Lauren returns to her London flat from her best friend’s bachelorette party to be welcomed home by her husband – except she doesn’t have one. However he seems to know everything about her and it makes no sense.
Lauren opens her phone to call the police and sees she now has a screensaver of her with this mystery man. Every check confirms this man, Michael, is in fact her husband and everyone in her life regards him as that. She’s still trying to process this madness when Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb, there’s a flash, he’s gone and a different guy comes down, also claiming to be her husband. Lauren tests what she has just seen and sends him back to the attic and, yes, he disappears and a different husband comes down. The same with the next guy.
She realises that each time the husband changes her life is subtly altered too, her flat’s décor is revamped, sometimes her job changes, sometimes she’s no long close to her sister, Nat, sometimes Nat no longer has kids. So she has to be somewhat responsible as she changes husbands but it’s a big no for the guy who doesn’t trim his nose hair and the one in those barefoot toe shoes is sent right back up again.
It’s a dating app brought to life and Lauren is pretty much “swiping left” as she flies through husbands going in and out of the magic attic. It does get a bit repetitive in the middle and it also doesn’t get very deep even though Lauren has to learn more about herself and her life choices. At the heart it’s an original idea that’s been turned into a delightfully fun and very readable debut book.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was an ARC via Net Galley!

I really like the premise of this and the storyline!
I found the concept exciting however I was surprised at how long the book was. I felt that Lauren could have learnt more lessons as she went and I would have liked to have delved deeper into the relationship between her and Bodhai.

All in all a good read, but it did take me a while to finish!

When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.

As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?

REVIEW: I hate it when a blurb and book cover have me thinking this is one sort of book – when it’s actually something quite different. And that’s what happened here.

I opened this one up expecting a funny, frothy read full of laughs and the inevitable happy ending we tend to get in romance literature. The prose is fluent, the dialogue works and the setting is vividly depicted – in fact I think that is Gramazio’s strength. I’m not so sure about the characterisation, which is a bit unfortunate as romances are allll about the characters. Indeed, as the story wore on, I found myself increasingly less sympathetic towards Lauren. Her behaviour towards the constant stream of men appearing from her attic got steadily worse as the book progressed. So that by the end, I frankly hated her. I got that this magical attic is supposed to be a parable for online dating sites and modern romance, but the message was hammered home very hard.

Though there were a few funny moments that I could visualise, overall I found this to be a fairly bleak read. Lauren’s behaviour became increasingly unhinged and even her lovely dependable neighbours ended up having a darker side, which I didn’t find believable.

Part of my frustration with this one, is that it’s been poorly marketed. It isn’t remotely fluffy and while I’m reluctant to say too much about the ending because I don’t want to Spoil it – it wasn’t the romantic happy-ever-after I was led to believe was part of the deal. Particularly after reading the taglines on the cover. If I had known it was a critique on modern dating practices with some dark warnings thrown into the mix as to what happens to us when we can swap our partners for all sorts of trivial reasons – I wouldn’t have touched it with a bargepole. As it happens, I think it’s an important message and one that’s delivered with punch in a memorable story. But this wasn’t the book I was looking to read. Recommended for fans of quirky contemporary tales that step outside the typical romance genre. While I obtained an arc of The Husbands from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
6/10

Lauren comes home to her London flat after an evening out and is greeted by her husband, Michael. The only thing is that Lauren isn’t married and never has been – she has no idea who this man is. Everyone around her seems to know him, and their shared history together, though.

But when Michael has to pop into the attic, he disappears. In his place is a new and different man: a new husband. Lauren discovers her attic seems to hold the key for an infinite number of husbands – men she can swap when she doesn’t want either them, or the version of her life they bring with them. But at what point can she know if she’s found the right husband and the right life? Does she even want a husband at all?

I was sold on this premise, so I am relieved to say that the book lived up to its promise! So often a great premise can lose momentum or narrative engagement because the premise was the great idea – and the author hasn’t effectively thought out how to form an ongoing story around it.

The Husbands is smart in that it dives straight into the action. And every time I started to think it was beginning to get a little repetitive, Gramazio would throw in a curveball to change up the story and twist it in a new direction. This meant that I was always kept on my toes, and I had no idea how the story was going to play out. Magical realism isn’t always my thing, but this was grounded so well in the day-to-day, that I never felt disconnected from reality, despite the odd circumstances that Lauren finds herself in.

Although it sounds like a set-up for a romance story, this is really a tale about Lauren trying to figure out what she wants from her life and what is important to her. She was a great main character to follow: being both surprised at what is happening but eventually becoming ruthless in her quest.

All in all, this was a really fun read and quite different from the sort of stories I normally pick up. I’d definitely recommend it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me the e-ARC of this book!

Coming home from a night-out, a woman is surprised to find a husband in her home despite not being married when she left for the evening. He is just the first in a long line of husbands that come down from her attic for reasons unbeknownst to our protagonist. A fun exploration of how to choose the perfect partner and what it takes for us to feel like we've found 'the one'.

3.5 stars. Good premise for a story! I enjoyed the humour. My massive irk with this book is the length of it. I feel like it wasn’t very well fleshed out with GOOD bits and instead just filled with absolute waffle that didn’t need to be there and made reading it quite a slog tbf.
The bits I did enjoy were well written and I’d be tempted to pick up another one of hollys books!

one of the best books i have read in a while! It was so funny and charming, full of feelings and just so enjoyable to read.
The ending was open, which i usually don`t like but it really fit the book.

One night, Lauren comes home to find a man in her flat who claims to be her husband. There is plenty of evidence – photos, shared bills, a wedding ring – to suggest he’s right. Then, when he goes up to the attic to change a lightbulb, another man emerges in his place. Lauren’s attic is creating an endless supply of husbands for her. But when you can switch husbands as easily as clicking your fingers, how do you know whether you’ve found the right one?

I picked up this book because the premise sounded fun, but it was actually much better than I expected. It’s a bit rom-com-esque, but the focus is more on Lauren’s personal growth than on her finding the perfect husband. As a result, she cycles through the husbands pretty fast and we don’t get to know many of them very well, but that was totally fine by me because, like I said, it’s not really about them.

It did get a little bit repetitive every now and then, as Lauren really does get through a lot of husbands with very little plot progression in the middle section. However, there were some decent twists and exciting moments too.

The main thing for me was the light-hearted tone and witty humour throughout. Lauren is a very amusing character and, although it’s told in third person, the narration was fully immersive and engaging.

You wait ages from 'The One' then 203 come along at once. Lauren finds a strange man in her flat, and then realises her attic is creating an endless supply of husbands. But how do you know which is the right one.

This was excellent timing as it is now my June book club pick so its less reading for me.

This is such a good tale of decisions and figuring out what is best for you and not settling until you have found your best option. It's so lighthearted and also has some great comedic moments that you'll really laugh at.

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to have an ARC

I kind of enjoyed this book but it was giving me flashbacks of Groundhog Day which isn't a good thing. It was pretty easy reading but that's about all I can say.

I loved The Husbands. An absolute masterclass is characterisation and taking a high concept hook and delivering it in such an accessible, fun and thought-provoking way. Bravo!

How refreshing to have an utterly unique premise for a book, I ploughed through this book in no time. At first I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going, but the constant arrival of husbands kept me interested and turning the pages! It was a lot of fun, but with a more serious undertone of how we choose a partner and the different qualities that are important to us at different times in our lives. A great read, particularly if you’re looking for something completely different!

When Lauren returns from a party, there’s a strange man in her house. He thinks he is her husband. But he is not. Lauren is not married. Lauren is Heidi suspicious for obvious reasons, but her husband is not a bad man, even though he is not her husband.

It’s soon transpires that when our husband goes into the loft to collect something and your husband may return from down the ladder.

