Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Die sieben Tode der Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

81 reviews

carolinekiiing's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

It was free on Kindle, and that about sums up how I feel about the book. It started out super slow, and I understand the reason why, but the first 75 pages were still certainly a slog. I didn’t feel a particular closeness to any of the characters except for Evelyn, but that totally changed in the end. The Evelyn we came to know wasn’t all too important ironically, and most of the reveals surrounding her murder were either corny as hell or involving a totally irrelevant character just so that the author could say they trick me. The laws of the universe are clumsily explained through some Act III dialogue dump, which feels like the author forgot this was something they had to explain until way too late. Also- Insane fatphobia??? The only fully sympathetic character was just constantly assaulted by the author, as if his weight was some sort of moral failing despite the fact that he is disabled. Weird take, Stuart. 

I liked the gothic setting and an interesting twist on the Groundhog Day troupe, but it wasn’t enough to distract from the weird shit. It’s a kinda fun read when it’s not being annoying or weird, I guess.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug use, Misogyny, Torture, Blood, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

CW: this is a murder mystery-esque, so there are themes of violence, death and murder throughout the novel. Drug use, animal cruelty and torture are mentioned in short detail. There are very brief mentions of rape and sexual harassment through the lens of one character, but it is not central to the plot nor often repeated. Also, the fatphobia is actually worse than anything else, so strap on for that.

oxygenmill's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.0

I am knocking a point off of my score for this book because of how extreme the fatphobia in it is. I would have a difficult time recommending this book to others because of that particular aspect of the story. That major caveat aside, the plot was very interesting, the structure of the mystery complex enough to be compelling without being so hard as to be incomprehensible. I was able to predict a couple of the reveals which was exciting but I didn't predict the whole plot. And there was a reveal near the end that I genuinely did not at all expect. I'm actually considering engaging with the discussion questions at the end of the book in order to spend a little bit more time in the headspace and unpack some of the themes. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, Torture, and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Rape, and Alcohol

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

maryconney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Torture, Medical content, Stalking, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

a_little_wonky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Really intriguing premise and writing. I usually stay away from mystery/thriller because I find them predictable but this wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination - and there were many stretches of the imagination. I’d definitely have to read this a second time to catch all the little clues now that I know the ending. Honestly I’m sure I missing things because it was so fast-paced I just kept going, I couldn’t put it down. 4 stars because I do think some plot lines were left hanging (I hate intentionally misleading clues that are never resolved), and time travel isn’t really my jam. But definitely worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Addiction, Rape, and Suicide

gracescanlon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and War

s3ag0at's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

esv_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape, Grief, and Classism

boondogglebooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Disorienting by design, this book was interesting yet somewhat overwhelming. There are a lot of characters— most unlikeable for their own individual reasons — and they’re hard to keep track of. There’s a tricky time loop. The story isn’t told in a linear narrative structure. There’s deceit and confusion and the narrator is incredibly unreliable. The conclusion is intense but satisfying — it was hard to get there but mostly worth the trek. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism