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The Scryers #1
Foretold
Cassandra sees death and devastation all around her. In vivid detail.
It’s the price of living with her OCD and extreme anxiety. In every situation, Cass imagines the worst possible fate for everyone in her life. Her dad in a pool of blood after a break-in. Her beloved older neighbor, homeless. A splinter in her finger turned to gangrene.
But this time, it’s not her imagination. The boy next door, Colin, is destined to die. Cass has foretold a real death before; she knows this is a true vision.
Desperate to save Colin's life, Cass immerses herself in a secret organization of soothsayers that promises to teach her how to change the future she foresees. But as she descends into their hidden world of divinatory magic and predictive technology, she discovers there's always a price to pay for unraveling fate's strands. And cheating death will cost her everything.
It’s the price of living with her OCD and extreme anxiety. In every situation, Cass imagines the worst possible fate for everyone in her life. Her dad in a pool of blood after a break-in. Her beloved older neighbor, homeless. A splinter in her finger turned to gangrene.
But this time, it’s not her imagination. The boy next door, Colin, is destined to die. Cass has foretold a real death before; she knows this is a true vision.
Desperate to save Colin's life, Cass immerses herself in a secret organization of soothsayers that promises to teach her how to change the future she foresees. But as she descends into their hidden world of divinatory magic and predictive technology, she discovers there's always a price to pay for unraveling fate's strands. And cheating death will cost her everything.
416 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 2021
15 people are currently reading
1730 people want to read
About the author
Violet Lumani
2 books81 followersViolet Lumani is an American author who holds a BA from Barnard College of Columbia University and an MBA from UCONN. She lives in Connecticut with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
July 20, 2021
Blog Review: https://trishadoeseverythingbutstudy2...
I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I really enjoyed this!
At first I was a bit skeptical about this going in, but it was on Read Now, and the cover was amazing, and the synopsis did get me intrigued, so I got it.
And it was worth it. Mostly.
Honestly I had so little problems with this compared to what I expected after the first 30%. The plot wasn't going anywhere, the characters were okay, but I didn't care much about them, and I just didn't care much about what happened.
But then, once I hit around 35%, I was really enjoying this! The plot I didn't care for a lot, since I wasn't completely sure what was going on, and honestly it was pretty easy to figure out who was the nefarious backstabber (there is such a thing as reading too many fantasy books and then predicting almost everything in most fantasy books), and what was going to be the main conflict.
I started getting engrossed with Reagan, Griffin, Noah, and Cassie's friendship. I wasn't much enjoying the romance, as I am wont to do in teen romances, but it wasn't too bad. Except for the love triangle. But Cassie was pretty hellbent on the love interest, so it wasn't that bad.
I loved the friendships formed, and the relationships Cassie would form with numerous people. The different teachers, with Bacchy, with the front desk guy, with the old lady from the shop, (yes, I do not remember all of their names).
The romance. I don't know what to say, but the romance by itself wasn't good. I had zero interest in it. The kinda insta love was slightly off putting, but the sorta love triangle did it for me. But still, I was pretty invested in how she would get him to not die.
I loved the insights into OCD and anxiety. I really love books that look into neuro-atypicalness, and I'm not sure why, but I love seeing the way something so normal to as knocking twice would not let Cassie live, and make her have the impulse to instead knock 5, or 10 times. If you don't know, I really enjoyed The Monk.
It was amazing to see Cassie's struggle with OCD, and with anxiety, and it really made me so happy, in a way, to read the lines:
The way sometimes when Cassie was panicking, and she would say things repeatedly, but I was quite a lot of the way into the book when I realised that she would be saying stuff 5 times, or 10 times, and the fact that this would keep popping up everywhere would make me really excited for some reason.
As if these instances were easter eggs, scattered throughout the book. Small things, stuff you odn't even notice easily, but which have so much significance. Cassie's journey was amazing, and usually, if you read YA, these books end with an overcoming of the disorder, and a way to live with it, and not let it control your life.
While this book did that, somewhat, it was pretty different because this was NOT a happy ending. Like it was happy for the most part, but some things...
That ending was so shocking because I was NOT expecting it. I realised what was going to happen two seconds before I read the text, and it was a train wreck. Kinda literally.
Those were actually the only problems I had with this...hard to get into, and a abrupt ending. By the end, I was half sure that all of it was stuff she was imagining, but it was at the point where the death happened that I knew this was permanent.
I loved the insight into fortune telling and it's many ways. The skill school trope (I have no idea what this is actually called, but 10 minutes and multiple google searches later, it seems that it's called the Superhero school trope) is one of my absolute favourites, and this book did very well on that stuff! Some books don't go into a lot of detail about the actual learning part, and start focusing on the plot exclusively, which is not one of my favourite things.
The one thing about this book I wasn't completely sure about while getting into this book was dealing with the grief of Cassie's mothers passing (not a spoiler). I find books that deal with grief very saddening, and I almost always wind up in a bad mood if someone dies and someone else has to deal with it. Throughout the books.
Though this one was one of the exceptions. I was sad, but I was also happy? Remembering who the people passed, and what they were for us, so that they may live on through us is such an amazing mindset.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this, and I recommend it to anyone who likes the skill school trope (let me know what this is called if you know), fortune telling info, will not mind waiting for the plot to start,good friendships, insight into OCD and anxiety, and characters dealing with grief.
I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I really enjoyed this!
At first I was a bit skeptical about this going in, but it was on Read Now, and the cover was amazing, and the synopsis did get me intrigued, so I got it.
And it was worth it. Mostly.
Honestly I had so little problems with this compared to what I expected after the first 30%. The plot wasn't going anywhere, the characters were okay, but I didn't care much about them, and I just didn't care much about what happened.
But then, once I hit around 35%, I was really enjoying this! The plot I didn't care for a lot, since I wasn't completely sure what was going on, and honestly it was pretty easy to figure out who was the nefarious backstabber (there is such a thing as reading too many fantasy books and then predicting almost everything in most fantasy books), and what was going to be the main conflict.
I started getting engrossed with Reagan, Griffin, Noah, and Cassie's friendship. I wasn't much enjoying the romance, as I am wont to do in teen romances, but it wasn't too bad. Except for the love triangle. But Cassie was pretty hellbent on the love interest, so it wasn't that bad.
I loved the friendships formed, and the relationships Cassie would form with numerous people. The different teachers, with Bacchy, with the front desk guy, with the old lady from the shop, (yes, I do not remember all of their names).
The romance. I don't know what to say, but the romance by itself wasn't good. I had zero interest in it. The kinda insta love was slightly off putting, but the sorta love triangle did it for me. But still, I was pretty invested in how she would get him to not die.
I loved the insights into OCD and anxiety. I really love books that look into neuro-atypicalness, and I'm not sure why, but I love seeing the way something so normal to as knocking twice would not let Cassie live, and make her have the impulse to instead knock 5, or 10 times. If you don't know, I really enjoyed The Monk.
It was amazing to see Cassie's struggle with OCD, and with anxiety, and it really made me so happy, in a way, to read the lines:
One, two, three. This compulsion is not me.
Four, five, six. I control it. It doesn't control me.
The way sometimes when Cassie was panicking, and she would say things repeatedly, but I was quite a lot of the way into the book when I realised that she would be saying stuff 5 times, or 10 times, and the fact that this would keep popping up everywhere would make me really excited for some reason.
As if these instances were easter eggs, scattered throughout the book. Small things, stuff you odn't even notice easily, but which have so much significance. Cassie's journey was amazing, and usually, if you read YA, these books end with an overcoming of the disorder, and a way to live with it, and not let it control your life.
While this book did that, somewhat, it was pretty different because this was NOT a happy ending. Like it was happy for the most part, but some things...
That ending was so shocking because I was NOT expecting it. I realised what was going to happen two seconds before I read the text, and it was a train wreck. Kinda literally.
Those were actually the only problems I had with this...hard to get into, and a abrupt ending. By the end, I was half sure that all of it was stuff she was imagining, but it was at the point where the death happened that I knew this was permanent.
I loved the insight into fortune telling and it's many ways. The skill school trope (I have no idea what this is actually called, but 10 minutes and multiple google searches later, it seems that it's called the Superhero school trope) is one of my absolute favourites, and this book did very well on that stuff! Some books don't go into a lot of detail about the actual learning part, and start focusing on the plot exclusively, which is not one of my favourite things.
The one thing about this book I wasn't completely sure about while getting into this book was dealing with the grief of Cassie's mothers passing (not a spoiler). I find books that deal with grief very saddening, and I almost always wind up in a bad mood if someone dies and someone else has to deal with it. Throughout the books.
Though this one was one of the exceptions. I was sad, but I was also happy? Remembering who the people passed, and what they were for us, so that they may live on through us is such an amazing mindset.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this, and I recommend it to anyone who likes the skill school trope (let me know what this is called if you know), fortune telling info, will not mind waiting for the plot to start,good friendships, insight into OCD and anxiety, and characters dealing with grief.
July 26, 2021
It only took me 2 months but I finally finished this book. I actually thought I would like this, the premise sounded so interesting, I've never read or heard about a book like this one, but sadly the way this was executed was not for me. Get ready for a rant!
Thank you Netgalley and Uproar books for an eARC in exchange of an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Trigger Warnings: OCD, anxiety, death, grief
In this book we are following Cassandra who sees death and devestation all around her in vivid detail, the price of living with OCD and severe anxiety. She always imagines the worst possible situations. But now it's not her imagination, not this time. She sees that the boy who just moved next door, Colin, is destined to die. This isn't the first time Cass has foretold a death. In order to save Colin's life she emerges herself in a secret organization but things aren't really the way they seemed at first. Cheating death will not be easy.
This is probably a really good book for people who are just starting to get into fantasy or kids on the younger side of Young Adult. If you are acustomed with books with amazing plotlines/plot-twists, that have a put together world building and you tend to look pretty critiquely when reading, this is really not the book for you. This is not eactly a bad book. If I read it when I was younger and when I hadn't learnt how to look objectively at a book, I would have probably liked it a lot. So if you wanna pick this book up keep in mind that while this is not a bad book and many people can enjoy it, but it still might not actually be for you.
The magic system and world building was pretty weird and I believe the author could have done a way better way at explaining it. For most of the book I was extremely confused about how everything worked and still am now a few weeks after finishing the book. To me it didn't make that much sense. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention but I doubt that's the case. Even when I don't look carefully enough I can still see the differences between a well written world building and whatt hat isn't.
I honestly didn't have any strong feelings towards the characters in this book. They were okay, but didn't stand out to me in any way. Most of them were ether extremely boring like Cassandra was, or just very steriotypical and what you would probably find in a lot of other YA books. I didn't really like her as a main character at all. She didn't bring anything interesting to the story and she was pretty much a standard YA protagonist which I've read way to many of before. None of the other characters really stood out. All of them were so forgettable and the only thing we really knew about them through out the story was their names. No backstory. No personality except bad guy-good guy dynamics, the troublemaker and all the other generalizations about high school kids. The side characters were all written pretty superficially in my opnion and they were flesh out as well as I wished.
