I just finished the book and while I enjoyed all parts Evelyn, I felt like TJR included Monique because she thought the audience would be too stupid to understand the lessons they should be reaping from Evelyn’s life story. Like a whole chapter would cover how Evelyn stood up for herself in her relationship then Monique’s take away would be “I need to stand up for myself in my relationship.” Like yes? I got that. It just felt like it went against the cardinal rule of show not tell. Her insights were generally pretty bland and i don’t think the interactions between her an Evelyn revealed anything unique to Evelyn’s character. I also didn’t fully understand the necessity of the twist at the end. I think it would have been much more impactful if Monique, throughout the novel, talks about how she feels unlovable because of her fathers early death. But that’s not the case at all, so it left me wondering why she needed his love validated at the end of the book. All in all I really enjoyed it, and if anyone has a different perspective on Monique, i would love to hear it!
by talushh