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heather_freshparchment's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit, Mental illness, Incest, Dementia, Terminal illness, Murder, Confinement, Suicide, and Stalking
violentlyagitated's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Incest
zzara's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Incest
pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Classism, Confinement, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Rape, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence
jmr0038's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest
megatron99's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest
avidreadr's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.75
Wow!!!! What an intriguing, complex tale. Full of family lies, ghosts and greed; plans within plans within lies. Who to trust?! This book really packed twists and punches right until the very end.
A slight knock off on stars just for personal reasons. First, it took a bit for me to really get hooked and situated in the story. Could’ve been a personal mindset though. The story is so complex that I honestly struggled to keep up with all the family trees (known and suspected !) and to keep up with all the reveals. Lots of re reads and notes and tbh I still am not sure I understand everything!
But it was a super engaging, mysterious, thrilling tale (within a tale?!)
Other things I want to remember about reading this book: it kind of reminded me of The Luminaries (
in its dark setting, and how form and narrative rely on a fortune telling aspect; soo atmospheric you really feel and see the settings though the writing was dense it was effectively evocative
A slight knock off on stars just for personal reasons. First, it took a bit for me to really get hooked and situated in the story. Could’ve been a personal mindset though. The story is so complex that I honestly struggled to keep up with all the family trees (known and suspected !) and to keep up with all the reveals. Lots of re reads and notes and tbh I still am not sure I understand everything!
But it was a super engaging, mysterious, thrilling tale
Other things I want to remember about reading this book: it kind of reminded me of The Luminaries (
in its dark setting, and how form and narrative rely on a fortune telling aspect; soo atmospheric you really feel and see the settings though the writing was dense it was effectively evocative
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Incest, and Animal cruelty
fionab_16's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Takes us on a journey through Georgian England in the Age of Enlightenment.
The story moves from Cornwall to Bath, then London and Devon. It follows the story of a young girl called Red who travelling the road with her father telling fortunes.
Set some years after the passing of the 1735 Witchcraft Act it was acknowledged that witchcraft did not exist and someone could not be executed or persecuted for being a witch However, it became illegal to charge for services like fortune telling and those convicted of doing so were charged as fraudsters exploiting the credulous and could be imprisoned for this.
The Square of Sevens is a form of fortune telling using playing cards which is practised by the main character and a card and it’s meaning is used at the start of each chapter. There is so much historical detail woven into the background of this story I found myself going down rabbit-hikes to find out more about the time the story is set in.
The story moves from Cornwall to Bath, then London and Devon. It follows the story of a young girl called Red who travelling the road with her father telling fortunes.
Set some years after the passing of the 1735 Witchcraft Act it was acknowledged that witchcraft did not exist and someone could not be executed or persecuted for being a witch However, it became illegal to charge for services like fortune telling and those convicted of doing so were charged as fraudsters exploiting the credulous and could be imprisoned for this.
The Square of Sevens is a form of fortune telling using playing cards which is practised by the main character and a card and it’s meaning is used at the start of each chapter. There is so much historical detail woven into the background of this story I found myself going down rabbit-hikes to find out more about the time the story is set in.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest
leahhhtaylor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
My god. A perfect 5 stars, my first of the year. This book has everything I love. A deviously complex layout, every chapter thought about to the bone. Multiple characters and perspectives to keep my interest. wealthier than wealthy families where backstabbings, murders, insults and shade never cease. AND multiple twists and turns that challenge me. A pure romantic like Jemima, I thought for a moment that Archie was faking his forgiveness of Red, but it soon faded away when he pretended to be in love with her. I was like yesss they’re gonna get married and take all of the money. I’m also normally not one to love a twist that undoes the work of the twists before it. But this one made sense, and was perfect. A character who may have rough beginnings but is confident and doesn’t spend page after page self deprecating and being unsure of herself. Such perfect description and pacing that was JUST RIGHT! God I loved it. Can’t wait to read it again, need to go buy the physical cover.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Incest, and Child abuse
The content warnings arehannahg94's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I find it hard to write a review for this book... because honestly, I don't really have anything negative to say about it. And a review that simply gushes isn't necessarily helpful. But I love this book.
It's a beautifully done, epic adventure with many satisfying-- and logical!--twists, dastardly secrets, delightfully wicked characters, clever plots, and... maybe the work of the fates? I found the book fast-paced and attention-grabbing. I wasn't bored once. The adventure was jumped right into, and every chapter offered something to be excited about. I finished it in four days. It devoured my free time.
The story feels very Dickens-esque (apparently purposefully so) but in a Georgian setting. Though the book is not veiled in historical "modesty," and has the bite of a modern thriller. The plot was clearly planned meticulously before pen met paper. I loved the characters and their relationships---only one relationship felt weirdly stinted to me, but then a reveal in the end proved that that was intentional!
Laura Shepherd-Robinson, you got me. You got me good.
I could have taken a thousand more pages of this stuff, and I'm usually telling authors to write less.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Rape