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Title details for Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams - Wait list

Husbands & Lovers

A Novel

by Beatriz Williams
Helen Laser
Audiobook
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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.

“My favorite kind of page-turner—unputdownable!”—Martha Hall Kelly, author of The Golden Doves
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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 25, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593909324
      • File size: 360913 KB
      • Duration: 12:31:53

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 15, 2024
      In the engrossing latest from Williams (The Beach at Summerly), a single mother reconnects with her son’s father and learns the troubling story of her mother’s adoption. In the present day, Mallory Dunne’s 13-year-old son, Sam, needs a kidney transplant. Three years earlier, Sam’s kidneys were damaged after he ate poisonous mushrooms at a summer camp. Paige, Mallory’s sister, suggests Mallory contact her ex-boyfriend Monk Adams, now a world-famous Grammy-winning singer, who may be Sam’s father, to determine if he’s a potential donor match. In a parallel narrative set in 1951 Cairo, Hannah Ainsworth, wife of aging British diplomat Alistair Ainsworth, embarks on an affair with Lucien Beck, a handsome assistant hotel manager. After Hannah gets pregnant, Alistair forces her to give up the baby for adoption at an Irish orphanage. Back in the present, Mallory briefs Monk about Sam, and their rekindled friendship causes him to recognize the flaws in his relationship with the woman he plans to marry. Hannah’s and Mallory’s parallel stories of unexpected pregnancy and painful decisions converge in a cathartic scene in Ireland, where Mallory and Paige travel to visit the orphanage where their deceased mother was sent, connecting their story to Hannah’s in a way that is unsurprising but moving. Historical fiction fans will be riveted. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, CAA.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This audiobook concerns two women who are separated by decades and continents but joined by blood, tragedy, and a bejeweled cobra bracelet. The romantic story is rendered perfectly by two narrators. Helen Laser portrays the contemporary New England heroine, Mallory, a single mom. Caroline Hewitt depicts Hannah, who in 1952 is living in Cairo, which is seething with revolution. The widow of a Hungarian count, she is married to a British diplomat and is in love with an Israeli spy. Laser creates a voice for Mallory that is warm, witty and tough. Hewitt enlivens Hannah, whose voice is subdued, cultured and yearning. This production is filled with memorable characters, family secrets, passionate romance, and historical drama. D.L.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      September 13, 2024

      Williams (The Beach at Summerly) tells the story of two generations of the same family, jumping backward and forward in time between 1951 Cairo and 2022 New England. In 1951, Hannah Ainsworth is living in Egypt with her husband, a successful British diplomat. They are facing a crisis in their marriage against a backdrop of worsening political unrest. Hannah suffered horrible tragedies in the war, and her marriage is one of convenience. She is surprised when she falls in love again with a hotel manager, and they have a passionate affair. In 2022, Mallory Dunne is the single mother of Sam, whose ill health forces Mallory to revisit her painful past with Sam's father. The connections between Mallory and Hannah are revealed as the story progresses. The narrative is told with wit, suspense, and excitement, taking a surprising turn at the end when the family's connecting threads are brought together. Narrators Helen Laser and Caroline Hewitt offer convincing performances, conveying humor and personality with their voices. They also supply a range of accents, including American, upper-class British, Irish, and eastern European. VERDICT An entertaining story for those who enjoy romance and historical fiction and fans of Kristin Hannah or Fiona Davis.--Susan Cox

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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