Aside that, my main critique about the characters is that the author seemed to have done no research as to how teenagers speak these days. The dialogue was so cringy and it felt very forced on more than one occasion. It was clear that she was venturing in a place that she had no idea about and I'm honestly kind of mad about that. From the beginning we could see very well that the author was tying her best to make them sound like teenagers, but in the end she failed and it just made the chaarcters feel even more unrealistic.
The villain was very cartoonish. I least it felt that way to me. They were there just or the sake of actually having one and the reveal was very predictable. I didn't believe for one second that they actually wanted Cassandra's good. This specific part of the book could have been handled better and I really wish it was.
I hated the romance so much. I think it was my least favourite part in the whole book. First of all, obviously, there's a love triangle. Who's surprised there? Not me. And to make it even more basic, one of the love interests was the sweet good guy, while the other was the sarcastic bad guy. And of course, to add to my hatred, we have insta-love. Can you hear me screaming in frustration? The love traingle was predictable, but the thing is they had no chemestry at all. They met and now they are in love. Please stop it. I want development!
The plot was pretty inconsistent through out. I was hoping from more from it and at this point I honestly don't remember a lot of what happened overall with it to be able to state my opinion as clearly as I would like to.
The only thing that I actually liked through out the book was the mental health representation. And surprisingly it was also the only thing that did not feel forced while reading. As I do not suffer from OCD I cannot fully comment on how well it was done. I can say that I loved the way the author wrote Cass' anxiety and there were so many scenes where I related with her because of that. I've read quite a few books with characters dealing with mental health, but none where someone had OCD. Mental health is always something hard to portray in books. It's extremely hard to write good representation as no one has the same experience with mental illnesses. But as much as I liked and appreciated the representation, I still cannot rate this book higher as there are just so many other things I did not enjoy.
I though about DNF-ing this book more than once, but in the end I decided that I wanted to pull through. I thought the concept was so interesting and I just wanted to see it to the end. But in the end I did not like the execution as the book felt either really lacking or was just straight up boring/ I went into this wanting to really like it, but I was left disappointed.
Thank you again to Netgalley and Uproar books!
Thank you Netgalley and Uproar books for an eARC in exchange of an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Trigger Warnings: OCD, anxiety, death, grief
In this book we are following Cassandra who sees death and devestation all around her in vivid detail, the price of living with OCD and severe anxiety. She always imagines the worst possible situations. But now it's not her imagination, not this time. She sees that the boy who just moved next door, Colin, is destined to die. This isn't the first time Cass has foretold a death. In order to save Colin's life she emerges herself in a secret organization but things aren't really the way they seemed at first. Cheating death will not be easy.
This is probably a really good book for people who are just starting to get into fantasy or kids on the younger side of Young Adult. If you are acustomed with books with amazing plotlines/plot-twists, that have a put together world building and you tend to look pretty critiquely when reading, this is really not the book for you. This is not eactly a bad book. If I read it when I was younger and when I hadn't learnt how to look objectively at a book, I would have probably liked it a lot. So if you wanna pick this book up keep in mind that while this is not a bad book and many people can enjoy it, but it still might not actually be for you.
The magic system and world building was pretty weird and I believe the author could have done a way better way at explaining it. For most of the book I was extremely confused about how everything worked and still am now a few weeks after finishing the book. To me it didn't make that much sense. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention but I doubt that's the case. Even when I don't look carefully enough I can still see the differences between a well written world building and whatt hat isn't.
I honestly didn't have any strong feelings towards the characters in this book. They were okay, but didn't stand out to me in any way. Most of them were ether extremely boring like Cassandra was, or just very steriotypical and what you would probably find in a lot of other YA books. I didn't really like her as a main character at all. She didn't bring anything interesting to the story and she was pretty much a standard YA protagonist which I've read way to many of before. None of the other characters really stood out. All of them were so forgettable and the only thing we really knew about them through out the story was their names. No backstory. No personality except bad guy-good guy dynamics, the troublemaker and all the other generalizations about high school kids. The side characters were all written pretty superficially in my opnion and they were flesh out as well as I wished.
Aside that, my main critique about the characters is that the author seemed to have done no research as to how teenagers speak these days. The dialogue was so cringy and it felt very forced on more than one occasion. It was clear that she was venturing in a place that she had no idea about and I'm honestly kind of mad about that. From the beginning we could see very well that the author was tying her best to make them sound like teenagers, but in the end she failed and it just made the chaarcters feel even more unrealistic.
The villain was very cartoonish. I least it felt that way to me. They were there just or the sake of actually having one and the reveal was very predictable. I didn't believe for one second that they actually wanted Cassandra's good. This specific part of the book could have been handled better and I really wish it was.
I hated the romance so much. I think it was my least favourite part in the whole book. First of all, obviously, there's a love triangle. Who's surprised there? Not me. And to make it even more basic, one of the love interests was the sweet good guy, while the other was the sarcastic bad guy. And of course, to add to my hatred, we have insta-love. Can you hear me screaming in frustration? The love traingle was predictable, but the thing is they had no chemestry at all. They met and now they are in love. Please stop it. I want development!
The plot was pretty inconsistent through out. I was hoping from more from it and at this point I honestly don't remember a lot of what happened overall with it to be able to state my opinion as clearly as I would like to.
The only thing that I actually liked through out the book was the mental health representation. And surprisingly it was also the only thing that did not feel forced while reading. As I do not suffer from OCD I cannot fully comment on how well it was done. I can say that I loved the way the author wrote Cass' anxiety and there were so many scenes where I related with her because of that. I've read quite a few books with characters dealing with mental health, but none where someone had OCD. Mental health is always something hard to portray in books. It's extremely hard to write good representation as no one has the same experience with mental illnesses. But as much as I liked and appreciated the representation, I still cannot rate this book higher as there are just so many other things I did not enjoy.
I though about DNF-ing this book more than once, but in the end I decided that I wanted to pull through. I thought the concept was so interesting and I just wanted to see it to the end. But in the end I did not like the execution as the book felt either really lacking or was just straight up boring/ I went into this wanting to really like it, but I was left disappointed.
Thank you again to Netgalley and Uproar books!
March 18, 2021
Thank you from the very bottom of my whole heart for READING THE THINGS THAT SPRANG FROM MY BRAIN! I hope this book finds its audience, but no matter how you feel about it, it is incredibly humbling that you have taken time away from your world to spend some time with my story. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
#cw -- mental illness, grief, death
#ownvoices - OCD & anxiety rep
#cw -- mental illness, grief, death
#ownvoices - OCD & anxiety rep
March 16, 2021
I love this book so much that I can't handle knowing how long I will have to wait for the second installment in the trilogy.
Lumani has seamlessly illustrated a realistic fantasy world that plays out so magically in my mind, I am already disappointed with the inevitable film that will be made getting it even *slightly* wrong - as all of us book lovers know they do. While the hero's journey is always my favorite basis for storytelling, Foretold perfectly executes the first person narrative in a way that convinces the reader that they could be the hero, too. I have experienced loss like Cassandra, and the catastrophic thinking that colors every single interaction thereafter - always waiting for the next gut wrenching disaster, being too scared to get too comfortable or happy again, knowing it can all be taken away. Rarely have I read a book where that pain is so well articulated and therefore known by the reader. Typically we as readers are meant to fill in the blank of said trauma and just expect it to have hurt a lot but with Cassandra, we see it and feel it in everything she does and because of that we are also able to grow with her, and heal with her. Lumani does right by every single one of us who has ever had to deal with such exasperating pain and validates all of us by letting us know through that pain we can truly access our own power.
The magic, the mystery and the hints of romance and a love triangle make this book worth staying up late for, as you can't possibly be expected to wait until the next day to find out what's coming next. I truly cannot wait to read this with my book club and share it with everyone I love. FIVE STARS, MUST READ!
Lumani has seamlessly illustrated a realistic fantasy world that plays out so magically in my mind, I am already disappointed with the inevitable film that will be made getting it even *slightly* wrong - as all of us book lovers know they do. While the hero's journey is always my favorite basis for storytelling, Foretold perfectly executes the first person narrative in a way that convinces the reader that they could be the hero, too. I have experienced loss like Cassandra, and the catastrophic thinking that colors every single interaction thereafter - always waiting for the next gut wrenching disaster, being too scared to get too comfortable or happy again, knowing it can all be taken away. Rarely have I read a book where that pain is so well articulated and therefore known by the reader. Typically we as readers are meant to fill in the blank of said trauma and just expect it to have hurt a lot but with Cassandra, we see it and feel it in everything she does and because of that we are also able to grow with her, and heal with her. Lumani does right by every single one of us who has ever had to deal with such exasperating pain and validates all of us by letting us know through that pain we can truly access our own power.
The magic, the mystery and the hints of romance and a love triangle make this book worth staying up late for, as you can't possibly be expected to wait until the next day to find out what's coming next. I truly cannot wait to read this with my book club and share it with everyone I love. FIVE STARS, MUST READ!
July 22, 2021
When I saw that there was a book about someone with OCD and superpowers, I genuinely screamed.
Plot: The fantasy aspect was really cool, and I thought the world was quite unique. I can’t say I’ve read a book about a secret magical future-divining organization before. It almost reminded me of a Percy Jackson style adventure, but for OCD instead of ADHD/dyslexia.
Characters: Because this book was written by someone with OCD, the descriptions are spot-on for the disorder. I related so much to the main character, while also being able to see some facets of OCD that I personally have not experienced. Too often people assume OCD is a monolithic experience, which it is not, so I appreciated seeing another person’s point of view.
Overall: As someone with OCD, this is a book younger me would have absolutely loved. Reading it at 21 was still enjoyable, but not quite what I expected. The tone was very young, which isn’t bad, but I think it would be better for a slightly different audience.
Content warnings: death of a parent, main character with OCD
Click here for the full review on my blog!
Plot: The fantasy aspect was really cool, and I thought the world was quite unique. I can’t say I’ve read a book about a secret magical future-divining organization before. It almost reminded me of a Percy Jackson style adventure, but for OCD instead of ADHD/dyslexia.
Characters: Because this book was written by someone with OCD, the descriptions are spot-on for the disorder. I related so much to the main character, while also being able to see some facets of OCD that I personally have not experienced. Too often people assume OCD is a monolithic experience, which it is not, so I appreciated seeing another person’s point of view.
Overall: As someone with OCD, this is a book younger me would have absolutely loved. Reading it at 21 was still enjoyable, but not quite what I expected. The tone was very young, which isn’t bad, but I think it would be better for a slightly different audience.
Content warnings: death of a parent, main character with OCD
Click here for the full review on my blog!
May 8, 2021
Why hide behind walls when you can control what's being built beyond them?
I received a free e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Foretold is the first instalment of The Scryers series as well as the YA debut of the author.
