Really, really glad I suggested this one for my IRL book club. I’d heard great things, and wasn’t disappointed. It’s historical fiction, and it plays with some weighty themes, but it never stops being a fun read. It’s this great mix of serious historical fiction (with a focus that feels totally fresh) and trashy beach read. I say “trashy” not because the book itself is trashy, but its subject matter–Old Hollywood–can’t help but evoke that gossipy, tell-all feeling. Especially since the premise of the book […]
What Matters Most
Maybe in Another Life follows the same concept as the Gwyneth Paltrow movie Sliding Doors. What if some event in your life happened one way instead of another? In this case, our main character Hannah Martin just moved back to Los Angeles, and will be living with her best friend Gabby and her husband. They all go out to a party and at that party Hannah runs into her ex-boyfriend Ethan. Now she faces a choice. Will she go home with Ethan and restart her relationship with […]
My Sister Hated It
My sister hated The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. I think I wanted more, or, maybe, I just wanted it to be better. It glosses over a lot of Evelyn’s relationships and especially with the relationship that Evelyn claimed was the most important. I also had the same problem with it that I had with All the Stars in the Heavens in that, reading this book from the mindset of someone not living in those […]
Husbands and Heartache
“Seven husbands. Which one did she love best? Which one was the real one?” This book had me turning the pages pretty quickly to find out what would happen next, and I read nearly all of it in one day. It tells the tale of Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo, who escaped the humble beginnings in Hell’s Kitchen to live out her dream of becoming an actress in Hollywood. Born Evelyn Herrara, of Cuban descent, she is a blend of Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Elizabeth […]
“True love doesn’t always last,” I say. “It doesn’t always have to be for a lifetime”
Taylor Jenkins Reid really only does one thing, but she does it well. She sets up her main character with a wonderful love, does something to totally wreck it, and then helps her back along the path to happiness. Usually there’s a gay best friend (seriously, I think every novel I’ve read by her features a gay best friend) and a loving family member or two. Maybe some professional conflict. Might be formulaic, but One True Loves is the 4th book I’ve read by this author, and she […]
“I was waiting for someone that would sweep me off my feet and would be swept up by me in equal parts.”
I’ve read several books by Taylor Jenkins Reid this year. I’ve found that while they tend to be a far cry from groundbreaking, she can be relied upon to create decent characters (who usually have bad-ass best friends — Reid writes great sidekicks and I loved the BFF in this one) and stories that are enjoyable, if not memorable. “This apartment is acting like nothing has changed. Everything has changed. I tell the walls he’s gone.” Forever, Interrupted starts when newlywed Elsie Porter Ross loses her […]