Working women don't have Stepford husbands

 

Nora is a stressed out working wife and mother who's just asking for a little help from her spouse in The Husbands.  Although her husband, Hayden, helps out occasionally and will do specific tasks if asked, the vast majority of logistical household and personal duties fall to Nora.  While this situation would be maddening enough without the extra stress, Nora is in the process of going up for partner at her law firm.  To make matters worse, she also feels like she can't say no to any requests from her firm to work extra or be on call for emergency tech help from the older male partners.

Since Nora is expecting a second child, she and Hayden have outgrown their current living situation and begin looking around for a house to buy.  Nora thinks they've found the perfect home in the housing development known as Dynasty Ranch.  She becomes a bit alarmed when it seems like buying the house doesn't just require the signing of documents, but that she and Hayden will need to be approved by the current residents.  

Nora gets along well with the other women of Dynasty Ranch, although she is dismayed to find out that an author whose work she admires, Penny, has recently lost her husband to a fire.  Hayden isn't as charmed by the house or neighborhood as Nora is, but (as usual) he is content to let her sort out all the details.  At some social gatherings where they are being vetted by the current residents, Nora is amazed at the amount of cheerful help that the husbands of the neighborhood provide. In order to see if she can't get Hayden on this bandwagon, Nora talks him into attending some couples therapy sessions with Cornelia, the resident therapist.  While these sessions are somewhat unorthodox and dredge up some information that she would rather keep hidden, Nora can soon see a definite change in Hayden's willingness to help out around the house.

As Nora is brought in to investigate the fire that caused the death of Penny's husband, she begins to sense that everything might not be as picture perfect in Dynasty Ranch as it appears at first glance.  It was very easy to see how overwhelmed Nora is and to sympathize with her situation.  While the amazing array of professional women at Dynasty Ranch seem to have come up with the perfect solution to getting a little help, their techniques might be a little drastic for some!

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of The Husbands from the publisher in exchange for this review