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adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you know me, you know I don't give five stars easily. I am super stingy with my stars; I save the 5-star reviews for the best of the best. But this so far exceeded my expectations I think it is only fair to reward it with all of the stars.
When I picked up this book, I was looking for something light and fun to get me through a busy workweek. Now, it's likely that if I had gone into this expecting anything beyond a solid romcom, I would have been disappointed. But I was expecting maybe even a little less than that. An okay romcom would have been fine to get my brain to relax on the way to and from work.
Instead I got a highly entertaining and engaging read that kept me guessing and wondering until the penultimate chapter. The blurb on the back makes it sound entertaining and potentially interesting:
When I picked up this book, I was looking for something light and fun to get me through a busy workweek. Now, it's likely that if I had gone into this expecting anything beyond a solid romcom, I would have been disappointed. But I was expecting maybe even a little less than that. An okay romcom would have been fine to get my brain to relax on the way to and from work.
Instead I got a highly entertaining and engaging read that kept me guessing and wondering until the penultimate chapter. The blurb on the back makes it sound entertaining and potentially interesting:
One night Lauren finds a strange man in her flat who claims to be her husband. All the evidence - from photos to electricity bills - suggests he's right.
Lauren's attic, she slowly realises, is creating an endless supply of husbands for her.
But when you can change husbands as easily as changing a lightbulb, how do you know whether the one you have now is the good-enough one, or the wrong one, or the best one?
And I think this book accomplished more, quite possibly, then it set out to do.
First, let me lay out some of the little things I liked about this:
It was well written. Lauren is a normal girl. She doesn't have a cutesy hobby or interest, like loving cinnamon rolls, or teddy bears, or the color orange. She has faults but they are not constant focus; she doesn't make terrible decisions. She has likes: she likes to read, but it's not her whole personality; she likes plants, but it's something she realizes throughout the book. Neither of these "character traits" are ever spelled out for us; they are just some of the constants that follow her into most of her lives. Lauren is neither horribly miserable about being single at the start of this book, nor a "I will never get married" type who has sworn off of romance forever just because her one ex turned out to be a loser. She's also not miserable about her best friend getting married while she is single. She is a reasonable and likable character, and there is no annoying attempt to make her quirky.
The Husbands dodges another pet peeve of mine: the text itself does not rely on gimmicks. There aren't weirdly specific phrases repeated throughout the text. There aren't over-the-top sex scenes trying too hard to be descriptive in an original way. There is sex, but it is briefly described, not glossed over but to the point, and not erotic.
I had no idea what was going to happen in this book. I got halfway through the book and realized I had no idea how it was going to end. This is not a question of will they get together? (Let's face it, we know they will.) This is a question of, who is she going to end up with? Wait, will she end up with any of them? Maybe she'll end up alone? Once I realized I didn't know what was going to happen, I paid more attention. At 94% I still didn't know what was going to happen. But I was not disappointed!
I love Bohai. I love how not perfect he is while still being... kind of perfect!
I really like that there is so little in the way of plot holes in what is a sort of complicated premise.
And I loved the last chapter, with I thought was a very nice touch.
But there is room to go beyond the plot and story details that I liked. I don't want to assign this book more value that it deserves, but I think it accomplished perhaps more than it set out to do.
I don't think I have read a book that really captures the pulse of the dating world since the advent of online dating quite like this one does. It's interesting, because there is very little online dating in the book itself. But I wouldn't be surprised if this was where Gramazio found her inspiration, and I found it very successful. Because what is the greatest disadvantage of online dating? The perpetual opportunity to choose again. To throw a "good" date back out there because maybe you can find a "better" one.
What better way to explore that than by swiping through husbands?!
Lauren is not finicky or unreasonable. If anything, I would say she has had a little bit of bad luck. But she certainly doesn't know what she wants, and at the start of the book, doesn't seem to have even thought about it. Cycling through husbands, though - some who last a week or two while others don't even make it halfway down the ladder before she sends them away again - makes her face some things. She is forced to think about potential partners head-on rather than leaving it up to fate, or the attic. She has to understand not only what she wants, but what works for her. And the conclusion of this just made me happy.
I'm not single anymore, but I would have loved this if I was. I love the way the book shows how Mr Right might only be Mr Right for a given moment. The way it shows that we can have many Mr Rights and they can all be right in different ways. That it's okay for a relationship to change who you are, as long as it doesn't change you too much. That so much of it really is a crapshoot and you never really know.
But mostly I just loved being so consumed in a book, not knowing what was going to happen, and having so much fun along the way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A really easy, interesting read that went quickly. You're thrown in right away with no explanation and you're left without an answer in the end just like the main character, but it doesn't feel unsatisfying. If you love character-driven books, you'll enjoy this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I LOVED THIS BOOOOOOK!
It was such a silly goofy fun time but with a heafty amount of human experience which I loooove (especially when it’s the woman’s experience)
The audiobook was great too
This was a magical realism story about a woman who arrives home one day to find a husband she did not have before. She fairly quickly learns that when these men go up into her attic they change (as well as everything in her life changes) and send down a new husband. The hijinks that proceeds was so entertaining!
Highly recommend this one.
It was such a silly goofy fun time but with a heafty amount of human experience which I loooove (especially when it’s the woman’s experience)
The audiobook was great too
This was a magical realism story about a woman who arrives home one day to find a husband she did not have before. She fairly quickly learns that when these men go up into her attic they change (as well as everything in her life changes) and send down a new husband. The hijinks that proceeds was so entertaining!
Highly recommend this one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Gaslighting
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wasn’t expecting this book to have the story turn in the direction that it did. I genuinely enjoyed this book and laughed out loud quite a bit at the picky nature of the main character. There were several flaws she found in husbands that I thought to myself “damn, if my partner did that, I would think it’s the funniest thing in the world.” Very interesting concept, but I wish the follow through was more developed.
I wish it would have kept a little bit more on the feminism idea of “why don’t I get the choice?” Instead, the theme was abandoned midway through for more chaos. It felt like the back third lost a little bit of what it was trying to say and really had the character falling apart at the seams to just end in acceptance rather than choice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Minor: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Classism
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Omg, I'm coming back weeks later and realizing that I never wrote a review for this! I must have saved the review half-written and then forgot to come back to it.
I loved this book because it was funny and smart. I was so stressed and delighted for the main character because I had no idea what she was going to DO. I think it prompts really careful thought about the privilege of being alone and how hard relationships are and how we change ourselves for better and for worse for the people that we love. I had an excellent time and I kept looking ahead down the page and I can't wait for more from this author.
I loved this book because it was funny and smart. I was so stressed and delighted for the main character because I had no idea what she was going to DO. I think it prompts really careful thought about the privilege of being alone and how hard relationships are and how we change ourselves for better and for worse for the people that we love. I had an excellent time and I kept looking ahead down the page and I can't wait for more from this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really wanted to love this book but I found it very frustrating. I felt myself wanting to read the book but dreading when I was. I kept waiting for the “why” of it all. I know it was supposed to feel repetitive but it honestly was still lacking. I felt more connected with the husbands than the main character and felt minimal character growth and when she finally did, it was very sudden and felt less like growth and more like “giving up.” I liked the overall message of making happiness for yourself and wish that was reflected more in her efforts with the husbands.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unique plot, complex characters and a non-predictable ending!
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Gaslighting
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcohol
Minor: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a wild ride! The first half is a tad slow, but the second half picks WAY up, in some crazy and unhinged ways at that haha. Would have liked something a little different for the very last chapter but still very much enjoyed this book. Such a unique and fun story!
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic