*thank you to Netgalley, Eileen Cook and Bonnier Zaffre/Hot Key Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Well this was sure worth the read! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know what I'd been expecting but I felt like right away I became invested in this story. It was a stronger read than I'd expected. Meaning the story was very well done. I would highly recommend this.

Skye uses her psychic powers to "read" people's futures. It's her side hustle. Her trick is simply telling people what they want to know.
By simply reading their reactions, facial expressions and their appearance, Skye can judge pretty accurately what people want her to tell them.
But when Paige, the most popular girl at school goes missing, Skye offers to work with the police to find her.
It isn't difficult. Skye knows exactly what happened to Paige and where she is. But it isn't long before things take a twisted turn.
Skye can either tell the truth, save Paige and ruin her own name. Or hope that whoever has Paige comes clean and lets her go...soon.
This book was well-written and thrilling. I couldn't put it down.
I loved how easily Skye could read people and I loved the ending. I didn't know who to trust or what was going on. This was an amazing rollercoaster ride of plot twists and turns.
If you're looking for a mystery, definitely give this a try.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Not bad, I'd hoped to like it more than I did but still, not a bad read at all! It was a fun, twisty mystery and I did enjoy reading the characters.

This book wasn't for me but I'm sure others will love it. I didn't connect with the characters for some reason and I found the plot predictable.

I'm still undecided on how I feel about this book. The book was different to what I thought it would be but that's not a bad thing. Early on in the book there is a reveal and I really liked it however, as it is with most books that have early plot twists, there is another one near the end which I didn't like. I felt it didn't really fit the book and the story. 

I found the book interesting and a quick read, i liked the characters and the writing style however there were some elements I didn't like such as the 'villain' of the story is not as bad as I thought they would be. Also I felt like the part where Skye acts 'detective' and goes through her suspect list irrelevant especially with the ending reveal. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. 

3/5

I received a copy from Netgalley.

A fun twisty YA mystery novel.

The heroine, Candi “Skye” Thorn, goes by her middle name “Skye” (can’t say I blame her there) does tarot reading for her classmates at school as a way of making some extra cash. She and her best friend Drew have this idea that when they graduate they’ll finally be able to ditch their small home town and head off to New York and live in an apartment together. BFF comes from a wealthy family, Skye lives in a crappy apartment with her mom and money is an issue.

So Skye has a regular job and reads tarots for extra cash. Skye is fake, she reads off intuition and good guesses. She’s not part of a crowd, pretty much a loner and has a somewhat blunt personality I quite liked. She’s a lot more down to earth than most girls her age, and has a fairly logical sense of reality. (I.E. not all convinced that this dream of going to New York is really going to happen) Skye does come across as rather cynical. But given her circumstances it’s believable for her character arc. Her mom is actually convinced she is a real psychic. And appears to be kind of a flake.

When a popular, rich girl of a local very important Judge, Paige goes missing, Skye starts having “psychic” visions relating to Paige and her disappearance. She winds up working with the police one really grumpy and dismissive detective and one who seems a lot nicer and more inclined to listen to what Paige has to offer. Especially when some of Skye’s “visions” start panning out and yielding actual results. Basically the old good cop, bad cop routine. And of course Skye’s mom is thrilled her daughter is exhibiting “psychic” abilities. And eventually Paige’s parents come into the plot. Along with an angry ex boyfriend of Paige’s who doesn’t believe a word of what Skye says and is convinced there is more going on.

He’s not far wrong.

Skye has gotten herself involved in something that turns out to be darker than she had ever imagined. Initially it seemed like a good idea to make a bundle of money. Only the drama has escalate and things are going badly wrong and people are turning out to be nothing like she expected. Nothing goes according to any sort of plan and then a dead body turns up. And now Skye is thrown into a murder investigation.

Which reveals even more twists. It was quite a tense and fast paced plot, and very well written. Interesting characters, and I will say I didn’t actually guess what was going on in this one. The last few sort of twists were pretty damn good, and I liked the way it all wrapped up and concluded.

I’ve liked everything I’ve read by this author so far so this is definitely one that will be going on my auto-buy list.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre/Hot Key Books for approving my request to view the title.

Skye Thorn reads tarot cards, but unkown to others her readings are faked. When Paige, a girl at Skye's school goes missing things start to get out of control. Skye has visions which are meant to help find Paige but things don't go as planned.

