Thank you Carrie for bringing this month’s The Husbands book club discussion!
Well hello, fellow book nerds!! Does everyone have their summer reading list ready to go? So many fun books are coming out this summer. We’d love to hear which ones you’re most excited about!
This month’s book club pick (and a Read with Jenna pick) is the fun and quirky The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. I happened to have a chance to read this one at the beach!! The husband and I had a little vacation to celebrate our anniversary and this was my read … lucky for me! There is literal sand on my copy!!
The Husbands Book Club Discussion
Our premise: a single woman, Lauren, returns home to her apartment one night to find a strange man in her house. After she sees he’s not going to hurt her, she notices her apartment looks slightly different and, the man? He claims to be her husband. Hijacks ensue!
She doesn’t realize at first what the catch is … every time her husband goes up into the attic a new one comes down.
How good is this premise?! So clever and different!
Several of the characters in the story remain throughout all of Lauren’s different husbands. Her neighbors, Toby and Magda, her sister Nat, and her best friend, Elena. Elena’s wedding is coming up and Lauren decides to swap out husbands to find one that will be a great date for the wedding, as her ex, Amos, will be there.
“What she needs is not a husband for better or worse but rather a husband for next Saturday.”
As her husbands come and go, Lauren realizes time is still moving forward. She also is seeing just how much her life changes each time a new husband comes down the attic stairs. Does she still have her niece and nephew? What job does she have? Is she in debt? Is she happy or miserable?
After accidentally losing a promising husband, Carter, to the attic, she goes through a string of men, feeling bereft. She has a hard time letting go and, even with the craziness of the premise, seems like a true break up, stalking his social media included.
Eventually she finds a “husband” who acts strangely enough that she asks if he is experiencing the same thing she is. Bohai and Lauren find relief in knowing that they are both going through the same thing. Bohai’s “attic” isn’t necessarily a specific place, but maybe a trunk or a wardrobe or a closet. If he wants to leave, he simply walks back into it.
Lauren and Bohai stay together for a bit if only for a reprieve from having to lie all the time to their loved ones. They can be real and not have to pretend. Eventually they move on but are able to stay in touch.
Lauren is starting to realize she has to decide how long she’s going to do this. Bohai has been doing it for years and she is approaching her year mark.
Sometimes husbands repeat, sometimes they are people she knew from before, and sometimes stuff gets weird (they’re swingers?). In the beginning, she dismissed men for silly or simple reasons, but by the end, she has made a realization, a maturity, a growing up.
I wondered how this book would end? We watch Lauren go on a real journey, learning about herself as well as all of these different husbands and what a husband is. Is it possible to find a “perfect” husband? She begins to realize there is no such thing. Without spoiling the ending, I thought it was perfect. There’s only one way to stop this thing and she knows this is her only option.I can see where some might not like it though.
How did you feel about the ending?
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Meredith and I are looking forward to our next pick: Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan, an author we have loved reading before in this book club! Read on for a description of this sure-to-be decadent, scandalous, and fun summer read!
As always, we are giving away a copy for free! Leave a comment on this blog post or the Instagram post by 6/7/24 by 5:30 am ET, and as long as you are 18 or older and live in the continental United States, you are eligible to win!
Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan
“Imagine Crazy Rich Asians mated with Saltburn and you’ve got Lies and Weddings—a heavenly summertime read!”—Plum Sykes, New York Times best-selling author of Bergdorf Blondes
Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, and behind all the magazine covers and Instagram stories manors and yachts lies nothing more than a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus’s scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort, a veritable who’s-who of sultans, barons, and oligarchs, and seduce a woman with money.
Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the literal girl next door, the humble daughter of a doctor, Eden Tong? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans—and their reputation—go up in flames.
Can the once-great dukedom rise from the ashes? Or will a secret tragedy, hidden for two decades, reveal a shocking twist?
In a globetrotting tale that takes us from the black sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakech, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Los Angeles to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kevin Kwan unfurls a juicy, hilarious, sophisticated and thrillingly plotted story of love, money, murder, sex, and the lies we tell about them all.
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Thanks so much for joining our The Husbands book club discussion! As always, we love hearing your thoughts and opinions! Keep them coming!!
Thanks to Doubleday for providing copies of this book. All opinions are our own.
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Meredith says
I just read an interview with Kevin Kwan. It was super interesting; I am DYING to read this book!!
Meredith says
Ooh! Sounds interesting. And same–can’t wait to read!
Ines says
Lies and Weddings sounds scandalous. I love the title.
Meredith says
Right?! I can’t wait to read!