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Difficult Husbands
Difficult Husbands - In sickness and in health, for better but definitely not for worse…
Newly divorced Lorna is struggling to adjust to life on her own. When she discovers that her beloved godfather has left her the grand (and crumbling) Ravenscourt House in the heart of Sussex, she soon has a project on her hands.
Nathan sells delicious goodies at Mulberry Farm. When he meets Lorna at a Christmas market, neither of them can ignore the chemistry. But as they get to know one another, Lorna wants to know one thing – is he after her or the house?
Together with Gloria – whose marriage to alcoholic Adrian has hit rock bottom, and Rosalind – struggling to deal with her womanising husband Ivan, the three friends hatch a plan. They’ll ditch their difficult husbands at Ravenscourt House and enjoy stress-free Christmases with their families. But nothing is ever that simple…
Mary de Laszlo has had four novels published by Headline and has since had many others published by Hale. She lives in London and is an active member of the RNA. She was a fashion journalist with Vogue and now works as an occasional film extra when not writing.
Newly divorced Lorna is struggling to adjust to life on her own. When she discovers that her beloved godfather has left her the grand (and crumbling) Ravenscourt House in the heart of Sussex, she soon has a project on her hands.
Nathan sells delicious goodies at Mulberry Farm. When he meets Lorna at a Christmas market, neither of them can ignore the chemistry. But as they get to know one another, Lorna wants to know one thing – is he after her or the house?
Together with Gloria – whose marriage to alcoholic Adrian has hit rock bottom, and Rosalind – struggling to deal with her womanising husband Ivan, the three friends hatch a plan. They’ll ditch their difficult husbands at Ravenscourt House and enjoy stress-free Christmases with their families. But nothing is ever that simple…
Mary de Laszlo has had four novels published by Headline and has since had many others published by Hale. She lives in London and is an active member of the RNA. She was a fashion journalist with Vogue and now works as an occasional film extra when not writing.
260 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2014
23 people are currently reading
426 people want to read
About the author
Mary De Laszlo
10 books9 followersLong ago my two great interests were clothes and writing so I decided to become a fashion journalist. Fortunately for me you didn't need a degree for this and I got a job at Queen Magazine as a 'dog's body' (surely such a description would be politically incorrect today!) in the fashion department. It was a great job, lurking in the background among the great designers, models and photographers, watching them work.
Later I got a job in Paris at Jardins des Modes and worked on the Paris Collections - photo shoots of the clothes all night, attending the shows by day. The models had lovely slim figures but there were no size zeros then or huge salaries so we all got on so well. Being Paris the food sent into the studios was delicious and we all enjoyed it without stressing about putting on weight etc. I loved my time there but I didn't do much writing that was left to the copy editor.
I met my husband and returned to London to live and contacted another glossy magazine for a job, but they would not even see me, saying 'married women have babies'. I was upset at the time but it was that putdown that that started me writing fiction - I did have babies (3, now grown up and 2 grandsons). While bringing them up I wrote short stories and novels having discovered that fiction was what I was happiest with.
I have now had 11 novels published and have various others in the pipeline.
Later I got a job in Paris at Jardins des Modes and worked on the Paris Collections - photo shoots of the clothes all night, attending the shows by day. The models had lovely slim figures but there were no size zeros then or huge salaries so we all got on so well. Being Paris the food sent into the studios was delicious and we all enjoyed it without stressing about putting on weight etc. I loved my time there but I didn't do much writing that was left to the copy editor.
I met my husband and returned to London to live and contacted another glossy magazine for a job, but they would not even see me, saying 'married women have babies'. I was upset at the time but it was that putdown that that started me writing fiction - I did have babies (3, now grown up and 2 grandsons). While bringing them up I wrote short stories and novels having discovered that fiction was what I was happiest with.
I have now had 11 novels published and have various others in the pipeline.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 7, 2014
Review Originally Posted on My Blog: http://lifewithjoyblog.wordpress.com/...
My Thoughts in a Nutshell:
Bookouture publishes another fun holiday read filled with friends, family and quite a bit of drama! Difficult Husbands will have you laughing about the ridiculous scheme that three scorned women hatch to get rid of the men in their lives for the Christmas holiday. There are some lovely characters in this story and overall it was a fun read.
My Review:
Difficult Husbands is a novel about three women in their forties that have increasingly grown irritated with the men that their husbands (and one recent ex-husband) have become over the years. It’s a bit overwhelming to have three ‘main’ characters, though the focus is mainly on Lorna and Gloria; Rosalind is thrown in almost as an afterthought and although she’s a good friend to the two gals, her character doesn’t do much for the plot or storyline.
The men in their lives are halfway through their sixties and are beginning to experience the effects of age taking it’s toll on their mental, physical and social well-being. They’ve all dealt with more than their fair share of crap from these men and yet, they still manage to put up with them. Their lives are filled with grief and despair at losing the men that they married to these disgustingly difficult men.
The only bright spot in their lives (besides good friends) are their lovely children. However, their husbands’ behavior is embarrassing to their children to the point that they don’t want to come home from uni for the holiday or spend time at home if their father will be around. Each family has a different issue but it all boils down to the fact that their husbands are lacking and they don’t do anything about it. Together they decide that this year is going to be different.