It follows Cassandra Morai a.k.a. Cassie, who is diagnosed with OCD after the devastating episode of her mother's death from the big C and she can vividly see death and havoc all around her. She imagines the worst fate for herself and those who are close to her. Even dogs rub on her leg will make her feel like she's dying and never sees the next daylight.
But not this once, this time her head and mind is not playing tricks on her, he's dying. Cass's new neighbour, Colin is destined to die. She's been foretold a real death before her, and every instinct is making it a real vision rather than her OCD messing up with her. But she doesn't want him to die. She'll put everything on the line for him.
Aunt Bree (with whom I had a tough time trying to understand and adore, but failed miserably) convince her to be tutored in an organization of sooth-slayers, where she can control and learn to transform the future she foresees, but magic isn't easy, and unravelling fate's threads always come with a cost. And evading death is going to cost her everything.
The characters were well-written. The dialogues in particular were enjoyable. Cass was a difficult character to connect with; despite the fact that the book is told from her point of view, I didn't feel any stronger emotional connection to her than I do with other characters. She's obstinate while still being broken. With all that has happened throughout her life after her mother's passing, as well as her OCD, she isn't really self-assured, which isn't my kind of woman character, but it's understandable. Collin was a lovable character with his own series of family feuds hanging above his head and a nomadic living due to his father's political career, but he desired friendship. He was perfect, at least from Cassie's POV, we didn't get to know much about him after she goes off for the training, and I don't like insta-love or the teen romance but their relationship was acceptable to me until Sebastian came into the picture. Bastian, huh, he's the most mysterious character. I need to know why he did what he did. Everything. From the beginning. I really really want him to be the love interest though I hate love triangle romance (it's so repeated trope on almost every book these days that I got immune to it.) He's one of the organization's prefects, as well as the place's potential boss. Regan was a wonderful friend and confidante, but I despise her young men. Yes, really. Noah irritates me because he is so irrational (but I know, he has every right to be angry and what he did was protecting his Girlfriend but he had no right to do what he did.) Griffin, he's my candy honey pie, omg, I loved him so much (not as much as Sebastian, but because he's a mysterious character, I'm not sure if I should trust him just yet), his witty dialogues, and how he helped Cassie with all his might, and how he was willing to make sacrifices for his friends. (I want Regan to break up with Noah and start dating Griffin. Seriously girl, time to reconsider your choice!) Pict, a slew of teachers and Magpies, Theodore, Bracchy, Mrs O., her father, aunt, and plenty of others, too many to mention; I can't write about them all, so you better grab and read the book. (I am lazy and typing ain't burning my fingers calories!)
I loved the reference of OCD and how difficult it is for the diagnosed people. It's so hard, really hard. The grievances of losing those who are close to you. Mrs O's taking care of Cass and her relying on the former. The friendship and the bond the characters formed were one to adore. I like the father-daughter bond, their lasagna Friday nights, and playing trivinometry (yes, there is such a game; I was misreading it as trigonometry.)
When reading, the organization's realm was a little difficult to envision, and I'm still unsure how the coil is to be pictured. (I need help here) Overall, the environment created was difficult for me to imagine, but it was simple to read about. (When I read a novel, I like to imagine a world in my head.) The pacing of the book was decent, but at times I felt dragged, but it picked up speed towards the end.
As I previously said, I am not a fan of teen romance, so Cass and Collin's interaction didn't appeal to me at first, but her desire to rescue him eventually won me over. (However, if you ask me, I would not have put my life on the line for someone I had just met a few days before. I'd rather have found a new boyfriend, as Griffin said. Cass, I may be able to assist you by making a great boyfriend recommendation. Sebastian, to be precise.) I didn't like the way she was resistant to meet her Eleanor (and I wish to meet her now...) though it was totally understandable as her state of mind was havoc.
There's a lot more to this novel than I can talk about it; there are a lot of plots left waiting for the next book that you won't find until you give it your full attention. And I'm looking forward to reading the next book as soon as possible. (I understand this is an ARC, and the next book won't be out until next year, but please, author, send me a blurb to live on.) I'm curious as to why Cassandra was spared by the assailants. Who Cassie's mother is and if she performed the same rite for her. Why is Pict so cold. What power Cassie behold. Mrs O, who is she? Where are her friends? What's going on with Collin and her relationship? And WHY SEBASTIAN DID WHAT HE DID?! (Yes, all these are spoilers. Why did you all even proceed to read? Dumbos!) I really wanna know about all this. I'm forward to reading the next instalment of the series.
I received a free e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Foretold is the first instalment of The Scryers series as well as the YA debut of the author.
It follows Cassandra Morai a.k.a. Cassie, who is diagnosed with OCD after the devastating episode of her mother's death from the big C and she can vividly see death and havoc all around her. She imagines the worst fate for herself and those who are close to her. Even dogs rub on her leg will make her feel like she's dying and never sees the next daylight.
But not this once, this time her head and mind is not playing tricks on her, he's dying. Cass's new neighbour, Colin is destined to die. She's been foretold a real death before her, and every instinct is making it a real vision rather than her OCD messing up with her. But she doesn't want him to die. She'll put everything on the line for him.
Aunt Bree (with whom I had a tough time trying to understand and adore, but failed miserably) convince her to be tutored in an organization of sooth-slayers, where she can control and learn to transform the future she foresees, but magic isn't easy, and unravelling fate's threads always come with a cost. And evading death is going to cost her everything.
The characters were well-written. The dialogues in particular were enjoyable. Cass was a difficult character to connect with; despite the fact that the book is told from her point of view, I didn't feel any stronger emotional connection to her than I do with other characters. She's obstinate while still being broken. With all that has happened throughout her life after her mother's passing, as well as her OCD, she isn't really self-assured, which isn't my kind of woman character, but it's understandable. Collin was a lovable character with his own series of family feuds hanging above his head and a nomadic living due to his father's political career, but he desired friendship. He was perfect, at least from Cassie's POV, we didn't get to know much about him after she goes off for the training, and I don't like insta-love or the teen romance but their relationship was acceptable to me until Sebastian came into the picture. Bastian, huh, he's the most mysterious character. I need to know why he did what he did. Everything. From the beginning. I really really want him to be the love interest though I hate love triangle romance (it's so repeated trope on almost every book these days that I got immune to it.) He's one of the organization's prefects, as well as the place's potential boss. Regan was a wonderful friend and confidante, but I despise her young men. Yes, really. Noah irritates me because he is so irrational (but I know, he has every right to be angry and what he did was protecting his Girlfriend but he had no right to do what he did.) Griffin, he's my candy honey pie, omg, I loved him so much (not as much as Sebastian, but because he's a mysterious character, I'm not sure if I should trust him just yet), his witty dialogues, and how he helped Cassie with all his might, and how he was willing to make sacrifices for his friends. (I want Regan to break up with Noah and start dating Griffin. Seriously girl, time to reconsider your choice!) Pict, a slew of teachers and Magpies, Theodore, Bracchy, Mrs O., her father, aunt, and plenty of others, too many to mention; I can't write about them all, so you better grab and read the book. (I am lazy and typing ain't burning my fingers calories!)
I loved the reference of OCD and how difficult it is for the diagnosed people. It's so hard, really hard. The grievances of losing those who are close to you. Mrs O's taking care of Cass and her relying on the former. The friendship and the bond the characters formed were one to adore. I like the father-daughter bond, their lasagna Friday nights, and playing trivinometry (yes, there is such a game; I was misreading it as trigonometry.)
When reading, the organization's realm was a little difficult to envision, and I'm still unsure how the coil is to be pictured. (I need help here) Overall, the environment created was difficult for me to imagine, but it was simple to read about. (When I read a novel, I like to imagine a world in my head.) The pacing of the book was decent, but at times I felt dragged, but it picked up speed towards the end.
As I previously said, I am not a fan of teen romance, so Cass and Collin's interaction didn't appeal to me at first, but her desire to rescue him eventually won me over. (However, if you ask me, I would not have put my life on the line for someone I had just met a few days before. I'd rather have found a new boyfriend, as Griffin said. Cass, I may be able to assist you by making a great boyfriend recommendation. Sebastian, to be precise.) I didn't like the way she was resistant to meet her Eleanor (and I wish to meet her now...) though it was totally understandable as her state of mind was havoc.
There's a lot more to this novel than I can talk about it; there are a lot of plots left waiting for the next book that you won't find until you give it your full attention. And I'm looking forward to reading the next book as soon as possible. (I understand this is an ARC, and the next book won't be out until next year, but please, author, send me a blurb to live on.) I'm curious as to why Cassandra was spared by the assailants. Who Cassie's mother is and if she performed the same rite for her. Why is Pict so cold. What power Cassie behold. Mrs O, who is she? Where are her friends? What's going on with Collin and her relationship? And WHY SEBASTIAN DID WHAT HE DID?! (Yes, all these are spoilers. Why did you all even proceed to read? Dumbos!) I really wanna know about all this. I'm forward to reading the next instalment of the series.
March 21, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 4.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Uproar Books for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Foretold is the first book in The Scryers series. We follow Cassandra, who suffers from OCD and anxiety since her mother’s death.
This book grabbed my attention with the very first paragraph and didn’t let go for one moment. I binge read this book in one afternoon!
The writing style was really enjoyable, and the description of Cassie’s conditions were handled and executed really well. Because it was sometimes hard to read, you learn and understand more how hard having a condition like OCD really is. I felt and bought the realism, and I could relate to her. She was just an amazing relatable character who I kept rooting for during the whole book. After reading the author’s own struggle which inspired the story that all made sense and I truly applaud her for the execution!
It really became a fantasy book when Cassie goes starts to learn and control her abilities. I love this different take on powers. It isn’t something that I’ve seen much in books as the main power in the world. The story really distinguishes itself in this category. The whole magic system and world-building were amazingly portrayed and written. I was a bit confused by the Coil, its workings and its appearance, but not enough for it to overshadow the enjoyment of reading this book.
The romance is sweet and the awkwardness that the characters as teenagers bring with them is really fun to read. The potential and hints for a love triangle isn’t really something I love though.
I loved all the little facts thrown into the story and honestly it really made me wanna play trivinometry. The hints to classic literature throughout the book are also really nice to read.
Overall, it was a super start to a new series, it left me wanting more and I can’t wait to see what it’ll bring in future books! I’m definitely pre-ordering this book just to read it again when it comes out!
Thank you to NetGalley and Uproar Books for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Foretold is the first book in The Scryers series. We follow Cassandra, who suffers from OCD and anxiety since her mother’s death.
This book grabbed my attention with the very first paragraph and didn’t let go for one moment. I binge read this book in one afternoon!
The writing style was really enjoyable, and the description of Cassie’s conditions were handled and executed really well. Because it was sometimes hard to read, you learn and understand more how hard having a condition like OCD really is. I felt and bought the realism, and I could relate to her. She was just an amazing relatable character who I kept rooting for during the whole book. After reading the author’s own struggle which inspired the story that all made sense and I truly applaud her for the execution!
It really became a fantasy book when Cassie goes starts to learn and control her abilities. I love this different take on powers. It isn’t something that I’ve seen much in books as the main power in the world. The story really distinguishes itself in this category. The whole magic system and world-building were amazingly portrayed and written. I was a bit confused by the Coil, its workings and its appearance, but not enough for it to overshadow the enjoyment of reading this book.
The romance is sweet and the awkwardness that the characters as teenagers bring with them is really fun to read. The potential and hints for a love triangle isn’t really something I love though.
I loved all the little facts thrown into the story and honestly it really made me wanna play trivinometry. The hints to classic literature throughout the book are also really nice to read.
Overall, it was a super start to a new series, it left me wanting more and I can’t wait to see what it’ll bring in future books! I’m definitely pre-ordering this book just to read it again when it comes out!
March 22, 2021
The book started out with recognizable and comfortable tropes, and then it took a turn, subverting who I thought the antagonist the MC’s age would be, subverting the three best friends trope, subverting the expectation things would work out in the end.
The grief and anxiety rang very true for me. And the OCD was hard to read, but it made me appreciate how hard it must be to live, and so tho I sometimes skim when I read, I noticed I didn’t when the MC was dealing with her condition.
I think those looking for a pure romance or pure thriller might find themselves wanting (tho there are those elements present). But those looking for a story that speaks to worry about the future, or anxiety, or pain, or just those looking for a satisfying thinker/feeler will be happy. Also, the world is rich and interesting and fun, and I found myself thinking of Harry Potter, though it didn’t feel derivative. Wondering, in a good way, how the trilogy will land.
Thank you to Uproar for the advance copy.
The grief and anxiety rang very true for me. And the OCD was hard to read, but it made me appreciate how hard it must be to live, and so tho I sometimes skim when I read, I noticed I didn’t when the MC was dealing with her condition.
I think those looking for a pure romance or pure thriller might find themselves wanting (tho there are those elements present). But those looking for a story that speaks to worry about the future, or anxiety, or pain, or just those looking for a satisfying thinker/feeler will be happy. Also, the world is rich and interesting and fun, and I found myself thinking of Harry Potter, though it didn’t feel derivative. Wondering, in a good way, how the trilogy will land.
Thank you to Uproar for the advance copy.
September 17, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Foretold is a book which I think had a good concept, but bad execution. My feelings about it are still conflicted.
It follows Cassandra, a teenage girl with OCD and anxiety. She sees death and devastation all around her, and is always thinking of the worst outcome to every situation in her life. Until one time when it’s not just a figment of her imagination or a product of her mental illnesses. A boy who has just moved in next door, Colin, is destined to die. She has foretold a death before so she knows this is a real vision. She involves herself in a secret organization in an attempt to save him.
I had pretty high expectations for this book. The cover is gorgeous and the synopsis drew me in. But unfortunately this was quite lackluster and ended up boring me. This book suffers from the awful curse of info-dumping. Everything is thrown at you with no explanation, leading to confusion and giving me no interest in the story.
I found the worldbuilding to be lacking. The aforementioned info-dumping made it hard to understand. I wanted to learn more about the magic system and why the Scryers did the rituals they did, how they scryed visions, and much more but I never learned anything else other than the initial introductions.
The characters were ones that I had no attachment to at all. Half of them I knew nothing more than their names. The ones which I had more information about, specifically Cassie (the main character), annoyed me a lot. All the characters were bland and forgettable. I couldn’t understand their motives. None of them stood out at all and they didn’t have original personalities. Also, how are we supposed to believe these characters are as old as they are? The only character with a confirmed age I can remember is Cassie, and she's apparently seventeen so I'm assuming most of the other characters are around that age as well but they all act like ten-year-olds. Whenever I read I want to feel some connection to any one of the characters so I have someone to root for and keep me invested in the story. It is hard for me to enjoy a book when I do not like the characters, and I think that was part of the problem I had with this book.
The romance of this book frustrated me. It had two of my least favorite tropes, instalove and a love triangle. I think most of the book community would agree with me in that they don’t like those tropes either. Sometimes love triangles are okay but this one was extremely predictable. As I said before, I didn’t have an attachment to any of the characters so that made me dislike the romance more. We also only get to see the romance towards the beginning and end of the book, leading it to feel underdeveloped like most of the book. This is partly due to the fact the Cassie was at camp most of the book but I feel it still could have been built on some more despite this.
The pacing of the book seemed non-existent at times and very inconsistent. The beginning was slow. The middle is also pretty slow. The plot only picks up towards the end and even then it’s not very interesting. This leads the ending to feeling very rushed and unsatisfying. The pacing also took a part in me not enjoying the book. Everything felt quite sloppy in my opinion. The plot jumps back and forth and there seems to be no point to anything, just aimless events that don’t help what Cassie’s goal apparently is. The writing wasn’t awful, but like the rest of the book it was extremely bland which didn’t help the pacing or anything else.
To me, the one redeeming factor of this book was the OCD and anxiety representation. I liked how the author didn’t play into the usual stereotypes of wanting everything to be clean and such. I think that OCD, anxiety, and mental illnesses in general are very hard to write. Everyone experiences them in different ways. I do not know whether or not the ways Cassie experienced OCD and anxiety were a self projection of the author’s but I still appreciate how they showed the dark sides of mental illness without being insensitive or disrespectful. I loved the parts where there were lines about OCD not controlling her and how mental illness isn’t a thing you can just “turn off”. To someone who knows nothing about these conditions I think this book would be a good introduction.
Overall, this could have been a good book but many aspects felt underdeveloped which held me back from enjoying it.
Foretold is a book which I think had a good concept, but bad execution. My feelings about it are still conflicted.
It follows Cassandra, a teenage girl with OCD and anxiety. She sees death and devastation all around her, and is always thinking of the worst outcome to every situation in her life. Until one time when it’s not just a figment of her imagination or a product of her mental illnesses. A boy who has just moved in next door, Colin, is destined to die. She has foretold a death before so she knows this is a real vision. She involves herself in a secret organization in an attempt to save him.
I had pretty high expectations for this book. The cover is gorgeous and the synopsis drew me in. But unfortunately this was quite lackluster and ended up boring me. This book suffers from the awful curse of info-dumping. Everything is thrown at you with no explanation, leading to confusion and giving me no interest in the story.
I found the worldbuilding to be lacking. The aforementioned info-dumping made it hard to understand. I wanted to learn more about the magic system and why the Scryers did the rituals they did, how they scryed visions, and much more but I never learned anything else other than the initial introductions.
The characters were ones that I had no attachment to at all. Half of them I knew nothing more than their names. The ones which I had more information about, specifically Cassie (the main character), annoyed me a lot. All the characters were bland and forgettable. I couldn’t understand their motives. None of them stood out at all and they didn’t have original personalities. Also, how are we supposed to believe these characters are as old as they are? The only character with a confirmed age I can remember is Cassie, and she's apparently seventeen so I'm assuming most of the other characters are around that age as well but they all act like ten-year-olds. Whenever I read I want to feel some connection to any one of the characters so I have someone to root for and keep me invested in the story. It is hard for me to enjoy a book when I do not like the characters, and I think that was part of the problem I had with this book.
The romance of this book frustrated me. It had two of my least favorite tropes, instalove and a love triangle. I think most of the book community would agree with me in that they don’t like those tropes either. Sometimes love triangles are okay but this one was extremely predictable. As I said before, I didn’t have an attachment to any of the characters so that made me dislike the romance more. We also only get to see the romance towards the beginning and end of the book, leading it to feel underdeveloped like most of the book. This is partly due to the fact the Cassie was at camp most of the book but I feel it still could have been built on some more despite this.
The pacing of the book seemed non-existent at times and very inconsistent. The beginning was slow. The middle is also pretty slow. The plot only picks up towards the end and even then it’s not very interesting. This leads the ending to feeling very rushed and unsatisfying. The pacing also took a part in me not enjoying the book. Everything felt quite sloppy in my opinion. The plot jumps back and forth and there seems to be no point to anything, just aimless events that don’t help what Cassie’s goal apparently is. The writing wasn’t awful, but like the rest of the book it was extremely bland which didn’t help the pacing or anything else.
To me, the one redeeming factor of this book was the OCD and anxiety representation. I liked how the author didn’t play into the usual stereotypes of wanting everything to be clean and such. I think that OCD, anxiety, and mental illnesses in general are very hard to write. Everyone experiences them in different ways. I do not know whether or not the ways Cassie experienced OCD and anxiety were a self projection of the author’s but I still appreciate how they showed the dark sides of mental illness without being insensitive or disrespectful. I loved the parts where there were lines about OCD not controlling her and how mental illness isn’t a thing you can just “turn off”. To someone who knows nothing about these conditions I think this book would be a good introduction.
Overall, this could have been a good book but many aspects felt underdeveloped which held me back from enjoying it.
March 21, 2021
Firstly, Thanks Net Galley for the ARC of Violet Lumani’s Foretold ♥️
The beginning felt like a struggle, I kept putting it down and doing other things. However after a few chapters I started to fall in love, maybe it was the Greek myth references that really caught my attention.
(With out spoiling it) the ending left me breathless and mad! Mainly because I wasn’t ready for how it ended. Definitely didn’t see that coming
Now the main reason why I think this book stands out. I love the way Violet wrote about OCD. This wasn’t a throw away line used to add depth to the protagonist. But rather something that she struggled with every step of the way. All of this was beautifully written and really made you feel like you gained a new understanding for people struggling with mental health.
📚📚📚 I highly recommend reading this when it comes out on July 20th 2021! 📚📚📚
The beginning felt like a struggle, I kept putting it down and doing other things. However after a few chapters I started to fall in love, maybe it was the Greek myth references that really caught my attention.
(With out spoiling it) the ending left me breathless and mad! Mainly because I wasn’t ready for how it ended. Definitely didn’t see that coming
Now the main reason why I think this book stands out. I love the way Violet wrote about OCD. This wasn’t a throw away line used to add depth to the protagonist. But rather something that she struggled with every step of the way. All of this was beautifully written and really made you feel like you gained a new understanding for people struggling with mental health.
📚📚📚 I highly recommend reading this when it comes out on July 20th 2021! 📚📚📚
March 25, 2021
I received this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*
Wow, this surprised me, and now I'm dying for the second book when the first one isn't even out yet! Cassie is a 17 year old girl who suffers quite badly from OCD. She finds out she is actually a 'scryer', and some of her visions are not a product of OCD, but a product of her abilities. Cue the really cool, science-based magic school for scrying. And the vision that her boyfriend is destined to die. Here is my CAWPILE breakdown:
Characters (8):
The characters were developed subtly and consistently in a way that felt entirely natural. When I finished the book it took me a while to realise the characters had grown a lot throughout the book, because it was never a series of 'pushy arcs'. Cassie suffers from OCD, which I thought was accurately and honestly portrayed. I have OCD myself and I often find the portrayal of OCD in popular culture is incorrect and harmful for OCD awareness. However, Cassie talks about her anxiety relieving rituals, the therapy she has had, and her thoughts about her OCD that venture far further into the real world than the usual 'I needed to straighten the thing'. In Foretold, we see Carrie wrestle with her OCD and learn to talk about it with those she cares about, rather than bottle up her suffering.
