The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐☆

From the cover:

"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 nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways."

I went back and forth and back and forth about my ratings for this book for so long, and I'm still not entirely sure how I should rate it, so I'm just going to stick with what I've got and dive in to the why, starting, of course, with the initial draw. I debated whether I should include this or not, since I went into this not having really read a synopsis or anything, so from an "oh, I'm dying to get into this story" perspective there wasn't any draw because I didn't know anything about it. But I put it on my Read Harder list and I thought the cover was striking, so it was something that I did want to read on some level, so ultimately it stayed. What's strange to me, now that I have read the synopsis, is that I honestly don't know if knowing what the book was about would have made me want to read it more or less. Is that weird? Anyway, whatever, I gave it an average rating. I don't know.

On to character development, another toughie because here's the thing. Evelyn Hugo? I was dying to know more. The way that she was written to be so complicated and in some ways so dark but also still someone I felt like I just had to root for was masterful. I also loved Harry, who seemed like a complete fucking sweetheart, through and through. There were even some minor characters, like Frankie, who I found very intriguing and wanted more of. The downfall? Every time the story shifted back to Monique, I found myself disappointed because the present-day storyline was so one-dimensional next to Evelyn's. I guess it's hard to stack up against a decades-long tale of Hollywood stardom, intrigue, scheming, love found and lost, etc, but...why tell the story this way, then? 

The transitions back to the present were an anchor dragging the rest of the story down, particularly because neither Monique nor her storyline were really developed. Even her divorce, which is painted in the synopsis as a Big Deal, was very meh. The character development in the flashbacks? Five stars. Present day? Two stars. It kind of reminds me of when competitors on cooking shows decide to prepare two dishes when they're only asked for one and the judges are like "hrmmm ok, but just know this means we'll be forced to judge you on the worse of the two dishes..." No disrespect to Monique, I wanted her to get more development and have a better story, but her parts of the story were the worse of the two dishes.

And finally, plot and writing style. Heavy sigh. This could have been five stars, y'all. It should have been. Bisexual representation, biracial representation, the inclusion of an abortion that is pretty much a non plot point, it's literally like one line...there were so many things included in this book that I loved. And the main character being a woman who, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through her whole life, knew what she wanted from her life and did what it took to get it, regardless of how anyone else reacted or what people thought of her? Hello, I'm in love. Unfortunately, there was one huge thing I hated about this book, and that was the fatphobia. I mean, this was in my early notes, and it did not improve from there:

It was just...SO excessive. Monique is getting divorced, but at least her face is thinner, thank god! This group of men is so unattractive, very rotund. Ugh, I hate my mom's nickname for me, it's a reference to how I was SOOOO FAT as a child. Like. We get it, Taylor Jenkins Reid, you hate fat people. Please find more creative ways to describe people in your writing, because if the only way you can think of to paint a character as unattractive is by deciding they're fat, you lack imagination and also are just generally being shitty. It was grating enough that if the rest of the story hadn't pulled me in so thoroughly I would have DNF'ed in the first few chapters, which is incredibly disappointing from an otherwise pretty socially aware and engaging book. 

Anyway, should you read this book? I don't know. If someone asked me for recommendations and this fit the bill, I'm not sure if I would put it on my list or not...but I do know that if I did it would have an asterisk. So do with that what you will.

Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

David, a young American in 1950s Paris, is waiting for his fiancée to return from vacation in Spain. But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair. After three months David's fiancée returns and, denying his true nature, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. His decision eventually brings tragedy.

Filled with passion, regret and longing, this story of a fated love triangle has become a landmark of gay writing. James Baldwin caused outrage as a black author writing about white homosexuals, yet for him the issues of race, sexuality and personal freedom were eternally intertwined.

Housekeeping note before we begin: I decided to only do an overall rating for this book, since my ratings breakdown didn't really seem to fit. Maybe because it's a classic and not a contemporary...I don't know. Whatever the case, here we are. Just the one rating.

This book is fuckin SAD, y'all. (I mean...duh. But I still had to say it.) David is a gay man who has grown up hating himself and everyone like him. There are also interactions with others, not clear if they are drag queens, trans women, or identify in some other way, but they are gender nonconforming, and his reaction to them is pretty fuckin gross. Baldwin's writing of David captures the internalized loathing that queer people were and often still are raised with, the consequent prejudice they project onto other queer people as a result...it's heartbreaking. 