Lorna receives a rather perplexing gift from her godfather’s passing, a crumbling estate called Ravenscourt that needs more than a little TLC to be fixed up and fully habitable. With Ravenscourt newly in her possession, Lorna and her friends come up with a ridiculous, yet brilliant plan. They intend to get their husbands out of the house for Christmas and into Ravenscourt for a boys weekend of sorts, in order to persuade their children to come home and spend the holiday with them. The events that happen in coming up with their plan and in attempting to make it actually happen, are quite entertaining.
There are some lovely characters in this story and overall it was a fun read. Despite the grief that people go through in life, there is always the possibility of things getting better. You generally have to work for it because it won’t always be handed to you in a neat little package. Sometimes enough is enough and there will come a time when you have to fight for what you want out of life, even if it scares you. In order to be happy in life, you must make decisions to move on from your grief and allow yourself to live the life you want and deserve.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with A Review Copy in exchange for an honest review!
My Thoughts in a Nutshell:
Bookouture publishes another fun holiday read filled with friends, family and quite a bit of drama! Difficult Husbands will have you laughing about the ridiculous scheme that three scorned women hatch to get rid of the men in their lives for the Christmas holiday. There are some lovely characters in this story and overall it was a fun read.
My Review:
Difficult Husbands is a novel about three women in their forties that have increasingly grown irritated with the men that their husbands (and one recent ex-husband) have become over the years. It’s a bit overwhelming to have three ‘main’ characters, though the focus is mainly on Lorna and Gloria; Rosalind is thrown in almost as an afterthought and although she’s a good friend to the two gals, her character doesn’t do much for the plot or storyline.
The men in their lives are halfway through their sixties and are beginning to experience the effects of age taking it’s toll on their mental, physical and social well-being. They’ve all dealt with more than their fair share of crap from these men and yet, they still manage to put up with them. Their lives are filled with grief and despair at losing the men that they married to these disgustingly difficult men.
The only bright spot in their lives (besides good friends) are their lovely children. However, their husbands’ behavior is embarrassing to their children to the point that they don’t want to come home from uni for the holiday or spend time at home if their father will be around. Each family has a different issue but it all boils down to the fact that their husbands are lacking and they don’t do anything about it. Together they decide that this year is going to be different.
Lorna receives a rather perplexing gift from her godfather’s passing, a crumbling estate called Ravenscourt that needs more than a little TLC to be fixed up and fully habitable. With Ravenscourt newly in her possession, Lorna and her friends come up with a ridiculous, yet brilliant plan. They intend to get their husbands out of the house for Christmas and into Ravenscourt for a boys weekend of sorts, in order to persuade their children to come home and spend the holiday with them. The events that happen in coming up with their plan and in attempting to make it actually happen, are quite entertaining.
There are some lovely characters in this story and overall it was a fun read. Despite the grief that people go through in life, there is always the possibility of things getting better. You generally have to work for it because it won’t always be handed to you in a neat little package. Sometimes enough is enough and there will come a time when you have to fight for what you want out of life, even if it scares you. In order to be happy in life, you must make decisions to move on from your grief and allow yourself to live the life you want and deserve.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with A Review Copy in exchange for an honest review!
November 18, 2014
http://anurseandabook.blogspot.com/20...
What They Say.....Three friends. One surprise inheritance. And the perfect plan to deal with troublesome husbands at Christmas time…
Newly divorced Lorna is struggling to adjust to life on her own. When she discovers that her beloved godfather has left her the grand (and crumbling) Ravenscourt House in the heart of Sussex, she soon has a project on her hands.
Nathan sells delicious goodies at Mulberry Farm. When he meets Lorna at a Christmas market, neither of them can ignore the chemistry. But as they get to know one another, Lorna wants to know one thing – is he after her or the house?
Together with Gloria – whose marriage to alcoholic Adrian has hit rock bottom, and Rosalind – struggling to deal with her womanising husband Ivan, the three friends hatch a plan. They’ll ditch their difficult husbands at Ravenscourt House and enjoy stress-free Christmases with their families.
But nothing is ever that simple…
What I Say....I generally try to stay positive in my reviews. But this book was really difficult to get through.
Newsflash, these aren't difficult husbands, they are jerks that should have been left long before the story started. A non-functioning alcoholic, a guy who has affairs and brings his mistresses home for Christmas, and a man who went on "happy pills" (apparently, the author is quite opposed to anti-depressants), which then made him so emotionless (?) that he left his family for a younger woman. Yeah, I'd say they bypassed "difficult" a while back.
So the only way that these women can spend the holiday concentrating on their adult children is to get the husbands to stay at Ravenswood, the large English estate that Lorna has just inherited. How their physical distance matters is uncertain, since the husbands are all that these women can think or talk about.
Normally, I love chick lit that involves inheriting large English estates (see A Good Year for Roses), but this was pretty slow, painful reading. The women appeared to be hopeless and elderly, although they kept talking about how much younger they were than their husbands.
The daughter's pregnancy with a man who is struggling with infertility with his WIFE was a dead end storyline. I didn't feel any sympathy for her at all, and the boyfriend was another "difficult husband" who had to call his wife when he was overwhelmed by the premature arrival of his daughter. If I was his wife, I would have happily come to the hospital and beaten him over the head.
Depressing stories, unsympathetic characters, even the twist involving Nathan, the (surprise!) rich baker who lives with his mom, didn't do anything to save this book.
What They Say.....Three friends. One surprise inheritance. And the perfect plan to deal with troublesome husbands at Christmas time…
Newly divorced Lorna is struggling to adjust to life on her own. When she discovers that her beloved godfather has left her the grand (and crumbling) Ravenscourt House in the heart of Sussex, she soon has a project on her hands.
Nathan sells delicious goodies at Mulberry Farm. When he meets Lorna at a Christmas market, neither of them can ignore the chemistry. But as they get to know one another, Lorna wants to know one thing – is he after her or the house?
Together with Gloria – whose marriage to alcoholic Adrian has hit rock bottom, and Rosalind – struggling to deal with her womanising husband Ivan, the three friends hatch a plan. They’ll ditch their difficult husbands at Ravenscourt House and enjoy stress-free Christmases with their families.
But nothing is ever that simple…
What I Say....I generally try to stay positive in my reviews. But this book was really difficult to get through.
Newsflash, these aren't difficult husbands, they are jerks that should have been left long before the story started. A non-functioning alcoholic, a guy who has affairs and brings his mistresses home for Christmas, and a man who went on "happy pills" (apparently, the author is quite opposed to anti-depressants), which then made him so emotionless (?) that he left his family for a younger woman. Yeah, I'd say they bypassed "difficult" a while back.
So the only way that these women can spend the holiday concentrating on their adult children is to get the husbands to stay at Ravenswood, the large English estate that Lorna has just inherited. How their physical distance matters is uncertain, since the husbands are all that these women can think or talk about.
Normally, I love chick lit that involves inheriting large English estates (see A Good Year for Roses), but this was pretty slow, painful reading. The women appeared to be hopeless and elderly, although they kept talking about how much younger they were than their husbands.
The daughter's pregnancy with a man who is struggling with infertility with his WIFE was a dead end storyline. I didn't feel any sympathy for her at all, and the boyfriend was another "difficult husband" who had to call his wife when he was overwhelmed by the premature arrival of his daughter. If I was his wife, I would have happily come to the hospital and beaten him over the head.
Depressing stories, unsympathetic characters, even the twist involving Nathan, the (surprise!) rich baker who lives with his mom, didn't do anything to save this book.
June 10, 2015
First off, I certainly didn’t dislike this book, I just didn’t love it. The synopsis sounds good and I thought I would really enjoy this. The beginning introduces us mainly to Lorna who is recently divorced. She is struggling to adjust to her newly single status and a surprise inheritance makes things even more complicated. The problem I found with Lorna was that I just didn’t particularly warm to her that much. She seemed a bit ‘wishy-washy’ if you know what I mean.
In addition to Lorna there are her two friends Gloria and Rosalind. If I’m honest these two characters took a back seat to Lorna and although they were a fundamental part of the story I just didn’t know them well enough. All three women have some serious issues going on with the men in their life and they have a mad idea to send all three men down to Ravenscourt House which Lorna had inherited. With the house practically crumbling to the ground they figured it was suitable punishment for ‘difficult husbands’.
The story was okay and trundled along but if I’m being brutally honest I just didn’t ‘gel’ enough with any of the women (or other characters for that matter). When you see the cover for the book it gives you a Christmas vibe, and although part of the book falls over the Christmas period I wouldn’t call this book particularly festive. I would certainly read another book by this author as the writing was good, I just didn’t connect enough with the people in this story…maybe next time.
In addition to Lorna there are her two friends Gloria and Rosalind. If I’m honest these two characters took a back seat to Lorna and although they were a fundamental part of the story I just didn’t know them well enough. All three women have some serious issues going on with the men in their life and they have a mad idea to send all three men down to Ravenscourt House which Lorna had inherited. With the house practically crumbling to the ground they figured it was suitable punishment for ‘difficult husbands’.
The story was okay and trundled along but if I’m being brutally honest I just didn’t ‘gel’ enough with any of the women (or other characters for that matter). When you see the cover for the book it gives you a Christmas vibe, and although part of the book falls over the Christmas period I wouldn’t call this book particularly festive. I would certainly read another book by this author as the writing was good, I just didn’t connect enough with the people in this story…maybe next time.
October 24, 2014
Read for honest review for netgallery
Well this book is an easy read, however i do have a few problems with the book. The book is mainly based around Lorna, with Gloria thrown in, however the mention of a third lady in the blurb is pretty pointless as she doesnt even get mentioned in the book very much, it feels like an after thought and the book would be no better without her.
The three ladies have so called difficult husbands but one is an ex one is a drunk and one is a cheater. The ladies feel that these men are ruining their lives and relationships with their children, so they come up with a plan to ditch them in Lornas inherited house for xmas.
Well in theory this book sounds like it will be good, however, its a let down. There was no real plot apart from dumping the men for xmas, you hear a brief bit about their past as a couple, but it only really touches the surface.
Im my opinion there is a lot that could be done to make this better. Getting rid of one of the characters, more indepth backgrounds, also points of view from the men who have been ditched from christmas or why they have these problems in the first place.
Well this book is an easy read, however i do have a few problems with the book. The book is mainly based around Lorna, with Gloria thrown in, however the mention of a third lady in the blurb is pretty pointless as she doesnt even get mentioned in the book very much, it feels like an after thought and the book would be no better without her.
The three ladies have so called difficult husbands but one is an ex one is a drunk and one is a cheater. The ladies feel that these men are ruining their lives and relationships with their children, so they come up with a plan to ditch them in Lornas inherited house for xmas.
