Reviews

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

barcodeborrower's review against another edition

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4.0

*Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC

Ah wow! What an enthralling story with so many twists and turns. Trust no one and pay attention while you unravel mysteries, intrigue, familial disputes, and murders.

mglarson29's review

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4.0

Thanks to Atria for sending an arc of this book to the bookstore I work at! 

I’m not sure exactly how to rate this one. Parts of it were easily a 4.5 and parts were a 3.5, so I guess I’ll average that to a 4. The writing was great, and I loved the Dickensian atmosphere. Some of the reveals, especially at the end, felt a little clunky and didn’t quite match the pacing of the rest of the story. I was hoping for a little more emphasis on the fortune-telling and occult aspects of the story. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I recommend it to anyone interested in English history, fortune telling, family dramas, and long-lost heirs.

kindle_and_crossstitch's review

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5.0

Five stars!!

What a fantastic tale. Clocking in at 560 pages, this is far from a short read and had me gripped throughout. Parallels with Dickens have been drawn, rightly. This also reminded me of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, another epic read with a mystery at its centre which was originally serialised; I could easily imagine TSoS being released in instalments.

I loved how the playing cards had been matched (perfectly) to each chapter, giving the reader a glint of what lies in the pages ahead.

And as for THAT twist….I’m still getting over it now! Thank you to netgalley & Pan Macmillan for my review copy.

kindle_and_crossstitch's review against another edition

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5.0

What a fantastic tale. Clocking in at 560 pages, this is far from a short read and had me gripped throughout. Parallels with Dickens have been drawn, rightly. This also reminded me of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, another epic read with a mystery at its centre which was originally serialised; I could easily imagine TSoS being released in instalments.

I loved how the playing cards had been matched (perfectly) to each chapter, giving the reader a glint of what lies in the pages ahead.

And as for THAT twist….I’m still getting over it now! Thank you to netgalley & Pan Macmillan for my review copy.

sarec's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

carbonaden's review against another edition

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

4.0

julesg's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

kipsfj's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A dark and fascinating story! This is  absolute gripping page turner.

Set in Georgian times, Red, the daughter of a fortune teller, travels with her father paying their way by telling peoples’ fortunes using the ancient method of Square of Sevens.

Fortune smiles on Red when she enters a grand house in Bath to be raised as a lady. She slowly starts questioning her real identity - who was her mother, who were the enemies her father constantly feared. The story takes us from Bath to London and into the bosom of powerful rival families in London high society.

Red is a wonderful character; strong, ruthless and manipulative and with an iron determination to find out who she really is. The plot twists will keep you on your seat wanting to find out more!

Step into a spellbinding atmospheric Georgian life, full of deceit, lies and mysteries. If you like a good historical page-turner, this is perfect for you.

fenwench's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

bigcitydreamer's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

This book was a 5 star most of the way for me, and started to lag in the 150 to 100 pages before really picking up to a jaw-dropping ending that saved it. Richly descriptive, fleshed out characters with multiple points of view and few truly worthy of trust. This book is a true masterpiece!