REVIEW: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

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.

There’s the one who pretends to play music on her toes.
The one who’s too hot (there must be a catch).
The one who makes a great breakfast sandwich.
The one who turns everything into double entendres (‘I’ll weed your garden’).
And the one who can calm her unruly thoughts with a single touch.

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 how long should you keep trying to find out?

This is hands down one of the most absurdly brilliant books I’ve read in a while - it’s so fun, sparkling with silliness but with a lot of heart underneath.

The plot is absolute chaos, with a fast pace and quick chapters moving the story along as Lauren tries to figure out what the strange magic attack is up to. It turns from fear, to confusion, to shock to amusement and even enjoyment at her odd new life and endless supply of new and beautiful husbands. But of course, there’s a real bittersweet core there as Lauren tries to figure out what a perfect partner really means to her.

As the attic continues to switch out new husbands, we go through a series of hilarious, awkward, a little scary or embarrassing events with each man — all while trying to solve the mystery along with Lauren as it just gets more and more confusing. And of course, if she can’t solve it yet, she at least needs to find a decent one for her friends wedding next week or it’ll be ruined. There’s no complicated sci-fi or deep plot, just some fabulous fun and a lot of new men.

A delightfully bonkers romcom, original and refreshing - you’re bound to fall in love with the husbands.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Husbands will be available from 4th April with Random House UK. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for a review.

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