Book Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

When I started reading this I had no idea that with each husband, I’d grow ever deeper in love with Evelyn Hugo. This is a closer look at the life behind the glitz and glamour of Old Hollywood, where the cost of fame and fortune may be greater than you expected. It explores the manipulation of people without regrets, the lengths people will go to for fame, and at the heart of it it’s about a great, all consuming love affair. 

Evelyn is a star. A beautiful, shrewd star. As she tells her life story to Monique, a journalist she’s actively sought out to tell her story to, we see her shed the hidden layers and lies she’s held on to her whole life. What starts as a guarded confession to the great love of her life quickly turns into something far more encompassing, and demonstrates just what sacrifices Evelyn has made to hide her true self, and protect those she loves at all cost. She doesn’t regret, she doesn’t forget, and because of this you may think that Evelyn might be quite emotionless. But she’s far from it. She’s an actress, born to display only what she wants the world to see, yet we see moments of true vulnerability scattered throughout the story. She’s complex and unpredictable, with a strong sense of pride and self. She’s under no illusions that she’s a good person, and that’s what makes her so deliciously intoxicating to read about. She’s the heroine and the villain. 

I love the way the plot unfolds, told chronologically from the introduction of each new husband, scattered together with the present day and Monique’s story. Both characters bounce off each other well, as Monique struggles to assert herself against Evelyn’s dominant personality at first, before using her as an example to sort out her own life problems. I worked out the link between the two women quite quickly into the establishment of the story, but that didn’t spoil it at all. Far from it, I think the reader is suppose to know the real reason for the meeting between these two women before Monique is told the truth. It adds to the complexity of the characters, and enhances Evelyn’s moral ambiguity. 

The secondary characters who support Evelyn’s journey are also wonderfully fleshed out, especially Harry and Celia. Without them this story would be missing the heart that it needs as they help to show the softer side of her personality and shape Evelyn into a better person. There are moments of grief, laughter and love between them all that’s beautiful to read. It’s their stories, all woven together at times, that adds such a richness to the story. The husbands all pale into the background by comparison.

Highly recommend. This isn’t my normal genre, but I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this. It’s utterly remarkable, and very well written.