Well in theory this book sounds like it will be good, however, its a let down. There was no real plot apart from dumping the men for xmas, you hear a brief bit about their past as a couple, but it only really touches the surface.
Im my opinion there is a lot that could be done to make this better. Getting rid of one of the characters, more indepth backgrounds, also points of view from the men who have been ditched from christmas or why they have these problems in the first place.
July 29, 2015
(review copy)
Posted in full http://www.reviewedthebook.co.uk/2015...
Difficult Husbands is not the book I had first been expecting. Although the synopsis isn’t misleading in any way, I had been expecting it to be treat in a more light-hearted fashion. Having said that, it only took me a couple of chapters before I was hooked and so fascinated with this story and three women’s plans to make their husbands disappear in time for Christmas, so they can enjoy the festive season, stress-free.
Lorna, Gloria and Rosalind are all at the end of their tether with the men in their lives. I half expected them to start a bitter wives club and hire a hitman, or something, they moaned about their fellas that much. Their husbands (or ex-husband in Lorna’s case), Stephen, Adrian and Ivan are a fair bit older and seemed to have reached the stage of taking their wives for granted, messing them about, turning to booze and seeing other women. I must say, I really couldn’t stand any of the husbands and so I loved reading about the ridiculous plan the women were concocting so they could spend a happy Christmas with their own families but without the husbands they despaired of. The first half of this book where Lorna, Gloria and Rosalind were plotting away was my favourite. They all knew it was a completely crazy idea but I laughed every time they questioned it, thinking, we can’t do this, can we? , because each time they got closer to deciding that actually, they could do it. They could lure their husbands to the big, crumbly country house of Ravenscourt that Lorna has inherited, keep them there over the festive period and leave themselves to enjoy Christmas, their husbands out of the way. It was so entertaining watching their plan get set up.
The setting of Ravenscourt was created so beautifully. I think, though it was out of condition and needed a lot of work, that was part of its appeal to me. Imagine, inheriting this huge, bountiful place that you could turn into anything you wanted. Lorna resented that everybody seemed set on telling her what she could or couldn’t do with the place and her protectiveness of Ravenscourt grew throughout the course of this book. She was sad about the state it was in but she wanted to be allowed to handle things in her own time and way, without other people taking over. I loved Mary’s description of the place. I just wanted to dive into the book and explore every little part for myself. The whole book really revolves around Ravenscourt, whether it was Lorna, Gloria and Rosalind plotting to send their husbands there or whether it was Lorna being wary of a guy called Nathan who at times seems far more interested in Ravenscourt than she would like (and in fact, I would say Lorna would have preferred Nathan to show a lot more interest in her rather than the place she had inherited).
The characters in this book were not people I could relate to but I did get to like a fair few of them. Lorna was my favourite of the three leading women and I sympathised with her as everything seemed to be happening at once in her life and she was struggling to cope. At times I wished she would stop being so hung up on Stephen, who sounded like a complete prat to me, but I could kind of understand where she was coming from because Stephen’s antics had changed the whole dynamics to her family and she missed them so. I did find the wives to be very frantic with their plans which at times appeared to be a bit desperate, and I was all for them finding a bit of girl power and telling all three husbands to sling their hooks because they seemed to suck any possible happiness out of their lives. I also would have liked to have seen more of Rosalind in this book because her story pales to Lorna and Gloria’s where it could have been built up to be so much more, or maybe even completely taken out of the book so Lorna and Gloria’s stories could have been developed more. I did like a lot of the various younger family members we meet throughout this book as they all seemed very realistic and full of life.
The second half to Difficult Husbands is far more dramatic than the first. Though the plans earlier on to trick Stephen, Adrian and Ivan into Ravenscourt for Christmas were refreshingly silly and funny, there’s a more serious tone to some of the other themes Mary explores in this book and thinking about them now, there were so many of them. Marriage, pregnancy, alcoholism, affairs, money, deceit and grief are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head and I thought they were all well built into the story. Through each chapter, we see how the friendship between Lorna, Gloria and Rosalind (which wasn’t perfect but believable, nonetheless) really was so vital to helping them get through their lives. Their support was always needed and they relied on each other a lot yet I wouldn’t have been surprised if they lost their rag with each other more whilst dealing with their ‘difficult husbands’. Difficult Husbands is in fact a huge understatement because I felt like they were way past the stage of being difficult. I can’t think of any redeeming qualities they had.
Difficult Husbands is set at Christmas though it won’t, I imagine, make you feel festive in any way. But I truly mean it when I say how much I enjoyed this book. It was crazy, fascinating and really a strong exploration of the strands that build a family and how when one is broken, the rest of it needs piecing back together too.
December 16, 2014
When I started reading this book, I was expecting festive Christmassy read. But instead of happily ever after, I got an emotional story about family disconnections. The story centers around Lorna and her two girlfriends. All three of them are married with much older husbands who left them for younger models. Lorna is already divorced and tries to find her purpose in life after her husband abandoned her. Her godfather has left her a very big and worthy house. Her best friend has a plan, to get their husbands and leave them in the abandoned house, for a while, to think about their lives and their families. But in the meantime, Lorna meets Nathan at the Christmas market. Is Lorna ready to start all over again? Can she fall in love again?
