Audiobook Review: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Author: Stuart Turton

Narrator: James Cameron Stewart

Title: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, & Historical Fiction

Format: Audiobook

Published: February 8, 2018

Where I got It: Audible

Summary: 

Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked-room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.

Review:

Gotta love book club. I had my eye on this one but never gave it a chance until this was picked to read in my book club.

Here we follow Aiden who knows the rules to the game. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can figure out who the killer will be and break the cycle. He wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. He has 8 hosts to try to solve it or the loop begins again and his memories are wiped clean. 

What a cool concept. Mixture of Agatha Christie-esque mystery and 'Groundhog Day'. So cool and def a great book to spark conversation. 

Now...I will say I struggled hardcore at the beginning. It was slow and slightly confusing. WHICH you are supposed to be confused-ish. This is Aiden's narrative. You only know as much as he knows. Very, very slow to get the story off the ground. I do think some parts could have been trimmed down a wee bit. 

Once you get past the first couple of chapters things start speeding up and you can see that there is more to the story and characters. Aiden has a mountain to climb for sure. I don't want to give away any spoilers.....but he has a full plate and not everything is as it seems. 

I go back and forth about Anna. Not sure what I would do in Aiden's place. A part of me would want to save her too, BUUUUUUUT after a big reveal....mmmm. 

The ending was good. Def has a slight open-ended feel to it which I liked. 

OOOO and that one BIG, BIG twist???? Oof. That got me good. I didn't see it coming. There were a lot of twists that tied in but it was so good. 

The narrator was okay. The voice is familiar but I can't remember where I had heard it before. The female voices were subpar. They all sounded alike (minus the old lady who was more distinct). The guy voices were good. 

This was a tough review to write ;) I didn't want to give anything away. 

But yes, pretty good especially for a book club. I can't wait to discuss this with the gals! 

Lots of mystery. A slowwwww beginning and some parts could've been slimmed down a wee bit, but once you get into the thick of things you won't want to stop until you figure out what the heck is going on. I enjoyed this. 4 stars. 

Challenge(s):
- #12 for Audiobook challenge

Movie Review: Persuasion (2007)

Title: 

Persuasion

Length:  1h 33m

Released: 2007

Genre:  Historical Romance
Rating: Not rated (maybe a PG?)
Where I Got It: My shelf (DVD)

SUMMARY:

Anne was in love with Frederick, who was rejected by her snobby parents 8 years ago. They've now hit hard times and rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law. He returns a Royal Navy captain. Will he remember Anne?

Click here for the trailer

REVIEW:

I haven't watched this in quite some time and it felt perfect to end the month of love with!

Anne was in love with Frederick years ago, but she was convinced to leave him since he was a nobody and had no money. Years later, her family has hit hard times and has to rent out their home. The new tenants are related to Frederick. He returns but now as a Royal Navy captain. She still loves him, but would he even remember her after all this time?

Love, love, love this movie. The best rendition of the book yet! The cast is perfect and the writing is lovely. It really does follow the book pretty well. Like always they make artistic changes, but they did a great job honoring the book and the characters. 

This Wentworth is swoon-worthy. Love him. 

But yes, watch this version if you can. I can watch this a million times and never tire of it. 

5 stars of course. 

Best of February

Here are our bests of February! 

Best Movie of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Nada this month

"Who knows as usual?"

Carole - Persuasion (2007)

"Rewatched this for Feb! This is a gem and a treasure. A must watch!"

Best Book of the Month:

Carole - Every Last Secret by AR Torre

"This had me all over the place emotionally. So good."

Blodeuedd - Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

"Best book of the  month goes to the re-listen of Marked in Flesh. All the feels. Cried a river."

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd -  The Rookie (S4) & Bling Empire: New York

"I watched s4 of the Rookie. I have also tried to watch Vikings Valhalla, and omg, not going well. I thought I had watched several eps but was still on ep 1. Says a lot. I also watched Bling empire NY for the DRAMA."

Carole - Lucifer (s6) & Sex Education (S1-3)

"Finally got myself to watch the final season of Lucifer. It tore me up! Such a good show...sad to say goodbye. And randomly turned on Sex Education bc it has a bunch of actors I am liking....and it blew me away. I totally binged all three seasons in a matter of a couple days. Can't wait for the next season!"

Best Cover of the Month:

Carole's pick

Blodeuedd's pick

Book Review: Hunterland by Dana Claire

Author: Dana Claire

Title: Hunterland

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, & UF

Format: ebook

Pages: 352

Published: February 7, 2023

Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the publisher/author for my honest and unbiased opinion)

Summary: 

Liam Hunter has warded off hungry vampires, slayed monstrous beasts, and put agonized spirits to rest since he was old enough to hold a stake. When trouble comes through the Hunterland message board, the Hunter family hits the road. Nurses are dying at high schools across Wisconsin in a string of fishy so-called suicides, and the trail leads to Falkville Falls High, where Liam clashes with Olivia Davis, whose maddening family seems inexplicably embroiled in this haunting mess. Liam deals with monsters, not people. Things just got more complicated. Can Liam find out who or what is responsible before the next murder, or will this vicious death cycle have no end?

With only their father to care for them, Olivia Davis has always mothered her little sister, Pepper. But when the Hunter family opens her eyes to the hidden underworld of real monsters lurking in the dark, she realizes she can’t protect Pepper from this newest threat alone. She’ll have to join forces with the wayward boy who irritates her the most to take down a monster that’s too close to home. That’s if her own family doesn’t stand in her way

Review:

When I first seen the cover and read the summary...I knew I had to read this! Plus I am always up for monster hunters!

Liam Hunter has hunted pretty much every monster you can imagine. From vamps to agonized spirits. Through the Hunterland message board, Liam and his family go on another mission. Nurses are dying at high schools across Wisconsin. They look like suicides but super fishy indeed. The trail leads to Falkville Falls High where Liam will clash with Olivia Davis whose family seems to be embroiled in this mess of a mission. Olivia's mother died years ago and she is left to mother her little sister while her father works. When the Hunter family rolls into town....her eyes will be opened to whole different and scary world. 

This is for sure a book you won't be able to put down! I finished this in just a couple of sittings. I had to know all the mysteries. And yes, there are a lot running around in this. 

This did have some Supernatural-feels but in a YA world which was fun. Some parts are super, duper YA so keep that in mind. 

I did have some issues with Liam. There are some times I really liked him, but there are some times when he rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sure I would've reacted like how Olivia would! He def deserved her ire! I think that boy needs a quick kick in the romp! Maybe he'll grow up more in the next book? He is oh so mature in so many ways....but in others? Nope.Immature and annoying. He was just a bit too much sometimes. 

Honestly, it was nice getting a duo narrative so we could learn more about Liam and Olivia and see things from their point of views. 

It was also nice seeing the character development and relationship building between these two. From Olivia and Liam at each other's throats...to being partners....to being friends...and then something more. They still have a way to go since they are both guarded (esp Liam) but it is sweet seeing their love grow slowly.

OH.MY.GOODNESS....the ending!!!!! HOW CAN YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS??????? I am so invested now! I need to see what happens next!!!! GAH!

In the end, I did really enjoy this. I had a hard time with Liam, but I enjoyed the story even when I wanted to kick his butt. ;) So many mysteries, so much action, lots of chemistry, and so many monsters! I'll give this 4 stars. 

Challenge(s):

- #10 for Romance Reading Challenge - Enemies-to-lovers