Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - My Husband

ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴏʀᴀʟʟʏ ɢʀᴀʏ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴀ ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ.

𝙼𝚢 𝙷𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 by Maud Ventura (translated by Emma Ramadan) is a fresh novel about a 40-year-old woman who is obsessed with her husband. She loves him, the idea of him, and would die without him.

Stunning looks, a beautiful house, two children, and 15 years of marriage with an ideal man are a dream for many. No matter how perfect life can get, sometimes our unnamed protagonist doubts whether her husband is truly in love with her, like she is madly in love with him.

So in order to spark their romance, she does things above and beyond for her husband. She plans every encounter she will have with him. And do things one may think are already beyond the line. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜?

I enjoyed the short novel. I loved how our main character was unreliable. I also really liked seeing her thoughts and how she processed everyday situations. She analyzes a certain encounter over and over again. She overthinks that she is on the verge of panicking, then reassures herself a little while later. I found it fascinating to know her thoughts, reassurances, and doubts.

Over the span of a week, I could see how the dynamics worked in their family. And many reviews say the ending was unexpected. For me, it was predictable, but it was still okay.

Overall, the book was okay. A read that is fast, analytical, pathetic, and, of course, obsessive. I'd only half-recommend this since I didn't love it. But still, it is a novel that many should try to read. Especially those who loved 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝙼𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙰𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚜.

📚 | 44
⭐ | 3.5

•••

My Rating System

5 🌟 - Life changing, a new favorite read
4 ⭐ - I loved it
3 ⭐ - I liked it
2 ⭐ - It was okay
1 ⭐ - I hated it but decided to not dnf

Content Warnings

todelisus's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I knew the ending would be “wild,” so I was expecting something “wild,” but dear god it still took me by surprise

Spoiler

they deserve each other

Content Warnings

moa's review

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

autiedragon's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

gommette's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Un livre très contemporain dans l'écriture et reprend des codes prévisibles, qui se lit très bien. La fin est très surprenante mais permet de compenser la folie du personnage principal.

Content Warnings

terrimisu's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My Husband is about an unnamed wife that is obsessed with her husband and being the perfect significant for him. I was lucky enough to get this ARC through NetGalley and finished it all yesterday!

Throughout the book, she talks very highly of her husband but her insecurities and unhealthy obsession slowly unravels the farther I progressed through the book. She would never refer to her husband by his name, she only referred to him as “my husband” which treads into the territory of iconizing and objectifying him. After a certain time, I feel that her husband begins to lose the feeling of him being an actual individual and more of an entity of her imagination. The main character is captivated with the idea of being the only person for her husband and detests having to spend time with friends or family because she sees her husband to be enough for her but takes offense when her husband wants to spend time with their mutual friends. This form of obsession even affects her ability to parent, she doesn’t have the motherly instinct many mothers would have towards their children. She states that she would be fine without them and that’s telling of how dependent she is on her husband’s every move. I really enjoyed the themes and flow of the story, it progressed smoothly and I didn’t feel like anything should’ve been added or omitted. Maud Ventura excellently showcased a story where one individual with obsessive and controlling thoughts did things that she shouldn’t have done. The hypocrisy and justification of the character’s actions was wild to say the least but added to the character and story development.

I am so excited to get the physical copy of My Husband and I’m looking forward to the future projects Maud Ventura has to put out!

Content Warnings

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