Kismet

by Amina Akhtar

From Amina Akhtar comes a viciously funny thriller about wellness—the smoothies, the secrets, and the deliciously deadly impulses.

Lifelong New Yorker Ronnie Khan never thought she’d leave Queens. She’s not an “aim high, dream big” person—until she meets socialite wellness guru Marley Dewhurst.

Marley isn’t just a visionary; she’s a revelation. Seduced by the fever dream of finding her best self, Ronnie makes for the desert mountains of Sedona, Arizona.

Healing yoga, transcendent hikes, epic juice cleanses…Ronnie consumes her new bougie existence like a fine wine. But is it, really? Or is this whole self-care business a little sour?

When the glam gurus around town start turning up gruesomely murdered, Ronnie has her answer: all is not well in wellness town. As Marley’s blind ambition veers into madness, Ronnie fears for her life.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Horror, Crime, Suspense

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2022

About the author

Amina Akhtar is a former fashion writer and editor. She’s worked at Vogue, Elle.com, Style.com, NYTimes.com, and NYMag.com where she was the founding editor of The Cut blog. She’s written for numerous publications, including Yahoo Style, Fashionista, xoJane, Refinery29, Billboard, and for brands like Bergdorf Goodman and H&M’s 10 Years of Style tome. After toiling in the fashion ranks for over fifteen years, she now writes full time in the desert mountains, where she’s detoxing from her once glam life. #FashionVictim is Amina’s first novel.

Reviews

[Mackey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kismet was one of my two First Reads selections for July and, just my luck, it was the wrong choice for me. Based on the synopsis, the book sounded like a perfect match for my usual reads. The actual plot did not meet the description and it definitely was not a thriller. I found none of the characters likeable or, really, even tolerable. The writing was amateurish and choppy. Skip this one.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook….read by a full cast
…..10 hours and 9 minutes

Today is Labor Day.
Paul and I have been home having a lazy three-day weekend. It’s heat wave temperatures; highs to be 106 today—so we’re hunkering down inside the house — staying cool.

I started the first two hours of this audiobook a few days ago while on an early morning walk….
….[not bad’ > an entertaining spoof on new age enlightenment—divine energy — red rock—blond white females—amusingly fatuous characters—buried dead bodies—and RAVENS who saw everything, and wanted evil people gone.
Nature was better off without them].

Clearly the STAR of this book were THE RAVENS!

I continue reading later in day. I fell asleep —skipped right over 5 chapters. Too bad audiobooks don’t have a sensory turn off— when the reader conks out. Oh well.
After I woke up —
Paul asked me ……”How do you listen and sleep at the same time?” Haha, very funny! “I DON’T!
“Want to listen to some of this book with me, Paul?—take a lay down with me? Continue doing your word game (his addiction) at the same time? — pass the day away —mindlessly bored — but keeping the hot heat away?”…..
Paul said YES!
So I filled him in on the beginning of the story. He caught up right up. I told him about the characters, the scenario of the story —things that anyone of you can read in the blog.
Paul was game. I debated whether or not to rewind those five chapters. I decided it wasn’t going matter much whatsoever. It was easy to know what was going on - who was who - and who was jealous of who.
Author Amina Akhtar painted the Sedona Arizona culture with wellness cups of Matcha Tea, Shamanism, Crystal healings, yoga, meditation, Tao readings, massages, pretenders, divine interventions, and murder suspense.

So……
…..continuing on — in our horizontal positions—
Paul joined me for a little loafing fun.
…..while listening to this anti-sublime-goofy-chucklesome-ludicrous-cockamamy novel, Paul and I had a couple of moments where we were LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY — together…..
….It’s soooo much fun to laugh uncontrollably with one’s partner —- it’s contagious!

So…..
I could easily justify and understand a variety of ratings….
a 2 star rating, a 3 star rating, or a 4 star rating.
(It’s not a 1 star. It’s also not a 5 star) > in my opinion.
But ANY OTHER RATING —-‘can fit’.

