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sungravity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gripping story just don't think too hard about the nuances/rules of the time-travel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Gun violence
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Ableism
kllyholt's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I rarely have trouble getting through books but god this one dragged itself on. It didn’t get remotely interesting to me until chapter 52. The only reason I kept with it is that it’s currently the only audiobook I had on loan, but I do regret listening to the audiobook as there’s no way to skim past the boring parts.
Also, the Ravencourt & butler parts are just purely the author being very fatphobic and ableist as well.
Also, the Ravencourt & butler parts are just purely the author being very fatphobic and ableist as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape
jennifermackaman's review against another edition
I had to stop reading due to the extreme anti-fat bias. This type of book should not exist. The author wrote a character to be unbelievably biased and does not interrogate that bias at all. He describes feeling deep shame when looking at himself in the mirror in a fat body and the author treats this as a normal reaction. He has such extreme loathing for fat bodies and is miserable the entire time solely because of the size of his body. Fat people are able to live joy-filled and active lives. Books like this feed into the idea that fatness is worthy of shame and not acceptance or celebration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism and Drug use
kaelablue's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
i’m finished the last 3 hours of this audiobook high and gang im gonna have to reread (also have the book #adhd) but i feel like this book has more twists and turns than anything i’ve ever read. i am quite high though. but like? the mystery was prison anna was a war criminal evelyn was the maid and also a mass murderer? and the implications of like. who is a person. and who is more or less than one? like. dimensionally. and it was also like. if u were to throw yourself into a space time loop to kill a war criminal (that killed your sibling?) would that make you evil too? like
i don’t actually know i’m not qualified to make those calculations with any sort of accuracy
i don’t actually know i’m not qualified to make those calculations with any sort of accuracy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Gore, and Rape
Minor: Drug use
elsawhere's review against another edition
The fatphobia got boring and honestly seems like lazy writing. The story felt slow and I found myself pretty disinterested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
fraise's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and War
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Why I Read It: The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton first came onto my radar when I was looking for books involving time loops, since I love time loops. Months later, I saw it in the bookstore and decided to pick it up.
Review:
Turton should get a standing ovation for the brilliance of this book’s concept. It’s incredibly original, and no lazy author would have even come close to touching it. The execution of the concept is also laudable, as Turton’s beautiful writing and detailed thought made this book a joy to read. I never felt impatient about figuring out the mystery; I was content to let the story unfold and follow the main character step by step as he painfully learns more and more about his situation. Despite the undeniably convoluted plot, I was able to follow along, and I appreciated the moral questions Turton poses throughout the story. More importantly, the characters’ motivations and actions felt well-thought-out and realistic. It would have been far too easy for everything to feel contrived, but for most of the book, this is not the case.
I knew that no matter how amazing most of the book was, my ultimate measure of the book would rest heavily on the conclusion. While the conclusion is not the disaster it could have been—no plot holes are introduced, and it remains well-thought-out—unfortunately, it did not quite live up to my hopes. It fell into the trap mysteries so often fall into, in which the author springs a twist so out of left field that it feels contrived and requires a lengthy explanation to understand. The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle did not need such a twist for me to feel impressed by the mystery and the book’s intelligence. I felt that the ending somewhat betrayed the main character’s arc. My main problem with the ending was Anna’s character. How am I supposed to believe that one of the world’s most evil people somehow becomes a good person by endlessly cycling through time loops in a setting that is described as “poisonous” in its immorality and corruption?
One other thing that bothered me considerably was the fatphobic language. The language Turton uses to describe a fat character is unnecessarily cruel.
One other thing that bothered me considerably was the fatphobic language. The language Turton uses to describe a fat character is unnecessarily cruel.
The Run-Down:
You will probably like The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle if:
· You are intrigued by unique, original premises
You might not like The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle if:
· You dislike intricate plots
· You go into the book wedded to your expectations
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Torture, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This is interesting, but it had way too many characters for me to keep track of, and I didn't feel like I "knew" any of them, even after 17 hours of audiobook. I also may have not been a huge fan of the writing style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Avoid if you don't like: torture, trying to remember about 24 vaguely similar characters, or telling instead of showing.twistykris's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I honestly was going to DNF this book about 20% in and I wish I had. I loved the concept of this (especially since I'm going through a phase of wanting to read murder mysteries) but I seriously struggled getting through this.
- The fatphobia made me so so uncomfortable. Aiden is in a host body of one character, and every other paragraph talks about how "huge" and "grotesque" this man is, and how every piece of furniture "creaks" under his "immense" weight, and how he has "many greasy chins." It felt excessive and unnecessary (yes, he's fat, you hate how fat he is when you're in his body, we get it. And sure, maybe some of it was
because the thoughts and memories of the hosts start to take over Aiden's mind, and maybe this is that character's own self-hate and internalized fatphobia but YIKES ). - I don't mind reading a book I feel is dense or challenging. But maybe my brain was just not prepared for the absolute string-and-post-it-note levels of dense this book felt. I had to make a GoogleDoc to keep track of who said what when and who interacted with who because as it turns out, tiny little details would pop up later and I had to be constantly re-reading and flipping back to previous chapters, and not in a fun "OH I'M MAKING A CONNECTION" way; more of a "wait, who said what? I'm so confused" way. To be honest: this book made me feel dumb as hell at times.
- I couldn't seem to be invested in these characters. I felt a twinge of it for Aiden closer to the ending after a big reveal, but nothing that made me hold my breath in anticipation, fear, or excitement.
- Without spoilers: the ending left me feeling a sort of "ick."
- There were some things that felt unanswered in an unsatisfying way.
All in all, I'm giving this a 2.25- this book wasn't for me. I went into this book, craving a "Benoit Blanc"-style mystery but it left me feeling disappointed. Maybe it was a wrong-book-wrong-time scenario, maybe I would never have enjoyed this. But I leave with the knowledge that I need to learn when to put a book down if it isn't giving me satisfaction.
If you enjoy a book that will make you put up a whiteboard to keep track of the intricate webs, if you enjoy multiple twists that leave you feeling a smidge lost and wanting to find the connections, if you feel compelled to immediately re-read a complex book so you can pick up on all the details you missed the first time, this might be the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Ableism and Death of parent
meganndalee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The story does get too complicated at some point and drags for a bit - I can see why many people DNF w/ 100 pages left. BUT I never ever would have guessed the ending and I appreciated that. Overall an entertaining and unique read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Fatphobia