HUSBANDS & LOVERS

The stories of two women separated by time and circumstance but connected through DNA.

Mallory Dunne’s life is complicated. Her 13-year-old son, Sam, is on dialysis after eating a poisoned mushroom at summer camp when he was 10. Her mom died a couple of years before that when hiking on Machu Picchu, leaving Mallory a mysterious and beautiful cobra-shaped bracelet that Mallory wears every day. Oh, and Sam is secretly the son of Monk Adams, a famous musician with whom Mallory was madly in love throughout high school and college. Mallory left Monk the day before the two planned to travel the country together, never telling him that he’s a father. But her sister, Paige, who believes Monk could be a kidney match for Sam, is pressuring her to tell Monk the truth. When Paige convinces Mallory to go to the fictional Winthrop Island in Long Island Sound where Monk is staying—he’s there planning his wedding to vapid Instagram influencer Lennox Lassiter—Sam’s parents reunite, and Mallory must come to terms with her past. The sisters also recently found out that their mother was adopted, so Paige goes on a genealogical journey to find out where they came from. Mallory’s story alternates with that of the sisters’ biological grandmother, Hannah, who lives in post–World War II Egypt and whose story is slowly revealed. While there are certainly sweet, sexy, and even poignant moments, particularly in Mallory and Monk’s early years, the book tries to pack in way too much. Hannah’s entire plot, while clearly well researched, feels underdeveloped, and Williams would’ve been better served using that time to add more depth to Mallory and Monk’s relationship.

Beach read meets maudlin historical fiction.