….It’s GOOFY….
…The Ravens rule!
….If you don’t have a sense of humor for the absurd — don’t bother!
….But it ‘is’ a book that some of us could call QUILTY PLEASURE…
…..(except I don’t feel guilty)
….I actually liked the dialogue—the story too — (yes) — it pulled me in — rolling eyes was part of the fun. Liking or disliking this novel was a little besides the point in my humble opinion.

….oh….
…..and beware….
there was one very descriptive bloody graphic scene — with the birds — that gave me the creepy willies….(I found myself cringing)….
But MOSTLY the murder darkness is at arms length distance.
It’s the witty humor and clever narrative that gives this book charm.

I’m going with 4 stars. The audiobook is sooooo easy to follow along — no note’s are needed to remember everything.

For those of us who really do drink smoothies- enjoy a cuppa Matcha Tea….feel good when we do yoga— love to hike (prefer no rattlesnakes thank you), love nature, clean eating, clean lifestyle living without being all ‘hokey pokey’ about our routines…
without a holier than thou snooty attitude…..
PART of the entertainment value of this book ‘is’ a look at self-righteous, priggish, sanctimonious personality behaviors.

“It’s sinful to think that one is better than everybody else, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

“Too many, ravens symbolize death or bad fortune to come, but to others they symbolize rebirth and starting anew, serving as a positive sign”.

4 Fun stars from me.

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

day ten of my "i have covid readathon!" let's see what my old college drinking/dancing buddy has written!

[Greta Samuelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an Amazon first reads freebie for me. The description of the book sounded great- murder mystery in Sedona, Arizona. I love a good mystery and I love visiting Sedona.

The author’s descriptions of the town were a little superficial in my opinion and the story itself was a little too on-the-nose to say it absorbed me.

This could be redeemed if there were just 1 character that I felt connected to and was routing for. I didn’t have that either. I take that back- I liked the ravens and enjoyed the chapters that were written from their point of view.

[Kellye · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one can skewer an entire industry quite like Amina Akhtar. When I heard she was taking on the wellness industry, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Kismet. The story is funny, sharp, twisty, and spot on whether it’s dealing with toxic relationships or everyday racism, Ronnie Khan is a character that you can’t help but root for. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun reading a novel. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is going to be talking about those ravens.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you ever finish a book and think, WTF did I just read? That’s me with this one. I don’t even really know how to explain it honestly. It’s bonkers, weird, oddly kinda funny and dark. Sedona is less than an hour from where I live, I’m very familiar with the town and I even got engaged there. I never see Arizona as a setting in books so that aspect was really fun for me and I did laugh at the way the author poked fun at the health and wellness culture that is huge there. I think if you don’t take this seriously at all it could be campy fun, there are chapters from a group of ravens perspective and while I found that super weird, maybe others would be into it. It was definitely unique and unlike anything I’ve read before, but there was something disjointed about the style and formatting that didn’t work for me. Lots of jumping back and forth but not in a clear, smooth manner. Im dying to see what other think though so please let me know if you’ve read this or plan too?

[Sharon Gausch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually know better than to even bother with Kindle First Reads, but this sounded like it had potential. That assumption was false. DNFing at 10%. Ronnie is a doormat, Marley is a stereotype, the writing is pedestrian, and even in just 30 pages I was over the constant racial references. Based on reviews some people seem to have enjoyed this book, but I am most definitely not one of them.

[Joe · Rating 1 out of 5]

My introduction to the fiction of Amina Akhtar is Kismet. Published in 2022, this novel blipped on my radar via a CrimeReads article of the best noir fiction of the year. I finished the prologue and one chapter in roughly 20 minutes before abandoning it. I don't read books to hate them and wanted to love this one as I start my jag into recently published crime fiction. But this is the fourth skunk in a row recommended by CrimeReads. Actually, skunks are cute. They defend themselves like any other creature but in a particularly malodorous way. Skunks are misunderstood.

Kismet concerns Ronnie Khan, a young woman who relocates from New York to Sedona, Arizona with a co-worker named Marley Dewhurst, and gets indoctrinated into the healthy living lifestyle and larger wellness community of the region. Some ravens visiting Ronnie in her dreams lead her to bury a body she's made dead in the prologue, but really, if you lived in the version of Sedona characterized in this novel, you wouldn't need dreams, birds or dreams of birds to drive you to murder.

Nothing in the first chapter of this novel adheres to any organizational intelligence. Ronnie has agreed to not only move in with a blow-up doll she vaguely knows from work (that would be Marley, in case the name didn't give it away) but move cross country with her to a region she's never been. Was Ronnie offered a better paying job? Is she getting over a trauma? Is she impulsive? No, she just moves to Sedona, because that's funny, right?

While suffering on a hike with Marley (apparently, no one in New York is accustomed to walking), Ronnie discovers a dismembered corpse. Right there on the trail, a man's head on an agave plant. Marley tells Ronnie to drink more water. Because the more Marley repeats healthy living mantras, the funnier the book will be, right? Why Ronnie would leave New York with a nitwit she doesn't even like is more mysterious than how the head got there.

The writing is bad bad bad bad bad, telling telling exaggerated points telling.

Meditation time was over. "Let's get lunch!" Marley chiriped. She was completely unfazed by the human body parts they'd seen just that morning. Ronnie tried to shake it off too. But she couldn't help it. She felt sad for the person and terrified that things like that happened in this cheerful tourist town.



I guess I don't cotton to comic or "darkly comic" novels written as if everything is a joke. Whatever the humor, that really needs to originate from the character and resemble what someone would do or say if they encountered a ridiculous situation. Things can't just pile on because they seem funny without laying a foundation in truth first. That's my comedy opinion, anyway. Caroline Kepnes and Alex Segura are among the crime writers who provided blurbs. Every bad novel ever published traditionally has one or more blurbs from other published authors lauding it, though.

The bright spot here is the cover design by Shasti O'Leary Soudant. Red bluffs, a bloody swimming pool, a raven and ominous storm clouds. I should've taken that as a warning.

[Kay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not an easy review to write as a British person reading this book, a lot of the political content was wasted on me as I had no idea how it fit in the story and things like ‘blue lives matter’ means nothing as I had never heard of it.

I became totally fed up of being told by this author what “white people do” in the process of writing this story which is vaguely masked as a thriller is a political race storybook with all the American racial issues woven into a story that’s meant to be a thriller.

I read for pleasure, to relax and enjoy. Fiction books provide an escape from daily living I don’t need to pick up a book with so much American political references I barely understood the point being made, I also don’t need to told repeated what white people do over and over again.

This book totally missed the mark and needs to be re categorised as something other than thriller. Huge shame as potentially the storyline was epic and I was eager to see what was gonna happen but it just got to heavy in the political and racial dumping. It didn’t need it so much the points can be made with far less mentions and repetitive over and over. Became a shouty tell me how it is, maybe a failed attempt at subliminal messaging I do not know.

[Misty]

DNF. When an entire chapter was told as if by a raven, I closed the book. I. Just. Can’t.

[Bookphile · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have... no idea what to think about this book. It was definitely not for me, but that doesn't mean I don't see how it might appeal to other readers. Any major spoilers will be hidden, but proceed with this review with caution because there will be minor spoilers.

Let's get the big one out of the way right from the go, though. I knew immediately that Ronnie's aunt was dead and that Ronnie had killed her, so this revelation didn't shock me in the least. It just seemed obvious to me this was what the author was doing with the flashbacks, which was maybe part of my problem with the book in general: rather than many elements of it feeling organic, I could see the plot scaffolding behind them. It makes sense to have these flashbacks about Ronnie in order to better flesh her out as a character, but I could also tell there were huge plot reasons for showing the reader these glimpses.

