this book has been sitting on my shelf for over a year. I never felt like it was the right time to read this book. Im glad I decided to take it with me on vacation and finally tackling it. I truly loved this book. It is unlike anything I normally read (which is romance and fantasy or romantasy) but I found it to be so interesting. The storyline captivated me form the first moment on and I found myself wanting to get to know the real evelyn and getting to the core of her being. I admire Evelyn for being a boss bitch and doing what she needed to do to get to where she wanted to. did I agree with all of the things she did? no. did I nonetheless understand where she was coming from? yes. this book is very character driven, seeing as it Is a story about a fictional movie star, who tries to get her story out into the world and let me just say I very much love character driven books. something about getting an insight to someones thoughts and getting to know them and the reasons behind their actions is so magical and I am very grateful that Taylor Jenkins Reid decided to write this story. In many instances this book has made me reflect upon my own situation and my own self, which I have been doing more of lately. I love it when a book does that. I makes the work of the author so meaningful. I might still be on a post finishing the book high but this is on the top 5 of my favorite books. now it’s time to read all of Taylor Jenkins Reids other works. I can’t wait.

i can’t quite decide if i love this book or if i am faintly irritated by it. the plot was well done, but the actual setup (i. e. monique listening to evelyn’s story) would have worked far better if monique’s character hadn’t become quite so important at the end - as it is she ended up feeling very flat, and it felt rather obvious that her only purpose was to mirror evelyn’s story (her relationship w her husband) and to bring it to full circle (the plot twist at the end). part of it is also my fault, because i am just so disinterested in the ongoings of real-world-hollywood, that i had to stop myself from surfacing from this book and thinking how idiotic it is, from a non-moviestar non-millionaire perspective. there’s also something just a little irritating about taylor jenkins reid’s writing style, but i can’t quite put my finger on what it is exactly, so i’ll not expand on it THAT BEING SAID i was very invested, the plot twists made my head mf spin and it gave me a book hangover (so it was worth it, really)

Die Lebensgeschichte der Evelyn Hugo ist wirklich mitreißend. Ihr Leben und ihr Charakter sind sehr komplex. Viele ihrer Entscheidungen machen einen nachdenklich... Ich liebe die Komplexität dieser Frau! Und der Schreibstil ist sehr gelungen und umrahmt alles sehr passend. Eine wirklich beeindruckende Geschichte ✨️

I absolutely liked this book. At the beginning I was very sceptical to read a story like this that didn't happen in reality. But very quickly I got hooked on the story. I could really feel with the different characters and I found the story surprising. I was wondering till the end what might have happened. This book was not predictable to me and I enjoyed it a lot! I definitely recommend this book. One of my favorites that I read this year.

Ein bisschen spät aber doch hab ich auch mal Evelyn Hugo gelesen. Ich bin eigentlich ohne Erwartungen reingegangen, und trotzdem war ich ziemlich schnell gefesselt. Es war teils emotional, teils lustig und unterhaltsam. Das Setting hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Der Plot Twist hat mich nicht umgehauen, trotzdem fand ich das Buch wirklich sehr gut, deshalb 4.5 ⭐️

Beeindruckend, bewegend, fesselnd und überraschend. Nachdem bereits „Daisy Jones and the Six“ eines meiner Lieblingsbücher wurde, musste ich mich jetzt auch an dieses wagen und ich bereue es in kleinster Weise. Ich wollte das Buch gar nicht aus der Hand legen und habe es regelrecht verschlungen!!

Ich hab mich bei diesem Buch nicht wirklich damit beschäftigt, worum es geht, sondern einfach auf Empfehlung einer Freundin hin quasi blind gelesen. Und es hat mich wirklich positiv überrascht. Zu Beginn zog sich die Geschichte etwas, da ich nicht verstand worauf es hinaus laufen sollte. Aber dies änderte sich nach und nach und es zog mich immer mehr in den Bann. Der Titel legt einen Fokus, der sich im Laufe der Geschichte als ein wenig irreführend herausstellen sollte. Aber auch genau das macht den Kern des Buches aus: auf eine sanfte Art und Weise aufzuzeigen, dass nicht alles nur schwarz-weiß ist und manches auch anders scheint als es ist. Manchmal lohnt es sich also über etwas zweimal nachzudenken ohne es gleich zu bewerten. Danke für diesen Impuls!

I loved this book!!! It’s a fast-paced, emotional, and thought-provoking story🖋️about fame📸, identity, and different variations of love💍. Evelyn Hugo is a complex and unforgettable character, and her journey—full of secrets, heartbreak💔, and glamour✨—completely transported me to another world🎞️. Simple writing, deep themes, forbidden love vibes, and unexpected twists📰. I feel like this novel would work so well as a Netflix show🎥. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and strong, multi-dimensional female characters.💚 This book will leave you reflecting on love and identity in ways you might not expect.🍸

Ich habe etwas gebraucht, bis ich in die Geschichte richtig rein kam. An sich liebe ich aber den Schreibstil der Autorin. Als ich in der Geschichte drin war hab ich das Buch schnell lesen können. Dafür waren auch die kurzen Kapitel verantwortlich. Generell gab es auch viele schöne Zitate. Allerdings war das Problem, was sich durch das ganze Buch zieht kein außergewöhnliches und mich hat die Auflösung von der Frage, wen sie wirklich geliebt hat, leider nicht überrascht. Zudem war der große Knall am Ende irgendwie einfach nur absurd und konnte mich nicht wirklich berühren. Ich habe tatsächlich keine Träne verdrückt, obwohl ich es hätte schwören können, dass es passiert bei dem Buch. Im Großen und Ganzen war es eine nette Unterhaltung, aber den Hype kann ich nicht ganz nachvollziehen.

Für mich nichts, woran ich in Zukunft noch denken werde. Nicht so gut wie alle behaupten, für mich allerhöchstens durchschnittlich. Ich habe das Buch knapp einen Monat überhaupt nicht in die Hand genommen, weil es mich relativ wenig interessierte, wie es weiter geht. Die Beziehung zwischen Evelyn und Celia ging mir irgendwann einfach nur auf die Nerven. Dennoch würde ich weitere Bücher der Autorin lesen.

I love this book. In the beginning it was a very low love but the further I was into the book, the more I was in love. I don't think, that I can really put it into words or that my words would do justice to the book but I will try. The characters are perfect and you will have the feeling in the end, that they were alive and it all happened in real life. It will let you see other perspectives for your life and it will destroy you. I am not a big crier but this book did it to me (or to be said, one special character). I usually never cry about a book no matter how much I love the book. The book is written in an interesting style and I didn't had the feeling that it is boring at any point, the chapters aren't filled up with unnecessary infos. I guess I found my book-highlight of the year. <3

Zuerst dachte ich: "Oh nein, ich glaube, das ist nichts für mich", aber dann nachdem es richtig losging mit dem Plot, wollte ich es nicht mehr weglegen. Anders (zumindest für mich), weil es um das vergangene Leben (60er, 70er) einer inzwischen älteren Dame geht. Das Ende habe ich so aber nicht erwartet und auch die Beziehung der beiden (Evelyn und Monique) - da hatte ich mir auch etwas anderes vorgestellt. Wer mal raus will aus der Welt der jungen, eventuell kitschigen Romanzen und mal sehen möchte, wie es so ist, wenn man ein Star in Hollywood ist, der sollte dieses Buch lesen. Es ist wirklich gut und man will wissen, was das letzte Geheimnis von der berühmten Evelyn Hugo ist.

I loved this book so much, it hurts me to finish it. It gave us insights on the life of a woman from the 50s on, showing us exactly what the other side of the glitz and glam medal in Hollywood looks like. I found that to be an amazing representation of not just what it is like to be a woman during these times in history, but what it is like to be queer in that day and age. I loved the complex character of Evelyn and how she was portrayed, doing whatever she thought necessary and therefore making one hell of a main character. I was glued to these pages, I was frustrated, I cried, I absolutely loved this book.

