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emilye's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Sexual assault
melodious16's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I thought I knew what was coming or even what book I was reading but I didn’t - in the best way possible
fafpaf0405's review against another edition
5.0
I can't believe I almost DNF'd this book. It was just so hard to get into during the beginning, but I gave it over 15 chapters, hoping it would turn into the story I came for. Then, something happened that made me go "oh, that's interesting finally" and so I kept going. It just got better and better after that, and every time I thought I'd figured it out, nope, PLOT TWIST!! A clever story if you hang in there.
thrillofthepage's review against another edition
Unsure if this was just bad timing or if I went in with too high of expectations. This book was daunting to read and felt too classical for my liking.
paradise_library's review
5.0
Whether or not you believe in it, most of us are fascinated by the idea of predicting the future. Even if it’s as simple as wanting reassurance that everything will work out in the end to reduce the anxiety… At the same time, there’s something terrifying about knowing what could happen. How much is mapped out for us? How much power do we have to change our fate?
In The Square of Sevens, we meet Red, a young girl travelling the road telling fortunes. Her future might not be sung about in ballads, but she’s content until her father dies and her world is turned upside-down. Yet fate intervenes and her life changes – for better or for worse.
Now this book may be a hefty tome but trust me when I say it’s brilliant. I love an anti-hero and Red is our ideal. Every possible tragedy seems to befall her and we see her scheme, grieve and battle to achieve her goals and get revenge on those who have crossed her. She’s a brilliant character: feisty, determined and stubborn, yet subject to the same weaknesses and naivety one would expect from a girl her age. This helps us to empathise with her plight, despite her vendetta.
The story is also incredibly immersive. Shepherd-Robinson is excellent at location writing and the sense of place was fantastic. I was swept up in the sights, sounds and even smells of Bath, London and the countryside, and at times I really lost myself in the story. There are plenty of twists and even if you think you have it all figured out, you may still be as surprised as I was by the ending!
Yet this book also made me angry. So many characters I grew to love met with an untimely death, which distracted me from clues and hints as to what was going on (a cunning ploy). The juxtaposition between Red’s time at the manor and the Bartholomew Fair is very clever; despite the differences in her alternating circumstances, which situation provides her with the most happiness?
Gripping, heart-breaking and full of mystery, this is a phenomenal piece of historical fiction.
In The Square of Sevens, we meet Red, a young girl travelling the road telling fortunes. Her future might not be sung about in ballads, but she’s content until her father dies and her world is turned upside-down. Yet fate intervenes and her life changes – for better or for worse.
Now this book may be a hefty tome but trust me when I say it’s brilliant. I love an anti-hero and Red is our ideal. Every possible tragedy seems to befall her and we see her scheme, grieve and battle to achieve her goals and get revenge on those who have crossed her. She’s a brilliant character: feisty, determined and stubborn, yet subject to the same weaknesses and naivety one would expect from a girl her age. This helps us to empathise with her plight, despite her vendetta.
The story is also incredibly immersive. Shepherd-Robinson is excellent at location writing and the sense of place was fantastic. I was swept up in the sights, sounds and even smells of Bath, London and the countryside, and at times I really lost myself in the story. There are plenty of twists and even if you think you have it all figured out, you may still be as surprised as I was by the ending!
Yet this book also made me angry. So many characters I grew to love met with an untimely death, which distracted me from clues and hints as to what was going on (a cunning ploy). The juxtaposition between Red’s time at the manor and the Bartholomew Fair is very clever; despite the differences in her alternating circumstances, which situation provides her with the most happiness?
Gripping, heart-breaking and full of mystery, this is a phenomenal piece of historical fiction.
mutiny's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
aas393's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
darkskybooks's review
3.0
Read as part of my Goldsboro Prem1er subscription.
Square of Sevens revolves around a succession mystery, who should have inherited an estate. The cast is full of manipulative characters all of whom are slightly suspect in their motivations, but the ultimate culmination of the story is a somewhat dry court case, which is about as exciting as it sounds. It is a bit of a shame as a lot of the characters have been painted in interesting shades of grey. The vaguely villainous nature of all the central characters and the corrupting nature of money and power provide a central thrust to the narrative.
That said, there are some definite weaknesses to the setting as well. To be honest, I am kind of bored of gypsies and freakshows in historical fiction. It seems like every Regency/Victorian historical fiction novel I have picked up recently has a plot revolving around this very niche aspect of 18th and 19th century life. It is actually kind of distracting to the story.
Ultimately the denouement to the plot was cleverly enough worked, but the story did drag quite a bit for me. The whole thing felt a bit long winded.
Square of Sevens revolves around a succession mystery, who should have inherited an estate. The cast is full of manipulative characters all of whom are slightly suspect in their motivations, but the ultimate culmination of the story is a somewhat dry court case, which is about as exciting as it sounds. It is a bit of a shame as a lot of the characters have been painted in interesting shades of grey. The vaguely villainous nature of all the central characters and the corrupting nature of money and power provide a central thrust to the narrative.
That said, there are some definite weaknesses to the setting as well. To be honest, I am kind of bored of gypsies and freakshows in historical fiction. It seems like every Regency/Victorian historical fiction novel I have picked up recently has a plot revolving around this very niche aspect of 18th and 19th century life. It is actually kind of distracting to the story.
Ultimately the denouement to the plot was cleverly enough worked, but the story did drag quite a bit for me. The whole thing felt a bit long winded.
gabradl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0