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

emotional informative reflective sad fast-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

4.0

------Stat Score------

Plot/Content: 7/10
Characters/POVs: 9/10
Prose/Style: 9/10
Themes/Messages: 8/10
Enjoyability/Impact: 9/10

OVERALL RATING: 8/10 (great)


I'm recently skeptical on taking something from BookTok since their ratings were often bloated. Surprisingly, this book came out to be fairly rated. One of the better ones out there, for sure.

"I think you're brilliant. I think you're tough. And I think the word whore is something ignorant people throw around when they have nothing else."

Synopsis and/or Premise:
We follow Evelyn Hugo narrating the backstory of her life as a celebrity goddess (and more) to her chosen reporter, Monique.

The Good and The Bad:
Here's a fact: Did you know this was my first Taylor Jenkins Reid book? Yes sir, and I'm glad it had to be this one. The author's writing and style was as captivating as the titular character. She was able to weave humanizing qualities to characters that was farthest from it, turning the final printed product to be a riveting and engrossing experience. She also, in consequence, made the book dear for its readers. You could easily witness it's success in online pop-culture bookish communities, where this book stood to be one of the favorites. Not only that, the flow of the story was creatively structured. Occasional strips of fictional article cutouts detailing the 'news' was a treat to encounter. Plus, there's a specific chapter written in 2nd person POV, which worked perfectly as to its context. The majority of the plot was also in retrospect, giving it some investable quality as readers will be eager to know more of what happened (which rightfully plays into the character of Evelyn Hugo controlling her narrative). Kudos Taylor Jenkins Reid 👏.

As I personally expected, this book worked as sort of pseudo-satire to the celebrity lifestyle and the various strings attached to its industry. Inciting as one cold describe it, many elements were given light for the readers. An example would be the underlying nature of publicity, how it was not a straightforward process since there's a prevailing manipulation of truth 😈. The book was also revelatory towards how vile the game of fame is, encouraging self-centered and cynical behaviors for an easy (and dirty) success.

This book having a positive LGBTQ+ representations 🏳️‍🌈 was not a surprise for me. It's a constant requisite for most outputs of the modern publishing industry. What I'm astounded at was how central the theme of LGBTQ+ for the plot. Same goes with relationships and their complexion. At first, I thought the book was all about celebrities and their drama, but the concept of relationship management (which were extremely personal, by the way) was too much of a major element that the book deserved its Romance genre alongside Contemporary Fiction.

I can't write this book review without mentioning by far the best aspect of it: Evelyn Hugo. Absolute pinnacle characterization 💯. Most of this book’s narrative was a thorough character study (the exploration of a femme fatale and power of intrigue) to one of the most recognizable modern-day fictional protagonists. She's a significant feminist, aura of dazzle, charismatic, resilient spirit, dominant, A MOMMY, and definitely the perfect morally gray character. And don't even forget about her phenomenal character arc. I think I'm not worthy enough to describe how compelling and real she was. Not only she captivated the characters within the book, she also does it without difficulty to real life people (including me.) Odd to say this, but she's too good for the book. If I could rate a character, she THE 5⭐. I MEAN...WHAT MORE COULD I SAY? IT'S EVELYN HUGO!

But unfortunately, Evelyn Hugo is only a part of the book, which was something I have criticisms on:

1. Dumb/forced circumstances - I can't give a a specific example as it would spoil, but yeah...they're present within. They just happened for the sake of plot continuation.

2. Monique's side - Let me make things clear first. Monique's side of story was, fundamentally, fine. There's nothing inherently wrong, thus was acceptable...which is the problem. Her sections were only bare minimum and not persuasive enough. I'm glad it contrasted with those of Evelyn Hugo, making the star shine more. And I see how the interactions between Monique and Evelyn Hugo were entertaining, but beyond that her personal story was distracting. Plus, I'm not a big fan of what the author did regarding her 'connection' towards the end. It just felt manufactured.

Final Thoughts:
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid was a highly enjoyable read about a celebrity goddess and her relationships throughout career. I love how each of her marriages represented something: Desire, Lust, Intimacy, Feigning, Pragmatic, Need, Yearning, and Favor (I guess you could determine who's on which if you've read the book.) The overall plot does kinda remind me of the movie Millennium Actress by Satoshi Kon. And if you're wondering which husband is of my liking, I'm on team Rex North☝️.

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Links to my ratings and reviews:
Goodreads reviews
The StoryGraph