Aside from that, a big part of what made this book confusing for me were the tonal shifts. I couldn't get a handle on what I was reading. It felt satirical at times, then at others it seemed like a mystery/thriller, but at a lot of points it also felt like a horror novel. I'm not opposed to genre mashups--in fact, I'm usually an enthusiastic fan of work that subvert genre expectations--but because I couldn't get a feel for what type of book I was reading, it was hard for me to really get into it.

This was especially true for me when it came to the inclusion of the ravens' point of view. I could see what the author was doing with regard to the animals, but I never bought it because I never understood exactly why the ravens had beefs with particular characters--at least not fully. The reader is told the people who die are bad people, but this is only obvious for a few of the victims. The book never offers details about what bad things the others did, so it's hard to see how the cosmic justice angle works.

Honestly, this all struck me as a weird justification anyway. Maybe the point of the book was to show that everyone has shades, that no one is ever entirely good or bad, but I always have a hard time with books where I'm supposed to see some people's actions as justified because they're good while others aren't because they're bad, with the problem being that the "good" guys end up behaving a lot like the "bad" guys. Like, it's fine for Star and Ronnie to murder people because they're "good", but Marley is bad? Aren't they all bad? If what you're going for is to show how people justify their own actions, this might work, but the inclusion of the ravens lends to the impression that there's some kind of natural world justice being carried out here.

I think another part of why this book didn't work for me is because it is such a kitchen sink. There are a lot of really meaty topics here, but throwing them all together means they mostly get short shrift. The book is really searing when it points out the hypocrisy of white people--and of privileged white women in particular--when it comes to things like cultural appropriation, or the ways in which white people will assume abuse against people of color is "cultural", as if there isn't plenty of abuse amongst white people. I thought the book was right to point out the hypocrisy of white feminism and its cries for women of color to liberate themselves from supposedly oppressive cultures, all while propping up the pernicious effects of patriarchal white supremacy.

The way it exposes cultural appropriation was also searing, making it clear how so many white people utterly refuse to see people of color as anything more than an amalgamation rather than people who come from diverse cultures and countries with their own histories and cultural mores. And it's spot-on in pointing out how white people can be so quick to accept spiritual beliefs and medical practices that have been lifted straight from other cultures, as long as these beliefs and practices are boxed up in nice, white packaging.

All of these elements were strong in the novel, and I was uncomfortable reading it at times because, as a white person, I recognized how spot-on it all was. I think I would have liked the novel more had the horror-like elements not been part of the novel as well, since horror is not a genre I particularly enjoy. That's my own preference, though, which I recognize, and I know horror can be used to great effect when exposing racism, classism, and other such prejudices that poison society. Even though this book doesn't work for me, I can easily see how it could appeal to many others.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kismet is both darkly funny and randomly disturbing, fairly sure I won't be looking for any spiritual guidance any time soon and if I see a raven I'm definitely feeding it!

I loved the characters in Kismet, even the ones I didn't like very much and our main protagonist, Ronnie, is entertaining and easy to get behind.

In a town full of quirky mystics a killer looms large- things take a nose dive into the bizarre in a beautifully thoughtful way, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this. The setting was superbly drawn and I was sad to leave this behind.

I'm probably safer now though....

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

What I liked about this book is Everything! The abusive part was difficult for me but necessary for the backdrop of the story. Murders, mystery, fantasy and some unusual friendships make this a rollercoaster of a ride. The ending left me thinking every character in this was twisted in some respect. Well written and imaginative. I chose this as a First Reads selection and this is my honest opinion.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amina Akhtar had me at ravens! Then she kept me turning the pages with her colorful cast of characters, keen insights, and layered, engaging heroine. Kismet is darkly funny, sharply observant, and full of surprises. Don’t miss this utterly original and wildly entertaining thriller.

[Jeannie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish as I was sick of the author's constant racial bashing and hate talk.

[C.I.]