As much as I tried to enjoy this read, I couldn’t connect with the characters. I couldn’t connect with Lorna, her friends or her daughter. Lorna’s much older husband leaves her for a much younger woman, and she is thinking of accepting him back. Her daughter, who is a student, gets pregnant with a married man, and she is ok with that. Her daughter becomes someone’s mistress on purpose and she doesn’t even give her a lecture for that. Lorna is not even capable of bringing her own decisions about the house she has inherited. Everyone else is telling her what to do with the house. The only likeable person, according to me, is Nathan, who sells delicious foods. He is kind and honest, maybe the most honest person in the whole book. He doesn’t talk much, he doesn’t reveal much from his past, but he is like a modern knight in a shining armor.
Overall, it is not a bad read, but if you are looking for something festive for Christmas, then this isn’t it, according to me. The story with ditching the husbands could be very different, could be festive, could be comic, could be fun, or very serious. But in reality, the plot is pretty plain with superficial characters and I couldn’t find myself in the book. That’s why I’m rating it with just 6/10.
As much as I tried to enjoy this read, I couldn’t connect with the characters. I couldn’t connect with Lorna, her friends or her daughter. Lorna’s much older husband leaves her for a much younger woman, and she is thinking of accepting him back. Her daughter, who is a student, gets pregnant with a married man, and she is ok with that. Her daughter becomes someone’s mistress on purpose and she doesn’t even give her a lecture for that. Lorna is not even capable of bringing her own decisions about the house she has inherited. Everyone else is telling her what to do with the house. The only likeable person, according to me, is Nathan, who sells delicious foods. He is kind and honest, maybe the most honest person in the whole book. He doesn’t talk much, he doesn’t reveal much from his past, but he is like a modern knight in a shining armor.
Overall, it is not a bad read, but if you are looking for something festive for Christmas, then this isn’t it, according to me. The story with ditching the husbands could be very different, could be festive, could be comic, could be fun, or very serious. But in reality, the plot is pretty plain with superficial characters and I couldn’t find myself in the book. That’s why I’m rating it with just 6/10.
December 2, 2014
Lorna, Gloria, and Rosalind are three good friends, now in their 40s, who had met and married older men, now in their 60s, who were also friends.
Lorna and her ex-husband, Stephen, are divorced and he has a live-in girlfriend. Still stunned and bitter from the divorce, Lorna works making at cakes for a cake shop. They have two children, Flora and Marcus, currently at university.
Gloria is married to Adrian, who is an alcoholic. He claims he can quit anytime he wants, yet Gloria continues to rescue him from his drunks, sobering him up and caring for him. They have one son, Justin and Gloria makes extra money selling things at craft fairs. Quite often, Lorna helps her at the fairs and sells some of her beautiful cakes. While at a fair, Gloria meets Nathan, a popular participant who sells hams and other specialty foods.
Rosalind is married to Ivan who is retired and completely involved with volunteer work which has resulted in him becoming a womanizer. They have two daughters, Chloe and Emma.
When Lorna learns that she has inherited an old but beautiful home called Ravenscourt from her godfather, she is thrilled. However, the place has become run-down and needs lots of work to fix it back up to its original beauty. Knowing she does not have the money for needed repairs, Lorna is preparing to sell the place. As it happens, Nathan lives close to Ravenscourt and is interested in it. But, Lorna might be interested in him as well.
With Christmas approaching, the three women concoct a scheme to get their husbands to spend Christmas at Ravenscourt. They feel that if the three men spend some time together, they might regain their “sanity.”
The story is clever and humorous yet realistic all at the same time. We see women who have been happily married for years now wondering “what happened?”
I enjoyed the story and think that other readers may as well.
Lorna and her ex-husband, Stephen, are divorced and he has a live-in girlfriend. Still stunned and bitter from the divorce, Lorna works making at cakes for a cake shop. They have two children, Flora and Marcus, currently at university.
Gloria is married to Adrian, who is an alcoholic. He claims he can quit anytime he wants, yet Gloria continues to rescue him from his drunks, sobering him up and caring for him. They have one son, Justin and Gloria makes extra money selling things at craft fairs. Quite often, Lorna helps her at the fairs and sells some of her beautiful cakes. While at a fair, Gloria meets Nathan, a popular participant who sells hams and other specialty foods.
Rosalind is married to Ivan who is retired and completely involved with volunteer work which has resulted in him becoming a womanizer. They have two daughters, Chloe and Emma.
When Lorna learns that she has inherited an old but beautiful home called Ravenscourt from her godfather, she is thrilled. However, the place has become run-down and needs lots of work to fix it back up to its original beauty. Knowing she does not have the money for needed repairs, Lorna is preparing to sell the place. As it happens, Nathan lives close to Ravenscourt and is interested in it. But, Lorna might be interested in him as well.
With Christmas approaching, the three women concoct a scheme to get their husbands to spend Christmas at Ravenscourt. They feel that if the three men spend some time together, they might regain their “sanity.”
The story is clever and humorous yet realistic all at the same time. We see women who have been happily married for years now wondering “what happened?”
I enjoyed the story and think that other readers may as well.
