Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

15 reviews

placeholder13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Torture, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Rape, Misogyny, and Alcohol

zerer's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I personally really enjoyed reading this book! Felt there were so many twists and turns especially as I got closer and closer to finishing it up. It did take me a bit to get into the book as I did jump from a completely different genre and tone of voice but nonetheless it was an interesting read from beginning to end. I do wish I had the detective skills that Aiden has!! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Rape

star's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was complicated for me. I really enjoyed it, but it was pretty hard to get through at points. Possibly that was because I was already anxiety-ridden waiting for something in my personal life, but the palpable anxiety throughout the book did not help me.

I found the relationships between the characters quite interesting, but unraveling it took quite a bit of time. Especially jumping between the hosts, I felt like I needed a huge wall of pictures and colorful yarn to figure that out. 

I will say that the ending made the book very worth it for me. Between all the points being added and deducted in my brain for various things, I think I have settled on a 4 star rating. Good enough to finish, but not good enough to keep -- I will be donating this sometime soon. (Which is great, as I bought it at a half-price used books sort of deal, and I believe it was one of the donated ones (they also carry limited new selections).) 

Now, for the spoiler portion:

I found the comparison of Anna to Hitler to be unnecessary, especially because Aiden just fucking ignored that anyway. I LOVED the twist ending, though - I did not expect for a second that Evelyn was actually Felicity, and that the REAL Evelyn was hiding. I also can appreciate how many of the characters died in various ways that WEREN'T Evelyn. I can't believe they wiped out the entire Hardcastle family in this book.

Finding out that Evelyn was to be married to Ravenscourt killed me though. And so many little plot points just stood out to me. It was a shame it was a bit of a slog.

I have seen a lot of complaints online about the descriptions of Ravenscourt in this book. Personally, the fatphobia was expected for me. As someone who is "medically obese" (a term I hate) it bothered me, but not enough to get me to stop reading. It was quite repetitive and gratuitous, as most of his descriptions of the characters "negative" traits are, but oh well. I do think that I would not have read this book if I had seen those reviews first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Abandonment, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Rape, and Fatphobia

priscillarobock's review

adventurous 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

bookhoarder2022's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Decent mystery & interesting premise, but the way the narrator speaks with such disgust about his hosts was a huge turn-off

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Self harm, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Stalking, Addiction, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infidelity, Drug abuse, and Grief

thecriticalreader's review

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. 

 

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Death, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Blood, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Cursing, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Self harm

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Drug use, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Murder, Torture, Violence, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

joyolivia's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, and Child death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

laguerrelewis's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was a marvelously creative and captivating murder mystery. A creative twist in the premise helps shake things up, but it is far from the only trick this book has up its sleeves. A fun workout for the brain with a great narrative voice and complex mystery that will appeal to all fans of the genre, with a surprisingly poignant message at the center of it all. Would be a 5 star if only it fleshed out its message just a bit more, and the occasional moment that raised my eyebrow (but didn’t quite offend).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, Torture, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Gaslighting, Death, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Gore, and Child death

Moderate: Rape and Suicidal thoughts

nellkristen's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Alcohol