Her best friend, Regan, is instantly supportive. Regan is a bright and bubbly character, who uses the OTT energy to mask her own pain. At first I thought she was a very obtuse character, and a complete airhead. But as I got to know her, I saw the kind of wisdom and joy a person can present after experiencing suffering.
Griffin was an interesting character. A typical 'man' character that used humour and facetious comments, that was actually kind and soft hearted underneath. He openly denounced toxic masculinity, noting he was secure in himself. While it might seem insignificant, I think it is important to incorporate that into YA literature to help reduce toxic masculinity... The kind of comments like, 'What? I'm secure enough in my own masculinity to acknowledge another guy's aesthetic appeal', were so fluid and normal that it actually took me by surprise.
Noah, on the other hand, had a complete backwards arc which was very well done. A kind and nerdy guy became the world's biggest asshole. I can see why, but it revealed much about his personality to turn heel like that...
Atmosphere (9):
The atmosphere of this was wonderful. I could completely visualise the Coil, Mrs O's shop, the rooftop of Cassie's house... There were moments where I was reading so fast and intently that my mouth dried out from how absorbed I was.
Writing (9):
The writing was complete accessible without being too casual or irritating. I often find that YA books lack the sophistication of regular NA or adult fantasy, and the childish chattering narration is grating. However, Lumani finds a perfect balance between casual and sophisticated, making this easy to read for YA audiences, as well as adults. Her level of description and world building was brilliant and I could so clearly visualise everything in the story.
Plot (10):
My goodness, this twisted and turned like a twisty turny thing. The general plot centers around Cassie needing to change the outcome of her vision where her boyfriend dies. There are overlying and underlying plots too that gave the whole story depth. While Cassie is investigating illegal rituals to prevent Colin's death, there is a supposed terrorist group, corrupt corporations withholding important information from the scrying populous, scheming and plotting assholes that you wouldn't expect were pulling so many strings, as well as the general psychic education of Cassie and her classmates as they prepare for the 'Coil Walk', a sort of psychic survival expedition but with monsters. I'm utterly dumbfounded, because the way everything tied into everything was done so well. I need the second book... yesterday.
Intrigue (9):
The lore of Lumani's world was intricate and fascinating, and I was utterly intoxicated by the secret scrying community living in plain sight. The ways in which scryers blended into society, doing mundane tasks with the scrying abilities was completely brilliant. I mean, insurance sales to people they know will never ever need it? Genius! There was so much going on, but not in an overwhelming way. I kept wanting to go back and pick up my book at every possible moment, and tearing myself away from it to work on my masters thesis was agony.
Logic (9):
Did everything make sense? Yes. In a world with psychic and supernatural abilities, it is so easy to fall into the trap of more is more, and you get completely lost in the magic of things. However, Lumani stuck to a less is more approach, which made everything about the scrying more believable and I was completely invested. One example would be this- Cassie's abilities are far stronger than her peers, but not in a 'the main character has to be special' kind of way. Cassie's OCD familiarised her so much with 'what if' scenarios, that reading into the future was almost an instinct to her, making her more proficient at scrying. That is a very real, believable argument for why a main character is different. None of this 'chosen one' stuff!
Enjoyment (10):
I absolutely loved this book, if you couldn't tell. It had everything I could have possibly wanted and more. The writing was great, the story was fantastic, and the representation of OCD and mental illness was done in a very open and unoffensive way, which I really appreciated. Nothing about it was gimmicky and I found it utterly thrilling to read.
Wow, this surprised me, and now I'm dying for the second book when the first one isn't even out yet! Cassie is a 17 year old girl who suffers quite badly from OCD. She finds out she is actually a 'scryer', and some of her visions are not a product of OCD, but a product of her abilities. Cue the really cool, science-based magic school for scrying. And the vision that her boyfriend is destined to die. Here is my CAWPILE breakdown:
Characters (8):
The characters were developed subtly and consistently in a way that felt entirely natural. When I finished the book it took me a while to realise the characters had grown a lot throughout the book, because it was never a series of 'pushy arcs'. Cassie suffers from OCD, which I thought was accurately and honestly portrayed. I have OCD myself and I often find the portrayal of OCD in popular culture is incorrect and harmful for OCD awareness. However, Cassie talks about her anxiety relieving rituals, the therapy she has had, and her thoughts about her OCD that venture far further into the real world than the usual 'I needed to straighten the thing'. In Foretold, we see Carrie wrestle with her OCD and learn to talk about it with those she cares about, rather than bottle up her suffering.
Her best friend, Regan, is instantly supportive. Regan is a bright and bubbly character, who uses the OTT energy to mask her own pain. At first I thought she was a very obtuse character, and a complete airhead. But as I got to know her, I saw the kind of wisdom and joy a person can present after experiencing suffering.
Griffin was an interesting character. A typical 'man' character that used humour and facetious comments, that was actually kind and soft hearted underneath. He openly denounced toxic masculinity, noting he was secure in himself. While it might seem insignificant, I think it is important to incorporate that into YA literature to help reduce toxic masculinity... The kind of comments like, 'What? I'm secure enough in my own masculinity to acknowledge another guy's aesthetic appeal', were so fluid and normal that it actually took me by surprise.
Noah, on the other hand, had a complete backwards arc which was very well done. A kind and nerdy guy became the world's biggest asshole. I can see why, but it revealed much about his personality to turn heel like that...
Atmosphere (9):
The atmosphere of this was wonderful. I could completely visualise the Coil, Mrs O's shop, the rooftop of Cassie's house... There were moments where I was reading so fast and intently that my mouth dried out from how absorbed I was.
Writing (9):
The writing was complete accessible without being too casual or irritating. I often find that YA books lack the sophistication of regular NA or adult fantasy, and the childish chattering narration is grating. However, Lumani finds a perfect balance between casual and sophisticated, making this easy to read for YA audiences, as well as adults. Her level of description and world building was brilliant and I could so clearly visualise everything in the story.
Plot (10):
My goodness, this twisted and turned like a twisty turny thing. The general plot centers around Cassie needing to change the outcome of her vision where her boyfriend dies. There are overlying and underlying plots too that gave the whole story depth. While Cassie is investigating illegal rituals to prevent Colin's death, there is a supposed terrorist group, corrupt corporations withholding important information from the scrying populous, scheming and plotting assholes that you wouldn't expect were pulling so many strings, as well as the general psychic education of Cassie and her classmates as they prepare for the 'Coil Walk', a sort of psychic survival expedition but with monsters. I'm utterly dumbfounded, because the way everything tied into everything was done so well. I need the second book... yesterday.
Intrigue (9):
The lore of Lumani's world was intricate and fascinating, and I was utterly intoxicated by the secret scrying community living in plain sight. The ways in which scryers blended into society, doing mundane tasks with the scrying abilities was completely brilliant. I mean, insurance sales to people they know will never ever need it? Genius! There was so much going on, but not in an overwhelming way. I kept wanting to go back and pick up my book at every possible moment, and tearing myself away from it to work on my masters thesis was agony.
Logic (9):
Did everything make sense? Yes. In a world with psychic and supernatural abilities, it is so easy to fall into the trap of more is more, and you get completely lost in the magic of things. However, Lumani stuck to a less is more approach, which made everything about the scrying more believable and I was completely invested. One example would be this- Cassie's abilities are far stronger than her peers, but not in a 'the main character has to be special' kind of way. Cassie's OCD familiarised her so much with 'what if' scenarios, that reading into the future was almost an instinct to her, making her more proficient at scrying. That is a very real, believable argument for why a main character is different. None of this 'chosen one' stuff!
Enjoyment (10):
I absolutely loved this book, if you couldn't tell. It had everything I could have possibly wanted and more. The writing was great, the story was fantastic, and the representation of OCD and mental illness was done in a very open and unoffensive way, which I really appreciated. Nothing about it was gimmicky and I found it utterly thrilling to read.
April 24, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and Uproar Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Before starting this review, I would like to mention that I DNFed this book a little over 50% of the way in. I found the world-building, writing, characters, and plot all to be uninteresting and quite lacking, which is why I think that a 2.5 star rating is appropriate.
When I first set eyes on Foretold, I saw a gorgeous cover and an intriguing synopsis. A main character with OCD, fantasy, beautiful graphics, scryers, - what more can you ask for? So, I immediately had high hopes.
Instead, the book fell short on many accounts.
Our book follows Cassandra, a teenage girl with OCD and anxiety. She’s constantly thinking of the worst possible outcome to any situation given to her, and it’s always something devastating.
But when she sees Colin, the boy who just moved in next door, die right in front of her eyes, she knows it’s no longer a result of her mental illness. This was something different.
Cassandra, our main character, was extremely irritating. Her OCD and anxiety (which I will cover later) were pretty well-represented, but other than that, she had no redeeming qualities. She was boring and had absolutely no personality. In my opinion, she was just so forgettable.
Regan, the friend that Cassie makes at the Theban Group - her scrying camp - seems to spend half her time irritated about who knows what. She talks like she’s nine years old, and she is the most over dramatic character I’ve read about in a long time. She overreacts about this one guy’s snarky comments (that aren’t even snarky?) and gets a little too worked up about nothing.
What’s his name again?
*realizing I should know this by now*
Right. Noah is the blandest character in this book. I’m 99% certain he’s part of their ‘friend group’ but I still?? Don’t?? Know?? Who?? Tf?? He?? Is?? I don’t even know what his personality is like. Oh right, he has none. Onto the next character because I have nothing to say about him.
Griffin is your typical Obnoxious Guy Who Constantly Annoys That One Character Until He Suddenly Becomes Nice™. Regan was always “shooting him glares” or “huffing at him” or “moving away from him” because he was just that rude.
I think he was supposed to be portrayed as obnoxious and annoying but in reality, his only tactic for being snarky was calling Regan ‘Ronald’ or ‘Robert.’ And that was enough to tick her off. Can she not ignore him? Is that not possible at all?
The characters were so, so boring. I couldn’t care less about them.
World-building in this book was hardly built up at all. I hardly even know what any of the places look like. The magic system would have been so interesting, but there was no mention of it other than at the beginning. What are the rituals for? Are there any kind of outside threats to the scryers? Do they have any restraints or limits? How do they even scry visions? What is the full extent of scrying powers?
Some of these are essential to magic and for a world, but they were never addressed. I feel like this book had so much potential for an incredibly intricate magic system, but it fell short and we were left with so many questions.
The only hint of world-building we got was the long monologue during the welcome speech and a few snippets here and there when Cassie entered the Theban Group.