Childish writing, ridiculous plot

Living in the Sedona area myself, I chose this as my prime reading freebie this month. While I enjoyed being able to place events in the book with places I know, this book was frustrating to read. Most annoyingly, many of the characters' statements ended with question marks? Just like that. This occurred more than 20 times. Putting that aside, she mentions an amazing amount of trash on the trails which is not the case. I've been on the USFS Trail Patrol and Trail Maintenance groups and we have never come away with more than a small grocery bag of trash. Perhaps this was just a bit of fiction added for the sake of the story. The characters are so shallow and undeveloped that I really didn't care who lived or died. I literally stopped reading at one point just to check the author's credentials and I was stunned at her accolades. If this is a sign of things to come, prepare for a dumbing-down of the literary world.

[Natalie "Curling up with a Coffee and a Kindle" Laird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book as the early reviews were so high!
When I started it, I was hooked straight away. But I don't feel like the pacing stayed fast enough, and frankly just became a little odd! I am getting used to books that are 'out there' in their efforts to get noticed, but bits of this book just confused me!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead bodies are turning up in Sedona’s upscale wellness community? Sign me up! I loved everything about KISMET, Amina Akhtar’s sharply observant, funny thriller. Gleeful and gripping, Akhtar has knocked it out of the park with this wickedly entertaining, twisty novel.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed this book from Amina Akhtar! She’s a new author to me, but wow!

Such a blast of a book, full of fun, oddness and mystique. Loved how it all intertwined!

I must say, this is a book of its own genre, it was such a mix that makes it quite unique and again, loved it!

I am a fan of wellness guru scam exposures, love animals and have experience with childhood abuse by family members, so it was rather a cathartic read. Finished it within a day!

Definitely will read the author’s next book!

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley

[Mike Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books that you know, from the first few pages, are your sort of book, in the same way that you recognise when you've met one of those rare individuals whose company you will enjoy because you share a way of looking at the world. For me, Kismet was one of those books. Here's what I wrote when I was only 15% in:

"I think this is going to be fun. I like the storytelling style - light touches, swift impressions, a bit of humour, a bit of angst. The set up of a newly self-empowered American Born Pakistani woman, raised in New York by her abusive, predatory aunt and now following her new, rich white friend and Life Coach to Sedona to become part of the 'Wellness through crystals, yoga and mediation' culture, provides fertile ground. And those ravens..."

To my surprise, the book had a lot more to it than I'd expected and was a lot stranger than the publisher's summary suggested.

At the start, I thought I was reading a well-observed, low-key satire giving an American-born Pakistani woman's take on being the only brown woman living in a town obsessed with mystical energies and wellness but where, despite Rumi quotes on the wall and the ubiquitous use of namaste (usually mispronounced) as a greeting, explaining that you are Muslim and Pakistani and not Hindu and Indian earns you suspicion (Are you one of the bad Muslims?) and confusion (There's a difference?).

O.K, the opening scene did involve the discovery of predated, dismembered body parts, displayed like a piece of art within decomp smelling distance of a hiking trail, but I was more focused on our heroine, Ronnie's, discomfort at being in the outdoors and having to hike up hill than I was with the whole severed head thing.

It was only when I got to the first passages in the Before timeline that described Ronnie's life with the tyrannical, unloving aunt who raised her after the sudden death of both Ronnie's parents, that I realised that this wasn't going to be just a comedy of manners. Ronnie was more than a mirror to hold up to a town that didn't recognise either its privilege or its prejudice. She was a woman with scars and secrets and a lot of practice in hiding both from the people around her.

Then there were the ravens amping up the woo-woo factor into something that you'd expect to find in a horror novel rather than a thriller. If the ravens work for you, the book will work for you. If you can open your imagination wide enough to let the ravens in, you're in for a great read. If they just press your WTF? button and get in your way, this probably isn't the book for you. What I liked most about the ravens was that I started off seeing them as possible portents or maybe signs of mental illness and ended up seeing them as, well, ravens. You know - smart birds with sharp beaks and wicked talons that mob animals and people that they don't like.

