Ellen Meister

Only one thing stands in the way of Laurel Applebaum's happiness...Doug Applebaum.

In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's dreams seem so close. There's just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it.

Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the deep corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who's spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

A Novel

Take My Husband

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own!

Diversity: Jewish characters, Black character

Recommended For...: dark comedy, women’s fiction, contemporary, thriller, fiction

Age Relevance: 18+ (fatphobia, death, violence, gore, weaponized incompetence, sexual content, grief, cursing, suicidal ideation, depression, gaslighting, emotional abuse, pregnancy, childbirth, illness, animal death, alcoholism)

Explanation of Above: There are some fatphobic comments made in the book. Death, grief, and murder are mentioned and discussed throughout the book, along with varying degrees of violence mentioned and some very slight gore shown via blood. The book showcases weaponized incompetence and has some sexual content. There is some cursing in the book. There are scenes where suicidal ideation are shown and suicide is mentioned. There is some depression shown in the book and the book focuses on gaslighting and emotional abuse. There are mentions of pregnancy and childbirth in the book. There is some illness shown in the book. There are animal deaths mentioned with mice and turtles. There is some alcoholism mentioned once in the book.

Synopsis: In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's dreams seem so close. There's just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it.

Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the deep corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who's spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

Review: This was a hilarious read about a woman who, after hearing some unfortunate news about her husband and thinking that he died only to realize he didn’t and also being persuaded by a recent widower, is determined to off her husband to better her life. I thought that the book, while hilarious, also did so well to talk about weaponized incompetence and emotional abuse. The book is honest about how hard women work in a relationship for the statistical majority of the time and how the division of labor and division of emotional stress rests majorly on them. The book was interesting and you switch between rooting for the MC to hating her to rooting for her again as you explore your own emotional roller coaster. The writing was well done and the character development was great, as I enjoyed the non-linear sometimes fluxuating manner the characters developed. The book also had great pacing.

The only issue I had with the book is that I wished that some of the outside players were a bit better developed and I wished that some of the twists had a bit more room to fully play out in the book.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own!

 

Book: Take My Husband

 

Author: Ellen Meister

 

Book Series: Standalone

 

Rating: 4/5

 

Diversity: Jewish characters, Black character

 

Recommended For...: dark comedy, women’s fiction, contemporary, thriller, fiction

 

Publication Date: August 30, 2022

 

Genre: Dark Comedy Women’s Fiction

 

Age Relevance: 18+ (fatphobia, death, violence, gore, weaponized incompetence, sexual content, grief, cursing, suicidal ideation, depression, gaslighting, emotional abuse, pregnancy, childbirth, illness, animal death, alcoholism)

 

Explanation of Above: There are some fatphobic comments made in the book. Death, grief, and murder are mentioned and discussed throughout the book, along with varying degrees of violence mentioned and some very slight gore shown via blood. The book showcases weaponized incompetence and has some sexual content. There is some cursing in the book. There are scenes where suicidal ideation are shown and suicide is mentioned. There is some depression shown in the book and the book focuses on gaslighting and emotional abuse. There are mentions of pregnancy and childbirth in the book. There is some illness shown in the book. There are animal deaths mentioned with mice and turtles. There is some alcoholism mentioned once in the book.

 

Publisher: MIRA

 

Pages: 400

 

Synopsis: In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's dreams seem so close. There's just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it.

 

Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the deep corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who's spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

 

Review: This was a hilarious read about a woman who, after hearing some unfortunate news about her husband and thinking that he died only to realize he didn’t and also being persuaded by a recent widower, is determined to off her husband to better her life. I thought that the book, while hilarious, also did so well to talk about weaponized incompetence and emotional abuse. The book is honest about how hard women work in a relationship for the statistical majority of the time and how the division of labor and division of emotional stress rests majorly on them. The book was interesting and you switch between rooting for the MC to hating her to rooting for her again as you explore your own emotional roller coaster. The writing was well done and the character development was great, as I enjoyed the non-linear sometimes fluxuating manner the characters developed. The book also had great pacing.

 

The only issue I had with the book is that I wished that some of the outside players were a bit better developed and I wished that some of the twists had a bit more room to fully play out in the book.

 

Verdict: It was well done!

Take My Husband A Novel

Reviews