A review by thecriticalreader
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed Malibu Rising a lot so I picked up The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo when I heard good reviews about it. 
 
 
Plot:
This might be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I preferred reading about Evelyn’s life more than the plotline involving Monique interviewing Evelyn. I can understand why Reid made the choice, but the book hypes up the “mystery” of why Evelyn chose Monique to interview her a bit too much. Evelyn’s story dominates the book to such an extent that Monique was neglected as a character.  Overall, I felt this book worked more as a character study. 
 
Characters:
True to form, Reid excellently portrays her main characters as deeply human. Each character is layered, flawed, complex, and yet consistent enough to be believable. Evelyn Hugo as a character is so masterfully written that it is hard to believe she is not a real person. However, I thought Monique’s character fell a bit flat simply because she was not a large part of the story. To me, it felt like she existed more in-service to fleshing out Hugo as a character than as a character in her own right. 
 
Setting:
Much like Malibu Rising, Reid gives enough detail to form a sort of hazy picture of places, but I simply created settings based on my own idea of what Hollywood looks like. As I’ve never been to California, much of how I envisioned the setting was probably not accurate. In The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, the characters shine so brightly that the setting fades into the background. Personally, I think the book would have been better with more descriptions of the settings.
 
Themes:
This book is a wonderful exploration of fame, power, queerness, morality, and gender. Reid skillfully strips these themes down to show that behind broad philosophies and assumptions about how the world works (or should work) are flawed people existing to navigate the world the best that they can.
 
Writing Style:
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s prose is so natural and digestible that I almost forgot I was reading. If she worked on her descriptive language a bit more, it would be like watching a movie. 
 
Conclusion:
There is a reason that this book is highly recommended on BookTube and BookTok. It’s incredibly well-written and the characters are spectacular. 
 
Other Points:
·      I think the book would have been better if it had just told Evelyn Hugo’s life story without the interviewing process OR if it had spent more time exploring Monique’s story and character. 
·     
The plot twist at the end felt a bit gratuitous and made me a little uncomfortable. It served to showcase Evelyn’s contradictions and gray morality, but I felt that the book had already conveyed those attributes. This made Monique as a character seem to service Hugo.
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