Who Would Like This Book:
This book is a binge-worthy, glamorous trip into the secretive world of old Hollywood, following the dazzling and complicated Evelyn Hugo as she finally tells her truth. With rich, emotional storytelling, it delivers drama, romance, and thought-provoking themes - especially around identity, sexuality, and the cost of fame. If you love character-driven stories, historical fiction, or simply can't resist a juicy behind-the-scenes look at celebrity lives (hello, fans of celebrity memoirs or Old Hollywood!), this one will have you hooked.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the book too focused on drama and Hollywood glitz, or felt the secondary narrator, Monique, lacked depth compared to Evelyn. If you’re looking for fast-paced action rather than introspective, character-driven stories, or prefer likable, straightforward protagonists, this one might not click for you. Additionally, anyone easily frustrated by morally gray characters or soap-opera-like twists may want to steer clear.
About:
"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid follows the intriguing life story of Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo as she recounts her seven marriages to an unknown writer, Monique. The novel delves into Evelyn's glamorous yet tumultuous journey through Hollywood, filled with scandals, surprises, and unexpected twists. Readers are captivated by Evelyn's unapologetic nature, complex character, and the lessons learned from her unconventional life choices. The writing style is described as beautifully written, engaging, and fast-paced, making it a page-turner that keeps readers hooked till the end.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include discussions of domestic abuse, substance abuse, homophobia, and implications of suicide.
Has Romance?
The romance is present and influential but complicated by external societal factors, focusing on the key love story between Evelyn and another woman alongside her marriages.
From The Publisher:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"If you're looking for a book to take on holiday this summer, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has got all the glitz and glamour to make it a perfect beach read." -Bustle
From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six-an entrancing and "wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet" (PopSugar) as she reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.
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.
"Heartbreaking, yet beautiful" (Jamie Blynn, Us Weekly), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is "Tinseltown drama at its finest" (Redbook): 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.
Ratings (1386)
Incredible (309) | |
Loved It (545) | |
Liked It (294) | |
It Was OK (121) | |
Did Not Like (82) | |
Hated It (35) |
Reader Stats (2320):
Read It (1421) | |
Currently Reading (21) | |
Want To Read (575) | |
Did Not Finish (52) | |
Not Interested (251) |
34 comment(s)
4.5! I really enjoyed this book! I loved the ups and downs of Evelyn's story and hearing how she had grown over the years. Evelyn felt very real to me in her willingness to do anything to succeed and live the life she wanted.
Re-read #1 - Reading this again has only resolidified it as a favourite of mine. Evelyn is so flawed and precious, I love this book forever. I would pay all of my life's savings to watch Little Women.
This story was heartbreaking and badass, so many confusing feelings all smashed together in a really pretty way. This book absolutely deserves it's popularity, a new favourite!!!!!!
this was, sorry, Thoroughly mediocre lol...idk why i keep expecting more from like booktok top 10s lol. it was an easy read though, those 400 pages went by fast. you might really like it if it hits on your particular beloved niche motifs (old hollywood glamour, do you think margaret thatcher had girl power, etc), but it doesn't ping any of mine. and if you're looking for an epic f/f romance, there is none to be had, it is so boring, why is f/f always so boring, why are there only like 2 f/f authors who understand Tropes and Dynamic and...Plot. its always like...she cracked that almost-funny joke once. we haven't talked since then but her hair smelled good. and we were so cottagecore together. ours was an epic subversive romance. ~Women~ the end.
OH but i did love the lavender marriage...there is that...there is that...
3.5 stars. Entertaining enough read with an element of mystery to keep you turning pages. However, the main plot reveal was easily deduced. Overall didn’t find anything outstanding about it to explain the hype; felt like an easy, predictable summer beach read.
AMAZING!! A classic Hollywood novel told in a way unlike any before it!! I was enraptured and captivated by the story!!
RIP Celia St. James. you would have loved Good Luck, Babe!-Chappell Roan.
WHY was this so heartbreaking wtf. i know this is fiction but seeing what LGBT people had to go through less than 50 years ago is devastating.
love this book as a bisexual hispanic woman myself. A+ representation
Books don’t often leave me speechless, but The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has done just that. This book might just call for another book-ish tattoo.
I am not sure if I admire or loathe Hugo. Something about her is both alluring and repulsive. She deserves everything and nothing. These are the characters that authors should aspire to create in their writing process.
I’m going to need to sit with this one for a while to just grapple with just how amazingly beautiful it was. Definitely a book to revisit later.
oh god. where do i even begin. Evelyn felt so real, like someone who was truly famous that i myself would look up to. I think this book can’t be described, there truly is no way to describe it. Just read it.
Loved this book - the relationship between the 2 main characters developed so well and was written beautifully. Struggled to put this book down as I just wanted to keep going to find out what happened next…..
2 stars for the beginning, which was interesting - it was a portrait of a desirable Cuban film star in the 1950s and 60s, in an era when women (especially WoC) were typecast in bit parts, where women were expected to get married and settle down, and more to the point, homosexuality was taboo.
Thing is, the novel never really gets clear of the very thing it’s claiming to condemn. Intellectually, I understand the concept of beards and I know how hard it must have been for gay people to hide. But the very fact that we have an entire novel about a (fictional) celebrity who had to marry seven times is ridiculous. If you want to write a love story about a bisexual Latina film star, write a *love* story about a bisexual Latina film star. Not a pining story. Have her marry once, or even twice, to hide her love. The ‘seven husbands’ felt absolutely gimmicky and as a result, the last 3/4 veered into the sort of ridiculous amatonormative soap drama that makes for dull reading. The revelation about Monique at the end is one of the best parts of the book - which says a lot.
I did enjoy the happier parts, where she and Harry lived with Celia and John. I also really liked that Taylor wrote about Celia’s bi erasure and Evelyn’s denial of her heritage to become ‘white’.
But even then, the novel is obsessed with amatonormativity. You want to be groundbreaking? Don’t write me a bi woman and make the central premise of the novel her sexual/romantic endeavours. Write me a bi woman who isn’t just pining all the time - show me she has a life beyond Teh Secks and Luv.
Write me an aroace woman. Write me someone famous who comes out as aroace today, with all the baggage that carries. Write me someone living in rural India who comes out as bi. Write me someone Muslim who feels her religion is restricting her sexuality. I mean, fine, even write me a famous white closeted lesbian and a famous Latina bisexual woman living together in America, but without all the remarriage and drama and angst and jealousy and pettiness and ~my one twu wub~.
Write me something bloody relevant, for crying out loud. We are living in a world where gay and bisexual people are, at least in major cities, out and proud.
I’m supposed to like this? Are you serious? I’m supposed to be captivated by some character’s supposed ~undying passion~? What an insult. You have a glamorous film star, famous as hell, and her big juicy reveal is about romantic love?!
Talk about smoke and mirrors. How utterly shallow.
The part where she sleeps with her director of 20 years ONCE and IMMEDIATELY decides he must be the ~love of her life ~ really, really riled me up. There’s no acknowledgement that it might just be okay to have a casual relationship. She doesn’t even pause to think that it might just be chemistry and that that’s absolutely fine. She just marries him.
Every other instance of her sleeping with a man is because she wants to get ahead and hide her marriage. I mean, god forbid we divorce romantic attraction from sexual. Can’t have that, now, can we? Can’t have just plain old FWB because that’s - in this novel - coded as insufficiently rapturous compared to the delights of ~romaaaance~.
And then she has a baby, because of course she does.
As you may have gathered from my rant, I am sick and tired of books that purport to be revolutionary and are nothing but window dressing and endorsements for the white-picket-fence/married with kids lifestyle. Not to mention a female character who, despite what the narrative would have you believe, is about as nuanced as a packet of instant noodles.
People (as in: the world at large, not you guys specifically), romance is juvenile, it’s not that big a deal and you need to get over yourselves.
Like I said - I can’t relate. And I’m tired of it. It’s boring to see it in every piece of media you consume.
What can you read after
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo?
About the Author:
Taylor Jenkins Reid lives in Los Angeles and is the acclaimed author of Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & the Six, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. To learn more, visit TaylorJenkinsReid.com.
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