every chapter was a cliffhanger, drawing me deeper into the emotional depths of the character's experiences. Both FMC’s are extremely strong women who have gone through their own tragedies. Both of their stories were equally intriguing, but I especially loved that we get to see everything happening to the women in the current period being told and uncover pieces of their past and how their stories connect to make them the women they are.

There were some really hard themes throughout this book and it was definitely emotional and pulled at my heartstrings. This is one I know I will definitely read again! I also think it would make a great movie or show!

Just trust me and read this one this summer because you won’t regret it!

I love, love, love Beatriz William's books and this one was no exception! The story weaves between two timelines, New England in 2022 and Cairo in 1951. The first story is a single mother desperate to save her son's life after he is poisoned when he eats a mushroom while away at camp. Will her search for a kidney donor force her to reveal his existence to her estranged childhood best friend and lover who is now a famous musician? Will she be forced to reveal the secret that resulted in their separation? The second story is a Hungarian refugee who marries an English diplomat after the war in an attempt to find security and build a future. Will their marriage survive when she realizes that security is not enough, and she engages in a passionate affair with the manager at the hotel where they are staying? And how do these two women's stories intertwine over distance and years? This book is Beatiz Williams at her best!

Husbands & Lovers was my first read by Beatriz Williams and it will not be my last!

I love the interweaving of the two sides if the tale, but it did get confusing sometimes. I was definitely more interested in Monk and Mallory’s story than Hannah’s.

This whole book was a beautiful love story and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Beatriz Willams did it again! Husbands & Lovers follows two women in different timelines as they grapple with life altering choices and how those decisions impact the ones they love. The first timeline is set in Cairo 1951/1952 follows an ex-Hungarian countess, now wife of a British diplomat as she struggles to fit into her new role. The second and third timelines follow Mallory Dunne in the summer of 2008 and the summer of 2022.

It was fun to read a modern day story arc from Williams and it was storyline I found the most interesting and wanted to continue reading. I found the Cairo storyline to be slower and some of the flashbacks confusing in relation to the timeline of that story.

Another great story from Williams! I see myself coming back to Husbands & Lovers for years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC.