Reviews - The Square of Sevens

882 reviews for:

The Square of Sevens

Laura Shepherd-Robinson

4.14 AVERAGE

wjreadsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

"The Square of Sevens," I said, as I placed the final corner card, and we took a moment to admire the seven rows of seven cards laid out on the table. "The Square contains great power, an arrangement of cards unique to you. Out of it will arise your parallelogram, the cards of fortune."

In 1730, Red is a young girl travelling with her father, a man who seems to be on the run from his past. The only skill that Red has is the ability to read cards with a technique known as the Square of Sevens, a skill that has been passed down from her father's family and which she has been told to secretly guard. When her father passes, her care is entrusted to Mr Antrobus, a kindly gentleman scholar. With her adoption, Red's life begins anew in Bath, where she is raised as a lady, albeit one with a unique interest and talent in the Square of Sevens.

Unfortunately, Red soon becomes embroiled in the past that her father had struggled to escape from, a past that sets her in the crosshairs of two wealthy, warring aristocratic families. The Seabournes are titled but not wealthy whereas the de Lacys are wealthy but not titled - the two families have had countless court battles over the will of Nicholas de Lacy's fortune. And Red's past is tangled up with their family's history. Red seeks to uncover the mystery behind her parents' doomed romance, as her mother had passed in childbirth after an estrangement with her family. But the identity of her mother remains unknown to Red and she seeks to also discover her family's lineage.

Red takes advantage of an opportunity presented to her in the form of the de Lacy's fascination and belief in the Square of Sevens to worm her way into their family. But what she finds out is not what she has expected.

The Square of Sevens is an unexpected find, a book with plenty of twists and turns set in the Georgian England. Red is not the only character that is seeking answers about the past, as the aptly named Lazarus Darke has also been tasked by Lady Seabourne to find out whatever he can to defeat the de Lacys in court. Meanwhile, Julius de Lacy is also embroiled in his own devious stratagems on how he can destroy the Seabournes once and for all.

The book was definitely a lengthy read but I feel like its twists were strong enough to keep me entertained.

Spoiler

And in a final twist, it turns out that Red hasn't been who she has claimed to be all along. She has managed to deceive all parties involved, including us readers, in claiming to be John Jory Jago and Patience's daughter when she was instead Julius's daughter with the lady's maid, Loretta. This final twist really sold the book to me.

stephersaur's review against another edition

3.75

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

booknerdjo's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional mysterious 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: Yes

laurammiller18's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

kitausu's review against another edition

4.0

The beginning is great, the middle drags, but the ending is phenomenal. I really understand why all the reviews say to read it just for the end. I did not see most of those twists coming!

katiejlumsden's review against another edition

5.0

A wonderful historical adventure, packed full of twists and turns, complex characters and fantastic moments. I loved this so much; it was simply huge fun. A good one for fans of Sarah Waters, Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens.