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ajparmentier's review against another edition
Genuinely, I'm not sure I've ever read a book as hatefully fatphobic and ableist as this book. Every single iota of attention paid to fat characters is dripping with disgust and hate. And that's saying a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Ableism
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Representations: https://trello.com/c/8xKeIU81/86-the-seven-deaths-of-evelyn-hardcastle-by-stuart-turton
To start this off, the ending is pretty flat. It's a bit disappointing after the thrilling and complex rollercoaster the rest of the book is - but I don't think it was so bad it ruined it honestly. I wouldn't recommend reading it for the ending, certainly read it for the journey and puzzle it'll lead you through and the complex weaving story of twists and turns.
I will not go into a decent-length talk about the plot, all you need to know is it's a time-loop concept with body hopping to solve a murder - and nothing is as it first seems like. Not all the characters are likeable, but I believe they're not actually meant to be likeable anyways.
I quite liked the main trio: Aiden, Anna and Plague Doc. While I didn't love who they where, I was interested in their motivations, backgrounds and goals and was curious as to what they'd do next.
With the story starting essentially with the end and working backwards, you get this really complex puzzle-like mystery that slowly builds up more and more, but both you and the MC are given the same pieces to work with. It's a book I'd have loved to do the string-and-pin board meme with!
It does get complex and confusing, my copy of the book had a guest list in the front + a map - I *heavily* used the guest list and tried to keep a short bullet point list for the major players in my head. If your memory is as bad as mine is, or you read over a long period of time/in short bursts, highly recommend to take notes while reading! It's certainly a book to read if you have time to commit to it.
The ending though, man the ending. It's just a bit sad honestly. It feels like a cop-out that got tagged onto the end last second. Almost as if the journey to the end was the only focus, and the ending hadn't gotten thought of until right before publication. It's just a bit too convenient, a bit too.. dumb? Plain? after how complex the whole thing was it was just a bit too plain imo.
The world building however and the whole story around the timeloops I felt was fascinating and heavily under-explained sadly. I'd have loved to have seen more around that side of things.
To start this off, the ending is pretty flat. It's a bit disappointing after the thrilling and complex rollercoaster the rest of the book is - but I don't think it was so bad it ruined it honestly. I wouldn't recommend reading it for the ending, certainly read it for the journey and puzzle it'll lead you through and the complex weaving story of twists and turns.
I will not go into a decent-length talk about the plot, all you need to know is it's a time-loop concept with body hopping to solve a murder - and nothing is as it first seems like. Not all the characters are likeable, but I believe they're not actually meant to be likeable anyways.
I quite liked the main trio: Aiden, Anna and Plague Doc. While I didn't love who they where, I was interested in their motivations, backgrounds and goals and was curious as to what they'd do next.
With the story starting essentially with the end and working backwards, you get this really complex puzzle-like mystery that slowly builds up more and more, but both you and the MC are given the same pieces to work with. It's a book I'd have loved to do the string-and-pin board meme with!
It does get complex and confusing, my copy of the book had a guest list in the front + a map - I *heavily* used the guest list and tried to keep a short bullet point list for the major players in my head. If your memory is as bad as mine is, or you read over a long period of time/in short bursts, highly recommend to take notes while reading! It's certainly a book to read if you have time to commit to it.
The ending though, man the ending. It's just a bit sad honestly. It feels like a cop-out that got tagged onto the end last second. Almost as if the journey to the end was the only focus, and the ending hadn't gotten thought of until right before publication. It's just a bit too convenient, a bit too.. dumb? Plain? after how complex the whole thing was it was just a bit too plain imo.
The world building however and the whole story around the timeloops I felt was fascinating and heavily under-explained sadly. I'd have loved to have seen more around that side of things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Fatphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Gore, Ableism, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault
adgfost's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.25
I have to give it to the author for the sheer complexity of the story, as well as making each of the 8 hosts distinctly different characters, but after that, this book is just average. I didn’t feel like the characters really had motivations behind their actions, more like they were just playing the parts. And despite the fact that the men far outnumbered the women, not a single woman came across as complex or multi dimensional. As for the plot twists, I either guessed them or didn’t really care about them, so I didn’t really feel the need to keep turning the page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Death of parent, and Addiction
loronicole's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I could barely stand this book. It manages to spend 17 hours saying absolutely nothing and running around in circles. Some of the twists were clever, and I enjoyed those, but overall it just became tiring and completely meaningless by the end. Absolutely would not recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Classism, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, and Suicide
Minor: Rape
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: Drug use, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
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: Fatphobia, Murder, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Death, Ableism, Gun violence, 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: Drug use and Ableism
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: Violence, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Fatphobia, Rape, Gore, and Ableism
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: Fatphobia and Ableism