The plot was basically nonexistent. The pacing was inconsistent and slow for the most part, except for a few patches where it would speed up all of a sudden and be incredibly confusing. And the infodumping. There was so much infodumping. This is a trap that many authors fall into, and it’s hard to avoid.
And there was so much in this book. The sheer amount made me disoriented already, not to mention the questionable pacing and boring plot. Things were thrown at you with no explanation nor goal as to where it was leading.
I found the plot to be highly disappointing; it could have been action-packed and reasonably paced, but felt completely aimless.
The romance was also extremely predictable. I foresaw the love triangle, and I couldn’t bring myself to root for any of the characters because I didn’t care about any of them at all. And even so, we barely saw any of the romance. At the beginning, there was a little bit of build-up, and I’m hoping that there was more at the end, but that’s about it.
The writing wasn’t terrible. However, it definitely felt underdeveloped and could use some work. I felt like nothing was explained at all and I was so confused for the majority of the time. The writing style did nothing to make me more interested in the book. It had too much telling and not showing, which is a big factor that you have to keep in mind.
The metaphors were weird, such as when she says: “Disapproval is Mt. Rushmore’d into every line of his face.”
I-
I’m so confused.
Can she not just say “carved” or “shaped” or anything else??
Also, I felt like nothing was described in detail and like I’d mentioned before, I hardly even knew what anything looked like, let alone the atmosphere.
For example:
“Friggin coolest doesn’t even begin to cover it. [...] as I lift my face to that jewel-hued dome. It was real. This was real. I shake my head and laugh out loud, Regan joining me. My eyes feel as if they’ve grown three times their size just to take it all in once more. [...]”
I’m so confused. What, exactly, is so cool? It’s not elaborated on at all. Cassie’s so happy and dumbfounded, but why? I have no idea. In all honesty, I really would like to know what’s so cool about this place. Unfortunately, there is no detailed description.
The one thing that I genuinely enjoyed about this book was the mental health representation. The author breaks the usual stereotypes about OCD and anxiety, which I very much appreciated. Mental illnesses in general are very hard to write, in more ways than one. It’s hard to portray on a piece of paper, but also, everyone experiences it differently. It’s hard to write without being insensitive, but the author did a great job.
I love that Cassie didn’t let her OCD and anxiety control her, but how it wasn’t something that you can “fix” or “turn on and off.” I will say that I have nothing to compare this representation to, so keep that in mind.
Overall, I think that while Foretold had a great concept and promise, it was not executed well. Some parts felt lacking and sloppy which is why I decreased my rating and ended up DNFing it. Thank you again to both NetGalley and the publisher!
2.5 stars.
Before starting this review, I would like to mention that I DNFed this book a little over 50% of the way in. I found the world-building, writing, characters, and plot all to be uninteresting and quite lacking, which is why I think that a 2.5 star rating is appropriate.
When I first set eyes on Foretold, I saw a gorgeous cover and an intriguing synopsis. A main character with OCD, fantasy, beautiful graphics, scryers, - what more can you ask for? So, I immediately had high hopes.
Instead, the book fell short on many accounts.
Our book follows Cassandra, a teenage girl with OCD and anxiety. She’s constantly thinking of the worst possible outcome to any situation given to her, and it’s always something devastating.
But when she sees Colin, the boy who just moved in next door, die right in front of her eyes, she knows it’s no longer a result of her mental illness. This was something different.
Cassandra, our main character, was extremely irritating. Her OCD and anxiety (which I will cover later) were pretty well-represented, but other than that, she had no redeeming qualities. She was boring and had absolutely no personality. In my opinion, she was just so forgettable.
Regan, the friend that Cassie makes at the Theban Group - her scrying camp - seems to spend half her time irritated about who knows what. She talks like she’s nine years old, and she is the most over dramatic character I’ve read about in a long time. She overreacts about this one guy’s snarky comments (that aren’t even snarky?) and gets a little too worked up about nothing.
What’s his name again?
*realizing I should know this by now*
Right. Noah is the blandest character in this book. I’m 99% certain he’s part of their ‘friend group’ but I still?? Don’t?? Know?? Who?? Tf?? He?? Is?? I don’t even know what his personality is like. Oh right, he has none. Onto the next character because I have nothing to say about him.
Griffin is your typical Obnoxious Guy Who Constantly Annoys That One Character Until He Suddenly Becomes Nice™. Regan was always “shooting him glares” or “huffing at him” or “moving away from him” because he was just that rude.
I think he was supposed to be portrayed as obnoxious and annoying but in reality, his only tactic for being snarky was calling Regan ‘Ronald’ or ‘Robert.’ And that was enough to tick her off. Can she not ignore him? Is that not possible at all?
The characters were so, so boring. I couldn’t care less about them.
World-building in this book was hardly built up at all. I hardly even know what any of the places look like. The magic system would have been so interesting, but there was no mention of it other than at the beginning. What are the rituals for? Are there any kind of outside threats to the scryers? Do they have any restraints or limits? How do they even scry visions? What is the full extent of scrying powers?
Some of these are essential to magic and for a world, but they were never addressed. I feel like this book had so much potential for an incredibly intricate magic system, but it fell short and we were left with so many questions.
The only hint of world-building we got was the long monologue during the welcome speech and a few snippets here and there when Cassie entered the Theban Group.
The plot was basically nonexistent. The pacing was inconsistent and slow for the most part, except for a few patches where it would speed up all of a sudden and be incredibly confusing. And the infodumping. There was so much infodumping. This is a trap that many authors fall into, and it’s hard to avoid.
And there was so much in this book. The sheer amount made me disoriented already, not to mention the questionable pacing and boring plot. Things were thrown at you with no explanation nor goal as to where it was leading.
I found the plot to be highly disappointing; it could have been action-packed and reasonably paced, but felt completely aimless.
The romance was also extremely predictable. I foresaw the love triangle, and I couldn’t bring myself to root for any of the characters because I didn’t care about any of them at all. And even so, we barely saw any of the romance. At the beginning, there was a little bit of build-up, and I’m hoping that there was more at the end, but that’s about it.
The writing wasn’t terrible. However, it definitely felt underdeveloped and could use some work. I felt like nothing was explained at all and I was so confused for the majority of the time. The writing style did nothing to make me more interested in the book. It had too much telling and not showing, which is a big factor that you have to keep in mind.
The metaphors were weird, such as when she says: “Disapproval is Mt. Rushmore’d into every line of his face.”
I-
I’m so confused.
Can she not just say “carved” or “shaped” or anything else??
Also, I felt like nothing was described in detail and like I’d mentioned before, I hardly even knew what anything looked like, let alone the atmosphere.
For example:
“Friggin coolest doesn’t even begin to cover it. [...] as I lift my face to that jewel-hued dome. It was real. This was real. I shake my head and laugh out loud, Regan joining me. My eyes feel as if they’ve grown three times their size just to take it all in once more. [...]”
I’m so confused. What, exactly, is so cool? It’s not elaborated on at all. Cassie’s so happy and dumbfounded, but why? I have no idea. In all honesty, I really would like to know what’s so cool about this place. Unfortunately, there is no detailed description.
The one thing that I genuinely enjoyed about this book was the mental health representation. The author breaks the usual stereotypes about OCD and anxiety, which I very much appreciated. Mental illnesses in general are very hard to write, in more ways than one. It’s hard to portray on a piece of paper, but also, everyone experiences it differently. It’s hard to write without being insensitive, but the author did a great job.
I love that Cassie didn’t let her OCD and anxiety control her, but how it wasn’t something that you can “fix” or “turn on and off.” I will say that I have nothing to compare this representation to, so keep that in mind.
Overall, I think that while Foretold had a great concept and promise, it was not executed well. Some parts felt lacking and sloppy which is why I decreased my rating and ended up DNFing it. Thank you again to both NetGalley and the publisher!
2.5 stars.
April 2, 2021
I fell in love with this book harder and faster than I expected. Although there were some minor issues dotted around, such as a unfleshed-out faculty members and some pacing fluxes here and there, all in all I can’t help but give this 5 stars.
The characters are lovable and show a natural growth, and at times deterioration, dictated by their personalities dealing with the events at hand. Through the main character thoughts we are shown a realistic depiction of OCD with intrusive thoughts and the struggles that pertain to it. That regardless of what magical adventure you are dropped into you will still remain yourself, issues and all, and that’s ok.
What got me the most was how easy it was to read and how gripped I was, resenting the time spent doing the daily chores until I could jump back into its pages. Before I knew it I was on the last page and heartbroken at having to wait for more. 2022 can’t come quickly enough.
The characters are lovable and show a natural growth, and at times deterioration, dictated by their personalities dealing with the events at hand. Through the main character thoughts we are shown a realistic depiction of OCD with intrusive thoughts and the struggles that pertain to it. That regardless of what magical adventure you are dropped into you will still remain yourself, issues and all, and that’s ok.
What got me the most was how easy it was to read and how gripped I was, resenting the time spent doing the daily chores until I could jump back into its pages. Before I knew it I was on the last page and heartbroken at having to wait for more. 2022 can’t come quickly enough.
March 21, 2021
I legitimately could not put this book down; I know it’s a cliche to say that, but it’s true. I loved it. It’s the best book I’ve read in a long time and the fastest I’ve torn through a book in years. Very original and perfectly fast paced. I can’t wait for the next installment and I would love to see this adapted to a TV series if they can do it justice. Hats off to an impressive newcomer in the literary world and her impressive debut novel! Hard to believe Foretold is a debut novel, truly impressive! Lumani might just be my new favorite author.
April 20, 2021
Special thanks to NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review
OH. MY. GOD.
This was such a great read. In the beginning, it comes off as a contemporary story about a girl dealing with OCD. But it quickly turns into this fantasy about seeing into the future, and it was an exciting journey to be on.
I loved Cassie. She was such a great character. I really loved seeing her back and forth battle with her OCD. Sometimes, she was able to overcome her impulses and other times she wasn't, and I think that's something that comes off as very realistic (but I don't have OCD, so who am I to say so?)
I loved Reagan. She was such a great friend to Cassie. She helped Cassie with her problems, and never let Cassie do the hard stuff on her own.
I loved Griffin. Which I didn't think I would say. He's the kind of character that you hate in the beginning, but then he grows on you to a tolerable level, then character development happens, and now he's somehow your favorite character even though you wished him to be dead at the start.
What a wild ride.
THEN THAT ENDING. It broke my heart into a thousand little pieces. It left me with so many questions that I desperately need the answer to. I can't believe I have to wait until sometime in 2022 to get the answers. I want it now!!!!
OH. MY. GOD.
This was such a great read. In the beginning, it comes off as a contemporary story about a girl dealing with OCD. But it quickly turns into this fantasy about seeing into the future, and it was an exciting journey to be on.
I loved Cassie. She was such a great character. I really loved seeing her back and forth battle with her OCD. Sometimes, she was able to overcome her impulses and other times she wasn't, and I think that's something that comes off as very realistic (but I don't have OCD, so who am I to say so?)
