Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of my favorite books. The story telling of Evelyn’s life really made her seem like an actual person. It also had me loving, but also, hating Evelyn Hugo.

Her life long love affair with Celia was heart wrenching and beautiful.

TJR made me feel as though I was living Evelyn’s life through her storytelling. I found myself reading this book whenever I had a chance. The plot twist and connection that Monique and Evelyn shared really took me by surprise and had me gasping in shock.

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: June 13, 2017

T H R E E • W O R D S

Intimate • Captivating • Complex

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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 a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

💭 T H O U G H T S

It's safe to say I was (extremely) late to the game when it comes to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. It's also safe to say the hype is legit with this one. To be honest, I didn't exactly know what I had been expecting from the synopsis, yet what I got was so much more than I could have imagined.

Beautifully written in a distinct manner, TRJ captures the essence of old Hollywood perfectly - the glitz, the glamour, the sex, the drugs, the drama. There is a cinematic undertone running through the entire narrative. It is a story of loves lost and loves found. Of sacrifice and regrets. Of loyalty and betrayal. It includes incredible characterization of sexuality, soulmates, and friendship. The intimacy with which the story is delivered is so mesmerizing and unique.

And then there is Evelyn! Her character is one for the ages. She was complex and flawed, with an edge to her. Although I didn't always like her, I couldn't help but root for her. Her story was so compelling, and I wanted to savour the pages, yet couldn't stop reading. The supporting cast is also top notch, each with their place in Evelyn's life.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the reason I read. It's heartbreakingly beautiful. I laughed. I cried. I ached. TJR pulled me into Evelyn's realm and hasn't let me go. It's a story so profound, exploring sexuality, intimacy, and soulmates unlike anything I've read before. It will be an easy choice for my end-of-the-year favourites list, and has found a home on my all-time favourites shelf. It is also safe to say this will be my favourite book from this author, and I will continue to pick up everything she writes.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who like complex, distinct characters
• TRJ devotees
• book clubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"When you're given an opportunity to change your life, be read to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn't give things, you take things. If you learn one thing from me, it should probably be that."

"People are messy, and love can be ugly. I’m inclined to always err on the side of compassion."

"People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, 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."

Content Warnings

janacc's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

No li poso més estrelles perquè no em deixa

Content Warnings

bloomparker's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It was good at the beginning and with the development of the story it became boring and not surprising at all; very predictable and more of the same🤷🏻‍♀️ Not understanding all the hype around this book.

Content Warnings

slutforhotwings's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

skylarkindareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

jupiterlee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the total package when it comes to a book that keeps you engaged and guessing. It has glitz and glam, exhilaration and emotional heartbreaks, pleasure and pain and that's its not just the characters that go through these emotions.

Evelyn Hugo, I think, is a woman that every woman wishes they could be just a little bit like. She was physically beautiful, intellectual, unashamedly sexual, straight to the point and not afraid to use who every she needed to get what she wanted. She was a woman to be reckoned with, and she is a woman that I would not have minded knowing.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a beautiful writing style that it was easy to find yourself lost in Evelyn's story. Reid's exploration of fame and old Hollywood, societal norms, misogyny, race, sexuality, women's rights, LGBTQIA+ struggles, historical moments, bi-phobia, family, friendship and abuse is nothing short of amazingly done. Reid is able to perfectly capture what all these factors meant in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s etc and how each of them played a role in how Evelyn acted, or had to act. I honestly loved the way she portrayed Evelyn in that she was a grey character and sometimes you did want to hate her or shake her, but like Monique in the end, I don't think anyone could bring themselves to truly hate Evelyn Hugo.

Having the extracts of the tabloids at certain points, hammers home the point of you never know what is truly going on behind a picture, and they to me they added an authenticity to the story, to the point that it honestly does feel like you are reading an autobiography of a real Hollywood Legend.

Each character in the novel, truly was an extension of Evelyn.
I loved the change in Monique's character after she met Evelyn, and I think that is testament to what kind of a woman Evelyn was, in that she was able to bring that out in her after not knowing her that long. But Monique seeing that a woman can be demanding for what they want was the best thing that could happen to her. I also loved, that Monique was a character that respected Evelyn to the very end, despite everything that she learned and despite the fact that letting someone kill themselves, someone that she spent so much of her time with, she understood what this meant to Evelyn and why she was doing it.
I will admit that Celia St.James, at times felt like nothing but a petulant school child. I wanted to shake her and make her realise that it is not so easy to be out in the time that they were in, and I felt that she could have been a little bit more understanding to Evelyn's dream and what she had worked for. However, I did understand Celia and her desire to love the woman of her dreams unconditionally without some fraction of deceit or fakeness hanging over them.
Harry Cameron. I loved this man. He truly was Evelyn's platonic soul mate and best friend. I loved him and Evelyn together and honestly, I think they made an amazing couple (queer or not). Harry's grief and death broke my heart, as all I wanted was for him and Evelyn to be an old queer couple sipping champagne and living their life together, but that is not what fate (Reid) had in store.

Overall, this book cannot be just put into the category of romance as it has so much more to give to the world than that. It truly makes you sympathise with individuals of those times who did have to hide who they love, and some of that is still relevant to the culture of today. It also makes you realise how powerful a woman can be if she truly wants to be. Evelyn Hugo should be an icon for everyone.

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