ryuutsu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Car accident, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Terminal illness
bethantg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Homophobia, and Misogyny
violet_viper's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse
b3ttysbooks33's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
kedalrymple's review against another edition
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
hobbit_at_heart's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Car accident, Grief, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Blood, Pregnancy, Suicide, Abortion, and Miscarriage
smolfrog's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Death
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide, Infidelity, Biphobia, and Abortion
saturnpersonified's review
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Addiction, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
te_ss_i's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Addiction, Outing, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Violence
jeanettesreadingcorner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
- Evelyn Hugo’s life story is certainly entertaining and eventful. However, I don’t love it enough to keep my copy. I had high expectations because of how popular it is. I only started enjoying it towards end.
- I didn’t like Evelyn that much for most of the book. I don’t agree with how she treated Celia early on. I guess I don’t like how fake everybody is to each other but that’s Hollywood. I actually started to like Evelyn more after she retired from acting. When Evelyn started living as her true self. I enjoyed Celia St. James and Harry Cameron’s characters more. Evelyn, Celia, Harry, and John (and eventually Connor) being a family together was my favorite part of the book.
- I didn’t care about Monique Grant’s character at all throughout the book. The plot twist at the end was what made her interesting to me. I was mostly reading this to know who Evelyn Hugo is.
- The Old Hollywood glamour and timeline was fun and well-written. I especially loved the outfits and historical references. I also enjoyed seeing the actual media articles on Evelyn and getting to read about her in that perspective.
- The plot twist towards the end! I kind of suspected it or made guesses about it early on. I wasn’t exactly correct but I had an idea.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Cancer, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, and Biphobia
Moderate: Outing, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, and Misogyny