The Good Enough Husband

By Sylvie Fox

I should have told Ben about Michael. I should never have told Michael about Ben… 

One day I was watching one of my aunties battle cancer. She was older, never married—alone. That day I decided I never wanted to be like her. 

So I looked around and there was Michael. He worked on Wall Street. He was available. Most of all, he was into me. I let him catch me, then I made the biggest mistake of my life: I married a guy I didn't love. 

Maybe if I'd loved him, we'd have connected in bed and I wouldn't have woken in the mornings feeling exploited. Maybe if I'd loved him, our infertility would have been manageable.  

But I didn't love him, not like I should have. So I left. I needed to have some time alone to think. 

I never thought I'd meet someone. I never thought a guy like Ben would come into my life. But he did, and I want with him all the things I should have wanted with Michael.  

Ben is my future.  

Unfortunately, Michael won't stay in my past… 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penner Media
• Release date: Mar 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781940811048

Reviews for The Good Enough Husband

[lexiesmom-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It seems many women today are making the same decission Hannah did. Hearing their biological clock ticking they agree to marry a friend in order to become a mother. But what if it doesn't work? What happens if you marry someone you grow to loathe?This book touches on many timely issues. We see same sex partnerships, interracial couples, infertility, adultery, forgiveness of ones self and others, and ultimately the choice to be happy.I enjoyed the book. It made me think. The issues were covered in a way that allowed the reader to contemplate their own feelings on the issues without becoming a sappy after school special or movie of the week. It's a book that I feel would be a great book club read because it would prompt thoughtful discussion.I received a copy of the book for free in exchange for this honest review.

[cheriemccurry-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed reading The Good Enough Husband. I felt for Hannah and all involved. It was a scenario that many people find themselves in. Hannah is a woman who realizes that her life is not what she wants or needs it to be. She leaves to clear her head only to make her life more complicated. I love how the author was able to write a realistic story. It could have been something that happened to a friend, it was so realistic. I wish the story had gone on longer. I would love to know how the whole situation ended and if Hannah and Ben get their happy ever after. Hoping the author writes a sequel. Would definitely read it! I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance or maybe even a self realization type story.

[eheinlen_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! I listened to it on audiotape and it was just great! The story was riveting and the characters were realistic. Side note: Do not listen to it at work without headphones in.

[jrpatterson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found The Good Enough Husband to be quite interesting. It wasn't until I finished the book that I realized Hannah faced what many women and men face - they don't love themselves before they try to love others. Hannah got her heart broken by one man, and then kept trying to find that love in other men. She finally "settled" because she didn't want to be old and unmarried. When Hannah settled, she gave up herself, her dreams. No one should ever have to do that.The one thing that disappointed me about the book was I didn’t like the way it ended. I feel like there was some unfinished business. I would have liked to have seen things play out a little more with Hannah and Michael and their divorce. Especially since he said he wasn’t going to sign the papers.

[domesticvixen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Good enough husband caught my attention right away. I am a believer in soul mates and "the one" and I could easily understand and sympathize with how Hannah felt. Hannah got married because she thought that she was getting up there in age and it was a good time to settle down and start a family. I personally don't think those are good enough reasons but I can certainly understand how she felt.I could also understand getting tired of the marriage she was in because although she cared and loved in her own way the man she married ..the wow factor was just not there. Hannah decides that she needs some time away to find a way to tell her husband Michael that their marriage is over. On her trip she stops into a little town because her dog Cody gets sick and that is where she meets her "true love" Ben Cooper. I personally thought that Hannah handled things wrong especially if this was her true love and the person who she wanted to be with.I personally wished some of the storyline didn't seem so rushed and I certainly couldn't understand how Hannah couldn't start off by doing the right thing and cutting ties before she left if she had already decided what she wanted. Even though I didn't agree with the way Hannah handled some situations, I think this book was good enough to make me want a sequel to know just how things turned out between Hannah and Ben. I want to know if Hannah and Ben have what it takes to truly be happy together and be what the other expects and wants?

[bettysunflower · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hannah Keesling has had her heart broken, watched all her friends get married and have kids, and dreamed of having a husband and family. She was getting older and feared that she would end up living her life alone. So she married her good friend, Michael. Michael was OK as a husband but there was no real fire in the relationship, only friendship. They had been trying to have a baby for a while but it just wasn't happening. They both went to Doctor's to determine the problem and it turned out that Michael was infertile. The timing was bad for this diagnosis because Hannah had already determined that she would end the marriage. She packed, grabbed the dog, and drove off. When the poor dog got sick she found the closest vet and drove he over there. That is where she met Dr. Ben Cooper. Ben is a bit older than Hannah and has weathered a very bad marriage. He is not looking for more hurt. Hannah's husband still loves her and finally breaks down and tells her that to him it is more than friendship, that he has always been in love with her and doesn't want to lose her. The book is well written with likable characters and a very interesting story line. I was very pleased with the book and look forward to reading more from this fine author.

[medavis66 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed this book. Did find that Hannah acted selfishly, but could relate to her and why she was feeling that way. Wanted Michael to find his true love. Was really pleased with Ben's final decision. He really grew a lot during the story's development. The backdrop of why and how he had been hurt or betrayed put things in perspective for you to really understand him. The one thing I long for is the rest of the story. The ending was too abrupt for me, so I am hoping for another book.

[sportzmomof5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.I found the storyline flawless, atleast until the end. The ending was definitely lacking and what was there was very hurried. The characters were developed, but my disdain for Hannah seemed to limit my view of the book. For me it wasn't so much the cheating as it was her selfish actions. Overall book was good - but I would like a sequel :)

[books4nana · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Good Enough HusbandBy Sylvie FoxHannah, our main character, was a flaky female who was unfaithful to her own heart as well as those we were lead to believe she loved. While we were to believe her a victim of a unfulfilled marriage and a husband with rauchy bedroom habits designed to demean her and to meet only his needs we soon see her passivity in some situations and aggressiveness in others a bit of a paradox. So much of this story is overshadowed by strong sexual scenes. We should anticipate this with the crude opening line.I found this author to be be a good writer. She crafted her story so that it flowed well. We were shown several situations where someone having been cheated on had long lasting effects. We saw denial, bitterness, unforgiveness and haughtiness. We saw a family deny the existence of a half-brother to save face.We also were shown in our main character a glimpse of how a bi-racial individual is treated even among cultured families. Had Fox spent more time on these and less time on the bedroom scenes the book would captivated our hearts and minds as well as our author's ability to weave a story with some substance.I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[mandygirl.10 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To be honest, I found Hannah to be selfish and quite cowardly for much of the book and I just couldn't find much sympathy for her. She created her own problems, way before meeting Ben, and she continued to create more problems and involve more people in them instead of making things right before moving on. So many of her problems could have been avoided by just putting everything out there, yet she chose not to. While I understood some of her decisions, like her reasons for getting married, I still thought she could have made smarter decisions. Instead of trying to save her marriage, she selfishly decided that because she was done, it was done too but neglected to tell Michael any of that. Michael was no saint and wasn't all that likable himself, but both he and Ben got the short end of the stick where Hannah was concerned. Despite knowing how badly Ben had been burned, both by his father and his ex-wife, Hannah continued to let her lies sit between them and chose to keep allowing him to believe that she was the only bit of honesty in his life. Instead of dealing with any of her problems head-on, Hannah ran from them. It took her hurting both Michael and Ben and getting pregnant before I saw substantial growth from her. Unfortunately, the book ended before we could see this growth really being put to use in her relationship with Ben. Despite the fact that I didn't really find any of the characters very likable, there were a number of things I enjoyed about the book. Firstly, I sort of enjoyed that I couldn't fully get behind any one character. While usually I try to find that character that I can get behind and root for, I couldn’t find one like that for this book but it suited the content. It was real. Everyone was flawed, in a big way, and the reality of it is that that's how the world works. Most of us are flawed, in a big way. Nobody's perfect and many of us make insanely shitty decisions. Even though I didn't like many of Hannah’s decisions and spent a lot of the time facepalming myself over them, sadly they too were pretty realistic. I also liked that Hannah was half Black but it wasn't stereotypically weaved into the larger plot of the story. I liked that Ben and his family saw her, not her color. I also enjoyed that after awhile, Hannah finally came around and allowed herself to grow a little bit. Unfortunately, it came after she'd already hurt both Ben and Michael and ended up pregnant, but this proves that it's never too late to grow. Ben grew some as well; as much as Hannah's betrayal hurt him, I think it set the wheels in motion for him to look at his family situation in a new light and stop being so closed off. I won't say Michael grew per se because just as I was about to say that he had, he'd do something completely ridiculous and change my mind, but he did have moments in which he showed that he truly grasped what was going on.There were a couple of spots in the book that could have used some continuity. In one scene towards the beginning, Hannah and Ben are in the car, but about a paragraph or two after setting the scene, Hannah's dipping her toe into some water. Now unless there's a leak in the footrest, I don't think there should be any water in the car. Throughout the book, Michael's stance on Hannah's singing changes a few times. He starts out in the book as being the one to have killed her dreams, saying they weren't practical. Later, he was the only one of his family who didn't think her dreams were dumb and made a grand gesture that made Hannah remember who she'd married, then he was back to not supporting her dreams. His stance changed depending on how he was supposed to be seen at that time, whether it was in a good or bad light. It wasn't consistent and I think this affected how I saw him overall, because at the end of it I wasn't quite sure what to make of him. I didn't like that we weren't able to see what came of Hannah and Ben; he came to her in Copenhagen but the events after their reunion are where the real work for their relationship would have kicked in. I would have liked to see that. Some of the scene changes as well as the ending felt rather rushed and this was a little jarring for me, but otherwise I'm glad I read this book. I like that it wasn't a perfect romance and didn't have this perfect neat little ending.