This is an absolutely stunning work. The characters were fully developed, multidimensional people and the pacing was perfectly balanced. You get to enjoy watching Evelyn's  story unfold from her unhappy childhood to her first big break to the height of her popularity to her twilight years. You root for her through every shitty husband and terrible studio executive. You get so excited for her when she falls into *true* love and finds happiness in an industry that seems to be capable only of manufacturing it for an audience and not its stars.

The book grapples with with believable, heartbreakingly realistic conflicts regarding race, class, sex, and sexuality, but each are treated with nuanced and handled with great dignity and care that fits within the time period in which it is set. This book is perfect as it stands on its own, but it is made even more enjoyable if you're a fan of Old Hollywood, its stars, and have a familiarity with the ins and outs the studio system, morality clauses, the “fixers,” and the Hays Code.

I honestly cannot recommend this book enough!