For about the first 70% of this book, I thought I was going to give it a full 5 stars. I feel like it lost a little bit of steam near the end of the book, however, and that coupled with a lackluster twist made me knock this rating down to 3 stars.

What I liked:

1. Characters, specifically the titular character of Evelyn. She was a phenomenal character. So complex and layered. This book is the perfect example of a great book with an unlikable main character. The candor she shows in relating all of the details of her life to Monique — good, bad, and ugly —was so engaging. I couldn’t put this book down. I didn’t really care about Monique, but the story wasn’t really about her.

2. The setting. I love the golden era of Hollywood. The movies, the celebrities, the scandals — it’s always been intriguing to me on so many levels. I love that this book explores all of that.

3. Diversity. The main characters in this book were both women of color, and there were several characters who identified as gay or bisexual. The latter is focused on extensively throughout this novel, as the characters attempt to navigate Hollywood and being in the public eye while still being true to who they are behind closed doors.


What I didn’t like:

1. It started to become repetitive. I was totally fangirling over this book until about the 70%-80% mark. Earlier in the book, Celia and Evelyn are separated by the fact that Celia can’t accept that Evelyn was intimate with a man in order to provide a distraction to the public so their own relationship would remain secret. They are apart for five years. Then they get together again after they marry men who are also in love. They part after Evelyn doesn’t ask her permission to do a graphic (simulated) sex scene for a movie. Then they are apart for ten years. At that point, Evelyn and Celia start to talk again. Celia convinces Evelyn to marry her brother and move to Spain altogether so they can be together. It was during their third reconciliation that I just became weary of where the story was going. It was only 391 pages, but it felt longer.

2. Celia. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to root for Celia and Evelyn, but I just kept finding myself thinking that if Celia was a man treating Evelyn the way she did readers would be freaking out. Just because a relationship consists of two people of the same gender doesn’t mean it can’t be dysfunctional. First, I will say that neither of these women are perfect, not by any means. But, Celia was insufferable to me. I didn’t understand the appeal at all. Her insecurities regarding Evelyn and how she treated her because of those insecurities was not romantic. She was emotionally and verbally abusive, and very possessive of Evelyn. It bordered on controlling. The fact that she was so unreasonable about Evelyn’s work was ridiculous, considering they were both actresses and should be able to keep a clear head and understand that it isn’t reality. Every time they get back together Celia gets jealous about the men Evelyn slept with or had connections with during the separation, despite the fact that she also had other intimate relationships.
I didn’t like how she blew off Evelyn’s assertions that she wasn’t gay. In the end, she came around to acknowledging that Evelyn identified as bisexual, but by that time I was over it.

3. The twist. I knew there had to be some sort of reveal because of all the focus being put on the idea that Evelyn had ulterior motives for hiring Monique to write for her. The moment the groundwork was laid for the twist I knew what was going to happen. So when it actually did happened, it fell incredibly flat for me. Also, the whole cover-up aspect of the twist was absolutely unrealistic. Just because there wasn’t really DNA testing at that time, I just don’t believe that Evelyn and her lackey would’ve been able to rearrange the scene in a way that wouldn’t have been uncovered by investigators. Also, everything they did would’ve taken time. How on Earth did no one see what they were doing? It’s just not realistic.

And, what would make Harry think that his plan to have his boyfriend marry Celia would ever work?! This is still the 1980s, and interracial couples in the public eye are not a common sight. For a screen legend like Celia to marry an African American man who isn’t even another well-known actor seems like it would’ve invited more questions than it would answer, especially since that man would have to divorce his wife and leave his daughter to do so.

One more thing about all this. We are supposed to believe after all of this that Monique’s parents were as close as two people could be. He romantically brought her presents every year on a day that has nothing to do with their relationship or any recognized holiday. He just did it because he decided she needed a holiday just for her. But, we are also supposed to believe that they didn’t have real passion for one another, that their relationship was more about being comfortable with someone. Um...this struck me as being revisionist history. Again, this is the 70s-80s we are talking about. Interracial couples were not the norm. Many faced huge amounts of bigotry and racism. Earlier in the book Monique even mentions that she was the only girl she knew ‘like her’ until one other biracial girl came to her school. It just doesn’t make sense to me that two people who are undoubtedly facing prejudice from the society around them got together and stayed together because they were such good friends. I don’t think I’m articulating my feelings well, but it just doesn’t sit right with me.

This is my first Taylor Jenkins Reid read (see what I did there?) but it won’t be the last. And I absolutely loved the first half of this book. I do feel like it lost its way at the end though, hence the rating.