How to Keep a Husband for 10 Days by Jessica Hatch
Published: February 8, 2023
Bookouture
Pages: 293
Genre: Romantic Comedy
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Jessica Hatch writes hilarious, heartfelt romantic comedies for the girls who grew up rooting for the main character’s best friend. She loves to develop quirky, high-concept scenarios and then drop her characters into them, escape room–style, to see what happens next. Her work spotlights characters and locales the reader can fall in love with and aims to explore real-world issues that women and nonbinary people face. (She also enjoys loafing around, largely ignoring her characters and binge-watching Netflix instead.)
Determined to only tell her friends when she’s figured out how she’s feeling, Lina comes up with a set of rules for her and Brown to follow:
Strike “couple” poses (try not to throw your back out)
Laugh at each other’s jokes (not so loud it sounds fake)
Stare into each other’s eyes (remember to blink)
Hold hands when walking (use a grip of steel)
Share a bed… (GULP)
But, despite her step-by-step guide, pretending to be married isn’t as easy as she thought. Being back in the same house with her husband – laughing together, holding hands, sharing a bed –
is making her more confused than ever. And by day five, Lina is starting to realise there’s a thin line between love and hate.
And while she can try to fool her friends, she can’t fool her heart. What might have begun as faking a marriage is starting to feel like the real thing… Is this becoming more than make believe? And is it too late to find out if Brown feels the same?
“Not if she didn’t let them slip away.”
Lina had a charmed life. She met her husband and best friends while they all lived in the same building. When Lina and Brown moved out, everyone was afraid things would change. They were all naive. Now, Lina and Brown have to figure out how to keep their secret while trying to save their old building.
I enjoyed the themes of this book and that it focused on a real problem. I loved seeing people fight for housing and creating affordable housing. That was beautifully done.
The characters were all dynamic, diverse, and well-constructed. I didn’t care for the lead character, Lina, very much. But I loved Freddie, Mara, and Brown.
The relationships all felt authentic, and the things this group went through were struggles real people have. I enjoyed the dynamic and connection between these characters, and the balance between their personalities was outstanding.
There was a lot of heart in this novel, and I appreciated that. I would love to see Freddie get a book; this character has a lot of personality, sass, heart, and a story to tell!