Kismet is a decent thriller that ticks the boxes for a serial killer story: highish body count, gruesome and varied ways of killing, tension around who the next victim will be and tantalising hints at who the killer is. The pacing works and the ending is a doozy.

It's also an amusing satire: a witty fun read, that holds that holy trinity of unconscious entitlement, cultural insulation and racism up to the light and makes fun of it without diminishing its inherent nastiness or its violent consequences.

Best of all though, Kismet is an unashamedly gothic book. It thinks big, dark, bold thoughts and dares you to keep up.

I had a great time with this book. I hope it finds an audience who will love it as much as I do.

[Ariel Tuladhar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you NET GALLEY for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t. This book is ridiculous. I made it 35% and I have to DNF. The writing is terrible, the fact every other pov is ravens… yes… the animal is driving me up the wall. The insane amount of liberal talk (i HATE politics in books , even if I agree) and the race bashing are garbage.
It’s just super lame and boring! Nothing about this book was enjoyable, every character was very one dimensional.

[Krista crone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover really draws you in and then after reading the synopsis I knew I had to read this book! I loved the great writing style and the plot was so different than what I am used to reading. The ending was so unexpected and it felt like it came out of left field. While I enjoyed this book, it didn’t have the wow factor like some books did. If you are into wellness and aura readings this book would be a great addition to your TBR pile.

***** Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer, Amina Akhtar, and NetGalley for the gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars rounding up to 4 on Goodreads

[Carole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought I might like this book, but I didn't. I liked the thought that Ravens were mentioned but it was a "no where" book for me. Next time i start a book which I decide almost from the very beginning that I don't like the book, I will not hesitate to read the ending. Because what was said about the ending was the only thing that kept me going. And then I did not like the ending. Reading this book messed up my entire day. I really had better thangs to do then read this book.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was such fun! I absolutely adored this book about a Pakistani American woman finding her strength in Sedona amongst fake healers, gurus, psychics and a whole lot of fantastically vengeful ravens. My favorite fiction read in I don’t know how long.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced review copy.

[Jacqueline · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the worst books I've ever read. I don't have a single redeeming thing to say about it. Extremely poor writing, paper thin characters and plot. I know writing fiction is difficult and I'm no pro (though I do have like a 30 page memoir I wrote back in high school, thank you very much) but even I feel like I could have written something better. Serves me right for getting a book from Kindle First Reads!!!

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disturbing and meaningless.

I rarely hate a book. But this one filled me with loathing. When it got too awful I just skipped to near the end. Didn't matter, it was all the same. Don't see anything redeeming here. Not even a single likable character.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amina Akhtar’s KISMET is one of the most unique novels I have read in the last couple of years. It is an impressive blend of mystery, thriller and dark humor that will draw you in almost instantly and not let go until all is revealed in the final pages.

In the brief prologue, an anonymous woman is burying a body in the desert before an audience of ravens that appear to be talking to her as she performs the evil deed. We then are introduced to new roommates Ronnie Khan and Marley Dewhurst. Ronnie is a former lifelong resident of New York, having relocated from Forest Hills, Queens, to follow her wellness guru and best friend, Marley, who has set up shop in Sedona, Arizona. She needed a change from living with her overbearing Pakistani aunt, and Marley has promised her a brand-new life.

Ronnie has always felt fairly in tune with the world around her, especially when she’s sleeping. Lately, her dreams have involved large, dark birds. So when she comes upon her first group of ravens in Sedona, she realizes that she might be on to something. While out on a hike, Ronnie and Marley discover what turns out to be the remains of one of the locals.

Marley takes Ronnie to the Kismet Center, where there are various wellness and spiritual types, as well as shops. They visit BritStar Crystals, which is run by twin sisters Brit and Star. It is obvious to Ronnie that for some reason Marley is not welcome there. She hopes it has nothing to do with the body that was found, which is ruled a homicide. But the killings don’t stop there as other wellness practitioners in the area are being targeted.

