Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

377 reviews

zediant's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Drug use and Racism

astrangewind's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo tells an incredibly queer story from what seems like an incredibly heterosexual premise, which is something I can totally get behind. In fact, I was quite surprised by how gay this book turned out to be. Despite that, though, it was sad, and I couldn't stop reading once the pace picked up. Each husband had a unique flair and purpose in Evelyn's scandalous life, and the sections are executed well.

Despite liking the plot, I liked neither Monique nor Evelyn. I think Evelyn isn't meant to be a likable character; she herself even claims she's a bad person to Monique's face. That's the whole point of the book. She's beautiful, and cruel, and generous, and loving. All of these things at once. However, Monique was probably meant to be likable, but I found her mostly annoying, and her own story much less compelling than Evelyn's.

I am happy that this book is queer, and I'm happy that it's not just about being queer during puberty, as a lot of books with queer characters are. It's about being queer in Hollywood in the late 20th century, dodging the media and dealing with the AIDS crisis. That said, it bugs me that the only characters who treat Evelyn with any kind of respect are queer.

When Evelyn first meets Harry, she makes a note of it that he doesn't stare at her breasts, like all the other men do. It seems unfair for the one man to treat her like a human instead of an object only does so because he doesn't like women. Similarly, it feels unfair that the only woman who treats her with respect happens to be in love with her. Queer people can have platonic friendships with non-queer people.

Also, every mention of

Evelyn's

bisexuality reads like two people talking back and forth on a Tumblr post; it's over-explained and stilted, like Reid is afraid to offend bisexuals. It's fine, Taylor, I promise, to not repeatedly explain that bisexuality is liking men and women (Gasp!). Truth be told, though, that's my main gripe with Seven Husbands, and it's not that bad. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

Minor: Drug use, Car accident, and Suicide

badbadwolf's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Outing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Homophobia, Suicide, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Cancer, Drug use, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Sexual content

charliechilli's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Terminal illness, Car accident, Drug use, Suicide, Sexual violence, Blood, Cancer, Homophobia, Death, Grief, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

celery's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

the plot twist was stupid and I was bored most of the time but I did cry

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Outing, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Addiction, Cancer, Classism, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Injury/Injury detail

bxnny's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Lesbophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Biphobia, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Drug use, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

styxx's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Death, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Sexism, Alcohol, Grief, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness

Minor: Drug use and Miscarriage

jess_18's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad 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

4.0

i thought i was going to give this book my ‘run of the mill, pretty decent book’ score of 3. but the last 15 ish chapters were beautiful and made me think about my own future.

i am terrified of losing the people i love and being confronted with a lot of loss in the final stretch of this book was incredibly impactful.

many a tear was shed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Suicide, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Cancer, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Biphobia, Pregnancy, Abortion, Body shaming, and Pedophilia

thestarsandthemoon's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Suicide

Minor: Drug use and Domestic abuse

thisiscendres's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective sad

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

4.75

Probablement un de mes livres préférés. Je regrette la traduction parfois trop littérale du texte, mais j'espère que c'est un garant de sa justesse. À mettre entre toutes les mains. 😊

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Biphobia

Minor: Drug use and Child abuse