If you make it through this book and don’t feel things—I’m not going to say you’re a monster because that’s rude and I am probably more likely to cry over a book than most—but if you could keep your feelings in check for the entirety of this book, just know I am in awe and I fear you.
I spent the last 150 pages of this book in sporadic tears. It had a vice grip on my tear glands and would not let go. Every time I thought I had regained control, lol no I didn’t. I regret nothing, it was such a good book.
The Bi representation in particular was very good. The way Evelyn kind of stumbles into her identity as an adult after realizing that she wants Celia felt very real to me. Also the way she insists on using the label she has put on herself and rejecting the other boxes people try to put her in. I also am a sucker for old Hollywood stories so this was really just everything I could have wanted.
It also reminded me of my love of the word “sexpot.” Every time I see it I just picture two men coming up with that word like:
“How would you describe her, Jim?”
“Well, she’s like sex, if sex could be put in some sort of container. Like honey in a pot. She’s a honeypot, but for sex. A sexpot, if you will.”
“What an exceedingly normal thing to say, Jim. Let’s print it.”
Does it have flaws? Yes, of course it does. Reading this was similar to how I felt reading Where’d You Go Bernadette: There were moments where I thought, “oh that’s a little ham fisted” or “that could definitely be written better,” but I really didn’t care. This book is a plot machine and you need to know what happens so bad you can forgive some minor writing sins. Also TJR makes up for any bit of clunky writing with whole pages so good I read them twice. You also definitely guess plot points WAAAY ahead of Monique, the reporter telling Evelyn’s story. There’s one reveal in particular that was so blatantly obvious I forgot Monique hadn’t figured it out yet and so when she did I found myself shouting at the book “really? it took you this long?” And I found Monique to be a really likable, smart character so I was unwilling to believe that she didn’t catch on sooner.
There’s one other point that will bother literally no one but me. I could not believe that Evelyn went to Paris because of Breathless, a movie that commits the deeply French sin of asking “what if noir was boring.” This is not a flaw in the book, I just wanted to dunk on Breathless…and the French.
But in general yes, as ever, I was late to the party on this one and turns out y’all were right. It’s a great party.
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