Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Number of Pages: 413.
Genre: Romance
Personal Rating: 4.8/ 5
Goodreads Rating: 4.47/5
Themes: Tragedy, Love, betrayal, Loss, Loyalty.
Book Description of The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo:
The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo is definitely a novel you must read. Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready, to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a genuine connection to the legendary star. Still, as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means–and what it costs–to face the truth.
The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo came highly recommended in a book club in belong to-Elysium. The title of the book alone was enough to grab anyone’s attention and I became curious. A woman who has seven husbands? Come on! I wanted to know more.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a novel filled with a roller coaster of emotions. Heartbreaking, shocking and it’s enough to cut your heart into two equal halves. You can’t finish reading the book without loving a character.
Taylor Jenkins Reid did a good job with her character development.
A young writer and journalist, Monique, received an offer to interview the famous Hollywood Star, Evelyn Hugo. She could not believe why Evelyn Hugo chose her out of others. If I were her, I would have been confused too. Little did we know that Taylor Jenkins was planning a big twist for us.
Monique was astonished that the reason for meeting Evelyn Hugo was different from what they had thought.
Evelyn Hugo starts by narrating her background and humble beginnings at Hell’s Kitchen and her desperation to escape a life of poverty and abuse and her willingness to use her sexuality to do so.
She went on to narrate her seven marriages and how they turned out. She got into her first marriage at age 14 where she traded her virginity for a ride to Hollywood.
Evelyn later revealed to Monique that the person she truly loved was a woman named Celia. She was bisexual and she wanted the world to know that through this story, though while she was still active in Hollywood, she made Celia angry because she didn’t embrace her publicly on the account that it will put their career and reputation in danger.
This book kept me hooked until the end. I could not stop reading even for one second because it was so interesting that it captured my imagination and made me curious to find out what will happen next.
The characters were realistic and I understood their actions and emotions.
The author’s writing was descriptive and the book was fast-paced and easy to read.
My favorite character was Harry Cameroon because I loved the way he genuinely cared for Evelyn as his best friend. The support, the care, and the advice he gave her reminded me of someone so close to me. Evelyn was another unique character, I could not help but love.
Any woman facing any form of domestic violence should read this book and learn from Evelyn Hugo when she left Don Alder because he beat her. She said, “A man hits you once and apologizes and you think it will never happen again.”
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This Novel has some wonderful quotes and these are my favorites:
- Charisma is “charm that inspires devotion.”
- The whole world prefers a woman who doesn’t know her power.
- You can desire someone even if you don’t like them.
- Sex is just an act. Sexuality is a sincere expression of desire and pleasure.
- People think that intimacy is about sex but intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your reality when you can show yourself to them when you stand in front of them bare and their response is “You’re safe with me.” – that’s intimacy.
SPOILER: I think the reporter, Monique wasn’t completely a well-woven character. Taylor Jenkins Reid would have done better here. Her character arc and development felt weak.
OVERALL: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a good ride and I totally enjoyed it. I was too engrossed in the book to discover any flaw. I will certainly read another book by this author. The cover of the book was lovely and attention-grabbing and I will highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a romance novel with a little bit of tragedy.
Netflix is planning to make a movie of this intriguing novel. sometimes, the movie adaptations of books suck, but I do hope this really brings our imagination to life.
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