Book Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Some books are so hyped up that you’re unsure if you want to read them and end up disappointed. I’ve been hearing people rave about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid for a while now so we decided to make it our latest pick for book club. I just finished it last night. It. Is. Amazing.

The book totally lives up to the hype in my opinion. Evelyn Hugo, a glamorous movie star now nearing 80 years old is auctioning off some of her most famous gowns for charity. All the magazines and newspapers are clamoring to get an interview with the starlet, so Monique Grant, a journalist in her mid 30s who is still climbing her way up the ladder, is shocked when Evelyn specifically requests her for the interview. Evelyn won’t speak to anyone other than Monique. Confused why Evelyn would pick someone who is largely unknown is a mystery, until the connection is revealed later on.

When Monique arrives at Evelyn’s palatial upper east side apartment, she quickly learns that Evelyn is not really interested in an article about her auctioning off her gowns. Evelyn wants Monique to write about her life in a authorized biography to be published once Evelyn has died. She wants the whole truth about her life to be written – from her humble beginnings in Hell’s Kitchen to clawing her way to stardom as a Hollywood bombshell with her beauty, it-factor, and sheer grit and determination. Along the way, Evelyn marries seven times, hence the title.

Evelyn details the good, the bad, the glamorous, and the ugly. The highs and lows of her career and her marriages. Some were for love, some for strategic reasons. Even when Evelyn does slightly questionable things, I was in awe of her. I thought she was a brilliant character and I wish she was real! She never took no for an answer or let anything or anyone stand in the way of her dreams.

A few quotes that really stuck with me:

“When you’re given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn’t give things, you take things.”

“It’s a hard business, reconciling what the truth used to be with what the truth is now.”

“Never let anyone make you feel ordinary.”

I love Evelyn Hugo, I love the book, I love everything about it. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I have opinions on all her marriages. I was enthralled by her life and I cried at some parts, because I could feel her heartbreak through the pages. It’s so beautifully done.

I heard the other day the news that it’s going to be made into a movie and I’m so excited for it. I need to read some more by Taylor Jenkins Reid!

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