This book is a YA which I don't normally read. What drew me to the book was the cover which features a tarot card. I have an interest in tarot so any book to feature tarot readers is for me.

The story started so well and I was drawn in instantly. I enjoyed the narrative by Skye and enjoyed following her around. Things become clear what's really being going on and I have to say I didn't guess so it added a little twist.

The next section will contain spoilers.

I did find towards the end I felt the story was dragging and it went a bit flat. I really didn't like the ending at all and the big reveal of who had been responsible. To me it just didn't really add up. If Skye's mom did have a vision where it all went wrong and Skye was going to be in big trouble surely she could have solved it differently.

I liked the book at times but I felt the ending let it down badly.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book.

I found this book completely intriguing. I felt engaged with the characters which was the reason I carried on until the end.
I definitely recommend this for younger readers.

This story is well written; however, it jumps around quite a bit and is missing depth.

A young girl fakes psychic abilities, gets involved in a kidnapping and finds herself deeper and deeper in trouble.

Not a page turner but you do want to know how it ends and the twist, in the end, is worth it.

Fatima

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Anyone who knows me knows I have a love for tarot, so when this book appeared on my radar I knew that I had to read it! It's set in an American high school and features two best friends Skye and Drew. They are nearing graduation and all both girls have dreamt of is of moving to New York together. However Skye has forgotten to mention to Drew that she hasn't actually saved the money to be able to afford to go, and even her tarot card readings for her friends at school isn't going to bring in enough cash to help her out. Then an offer comes her way following the disappearance of the mayor's daughter and she finds it hard to say no to the money that is offered to her. All she has to do is tell the police that she has had a vision about classmate Paige and her abduction.

Suddenly Skye is headline news, and her mother is delighted as she has always claimed that she too has been able to 'see things' and aims to help the police with their enquiries. As the book progresses however, we soon learn that all is not how it initially seems and that Skye may have got involved with something that is soon going to get wildly out of hand.

I did enjoy this book. It had a few good twists and turns and an ending that I didn't expect. I'll certainly look out for more books by this author.

I decided to come out of my comfort zone with this book and request something that I wouldn't ordinarily read - and I'm so glad that I did.

Skye is a high school student whose mother thinks that she is psychic. This has led to Skye starting a business of tarot reading.
But now, school is coming to an end and Skye want to move to New York with her best friend and she needs some money to help this dream become a reality.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I was sucked into the pages almost immediately. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the book and it certainly kept me guessing.

This was an enjoyable read - the kind of book I've heard described as 'bubblegum for the brain'. A clever enough plot without being too mentally taxing. I read it quite quickly and liked the characters well enough.
The only real downside for me was that I felt that the final 'twist' fell a bit flat. But otherwise a novel that I'd have no problem recommending to people looking for a fairly light thriller-type read.

I was given a Netgalley copy of this book in exchange for an honest review:

Skye reads tarot cards for the teenagers are her school, however she doesn't actually have any psychic powers (unlike her mother supposedly does) and reads simply for the cash. Coming from a deprived home she is desperate for some money so she can escape to New York with her best friend for college. However this cash-flow problem is what gets her into trouble... the story follows the disappearance of her classmate, who we find out isn't who she seems and neither is her family.

I liked how the book touched on the slut shaming aspect, if briefly. And the anger behind that. However I did find in general the book wasn't keeping my attention and was a bit slow. And the Skye's mother was not only very annoying but somewhat unbelievable by the end. It was an okay read. But I don't think I will be buying it for the library.

Unfortunately, the book didn't download so I can't leave a review.

Skye is a Senior in high school who is just trying to be a normal girl living a normal life with plans to go to New York City after graduation. Her mother insists that their family comes from a long line of spiritualism. Skye does has a knack for reading Tarot cards...this leads her into unwanted problems.

This story deals with a great deal of deceit and the consequences that happen when you get caught.

I felt like the ending of this story was rushed and unbelievable. It had a great buildup...then just fell flat.

I went into this story expecting talk of Tarot and spiritualism of exploring the supernatural world...that is not this book. If my expectations weren’t so off on this book it would have been more enjoyable.

