Hollywood | Caroline Andrus

Review

I’ll be real with you, I 100% thought this was going to be a quick romance with zero depth that made me roll my eyes every other page.

I was wrong.

Sophia is a Hollywood A-List actress who fell in with a bad boy rockstar who’s trashed her reputation. In order to avoid more scandal, she’s agreed to lock herself up at a Texas cattle ranch.

Enter Travis, the ranch’s foreman, who wants nothing less than to “babysit” this city girl. Except, from the moment he lay eyes on her, he’s enchanted. He sees below the facade she wears, but knows nothing can happen between them.

What Travis doesn’t know, and Sophia won’t admit even to herself, is that she’s pregnant, and her isolation is also to keep her pregnancy a secret until she gives birth and gives the baby up for adoption.

Despite a rocky start, these two find a connection. But can it last with Sophia’s big secret looming between them?

This was such a charming story. It wasn’t too country/cowboy western, and it wasn’t too Hollywood. It was really just the story of two people. Absolutely recommend this one to fans of the romance genre.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Book Cover

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Historical Fiction / Drama / LGBTQ
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 389
Source: Public Library
Date Read: May 1 - 11, 2023

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon 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 is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Review

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book. I chose to read it because a good friend of mine said that “BookTok is raving about this book!” So, I put myself on the hold list at the library, and bided my time.

What an excellent book. When Evelyn Hugo sits down with unknown journalist, Monique Grant, all Monique expects to get is a story for the magazine she works for. Little did she know, Evelyn had bigger plans for her—she wants Monique to write her life story.

After a slow start (sorry Monique, you just didn’t hold my interest!) I was engaged from the moment Evelyn begins to tell her tale. From growing up a poor immigrant, to marrying a man as a teenager and running off to Los Angeles with him, and right up til present day. Who were Evelyn’s seven husbands? What led her to each of them? Why did her marriages end? And the biggest question of all—who was Evelyn Hugo’s one true love?

Now, from the get go we knew there had to be some reason Evelyn chose Monique to write her story, and I had theories! I was dead wrong. I was so convinced that my theory was right that I missed all the clues pointing to what the real reason was. This made it all the more fun!

Now, if you hate historical fiction, don’t worry. This doesn’t feel like historical fiction. Yes, Evelyn is talking about Hollywood in the 1950s and onward, but the Hollywood glamor shines so bright you forget you’re not in present time!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an excellent book and I absolutely recommend it!