Marley has begun to get close to Caroline, a social climber who Ronnie does not care for at all. Marley and Caroline name the killer the Sedona Slasher and resolve to assemble security teams to patrol the area and keep everyone safe. But the plan starts to get overly aggressive and does not make the sheriff’s department incredibly happy. Seeking to find something for herself, Ronnie begins working at BritStar and takes to it quite well. When the situation with Marley gets really bad, she moves into the shop temporarily until she can find a place of her own.

Meanwhile, the body count continues to rise. Some of the victims are popular characters from the Kismet Center, which has everyone on edge. Ronnie believes that Caroline has something to do with it and tells the authorities to keep a close eye on her.

Amina Akhtar keeps the narrative flowing in quite an interesting manner. Short chapters are written not only from the perspective of the killer but also from the ravens that symbolically represent the desert and old Sedona long before humans ever got there and messed everything up. It is great to see Ronnie grow significantly as a character from the beginning of the novel until the surprise ending.

KISMET is about personal growth and spiritualism, a no-holds-barred look at the entire wellness movement and those who are obsessed with it.

Reviewed by Ray Palen

[Elle LaMarca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I barely have words, but definitely have a lot of thoughts about this one. Barely have words for just how bad it was and how borderline embarrassed I am that I finished this one. I finished because about 30% of the way in I was in utter disbelief that this book had been published at all and kept reading because I just needed to see how ridiculous it got--very, very ridiculous.

It's not a thriller. It's not funny.

If we separate the ability to write complete and coherent sentences from the ability to create a plot structure/storyline, then I can say the writing it fine. But the plot...WTH? How did an agent and an editor read this and think, this is reasonable, this is good, this should be on a shelf? I'm mystified.

I wanted to be entertained by promised humor of making fun of the wellness industry and Sedona tropes. I'm a part of the wellness industry and I love Sedona, but I'm not above having at laugh at them. There were no laughs. Instead, and I'll preface this by saying I'm a full-on liberal, but the weird political takes just didn't belong in this book. Even if I agreed with them, this isn't the space.

Aside from all that, I've never read any book that was so out of touch with its own genre and reality. (Possibly a spoiler here, so look out.) But instead of the whodunit being one person, it was several. Several people who all just randomly have no issue murdering other people. Like the writer really makes it out like everyone just randomly murders people they just don't like. Umm, what? It's absurd to the level that if, say, an alien was given this book to learn about the nature of humans on earth, they'd be left believing that no one values human life, murder is no big deal, everyone jokes about it, does it, no one is punished and no one cares. I wish I was exaggerating. I'm not. It's that absurd.

Whenever I'm dumbfounded as to how a book so bad could get traditionally published, I read the acknowledgements and About the Author. Amazingly, the answer is usually there. The writer is one of the founding editors of The Cut, online magazine. She's known, she has a reader/follower base, and in today's weird publishing world, that means you get book deals for books that don't deserve it.

So much for trying out Kindle Firsts. If this is the type of book they offer up, I'll stick to not getting them for free.

[Bossung Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2 1/2 of of 5 stars

Kismet by Amina Akhtar is a rollercoaster ride of emotions, and not necessarily in a good way. With characters who are all over the place and a main character, Ronnie, who swings from whiny to aggressively unbalanced, it's hard to find anyone to root for. Ronnie's shifting attitudes and judgmental behaviors make it difficult to connect with her. The supporting cast isn't any better, coming off as superficial and exhausting with few redeeming qualities. However, amidst the chaos, the chapters written from the ravens' perspectives offer a unique and entertaining break. Despite its flaws, Kismet manages to evoke moments of unintentional humor, making it a surprisingly enjoyable rage read. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, those looking for a wild ride filled with unpredictable characters might find some entertainment in its pages.

[Elizabeth Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was one line in this book that was completely unnecessary and it didn’t add to the story line in any way shape or form.

“The occasional house had an old Trump flag. Robbie made a note to avoid those people.” This was irrelevant.