I loved Reagan. She was such a great friend to Cassie. She helped Cassie with her problems, and never let Cassie do the hard stuff on her own.
I loved Griffin. Which I didn't think I would say. He's the kind of character that you hate in the beginning, but then he grows on you to a tolerable level, then character development happens, and now he's somehow your favorite character even though you wished him to be dead at the start.
What a wild ride.
THEN THAT ENDING. It broke my heart into a thousand little pieces. It left me with so many questions that I desperately need the answer to. I can't believe I have to wait until sometime in 2022 to get the answers. I want it now!!!!
April 12, 2022
This book is beyond incredible. I have no words to describe it. You just have read for yourself! Cassandra is her own person and it is shown throughout the book, she suffers from OCD which is something difficult for someone to live with. This book takes you to a whole other world, you see the life Cassandra lives, on top of that, you see how selfless. Once you open this book, you will live the life of Cassie, its so well put together that the emotions she goes through, the struggles she faces with her disorder, you will feel them as well. I would describe Cassandra as a strong individual, for one to be so selfless and put others needs before her own when she has her own problems/struggles, it says a lot about her.
This is a book that shows you the bridges one crosses on a daily, specifically someone that suffers from a Mental Illness. Violet Lumani did an incredible job showing this throughout the book. It is truly eye opening to people that don’t understand what it is like to live with Mental Illness.
I LOVE IT!
This is a book that shows you the bridges one crosses on a daily, specifically someone that suffers from a Mental Illness. Violet Lumani did an incredible job showing this throughout the book. It is truly eye opening to people that don’t understand what it is like to live with Mental Illness.
I LOVE IT!
March 21, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt real, and there were very moving and emotional moments that almost made the fantasy bits fade to the background. That doesn’t mean the fantasy fell flat. The Coil, for example, is something I’d love to see a film crew put on the screen. For mythology buffs, this has enough Easter eggs to keep you happy, but it still felt fresh and not like a retread of old stories. I will be reading the next two installments.
Received an ARC copy for a review.
Received an ARC copy for a review.
March 30, 2021
With an action-packed story, complex and unique magic, and charming, deeply human characters, FORETOLD is an incredible debut. The mythological references are delightful, the romance tender, and the action gripping, but it is Lumani’s skill at creating heart wrenchingly beautiful and realistic depictions of struggles with OCD, anxiety, and grief that have left me trying to foretell when I can get my hands on the rest of this series.
September 29, 2021
5 stars★★★★★
**I was provided with an ARC from Uproar Books and Netgalley for an honest review**
TW: mental illness, death
✿Review also posted on my blog✿
Foretold is the first book of The Scryers trilogy by Violet Lumani
Synopsis ✿
Cassandra is diagnosed with OCD, anxiety and catastrophic thinking. She imagines the worst situations every day to herself and those she loves. Crossing the road one day she sees her new next door neighbour die, but this time it was a vision. In order to change the future Cass joins a secret organisation to save her cute boy wonder neighbour. Defying death is not easy and cost Cass everything.
"Death comes quilckly and respects no one."
Review ✿
I needed a break from the end of this book to get my thoughts in order.
I was in shock.
I was staring into space doing simple tasks.
This book blew me away.
The secret organisation that was also somehow school was a unique premise with the Coil being a cool living organism that is not benign, but hostile and dangerous and that we later find out unwilling host.
Griffin surprised me the most out all the characters. His character arc really made the book that much better and his friendships with Cass and Regan felt real and authentic.
Noah can eat shit.
Cass was really having a hard time and after she went to the secret organisation camp school she really blossomed and came into her own. I felt so happy she had friends and her mentor helping her with her OCD and catastrophic thoughts. Nua felt like Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter and the stunt Marko pulled made me die from happiness. Cass has such good intentions and a forgiving spirit but the forces conspiring against her ultimately cost her, her family and her friends a lot. Perhaps too much.
"The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next
The plot twist with the evil eye was shocking.
Times I cried:
- I cried about Theodore
- Sebastian talking about the cupcakes.
- cried when she had a fight with her dad, talking about how she felt stuck and everyone was moving on and her OCD compelled her mid convo to start straightening the carpet
- cried at the end.
- cried about the painting at the end.
I truly don't know where Cassandra's story arc will go from here. How her actions and the consequences will shape her and how she will make choices in the future. I hope she learns and grows and has some form of peace but I assume she will spiral negatively and make some more bad choices before settling into a happier place. Given her name is Cassandra, which I assume harkens to the Ancient Greek Oracle Cassandra and how tragic that story went makes me not have any hope for this Cassandra. Not one ounce. Not one trickle of hope.
I was very emotionally drained by the end. I cannot believe I have to wait so long for the next book.
This will be me for the next couple days.
No I won't be thinking any other thoughts other than this book at this time.
Please respect my lack of productivity. Thank you.
✿ 1st May ✿
I need 3-5 business days to recover and formulate a review
RTC
P.S. I am now a Sebastian stan 🥺🥰
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June 13, 2021
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The anxiety depictions alone and the OCD would elevate this to a four star. The unique premise, the voicy characters and the ending that will be brought up in my next therapy session elevate it to a five. How has no one brought up the scene with Cassie and the father discussing grief? It took my breath away.
The anxiety depictions alone and the OCD would elevate this to a four star. The unique premise, the voicy characters and the ending that will be brought up in my next therapy session elevate it to a five. How has no one brought up the scene with Cassie and the father discussing grief? It took my breath away.
December 27, 2021
“The most beautiful dead boy in the world is looking over at me for the second time today.”
Sixteen year old Cassandra Mori has suffered from OCD and extreme anxiety since the death of her mother two years ago. So much so in fact,that her anxiety attacks manifest into envisioning death and disaster around her, including the death of the boy next door,Colin.
“It wasn’t real. But my mind whispers back: You’ve been wrong before.”
Cassandra doesn’t believe it was just her imagination,she’s predicted death before-her mum’s.In order to stop her vision coming true, she joins a secret organisation of clairvoyants and fortunes tellers who promise they can teach her how to Change the path that leads to death.
But as Cassandra learns more about her magic she realises that there’s always a price to pay. As the saying goes,you can’t cheat death.
This debut YA Fantasy from Violet Lumani was exceptionally good,the author cleverly uses Cassandra’s similarities with her mythical namesake to lull us into a false sense of security and kept me in thrall.
The writing style was enjoyable and the description of Cassandra’s conditions (OCD, anxiety) were handled sensitively and I felt brought realism and empathy to the her grief.(which made sense after finding out the author’s personal struggle with OCD inspired the story).
There were also a couple of characters, descriptions and places alluded to that, for a history / mythology buff will be appreciated. Overall it was a Superb start to a new series and I’d wholeheartedly recommend to any lovers YA Fantasy or books involving light mythology/occult themes.
I’d also just like to thank Uproar Books and Net Galley For the digital ARC.
Sixteen year old Cassandra Mori has suffered from OCD and extreme anxiety since the death of her mother two years ago. So much so in fact,that her anxiety attacks manifest into envisioning death and disaster around her, including the death of the boy next door,Colin.
“It wasn’t real. But my mind whispers back: You’ve been wrong before.”
Cassandra doesn’t believe it was just her imagination,she’s predicted death before-her mum’s.In order to stop her vision coming true, she joins a secret organisation of clairvoyants and fortunes tellers who promise they can teach her how to Change the path that leads to death.
But as Cassandra learns more about her magic she realises that there’s always a price to pay. As the saying goes,you can’t cheat death.
This debut YA Fantasy from Violet Lumani was exceptionally good,the author cleverly uses Cassandra’s similarities with her mythical namesake to lull us into a false sense of security and kept me in thrall.
The writing style was enjoyable and the description of Cassandra’s conditions (OCD, anxiety) were handled sensitively and I felt brought realism and empathy to the her grief.(which made sense after finding out the author’s personal struggle with OCD inspired the story).
There were also a couple of characters, descriptions and places alluded to that, for a history / mythology buff will be appreciated. Overall it was a Superb start to a new series and I’d wholeheartedly recommend to any lovers YA Fantasy or books involving light mythology/occult themes.
I’d also just like to thank Uproar Books and Net Galley For the digital ARC.
December 27, 2021
I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book! The beginning was a bit slow but once I got into the story it was hard to put it down.
One look at the cover and I was already intrigued. When I found out it was a book with the idea of these people being able to look into the future, I was sold.
The book really picked up once the setting changed and Cassandra went to the special school for people like her. Yes you heard me, we have a magical school setting and I ate it up.
I loved getting to know the other students that later became Cass's friends and getting insight on how the lessons looked like at the school.
One thing I also really appreciated was the OCD and anxiety rep. It was handled with such care and I never felt like I was reading about a character who was defined by her OCD and anxiety. Cass just happened to have it.
I wasn't a big fan of the romance, I didn't hate it but I wasn't completely obsessed with it either.
Even though I saw many of the twists coming, especially the really big one at the end, I still had a great experience reading this book and it didn't take away from my experience. I'm pretty excited for the sequel.
I really enjoyed this book! The beginning was a bit slow but once I got into the story it was hard to put it down.
One look at the cover and I was already intrigued. When I found out it was a book with the idea of these people being able to look into the future, I was sold.
The book really picked up once the setting changed and Cassandra went to the special school for people like her. Yes you heard me, we have a magical school setting and I ate it up.
I loved getting to know the other students that later became Cass's friends and getting insight on how the lessons looked like at the school.
One thing I also really appreciated was the OCD and anxiety rep. It was handled with such care and I never felt like I was reading about a character who was defined by her OCD and anxiety. Cass just happened to have it.
I wasn't a big fan of the romance, I didn't hate it but I wasn't completely obsessed with it either.
Even though I saw many of the twists coming, especially the really big one at the end, I still had a great experience reading this book and it didn't take away from my experience. I'm pretty excited for the sequel.
March 13, 2021
I finished reading Violet Lumani's upcoming book "Foretold" snuggled next to my 5-year-old daughter while balancing my iPhone on her pillow, her head on my arm. I had to know what happened and couldn't wait till bedtime was over! I have to stan women writers especially those that delve into thrilleresque fantasy!
This book is part of a series with book two scheduled for release in 2022. While book 1 does have a finale - it left me begging for more. "Foretold" centers on Cassie as the heroine, who happens to have OCD along with new scryer powers. Her "meet cue" is with a cute neighborhood boy - but she realizes he is in danger all while being sent off to a school to learn how to better handle her foretelling abilities. Amid making new friends and enemies, and learning about this new part of herself - she intends to save her love interest as well. But, sometimes what we think will happen doesn't go as planned...
The description of OCD within a character that supplements their personality but doesn't overshadow it, or turn to pop culture cliches was so refreshing. OCD isn't just a quirk about wanting your house clean - it is so much more than that. AS someone who deals with intrusive thoughts (but not OCD), I felt seen in a character who learned that her mental illness can be an integral part of your story.
