The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Book review

From my seemingly endless TBR, so pleased to have ticked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid off the list. Was it worth the hype / wait? I’d have to say… yes! I, in general, love stories that explore the whole Hollywood glamour / seedy underbelly as a plot anyway and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo took that storyline and added so much heart and drama, it was only ever going to be a great read!

Opening sentence: Evelyn Hugo to Auction Off Gowns

Who is Evelyn Hugo?

Only the biggest movie-star in the world! Think alluring, old-school Hollywood glamour, she conjured up images of Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardner for me. When we first meet her in the book, she is in her 80s, retired and wants to tell her life story – the truth, in her own words.

As Evelyn’s story is revealed, it does indeed centre around her seven marriages – but it’s all done in such an enticing way. No two husbands are the same, and neither are her reasons for marrying them. Put it this way, she’s on her forth marriage by age 25.

I was fishing for information that might break my heart, a flaw of the human condition.

What The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo does so well is hit you with an emotional punch. You care about Evelyn from the beginning and when her truth is revealed, your heart just breaks for her.

And I didn’t know how to tell him that I love her, too. But I wasn’t her.

This is a book that, ultimately, celebrates all the different types of great love and relationships. It’s an epic love story of a woman who lived an amazing life, just not necessarily the one she wanted. It’s both joyful and bittersweet, outrageous and relatable. There is a depth to the writing that just draws you end and won’t let you go until that very last page.

The Taylor Jenkins Reid universe

I only recently discovered that Taylor Jenkins Reid has created her own literary universe where the characters cross books. Here, one of Evelyn’s husbands is Mick Riva, is the father of the family featured in Malibu Rising, while characters from that book are in Taylor Jenkin’s Reid other must-read story, Daisy Jones & The Six. This all adds a fascinating layer to reading these books.

• Get your copy of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo here;
• Published by Simon & Schuster 2017;
• 385 pages;
• My rating: