Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

“No one is just a victim or a victor. Everyone is somewhere in between. (…) There’s Evelyn Hugo for you. Somewhere in the middle.”

This book is really great. The narrative progresses really smoothly from the slow setting-the-scene start to Evelyn’s captivating and intriguing life story and all throughout it. All the characters feel really full and multifaceted too; they’re all “somewhere in the middle” between good people and deeply flawed, making the show of their relationships an even better read.

This book also made me cry several times, so make of that what you will.

Evelyn Hugo lived up to the hype.

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allapaz's review against another edition

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3.0

underwhelmed and sad about it
was expecting evelyn hugo to be at least minimally likeable, but man, I had a rough time with her character. there were golden nuggets in here for sure, and something about TJR's writing keeps me reading even when I'm less than hooked. I just really wanted this one to blow me away like it has for so many people

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smolfrog's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious 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

4.25

I don't feel like I can give this 5 stars, as I don't think it was perfect, but it was a wild ride and one I'll probably think about for a bit. (And I did finish it in 2 days, so you know I liked it a lot!) This is my first TJR book and I didn't initially connect with her writing style; it felt a little "basic" during the book's initial exposition with Monique. That being said, I think her strength really lies in writing frank, honest dialogue between characters with opposing views/desires, so once those scenes started coming up, I enjoyed the writing a lot more. I think the emotional climax(es) are also written well, portraying the strong emotions the characters feel in the heat of the moment.

This is a book that I felt compelled to keep reading not necessarily because of "twists", but because I wanted to see how the story unfolded. The plot moves along at a quick clip (I would say somewhere between medium- & fast-paced), and I wasn't left unsatisfied when it came to finally seeing the full picture. Some parts of the story I saw coming, some I didn't, but I am very impressed at how TJR crafted a narrative encompassing much of one woman's 80-year life. I also really enjoyed the little clippings from gossip rags and magazines to expand on the plot/world-building in certain chapters.

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