The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published by Simon and Schuster on June 13, 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Women
Pages: 400

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (4 out of 5)

I devoured The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Evelyn Hugo is a wonderfully complex character. She is driven, calculated, and stubborn. The story of her rise to fame was tough to put down. This is the perfect book to get you out of a reading slump. Unfortunately, my reading experience was diminished by too high of expectations (thanks a lot Bookstagram).

Evelyn Hugo is a major bombshell Hollywood actress from the 1950’s to 80’s. Off the screen Evelyn was frequently in the tabloids because of her tumultuous love life, which included a whopping seven marriages. In the present-day Evelyn selects a seemingly unknown journalist, Monique, to conduct her first interview in years. At their first meeting Monique is shocked when Evelyn tells her she doesn’t want her to write a magazine article, but instead wants to share her entire life story, to be written as a tell-all book. Monique cannot turn down this career-changing opportunity, but she also wonders why Evelyn selected her to write her biography. The novel then follows Evelyn’s retelling of her scandalous life including the story behind each of her seven marriages.

This is my favorite story that focuses on the price of fame. Evelyn’s story is so salacious and fun to read. Reid includes gossip articles interspersed between chapters of the book, which I thought was a nice touch. Comparing Evelyn’s true story with what was reported in gossip columns showed how she excelled at controlling her public image. She even hides her ethnicity to appeal to the mainstream. Evelyn is Cuban, but has herself remade in appearance, accent, and name to pass as white. Reid writes Evelyn as a morally ambiguous character. I respect her drive and determination to be a famous and successful movie star. But I am also frustrated by her repeatedly choosing to damage her relationships to further her career. She denies herself romantic relationships with people she loves in favor of toxic marriages that grow her stardom. I also enjoy how Monique is influenced by Evelyn’s story and changes over the course of the novel. Lastly, the story has LGBTQ representation, which I always appreciate.

Don’t be mistaken, this is a great book, but I question whether it deserves all the 5-star reviews on Goodreads.  It is impossible to avoid this book’s massive hype. So unfortunately, I was expecting a lot. Have high expectations ruined your reading experience? Some of the book’s twists were predictable. Also, the formula of telling the story of each of Evelyn’s marriage becomes a bit repetitive by the end. By the fourth marriage I was thinking: we get it; Evelyn marries to advance her career, not for love. And sometimes I was irked by Reid’s blatant teasing of the reader. Many chapters ended with lines like this: “I have no idea that in less than a week, Evelyn Hugo will finish her story, and I’ll find out what this has all been about, and I will hate her so much that I’ll be truly afraid I might kill her.” I admit these lines were effective because I kept reading, but they also felt like cheap tricks. My husband says that these lines read like a 11-year-old’s first attempt at creative writing(!)

Despite this book being overly hyped, it is worth the read. This is the perfect choice for a light read at the beach or while on vacation. Evelyn Hugo is certainly an unforgettable character.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on May 14, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Gay, LGBT, Romance
Pages: 432
five-stars

Red, White & Royal Blue was my biggest reading surprise of the year. I’ve never had any interest in the romance genre, but after seeing Casey McQuiston’s gay rom-com recommended all over Bookstagram and Booktube I decided to give it a try.  Less than halfway through the book I was fully invested.  My husband had to endure me rambling on about Alex and Henry’s dramatic romance and how amazing the book was.  I have discovered a new favorite book.

Alex Claremont-Diaz, first son of the United States, and the UK’s Prince Henry are rivals.  After the boys have a messy altercation involving a cake their two families agree to force Alex and Henry to fake a friendship to improve U.S/U.K. relations.  However, the enemies become eventual lovers when Alex and Henry find themselves in a secret romance.  They both have reasons to keep the relationship a secret.  Alex fears the relationship will hurt his mom’s odds at being reelected in the upcoming presidential election.  And Henry is not allowed to be out of the closet because his elders believe it would tarnish the royal family’s reputation. But as their feelings grow stronger keeping the relationship a secret becomes more challenging.

My favorite part of the novel was the perfectly written banter between Alex and Henry. Their flirty exchange was written perfectly. The emails they share between each other, including quotes from historically queer characters, are especially cute.   Many of Alex and Henry’s friends are fantastic allies.  Red, White & Royal Blue is a feel-good, wholesome queer love story.  When so much of queer fiction focuses on trauma, stories like this are refreshing.

I appreciated how the story focused on Alex’s professional life, instead of solely his love life. In your 20s every career decision seems critical because your professional life is just beginning. Alex was concerned his relationship with a member of the British royal family would ruin his ambitious goal of becoming an American senator before 30. I related to this strongly.  Two years ago, I decided to move out of state with my partner for his doctorate program’s internship.  We moved before I was able to secure a new job.  I was worried that I was compromising my career for my relationship.  Fast forward to today and I am happily married to my best friend and my career is moving in a positive direction. Young professionals have decades of time to develop their careers. We need to normalize making shifts in our career goals.  It is freeing when you realize that changes in your professional plans are not failures, especially when they are for the love of your life.

My only (tiny) criticism of the book is I was not sold on the sex scenes.  This wasn’t a huge drawback for me. Sex scenes in books are not my favorite. Steamy bedroom scenes are not McQuiston’s strength if literary smut matters to you. I found these scenes to be awkwardly written. The writing was almost muddled. It felt strangely asexual.

Nonetheless, Red, White & Royal Blue was a beautiful book that I can see myself reading again!  Alex and Henry’s relationship is brilliantly written. I was glued to the pages as they turned from enemies to lovers.  I definitely plan on reading more gay romance books in the future.  Please give me some recommendations in the comments!

five-stars

Drawing Blood

Drawing Blood by Poppy Brite
Published by Random House Publishing Group on November 24, 2010
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay, Horror, Paranormal
Pages: 416
four-stars

Do you have a blood fetish?  If yes, then I have the perfect book recommendation for you!  (Don’t worry having a blood kink is not a prerequisite for enjoying this story) Drawing Blood, by Poppy Z. Brite, is a great, spooky novel featuring queer characters.  One night in Missing Mile, North Carolina, Trevor McGee’s father murders Trevor’s mother and little brother before killing himself.  Now, as an adult, Trevor is still tortured by the unanswered question: Why did his father let him live on that tragic night? Trevor has followed in his deceased father’s footsteps, working as a cartoonist.  Seeking answers from his childhood, Trevor returns to Missing Mile, staying in his family’s abandoned home.  Soon after arriving he he meets Zach, a cyber-criminal from New Orleans, who is on the run from authorities.  Zach is bisexual and frequently enjoys casual sex but has never formed a deep romantic connection.  But upon meeting, the two men quickly form a passionate connection and face the sinister forces that haunt Trevor’s childhood home.  I selected this book because I saw it featured on multiple lists for queer horror recommendations.  I enjoyed reading Drawing Blood, even if I was caught off guard by all the smut.

Drawing Blood is best classified as a psychological horror novel.  Many of the scares and horror scenes involve visions and characters’ internal struggles. The book does a great job of maintaining a dark atmosphere throughout.  As I mentioned there is a lot of blood in this book, especially in the sex scenes.  The spicy scenes would’ve had me blushing if it wasn’t for all the blood.  All the blood made me queasy, but no judgment if you’re into that 😉.  I believe the author used blood as a symbol of Trevor’s connection to his father.  He has inherited his dad’s artistic talent for drawing, and he fears he will also inherit his dad’s violent, murderous nature.  The blood, which is only heavily featured in scenes inside of Trevor’s family home, is a manifestation of the father-son connection.  I would not classify this as only a horror novel.  The romance and internet crime thriller aspects take up a sizable chunk of the pages.  I still really enjoyed the story, but if you are looking for a more purely-horror novel, this might not be the right book for you.

I loved that this book features multiple queer characters.  There are more beyond just Zach and Trevor.  And while the book has plenty of drama and conflict, none of the adversity characters face relates to their sexuality.  While this is probably not realistic for a small town in North Carolina in the ‘90s, it is refreshing to slip into a world where homophobia does not exist.  This reminds me of the excellent show Schitt’s Creek (different genre, but I highly recommend).  The settings in the novel are very immersive.  Brite does an excellent job of describing the settings of New Orleans and Missing Mile.  I was not surprised to learn that Poppy Brite lives in New Orleans.  Normally I roll my eyes when two characters fall in love at first sight and exchange “I love yous” just days after meeting.  But with Trevor and Zach I was not bothered.  Beyond my obvious bias for queer relationships, there is great character development for both Trevor and Zach.  They help each other become unstuck from their respective struggles, which is very cute and wholesome.  While this book was published in 1993 (my birth year!), the writing and story do not feel dated.  Descriptions of large cellular phones and the internet, in its early days, were charming.

If you like your scares bloody and mixed with smut you should give this book a try.  Reading about LGBTQ characters facing conflicts not related to their queerness is refreshing. 

Trigger Warnings:  Lots of blood-filled gay sex, Alcoholism, Murder, Recreational Drugs

four-stars