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lalu's review against another edition
emotional
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm not sure how to rate this... I read it within 4 days which is really fast for me, and I cried twice which almost never happens.
Maybe it was the way the book was written. I really like the chapters where Evelyn and Monique interacted, but I still don't get if the other chapters were meant to be monologues by Evelyn, flashbacks, or chapters from the biography. And I feel like I didn't really get to know the characters apart from Monique, Evelyn and Harry. They felt rather two dimensional, even Celia and Connor. That might have been a stylistic choice because Evelyn's perception was very much centered on herself, but I still didn't like it. It diminished the effect of a novel that spans decades, something I normally love because I feel like I really get to know all the characters.
And even though they were rare, I really hated these ominous foreshadowing bits like
Maybe it was the way the book was written. I really like the chapters where Evelyn and Monique interacted, but I still don't get if the other chapters were meant to be monologues by Evelyn, flashbacks, or chapters from the biography. And I feel like I didn't really get to know the characters apart from Monique, Evelyn and Harry. They felt rather two dimensional, even Celia and Connor. That might have been a stylistic choice because Evelyn's perception was very much centered on herself, but I still didn't like it. It diminished the effect of a novel that spans decades, something I normally love because I feel like I really get to know all the characters.
And even though they were rare, I really hated these ominous foreshadowing bits like
I have no idea that in less than a week, Evelyn Hugo will finish her story, and I'll find out what this has all been about, and I will hate her so much that I'll be truly afraid I might kill her.
Also the car accident and the big secret felt kinda forced, a bit like an afterthought to add more drama?
But overall I enjoyed reading this book immensely so I'm really torn about how to rate and feel about it.
But overall I enjoyed reading this book immensely so I'm really torn about how to rate and feel about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Car accident
Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
liksie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
✨️WOW✨️
'Evelyn, wer war Ihre große Liebe?'
Dieses Buch war so viel besser als ich erwartet hatte! Ich kann gar nicht in Worte fassen, wie gut ich es fand. Ich dachte es könnte vielleicht ein wenig langweilig werden und war skeptisch vom Internet-hype. Aber schon der Schreibstil des Buches hat mir sehr gefallen. Die Abwechslung der Kapitel hat es zu einem fast read gemacht und die Artikel zwischendrin haben das Lesen erleichtert.
"Sie werden es nicht versuchen. [...] Keiner will Menschen wie uns verstehen."
However ich habe bei diesem Buch tatsächlich mehrfach ein paar Tränen verloren XD. Definitiv ein emotionales, aufregendes und spannendes Buch mit Plottwists, Herzschmerz und realen Krisen.
"Wir könnten im Gefängnis oder in einer psychatrischen Anstalt enden. Verstehst du das? Wir könnten eingewiesen werden. So weit hergeholt ist das nicht. So etwas kommt vor. Auf jeden Fall kannst du dich darauf verlassen, dass Niemand mehr unsere Anrufe beantworten würde."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, and Alcohol
grynet's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
I bought this book not knowing much about it beyond the synopsis, and I hadn’t read any other books by the author.
The first few chapters left me a bit skeptical. The writing didn’t quite capture my interest and it felt a bit clunky at times. However! Once the narrative shifted to portray Evelyn’s story I noticed a significant shift, and I was hooked. It felt like this was what the author had been excited to write about, that she had something important to say.
There is representation of different ethnicities as well as sexualities, and while at times it felt a little bit forced the majority of it worked really well. I was especially pleasantly surprised at how well a certain part of an LGBTQ character was written (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers). That specific moment didn’t just feel like good represenation, it was simply put good writing. So good in fact that I insisted on reading it out loud to my partner as it made me really emotional.
Beyond representation the book portrays several unique and complicated characters, and they feel incredibly realistic and human in their flaws. Evelyn Hugo herself was a very fascinating character, and the author did an amazing job at writing the character’s best and worst moments in a way where she makes you feel both upset and compassionate.
I’d recommend the book to practically anyone. It was easy to read, the text flowed well most of the time, and it felt like it was written by someone who was very passionate about this story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Infidelity, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, Abortion, and Lesbophobia
jessicadann01's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
5.0
Without a doubt, 5 stars. It is my new favourite book of all time. I could read it again. I didn’t want to say goodbye to the characters. I wanted to live in the universe of the book to go and watch all of her films now knowing the lore behind the scenes of them all.
I must admit that I did predict the plot twist at the end but it didn’t take away from the book. It definitely isn’t the focal point of the book (for me anyway).
I loved how different it was from anything I’ve read before. You’d imagine a book about a movie star to feel a bit airy and fictional but this wasn’t. I got so lost in the pages that I couldn’t put it down. Every character was so real and flawed, which helped ground it.
I didn’t completely cry but often had tears in my eyes.
I’d read content warnings but wouldn’t be too discouraged from the book from them as they were all mild.
As someone who has recently come to terms with their bisexuality, this is a book I believe all bisexuals must read. It has some very important messages for us. I felt so seen and completely empathised with Evelyn.
I must admit that I did predict the plot twist at the end but it didn’t take away from the book. It definitely isn’t the focal point of the book (for me anyway).
I loved how different it was from anything I’ve read before. You’d imagine a book about a movie star to feel a bit airy and fictional but this wasn’t. I got so lost in the pages that I couldn’t put it down. Every character was so real and flawed, which helped ground it.
I didn’t completely cry but often had tears in my eyes.
I’d read content warnings but wouldn’t be too discouraged from the book from them as they were all mild.
Content Warnings
Minor: Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, and Abortion
uh_havey's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism and Homophobia
Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Car accident, and Abortion
hanna_23's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Abortion
mythxcally's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-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
3.5
A beautiful book. The first time I attempted to read this, I gave up after the first couple of chapters. I was convinced it was not for me. However I'd heard plenty of good things, and decided to really push myself to read it and try again. And I'm glad I did.
It's different from what I usually read, but I did thoroughly enjoy this book. My heart broke for Evelyn whenshe lost everyone she cared about, espically Harry. He was my favourite throughout the book and I was heartbroken as well when he died. Evelyn w as right, they were definetely soulmates.
There isn't much else to say, I truly enjoyed this book and although it dealt with some potentially challenging and heavy topics, it was a breeze, light summer romance which had all the feels.
It's different from what I usually read, but I did thoroughly enjoy this book. My heart broke for Evelyn when
There isn't much else to say, I truly enjoyed this book and although it dealt with some potentially challenging and heavy topics, it was a breeze, light summer romance which had all the feels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
krandelzhofer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
There wasn’t enough exploration of the reporter character for you to connect with her and the ending. It wrapped up too quickly The sudden interspersed chapters with their viewpoint run the presence interrupted the narrative.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, and Alcohol
bringitona's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I truly understand the hype over this book. Taylor Jenkins Reid did such an amazing job with this book. It was not all what I expected going, but so much better. I flew through book but I wish I had paced myself. The last third is heavy and emotional so I definitely recommend not rushing through it. There’s a theme I typically hate when done in other books, but Reid does it very gracefully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, and Outing
reeccees's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Abortion, and Death of parent