Angharadis t1_ivy6nh3 wrote on November 11, 2022 at 2:22 PM

Agreed. I saw a lot of people raving about it as a wonderful queer romance, and I just didn’t feel it either. I didn’t like any of the characters or her relationship with Celia. I found the entire framing with Monique to be stilted and weird. I honestly hate it when I read one of the much loved books like this and end up disliking it.

purpleshampoolife t1_ivymck8 wrote on November 11, 2022 at 4:11 PM

I am not queer so I can’t tell if this is the right take, but every big twist in the book being “surprise, someone is gay!” felt really off to me. Like it would have been groundbreaking 20 years ago maybe but now it feels pandering and reductive? I don’t know.

Hi-isLiv OP t1_ivy8ar8 wrote on November 11, 2022 at 2:34 PM

Me too. I remember crying when i read Call me by your name and was completely unaffected by the hardship of Evelyn Hugo even if the themes were relatable.

Kayemmbee t1_ivyrme9 wrote on November 11, 2022 at 4:46 PM

I read another one of TJR's books within the Evelyn Hugo "universe" and it also has a queer character. I may be wrong, but I don't think the author is queer. Perhaps that's why the romances feel inauthentic to me. I'm a cishet woman btw, so by no means do I feel like I'm an expert on queer relationships. Nor do I feel like only queer authors can write stories with an LGBTQ character. I think I just feel like the best relationships in stories are drawn from real experience and the author didn't have that experience to draw on.