This is a truly inventive humorous and dare I say thought provoking Book about what you’re actually prepared to live with, not live with, settle for, or enjoy in a husband and in your life.

I give this a very high recommendation of five stars. I’m so pleased I read this book and I thank #NetGalley For the opportunity to have read this book ahead of publication and exchange for my honest review

This was such a fun book! A great debut!

This is a light read that succeeds perfectly in what it sets out to do - you won't find exploration of deep philosophical concepts, or a (fake) scientific explanation of how the magic attic works (it just does!) - you're getting an entertaining took at a single woman attempting to bluff her way through a series of marriages - having no clue who her husbands are, how she met them, or how they have influenced the trajectory of her life and relationships with friends and family. It's a chaotic ride, and Lauren is a likeable and relatable character who learns to use the power of the attic to her advantage in small ways. While the plot relies on the sort-of-time-loop/Groundhog Day trope, the author has done a great job of never making it seem tedious in its repetition.

Definite recommend for anyone who is looking for an upbeat easy read - it'd be great to read on holiday particularly, or to break a reading slump!

This seems to be a book that divides opinions, but I really loved it (and everyone I know who has read has as well). It's original and clever and thought-provoking and I couldn't wait to get back to it every time I put it down. Some have found it repetitive, but for me that very repetition is exactly the reason it works. It cements the concept and builds the tension to a climax I found really clever and I hadn't seen coming. One of my favourite reads of 2024 so far.

First I would like to say thanks to Netgalley for giving me early access to this book prior to release. All opinions on the book are my own.

This book is a weird one, it starts when we meet our main character after a night out when she wakes up in her flat but there is a strange man walking around like he owns the place, yet she has no idea who he is. Later our main character establishes he is her husband but she has no recollection of how they met or the wedding, until she realised that as he enters the attic a different man comes back out.

This book had a fun premise but the plot got a little too repetitive for me, we never really established why this happened to Lauren in the first place (what was the catalyst), we also never really find out much about her as a person - other than she really doesn’t like going to work when the smallest thing happens in her life. It just felt really flat and a lot of telling the reader how she felt but never actually showing us.

Overall this book had such a fun and unique concept but wasn’t executed in a way to pull it off and just got way too repetitive for me to the point where I really didn’t care that much anymore, there was no twist to make me stay on the edge of my seat or to keep the plot moving. Like for real did she need to go through 200 husbands? 3 star.

It is rare that a book has me literally laughing but this one did! The premise of this book is so far fetched but so deliciously funny! Is there such a thing as a perfect relationship? Or a perfect partner! This book could make a very funny film. The author describes day to day life and relationships to perfection.
Whilst I felt the book was a little repetitive in parts and too drawn out - it was enjoyable. The perfect poolside read with a glass of something chilled.

The Husbands was a total change for me and I absolutely loved it. Such a fun premise and story.
Lauren returns to her flat after a drunken night out with mates and finds a man living there, a man who claims he is her husband. Trying not to panic she warily talks to him and he does seem to know an awful lot about their life together. When however he goes up into the attic to change the blown bulb, a different husband comes back. With each change, Lauren discovers her apartment has changed as well as her job and even her appearance. If she doesn’t like the husband or lives with him for a few weeks and is over him, she sends him back into the attic on some pretext and poof he changes. With each new husband she is able to follow their shared past through social media and her phones photos. If she has a job she doesn’t know how to do she calls in sick until her husband changes again. There are so many different paths her life takes, from a swinging couple to a wealthy lady of leisure. But as time goes on she realises she has to find a way out of this.
If you are looking for a light hearted big hearted book, this is for you. I highly recommend.

#TheHusbands #NetGalley

Such a fun book. I don't think I have ever read a book like this. All those husbands and I couldn't stop reading. I didn't know where the story was going.

Enjoyable read. If only it was as easy to change husbands!

The ending kind of caught me by surprise and was a bit abrupt.

Thank you to publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.