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A review by bookaddictlt
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Oof. I need to go back to my rule of not touching hyped books. This was… not great. The characters were one-dimensional. Monique was useless, serving only to reinforce the story of Evelyn in primarily problematic ways.
Most of it read like Reid set out to see how many trigger warnings, toxic behaviors, and problematic representations as she could. Off the top of my head, the book includes misogyny, abuse, grooming, sexual assault, disordered eating, death, racism, homophobia, suicide, and miscarriage/infertility.
The “twist” was neither surprising nor necessary. The primary relationship of the book is one of the most toxic things I’ve read trying to pass as romantic.
While the problematic items weren’t overt, they walked the line of falling to extremely problematic easily.
I have not read any of Taylor Jenkin Reid’s other novels, but after some research, feel the need to call out how she is on the verge of becoming problematic herself, not just her novels. She is a wealthy, cis, straight, white woman who has opted in her last few novels to only write POC and LGBTQ+ characters. She states it’s to help with inclusion efforts, which is a good intent. I believe her. However, the publishing industry is riddled with the strangling of Own Voices not being published. Reid’s books are decidedly successful. As such, she is now in a position where instead of furthering inclusion, she is part of the problem by proving to publishers they can both make money and not make strides to actually diversify publishing. Add to that that her POC characters' stories are problematic and stereotyped, and she is quickly starting to profit off the appearance of diversity without making a positive impact.
Overall, the book is written well enough. The story is not for me. I don’t like trauma for trauma’s sake, I find it neither shocking nor exciting when written that way. I will most likely not read any other of Reid’s books, and will definitely not buy new as she is not an author I care to support.
This hyped book is just that - hyped. Don’t waste your time.
Most of it read like Reid set out to see how many trigger warnings, toxic behaviors, and problematic representations as she could. Off the top of my head, the book includes misogyny, abuse, grooming, sexual assault, disordered eating, death, racism, homophobia, suicide, and miscarriage/infertility.
The “twist” was neither surprising nor necessary. The primary relationship of the book is one of the most toxic things I’ve read trying to pass as romantic.
While the problematic items weren’t overt, they walked the line of falling to extremely problematic easily.
I have not read any of Taylor Jenkin Reid’s other novels, but after some research, feel the need to call out how she is on the verge of becoming problematic herself, not just her novels. She is a wealthy, cis, straight, white woman who has opted in her last few novels to only write POC and LGBTQ+ characters. She states it’s to help with inclusion efforts, which is a good intent. I believe her. However, the publishing industry is riddled with the strangling of Own Voices not being published. Reid’s books are decidedly successful. As such, she is now in a position where instead of furthering inclusion, she is part of the problem by proving to publishers they can both make money and not make strides to actually diversify publishing. Add to that that her POC characters' stories are problematic and stereotyped, and she is quickly starting to profit off the appearance of diversity without making a positive impact.
Overall, the book is written well enough. The story is not for me. I don’t like trauma for trauma’s sake, I find it neither shocking nor exciting when written that way. I will most likely not read any other of Reid’s books, and will definitely not buy new as she is not an author I care to support.
This hyped book is just that - hyped. Don’t waste your time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Death, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
Minor: Car accident, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Alcohol