Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

1148 reviews

bri_morgan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Drug use, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Cancer and Chronic illness

ksmith_23's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Death, Homophobia, Alcohol, Car accident, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Cancer, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Chronic illness, and Addiction

Minor: Child death

carlytenille's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Suicide, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Cancer, Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Death, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Sexism

etherealisnt'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

4.75

 Oh my god, this is one hell of a story! I heard so much good about this book, and I finally got to read it myself. I'm not crazy over it, but I recognize it's a remarkable piece of literature, as word on the street said it was. 

Don't ignore half of me so you can fit me into a box. Don't do that.

 Evelyn Hugo is perhaps one of the more complex characters that I've had the pleasure of meeting in recent history. It's been absolutely lovely to get to know her story and the complexities of her life. I love that she doesn't fit in a box in more ways than one; she's a surprise. She is not necessarily "good" or "bad", but rather simply a human with her own motivations and reasons. We got to learn a lot about Hollywood, moral and emotional issues, and sexuality. 

It’s always been fascinating to me how things can be simultaneously true and false, how people can be good and bad all in one, how someone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly.

I quite enjoyed the sectionalization: how the 'smaller' chapters were paced and the 'bigger' sections had Evelyn's husbands as the titles. That was a smart way to do it, plus it gives you a chance to be more intimate with the other characters. I got to love Harry till the bittersweet end, he had me in his corner pretty early on.

But let's not forget Monique and her story! Even though she was mostly out of the picture, the times she did show up were well-fitted into the story. She didn't get lost or overshadowed by Evelyn (maybe a little, but come on, she's a star). It had a great unbalanced balance, if that makes sense. Most of the characters had a chance to shine in their moments. Nevertheless, strangely, the star of it all shone the most and the least - we got to know Evelyn like no one else, but she's still a total mystery. And that's intricate storytelling for you. 

I’m under absolutely no obligation to make sense to you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, and Cancer

Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Abortion

hayleyw's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Sexual harassment, and Grief

Moderate: Biphobia, Blood, Terminal illness, Suicide, Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Cancer, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia

ghost_cat_xo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Body shaming, Biphobia, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Cancer, Sexual content, Homophobia, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Suicide, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

livreittoashley's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Cancer, Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Abortion, and Suicide

Minor: Pregnancy

gabi_715's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

Graphic: Cancer, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Medical content, Child death, Sexual content, Blood, Biphobia, and Death

Minor: Abortion

mmoranag's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Suicide, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Domestic abuse

fierygecko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

I think this is the kind of book that deserves to -and should- be read twice. It is written uniquely; its incredible how different enough Monique and Evelyn’s storytelling styles are that you can tell who is the narrator of each chapter without ever being told. Each character is diverse, complex, and so fleshed out. Evelyn is a fantastic protagonist, partly because she has had a wild and morally gray life but also because she’s an unfiltered, brutally honest 79-year-old lady. As the reader you are never told to love or hate her; that is up for you to decide. I think that given the message of the story, you would decide on both. Monique is a lens for Evelyn’s story, almost. She processes Evelyn’s life through her own, and vice versa. She learns from Evelyn, and it’s so satisfying to witness. This book is about love, loss, and learning from your ex-Hollywood elders with a chip on their shoulder. I look forward to reading it a second time in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, and Biphobia

Minor: Pregnancy and Grief