Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

37 reviews

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Honestly the beginning of the book is kind of slow and frustrating because you know nothing just as Aiden Bishop (the main character) knows nothing. He doesn’t even know his name. It picks up though and then it is a crazy ride.

I tried making multiple guesses about the things that were going to happen in the book but I was often wrong. There were a lot of twists and turns and I definitely did not see the final twist coming. 

When I started reading I thought it would be a four star book at most but it really delivered. When I got to the final day I was worried that all the plot holes would remain holes, but Turton made sure that everything got wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow. 

I loved this book and would read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Self harm, and Torture

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, and Medical content

calicat42's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Every time I finished a chapter I had no idea what to expect in the next one… and I GASPED at the ending. What a rollercoaster it was to get through the book! 

Most excitingly was that I constantly felt like I was the main character living each day as each new “host.” Since you only learn what the characters know, you have no choice but to get into the characters’ minds, experience what they’re each experiencing, and hope that the days aren’t wasted. 
Incredibly immersive. 

My only complaint is that the ending didn’t really feel connected to the rest of the book. Maybe if I went back to read it now I could see the signs and clues better, but sooo much information came out in the last few pages that I got a bit lost in how everything connected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cheye13's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

The first half of this felt like a very promising murder mystery with a little supernatural twist. It initially seemed that the main character would get over the "rules" and piece together clues over the course of the book. Unfortunately, the back half dropped the ball. The supernatural stuff took over and pieces of the mystery(s) were either dropped, glossed over, or tied up way too conveniently. The premise was promising, but this story tried to hard to be both genres, instead of picking one main one and sprinkling the second genre for flavor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

the fatphobia is egregious; it's my reading that it's internalized fatphobia, as it's contained to the chapters in which the main character inhabits the fat persona, intended to exemplify the effect the different hosts' personalities have on the main character, but is still very tactlessly written, and is sustained through a significant portion of the book.

stilestastic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i didn’t know what was going on at any point in this book and i LOVED it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

branamalyssa10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

fadeddpages's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual assault

izzyhaa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

artstitute's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

This book was full of twists and turns, some of which I found more compelling than others.

The big twist that the whole plot was some cooked-up punishment a la Black Mirror kind of felt unnecessary to me. It didn't ruin the rest of the book, but it introduced a lot of moral quandaries that I don't think added much. OTOH, the Evelyn twist? IMMACULATE.

All in all, though, I definitely couldn't put it down and I would recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Gore, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury

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. 

 

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: 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