Helpful Score: 5
I thought I knew what this book was going to be. I thought it was going to be predictable and somewhat superficial.
I. Did. Not. Know. What. This. Book. Was. Going. To. Be.
This is a fantastic book. One of my favorites. I will remember it for a long time to come.
It is hard to review without giving anything away - so I won't. It's better you go into it without any preconceived ideas.
I. Did. Not. Know. What. This. Book. Was. Going. To. Be.
This is a fantastic book. One of my favorites. I will remember it for a long time to come.
It is hard to review without giving anything away - so I won't. It's better you go into it without any preconceived ideas.
Helpful Score: 2
Could not put the book down, read it in 4 days! Amazing story and an amazing ending that had me tearing up.
Helpful Score: 2
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.
This is a unique and incredible story of a very complex character, Evelyn Hugo, from the Golden Age of Hollywood. She somewhat reminded me of Liz Taylor as the book showed the many faces of love with lots of surprises and secrets. Love of husbands, wives, family, friends, same sex, romantic love and love of life. I plan to read more books by Taylor Jenkins Reid as I did enjoy her writing. I would recommend this book to those that love reading about Hollywood.
This is a unique and incredible story of a very complex character, Evelyn Hugo, from the Golden Age of Hollywood. She somewhat reminded me of Liz Taylor as the book showed the many faces of love with lots of surprises and secrets. Love of husbands, wives, family, friends, same sex, romantic love and love of life. I plan to read more books by Taylor Jenkins Reid as I did enjoy her writing. I would recommend this book to those that love reading about Hollywood.
Helpful Score: 2
What a great book! Much different than I expected. This author has a different way of writing. I really enjoyed reading this. Even though Evelyn is very complex and somewhat a diva, she is likable. A great read!
Helpful Score: 1
This book absolutely blew my mind. I couldn't put it down, and I do believe that in the end, it could teach us all a little something. People are not all good OR bad, we live in more of a gray area. Also, forgiveness is divine- forgiveness of yourself and others.
Helpful Score: 1
I have three kids and I read this book in less than a week! The characters are aptly true to who they are and the twist at the end was a surprise. Definitely recommend
Helpful Score: 1
This book was slow to start. It took a turn I did not expect to set the overall tone. I feel the ending wasn't shocking but not quite predictable either. It was an easy read and enjoyable for our book club. If you're fascinated by Hollywood, this is an interesting read.
This book was not what I had expected. Fairly early on, between some of the earlier husbands, it takes a turn that will surprise you. Not sure if I liked Evelyn as a person, though her character is honest about the decisions she'd made in her life. After all of her trials and tribulations I didn't really feel sorry for her. The ending is just a little trite-but still a good story.
Listened to the audio, and loved the narrators, the story. For a large book, I finished it pretty quickly, it was that good. If you like old Hollywood, you should like this book. That twist at the end, the whole reason for the story, I never saw it coming. Great plotting.
Hated to see this story end! I spent most of the book waiting to see what the big revelation was at the end-and I never saw it coming!! Evelyn Hugo was quite the character, famous film star who worked her way up the ladder by playing Hollywood's games. Every marriage had an interesting story behind it, each time for a different reason. My favorite was the one between her and Harry. Makes you wonder exactly what you are seeing-is it real or made up for the camera. I had quite a few laughs,and a few tears, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
This book was one of my favorite reads of last year. I had to pace myself so that I would not read it to quickly.
Loved this story. Well written. I think the author could have gone deeper on the fear people were facing by hiding their sexual identity. And the secret, well, I will leave it there so you want more. Great read. Very quick.
So I originally got this because I thought it was one of the many scifi books with the "The Number Nouns of Full Name" title scheme. It is very much not scifi or fantasy, so totally outside of my usual genres.
That being said, it was a good read. Very heart wrenching imo, with an interesting look at old hollywood. I didn't see the surprise at the end coming, but I think it also was a bit of an unneeded surprise.
That being said, it was a good read. Very heart wrenching imo, with an interesting look at old hollywood. I didn't see the surprise at the end coming, but I think it also was a bit of an unneeded surprise.
Listened to on Libby. This was my first book by Reid and I enjoyed it immensely and am eager to read another of her books. The synopsis gives a good idea of the storyline and I don't want to give anything away. I thought the characters were well written, and for the most part, likable. It had a surprise twist near the end that was not anticipated. Well Done!
Scandalous movie star plucks a struggling journalist out of obscurity to write a tell-all biography -- but this is not your usual Hollywood saga.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the story of a bisexual Hollywood bombshell who was more than willing to pay a price for her fame and fortune.
Unfortunately for me, Evelyn Hugo wasn't an even remotely sympathetic or likable character! She recounts her life story to a young journalist in a classic Evelyn Hugo calculating, self-involved and self-indulgent fashion. Seriously. She had like no redeeming qualities. It was all about Evelyn and her interests. 100% of the time. Yawn.
Sometimes the Old Hollywood portions echoed a bit of Jackie Collins, and while equally shallow overall, Seven Husbands lacked the same excitement, the rich flavor and spice you expect from a Collins-rendered Hollywood.
The story also felt about 100 pages too long. By about husband #5 or 6, I was mostly bored and ready to start skimming - so ready to move on!
If Evelyn Hugo had been a better person, I might've felt more invested in her ups and downs, her brand of reasoning for going after fame and fortune no matter who she screwed over or who she kicked in the neck to do it. I might've felt more sympathy about her matrimonial musical chairs as she pined to openly be with her one true love...Alas, Evelyn was not a good person at all. Seriously. Her generosity with the help and her charitable efforts came off as mere footnotes in the grand scheme of things.
So, while I'm still a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid because of her far superior novel After I Do, and will look forward to her next book, I was pretty disappointed with this one. Closeted Hollywood stars just aren't as compelling or scandalous as they were once upon a time. I guess only the Old Hollywood nostalgia, and some nuance in Evelyn's basic bisexuality, really saved this for me. C+
Unfortunately for me, Evelyn Hugo wasn't an even remotely sympathetic or likable character! She recounts her life story to a young journalist in a classic Evelyn Hugo calculating, self-involved and self-indulgent fashion. Seriously. She had like no redeeming qualities. It was all about Evelyn and her interests. 100% of the time. Yawn.
Sometimes the Old Hollywood portions echoed a bit of Jackie Collins, and while equally shallow overall, Seven Husbands lacked the same excitement, the rich flavor and spice you expect from a Collins-rendered Hollywood.
The story also felt about 100 pages too long. By about husband #5 or 6, I was mostly bored and ready to start skimming - so ready to move on!
If Evelyn Hugo had been a better person, I might've felt more invested in her ups and downs, her brand of reasoning for going after fame and fortune no matter who she screwed over or who she kicked in the neck to do it. I might've felt more sympathy about her matrimonial musical chairs as she pined to openly be with her one true love...Alas, Evelyn was not a good person at all. Seriously. Her generosity with the help and her charitable efforts came off as mere footnotes in the grand scheme of things.
So, while I'm still a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid because of her far superior novel After I Do, and will look forward to her next book, I was pretty disappointed with this one. Closeted Hollywood stars just aren't as compelling or scandalous as they were once upon a time. I guess only the Old Hollywood nostalgia, and some nuance in Evelyn's basic bisexuality, really saved this for me. C+