July 17, 2016
Interesting story about three women who will go to extreme measures to ensure their worthless husbands don’t ruin another Christmas. Lorna, Gloria and Rosalind are all women in their forties married to older men. On the heels of her divorce, Lorna discovers she has inherited a home in Sussex from her godfather, she and her friends, eventually decide to lure their husbands to the home and abandon them there to their own devices so they can enjoy a stress-free and hopefully pleasant Christmas holiday with their children. These women have become fed up with the behavior of their husbands; the divorce, the alcoholism and the womanizing; these men have definitely worn out their welcome. Lorna also struggles with allowing the home to be used in a photo shoot while trying to make sense of the attraction she feels towards, Nathan. The house is in disrepair after years of neglect and it will cost Lorna a fortune to repair it and make it habitable, so selling seems to be her only option.
Though this book takes place during the Christmas season, it did not feel like a holiday read for me. I found myself getting annoyed at Gloria for her insistence on what Lorna should do with the house. I wished several times that Lorna would tell her to butt out. The book primarily focuses on Lorna, but there isn’t a lot of relationship development between the three women and I had a hard time trying to figure out what Gloria’s motivation and intentions were. I also would have enjoyed more interactions with Nathan. This book is a great lesson in reminding us that you cannot change others and their behavior. You can only change your reaction to it and modify your own behavior. If you enjoy stories with complex characters, even though they can be annoying, I recommend you give this one a look.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Difficult Husbands from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Though this book takes place during the Christmas season, it did not feel like a holiday read for me. I found myself getting annoyed at Gloria for her insistence on what Lorna should do with the house. I wished several times that Lorna would tell her to butt out. The book primarily focuses on Lorna, but there isn’t a lot of relationship development between the three women and I had a hard time trying to figure out what Gloria’s motivation and intentions were. I also would have enjoyed more interactions with Nathan. This book is a great lesson in reminding us that you cannot change others and their behavior. You can only change your reaction to it and modify your own behavior. If you enjoy stories with complex characters, even though they can be annoying, I recommend you give this one a look.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Difficult Husbands from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
January 8, 2015
Originally published on Paris Baker's Book Nook.
Many thanks to Bookouture for a review copy of Difficult Husbands via Netgalley.
This is a difficult review to write, for this was not a bad book at all, but was simply very different from what I was expecting.
Reading the blurb, I envisaged a fun and festive story about 3 best friends (with perhaps a slight emphasis on Lorna), who scheme to ditch their troublesome husbands over Christmas.
Firstly, Rosalind plays a very small part in this story, with Lorna and Gloria being much more central to the story. Rosalind sometimes felt like a sideline character put in just to balance things out among the husbands with Ivan, rather than her being a central part of the story herself, which is a shame as I think it would have worked well had she been more developed and included.
Secondly, the book didn’t feel very festive. Yes, it is based around their plot for Christmas, but when I think of Christmas books, I think of the sweet, warm, fuzzy feeling I usually love them for, and this is very much not the case with this book. I’d say it has a wintery feel, so I wouldn’t worry about having missed the festive period if you are curious to read it.
Now, I must emphasise, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy this book – actually, I thought it was very well written and had some very touching moments, and some well developed characters. The descriptive language was wonderful and I also fell in love with Ravenscourt, feeling as protective over it as Lorna did.
On a different note, I must also add that the cover is simply stunning; I love the delicate, feminine, wintery tones used.
Hard to rate overall, as my disappointment may be from my own misinterpretation of what to expect, but while worth a read, it was not the cosy Christmas book I was hoping for.
Many thanks to Bookouture for a review copy of Difficult Husbands via Netgalley.
This is a difficult review to write, for this was not a bad book at all, but was simply very different from what I was expecting.
Reading the blurb, I envisaged a fun and festive story about 3 best friends (with perhaps a slight emphasis on Lorna), who scheme to ditch their troublesome husbands over Christmas.
Firstly, Rosalind plays a very small part in this story, with Lorna and Gloria being much more central to the story. Rosalind sometimes felt like a sideline character put in just to balance things out among the husbands with Ivan, rather than her being a central part of the story herself, which is a shame as I think it would have worked well had she been more developed and included.
Secondly, the book didn’t feel very festive. Yes, it is based around their plot for Christmas, but when I think of Christmas books, I think of the sweet, warm, fuzzy feeling I usually love them for, and this is very much not the case with this book. I’d say it has a wintery feel, so I wouldn’t worry about having missed the festive period if you are curious to read it.
Now, I must emphasise, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy this book – actually, I thought it was very well written and had some very touching moments, and some well developed characters. The descriptive language was wonderful and I also fell in love with Ravenscourt, feeling as protective over it as Lorna did.
On a different note, I must also add that the cover is simply stunning; I love the delicate, feminine, wintery tones used.
Hard to rate overall, as my disappointment may be from my own misinterpretation of what to expect, but while worth a read, it was not the cosy Christmas book I was hoping for.
October 29, 2014
Thanks to Bookoutre and Net Galley for sending me a free e-arc of this book. This is my honest opinion.
Lorna is a newly divorced woman, who is dreading Christmas, as her ex husband, Steven cheated on her.
Gloria is married to Adrian who is an alcoholic.
Rosalind is married to Ivan, who has started doing charity work and showing far too much fondness for the female social workers, and is doing more for the disadvantaged teenagers than his own teenage children.
All three women married men who are 20 years older than them and are now in their 60s. All three women are worried about Christmas, which is fast approaching, as their "difficult husbands" caused such embarrassment to them and their children last Christmas.
