The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

I simply love the way Taylor Jenkins Reid crafts such multifaceted, deep, human, and interesting characters. Just following Evelyn Hugo through her life would be captivating enough, but on top of that, we get fascinating insights into old Hollywood, movie sets, complicated relationships, and fame. Every side character is compelling too. TJR doesn’t sugarcoat her characters, they’re far from perfect, sometimes even downright unpleasant. But they feel real, and by the end, I cared so deeply about every single one of them. This book beautifully explores friendship and different kinds of love and relationships, romantic, platonic, complicated, all portrayed with such depth and nuance. This book is a masterpiece. Watching Evelyn recount her life, reflect on her decisions (especially the wrong ones), and wrestle with moral conflicts, it’s raw, honest, and unforgettable. It’s not just a story about glamour and fame: it’s a story about life itself: identity, love, ambition, sacrifice, and regret. I felt every emotion: from adoration, pride, and joy to disappointment, anger, and pain. Taylor Jenkins Reid didn’t just tell Evelyn’s story, she made me feel it. And beyond that, Evelyn’s story raises questions and inspires reflection about one’s own life, values, and priorities. I couldn’t put this book down. It completely drew me in and stayed with me long after I turned the final page.

Evelyn Hugo ist eine wunderschöne Frau und talentierte Schauspielerin. Von aussen betrachtet, scheint ihr alles in den Schoss gefallen zu sein. Monique Grant ist Journalistin und schreibt für ihr Magazin eine Biografie über Evelyn. Monique ist verwundert über die Anfrage, denn es wurde explizit nach ihr gefragt. Wieso, verstehen Monique und die Lesenden erst nicht. Abwechselnd aus der Perspektive der Gegenwart und der Vergangenheit erfahren wir, wie sich Evelyn den Ruhm erarbeitet und was es mit den sieben Heiraten auf sich hat. Beim Lesen glaubte ich bald es ist eine wahre Geschichte und Hugo sei eine reale Person. Ausserdem ist die Geschichte so packend geschrieben, dass ich das Buch weinend, lachend und vor allem in einem Zug gelesen habe.

A retired Hollywood actress chooses an unknown journalist to tell her life's story. Full of adventure, love, loss, heartbreak and full of life!

In this mesmerizing story, we follow Evelyn Hugo from living in poverty to becoming a Hollywood Icon, how she fights her way all the way up and we go with her through her bad, good and best times. And of course we learn about her seven husbands and why there were so many. Taylor Jenkins Reid really knows how to capture the attention of a reader by writing absolutely beautiful, and I think I will read more from her. Now here is why I still have mixed feelings. On one side, I can understand why she did some things to protect her career and who she loved. But for some things I have no understanding at all. I cannot sympathise with her and really dislike her in those situations. And I am not sure if we are supposed to love Evelyn as the strong female main Character or not. I do like that she admits that she is not a good person, because obviously she is not. I adored many of the other characters and disliked most of her husbands. I give it 4 stars because of he authors style, that is simply amazing, the setting of 50s Hollywood which is just so interesting and for the development of Monique.

There's a lot of hype surrounding this book and yes, I really like it too. I especially love the setting of old hollywood and the business aspect of it. Unfortunately, I did not care for the husbands, but more for Evelyn Hugo's friendships throughout the novel. They really moved me and made me cry in the end. The book is definitely worth a try and maybe you end up like me wanting to be a hollywood star like in the old days.