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This is a beach read. Very easy to read and pages are practically flying though I don't find myself deeply emotionally invested or maybe I'm just not in the mood for a light read. Twenty years later, workaholic and corporate lawyer Samantha is still relevant and relatable.

Am i supposed to feel pity for Evelyn? Because I don't. Not even one bit. In the end, what I only felt is despise towards Evelyn for being arrogant and egotistical. I also felt annoyed towards Monique because of her incompetency as a journalist and her tendency for parasocial extension just proves my point of how amateur and novice she is in her career.

as a journalist you should put a clear boundary between you and the subject. not draw parallels from their lives to yours. thats so amateurish


separate yourself from the subject not embody her ahahah tf monique

i feel like monique is the kind of journalist who hosts podcats like call her daddy ahahaha incompetent af and just doing it for the clout

monique's interviewing skills is for podcast only ahahah

monique is giving influencer vibes and aiming for a best host for public service award

yeah the plot is like soap opera akakaahshshsh

yesss it lacks nuanced and depthhh no introspection or whatsoverrrrr

yess I didn’t feel myself connecting to the story at all.


character arc where character growth where

monique is still a dumbass bitch novice journalist tf

i wished this has taken a different route because at the end of the day evelyn wanted the public to think of her for one last time which is so calculating and manipulative move from her

i find it weird that monique's boss, frankie, agreed on the terms that monique's gets to write evelyn's biography. i feel like that's a plot hole and weak writing sksksk

all of my benefit of doubt for evelyn flew out of the window the moment i realize she orchestrated this whole thing - luring monique to her home, forcing her to interview her and write autobiography for her- shes still calculating even at the last days of her life and even then she took her life just to live on her own terms
i dont get itttt the fuckkk

But I’ve had to fight tooth and nail for it. If I can one day leave this world a little bit safer and a little bit easier for those who come after me . . . well, that just might make it all worth it.” - the fuck look at you evelyn being self-righteous and saintly, angelic, and virtuous, pious and righteous

When you dig just the tiniest bit beneath the surface, everyone’s love life is original and interesting and nuanced and defies any easy definition.

And maybe one day I’ll find someone I love the way Evelyn loved Celia. Or maybe I might just find someone I love the way my parents loved each other. Knowing to look for it, knowing there are all different types of great loves out there, is enough for me for now.

everything about this story is contradicting ughh

ahaha the fuck is the message of this book - you can settle for less and marry for a platonic love you can marry your best friend just so your life would not be complicated and your life would be bearable. tf why would you settle for less

come to think of it if only evelyn didn't divorce harry maybe he wouldnt go his way seeing anyone and everyone

Evelyn was never going to let the thing that made her be the thing to destroy her. She was never going to let anything, even a part of her body, have that sort of power. - of course because everything must go her way as a control-freak




She didn’t pick me just because she felt she owed me. She picked me because of my right-to-die piece. - hay naku monique you're reading too much into this you scatterbrain

these characters are so annoying!! and frustrates the hell out of me

Evelyn Hugo wants to know that I’m OK, that with everything that has happened, I will still be all right. - wow why do you give evelyn so much credit? i just dont understand

these characters are so annoying!! and frustrates the hell out of me

Evelyn Hugo wants to know that I’m OK, that with everything that has happened, I will still be all right. - wow why do you give evelyn so much credit? i just dont understand

I don’t think I would have ended my marriage without Evelyn Hugo.-
monique im not sure if it's the right thing to do to put evelyn hugo on a pedestal and give her that much credit

so did evelyn did all of this just to repent? for absolution? and shes not even sincere not by one bit ugh i hate that i read another tiktok book because i knew all too well it will disappoint me and it did sksksk

is evelyn practicing stoicism? because she's so heartless and cruel for doing all of this. as if she will be painted an icon or a hero
i dont feel guilty or feel bad for her either

this is a sad story but i cant hide the feeling that i end up despising evelyn hugo for all the mistakes and losses and always jumping head first in the biggest decisions in her life.
always impulsive
how is her autobiography supposed to sell if shes the villain here the fuck she lured monique just to confess her sins and now what i just can't stand evelyn's attitude all my sympathy for her just wen out of the window

She could have given me the letter earlier. She also could have thrown it away. There’s Evelyn Hugo for you. Somewhere in the middle. - yeah because she's a calculating, cunning bitch


i knew from the get-go monique is an incompetent writer and interviewer so i realized evelyn must have owe her something

Don’t act like you haven’t benefited from this. You’ve been a willing participant here. - seriously evelyn? wtf i want to pull your hair

evelyn's stoic mindset tf

So you put me through all this to assuage your guilt and make sure you got the book about your life that you wanted?” - evelyn you bitch




“It’s amazing, really. How self-interested you can be. That even now, even when you appear to want to redeem yourself, it’s still about you.” - yessss shes still selfish until the very end sksksksk

so whats the message of this book? that you can marry platonic love and it will be fine because atleast you respect one another and each other's confidante?


I felt more comfortable having a major magazine send you than calling you up on the phone and trying to explain how I knew who you were. - how generous of you evelyn you hypocrite calculating bitch

i knew it!!! the never-ending of plot twist is so dramatic ahahahakskskssksk it's too calculating and mawkish ahahaha 2 1/2 stars or maybe 3 stars if im generous
i just seriously think this is a telenovela hahahah

this is so formulaic and predictable i hate it i hate how calculating evelyn is up to the last years of her life
up to the golden years of her life ahaha

But of course, they got it wrong. They never did care about getting it right. The media are going to tell whatever story they want to tell. They always have. They always will.


oh my god it must be a nightmare for evelyn to witness all her loved ones leaving her one by one
wow tragedy after tragedy is this a telenovela T_T a latin soap opera T_T at some point the story became tacky sksksksks

this book felt like a pocketbook romance sksksks


Me, I’ve always gone after what I wanted with everything in me. - yeah evelyn youre always groveling at men's feet to get what you want

yeah the media always gets it wrong. always painting the wrong story. stories that would sell in magazine stands and would trend in social media.

Me, I’ve always gone after what I wanted with everything in me.

this felt like a fast-paced story where i dont have time to process what happened and the protagonist doesnt dwell on her actions. not even by one second that it's so frustratinggg

im not, not even by a second, moved by this book. it all feels too superficial too me

im not moved by evelyn or monique's pain, i didnt feel for all she has felt.

okay i think dna was not that advanced back then? even if you wipe blood there would still be dna there

i really hate it when i already have a hunch/inkling on what happened

this is so midnights codedddd

omg evelyn why would you do that why would you set up harry's lover like that why would you tamper evidence and obstruct justice sksksk


what if harry's lover is monique's father that seems plausible since the author likes giving predictable plot twists
has a penchant for uninspired plot twists

i knew something will happen to harry skskksksk this is so formulaic skksksks just to keep the story interesting. it was ominous and obvious and foreshadowing sksks

ah evelyn you shouldn't really move a patientttt wtf wheres your brain cells sksksks

unaliving celia felt like a last minute add-in the story to make it a tearjerker and make it memorable

i would have like it if the story was more nuanced especially with how it intertwine evelyn's legacy in hollywood and the history and progress of lgbtq community and societal issues.

yes celia finally she admitted shes insecure and petty and naive.
and yes evelyn youre right youre selfish and shortsighted.

no you fool evelyn why would you leave behind your love letters with celia? you're so frustrating and unbelievable

there's this filipino proverb Marriage is not like hot rice that you can just spit out if you get burned. This Filipino proverb means marriage is a lifelong commitment that you cannot just quit when things get hard.
evelyn just didn't think things through. she's just here for fame, bravado and some intimacy