I absolutely loved reading the book. Taylor J. Reid has kept me hooked right from the start till finish. If I were to summarise this book, I would say that this about a tell-all of a famous Hollywood actress but this book is much more than that.

In the beginning, we see a film legend and '60s movie star Evelyn Hugo requesting to be interviewed by Monique only. Monique is one of the writers at Vivant(a magazine(I think) and has absolutely no clue why would Hugo be requesting her. When Monique finally arrives at Hugo's apartment, Hugo delivers her a surprise. Hugo wants Monique to write her biography and publish it when Hugo dies. What? Yes, I know.

I highly recommend this book because once I started I couldn't stop turning its pages. The only thing I'll tell you is that this book is more than just someone's life story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC.

This is book is wonderful! It's well written, it entertains and involves you emotionally, and you cannot put it down.
It's one those book that gives a lot pleasure: pleasuring in reading and pleasure in see the evolution of the plot.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC

“Never let anyone make you feel ordinary.”

Well this novel was anything but and i'm so pleased i finally got to read it.
I knew this book was going to be good, but i didn't realise it would be this good. This book was hyped to the point where I truly hadn't seen a single negative review for it, and given my track record with super hyped books, i was wary to say the least.

I needn't have worried as Taylor Jenkins Reid managed to create not only well written, well developed characters but characters that truly feel like real people. It was refreshing to see a character that isn't overwhelmingly "good" and is in fact deeply flawed. Evelyn is selfish, cunning and completely unapologetic. She makes questionable decisions and ruthlessly puts everything on the line to get what she wants but she's also fiercely protective of those she loves and is willing to risk it all for them. Evelyn is very reminiscent of the old Hollywood star and you can't help but compare her to legends like Elizabeth Taylor and Greta Garbo. The story read like tell all about 1950's/1960's Hollywood and was shocking and raw in part.

The plot kept me engrossed all the way through, the writing was smooth and everything flowed at a really great pace.
Monique made for a great narrator and even though its not real i found myself hoping for the best for her future!
Learning about Evelyn's life left me eager to get through the story and see where she ends up. I loved that each husband was representative of a different characterisation and i was very interested in reading about how their relationships panned out however the real draw was Celia. Their story is at once uplifting and heart breaking and you can't help but root for them as a couple and empathise with their relationship issues.

The ending left me reeling and i am not too ashamed to admit i sobbed. This is one of those books that i'll always recommend to people asking for a good read and one i'll enjoy forever.
5*s

I can't say for sure what drew me to this book. It's not the kind of thing I usually pick up, and I haven't read anything by Reid before. But something about it intrigued me. So I checked out the kindle sample. Just a couple chapters, I figured, because I probably wouldn't like it anyway. And I was HOOKED.

It's perfect, easy beach read material. It's not particularly deep, it does not take the genre to new levels or make you think about something new, and yet it DID feel different. Evelyn Hugo's story was so delicious and compelling that it stood out, and kept me turning pages in a desperate need to discover the stories behind her seven husbands, and the answer to the one question everyone wants to know: who was her greatest love?

The framing of the story reminded me a lot of The Thirteenth Tale. Like that book, in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a young woman - this time an ambitious journalist called Monique Grant - goes to interview an elderly woman. Unlike The Thirteenth Tale, this elderly woman happens to be one of the most famous actresses in the world.

Evelyn Hugo has lived a life in the public eye, but she is full of secrets. Only she knows what happened behind the scenes in her long career of scandals and highly-publicized heartbreaks. Just like the fictional world of the book longed to know the truth-- so did I. Reid and Evelyn's habit of giving you just enough to leave you wanting more was incredibly exciting. Throughout, we are encouraged to wonder why someone like Evelyn Hugo would specifically request a relatively-inexperienced journalist like Monique. Why Monique? What is Evelyn hiding?

The more I got to know Evelyn, the more I fell in love with her. She has made a lot of controversial decisions during her career, but she knows it and she also knows she'd probably do it all again. She's played the Hollywood game, dated famous men to further her career, and used her body to get what she wants. She has experienced the full force of the industry's sexism and, in some ways, capitalized on it. She is deeply flawed and aware of it. She has traded important aspects of her identity for more fame, more roles, more money. She was a badass Cuban woman working in an industry that didn't like women to be badass or Cuban. She manipulated and she lied. Despite everything, I liked her.

I stayed fully engrossed in the story of Evelyn Hugo - and of Monique Grant - from the opening chapters when Evelyn demanded an interview with only Monique, through decades of Hollywood in all its shimmering ugliness, right until the ending's final reveals. I enjoyed every moment.

I went into this book not really expecting it to be my kind of thing but how wrong I was!