The story switches back and forth between the present and memories from the past, and both present David and flashback David are filled with the same discomfort and self-loathing, which makes it all the worse...that nothing changes for him. He's chasing something, although he doesn't seem all that sure what it is, and he'll never be able to find it because he's so filled with that hatred that he can't see anything beyond it. See what I mean? SAD!

Now, full disclosure, I haven't quite finished the book yet, so I'll have to post an update if something suddenly shifts and David has some kind of metamorphosis or finds self-acceptance. I couldn't stop thinking about it, though, so I wanted to post while I had all this filling up my mind.

July Reading Challenge Update

Why are so many of the books on my Read Harder list on wait lists at the library right now? Is everyone reading the same Read Harder books that I am? People! Stop copying my list, or I'll never finish!

Ok, fine, people probably aren't copying my list, I clearly just have excellent taste in books, so all my picks are heckin popular. 😉

Thankfully, one of the apps my library uses is newish to the system so not as many people use it, which means I've only got like a two week wait for one book, AND I was able to borrow two of my challenge picks. Woo!

Pick one is for challenge #8: Read a classic written by a POC. I chose Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin because HOW HAVE I NEVER READ JAMES BALDWIN?! (Racism, that's how. I mean, I read Heart of Darkness three times in various AP and college classes, but not a single professor put Baldwin on their reading list? Come on.) I am very excited to get into this.

Pick two is for challenge #10: Read a political thriller by a marginalized author. I'm going with While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams. Life is basically a political thriller right now, so this might end up feeling a little bit like realistic fiction. 🤣😭Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to reading it. And who knows, maybe I'll even write actual reviews for these two! If not, there will at least be a brief reaction to them in a "what I'm reading now" post, I'm sure.

What I'm Reading: Summer Break Edition

It's summer break, and that means so much time for reading!

Haha just kidding, I've been doing pretty much the same amount of reading as I was doing before. Too many things competing for my attention! BUT...definitely not because I was in the middle of a D&D session and realized I never prepped the blog post I had planned to post yesterday, and then I was scrambling a little, since I had a D&D session to run today and needed to pack for a trip...I can still give a little update re: what I am reading/what I finished reading since my last what I'm reading post. Woo! First up, finished reading:

1. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna - SO GOOD, such suspense! AHHHHH! 

2. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness - Meh. I am not convinced a woman wrote this trilogy, this is a pen name. There are so many weird things, like a reference when the pregnant main character is boning down with her husband and she thinks about how with him inside her it's the physically closest she, husband, and baby will ever be. Like. What. Anyway, I'm taking a little breather before I start the final book in the trilogy. I want to finish it, but also yeesh.

Next up, still reading:

1. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk 

Working my way slowly through this one. I'm about a third of the way through thus far, and it's interesting but at the same time I feel like there are probably better books on trauma out there.

2. A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year compiled by Jane McMorland Hunter

There were two poems within days of each other named The Kingfisher which...interesting choice, I guess. Probably could have separated them a little more so it wasn't so obvious.

3. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Two-thirds of the way through now, and I feel like it's really hitting its stride...which, look back at what I had to say a month ago. This book could be shorter, y'all. That said, it is hitting me in some major feels right now. I've cried like the last three or four times I've read it. Oof.

4. Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Still buddy reading, still loving it, still want to punch anyone who fucks with Ty straight in the baby maker.

And finally...new reads!

1. Black Boy Joy, edited by Kwame Mbalia

This has been on my list to read basically since I first heard it was going to be published, and it's one of the books on my list for the Read Harder challenge this year. I finally got it from the library, and I looooooove iiiiiiiiiiiiiit! It's an anthology of short stories, and there's a blend of genres. It's such a delight, reading a realistic fiction and then a little sci-fi and then something else...there was one story that was literally just about getting your outfit ready for the first day of school, and I was SO into it. I just...I love it. As the title suggests, such a joy.

2. The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

Book two in the Deathless series, baby, here we are! I'm so tense reading this. SO TENSE. I'm trying to take it slow because it's our book club read this month, and I always feel like it's such a drag when I finish our book early in the month and then am not chiming in much because I start to forget specifics. That said...I just packed it to take on the plane tomorrow to go visit my husband's dad, so we'll see what happens. I need to know what happens.

3. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Alright, I've read this before, and I adore it, but I'm recording it for my sister to listen to, so I'm reading it again, and ooooooh, I'm spotting some things I didn't notice before! I've had the second book in this series waiting to read for a long time, so I'm excited to finish this one (it'll take a while, reading it out loud, but whatevs) and then get to the second one...the final book in the trilogy comes out in January, so I just need to finish the first two by then. Five months?! Tall order. 🤣

4. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

I've never read Ursula Le Guin, and this came in one of my subscription boxes, so I was like alright, let's give this a shot! I don't know what to say about it. Like I feel like sometimes I'm like mmmmmmk let's get to the point...but then also I'm into it at the same time? It's different from my typical fantasy reads, but I want to know what happens next, so I guess let's call that a win?

The Marvellers - Dhonielle Clayton

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts, like brewing Indian spice elixirs and bartering with pesky Irish pixies.

Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy - some Marvellers mistrust her magic, which they deem "bad" and "unnatural." But eventually, she finds friends in the elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit, a girl who hates magic, and Jason, a boy with a fondness for magical creatures.

When a dangerous criminal known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror's aid, tensions grow in the Marvellian world and Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family's name and track down her mentor before it's too late."

What's this? A REVIEW?! That's right...it's summer break, and I'm going to do my best to get on a blogging schedule and maybe even keep it going when school starts back up. We'll see how that goes. But let's get started by diving right in to the initial draw of this book. First of all, it's Dhonielle Clayton. I mean. Come on.  I would read a draft of her grocery list. Also, a new take on magic schools that incorporates like...actual history and real-life events? Yes, thank you, I will devour this. And finally I'm sorry, that cover? Is truly a work of art.

Soooo yeah, safe to say I was eager to get my hot little hands on this, and I was over the moon when it was the book in one of my monthly subscription boxes. Such a delightful surprise. 

Now, I'm going to include a disclaimer before we get into why I only gave four stars for character development, and that is that this is a roughly 400 page book, and it has a lot of characters. Like...A LOT, a lot. Trying to build out an entire world, introduce a ton of characters, and develop a compelling plot in a relatively short fantasy book...not every character is going to be fully fleshed out. It's just the way it goes sometimes. 

I think there was a valiant effort to introduce all the relevant students, every teacher and headmaster, and give them all a reasonable amount of time on the page, but some of the tertiary characters fell a bit flat for me as a result of splitting attention that much. For the most part, that's fine, but without spoiling anything, there was a Big Reveal at one point late in the story that, with a lack of developed...relationship, I guess?...to these more background characters, it didn't pack quite the punch that it should have. Which was a shame, because it was otherwise a very powerful moment. Also, frankly, I'm just a greedy bitch and wanted more Masterji Thakur and Professor Kwame Mbalia. I mean, you name a character after KWAME FREAKING MBALIA and then you only give me a couple little tastes? I would read a whole book just about his character. I want to take his class. I need more!

All that said, the main characters were top damn notch, and I loved them all. Ella is so nerdy and earnest and wonderful, not to mention the kindest soul. Brigit is so loveably grumpy and angry (and she KNITS HELLO YES), and Jason might go on the list of my top characters ever created, he and his wiggly dreads wiggled their way right into my heart. And Ella's whole family gave me heart eyes. I don't eat meat, but I wanted to be at their family dinners over the holidays. Just...wonderful, all around.

And finally! Overall plot and writing style. I was a fan. I liked the way the book was structured, with a chapter followed by letters back and forth, a glimpse into something else that was happening, or some other little moment...it was a great way to further different parts of the story but still fold it all in together. And I feel like there were breadcrumbs dropped at juuuuust the right times...every time I thought to myself, "ok, this seems like a good chapter to stop reading after," I would get to a little vignette that made it impossible to close the book. There were even a couple times where I went "WHAT?!" out loud. Yessssss, the suspense! Even now, it's killing me. I need the next book.

Anyhoo, buy this book. Read this book. Share this book. Sleep with this book under your pillow, if that's comfortable for you. Write fanfiction about it. It's wonderful, is what I'm getting at. In case you couldn't tell how I felt about it.