dailygaelley

I have a confession to make: it’s been a while since a book has truly compelled me to finish it. I have piles and piles of unread books in my room and it doesn’t help that I have become a serial-reader. BUT! Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote a story so compelling, I wasn’t able to drop it. I spent an entire day reading about the Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo and her salacious secrets.

The story is told in two perspectives; Evelyn’s and amateur writer, Monique Grant. Monique is a struggling writer who has problems of her own. Her husband recently left her because she wouldn’t move to San Francisco. She writes for a magazine called Vivant and her boss tells her that the reclusive Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo requested her and only her for an interview.

This apparently was a big deal because Evelyn hasn’t been interviewed in years. However, she has been known to live quite a scandalous life. With seven husbands and a string of blockbusters, everyone wanted to know what happened to the starlet.

The story then unfolds into an autobiography; an exclusive tell-all by Evelyn Hugo. Monique discovers her secrets and flaws. She even begins to think that she might even know Evelyn more than she knows herself. Evelyn is relentless and frank in her story-telling, leaving bits of mystery to keep Monique (and the readers) intrigued.

I honestly liked how gripping the story was. In the last couple of years, I learned that I’d evolved as a reader. I was more interested in a fast-paced narrative rather than tales with numerous adjectives.

Maybe it was Evelyn’s secrets or maybe it was the way the story was written. One thing’s for sure, though, this book brought me back from my reading dry spell. I used to finish 600-page books in three hours and tgat fact always somehow pressured me to maintain or even beat that record.

I finished this book in a day. It’s 580 pages and it’s intriguing. It kept me wanting more and this is exactly why I was able to finish it. Taylor Jenkins Reid left a bit of mystery and scattered a few breadcrumbs in the novel that would leave the reader wondering: Why did Evelyn want Monique to write the story? Why did she want a biography written by Monique? and of course, Why did she have seven husbands?

If you’re a fan of mysteries and secrets, this book’s for you. If you liked Neftlix’s Hollywood, you’ll love this book.