This book had the potential to be an emotional rollercoaster. The plot is killerā¦ anything Old Hollywood is sure to catch my interest. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo already had a pre-prepared slot on my Favorites bookshelf, and I was so excited to have a contemporary bestseller included. But the writing is so incredibly bland. It didnāt make me feel much of anything at all, except annoyance at itās dullness.Ā
Whenever Reid wrote a moment that should have been impactful, I was brought out of the story by my own mind going, āShe wrote that wrong.āĀ
Throughout the book, she focused too much on dialogue and didnāt pay enough attention to small mannerisms that help you get to know a character. As a result, all of the characters were two-dimensional, with Evelyn and Celia as very minor exceptions. To make it worse, the dialogue was unrealistic. All of the emotions were spelled out in cliche, unnuanced speeches that translated into nothing more than sentimental slush. When she wasnāt writing dialogue, Reid always made her characters jump into action, and didnāt add any depth. The writing was devoid of any subtlety or genius, and Reid had a really bad case of telling rather than showing.
And the worst part was how Reid dealt with serious topics. Iām not going to go into that right now, because it uncovers way too many spoilers, and because I would rant on forever. The sad part is, I wasnāt even aware of how badly Reid dealt with these topics until I had finished the book and actually thought about it. While reading, I was too busy rolling my eyes. Afterwards, I realized how damaging those passages could be to someone actually struggling, and how easily misconstrued they could become.Ā
