Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Los siete maridos de Evelyn Hugo

Immersive read! Once I like a book, I'm generally not great at putting it down. But this was different. It wasn't an 'I need to finish it asap and so I secretly skip sentences/paragraphs'. I just wanted to be in the story, so I would take it out of my bag, even when I only had 2 minutes. Or I'd pick up the book when my partner needed to go to the toilet while we were watching a movie, just so I could get in a page or two.

As a reader, you're basically both reading a fictional biography about a famous movie star as well as the interviews leading up to the creation of said biography. Which means the reader knows certain things are coming (I mean, you know it by the title too, she clearly had seven husband, so you know the first marriage doesn't last). But there are a few other things the reader learns to expect early on in the story. I found those hard to predict, despite knowing that they were coming. Furthermore, there wasn't necessarily a need to figure it out (which I usually have with books, such as Fourth Wing recently), I could just let it happen as it happened. And, of course, when revealed, the information caught me completely off guard, to the point of mumbling 'No no no no no' aloud for a while.

I am not entirely sure how I feel about the way it portray the industry. Yes, Evelyn had agency (at least somewhat), but she's still being used and limited. Differently than men. The book leaves it to the reader to form an opinion on it and fill in the gaps. Sometimes I worried that the book made it seem like she had more agency than she actually did, but it worked for me.

It was a very interesting and lovely reading experience, to say the least. Best way I can describe it, is that it's human.

Life lessons by Evelyn Hugo:

"Be wary of men with something to prove." (76)
"... praise is just like an addiction. The more you get it, the more of it you need just to stay even." (83)
"No one is going to give you anything if you don't ask for it." (95)
"You can desire someone especially when you don't like him." (111)
"It is OK to grovel for something you really want." (191).
And so on

Content Warnings

fanboyriot's review against another edition

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emotional funny slow-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

4.5

Read For:

Bi Icon

Sapphic

Actress MC

Old Hollywood Setting

Interview Style Storytelling

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started reading this but this was not it but not in a bad way. I’ve had this book for so long that I kind of went into this knowing nothing.

I loved how this was told, the interview, and the old newspaper articles, it isn’t something I read often so it was kinda cool. This book definitely has a charm to it, the world of old Hollywood and the dreams and damage it caused. There were happy moments, a little spice, and some good old angst as well.

Evelyn was an icon and while she might not have been a good person she sure was captivating and the life of the party. You either wanted to be her or be with her. She kind of gave off Marilyn Monroe vibes.

The line at the end:

“Doesn’t it bother you? That your husbands have become such a headline story, so often mentioned, that they have nearly eclipsed your work and yourself? That all anyone talks about when they talk about you are the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo?”

And her answer was quintessential Evelyn.

“No,” she told me. “Because they are just husbands. I am Evelyn Hugo. And anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.”

- (Chapter 69, Page 385)

I waited the whole book to read that line alone and it was so worth it.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ (4.5/5)

Release Date: 13, June 2017

POV: First Person

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rep: Bisexual (MC), Lesbian (LI), Gay SCs, Latinx MC

Content Warnings

akirma's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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laneelizabeth's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

With so many heavy topics discussed in this book, I really think Taylor Jenkins Reid did a beautiful job showing us the complexities of each one of them. Along with the simple complexity of just being human. This book covers the story of a woman from 13 years old to her death at 79 and everything that happened in between including what leads her to Monique Grant to write her memoirs, ending the book with a connection between the two you will never see coming. I never expected to relate to a movie star from the 50s but hearing Evelyn's story reminded me of my own life and it's amazing how the author did that so beautifully.

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rory18's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

A really lovely book, and the plot is tied together well. My only complaint is that at times the emotional scenes between the central pair seem a little stilted, as if the author isn't very confident at writing a love story between two women, although it still feels authentic. A captivating book, and it says something that its appeal transcends genres so much.

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