I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid in two days. To put it bluntly, I could not put the book down. More poetically: Reid does such a beautiful job portraying humanity and its sharp edges in a beautiful way that by the end, you really don’t know which character you have the most sympathy for.
Seven Husbands starts by introducing journalist Monique Grant being called into her boss’s office. Her boss reveals that Monique has been hand-picked by Evelyn Hugo to do a piece on her for the magazine. Evelyn is a beautiful, famous actress. She’s starred in risqué films and has always left her audience wanting more. Not to mention, she’s had seven husbands through each era of her career.
Soon, the reader finds out that Evelyn picked Monique to write her biography, auction it off to the highest bidder to produce and sell, and had no intention of doing an article for the magazine.
Monique has many questions at first, trying to figure out Evelyn’s purpose behind doing this, but Evelyn is persistent. She says that it’s a one-time offer and Monique can take it or leave it. Monique (knowing what this could do for her career) takes the offer and they begin working together.
The book takes off from there. The set-up of the novel is marvelous, creative and unique. It follows Evelyn’s career chronologically and divulges into all the secrets of her past and what her life looked like behind the curtain.
I feel that providing a more in-depth plot synopsis would do this novel a disservice. Seven Husbands is set up as Hugo’s biography (in a sense). To keep that sensation alive and her secrets hidden, it’s best not to spoil anything.
With that in mind, I’ll leave you with a final note. The ending will leave you speechless. I’ve never read a novel like this. It kept me on my toes and reeled in my attention from the beginning. This book is five out of five stars.