Bevor ich das Buch in die Hand genommen habe, hatte ich Bedenken, dass es doch sehr langatmig werden könnte, wenn einfach nur die Geschichte von einer Hollywood-Ikone und ihren Männern erzählt wird. Und kaum fang ich an zu lesen, merke ich, dass das ganz sicher nicht der Fall ist! T. J. Reid erschafft eine Person, von der ich nun sicher bin, dass sie irgendwo auf der Welt existieren muss! Es hat sich super flüssig lesen lassen und die Erlebnisse von Evelyn haben mich komplett in den Bann gezogen. Ich mochte die Auflösung, wer ihre wahre Liebe ist, warum sie genau Monique ausgewählt hat, die Freundschaft zwischen ihr und Harry und wie die Geschichte ihr Ende findet. So viel Trauer und Liebe, tragische Entscheidungen und Hoffnung - all das verbindet T. J. Reid zu einer vollkommenen Geschichte, die ich so schnell nicht vergessen werde.

Honestly, 5 star book for me ❤️ (as for so many).TJR is really gifted at immersing the reader in an amazingly detailed fictional world &amp; life of a person. You really get to know and feel with Evelyn as she tells her story to Monique. Even though Evelyn is by no means a perfect person with a perfect life, it's really heartbreaking to learn what she had to do to be able to live her life &amp; love who she wanted to love.And the ending was oh so sad, I really bawled my eyes out 😭

Monique gets asked by the Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo to write a story about her. What she does not know, is that the appointment is not for “just” a story, but for Evelyn to tell Monique her life story to be put into a book after her death. While Monique is struggling in her own life she agrees to the deal. To write the book she spends many days with Evelyn telling her story about glamour, struggles and her seven husbands. During this time Monique starts to relate to Evelyn, but how will she feel at the end? The book is incredibly well written and really shows the life in Hollywood during “The Golden Age”. Evelyn as a character is disturbing. On the one hand you want to like her, on the other you want to dislike her. Her actions, while often understandable, are very selfish and she learnt to put herself first very early on. Still a while after having finished the book I cannot say if I would be able to forgive her actions if I were Monique. I highly recommend everyone to read the book.

I liked this book a lot! The ups and downs in the life of an old world Hollywood icon. Evelyn Hugo is not a nice person, she is an egoistic powerhouse. She does what needs to be done to get where she wants to be. She has flaws that she wants the world to know about by having her biography written. And with learning more about her, about her seven husbands and the true love of her life, I started to fall for her irresistable charme. I am a bit sad that the last chapters of her life (don't want to spoiler here) are pretty short compared to the rest of the story. Which is also why, compared to other reviews here, this book did not make me cry. Sad? Yes. But the ending was not too surprising, and I felt I missed a little bit of depth there when it came to her biggest losses in life.

This is a great book. It’s not a cozy read. Not a pageturner. Instead it’s a very steady book that makes you think and question. It’s a book about Evelyn Hugo - wether you like her or hate her or even question her reliability as a storyteller. The mind of Taylor J. Reid to be able to create a complex narrative such as this is just breathtaking. I wouldn’t doubt Evelyn Hugo to would have been a real person. That too is amazing. I love this book for that. Never thought I could live this type of book so much

So, usually historical fiction is not my go-to genre when it comes to books. But this one was reccomended by so many people that I decided I would give it a try. And I do have to say it didn't dissapoint! I really enjoyed listening to Evelyns story and find out a little more about our other protagonist alongside. Even though the story was not per se "thrilling" I was very curious to find out more about her life just because I enjoyed the writing so much. SO, I will Additionally, I can definetly recommend this as an audiobook as well. I did quite like the narrator and wasn't confused by too many main characters and storylines.