The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Hey Angels and Biscuits! Today’s Tea:

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Hey Angels and Biscuits! Today’s Tea: 〰️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Hey Angels and Biscuits! Today we talk about a book I very much fell in love with, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I had some high expectations going in based off of reviews I had heard and my expectations were met. Taylor Jenkins Reid has a writing style that is enjoyable, has good flow, and the story had twists I didn’t see coming. While it started off a little slow it really built up to something amazing. I’m going to try to keep this blog spoiler free as I want everyone to experience the twists and turns of this book for themselves. Though, I may do a spoiler blog down the road.

Like I said, this book was one I had heard a lot of good things about before I picked it up myself. But it was all the talk of how great this book was that got me curious about it. I had never read anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid before picking up Evelyn Hugo so I was not sure what to expect with her writing. I had heard of her through booktubers I really love to watch but I had no personal experience with her books. As I said above Reid’s writing style is enjoyable with good flow. She writes in a way that I thought brings the reader into the story, at least in this book. Reid is great with her balance of showing vs telling, and she really makes it feel like you’re there with Evelyn. Another praise I would give to Taylor Jenkins Reid is how she included LGBT elements into the story. She did so organically and the writing was beautifully done.

So, what is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? Before we get into my full thoughts I’ll share the premise of the book. Our two main characters are Evelyn and Monique. Evelyn is presented to us as a former Hollywood icon now sort of a recluse. She is offering to give her entire life story to an up-and-coming magazine reporter, Monique.  Monique has no idea why Evelyn would choose her and for most of the book she is cagey about that. But Monique takes the opportunity and listens to everything Evelyn has to say as writing the biography of Evelyn Hugo is the career chance of a lifetime.

The story takes place in the present with Evelyn and Monique and the past through Evelyn’s narration. Majority is through Evelyn’s narration as we are immersed into her life and career throughout the years, 1950’s to the present. How she went from a young, beautiful Cuban girl escaping her abusive father to the star she is today. The question Monique is after, who was the real love of Evelyn Hugo? After seven husbands it’s the question of the century. That’s what she and the public have been dying to know for decades and Evelyn promises by the end of her story Monique will have the answer to that and so much more.

Now, let’s talk about the story. Like I said it did start off a little bit slow and it took me some time to really connect with and get behind Monique’s character but over the course of the book I really did come to enjoy her. Evelyn’s story starts off with how she became a Hollywood star and her first marriage. We spend a lot of time with the second husband compared to some of the others but that marriage is quite important. I think halfway into the story with her second husband is where it picks up. There’re so many twists and turns throughout Evelyn’s life and I like that the perspective shows the highs and lows of being a Hollywood star. The costs and sacrifices one has to make. The sacrifices that a woman would have to make, particularly back in the 1950’s-1960’s. We see the lengths that Evelyn will go to have the life she wants. The lengths she seems to have had to go to for that life. In the present with Monique, she is learning from Evelyn, that sometimes we need to take risks, go to some risky lengths, to get where we want to in life. Monique in our secondary plot is seen having to choose her between loyalty to her current boss and job or take a chance for herself but in process potentially burning the bridge in the job she has now. Monique has choices to make for herself, much like Evelyn did many years ago.

I'm a bit picky when it comes to stories taking place in the past and Reid really does a good job of bringing the reader into the story. It kept me rapt and engaged.

While Evelyn and Monique are the characters the book is focused on, there were many memorable characters we saw in Evelyn’s life. Harry Cameron and Celia St. James are two of the most memorable in my opinion. Don Adler, her second husband also stands out but for different reasons. Harry was a Hollywood producer and eventually becomes one of Evelyn’s best friends and one of her seven husbands. He’s sweet, charming, but not without his own secrets. Harry is also the father of Evelyn’s only child. Celia begins as a rival for Evelyn, she comes in less jaded, less cold. Evelyn is calculating and manipulative, where Celia is warmer and more open. They do get past their initial hiccups, however. Don Adler, Evelyn’s second husband, is featured throughout the book. He’s the character you love to hate and I thought for that type of character he was done quite well. Not one character in this book comes across as too perfect. They all have flaws, relatable flaws. Reid did well giving her character’s complexity.

Evelyn is still my top character, however. She has a lot of depth, tragedy, and development. It’s hard to find any complaints with the way her character was written. Something I loved about her is how manipulative she is. She knows how to take advantage of a situation. To make it hers. But she’s also not immune to mistakes and pain. We do see her hurt, often as a result of choices she made. But a lot the story is her controlling the situation on her terms. Even when others, like Monique, thinks she’s gotten an upper hand we find out later that Evelyn was still in control. I love characters that like. Charming jerks’ sort of. But with Evelyn there’s depth and reason behind her actions and personality. And Taylor Jenkins Reid does an excellent job building that up with Evelyn.

Evelyn was controlling the narrative up until the very end. And boy what an ending. If you like to be surprised, if you like a good twist, then this book is for you. It’s bittersweet, heartbreaking, and satisfying. Everything came together, all the puzzle pieces falling into place. Books don't often surprise me that much, but this one did. There may have been small clues eluding to where the ending goes but they were subtle enough, and peppered in just so, that I didn't’ catch it. And that impressed me. I was really enjoying the book and then I got to the end and was in love. Where I would have said it was a good read before, a decent love story with LGBT themes and good drama, the ending puts it up to probably a favorite in my top standalone reads. Up there with A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I highly recommend checking out The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo!

8/10 Biscuits

And That’s The Tea