There were some aspects of the story I thought were written with a new fresh voice (scrying, mental illness). I felt aspects of Harry Potter in the plotline and The Magicians as well. Some areas left me a bit bewildered (I still don't quite understand magpies or The Coil). However, as this is a debut novel I believe it will get even better as we go. Honestly, this is one of the best debut novels I have read in quite some time.
Lovers of all books fantasy, magical, with a bit of romance - look no further for your fix!
Read on,
SJ
This book is part of a series with book two scheduled for release in 2022. While book 1 does have a finale - it left me begging for more. "Foretold" centers on Cassie as the heroine, who happens to have OCD along with new scryer powers. Her "meet cue" is with a cute neighborhood boy - but she realizes he is in danger all while being sent off to a school to learn how to better handle her foretelling abilities. Amid making new friends and enemies, and learning about this new part of herself - she intends to save her love interest as well. But, sometimes what we think will happen doesn't go as planned...
The description of OCD within a character that supplements their personality but doesn't overshadow it, or turn to pop culture cliches was so refreshing. OCD isn't just a quirk about wanting your house clean - it is so much more than that. AS someone who deals with intrusive thoughts (but not OCD), I felt seen in a character who learned that her mental illness can be an integral part of your story.
There were some aspects of the story I thought were written with a new fresh voice (scrying, mental illness). I felt aspects of Harry Potter in the plotline and The Magicians as well. Some areas left me a bit bewildered (I still don't quite understand magpies or The Coil). However, as this is a debut novel I believe it will get even better as we go. Honestly, this is one of the best debut novels I have read in quite some time.
Lovers of all books fantasy, magical, with a bit of romance - look no further for your fix!
Read on,
SJ
May 25, 2021
If you’re dealing with grief and pain, how far wouldn’t you go to prevent it? Especially if you had the power to see the future… and change it?
Overall, Foretold was a scintillating read. Slightly long at times but definitely incredible, with great characters, chemistry and plot twists. Once I got past the first few chapters, I could not put it down. I’m not one for series, but I cannot wait for book two!
If you love a good, found family trope, a whimsical twist on fortune-telling, and insight into anxiety and OCD, this book is definitely for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Uproar Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Full review on my blog: https://elipses02.wordpress.com/2021/...
Overall, Foretold was a scintillating read. Slightly long at times but definitely incredible, with great characters, chemistry and plot twists. Once I got past the first few chapters, I could not put it down. I’m not one for series, but I cannot wait for book two!
If you love a good, found family trope, a whimsical twist on fortune-telling, and insight into anxiety and OCD, this book is definitely for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Uproar Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Full review on my blog: https://elipses02.wordpress.com/2021/...
March 26, 2021
This is a great fantasy YA novel. The author did a great job building the world revolving around Cassandra’s new found “powers”. I enjoyed reading about The Coils. I must admit that it all reminded me a tad bit like a dark Harry Potter. So if you’re into Harry Potter and darker themes, than this novel is a definite go.
Cassandra has a few “quirks” that I felt needed a bit more beefing up. I understand that she has OCD but those tendencies only played out a few times throughout the novel. As the novel was from her perspective, I would have thought we would see more of those tendencies shine through.
I enjoyed the novel. As a YA novel, I felt the reading was appropriate and the pace was excellent. There were a few times I had to go back and reread a few pages to make sure I understood what was happening but I felt that was more so because of the cryptic messages hidden within the text than the writing itself. The ending got me shook. I couldn’t believe it. My brain exploded. It felt like we were on a set path and then BAM!!! I look forward to reading the next novel in the series to see what the author does to put us back on track or maybe derail the main character some more?!?!
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
Cassandra has a few “quirks” that I felt needed a bit more beefing up. I understand that she has OCD but those tendencies only played out a few times throughout the novel. As the novel was from her perspective, I would have thought we would see more of those tendencies shine through.
I enjoyed the novel. As a YA novel, I felt the reading was appropriate and the pace was excellent. There were a few times I had to go back and reread a few pages to make sure I understood what was happening but I felt that was more so because of the cryptic messages hidden within the text than the writing itself. The ending got me shook. I couldn’t believe it. My brain exploded. It felt like we were on a set path and then BAM!!! I look forward to reading the next novel in the series to see what the author does to put us back on track or maybe derail the main character some more?!?!
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
May 9, 2021
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
First I must say the cover of this novel is what drew me in it’s beautifully done.
Cassie struggles through OCD and I appreciate the fact that this is mentioned throughout the novel rather than just a paragraph here abs there. The author does an outstanding job of accurately describing OCD. But her OCD she finds out is in part to her psychic abilities abs not only that her aunt is a part of this secret society of others with similar gifts. All should be well but of course in the book world, something must always go wrong. Her love interest the adorable Colin is destined to die. She will do whatever it takes to not witness another devastating vision come true so she joins her aunt.
This ending was really surprising unfortunately I can’t say more without spoiling the entire thing but in regards
to the love triangle, I am most certainly team Colin.
First I must say the cover of this novel is what drew me in it’s beautifully done.
Cassie struggles through OCD and I appreciate the fact that this is mentioned throughout the novel rather than just a paragraph here abs there. The author does an outstanding job of accurately describing OCD. But her OCD she finds out is in part to her psychic abilities abs not only that her aunt is a part of this secret society of others with similar gifts. All should be well but of course in the book world, something must always go wrong. Her love interest the adorable Colin is destined to die. She will do whatever it takes to not witness another devastating vision come true so she joins her aunt.
This ending was really surprising unfortunately I can’t say more without spoiling the entire thing but in regards
to the love triangle, I am most certainly team Colin.
March 20, 2021
Foretold by Violet Lumani is a fast-paced young adult fantasy centered around the lovely Cassandra, a teenage girl with debilitating OCD whose visions of death and destruction further ostracize her from her fellow classmates. When Cass discovers that her visions may not just be a symptom of her disease, but could mean actual psychic abilities, she is drawn into a world where the mystical comes to life. Other young people, with similar abilities, all drawn together to determine who is the best and the brightest of their generation of scryers. For that’s what she is. A scryer whose raw talent must be developed...especially if she intends to save the life of someone she loves for whom she foresaw a gruesome death. But every ritual comes at a cost, and despite her fortitude and determination to save her loved one she doesn’t know that she has also been drawn into a conflict that places her between two enemies who both wish to use her as an unknowing pawn in their war.
I love the hints back to classic literature peppered throughout this book, and I fell in love with Cass and the friends she makes along the way. She is so scared of her OCD and her powers, but despite those fears pushes on to help others. A story of friendship, love, and found family - Foretold is sure to be a hit! Make sure to pick up your copy when it releases on July 20th. My thanks to @netgalley, Uproar Books, and Violet Lumani for the opportunity to read this book! I can’t wait to pick up my physical copy!
I love the hints back to classic literature peppered throughout this book, and I fell in love with Cass and the friends she makes along the way. She is so scared of her OCD and her powers, but despite those fears pushes on to help others. A story of friendship, love, and found family - Foretold is sure to be a hit! Make sure to pick up your copy when it releases on July 20th. My thanks to @netgalley, Uproar Books, and Violet Lumani for the opportunity to read this book! I can’t wait to pick up my physical copy!
March 22, 2021
Steeped in Greek Mythology, Violet Lumani introduces a world where Scrying, a talent passed down generations, is not limited to fortune-telling in a tent, but rather a world with technology, politics and where there is politics there is always deception.
Following the death of her mother, Cassandra has debilitating OCD and anxiety. Everywhere she looks she sees Death. Not literally, of course. But wait? It all kicks off when she sees a boy die across the street only to meet him ten minutes later - he's her new next-door neighbour.
WHAT!?
How does that even work?
Cassandra is a scryer and her goal is to save the boy because basically, she likes him. He likes her. And she's not so sure that's ever going to happen again.
The best thing about this book was the fact that it reps OCD and anxiety and gifts them to a girl, who works to overcome them. However, the pacing of the book was off - it would start slowly and then be racing along making it hard to follow. Also, I wasn't a fan of the insta-love which was problematic for a number of reasons.
Overall very good though. I loved the concept, the representation of mental illness, the unpredictable twists and the villains.
Thank you so much to Netgalley, Uproar Books and Violet Lumani for the opportunity to read this E-Arc in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.
Following the death of her mother, Cassandra has debilitating OCD and anxiety. Everywhere she looks she sees Death. Not literally, of course. But wait? It all kicks off when she sees a boy die across the street only to meet him ten minutes later - he's her new next-door neighbour.
WHAT!?
How does that even work?
Cassandra is a scryer and her goal is to save the boy because basically, she likes him. He likes her. And she's not so sure that's ever going to happen again.
The best thing about this book was the fact that it reps OCD and anxiety and gifts them to a girl, who works to overcome them. However, the pacing of the book was off - it would start slowly and then be racing along making it hard to follow. Also, I wasn't a fan of the insta-love which was problematic for a number of reasons.
Overall very good though. I loved the concept, the representation of mental illness, the unpredictable twists and the villains.
Thank you so much to Netgalley, Uproar Books and Violet Lumani for the opportunity to read this E-Arc in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.
April 20, 2021
I received this book via the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this book very optimistic and it did not disappoint! The story built up at a good pace and I found it so exciting to read. Learning about the Theban Group was interesting. The idea of the Scryers was a good plot. I liked how the story focused around Cassie coming to understand this absolute she has, as well as, wanting to find a way to save Colin. I also liked how the plot turned into something bigger right near the end.
I found Cassie to be a very realistic character that you can relate to. I loved that about these characters. They felt very real and like people I would meet in real life. I don’t have OCD, so I can’t speak on the accuracy of the representation in the book, but it didn’t feel romanticized at any point. I could feel the struggle Cassie was going through come off the pages.
The Coil is such an interesting place that completely is out of this world. Reading that part of the book I was on the edge of my seat. I really liked the idea of it.
The ending I did not see coming! I definitely will be continuing on with this series!
I went into this book very optimistic and it did not disappoint! The story built up at a good pace and I found it so exciting to read. Learning about the Theban Group was interesting. The idea of the Scryers was a good plot. I liked how the story focused around Cassie coming to understand this absolute she has, as well as, wanting to find a way to save Colin. I also liked how the plot turned into something bigger right near the end.
I found Cassie to be a very realistic character that you can relate to. I loved that about these characters. They felt very real and like people I would meet in real life. I don’t have OCD, so I can’t speak on the accuracy of the representation in the book, but it didn’t feel romanticized at any point. I could feel the struggle Cassie was going through come off the pages.
The Coil is such an interesting place that completely is out of this world. Reading that part of the book I was on the edge of my seat. I really liked the idea of it.
The ending I did not see coming! I definitely will be continuing on with this series!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2021
So I have to say I adore this book! I loved the story line and the characters. It was great to read about a main character who has a struggle like OCD and is trying to navigate life with that and having so much thrown in the way. I feel like they attempted to set up a love triangle but it wasn’t super intense. I like the way it was set up. Really I can’t wait enough how much I enjoyed this book. I can’t wait for the next one!
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