The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Next in our Taylor Jenkins Reid marathon: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo!

Goodreads Stats

Why I Read This Book/How I Heard About It

I was excited about this one because my sister is several TJR reads ahead of me and she had mentioned that this was one of her favorites so far. She also shared with me that Mick Riva, from Malibu Rising, made a cameo in this one as one of Evelyn Hugo's exes. This would be my first experience with a TJR character crossover.

Basic Summary

While I like that Taylor Jenkins Reid sets her books in a common world and time period, I think the best part about it is that every book is a completely different story. And not just a different character - an entirely different subject matter. So you don't feel like she's recycling the same material over and over.

This story is about a low-level young reporter, Monique, working for magazine akin to Vogue, who somehow lands a feature story with one of the most famous and glamorous movie stars in the world, Evelyn Hugo. She is told that Ms. Hugo requested her specifically and she can't figure out why.

First Impressions

I'm not sure why, but I had a tough time relating to the characters in the first few chapters. But I stuck with it and was fine after I finally grasped who everyone was in relation to one another. This book pulls back the veil on a celebrity (albeit a fictional one) and anyone who knows me knows how I looooove my celebrity gossip.

Final Thoughts

Evelyn Hugo (who Taylor has admitted was based loosely on Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner) is an aging Hollywood starlet famous for, among other things, her seven ex-husbands. She offers to tell Monique the entire truth about her glamorous and scandalous life.

Personally, Monique is handling a divorce and a lackluster work life. Interviewing Evelyn seems like it could be life-changing for her career. In several intense one-on-one sessions, Evelyn lays out her story for Monique, beginning with how she made her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s and why she decided to leave show business in the ‘80s. She shares all the details about her seven husbands along the way, including her forbidden love, who turned out to be the love of her life.

Monique sees that Evelyn has possessed a rampant selfishness throughout her life, but she also begins to feel for the woman and believes they have a nice connection. However, near the end of Evelyn’s tale, the intersection of their lives becomes evident and it's no fairy tale.

Rating on Goodreads

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.

My rating method:

• I rarely rate books 5 stars. I save this for the absolute best books I've read. You know the ones...the ones that you can't get out of your head, even after you've finished them. The ones you think about for weeks afterwards.

• If a book is really, really good, I'll give it 4 stars. If you see a 4-star rating from me, I'd definitely recommend it to you to read.

• If it's just OK, it gets 3 stars. Basically, it means I could take it or leave it. I'd probably read it again because it wasn't terrible. But not like a favorite or anything.

• If I rate it 1 or 2 stars, I would not recommend anyone read it. It either didn't hold my interest or I couldn't relate to the characters/plot.