‘I laughed and laughed my way through this book from start to finish!!… I found it so funny that I rolled from one laugh straight to into another one for most of the book!… I loved this book so much I finished it in a day – I think that tells you everything you need to know!! Fab, fab, fab!!’ Stardust Book Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐It’s normal to prefer getting a filling at the dentist’s to spending time … dentist’s to spending time with your husband, right?
I thought I was sorted on the life front. I was a heart surgeon with a loving partner and two gorgeous little girls. Except my husband’s version of ‘loving’ is lying, cheating and sleeping his way around London. Which means I definitely deserve a refund.
Unfortunately, moving on isn’t that simple. Just because I know how to operate on a heart doesn’t mean I know how to fix my broken one. Plus, I lost the receipt for him years ago so I’m definitely getting short changed.
But now I’m single, am I ready to mingle? There are a few minor issues:
1) The last time I went on a date double denim was in fashion and my eyebrows were horrendously overplucked.
2) Men wear stupidly skinny jeans now.
3) I don’t know how to use dating apps but at least I don’t have to get changed out of my pyjamas.
4) Sometimes the most promising thing you have in common with a guy is a shared love of prawns.
5) I don’t know whether to open a date with ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ or ‘hey’ and once I ended up saying ‘howdy’.
Everything happens for a reason, they say. There’s plenty more fish in the sea. But what happens when everything falls apart and you haven’t got a clue how to go fishing?
An absolutely hilarious and utterly relatable tale for anyone who has ever survived a nightmare relationship, felt a little lonely or nursed a broken heart with wine and carbs. This feel-good novel will get you back on your feet and genuinely laughing out loud. Perfect for fans of Why Mummy Drinks, Sophie Ranald and Sophie Kinsella.
Readers absolutely love Can I Give My Husband Back?:
‘The BEST book I have read for a long time! A book has never made me laugh like this one… Made me laugh until I couldn’t breathe, I had tears rolling down my face and I had to force myself to put it down for a bit to recover. This book has it all: it’s laugh-until-you-risk-passing-out funny, it made me cry, the characters are highly relatable and I loved every second of it… If I could give it more than 5 stars I would!’ Goodreads Reviewer,
‘A side-splittingly hilarious romp that had me wiping away tears I was laughing so much… It’s just as well that I was in lockdown and I couldn’t read this book anywhere in public because I was laughing so hard, I would have surely embarrassed myself… Wickedly funny, deliciously witty and a joy from start to finish.’ Bookish Jottings, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘OMG… LOVED IT!!!… Just pure LOL all the way through… A MUST-READ for when you could do with a laugh!’ The Book Girls, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Oh my goodness… Made me laugh so much my sides hurt… Definitely the pick-me-up and anxiety-buster I needed.’ Little Miss Book Lover 87, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Brilliant… It’s not often that a proclaimed “laugh out loud” book makes me do so, yet laugh out loud I did.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Had me chuckling out loud and I think I almost actually jumped off my chair at one point.’ This Hannah’s Life
‘Had me in stitches.’ B for Bookreviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Jam packed with so so many laugh out loud moments, honestly I just couldn’t stop laughing. Also I found this very easy to read and it only took me 2 days to read, it was that good I just flew through it!’ Jessica Book Biz, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Fantastic… My belly hurts from laughing.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐more
It was fine.
It was easy to immersed myself into ‘Can I Give My Husband Back?’. The storyline was relatable and this novel had a decent amount of drama that wasn’t too overwhelming. Generally pretty enjoyable despite the romance I could’ve done without. I liked Jag but I didn’t love him as much as Leo and I was a bit surprised she ended up with the former. I felt like Leo and Emma had better chemistry but whatever flows your boat I guess.
Additional to that, the family dynamic between Emma and her sisters, especially Lucy, was hilarious. It made me wish I had that type of relationship with my siblings.
Now to sum up, it was not too shabby. I will definitely read from this author again.
I would say that there are two levels you could enjoy this book on. One, the outrageously funny conversations and shenanigans that the Callaghan sisters get up to. Two, and at a deeper level, it’s the struggle of a smart, accomplished woman still trying to shake off the hurt caused her by a callous, serial cheater of a husband. How, Emma makes her way out of the maze of pain and into the light of healing and love makes a delightfully funny, yet sensitive read.
I fell in love with all of the 5 sisters, but Emma is the sweetest, kindest soul. I could identify with her poor self image, made worse by a broken heart. Yet, despite it all, she’s fiercely loyal to her sisters, would do anything for her children and is even forgiving and kind to Simon, her ex, who never seems to learn.
I also fell in love with Kristen Bailey’s writing. It takes a lot of talent to write a book that’s so funny, yet so sensitive, and deals with real life issues that a lot of people are facing. Divorce and its fallout – custody arrangements, trying to make sure that the children continue to respect the other parent, even while you have little regard for them; children having new siblings. And above all, trying to find love again.
If you want a great laugh and also want a book that tugs at your heartstrings, I’d absolutely recommend Can I Give My Husband Back?
