The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hugo

SYNOPSIS:

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 in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

REVIEW

(5 STARS):

I adored this book, but I couldn't care less about Monique's POV. I don't think it added anything to the story except for the fact that she was the only BIPOC character in the book. In my opinion, this was Monique's only purpose, almost like the author wanted to avoid critics just by saying that this book had racial representation. Reid could've made Monique's story much more interesting and complex; Monique's existence is pointless, and her purpose is only to justify this book's plot twist.

My other issue was the (sometimes) huge time jumps not only between husbands but also at certain points of the story that demanded (in my perspective) more attention and care. I understand that the book's title is "The Seven Husbands" and so they set the pace of the story, but it made some moments too simplistic and abrupt.

Consequently, this also made Reid brush over some important historical moments like they were nothing more than stones on the pavement - nonchalantly. I think the AIDS movement and the LGBTQ movement deserved more than the small mentions than those they received in this book, especially because Evelyn was close to these issues.

If these problems didn't exist, I think I would've rated this book 5 stars. Reid's writing is so captivating! She can engage you with the story, just like a good communicator can engage you in their speech. You won't be able to think about anything else, and you'll crave the book like you're an addict needing your fix. Reid gave Evelyn life, and it almost felt like SHE was the one writing a biography. Evelyn felt real - and yes, I've read that she was based on Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner - but this truly felt like a well-known celebrity was confiding her secrets to us.