My Husband's Sweethearts [Hardcover]

Bridget Asher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2008

When Lucy discovered that her charming, cheating husband was dying, she came home, opened up his little black book, and decided she wasn’t going through this alone. After all, Artie’s sweethearts were there for the good times—is it fair that Lucy should have to manage the hard times herself? In this wise, wickedly funny new novel, Lucy dials up the women in Artie’s black book and invites them for one last visit. The last thing she expects is that any will actually show up.

But one by one, they do show up: The one who hates him. The one who owes her life to him. The one he turned into a lesbian, and the one he taught to dance. And among them is a visitor with the strangest story of all: the young man who may or may not be Artie’s long-lost son.

For Lucy, the jaw-dropping procession of women is an education in the man she can’t forgive and couldn’t leave. And as the women find themselves sharing secrets and sharing tears, they start to discover kindred spirits—and even something that’s a lot like family. But Lucy knows one thing for certain: the biggest surprises are yet to come….

Full of heart, Bridget Asher’s unforgettable novel is about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and the deep friendships between women. It’s about sweet liars and tenderhearted cheaters—about loving those we love for reasons we can’t always fully rationalize, and about the sort of forgiveness that can change someone’s entire life in the most unexpected and extraordinary ways.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Faced with the imminent death of her charming, cheating and estranged husband Artie, Lucy Shoreman decides to call the names in his little black book and invite the ladies to his Philadelphia home to say a final farewell. For her part, 30-ish Lucy, who's 18 years Artie's junior, can't decide whether she loves or hates the man, while her much-married mother insists he deserves forgiveness. As a broad spectrum of his ex-lovers arrives, including a surprised mother-and-daughter duo and a troubled young woman Lucy takes under her wing, Artie's previously undisclosed and estranged grown son, John, shows up and seems as wickedly appealing as Dad. Asher, a pen name of prolific author Julianna Baggott, takes the edge off her sharply drawn characters with a succession of familiar sentiments. But flashes of wit and a parade of memorable women keep pages turning as Lucy grows increasingly and endearingly confused about her feelings toward Artie, John and the rest. (Aug.)
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Review

“Each character in this wry and beguiling book has a fresh take on love: how it tricks and blindsides us, makes us crazy, elated, sad; how we can’t stop giving it; how it ennobles our lives. As Lucy and her husband’s sweethearts reluctantly form a family as unlikely as it is beautiful, I found myself falling—falling hard—for every single one of them.”—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In and Belong to Me

“Bridget Asher’s pitch-perfect ear for language, sly wit, and compassionate understanding of what it is to be human and fallible make this novel an undiluted joy to read. My Husband’s Sweethearts is a whip-smart, tender, and eccentric tale that chronicles all the ways forgiveness can come to us. Don’t miss this ride.”—Joshilyn Jackson, bestselling author of gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia

“The narrator of this wry and thoughtful novel observes her world with snappy, unsentimental eyes, and yet she finds a way to soothe every broken heart around her—including her own—with genuine tenderness.”—Katherine Center, author of The Bright Side of Disaster

"A gem of a story about love in its various forms, laced with biting wit and poignant moments.... Once you start, you won't be able to put it down."—Newark Star-Ledger

“Quirky and quick-moving…. Readers will probably fall in love with My Husband’s Sweethearts.”—Associated Press

“A parade of memorable women keep the pages turning.”—Publishers Weekly

“Witty.”—Kirkus Reviews

"Rendered with humor and heart."—People

"In this spirited debut, Asher creates an unconventional family....As each character's individual story is revealed, the reader is further enveloped by this humorous yet touching tale."—Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (August 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038534189X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385341899
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 1 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,036,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars bittersweet final grand "Tour d'Artie", August 20, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Husband's Sweethearts (Hardcover)

In Philadelphia thirty something Lucy Shoreman loves and hates her fiftyish husband Artie. She left him six months ago when she learned he cheated on her. However, when Artie informs her he is dying, Lucy comes home to help him in his final days. Still she is bitter and finding out other secrets he hid from her increases her acrimony; especially his concealing an illegitimate alienated adult son, John.

She decides life is unfair that she the cuckold one needs to go it alone when he had so many women in his life who shared the good times so let them also share the end times. She calls all the women in his black book and assigns the somewhat stunned females with tasks. She orders her mom, the divorce queen, to arrange the funeral. Finally to herself, she assigns bringing together estranged father and son; though she admits to herself he is a chip off the old hunk block.

The story line is limited as everything focuses on the death countdown; however the ensemble cast make up for this with their differing personalities and reactions to Artie and Lucy. The sharp chick lit asides and the often rancorous exchanges are superseded by a sentiment of doing the right thing even if it kills you. Fans will appreciate this bittersweet final grand "Tour d'Artie".

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVED THIS BOOK!, August 19, 2008

By 

Monica Garcia "ReadingWithMonie.com" (Arlington, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Husband's Sweethearts (Hardcover)

Lucy Shoreman's husband Artie is a cheater. When Lucy learns this she confronts him only to have him confess there have been two other affairs during their four year marriage. To cope with Artie's infidelity Lucy leaves home and immerses herself in work for six months to deal with his betrayal. Then she receives a middle of the night phone call from her mother, he's gravely ill. "Artie needs you. He is your husband still, after all. And it's very bad form to leave a dying husband."

Lucy returns home but still can't bring herself to forgive Artie. After more than a few drinks Lucy picks up the phone, calls up all the former sweethearts in Artie's little black book and announces, "Artie Shoreman is dying, Please call to schedule your turn at his deathbed."

What happens next surprises everyone, the sweethearts begin to show up. From the young, tattooed and pierced Elba to Artie's former high school teacher, the elderly Mrs. Dutton with many in between. An unlikely friendship begins to form with some of these women and you're pulled along an emotional roller coaster with Lucy.

Asher's writing is truly amazing. I laughed, I cried and it seemed that I could truly feel Lucy's emotion in her words. I couldn't believe how fast I got to the end of the book. Along with Lucy's road to forgiveness there are two other story lines that develop bringing a surprise ending to this incredible story about love.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of laughs and fun with My Husband's Sweethearts, August 21, 2008

By 

Suzi Hough "The Fashion Piranha!" (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: My Husband's Sweethearts (Hardcover)

Lucy Shoreman always knew her husband was popular with the ladies, but four years into their marriage she'd expected him to give up the skirt-chasing ways of bachelorhood. When she discovered his flirtations with a woman Lucy knew only as `Springbird', she was more than a little upset. When dear Artie cheerfully revealed there'd been two other affairs in their post-wedding years, Lucy's rage skyrocketed and she left him without hesitation.

That was six months ago. Artie is now dying and Lucy must return home and care for him. The first night back they fight, leading Lucy to demand why she has to be the only one to deal with Artie's bad times when she had to share the good times with all his lovers? Artie challenges her to call his `sweethearts' and invite them over, and in a huff Lucy storms out. Several drinks later, however, Lucy warms to the idea and begins dialing Artie's old sweethearts to schedule their deathbed appointments.

The very next day they start showing up. There's Elspa, a former druggie utterly devoted to Artie because he saved her life. Elspa's polar opposite Eleanor also arrives. She hates Artie passionately and came specifically to make him miserable. Then there's The One Who Became A Lesbian After, The Russian, The Sign-Language Stripper, The Mother + Daughter Set...as the parade of exes marches on Lucy begins to reconnect with her husband and bonds with some of the other women, but will she be able to forgive him before the Grim Reaper becomes Artie's final visitor?

My Husband's Sweethearts is hilarious. There's silly chapter titles (Chapter Twenty-One: Eavesdropping is an Undervalued Life Skill) and the book reads quickly; it's perfect to read all in one go or in short, ten minute intervals so it is a wonderful "emergency" book to carry around for bus rides and poolside reading. The dialogue is witty and the characters are just wonderful. Each one has a different reason for being in Artie's life, and for coming back to see him now. It's a playful book with some truly poignant moments. Chick-lit for non chick-lit readers. (hmm...now that I think about it, I'm not sure I'd call it chick-lit, to be honest.)