This is a book about 3 women who are at the end of their tether and when Lorna inherits Ravenscourt, a large country house, the women hatch a plan to ditch their husbands for Christmas in the country, while they spend quality time with their families.
I found this is to be a easy read, that kept me interested throughout. I didn't particularly bond with any of the characters, but did feel sorry for Lorna as she has a lot on her plate.
Although Christmas features in the book, in a fairly big way, I wouldn't call it a festive book, just a book that is largely set in December, with a Christmas Day to remember at the heart of it.
It was a nice change to read about characters that are slightly more advanced in life, and although this isn't a nice fluffy Christmas book, it is an enjoyable book.
Lorna is a newly divorced woman, who is dreading Christmas, as her ex husband, Steven cheated on her.
Gloria is married to Adrian who is an alcoholic.
Rosalind is married to Ivan, who has started doing charity work and showing far too much fondness for the female social workers, and is doing more for the disadvantaged teenagers than his own teenage children.
All three women married men who are 20 years older than them and are now in their 60s. All three women are worried about Christmas, which is fast approaching, as their "difficult husbands" caused such embarrassment to them and their children last Christmas.
This is a book about 3 women who are at the end of their tether and when Lorna inherits Ravenscourt, a large country house, the women hatch a plan to ditch their husbands for Christmas in the country, while they spend quality time with their families.
I found this is to be a easy read, that kept me interested throughout. I didn't particularly bond with any of the characters, but did feel sorry for Lorna as she has a lot on her plate.
Although Christmas features in the book, in a fairly big way, I wouldn't call it a festive book, just a book that is largely set in December, with a Christmas Day to remember at the heart of it.
It was a nice change to read about characters that are slightly more advanced in life, and although this isn't a nice fluffy Christmas book, it is an enjoyable book.
December 11, 2014
Truth be told this book didn't make me feel particularly festive. It read just like any other chick lit book, and to me Christmas barely played a part in it, but then I suppose that's my own fault for not properly researching it.
That said I really liked this book, it was surprisingly upbeat giving the subject matter (divorce, cheating husbands, alcoholism) which I liked, there's nothing worse than a book that tricks you into thinking it'll be a cute read, then has you sobbing into your hot chocolate. The characters, except of course the difficult husbands, were all incredibly likable, very realistic and relatable, they could all have been my friends mums.
While the plot for the most part is simple there are some shocks, such as the incident with Lorna's daughter Flora (or should that be two incidents?), but a lot of it was very predictable from the get go. It was made very clear, in my opinion, that Nathan would be the love interest of Lorna, and that Ravencroft would go to him. I wish the ending was a little bit more complex so I wouldn't have guessed it immediately.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it to any fans of chick lit, but I wouldn't count on this book to get you in the festive feeling.
I rated this book 3 stars on Goodreads
This book was given to me in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own and are in no way affected by the publisher or author.
Originally posted on http://thereadingwonderland.blogspot....
That said I really liked this book, it was surprisingly upbeat giving the subject matter (divorce, cheating husbands, alcoholism) which I liked, there's nothing worse than a book that tricks you into thinking it'll be a cute read, then has you sobbing into your hot chocolate. The characters, except of course the difficult husbands, were all incredibly likable, very realistic and relatable, they could all have been my friends mums.
While the plot for the most part is simple there are some shocks, such as the incident with Lorna's daughter Flora (or should that be two incidents?), but a lot of it was very predictable from the get go. It was made very clear, in my opinion, that Nathan would be the love interest of Lorna, and that Ravencroft would go to him. I wish the ending was a little bit more complex so I wouldn't have guessed it immediately.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it to any fans of chick lit, but I wouldn't count on this book to get you in the festive feeling.
I rated this book 3 stars on Goodreads
This book was given to me in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own and are in no way affected by the publisher or author.
Originally posted on http://thereadingwonderland.blogspot....
December 22, 2014
Firstly, I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an opportunity to review the book.
Difficult Husbands tells the story of three woman in their forties each suffering from a crisis of their own - Lorna, a recently divorced woman still struggling to adjust to life without her better-half, Gloria - Lorna's friend and is herself putting up with an alcoholic husband and an estranged son and Rosalind, a friend of the two who has her own set of problems in life. All three share a common characteristics - they are all married to men in sixties and the problems are mainly because of their age gaps.
In the midst of their problems, Lorna receives a saddening news of the death of her godfather. He leaves his crumbling estate to Lorna. Lorna and her friends devise a plan to bring back their distancing families and stage it in the Ravenscourt estate. What ensues is a somewhat-fun, a little unbelievable and on an overall scale, a passable one time read.
I liked the idea of three friends trying to save their family. Seemed like a very likeable plot but the author somehow made it difficult for me to like it. Though the summary promises a story of three woman, Lorna is given 75% of the story while Rosalind hardly gets 5%. The story could have been very entertaining but the characters are poorly built, making them seem desperate and dull.
I'd like to summarize this as a promising story gone bad.
Difficult Husbands tells the story of three woman in their forties each suffering from a crisis of their own - Lorna, a recently divorced woman still struggling to adjust to life without her better-half, Gloria - Lorna's friend and is herself putting up with an alcoholic husband and an estranged son and Rosalind, a friend of the two who has her own set of problems in life. All three share a common characteristics - they are all married to men in sixties and the problems are mainly because of their age gaps.
