The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid Review [NO SPOILERS]

If any of you remember, The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was one of the books I featured on my 2019 TBR. Unfortunately I didn't get around to reading it in 2019, but it's a book I had been wanting to read for a while. Luckily I received the book as my secret santa present last month (thanks Gabe) and finally got the chance to dive into it whilst in Portugal earlier this month. It has been a WHILE since I've posted a book review, so I'm happy to be sharing my thoughts with you all. Grab your tea/coffee - whatever your preference, and let's talk about this book!

First all of for any of you who are unfamiliar with the book, here is a brief description from goodreads:

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. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means--and what it costs--to face the truth

My thoughts: 

SPOILER ALERT I LOVED IT! 

This book has so many themes that you would think it would be a lot to read all at once but it was such an easy read and every theme was handled with so much care. It has themes of love, sexuality, race, friendship, fame and many more. I really didn't expect it to cover so much ground, based on the title. I knew it would refer to love, however  it tackles so many other important topics such as racial issues and power, but in such a subtle way.

I became really invested in this novel, to the point where I'd tell myself I'd only read one more page but would read several chapters. Speaking of chapters, I loved that each chapter varied in lengths. I'm not a huge fan of books with long chapters all the way through. In this particular book, some chapters were two pages long, whereas others were 10-15. It made it much more pleasant to read.

Evelyn Hugo is a very complicated woman and you often find yourself torn about your feelings towards her. There were moments that I admired her and other moments that I couldn't stand her. It made me empathise with Monique wholeheartedly. I wish the writer had gone a little deeper about Monique. Although this story was focused on Evelyn, I was left underwhelmed when it came to deciding how I felt about Monique because there wasn't enough information about her to work with. I did however love seeing her character development and her struggles with identity issues due to being a biracial woman in America. It was quite an enlightening insight into the realities of being biracial.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is someone I have heard so many good things about and this was a fab introduction to her work. I have other novels of hers on my TBR that I'm now so excited to read. Her writing style is so engaging and well done.  Everything was just done brilliantly. From the way she portrays each character to the name choices, it could quite easily be a real biography. I even googled a few character names thinking they were real Hollywood stars haha.

Overall I give this book 4 stars out of 5. The only things I wished was that Monique was slightly more developed on, and that the ending could have been more detailed. Perhaps that's just me not wanting the book to end though haha.

Have you read The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading,
Have a great day x

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