Husband Material was my second last read of 2019 (and #99, just like The Great One) and it was a totally unique and enjoyable story. Emily Belden's novel is a rom com but there's a heavy storyline throughout that made it stand out from other contemporary novels I've read.
Here's the synopsis:
Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, Charlotte has worked hard to move forward. Great job at a hot social media analytics company? Check. Roommate with no knowledge of her past? Check. Adorable dog? Check. All the while, she’s faithfully data-crunched her way through life, calculating the probability of risk—so she can avoid it.
Yet Charlotte’s algorithms could never have predicted that her late husband’s ashes would land squarely on her doorstep five years later. Stunned but determined, Charlotte sets out to find meaning in this sudden twist of fate, even if that includes facing her perfectly coiffed, and perfectly difficult, ex-mother-in-law—and her husband’s best friend, who seems to become a fixture at her side whether she likes it or not.
But soon a shocking secret surfaces, forcing Charlotte to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness. And when a chance at new love arises, she’ll have to decide once and for all whether to follow the numbers or trust her heart.
Charlotte was an interesting character. I think she could have been developed a little bit more but I found myself not wanting to say goodbye to her by the end of the novel. I knew she was in a much healthier place - hard not to be when she was such a closed off person before the urn showed up and then a total mess after - but I wanted to read more about it. Totally unnecessary from a novel perspective, of course, I just wanted more.
The way Charlotte worked through all of her issues really endeared me to her. I actually think we probably could have been friends - if she allowed me into her world, which she had a really, really hard time doing. She was wicked smart and I loved that while she's working at a job that seems so "in" right now, at a social media/influencer company, she was the woman behind the coding and technical side of things.
One of the things early on that had me feeling sort of "meh" about the novel was how it seemed like Belden was purposefully holding back certain information - particularly the details behind how Charlotte became a widow and why his mother seemed to dislike her - but when those details were finally revealed it was sort of...anti-climatic, I guess. It's not the worst thing in the world but it was kind of odd for me.
I don't think I've read a book with a young widow before. At least, not one that's also a romantic comedy. Belden approached it in such a beautiful and heartbreaking way. I liked that Charlotte mentioned the support groups she had gone to before and we got to read as she went to a meeting at the end. I think that helped Belden stress that Charlotte is just one widow with her own unique set of problems. No two situations are the same and she respects that.
There's much more to Husband Material than meets the eye (seriously...I have no idea why the cover looks like it does) and while it didn't totally, completely wow me, Emily Belden's novel was one I didn't want to put down once I got into it. It's sweet, funny, and sad and I'm glad I had a chance to read it.
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*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Harlequin/Graydon House, in exchange for a review for the purposes of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*
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