#TheHusbands – Rosepoint Publishing

The Book or the Movie—Which One First? Which One Was Better?

Book or Movie - which one first?

It’s the age-old conundrum—which first, the book or the movie? It appears I’ve managed to read several of these books prior to their release. Which ones have you read first?

Wicked poster from Wikipedia — Wicked poster courtesy Wikipedia.

Haven’t we all been bombarded with the new movies, Christmas theme or not, out now riding on the heels of the book’s popularity? Lots of promos and book trailers, especially the big-budget Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Have you seen them? This one released in theaters on November 21^st starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. (Not one of the books I’ve read this year and not my thing.)

Of course, there is the wildly popular Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, originally released in 2012 (which I also didn’t read, not my thing), and my recent favorite, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, released in 2022. The book was excellent–the movie very good.

Another to watch is The Housemaids (book by Freida McFadden) which will star Sydney Sweeney. Gees, I didn’t read that one either!) The release date for the movie is expected to be December 19, 2025. (I read The Housemaid’s Secret but not The Housemaid, so I’ll be interested in the original.)

I did, however, read several others and the ones listed as coming out soon read like a NY Times or USA Today bestseller list.

And surprise, surprise, another popular book, Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, starring Elle Fanning has a release date TBA. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot with this book. Elle plays the daughter of a Hooters waitress and former pro-wrestler who’ll make it big on OnlyFans. Now’s your chance to get all the skinny. ;) I’m looking forward to this one. How about you?

Also in development for 2026 and 2027, The Nightingale and The Women by Kristin Hannah. Are you kidding? Read both, but I can’t wait to see The Women on screen! One of my very favorite books ever and was a Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction of 2024 as well as an Editors’ Pick for Best Books of the Year 2024. Powerful, nostalgic, gripping. If you haven’t read it yet (fat chance), you must before the movie comes out.

Just a few others:

The Woman in Cabin 10 – Ruth Ware – released on Netflix starring Keira Knightley (started it–DNF).

The Husbands – Holly Gramazio – release date TBA – starring Juno Temple – FUN book! Recommended. The movie should be fun.

The Running Man – Stephen King – released on November 7 starring Glen Powell (but I don’t read Stephen King).

Of course, there were many more not listed here. How many of the above have you read? Look for audiobooks for these as well. Always a fast, easy way to get caught up on the latest of the books turned movie lists.

#ThrowbackThursday

Rosepoint Reviews – June Recap – Boo to Century July Temps!

The rabbits and deer have won the fairy garden. It’s official. I’ve given up on live plants and planted plastic instead. Animals 1 – farmer 0. It’s a tie on the veggie bed with chicken wire and mesh around my tender plants. They did manage to penetrate to a vigorous bean plant and that plant won’t be going anywhere now. Love the animals, but…

Punkin the Pom is carefully beginning to enjoy her walks.* The CE, having a closer bond, is trusting her more and she’s taking advantage. Otherwise, still accepting few treats, no toys, no offers of companionship, and housetraining is a throw of the dice.

June was a struggle, once again, with the CE’s attention divided and my spending more time in the kitchen. It didn’t help that I decided my next personal challenge was to make a sourdough starter and produce a loaf of sourdough bread. I’m currently on the third try which is not looking good right now at Day 4 of a 6-7 day cycle of starter. Of course, it’s also that time of the year when the gardens and outdoor activities take precedence.

I’m thinking, if not a sabbatical, then a greatly reduced schedule through July and probably August. Most of my reading now includes audiobooks as time for reading has been greatly reduced. Of the twelve books, half were audiobooks!

As always, links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

The Curse of King Midas by Colleen M Story (CE review)
Lockdown by Sara Driscoll
The Cyanide Canary by Robert Dugoni and Joseph Hilldorfer (audiobook)
The Wild Road Home by Melissa Payne
If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay (audiobook)
The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci (audiobook)
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (audiobook)
Best House on the Block by T R Ragan
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (audiobook)
Prevailing Wind by Thomas Dolby (CE review)
Breach by Holly S Roberts (blog tour)
Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

I really loved The Wild Road Home—it was addictive, kept me reading, and I was thoroughly invested in the well-developed characters. It fell just one-half star short of five, however, and the CE easily gave his book, Prevailing Wind, five stars even with a rather slow start. It’s a toss up, but I’ll have to give the nod to his book.

Favorite for June – Prevailing Wind by Thomas Dolby

My Reading Challenges page…Reading Challenges page—well, you know the score. Life is scattered and chaotic right now. The Goodreads Challenge is now six books behind schedule at 68 of 150. I make no promises.

Welcome as always to my new subscribers! My blog hopping time has seriously suffered having apparently landed somewhere underneath getting a review out. I apologize for the slow response to your great posts, but I’m trying. Honest.

Loggin' off

*Apologize for the poor GIF, apparently I’m not allowed to upload an MP4 even when I get it down to 11 MGs.

The Husbands: A Novel by Holly Gramazio #AudiobookReview #HumorousFiction&Satire

Best Books of the Year So Far 2024

Book Blurb:

When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.

As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?

My Review:

When was the last time you willingly accepted a debut novel and actually enjoyed it? Well, okay, maybe not that rare, but this is one I think you might.

First, this is a unique plot device and one that has you nodding your head and grinning. Definitely light satire, humorous and chuckle worthy moments begin when Lauren discovers a husband in her flat in London that was a real surprise. She wasn’t married.

Her friends, and there are several constants, confirm they’ve been married for a little while. Just look at the photos. Decoŕ definitely looks different.

Well, the good news: She hasn’t gone crazy but when he changes a lightbulb in the attic, Michael is replaced by a new husband. Maybe she needs to reconsider the crazy part.

And then, OMG, she runs the gamut! Right age and education but dense. Bore you to tears but the body of Adonis. Health nut, gamer, sports nut, gambler, drinker, wondering eye. What if she found the one she wanted to keep? Could she keep him out of the attic?

It’s light-hearted and not to be taken seriously although there are a few interesting philosophical questions to ponder. The MC is not fully developed, the reader doesn’t get the depth and certainly of none of the husbands. The attic is apparently “magic.” We don’t know why. There is a solid twist later in the novel but at a reasonable length of time you’ll demand a point to it all.

Of course, I greatly enjoyed the narration of the audiobook—done very well, accents and all. Does Lauren finally pick a husband, warts and all, and stick with him? Do you still care? How does this ring road ever end? You’ll have to read it.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Humorous Fiction & Satire, Humorous Fiction, Family Life Fiction
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B0CDCP4FCT
Listening Length: 10 hrs 30 mins
Narrator: Miranda Raison
Publication Date: April 2, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: The Husbands [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: HOLLY GRAMAZIO is a writer, game designer and curator from Adelaide, currently based in London. She founded the experimental games festival Now Play This, and wrote the script for the award-winning indie videogame Dicey Dungeons. She’s particularly interested in rules, play, cities, gardens, games that get people acting creatively, and art that gets people interacting with their surroundings in new ways. The Husbands is her first novel.