"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"

"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"
Written by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review written by Diana Iozzia



"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" is a book that I had wanted to read for a very long time. I found myself reading many spoiler-free reviews, looking at hauls that included it, staring at it on the library shelves, so I finally decided to borrow it from the library and read it. Boy. This is one of those books that you don't find often. The ones that have so much heart, love, and soul that comes across just when you need it, like serendipity or fate or just some other man-made emotion.

Taylor Jenkins Reid creates new stories from old ideas. Evelyn Hugo is not the first aging actress character, so gorgeous with her glamour, elegance, and past sex appeal. Monique Grant is not the first desperate news reporter who gets picked to write a fantastic story. However, Reid breathes life into these characters, makes them feel like they truly exist, and also makes us care about characters that some people would normally overlook.

In the same vein of old Hollywood glamour, Evelyn Hugo has the intrigue and wonder of fictional greats like Norma Desmond but also encapsulates the true glamour of Bette Davis, Liz Taylor, Joan Crawford, Eva Peron, and many more. There's also a little bit of this novel that reminds me of Andi and Miranda's relationship in "The Devil Wears Prada". Evelyn has chosen Monique to write her life story, with the hook that many fans, celebrities, and news mediums have wanted to know: Why seven husbands? Who is her real, true love?

The pages unfold as a book within a book, as Evelyn speaks to the reader. We also have a small frame story, that includes a first person perspective from Monique, as she develops a friendship and kinship with Evelyn.

Evelyn tells her story, of sadness, of abuse, of love, of ambition. She tells us how she made it to the top, how she stayed there, how she fell, and why she chose to fall. We have an excellent cast of characters, who all provide the motivation and drive for Evelyn to continue. Two of the greatest characters that were present in her life were Harry, her manager, and Celia, a fellow actress and friend. Reveals about all of the characters show Evelyn's life behind closed doors and off-screen. We fall in love with Evelyn. We feel our hearts break with Evelyn.

The most important reveal of the story is something that I won't tell you in this review. Her great love story cannot be revealed her, but I tell you that you must read this novel. I urge you to find a copy and read as soon as you can. This book will stay with me for some time. When I find a new book and consider its impact on me, I know it'll be a favorite if I tell everyone about it, if I plan to buy a copy, and if I plan to read this book again. I can tell you that this is definitely a new favorite.

Lastly, I want to mention that there is a large and well-written amount of LGBT representation in this book. As a member of the community, I personally find this book to be a great representation and felt very comfortable with the portrayal of these characters.

Please read this book.

"This Is Our Story"

"This is Our Story"
Written by Ashley Elston
Review written by Diana Iozzia


"This is Our Story" is a murder mystery for teens and young adults, however, I think that this book is not as appealing to an older audience. I personally still enjoy reading teen and young adult fiction, but I feel that the books that are published under the Disney name are often very muted and less thrilling than their plots describe them to be. In this story, Kate is a teen at a public high school, who has been secretly having a texting friendship and flirtation with a popular boy from the private and elite nearby school. When the boy, Grant, has been killed by a Remington, all signs point to the other boys that were out hunting with him.

We are launched in a small town murder mystery, that feels reminiscent of "Riverdale", "Sharp Objects", and a little of "Trial and Error". These teens have no idea what they're doing, still they can unlock all of these secrets, conspiracies, and crimes and find out who the killer is? There are many times during this story that I had to suspend my disbelief, not believing most of the actions by the characters.

To be frank, I think I would have enjoyed this book more as a print paperback, than I did when listening to it as an audiobook. 9 hours of this story felt too long to listen to, I felt the narration to be highly distracting, and there just really isn't much that goes on in this story. A lot of time is spent in text messages, interrogation transcripts, and main character, Kate, talking about how she couldn't believe what's going on, but that she WILL get to the bottom of this. Alright, that's fine. However, the story progressed far too slowly but also far too quickly. Every clue and reveal should not have been this easy to discover. Also, Kate's mother works at the District Attorney's office. So, Kate, in her internship, is allowed to be so heavily thrown into the investigation? This seems highly unlikely to ever exist in the real world, where a 17 year old girl is allowed to watch interrogation tapes, look at clues, and view crime scene evidence.

In addition, we're thrown a ridiculous bone that the person Kate thought she was talking to is another character. We're then expected to believe this immature and wacky relationship and first love between Kate and the murder suspect. My golly, are parents really this stupid to not see any of this happening? To continue, I really did not enjoy the eventual outcome of the trial and the reveal of the other murder suspects and then the actual killer. Everything felt extremely anticlimatic and too unbelievable. I'm not quite sure why I decided to listen to the entire audiobook. There just aren't enough redeeming qualities to recommend.

"Mother Knows Best"

"Mother Knows Best"
Written by Kira Peikoff
Review written by Diana Iozzia



"Mother Knows Best" is a gripping and tense new thriller by an author new to me. This book falls into the psychological thriller category but also incorporates a small aspect of science fiction, allowing it to feel a bit confused during some plot points. In this, we follow a few different main characters, some of whose identities may spoil most of the plot. For the most part, we meet Claire, her husband, and their daughter, Abigail. Abigail was genetically modified as an embryo to include genetic and DNA material from three parents, one being a lead scientist. Abigail was 'created' illegally, because her mother, Claire, was concerned that she would become sick with the same hereditary condition that killed her first son. This causes a crazy whirlwind for the media and for the lives involved.

Years later, the scientist, Jillian emerges to find the daughter she contributed her DNA too, making her the second mother of Abigail, in addition to Claire. This sets off an intense plot, with a large amount of mystery, fear, and panic. As far as psychological thrillers go, the execution of the plot was very similar to others', but I enjoyed the unique set-up that caused the want for revenge. There are various drastic plot reveals and twists, that allow characters to be seen completely differently. In addition, certain characters are not who we think they are, which allows for a fun and entertaining shift in the narrative. I understand that some readers might find this to be unnecessary, but I enjoyed it and was unable to predict one of the main twists.

This story incorporates many unlikable and unreliable characters, which causes the book to drag a bit. I felt that some scenes felt a bit too long and some dialogue could have been taken out. Naturally, I cannot reveal much of the plot or the twists, due to spoilers.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book. I did not love it, nor will I plan to re-read it. I would like to read the author's future books. I do not think this is the next biggest thriller, and I believe that this would not be created well on-screen in either a film or miniseries. I recommend this book, as an introduction into the genre, because it hits on many of the common tropes and plot devices that appear in nearly every thriller. However, from a new author's perspective, I appreciated this book.

I received an advance review copy of this book to read and review.

"It Ends With Us"

“It Ends With Us”

Written by Colleen Hoover

Review written by Diana Iozzia

I personally feel very mixed about “It Ends With Us”. There were many elements that I enjoyed in the book, that allowed for the creation of great plot and storytelling. I think that for the subject matter, Colleen Hoover created a story with a lot of heart, sadness, and abuse, but she brought a more serious and relevant nuance to the discussions.

In this book, we read through the perspective of Lily Bloom, an ambitious and caring young woman, in her early twenties. We also read through her past diary entries, which can be very hokey and a bit too underdeveloped. Lily is in a tumultuous relationship with Ryle, a charismatic and complicated neurosurgeon, whose past haunts him, allowing him to act in a horrific, violent side of him.

In the beginning of the story, we see Lily as she meets Ryle for the first time on the roof of a building. She’s there to refresh and collect her thoughts. He’s there, because he was not able to save a young patient. As we continue through the months, Lily moves on, never developing a romance with Ryle. She opens a flower shop, when she serendipitously meets Ryle’s sister, who begins a small position at the shop. Lily also tells us her story of her first love, a boy named Atlas, who lived in an abandoned house next to Lily’s parents’ home.

This book is a very interesting deep dive into what abuse can look like. At first, Ryle seems like a very sexy, interesting man who’s very smart and cares deeply for his family. We continue on to learn why he has such a complicated past and can understand why he becomes abusive in his relationship with Lily. At first, there are some red flags that crop up, but I enjoyed that they aren’t your usual red flags that appear in domestic abuse fiction. I felt that because Colleen Hoover had experience with an abusive family member, she had this brilliant insight and accurately explained how these scenarios would look. I felt that Hoover explained and portrayed how the grey area in abusive relationships can be experienced. We sympathize with Ryle, once we understand the truth. However, forgiveness doesn’t come, but moving on in a healthy way comes and sets a great example in this story.

I can completely understand why some readers of this story might not enjoy it. I have always heard of Colleen Hoover and how divisive her books can be. In one circumstance, we see in clear and deep detail how abuse can look, how it can be overlooked, and how consequences of abuse sometimes look. We do not have a very clear resolution of this story, but the positive outlook might seem banal to readers. Perhaps some readers do not look for redeemable qualities in abusers, but I think Colleen Hoover that abusers are truly human, so we do see the good side of them. Whether we choose to believe and forgive the abuser is another story.

As far as literary elements go, I found this to be a very well-written book. However, when I began reading this, I was not reading this with a critical eye. I did not consider every single sentence for how fantastic it was and how the plot elements go. It can be a bit messy at times. The second love interest, Atlas, is more of a silver lining and a beacon of hope, rather than a romantic figure. He was sort of a means to an end, in my opinion. The dialogue can seem a bit juvenile at some times, but we do have to consider that the main character is in her twenties. She’s going to reference something current, every once in a while. Oh, I do have a problem with the dialogue and the prose. I don’t like reading sex scenes. So, well, there are some sex scenes that made me uncomfortable and I skipped through them.

In conclusion, I think this is a book that you can mold into what you want it to be. Do you want it to be a meaningful discussion on domestic abuse? Do you want it to be a trashy, sexy novel? Do you want it to be a frothy, beach read with a bit of a serious side? Do you want it to be a romance, that isn’t stopped at any odds? I found this book to also have a great sense of family purpose, so maybe that’s your jam. The side characters are great and although they aren’t as fleshed out as I would like, I am glad to have read them. I think that you can read Colleen Hoover’s writing through many lenses. I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. I would consider reading her other books. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

"The Haunting of Hill House"

“The Haunting of Hill House”

Written by Shirley Jackson

Review written by Diana Iozzia

To preface this review, you must know that I began my journey with Hill House in the Netflix mini-series adaptation of the original book. After falling in love with the characters, the ghosts, the plot, the location, and the horrors, I felt very underwhelmed by the source material, “The Haunting of Hill House”. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it still, because I was able to see the origin of the story that I know and love. In the book, you have the glimmers and small memories that are translated into bigger and more important moments in the television program.

To begin my review of the book, we have to begin with the introduction. We are informed that Theodora and Eleanor, two strangers, have been invited by the Doctor Montague, to tour Hill House, a mysterious and possibly haunted old manor. The two women agree nervously and are accompanied by the doctor, a nephew of the current owner, Luke, and occasionally the caretakers. It was instantly interesting to learn about these versions of the characters I love. However, these characters seemed like shells of the characters I know and are familiar with. Theodora is similar to Theo, with her dry wit and sardonic friendship, kissing with kindness and then insulting the next minute. Eleanor is the most similar to her T.V. counterpart. Eleanor is the same fairy-like, whimsical young woman, who has been haunted before by her past and is the most susceptible to the house. Luke is absolutely nothing like the character I remember, but he is still an enjoyable comical and sweet guy. We can tell he means the best. Dr. Montague is a useful character, but he is neither interesting or vital to the story.

I felt that there were many captivating and creepy moments in this book. There are dogs that bark randomly throughout the night, yet there are no families with dogs living near. There is incessant knocking, that terrifies Eleanor and Theodora often. The architecture of the house was uneven, often miscalculated or off in certain rooms. Characters wander endlessly, hardly able to determine where they have been or haven’t in the house. We have eerie messages, begging for Eleanor to come home, which are the most unsettling of all. We know that Eleanor is clearly the most affected and the most in danger out of the whole bunch. The crew acts often like the characters in “Scooby Doo”, walking around and pointing out odd objects. They find a book written to the daughter of the original creator of Hill House, Hugh Crain. Hugh’s character is a madman, driven insane by the house. He writes horrible, preaching messages to his daughter about her soul and Hell, even dripping his blood into the book. This was certainly something to point out.

Other than the creepy moments and the often-funny dialogue, the book was very short and undeveloped, if you ask me. I had wished that Shirley Jackson would have made the scenes more terrifying, by showing us things that terrified the characters, rather than sometimes explaining it afterwards or never explaining moments at all, just rushing characters out of the room. Nothing felt all that scary. I understand that horror fiction in the late 50s and early 60s would be completely different than today’s, but I was hoping for a little more than I received. We leave the story on a frightening cliffhanger, but I would have enjoyed the resolution. Many questions lay unanswered, so I think that this is one of the first times that I enjoyed the adaptation more than I enjoyed the original.

I felt that too much of this story was meant to be funny. Yes, we should read a little humor when reading a horror fiction. Unfortunately, the comedic moments, character actions, and dialogue took away from the fear. I have read countless books that have incorporated horror and humor in ways that I enjoyed more than this. I have to acknowledge the elephant in the room. I am twenty-three years old, reading this when this book is a classic. Although it was monumental back then, the horror and the scares don’t really hold up anymore. What I did find to be special was the connections between the characters. They seemed to care and love each other, wanting to protect each other in the insidious house.

That. The insidious house. For a story that talks heavily about the house being the influence, I felt that the house wasn’t really all that consuming. It’s meant to be this energy sucker and this animate monster that feeds off the characters and drives them insane. I didn’t feel that way. I felt that all of the characters had a right to be scared, but they worked themselves up. Unlike in the T.V. program, when I completely understood why everyone was horrified. Of course, I cannot imagine if I would have liked this book more if I had read it before watching the adaptation. However, with the very basic characters without a lot of depth, I couldn’t imagine I would have screamed to the heavens over my love of the book. It wasn’t as intense and eerie as I hoped it would have been.

In conclusion, I heavily recommend the book. It is a classic in horror fiction, especially in a time when women were not encouraged to write books like this. I think you should not go into reading this with too high expectations, because that might have led to my own disappointment. I hope you enjoy it. Perhaps you agree with me in certain ways. Let me know.

"Her"

“Her”

Written by Harriet Lane

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“Her” is a thriller with an interesting narrative structure. We receive information through the two perspectives of Nina and Emma. Nina is a middle-aged woman, who is a bit bored with her marriage and disappointed by her teen daughter’s lack of interest in her. Emma is a young mom, expecting a second child when we meet her. Nina and Emma know each other, in a way that is haunting and troublesome for both parties involved. Yet, neither of them will tell the other how and why they recognize them.

Nina is increasingly unstable as we read, making strange and deliberately unsettling decisions towards herself, Emma, and Emma’s children. We are seeing a simple, innocent scene through Emma’s eyes, but then see how the scene was interpreted by Nina in her sinister nature. The scenes become more insidious and worrisome as we continue reading.

Naturally, because the scenes and sequences are told in one way, then repeated, the book can be a bit redundant. Some bits are more repetitive. However, there were many I appreciated more, once we had the twisted side thrown in.

By the end of the story, you certainly have an unhinged narrator, a frenzied narrator, and a child in desperate peril. Who is the villain here? Can your past discretions be forgiven, or are you doomed to face them forever?

This short narrative style reminds me a lot of “Lullaby” by Leila Slimani and “Looker” by Laura Sims. There were also some moments that reminded me of “Girl in the Rearview Mirror”. If you liked any of them, I’d imagine you’d enjoy this.

In conclusion, this was a fun thriller. I felt that it was an easy by-the-pool read, without any serious, complex plot devices. It was an entertaining thriller, with easy-to-read dialogue and descriptions. I definitely recommend giving this book a read. I think that many people might find this book too repetitive, but I enjoyed it. I give this book a four out of five stars.