The scandalous and heartbreaking story of a fictional famous retired actress…

The Seven Husband’s of Evelyn Hugo is a story of Hollywood scandal and how one woman used that to her advantage.

The Question About Evelyn Hugo…

Evelyn Hugo, reclusive actress who mysteriously retired and has refused to participate in any interviews since. But what happens when she suddenly requests an article to be written, and wants amateur journalist Monique Grant to do the job?

From the beginning it is made clear that this story is about unraveling the question of who Evelyn Hugo truly is. We are given snippets of how the media saw her, but Evelyn makes it clear as she tells her story that the media knew nothing. Reading her story had me intrigued as I learned what was the truth and what was the lies she had carefully given.

An Emotional Journey…

A story about an actress is something I would expect to be difficult. Most actors deal with scrutiny and lack of privacy and I imagine that has its toll on their mental health. Add in the fact that Evelyn Hugo is a Cuban woman in the 50s and her struggle becomes more difficult. But in no way was I prepared for the story of her romantic life to be so heartbreaking.

Halfway through this book I was rooting for Evelyn to have one moment of peace and happiness. Which Brings me to what I considered the highlight of this book.

The Character’s…

Something I feel is being lost in story’s are good, unique character’s. There’s always the gay friend, the perky ball of sunshine best friend there to cheer up an awkward main character. There’s the playboy who says he’ll never settle down. Then there’s the male lead, who can be a number of cliches. But none of the character’s fit these boxes.

The main character, Monique Grant was a bit lost in the story, but Evelyn and her friend’s were extraordinary.

Evelyn Hugo is gorgeous, smart, and mesmerizing. But she can also be manipulative and cruel in order to get what she wants. She’s a woman who realized early on that the world would always sexualize her and therefore learned to accept that by turning her body into a weapon. At her best and even at her worst, I adored her.

There are two character’s who are an integral part of her story. The first is Harry, a Hollywood producer who is the start of her career. Harry is the man she could not seem to seduce, the main who is always honest with her no matter how cruel the truth is. What I loved most was that he was a man who always looked out for her and her career.

The second side character is Celia St. James. At the start of the story she is the naive emerging actress, beautiful in an innocent way. But as Evelyn and Celia become closer, Celia becomes a wonderful friend. But I won’t say more because I don’t want to give any spoilers.

A Story I Can’t Forget…

Evelyn’s story is one that will definitely always stick with me. I can’t wait to see the live action adaptation. I hope that the show expand’s on Monique’s character because she didn’t have much in the story but I felt her story had a lot of potential to have more of an impact.

My Rating…

I rate books with a five star system from would never read it again to loved it and can’t wait to reread it. I don’t really believe in calling a book bad because each person’s interests are different and a book I hated could be loved by someone else and vice versa. Everyone has different deal breakers.

I gave this book five stars because as despite being a fantasy and sci-fi fan, I was hooked.

The next book I’ll be reading is “It Ends With Us”. I’m trying to read a lot of Indie author novel’s too which is why I plan to read a new book every week.

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The spectacular journey of a girl cursed to live forever…

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue is the both magical and tragic life of a girl who was cursed to be forgotten.

The Wonderfully Tragic Life of Addie…

Reading the description, my first thought was that this book would be a romance. It is a romance, but it is also so much more. The romance in case anyone is wondering I would consider instalove, but for good reason. Addie is cursed so no one can remember her. And whatever you think this means, multiply how bad it is by a hundred. She is truly a ghost, so after living for almost three hundred years, it’s no wonder she’s instantly enamored with the young man who says “I remember you”.

Throughout her story, you do get the feeling of a life that’s magical, but it doesn’t shy away from the hardships of her life. She may not be able to die, but she can still suffer and that is made very clear. But by the end, Addie was a character I was so invested in.

I would describe the heart of the book to be one of magic and tragedy because following a character who is immortal is magical, but it’s also incredibly tragic. The story is told in two timelines. It begins with her life in modern day, then jumps back to the start of her journey before she was cursed.

It keeps going back and forth between the two time periods, but continues to move linearly as it tells her story. Each flashback continues after the last one left off, never backtracking so it’s easy to follow. But luckily the author made it very convenient because every chapter is dated so you know exactly when it is without having to deal with looking for context clues.

A Character to Remember…

Addie LaRue is a young French woman. At the beginning of her story she is innocent and naive, but in the pages of her modern life, she is strong, vibrant, and so smart. The author did such a wonderful job of showing her character development as her past timeline got closer to the present day. That way I was able to see the change in her character, and easily understand how she became the woman she is, but I also came to admire her for it. When I read a book with a female main character, I like to imagine I’m that character. Usually that’s an easy feat because in most cases with the books I’ve read that involve romance, the main character is more of a vehicle to take you through the story. Their personalities usually are so strong at the start but get lost in the story. That was definitely not the case here. 

There is a male main character, I know I haven’t really said anything about him, but that’s just how amazing Addie is. The male lead is Henry, a young man who owns a bookstore in New York. I really don’t want to say anything about him because it sticks to Addie’s perspective so the reader can get to know him as she does. I really wish I had more to say about him, but honestly he didn’t exactly stick out to me. That wasn’t because I thought he was boring, he is a complex character who some people will likely find relatable. For me, it was more like he didn’t stand a chance of standing out on the page next to Addie. But I thought the best aspect of his character was the mystery. He remembers her and that is a big deal, so there really is a big mystery of how and why he is the only person to remember her.

Their characters felt so real that it made it difficult for me to imagine certain actors. I couldn’t land on a face for Addie. With Henry, I ended up reverting back to my go to actor when I can’t pick someone, which is Ben Barnes. Sometimes I just need a voice and a face to picture, and my default for romance is always him for the male lead.

Other Themes…

There are LGBTQ themes to a certain extent. The author deals with sexuality as fluid so the main characters are never labeled as bisexual, but both characters do have a history of relationships with both sexes.

My Rating…

I rate books with a five star system from would never read it again to loved it and can’t wait to reread it. I don’t really believe in calling a book bad because each person’s interests are different and a book I hated could be loved by someone else and vice versa. Everyone has different deal breakers.

I gave this book five stars because as a contemporary fantasy fan, this hit all the marks of magic, mystery, and tragedy that I love, and more importantly, had a main character I could fall in love with.

The next book I’ll be reading is “The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo” just as soon as I get the pile blocking my bookcase doors out of the way. If you read this book, let me know what you think!

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