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Fiction

5/5

I’m not a good person, Monique. Make sure, in the book, that that’s clear. That I’m not claiming to be good. That I did a lot of things that hurt a lot of people, and I would do them over again if I had to.

I just love those rare moments when the little ones haven’t noticed me taking out my book.

What is it about?

Evelyn Hugo was an Oscar-winning movie star from the 1950’s to the 1980’s, but is most talked about for her 7 marriages. Now, at 79 years old, she is revealing the details behind her life and those marriages to none other than Monique Grant. Wait…who? Monique is a journalist with a few good pieces to her name, but no-one an iconic star would normally choose to tell their story to. Except that Evelyn sought out Monique for a reason and you have to hear the whole story to learn why.

Was it good?

I’m not sure why I wanted to read this book. I abhor extra-marital affairs. I don’t like reading about heartbreak and divorce, and when you find out in the first few pages that Monique was divorcing her own husband because he took a dream job in a city that’s not *gasp* New York, even though her career didn’t seem to be going anywhere? Well I didn’t  like her for that.

And yet, I kept reading, and by the time we met Evelyn I was hooked. Evelyn’s story is so engaging that you can’t help but love her and hate her. Her story was so well spaced out that I didn’t want to put down the book at all. And the writing was so thoughtful that I have enough highlights to dedicate a whole Five Quotes Friday to this book if I wanted to.

Yes, this book was good!

Discussion:

What is your number 1 relationship pet-peeve? As I mentioned above, I don’t like people ruining their own marriages out of stupidity or selfishness. 

Here’s my guide to a good marriage:

1. Passion is great, but marry someone who is also a good companion.
2. Try living together before you tie the knot because there are certain things you can only learn about a person by living with them.
3. Agree on things before hand such as living arrangements/kids/career goals/etc.