Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

129 reviews

amartin48's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

heoleen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

The story itself is very unique. However, I was confused throughout most of it, which is why I gave it a lower rating. It was difficult keeping track of the different characters and their personalities. The concept was good though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

bzliz's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

You’re going to need a full blown conspiracy board with thousands of post-it notes and red string to piece together every part of this multi-faceted mystery. 

Aiden Bishop has one day- lived through eight host bodies- to solve the mystery of who killed Evelyn Hardcastle while also piecing together who he is, who he can trust, and what the Plague Doctor is really doing.

The pace really ramps up as Aiden moves through his different hosts and time starts running out. I can honestly say there is absolutely no way I would have been able to predict the real story of how everything went down. I can easily see myself reading this a second time to see if there’s any clues or hints that I missed the first time around. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Rape

beckyg1016's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense

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

4.25

Every puzzle piece draws you closer to the answer, but not in the way you think.
My advice: Don't try too hard to solve it, play along with the main character as the story unfolds - the ending is worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Classism

bill_nai_bxtch'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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

fraise's review against another edition

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

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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

amicamerlo'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

This unique locked-room mystery is like Freaky Friday meets Groundhog Day—in a dark, historical country setting, of course.  The novel jumps right in with the main character lost on the grounds of a once-handsome estate—he doesn’t know where he is or how he got there; he doesn’t even know his own name.  Come to find out that he’s been tasked with solving a murder, and he’ll have eight chances to do so.  Each day he’ll wake up in a different body, none of them his own.  The only way he can stop reliving this nightmare is to find out who killed Evelyn Hardcastle.  With lots of moving pieces, Stuart Turton’s debut is sure to keep you guessing.  James Cameron Stewart’s narration sets the scene perfectly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death and Child death

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