“Film legend and ’60s It Girl Evelyn Hugo has just announced that she will auction off 12 of her most memorable gowns through Christie’s to raise money for breast cancer research. At the age of 79, Hugo has long been an icon of glamour and elegance. She is known for a personal style both sensual and restrained, and many of Hugo’s most famous looks are considered touchstones of the fashion and Hollywood archives”
Who was the love of Evelyn’s life???” That’s the big question. That’s the hook of this book. Seven husbands. Which one did she love the best? Which one was the real one? “

The book follows Evelyn Hugo and Monique (a journalist for a magazine) as they meet and undertake the job of writing Evelyn’s life story.
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever felt so invested in a fictional characters life! I adore Evelyn - even though she doesn’t make it easy! and this story is just beautiful...perfectly written. I actually feel really sad that it’s finished!
I went into this book thinking it probably wouldn’t be my cup of tea - I’m more a fantasy/ thriller kind of girl - but now it’s finished I think I can safetly add this into my top reads of 2018.
*goes to see what else Taylor Jenkins Reid has written*

Looking for a book that fills that elusive position of being more socially and emotionally intelligent than chick lit but without the accessibility issues of lit fic? Then let me suggest this. It has all the compulsive readability of 'popular' fiction but won't insult your intelligence as it navigates a story which touches on issues of gendered power, race and sexuality.

Set against a backdrop of Hollywood movies from the late 50s to the 2000s, the book stars Evelyn Hugo - a glamorous composite who bundles up aspects of iconic stars from Garbo to Taylor, Kelly to Monroe... and probably more that I didn't recognise. Freed from the constructs of the industry, the constrictions of society and her responsibilities to her family, Evelyn is telling her own story at last.

Consistently interesting, this is a book that flows past smoothly but which also has important things to say. It didn't quite tip over into a 5-star read for me just because everything is spelt out in the text, there's nothing that we have to work hard at to understand. I also felt that the portrayal of Hollywood was somewhat sanitised: no-one does drugs, there's no conspicuous pressure on women to conform to certain body types (though Evelyn does have to blonde up her Cuban ethnicity): it's very different from, say, Valley of the Dolls.

All the same this is both wise and warm, and Evelyn a glorious heroine: 4 deliciously compulsive, can't-put-it-down reading stars!

I gave it a HUGE 5 stars, because there are not many books which can immerse me in it 100%. When I was reading it, I was in it completely. When I was not reading it, I was thinking of it. Reid’s writing is exceptional. I think she has great talent, especially in characterisation. At some point, I was convinced Evelyn Hugo was a real person and I wanted to watch her movies. You know how they say for good actors, they get into the role and they act as if they are that person. I think it was very similar with Reid. She got into her own creation of a character, and delivered an amazing story that felt like real! It was so detailed, very well articulated. Both the plot and her character were captivating. So, my writing Oscar definitely goes to her.
Another thing that makes the book addictive is, Evelyn Hugo. She is a very enchanting character. Her life is interesting. The way she tells her own story is very captivating. She’s definitely flawed, yet not apologetic. She knows who she is, learned a lot from her rollercoaster life, and has a lot of wisdom that comes with it. I really wish Evelyn Hugo was my friend 🙂
There are other elements that make this book very rich. Diversity, sexuality, women at the workplace, LGBTQ rights. Most important of all, none of these feel forced. They were in the story organically, but very powerfully. In my opinion, one of the best examples of these topics brought into a book very naturally.
Lastly, the book ends with a plot twist that I didn’t see coming! It was an amazing uplift at the end. It was very emotional & very touching. Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to start with a high and how to leave you with a high.
Highly recommended!

This book has blown me away from start to finish. More than that, from about 30%, this book moved me deeply with not only the 'forbidden love' element but the deep connections between friends, lovers and progeny.

Monique and Evelyn narrate this story, Monique as the writer who will document the truth of Evelyn's life as shes about to hit her 70s and Evelyn, as she is finally able to be real to the world about who she is. On the one hand, the backdrop of 1950's Hollywood onwards is compelling but in some ways, that context is rather inconsequential as the characters steal each scene. The fame of Evelyn, her husbands and the friends only matter as an inconvenience. Evelyn has such character growth from her teens to contemporary times. So much happens in her life and the majority of it is spellbinding as she yearns for what she can't have. The focus of this story is forbidden, hiding is essential and acting is required in and out of the studio.

The side characters to this story made me feel so much, Harry especially was wonderful; a friend, a soulmate and he loved unconditionally. Connor although a smaller part, brought such growth in Evelyn. Celia in some ways was hard to love as a character. The twists and especially the final twist were such a gut punch and that element to the story was superb.

I am a staunch fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid but this may be my favourite of her books yet. This book is brave and bold and I love how the book summary was written so as not to expose too much of what is between the pages. It is so beautifully written and vividly crafted that THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO is utterly memorable.

"Celia smiled brightly and did exactly as I did. We stood there, in black and green, redhead and blonde, one of us all ass and the other all tits, waving to the crowd as if we ruled them."

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through netgalley in return for an honest review.

This feels like such a timely read, dealing with the pressures on women in Hollywood and the pressures that some women face in general with regards to marriage, sex and careers. I will start off by saying I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is definitely in contention for my favourite book of the year.

Written as a story within a story, Taylor Jenkins Reid weaves together the modern day problems of workplace pressures and the impending divorce of Monique and the life story of Evelyn Hugo brilliantly, keeping me gripped until the end. Some of the revelations that happened throughout the book truly took me by surprise but they were perfectly crafted as when I look back, there were always clues along the way that meant the twists didn’t come out of nowhere but also were not predictable.

I loved how the author managed to include some difficult topics such as domestic abuse, racism, sexism and homophobia in a realistic way without weighing the whole book down. I found this to be an addicting and immensely enjoyable read and I would highly recommend it.