5 ⭐ Domestic Abuse (physical abuse), sex with a minor, homophobia/biphobia, abortion mention, AIDs mention, slut shaming, alcohol abuse, death

"It's always been fascinating to me how things can be simultaneously true and false, how people can be good and bad all in one, how someone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly." 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a book that so very many people have been yelling at me to read. And friends, they were right to. This book captivated me from the very beginning. It made me mad, it made me steamy, it made me cry multiple times. You should see the amount of page flags I used. 

We follow Monique Grant, a mixed race black woman at a magazine who is interviewing legendary old Hollywood actress, Evelyn Hugo. When she gets there she realized Evelyn had no intention to do a piece for the magazine, but instead wants Monique to write her biography. After years of privacy and silence about her seven husbands, Evelyn is finally ready to tell all. 

Evelyn takes us through each of her marriages and tells the complete, unedited truth along with who the real love of her life was. Evelyn was the kind of women who went and got what she wanted no matter what that meant. She was a women who embraced her sexuality and used her body to get what she wanted. She was ruthless, ambitious, and always had her eye on the prize. 

Reid beautifully weaves a picture of old Hollywood and gives us a Cuban American MC. She has themes on what is like particularly for women in the industry and all the things about themselves they must change or sacrifice. We get a great feminist narrative where our heroine is as ruthless as any of the men. We get the most beautiful bisexual awakening I've ever read (can we talk about that scene with the bathrobe? 🥵). We also get to see what it was like for queer people at that time in Hollywood as well and how they navigated life in the public eye. 

We also get a great found family trope with wonderful non-romantic relationships. I loved Evelyn's relationship with Harry. I'm gonna go ahead and call what they had was a Queer Platonic Relationship. I loved how honest and unflinching Evelyn was in telling her story. She never claimed to be a good person, but her ambition paid off. 

Evelyn Hugo is an icon. This is a book I will be rereading do yourself a favor and pick up this book.