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Book Summary and Reviews of Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams

Husbands & Lovers

A Novel

by Beatriz Williams

  • Critics' Consensus (11):
  • Published:
  • Jun 2024, 368 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Two women—separated by decades and continents, and united by an exotic family heirloom—reclaim secrets and lost loves in this sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives.

New England, 2022. Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads—her ten-year-old son, Sam, had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, searching for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life, Mallory's forced to confront two harrowing secrets from her past: her mother's adoption from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, and her own all-consuming summer romance fourteen years earlier with her childhood best friend, Monk Adams— one of the world's most beloved singer-songwriters—a fairy tale cut short by a devastating betrayal.

Cairo, 1951. After suffering tragedy beyond comprehension in the war, Hungarian refugee Hannah Ainsworth has forged a respectable new life for herself—marriage to a wealthy British diplomat with a coveted posting in glamorous Cairo. But a fateful encounter with the enigmatic manager of a hotel bristling with spies leads to a passionate affair that will reawaken Hannah's longing for everything she once lost. As revolution simmers in the Egyptian streets, a pregnant Hannah finds herself snared in a game of intrigue between two men ... and an act of sacrifice that will echo down the generations.

Timeless and bittersweet, Husbands & Lovers takes readers on an unforgettable journey of heartbreak and redemption, from the revolutionary fires of midcentury Egypt to the moneyed beaches of contemporary New England. Acclaimed author Beatriz Williams has written a poignant and beautifully voiced novel of deeply human characters entangled by morally complex issues—of privilege, class, and the female experience—inside worlds brought shimmeringly to life.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Mallory and Hannah both face dire circumstances and hard choices that require them to decide whether to follow their heart. What do you think Beatriz Williams is saying about the female experience with these two characters?
  2. Husbands & Lovers is written from two points of view in different times and settings. Which POV resonated the most with you? How did the structure of the novel open up your understanding of the larger story?
  3. In chapter six Monk says, "You realize that once you choose one path, you can't go back. You think about all the paths you could have taken and didn't." Do you agree with his statement? Are there paths that you wish you'd taken in your life?
  4. Motherhood is a central theme in each storyline. ...
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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[E]ngrossing...Historical fiction fans will be riveted." —Publishers Weekly

"[A] captivating novel of love and love lost ... With well-drawn characters and sweeping drama, Williams' latest is a gripping journey as secrets and hidden desires are exposed." —Booklist

"I loved Husbands & Lovers and devoured it in one delicious gulp. I was so invested in Mallory and Monk. It's my favorite kind of page-turner—unputdownable!" —Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Golden Doves

"In the latest work by historical fiction master storyteller Beatriz Williams, two timelines breathlessly intertwine to form a tale full of passion, hope, and heartbreaking family secrets. As much a poignant and intimate examination of the human heart as a globe-trotting sweep of decades and wide-reaching locales, this one packs the sultry and stunning punch that readers of Williams have come to relish. You will feel the salty ocean air of Winthrop summer nights as you read, as well as the furious white heat of the roiling Cairo streets—and you'll savor every page of it." —Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post

"The masterful Williams spins a story that spans continents and eras, and it takes readers on a page-turning ride encompassing intoxicating youthful romance, forbidden wartime love, betrayal, espionage, life-eroding secrets, and a mother's boundless love for her child. Reminding us of the interconnectivity of the past and present and the enduring power of love, Husbands & Lovers is stunning." —Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Personal Librarian

This information about Husbands & Lovers was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Beatriz Williams Author Biography

Beatriz Williams is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of The Golden Hour, The Summer Wives, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, A Hundred Summers, and several other works of historical fiction, including three novels in collaboration with fellow bestselling authors Karen White and Lauren Willig. A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA in Finance from Columbia University, Beatriz worked as a communications and corporate strategy consultant in New York and London before she turned her attention to writing novels that combine her passion for history with an obsessive devotion to voice and characterization. Beatriz's books have won numerous awards, have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and appear regularly in bestseller lists around the ...

... Full Biography
Link to Beatriz Williams's Website

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