Favorite Quotes:
“I could be kidnapped and killed for my body parts. Look after my girls. Make sure Si doesn’t ruin them.” “Two things: Don’t mention that man’s name to me. And you’re too old to be kidnapped. Your organs would be a hard sell.”
She looks like the eighties ate her up and spat her back out again. That’s some slick hair and a strong shoulder. She stands on my doorstep expecting to be invited in; I’m pretty sure that’s what you traditionally have to do with vampires.
‘I also don’t eat blueberries, for future information,’ I carry on. ‘But blueberries are delicious?’ ‘My sister once told me they are Smurf testicles so I can’t bring myself to eat them now.’
He normally wears glasses but Meera didn’t want them in her photos so forced him to wear contact lenses for the first time. So the poor boy’s eyes are bulging like his pants are too tight.
… she told the thirty-odd people present that she was glad she didn’t marry me because I’m very hairy and she didn’t want my furball babies.
My Review:
This was a wicked funny tale laced with all varieties of humor from acerbic snark to highly comical events and everything in between. I haven’t had this much fun giggle-snorting into my Moscato in ages. While there were also parts of the storylines that were quite tragic as the loathsome husband was an unrepentant serial adulterer, the writing sparked with clever wit and wry humor. I was frequently smirking and a few times nearly apoplectic with laughter.
Being more prone toward the Lorena Bobbitt methodology for dealing with such issues, I was occasionally impatient and annoyed with the main character’s spineless inability to face her husband’s blatant and repeated infidelities as well as her overly forgiving nature once she finally did so, I still appreciated her journey and reveled in the manner her sisters and friends were shoring her up which enabled her to retrieve her own identity and sense of worth. Every single character was riotously amusing with my favorite being the fierce and mischievously salacious younger sister Lucy, whom I hope to see featured in her very own book soon with more Frozen Fiesta Fracas adventures.
Emma is a heart surgeon and is divorcing her husband, Simon. who is also a surgeon. A cocky man, he has had one affair too many. They are the parents of two girls, Iris, 7 and Violet 5. Emma has 4 sisters and her sister, Lucy, is currently helping her with the girls.
Lucy is doing all she can to get Emma to date some men but she feels like it has been so long since she dated, she doesn’t know where to start.
We see how compassionate Emma is with people. Her medical knowledge is great and it’s so funny when some people ask her inapprpriate medical questions when she’s at a social event. What a hoot!
The sisters all join together as one big family to support one another. They are very close and would defend one another to the death.
Lucy is funny but does some wild things. I liked Emma and felt she is a strong character but she showed that she’s also human. My favorite character is Lewis. What a little love he is! This book shows how difficult divorce can be especially if one is a total jerk like Simon. The sisterly love is cute but I wonder if all sisters are as open with one another. All in all, this is a good book with lots of laugh out loud humor. In addition, there are some serious things as well to balance it out. Check it out and enjoy!
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Is your children’s happiness worth a bad marriage: fun and frustration
4.5stars
What a rollercoaster of fun and fractious times in an odd but warm family atmosphere. I found myself weaving from laughing out loud to bouts of frustration in reading Bailey’s latest novel about the British Callaghan sisters and their marital highs and lows. Lead Emma Callaghan, formerly Emma Chadwick, is a paediatric heart surgeon with a louse of an ex-husband and two darling daughters. Still cut up about her horror of a marriage with a philandering liar, her sisters are helping her negotiate her new singledom, dating, and the constant stream of new revelations about the extent of ex Simon’s perfidy.
Emma’s adventure would not be anywhere near as amusing without her sister Lucy’s antics and gains lots of heart through the sadder subplots about her widowed sister Grace and kind, new mother, sister Beth. There’s plenty of meat here, with shifting relationships, heart-tugging patients, one-of-a-kind dates, drama with pushy moms at her daughters’ posh school and some riotous partying, plus an Elsa competition that will be hard to forget! I found the construction of the story unusual, with the big moment of the marriage imploding fully described at the end rather than the beginning, though snippets are hinted at through chapter headings throughout the book.
I really disliked Emma’s ex and the manner in which he constantly seem to come out unscathed and this coloured my enjoyment of the story, but overall it was a pleasurable and thought-provoking read about families and relationships. I’ve now read two of Bailey’s novels and would be happy to read more of her works.
Thanks to publisher Bookouture and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review and the opinions expressed are my own.
This book is fantastic! I really enjoyed Emma, the main character. The book is funny and relatable. Just overall a great book!
I really enjoyed the first in what looks like a series from this very talented and astute author. And I liked this one even more. In this second book, we follow Emma. A compassionate heart surgeon, she is divorced from her cheating you-know-what of a husband (and that’s treating him nicely). Anybody who has been involved in a divorce will be able to find a character in this book to relate to. The author simply tells a person’s story, and it’s up to the reader to get what they want out of it. Ms. Bailey knows how to set and describe a scene so that it feels like the reader is actually there. From Beth’s birthday to a raucous and thoroughly enjoyable trivia competition that left tears rolling down my face, the humanity and the humor are captured perfectly. I hope that we’ll get three more chances to visit the Callaghan sisters. For a detailed review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.