The Fortune Teller

by Gwendolyn Womack

Semele Cavnow appraises antiquities for an exclusive Manhattan auction house, deciphering ancient texts—and when she discovers a manuscript written in the time of Cleopatra, she knows it will be the find of her career. Its author tells the story of a priceless tarot deck, now lost to history, but as Semele delves further, she realizes the manuscript is more than it seems. Both a memoir and a prophecy, it appears to be the work of a powerful seer, describing devastating wars and natural disasters in detail thousands of years before they occurred.

The more she reads, the more the manuscript begins to affect Semele’s life. But what happened to the tarot deck? As the mystery of her connection to its story deepens, Semele can’t shake the feeling that she’s being followed. Only one person can help her make sense of it all: her client, Theo Bossard. Yet Theo is arrogant and elusive, concealing secrets of his own, and there’s more to Semele’s desire to speak with him than she would like to admit. Can Semele even trust him?

The auction date is swiftly approaching, and someone wants to interfere—someone who knows the cards exist, and that the Bossard manuscript is tied to her. Semele realizes it’s up to her to stop them: the manuscript holds the key to a two-thousand-year-old secret, a secret someone will do anything to possess.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Historical, Audiobook

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2017

About the author

Gwendolyn Womack is the USA Today and Los Angeles Times bestselling author of The Fortune Teller, The Time Collector, The Memory Painter, and her YA debut The Premonitions Club. Up next is The Last Labyrinth, a scifi romantic adventure coming 3/24/26 with 47North.

Gwendolyn went to college in Fairbanks, Alaska to study theatre and received an MFA in Directing for theatre and film from California Institute of the Arts. She lives in Houston, Texas with her family, is an adjunct faculty member at HCC, collects and photographs kaleidoscopes, and can usually be found either immersed in a book or dreaming up a new story. Visit her at www.gwendolynwomack.com.

Reviews

[Fareya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fortune Teller is an enchanting tale of ancient manuscripts and forgotten relics. It spans over thousands of years covering several lifetimes and takes place across multiple countries crossing borders and oceans. Gwendolyn Womack has masterfully woven a compelling tale of mystery and secrets interlaced around major historical events through time and place, ranging from 46 BC Alexandria, Egypt to the present day New York.

Semele Cavnow works for a prestigious New York auction house as an antique appraiser. While preparing for an upcoming auction from a client's personal collection in Switzerland, she discovers a rare and ancient manuscript. Digging further, she realizes that this extraordinary manuscript which is part memoir and part prophecy is unknown to the world. Its author Ionna, is a two thousand year old, powerful seer who has in great detail and precision narrated events in her future that we've known and read as our world's history.

While Semele is trying to unearth the mystery behind this mystic manuscript, someone is keeping an eye on her. Her hotel room gets almost burglarized and there is a man following her everywhere. Things start getting tense when these priceless manuscripts get stolen from her high security company office in New York and she is abruptly taken off the case. What is the secret hidden within this ancient manuscript? Why is someone so desperate to possess them? How does this all connect to Semele's life? How can a two thousand year old seer acknowledges Semele by name in her writings? Are these mere coincidences or is there a deep hidden mystery beneath it all?

The Fortune Teller is a gripping and an absolutely fascinating tale. I was completely lost in Semele's and Ionna's story. The back and forth of the dual point of view works brilliantly for the story. At one end Semele is trying to figure out the mysteries within the mysterious manuscript and on the other end Ionna narrates her story and the future she sees through the years within the manuscript. There is a slight paranormal touch to the story, but I felt it was seamlessly blended with the plot. Alongside there is plenty of classical reference, historical events and also a wisp of romance.

This was unputdownable. I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful story of secrets, mysteries and family ties that span over centuries and would highly recommend it if you enjoy thought provoking mysteries with historical references.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fortune Teller
Gwendolyn Womack

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUBLISHER Blackstone Audio
PUBLISHED June 8, 2017
NARRATED Lisa Flanagan, Robin Miles

A fascinating mystery involving libraries, ancient manuscripts and an woman who can see both the past and the future.

SUMMARY
Semele Cavnow appraises artifacts for an prestigious New York auction house. In Switzerland, at the home of a recently deceased manuscript collector she discovers an ancient manuscript written in the time of Cleopatra. The manuscript’s author, the daughter of a librarian, tells the story of her decendents forward in time along with a priceless deck of tarot cards. As Semele translates the manuscript she realizes it is so much more than she originally thought. She discovers she is personally connected to both the manuscript and the cards. Her name is in the manuscript. How can that be? Once she is back in the United States, Semele feels that she is being followed, and may be in danger, but she is determined to figure out the mystery of her connection. When bad things start happening around her, she knows there may be only one person that can help. Theo Bossard is her client, his family owned the manuscript and he should know what it means. Will he help her? Can she trust him?

“Whatever the cards show you, always trust the words that well inside you. The truth is waiting to be heard. Never doubt it.”

REVIEW
The Fortune Teller is a fascinating travel through history from the time of the Library of Alexandria to the conclusion of World War II. The story creatively alternates back and forth through time, from what Semele is reading in the manuscript to the mystery she is experiencing in the present. Semele’s character is a bluestocking strong women, who doesn’t back down from a fight. Gwendolyn Womack has created another irresistible story to follow her gripping debut novel The Memory Painter (2015). Her writing is engaging and captivating. The Fortune Teller should not be missed, it’s a fabulous read.

[Karen R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This unique story is an intriguing ride from beginning to end. Alternating through time, the reader is introduced to driven women centuries apart who are uncannily alike. Seer powers, raised by men who were overseers of the world’s largest ancient manuscript library are two of the resemblances.

Historic bits are seamlessly woven into this enlightening fictional story by talented Gwendolyn Womack. I especially loved the suspense related to unraveling the mystery of the world’s first tarot cards and the role tarot cards played in history. I previously read Womack’s first novel “The Memory Painter” and this effort was equally enjoyable.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

4 stars

Where do I begin with this review? How about with what a great book The Fortune Teller is. I really enjoy historical fiction, especially when it is done in a dual storyline format where the past and present storylines work cohesively with each other to tell the entire story. And that is exactly what Womack has done here.

I thought this book had a very unique plot and the way it is written, it is so compelling that you just don’t want to put the darn book down. I would describe it as part thriller, part supernatural mystery. The entire time I was reading it, I kept thinking about how much it reminded me of The Da Vinci Code (which I loved). The conspiracy theory, translations of historical artifacts, the significance and hidden meaning in the antiquities, the race against time to solve a puzzle and how the past, present and future are entangled to bring you to the final outcome.

Both storylines were equally captivating, in my opinion. I was just as engrossed in the manuscript translation as I was of Semele’s modern day story. I never found myself wishing one would end so I could get back to the other, which sometimes happens in dual storyline books. If my schedule would have permitted, I would have finished this book in one sitting, it was that good.

I would highly recommend this book.

[Yoana · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fast-paced enough to hold your interest but ultimately it's pointless. The multiple stories spanning some 2000 years make it hard to follow the main plot and eat up the space of the supposedly major characters, so you never get to properly know them, and when one of them died, I couldn't care less. It was just a name to me. And that's bad because clearly that death was supposed to elicit a strong emotional reaction.

The historical parts are half-baked. Famous historical figures like Cleopatra, Caesar, Ghiberti, Rasputin pop up pointlessly along to way, just so they can be there. They're not a part of the fabric of the story, they're celebrity cameos.

There's a lot of telling and scarce showing. The cards are constantly mentioned as being powerful, then Semele or her ancestors touch them, they feel their power, etc., but they never actually do anything. At any point. All the Seeing is done through concentration or in dreams. The cards are basically useless.

The writing felt amateurish to me, like an ambitious high schooler trying to get into the big writing game. The plot twists lacked power because, as I mentioned, there's not enough time to get to know and therefore care about the characters.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I just wrote a terrific review for this compelling book that took me out of my reading slump but my computer froze and I lost it.

So right now all I will say is it's a fantastic page-turner that should be in every beach-going tote this summer. Oh, and it involves librarians, libraries, and tarot cards.

Thanks to Macmillan/Picador for the advance reading copy.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Very interesting and unique I would have liked the ending to have been a bit bigger but still the journey of the book was worth it

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

(It's not fair to rate a book you never finish reading. I'd made an exception for this one, managed to clear my rating, and then decided to revert to 1 star--which is easier to find--because so many people had Liked this non-review. ANYway:)

Ordinarily, I don't read as though I've been hired to make improvements in the text. I don't know why I was in that mode almost from the beginning here, but I kept noticing improbabilities of plot and detail:

* The manuscript conservator hired to "four times a year ... inspect the works for any damage and readjust the temperature settings" for the collection, rather than the late owner maintaining the temperature as well as the humidity.

* The "letters written by St. Augustine in A.D. 412"--a literally incredible find if original, and with an inexplicably specific date if not--"and a pristine collection of Greek manuscripts ... from about A.D. 350." No MS from the 4th c. seen in the 21st can reasonably be called "pristine".

* Our modern protagonist Googling the owner's fascinating heir only after several days working at the chateau.

* Her investigating a cabinet "that had been catching her eye all week" only in the last hours of her last day on the project.

* Her washing her hands to touch the discovered book without also donning cotton gloves. [Later: I find from a recent James Runcie that this may not be as incredible as I thought. Apologies.]

* The unconvincing handwaving for the ancient protagonist's improbable freedom in the Library of Alexandria.

* The embroidery of that Library's well known copying of every book arriving in port into having it retain rather than return the originals and piling up warehouses full of uncopied texts, a practice its visitors would not have long tolerated.

* And on p. 27, the pièce de résistance, an accurate definition of paleography which is then impossibly used to date a MS to a 5-year range, 50-45 B.C. That's when I gave up. I dislike being in nit-picking mode when I'm not being paid for it, and that sent me permanently into it.

[Maritina Mela · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.75

To sum up the plot, this is a story about a woman named Semele. Semele has recently lost her father and right after that she accidentally discovered that she's adopted. She also works as some kind of archaeologist, analyzing and translating manuscripts. Until one peculiar manuscript written by a woman who was alive during the time of Cleopatra, mentions her name and begins to talk to her.

Initially she believes that she has lost her mind but as the story progresses, we find out that Semele comes from a long line of women who possess the gift of seeing into the future. Each few chapters we look in those women's lives until we slowly in the end meet Semele's grandmother who's also the one to gave her up for adoption.

Throughout the book, Semele doesn't only have to face the fact that she's been lied to her whole life and has a special gift, but she's also constantly on the run from people who wish to use her gift for their own nefarious purposes.

Okay, hear me out: I don't care!
I don't care about anything that happened in this book. I wasn't attached to any of the characters, the romance was weak and annoying, and the twist in the end left no impact on me.
Generally speaking, this book was dull and absolutely forgettable.

If you made it this far, congratulations!

'Til next time, take care :) :) :)

[MaryAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite kind of book where the past, present and future collide in the stories of amazing women. ❤

[Jaymie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this 3 stars for being fun and interesting. I love history so that was a fun aspect. However the history was too much of the book. I thought it took away from the main story/plot. I also spotted many holes in the story that maybe the author could see the reasons for certain things but forgot to share them with the reader.
I liked the adventure of the end of the book but it wasn’t long enough for me. Also the love story was severely lacking.
Why were Semele and Theo meant to be? I didn’t see anything that tied them in that way. A little passion but too short lived to be a big romance.
Also Semele is kind of an idiot. Why on earth would she just hand over the tarot cards to Cabe..go with him to test them. She kept doing things that I thought were not smart.
Why didn’t Theo and his dad just show her the book and let her read it? Why the pretend auction? Waste of time and money.
I could go on but at the same time I ignored a lot of the problems in the story and that way I enjoyed it more. It was a fun and easy read.

[Julie Timmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loooooved this book! I was lucky enough to read an advance reader copy -- and in fact, I read it to the exclusion of everything else because I was so captivated. Another brilliant, riveting page turner by the very talented Gwen Womack. Now counting down the days until her next one ...

[Kylie Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe even 1 star, but i read it anyway, kind of like how ppl watch a shitty movie just for the entertainment

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fortune Teller contained an unexpected and different type of plot with a thread of magical realism. It covered Semile Cavnow’s quest to release the truth: honesty from her mother, validity with regards to an ancient manuscript and candor in her relationships. Pursuing her undertakings did not always make her likable person especially if said person presented a stumbling block.

I usually don’t care for historical flashbacks, but the windows to eras from long ago were written in such a fashion that they ended up being entirely relevant to the plot. Each was a necessary fixture and tied to each other. The author weaved a suspenseful and compelling story about the joys and heartaches of lives both past and present.

Lastly, I thought this novel did not fit neatly into any one genre. It was both contemporary and historical. There were two light romances, a friendship and a mystery with the dazzle of a wannabe thriller. I found the author’s stretch of the imagination intriguing and would consider reading another story by her.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dosłownie czułam jak mój mózg się kurczył czytając to...

Tak wiele rzeczy nie miało tu senu 😐😐😐

CZY JA MOGE W KONCU PRZECZYTAĆ COS DOBREGO PLSSS

[Jennifer Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Fortune Teller was a big disappointment. It was like reading a Lifetime move of the week, the writing was uneven. Most of the major plot twists and reveals were obvious early on. I also took umbrage with the author's ignoran, repetitive,t and offensive (yes, I'm an adoptive parent) of referring to the main chapter's birth parents as the "real parents." It might not seem like a big deal to some, but trust me, when you've experienced the look on your kids' faces after some asshole makes a comment about them "not being really yours, because you aren't the real mother," than you don't have a lot of tolerance for crap like that, even in fiction.

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Semele Cavnow has been sent, as an antiquities expert, to go through the estate of a collector. Although excited about the treasures she may unearth in his world renowned collection, what she never expected to find was a diary over 3000 years old…yet, which seems to be reaching through time and speaking directly to her. The book throws Semele into intrigue revealing the mysteries of the past and mixing them with present day machinations.

I loved this book! I requested it on a whim having never read this author before but liking the sounds of the blurb. Womack does a fantastic job of throwing you back into the past through different individuals who takes us all over the world at different points in time and weave us a story that carries straight through to present day. We take this journey with Semele as she slowly translate the documents and comes to the realisation that this book was written directly to her. Which, should be impossible as it’s over 3000 years old. I was hooked.

This book was a little slow to start with, but the more I read, the more intrigued I was, I wanted to know how everything was connected. Who was writing to Semele? Why were they writing to her? I was especially enthralled with the parts of the book set in the past, the translation from the diary, it showed familiar places at different times and it lent an exotic appeal to the whole book. There was also a dash of romance in The Fortune Teller although, it wasn’t really the main focus. It was all about Semele discovering who she was, and the plot that seems to be emerging around her.

This is my first book from Womack, but it definitely won’t be my last and I recommend you pick this up if you want an interesting mystery with elements of romance and magic. It won’t disappoint.

[Lauralee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually, 2.5 stars


Semele is an appraiser of manuscripts at an auction house. One day, while helping her client, Theo, with an auction, she discovers an ancient manuscript that appears to be written during the time of Cleopatra. Semele is excited about her latest find. However, when she reads the manuscript, she notices how unusual it is.The manuscript chronicles the events two thousand years after Cleopatra and seems to be writing this directly to Semele. As Semele ponders over this manuscript, she learns that she may be in great danger because there is another who is also after the fortune teller’s manuscript.

Semele was a hard character for me to like. She did not have a backbone in her body. She never really took control of the situation. Her actions were very cowardly. She ran away from every problem that is facing her. She pushed her adopted mother aside and avoided her boyfriend because she was afraid to tell him quits. I thought that seeing her boyfriend’s future was a weak excuse to break up with him. She should have been honest that she didn't like him but Theo. Semele was also judgmental, selfish, and jealous. Thus, Semele was a frustrating character, and I didn't think she deserved a happy ending because she was mean to others.

I didn’t like any of the characters. Ionna was interesting, but she was not given any depth. It never really explained how she could see beyond the future. I also didn’t buy her telling what will happen in the future two thousand years before her time. While she may see beyond the future, there were so many events that happened in between that for a person living in Cleopatra’s time could barely fathom it much less comprehend it. Therefore, I could not buy that Ionna was narrating the events that happened in the future. It would have been more believable if Ionna’s descendants added to the manuscript to explain the events. Theo was an average cliched love interest, who didn’t serve any other purpose to the story except to be the one that Semle falls for.

Overall, this book has romance, mystery, and action. However with all these elements, it was a bit underwhelming. The plot itself of the tarot cards was also never explained. It just pops up halfway and never really states how they were created or why they were important. The ending felt anti-climactic and the villain seemed very cartoonish rather than complex. The Fortune Teller has the makings of a great story. However, it never felt complete. Instead, it was very rushed. The ideas were never really explored. While the story is very fast-paced, it never fully gripped me. There needed to be complex characters, more explanation about origin of the tarot cards and how Ionna got her gifts as a fortune teller, and a more developed romance. This was really a disappointment for me. I loved Mrs. Womack’s debut of The Memory Painter, and I was excited to see the next novel she had in store for us. However, The Fortune Teller did not meet my expectations. I will recommend this book for fans of The Lost Sisterhood, Lady of Hay, and Mariana. However, for those who wants to see Mrs. Womack’s true talent, I suggest skipping this and read The Memory Painter instead.

[Alyssa Palombo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gwendolyn Womack's second novel is a riveting, engrossing page turner that's difficult to put down. As with her first novel, The Memory Painter, I'm in awe of how she includes so many different time periods in one novel, hopping among them effortlessly with each as well researched and vivid as the last. The history of the tarot woven throughout the novel was absolutely fascinating to me, and I learned a lot in addition to reading a great story. The supernatural elements - always something that'll grab me in a novel - were extremely well done and tied the book together into one delicious whole. I will read any novel Womack writes, and I highly recommend this one!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good female focused historical fiction blended with a modern day story in the vein of Susanna Kearsley and Kate Morton. This one added in the element of prophecy and the ability to see the future. The plot centers around an ancient manuscript written by a young, female seer in Egypt in the time of Cleopatra and Caesar. In the present day, translating and valuating the manuscript falls to antiquities appraiser Semele. The more she reads the more she realizes that the seer predicted major world events thousands of years after her death and that Semele herself has a connection to the prophecy. Cue the conspiracy theory and the danger as mysterious shadowy figures try to get their hands on the manuscript and deck of tarot cards that go along with it. It's an exciting game of cat and mouse that travels through several interesting locales and gets pretty darn stressful near the end! I honestly don't know which part of the book I enjoyed more, the modern story or the historic one told through the manuscript translation. Both were equally compelling and I never wanted one to end so I could get back to the other story line.

The story has an incredible scope from the Library in Alexandria through to Stalin and into the present day, always following the female descendants of the original seer who was the author of the mysterious manuscript. It incorporates a ton of actual history without every feeling too bogged down with it. I personally love history so I was quite fascinated and I even learned of a few events that I didn't know about, like Caesar possibly being responsible for the burning of the great Library at Alexandria! I also was unaware of the city of Gundeshapur which was a huge intellectual center at it's height. All of this history is woven into the story of generations of strong, brave women, and a few weak and silly ones, and their psychic talents. Their stories are at times inspiring, infuriating and heartbreaking but they all lead to the modern day story and the final showdown/conclusion which was a bit over the top but still satisfying. I really enjoyed my time with this book and I highly recommend it!

I received this book for free through a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway but this has not influenced my review in any way.

[Bon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh, another one this week not for me. I stopped the audiobook a few days ago, and if I don't feel an itch to return, something is wrong. I hated the protag, something weird and alarmingly insta-lovey was happening along the romance plot line, and I'm rather sick of time-split dual POV books lately. I didn't find EITHER POV interesting, in fact. On to the next, especially since someone else is in line with my copy on hold, haha.

[Lynn Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an intriguing story! I'm not a huge fan of books that bounce between times, but this one works for me. The Fortune Teller is original, and the author does a very good job of developing her protagonist—as Semele, the protagonist, develops her gifts. Her grit and frustration ring true (I pictured some of my daughter's friends in Semele's shoes) and I enjoyed all of the characters. The pacing and editing are strong.

My one complaint is that communications between unknown characters at the beginning of many chapters is distracting. I didn't know who the characters were—and didn't care. This floating correspondence doesn't enhance the story.

Granted, a tale like this one requires that "willing suspension of disbelief." But on a cold, snowy night, The Fortune Teller provided just the right amount of escapism to tide me over until the winter storm passed.

Recommended.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gwendolyn Womack's first novel, The Memory Painter, is one of my all-time favorite books, and The Fortune Teller, her second, did not disappoint and cemented for me her status as one of my favorite authors. Extremely well researched and absolutely fascinating, this is a novel that it is easy to tear through. All the information about the tarot was of particular interest to me. Part thriller, part supernatural mystery, and part romance, this novel has everything I like in a book!

[Debra Slonek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent storytelling! The author breathed life into her characters, which caused me to keep thinking about the storyline, even when I wasn't actually reading the book. I loved the many complicated and satisfying relationships; children and parents, best friends, co-workers, romantic pairings and enemies.

Semele Cavnow unearthed connections to her ancestors, both recent and ancient. She also developed and depended upon her natural gifts and talents as a seer.

An ancient manuscript and set of tarot cards were such integral parts of the story, almost becoming main characters themselves. The manuscript provided links to the past, present and future. It provided wisdom, warnings, answers, insight and hope. It also helped to prepare the intended reader for difficult situations and heartbreaking losses.

This book is rich in history and filled with connections between characters spanning several generations and even centuries.

I love when characters are voracious readers, hang out in libraries and are very imaginative. A deeply satisfying read, filled with well developed characters and imaginative adventures.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devoured this in one sitting! Couldn't sleep and this hit the spot. I enjoyed this ride, a tale less of magic, but divination and prophecy.

Seleme is a modern day woman, skilled in ancient translation and antiquities. During an accounting of an estate, she uncovers an ancient manuscript that has to do with her and the present, connecting her through time to The Oracle of Widget. Featured in this story are the first versions of tarot cards, and how divination and these gifts of sight have been passed down through time and generations to the culmination of Seleme in this hour. Fast paced, fun, and riveting to the final conclusion. A great ride in the eerie wee hours of the morning.

[Ghost of the Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read this was! Historical fiction done 100% right, perhaps one of the best i've read in the last ....hmmm....5 years?
If such a thing as reincarnation is indeed a fact, Ancient Egypt was once my home and the main motivation for me to pick this one up at the library...that and Tarot Cards.
Semele works with a reputed auction house and is your classic workaholic, skeleton in the closet gal, when she is sent to Switzerland to assess and prepare for sale a collection that frankly made my history lover self nearly die of happiness....
While there she makes some interesting finds, some classical mistakes and gets started on the journey of her lifetime, that takes her from mythical Alexandria (yes the one with the library) to modern day Europe, all through the eyes some remarkable women and the company of a always present but never there deck of Tarot Cards.
One of the things harder to accomplish within historical fiction is to successfully swim between past and present without drowning your plot, your characters ...and the reader! ....here we have a wonderful example of how to do it right and allow us the reader to fully enjoy the story, since the switch between one and the other is just perfect and leaves you turning the pages and not stopping till the very last one....even if at a certain point it is fairly easy to see how it will end.
Ms. Womack clearly loves history and has a magical touch with words ... she had me up till 2 am so i should know! ...for anyone that loves time travel, that has a romantic bone (or two) and an open mind to such notions as time travel and reincarnation...this is for you!
As far as i'm concerned ....this is the Time Traveler's Wife done right ;)

Happy Readings! Enjoy!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancient and historical libraries throughout millennia! Dedicated bibliophiles! Prophecies, seers, and magical realism, oh my! And: Tarot Cards! It's an unlikely blend, but it made for one page-turning adventure. In many ways this reads like a Dan Brown novel, only with a female protagonist, and spanning from ancient Alexandria to present day. Which is to say, it's not literary fiction, and there are a few frothy moments, but it makes for a fun and fast-paced read. I especially liked visiting all those famous libraries (in my mind) throughout the great empires of history. As with many dual timeline novels, the historical sections are where this book really shines. But in this case, the present day scenes really helped with the pacing, and kept the story clipping along. I really enjoyed this book--it's a great vacation read!

[Margaryta · Rating 2 out of 5]

**THIS REVIEW FIRST APPEARED IN Alternating Current's ONLINE REVIEW COLUMN The Coil**

She saw Bren’s future was filled with love — those beautiful boys — and a wife who wasn’t her. (p. 106)

There is a sense of ambition to The Fortune Teller that begins with the synopsis, which invokes a kinship with the writing of Dan Brown and M. J. Rose in the way that young men in 18th-century Europe sought to form connections with influential figures, drawing on a respected and admirable lineage. The novel promises its reader suspense, romance, and secrecy, with a possible glimmer of genre intersectionality, all of which I found incredibly appealing and which drew me to it. If the above metaphor is to be carried through, however, then The Fortune Teller is a bit like a physical book version of the hot-headed d’Artagnan: all words and little physical evidence to support those statements.

The backbone of the novel is its protagonist Semele Cavnow, who quickly becomes underwhelming and problematic within the first few chapters. Apart from having an interesting name that does not instantly scream WASP, Semele’s character does not give the reader anything new to work with, as the novel quickly dives into the familiar trope of a young and successful woman with a dream job that earns her a lot of money. She is presented by Womack as having a

carefully crafted persona, the expert manuscript appraiser, only thirty-two, remarkably young for her achievements. She dressed in high-fashion vintage, wore only mascara and lipstick, and sported a sleek Ziegfeld bob that looked straight from the twenties. (p. 6).

One of the novel’s strengths is the way it immediately brings the reader’s attention to the contemporary events that are the focus of the novel, creating a rush of movement and excitement that builds on the initial anticipation generated by the jacket blurb. Sadly, this immediacy is created to the detriment of character development and backstory, especially Semele’s, who remains a shadow floating around in the present with a practically non-existent personality, save her obsession with her career. The past, which could have potentially complemented Semele’s character and made it bloom into something bigger and better, instead remains dormant, artificially tacked on to the contemporary plotline.

This was the main issue in the novel: the divide between past and present that made it seem like two separate novels are awkwardly crammed into one spine. Ionna’s storyline was a more engaging read than Semele’s and was the only character in the novel who felt complete and real despite living centuries ago, constructed from historical facts and supplemented by the imagination. The Fortune Teller makes history the victim of the same kind of privileged tone that characterized the present plotline. Specifically, Womack’s clear evidence of research at times took on a feeling of extraneousness, serving no other purpose than to act as padding for the story and to show off a little. There are not many such passages, but those few that are there stick out to a reader who is familiar with history and is likely to see the patchwork quality of the prose, like in this case:

Every artist in Italy was buying the book to understand dimensional mastery, “the Dei Aspect” as they called it. The Book of Optics demonstrated how to create two-dimensional pictorial representations of three-dimensional space. (p. 171).

There were rare moments of self-recognition and attempts at self-redemption, as if the writing itself jolted awake and wanted to correct its mistakes by presenting the reader with a rare instance of social critique, like Mathai’s horror

When [he] saw Elisa’s manuscript shoved between five others on one of the reading tables […] astonished. What had been a prized possession for them was merely another token in Admentos’ library. (p. 131).

It was at these moments that my hope would rise. It was moments like Semele’s recollection of her trip to Amsterdam and the meaning of the cards left with the swaddled babies that felt like the real essence of what the novel could have been but was not. Instead, it was caught up in impressing the reader with the familiar, and rather melodramatic, story that leans toward overreaction and carefully placed descriptions of luxury and comfort. Even the use of the tarot card names for the chapter titles felt flimsy.

The Fortune Teller is a novel that is not entirely sure what it wanted to be, mixing romance with suspense with historical fiction, even veering off in a failed attempt at mystery in the end which does not work due to the limited cast of characters and Semele’s loud bias, making it easy to guess the culprit. Predictable and familiar in all the places where it could have been emotional and impactful, it delivers a selective and dramatized version of history that feels scripted. The past and present are segregated in a way they should not be, the former used to support the latter in a way that differs from the organic tone in the novels of Dan Brown and M. J. Rose, the level toward which the novel subconsciously continues to aim. It is a novel that can be described in the words of Semele herself:

She enjoyed a good gothic novel as much as the next person, but that was not her real life. (p. 9).

[Clarissa Simmens · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are fascinated by the thought of the Great Library of Alexandria AND the Tarot AND historical fiction, then this book will fulfill--or at least satisfy--some of those interests. For me, it seems so synchronous that I had ordered a copy of the Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi deck and book, based on one housed in the Cary Collection of Playing Cards, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, at Yale University.BEFORE I even heard of The Fortuneteller novel. In addition to collecting tarot decks, I have always drawn my own (as taught to me by my grandmother when very young), so the story that unfolds is quite authentic. The characters (past and present ones woven together) are believable; the plot is exciting and never boring; and the information on manuscript collecting is a bonus. This is a 5-star read!

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I really enjoyed the first part of this- it had a sort of People of the Book-ish feel (ugh, what I would give to be in archives and preservation!) and the historical and bookish bits were interesting. My reservations with it largely concern the second half. While the book seems to be about strong, female characters, the more I think about it, it feels like most of the women and their stories revolve around men. (Not all, but most- to me). The book itself even sort of takes a turn from a historical mystery feel, to a fantastic romance thriller. There is an evil scientist villain, too, which is... randomly something. :-| So the first part was fun, but it just felt like it lost its way.