what can i say about this book that hasn't already been said? i truly did not intend to read this all in one sitting, but good stories like these demand to be read.

i consumed this voraciously. TJR has a way of creating the most insanely vivid settings, from the 50s to present day, i am absolutely blown away by her ability to create so much with so little. the characters are so painfully human, i never come away thinking that i know any character entirely. especially evelyn, who only ever wanted to be her truest self with her family, and with monique's biography, was finally demanding to be humanised beyond her celebrity. all her mistakes and choices are laid out bare, the beauty and the ugliness of everyone's life, and TJR makes you care for them anyway.

this book tackles so much, and does it all well. evelyn has woc/lgbt rep, and explores celebrity culture, old hollywood, romantic and platonic love, female ambition and sexuality, divorce, even assisted suicide. this book says fuck the patriarchy! this book is about evelyn warring with her two selves and trying to be true blue in a world which views her a very specific way and has her on a very high pedestal. it is heartbreaking, tragic, and just above all, painfully human. what an absolute breath of fresh air.