giulianalb99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death, Sexism, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Grief, and Sexual content
liv_jones's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
The Old-Hollywood world that TJR has built seems so realistic, down to the explorations of racism, sexism, ageism, and homophobia rampant in the industry. Every character is fleshed out with their own motivations so that no one person is painted as the villain and even Evelyn’s abusers receive some (somewhat undeserved) sympathy from her. Evelyn herself is not supposed to be a good person - she’s messy and complex, with a consistent set of principles that characterise her actions throughout the novel.
However, I did find that the twist ending fell a little flat. There was so much build up to it and just not enough payoff. Perhaps if there had been more of Monique’s narration (which seemed to become less frequent as the novel progressed) or some actual foreshadowing to how Monique’s and Evelyn’s lives intersected instead of just “you’re going to find out why I chose you soon and it’s going to be super shocking and you’re going to hate me”, I think the twist would have had a greater effect. Even if the twist had been revealed earlier in the novel, as soon as it became relevant, that would have given Monique and the reader more time to process it and potentially increase its effect.
Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Complex characters and a beautiful love story set perfectly within the context of Old Hollywood.
Graphic: Car accident, Infidelity, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Domestic abuse, Blood, Injury/injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Abortion, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
mackenzieduric's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
I did not expect the reason why Evelyn had specifically chosen Monique to be the author of her biography and I was genuinely surprised by the reveal and valued the true and tragic connection between them.Spoiler
I also adore the title being “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” when the main love story was Evelyn and Celia, the greatest love in Evelyn’s life was a woman. Her wife. I think this book is a beautiful historical fiction sapphic love story and I finally understand the hype around it.Spoiler
“I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.”Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Alcohol, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Abortion, Alcoholism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Racism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Racism, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, and Addiction
particledamage's review
- 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
0.75
Seeing good reviews for this books feels like I am on another planet.
This book is genuinely dreadful. It is both rushed and a slog. It is both biphobic and bisexual, racially inclusive and racist, about misogyny and sexist. It's preachy but only ever about like... basic decency things we all agree about. Finding out the author is straight and white clarified the book for me, truly felt like someone had just lovingly pried open my third eye so I could see the truth of the matter.
I honestly don't even think I can neatly summarize all of my complaints here. I sent myself emails with incoherent notes to myself about every new thing that set me off--her "soulmate" being emotionally abusive in patterns identically to her physically abusive spouse. The weird bullying about coming out as if was a CW show handling its first gay plotline and not about two grown women in the 50s and 60s. The weird contrived bit where whenever someone needed to get exposed for something, everyone would suddenly become letter-writers so that the letters could be found. The plot twist that was so insanely stupid I dropped the book.
The way that not only did the book pause to go on diatribes to know that terms like "whore" are bad but also spent an entire chapter knowing every single historical event that has happened, Evelyn was on the right side of it. She's complicated and obsessed with herself and money and glory but don't worry, she was right about Vietnam and treats her hired help well.
God, her character was repugnant but mostly in a dull way. Every character in this story was uninteresting, heinous, or both. Even Harry gets ruined in the end and he was the single enjoyable character the entire way through.
Just... what an awful experience. I'm speechless.
Read it just in a day though, so at least there's that.
Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Death, Cursing, Biphobia, Abortion, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Car accident, Cancer, Outing, Physical abuse, Incest, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Classism, Toxic relationship, Racism, Pedophilia, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Eating disorder, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
bluegenes's review
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Cancer, and Physical abuse
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
sirenricobooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Biphobia, Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Abortion, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death
the_harlequin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Misogyny, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Grief, Biphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Sexism, Mental illness, and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Abortion, Suicide, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Child death
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Injury/injury detail, and Infertility
dolce's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Biphobia, and Death
Minor: Racism, Abortion, and Death of parent
rokinjaguar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A very well-written book. Easy to read, enjoyable, interesting. The characters felt very complex, with distinct character traits and real flaws. It was well-paced and kept my interest the whole time. I liked the newspaper article inserts, that was cute. It was cool to read about the relationship between
Spoiler
Evelyn and Celia. I rarely come across that kind of thing in the books I read. I didn't really like them together because they were horrible to each other at times, but it felt genuine and realistic, and I enjoy reading about types of experiences I'm not generally familiar with.However, the writing annoyed me and the only character I really liked was Harry. There are a lot of "sound bites" in the book that I think were put there to make the book quotable, but it ended up feeling like I was being told how the world works and how to be a good feminist. It was very much telling and not showing, and it majorly detracted from the book in my opinion.
At first I only noticed it in Evelyn's sections and chalked it up to her telling her story and wanting to share the wisdom she's learned in her very full life. It added to things I didn't like about Evelyn as a person but I did appreciate about Evelyn as a character. However, later in the book there's a reveal and the reporter reacts to it and the flow of the book screeches to a halt while the reporter tells me how fury works. Dude, tell me how it works for YOU, don't tell me how it works for everyone, it comes across as arrogant and completely undermines the tone of the scene. It should have been personal and emotional, I should have been led through the descriptions to feel what Monique felt and be in her shoes, but instead I felt like I was being dryly lectured by someone who thinks they're an expert in psychology. Completely ruined the moment, which was a shame because there was another emotional beat that Reid was able to write effectively just a chapter or two before that.
So I think Reid's writing is just not for me. I didn't feel trusted to come up with my own thoughts, I felt like I was being told exactly what to think. That being said, if that stuff doesn't bother you, it's a very interesting and enjoyable novel. I don't regret reading it, but I will not be reading anymore of Reid's books.
Update: After thinking about it a little more, I changed the review from 4 to 3.5/5. The issues I had with it are what have stayed with me, mostly that it was written in a very modern tone, to the point where it felt like the characters were just different colored masks the author wore while she told me her thoughts on various issues. Still an enjoyable and interesting read, but less competently done than I first thought, once the fun and excitement faded.
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Chronic illness, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, and Biphobia
Minor: Cancer, Racism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Child abuse, Outing, and Pregnancy
livvmarks's review
- 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
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