In the midst of their problems, Lorna receives a saddening news of the death of her godfather. He leaves his crumbling estate to Lorna. Lorna and her friends devise a plan to bring back their distancing families and stage it in the Ravenscourt estate. What ensues is a somewhat-fun, a little unbelievable and on an overall scale, a passable one time read.
I liked the idea of three friends trying to save their family. Seemed like a very likeable plot but the author somehow made it difficult for me to like it. Though the summary promises a story of three woman, Lorna is given 75% of the story while Rosalind hardly gets 5%. The story could have been very entertaining but the characters are poorly built, making them seem desperate and dull.
I'd like to summarize this as a promising story gone bad.
November 11, 2014
****Copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review****
This stood out to me on Netgalley because it had a quote from Trisha Ashley on the front - I love her books and Difficult Husbands looked like it might have all the ingredients to float my boat, including food, friends and a nice big old house.
In the end it didn't quite tick all the boxes for me - I had some issues with all three of the main females and I didn't think we heard enough from all of them for the narrative style to really click and work. I wanted less of the rubbish husbands and more of lovely Nathan and the big old house. I really liked the start of the book, but it didn't fully follow through on it's promise for me.
That said, I did like Mary de Laszlo's style and voice, even if I didn't think the book quite landed the way I wanted it to this time. I'll keep my eye open for more from her.
This stood out to me on Netgalley because it had a quote from Trisha Ashley on the front - I love her books and Difficult Husbands looked like it might have all the ingredients to float my boat, including food, friends and a nice big old house.
In the end it didn't quite tick all the boxes for me - I had some issues with all three of the main females and I didn't think we heard enough from all of them for the narrative style to really click and work. I wanted less of the rubbish husbands and more of lovely Nathan and the big old house. I really liked the start of the book, but it didn't fully follow through on it's promise for me.
That said, I did like Mary de Laszlo's style and voice, even if I didn't think the book quite landed the way I wanted it to this time. I'll keep my eye open for more from her.
February 10, 2015
This book is set in England and is the story of three women whose lives have undergone big changes. Lorna's husband has left her for a younger woman, Gloria who has an alcoholic husband must chose between putting up with the husband or keeping her son in her life. Rosalind has a husband who has numerous girlfriends must decide to accept or throw him out. When Lorna inherits a crumbling estate the women gather their children and head to Ravenscourt to celebrate Christmas without their husbands. Sometimes I feel that the women don't accept any responsibility for their problems but I liked the story and how they move on with their lives. As always friendship makes a big difference in one's life.
May 25, 2015
A little slow at times, but still worth the read.
I'm not sure I'd really call it a "Christmas tale"....some of the significant events do take place at Christmas, but the story covers a much longer time frame in the lives of 3 women, their kids and their current or ex husbands.
This book shows real life, it's not a fairy tale, and you don't always get a happy end. Sometimes life just gives you one shot after another. This book is all about dealing with tough, real-life issues.
well worth the read. This is not a fluffy romcom, but rather a very real, very true to life, well written book, with tough issues, touching moments and a very human feel.
I'm not sure I'd really call it a "Christmas tale"....some of the significant events do take place at Christmas, but the story covers a much longer time frame in the lives of 3 women, their kids and their current or ex husbands.
This book shows real life, it's not a fairy tale, and you don't always get a happy end. Sometimes life just gives you one shot after another. This book is all about dealing with tough, real-life issues.
well worth the read. This is not a fluffy romcom, but rather a very real, very true to life, well written book, with tough issues, touching moments and a very human feel.
November 13, 2014
A challenging read – yet Difficult Husbands is a very well written book. This book deals with tough issues like alcoholism, financial ruin, illegitimacy, death of children, infidelity and also enduring friendships. While the beginning of the book is quite dreary and depressing, mid-way through the book, the pace picks up a bit. The ending does brings peace of mind. NetGalley and Bookouture provided an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
December 11, 2014
I won this book as part of First Reads.
This is an inspired story of three younger women with husbands all in their sixties all suffering from various problems that are making them less than satisfactory husbands and the women's plans to sort them out.
A highly amusing entertaining story.
This is an inspired story of three younger women with husbands all in their sixties all suffering from various problems that are making them less than satisfactory husbands and the women's plans to sort them out.
A highly amusing entertaining story.
January 31, 2015
A lovely story.
This book is wonderful. The characters are rich with so nuch depth. I was invested in each one but especially rooting for Lorna. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a great read. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
This book is wonderful. The characters are rich with so nuch depth. I was invested in each one but especially rooting for Lorna. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a great read. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
Want to read
November 1, 2014I'm very fortunate to be one of the lucky couple to win this book. I will make sure to post a review.
Read
December 29, 2014Review to come soon
January 10, 2016
Started well but then I felt like it just lost momentum. The second half of the book felt like a different writer.
December 1, 2014
Interesting story, with tangled families & complicated lives.
December 24, 2014
Yes, I like reading British novels that take place during Christmas. For many reasons, this was not a good one.
March 7, 2015
This was not really very focussed on Christmas as the tag line claims but it was enjoyable enough. Interesting characters all married to men 20 years older...
April 24, 2017
This one seemed a little dark for a Christmas romance. It had some interesting characters and it kept my attention.
January 18, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Rating it was tricky for me. "Great" fiction? Not really. Enjoyable fiction? Absolutely.
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