My
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2
Sometimes reality comes crashing down on you. Other times reality simply waits, patiently, for you to run out of the energy it takes to deny it.
Book Description:
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.
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.
My musings:
I am not the sort of person who follows tabloids to keep up
with all the latest gossip from Hollywood, and half of the time don’t know one
celebrity from another, so when The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo started to
pop up on my Goodreads feed I didn’t think it would be a book I would enjoy.
However, the book kept appearing all over social media, with raving reviews
everywhere I looked, and a divinely beautiful cover that was very alluring. In
the end curiosity won me over and I couldn’t resist!
Evelyn certainly is an intriguing character – even
living-under-a-rock little me could see the resemblance to several Hollywood legends.
A rags-to-riches background; a blonde, curvaceous and sensual bombshell; a
1950’s glamour girl; a shrewd career woman who acquires and discards husbands
quicker than cars; a woman hiding a secret that could destroy her career. I’m
sure a few famous names instantly pop into your head reading this (if I can
name a few, anyone can). Then there are the seven husbands, and we all know of
someone like that as well, don’t we? I was thoroughly intrigued by getting a
glimpse behind the scenes of old Hollywood through Evelyn’s eyes, warts and
all. Of course, the glamour and the cheesy smiles for the camera hide the more
disturbing truths of making it big in Hollywood, as Evelyn will soon find out.
Even though she seems like quite a force to be reckoned with, there is a part
of Evelyn she cannot show the world, and this makes her vulnerable. And here is
where I felt Evelyn’s character let me down a bit, because this vulnerability,
which should have endeared her to me, didn’t always come through for me. I
sometimes felt like there was a strong political agenda to Evelyn’s story, and
whilst some of its elements were interesting and eye-opening, I felt that it always
kept me at arm’s length from peering into the very heart of Evelyn’s character.
Even the agony of being separated from her “true love” sometimes felt a bit – shall
I say contrived? Is that too harsh? I much preferred the Evelyn who shrewdly
plans her next husband like someone shopping for an accessory, as this was so
much more believable for the formidable character she represented. Here is a
women who knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid to use her assets to go and
get it!
As for Monique – unfortunately she features only very
peripherally, providing the media through which Evelyn’s story is being told,
and the big plot twist binding the two women together was quite obvious to me. Personally,
I think she lacked oomph, and despite pointing out several times that she was “biracial”,
this fact added nothing to her character, again making me feel that there was a
bit of an agenda here that didn’t fully reach its potential.
Summary:
Overall, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a well-written,
light and entertaining read that took me out of my usual genre. I really
enjoyed the Hollywood setting, which provided an interesting backdrop to this
intriguing character, even though other parts of the book fell a little bit flat
for me.
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