Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

5 reviews

emreadswithtea's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I listened to this on audio and loved the narration. I first encountered this fabulous narrator in one of the Seven Sisters book series by Lucinda Riley, The Moon Sister. This is the first book since reading the Seven Sisters series that I found to be reminiscent of that unique genre: a sweeping story blending family lineage mystery, historical fiction, light crime/suspense, adventure, with a sprinkle of mystical themes, and a complex tale that all comes together in the end in ways you can’t predict. Getting to the end makes me want to add it back to my list for a re-read to have the experience of seeing all the foreshadowing of the twist that was different than all my predictions. For a 20 hour audiobook which is longer than I normally go for, I was hooked. I did get a little bit more lost in some of the 18th century court/legal details and complex storylines than I imagine I would have if I’d read the paper copy. At times I did almost want to speed ahead to find out what happens next but the story and narration made me fully committed to the full process until the very end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Incest and Sexual violence

mthornburg13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

5.0

Just the perfect historical fiction. With heavy helping of mystery and intrigue. And a dabble of fantasy. Just perfectly crafted and I could not put it down!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

heather_freshparchment's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Cancer, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Confinement, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Dementia, Stalking, and Murder

pm_me_book_recs's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This historical mystery really hooked me and had such good twists.

A fast paced cat-and-mouse, lite courtroom drama, loaded with deception and intrigue! Red is a resourceful and clever main character, driven to unravel her family's history and secrets. From the Cornish countryside to the social court of London, we follow her from childhood to adulthood and experience all her heartbreaks and triumphs as an elaborate mystery unravels to reveal that not everyone is who they say.

The story is peppered with Tarot, as the key plot device is her Pellar father's signature technique, a little bit of star charts and mysticism. We get so many settings that all feel lived in and full- from her adolescent home full of antiquities, to creepy countryside manors, to grungy smelly London streets, and cozy but wretched taverns. The characters are believable, dogged, and loyal to their creeds. The dialogue matches the settings and historical context. There are little peaks into other characters perspectives, but the narration is mostly from Red's point of view, so the reader does build empathy even for the aggressors (sometimes). 

The twists at the end had my head reeling! I don't usually get caught off guard, but dang!

I listened to this via Libro.fm, the narrator was excellent! The physical book is also gorgeous with card illustrations at each chapter head, and a few diagrams and a map of 1730's London.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

bessadams's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Incest, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol