Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

39 reviews

idontread's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

to anyone who saw me crying alone in the airport lounge while reading this no u didn’t

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Biphobia, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Addiction, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Biphobia, Cancer, Grief, Incest, Outing, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

racheleanne06's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I found myself so much more invested in this book than I was expecting. It’s emotional, sad, and yet still hopeful at times too. I found myself engrossed in these characters and their stories. 

It’s a book about love, in all it’s different forms, but it’s also about grit, determination and survival. 

This book feels real, as if Evelyn is a star that we have known for ages on our screens, that she’s a real person with real hopes and desires. That Monique is the one writing about Evelyn’s life. 

Especially when it comes down to the heartbreaking truths of LGBT+ history, which is included heavily in this book, and the devastating themes of loss and grief. 

It’s not something I would normally pick up, but after hearing a lot of people talk about Jenkins Reid, I wanted to give it a go. I am VERY glad I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Death, Blood, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Child death, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Suicide, Death of parent, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Outing

livvmarks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, Outing, Pedophilia, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Classism, Infidelity, Abortion, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Car accident, Cursing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia

itsmeaemma's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Bullying, Cancer, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Death of parent

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting to. Quick, easy, and enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Self harm, Suicide, Abortion, Sexism, Alcohol, Cancer, Misogyny, Child death, and Sexual content

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An utter, earth-shattering masterpiece. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is both a stripped-down version of the bitter reality of Hollywood through the decades, and a glamorous tribute to unequivocal love and loss.

It’s quite shocking that it took me so long to read this, though I suspect a lot of it had to do with the fact that I had such high hopes and had heard so much unadulterated praise. Ever the pessimist, I was afraid it would disappoint me.

I’m VERY GLAD to report, that it did not disappoint me at all, and actually was much more than I hoped for. An incredible epic of a story-within-a-story, a biographical account of a fictional starlet with many marriages and headlines, but only one true love kept secret for most of her life.

I love TJR’s writing, her layered and complicated story building eclipsed only by the bold and complex characters she creates. Evelyn isn’t supposed to be someone you just love, but she is someone you absolutely root for, despite all her flaws. Because there’s Celia, the truth behind it all. (And Harry, whom I adored so much.) 

One of the best novels I’ve ever read that accurately tackles the duality of humanity and fame, with a central focus on the LGBTQ+ community. Phenomenal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Drug use, Outing, Physical abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Sexism

Moderate: Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Abortion, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Eating disorder

camiclarkbooks's review

dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid tells the story of the titular Evelyn Hugo. 

Evelyn Hugo was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars from the 1960s to the 1980s and won international attention for her striking beauty. At age 79, Evelyn is ready to share all the details of her glamorous—and scandalous—life. 

She decides to give her story to Monique Grant, a virtually unknown reporter, to the surprise of everyone, including Monique. Recently separated from her husband and stuck in a dead end position at work, Monique seizes the opportunity to boost her writing career by agreeing to write Evelyn’s biography. Besides, if she didn’t agree to, Evelyn would have taken the sordid details of her life to her grave. 

As the two work together, going through the timeline of Evelyn’s struggle to break into Hollywood in the 1950s until her decision to retire from the business in the 1980s, Monique developed a connection to the icon. She rationalizes many of the cutthroat, calculated decisions Evelyn had to make along the way. Monique is also captivated on the reveal of Evelyn’s forbidden love, her greatest love out of all of her seven husbands. As the two women near the end of the interviews, Monique realizes that her life is irrevocably entwined with Evelyn’s in the most tragic ways. 

This was a book I’d been looking forward to reading for months and waited impatiently until I could check it out from my local library. Everyone in the bookish community has spoken so highly of “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” for years and after being blown away by the artistry of “Daisy Jones and the Six,” I had high expectations. But this book fell short. 

With the exception of Evelyn Hugo herself, the characters were bland. The b-plots were forgettable and even the overarching plot was largely predictable and uninspired. With that being said, the representation and diversity the characters and plot threads offered are excellent. Jenkins Reid did an excellent job balancing representing such a wide range of people for a modern audience in a way that was appropriate for the setting of the book. 

It is undeniable that Jenkins Reid has tremendous talent. Most authors steer away from overly explaining movements and describing items, but Jenkins Reid doesn’t and it works. Rather than inundating the reader with too much information, it creates a very specific image in the reader’s mind as they go through the book. 

Overall, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is an interesting tale of a fictitious version of Old Hollywood loosely inspired by several real people from the time period. It subverted expectations in many ways, but was also predictable in others. The characters weren’t as complex as other characters Jenkins Reid has written, but the writing style of the book is unique enough to partially make up for that. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Miscarriage, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Cancer, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Biphobia, Death, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, and Toxic relationship

aimee_aj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Incredible. Just incredible. Both breath taking and heartbreaking. I absolutely loved this book. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Misogyny, Cancer, Grief, Car accident, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Misogyny, Outing, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Grief, Sexism, Terminal illness, Abortion, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Physical abuse, Racism, and Toxic relationship

ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Spoiler

Wow, just wow! Even though there are many disturbing things about this book (aka domestic abuse, lying, violence, tampering with the crime scene, etc.) I loved how well-crafted the characters were. Evelyn Hugo did what she had to do to get what she wanted and succeed in life; it was truly inspiring as a woman. She was super flawed, which made her compelling. Her story inspired Monique to take what she deserved and live a fuller life. I hope people who read this don't misinterpret the message. That fame was expensive, and it wasn't for everyone. Fame looked glamorous because of the money, but there were a lot of darkness and sacrifices involved to stay at the top. Her freedom had limits, and it made me sad. Evelyn wanted to express her true self, but she couldn't easily do it. It was the curse of her status in life. Overall, this book was excellent and a potential reread. Thank you so much, Taylor, for writing this book! People, love as long as you can; we never know our end.✨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Deadnaming, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Abortion, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, Racism, and Self harm