The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review by Kayla, Grade 11
4/5
Evelyn Hugo, an iconic Hollywood star, decides she's finally ready to reveal the truth about her life, but only if the unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant writes it. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo tells the story of a young aspiring actress determined to make it as an A-List celebrity, no matter what it takes, as well as the seven husbands she outlives.
From the moment I picked up this book I was unable to put it back down, I was absolutely blown away by how complex the characters were, they were so real and morally grey (which I have a soft spot for). The old Hollywood scene was also so well done, it showed the dark side rather than the romanticized side we usually see in books and movies. Taylor Jenkins Reid did a great job of adding layers and depth to every aspect of this book. The way Evelyn's life intertwined with Monique's was also amazing, as well as getting to see how similar and different the two were.
Although I absolutely adored this book and would likely read it again, the reason it only got a 4/5 rating was because the ending seemed rushed to me, I found the beginning was kind of dragged on about how amazing and iconic Evelyn was which I didn't mind at first but I realized afterwards that those 50ish pages at the beginning could have been used to expand more on Monique or used at the end to give us more explanations. All that aside, this book was phenomenal, it's no surprise this book is super popular on TikTok. Taylor Jenkins Reid is an amazing author and I’m looking forward to reading some of her other works! I totally recommend this book to someone looking for a historical love story, especially someone who's looking for a book with a wide range of representation.