Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Seven Husbands of 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

emily_zylstra02's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

renciti's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

5.0

I think something I've realized about myself is how much I love Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing. This is the second book of hers I've read that I've found myself completely hooked by. I swear I think about at least one of her books once a day.

Spoiler

Making the main character of the book a queer woman of colour and the love of her life actually being a woman instead of any of her husbands was amazing to read. The rockiness of their relationship and the hardships they had to go through just to be together without losing everything they had will send you through about a million emotions. The ending of the book was definitely something I would not have predicted as well. I knew Monique Grant's dad would be involved with Evelyn at some point, I definitely did not expect that ending, however I loved it.

Spoiler

Content Warnings