I recently read Eileen Cook's With Malice, which I enjoyed but thought that the premise could be a little more interesting (it reminded me a lot of Rosebush by Michele Jaffe, which was also about a girl who couldn't remember her accident). But I think The Hanging Girl is a definite improvement! I loved the premise - a girl who pretends to be psychic and reads tarot cards to earn money, and a dark plot to earn some cash so she can move to New York, which ends up spiralling out of control. The twists kept coming and I loved that it was unpredictable - I am extremely picky with thrillers and mysteries, but I couldn't predict the plot twists before they came in this novel. Skye was also a great character - morally dubious but still sympathetic with a great voice. Will definitely be looking out for Eileen's next book!

Most of the book is told from the perspective of Skye, a teen aged girl who is excellent at reading people and uses this skill to earn money by giving tarot card readings, even though she isn’t a believer. The story begins with Skye somehow involved in the disappearance of her classmate, Paige. Her job is to point the police in the right direction, giving them just enough information to help the investigation, she does this by posing as a psychic. The story takes off from there, and obviously thing become more complicated from there on as she realises she doesn’t know the full story. She is an interesting, and realistically flawed main character. Interestingly, Skye is not always a reliable narrator, which leads to some surprising twists.

Skye struggles with an anxiety disorder, and panic attacks, this is shown consistently throughout the book. I recognised some of her experiences, as things I also struggle with as a result of my own anxiety, and found the representation to be very realistic, especially when you take into account the stressful situation she is in. She also faces some stigma from people who are aware of her mental health problems, and people use that as a reason to doubt her.

At times Skye does not have an easy life, and works to help her mum keep the bills paid., and sometimes feels trapped by her financial situation. She’s very aware of the privileges of others, such as her best friend Drew, whose car was a birthday present, and is not worried about funding for college.The fact that people find it difficult to recognise their privilege and how it benefits them is looked at. I really liked that this was explored, especially since it’s not something you see all that often in YA.

There is a potential trigger for sexual assault/ rape in this book. The act itself does not appear on the page, but the aftermath does, and there is some horrible victim blaming. This is challenged, and it’s clearly not condoned, but it does happen. In the interest of keeping this review spoiler free, I won’t go into anymore detail, but I do wish that this had perhaps been discussed further somehow.

Overall this book is dark, full of twists and turns, with a really clever plot that kept me guessing to the very last page. The characters are not easy to like, they are all flawed and realistic people, however you do route for Skye, I found myself worrying about the choices she was making and who she was choosing to trust. It made for an exciting read, and I definitely found it difficult to put down.

Readable thriller with some great twists & turns & a rewarding ending. An enjoyable page turner for genre fans.

I haven't read Eileen Cooks previous novel With Malice but its been on my radar for a while. After seeing her new novel on NetGalley I thought it would be a great opportunity to give this author a go and I wasn't disappointed. In this story we follow Skye who uses her mother 'gift' of foreseeing the future as a way of making a quick buck by performing fake tarot readings in her school. When the most popular girl in school, Paige goes missing Skye informs the police of a 'vision' she received about Paige's disappearance. As the investigation progresses Skye's visions come under scrutiny and everyone begins to wonder if Skye more involved in the disappearance than everyone first thought.

I must say before I even starting this book I was completely intrigued by the premise. The fortune telling aspect really appealed to me and this made me even more excited to read it. Safe to say I wasn't disappointed. This book took me on such a wild ride, it drew me in hook, line and sinker and didn't let me go until the very end. The pacing was great and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I was on tender hooks though out the story and there were so many twists and turns along the way they took me by surprise. The first big reveal happened about half way through the book and then several reveals happened as we neared the end, with lots being uncovered in the last few chapters. I know some people don't like this way of story telling but personally I don't mind it, it keeps me going right until the very end.

I enjoyed the characters in the book. I thought Paige was great, she was so manipulative and I would love to see a character like her developed into a full blown villain. I also felt quite connected to Skye. At first I felt she kind of deserved what was happening to her but after a while I began to feel a bit sorry for her. All she wanted was a better life for herself but she ended up digging herself in too deep and she struggled to find a way out. Drew was also great, I'd love to have a friend like her.

Overall I thought this was a great thriller with an interesting plot line and full of twists and turns that kept you hanging on until the very end. Fans of YA thrillers will like this one as, I think, it's a good example of the genre. I'm also even more excited to check out Eileen Cooks previous novel and I'll definitely be adding With Malice to my TBR.