Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book.

Pros:

very realistic depiction of ocd. As someone who struggles with some ocd tendencies (mainly severe catastrophizing and intrusive obsessive thoughts) I found the main characters struggles realistic. I think the story could have benefited from a better discussion of how the coping skills work for that (or more insight into when her ocd started and how it manifests)

I also appreciated how the main character comes from a family that has lost one parent- the author definitely navigated the “dad starting to find companionship after losing his wife” realistically, complete with some growing pains shown in the novel.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story as well, with its fantasy elements that are first misconstrued as errant thoughts, before being revealed as real. The plot was DEFINITELY interesting, enough so that I will probably pick up the sequel to try.

The story was written well, and I really enjoyed the imagery and descriptions used.

Cons:

The major issue I had with this story was the world building. I know “show not tell” is a major premise of writing, but I feel this novel could have benefitted from more...well..telling. The main character is kept in the dark for a significant portion of this novel, and even once she starts to learn what is going on I, as a reader, still felt lost.

The other characters were somewhat shallow, and I often struggled to figure out why they mattered to the main character. I feel like they had few personality traits, other than being teens and companions to the main character. I struggled a little with this with the father as well- his major personality traits appeared to be “single dad” and “history professor” and that’s about all we got out of him.

The romance in this story (notably just the first installment) is very superficial- I almost feel like it was added as an afterthought. It could have worked just the same if the main character was just good friends with the romantic interest. There’s also slight hints of a love triangle, but once again, not a lot of romantic scenes so it’s hard to tell what was going on there.

Overall, I liked this book enough that I might read the sequel, if it was a kindle unlimited for sure I would pick it up, if I had to pay I would think about it based on the price.

I received this novel as an ebook ARC from NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Sadly I had to DNF at 30%. The OCD and anxiety representation in this story was brilliant. It is so important for mental health issues to be included in YA books nowadays as many teenagers struggle with a mental illness of some form. But the pacing and overall story just felt off for me. At many times it was slow and the world-building felt a bit like an information overload which had me confused about what was what, and who was who. I found myself easily distracted by other things quite a few times - and I really hate when that happens! The concept for this books is very interesting - Cass has a vision of a boy dying and wants to stop it. However that isn’t a good enough reason to have the usually shy and reserved main character have was seemed like instant feelings for the boy she’s seen die before it happens.

Overall, Foretold is a story with great representation but sadly missed the mark for me.

*** Rating reflects how I really like the concept and hope that others truly enjoy the story as I was sadly unable to! I didn’t want to be unfair and rate only one star.***

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I like the premise of Foretold. And I'm always rooting for books that include Mental Health and Mental Illness. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get into this book. So, for now, I'm DNFing. I will try to pick it up again, eventually. I have seen lots of reviews saying to stick with it as the story picks up later. I'm just a terrible mood reader. I definitely recommend trying it for yourself. 👍

Okay, so I’ve found a new favorite series!! Foretold by Violet Lumani felt a little like a mix of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter with a dash of Hunger Games, but I LOVED the main character, Cassandra. She is beautifully flawed by grief and learning to cope with a new reality after loss. I greatly appreciated how the author dealt with her mental illness in a way that made her absolutely relatable, but also gave Cass room to learn and grow. And we get to watch her heal only to see her fall apart all over again. Holy, cliffhanger, Batman. I cannot wait for book two next year!! Thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this advanced copy!!

I liked the characters in Foretold. I thought they were well written. I loved Reagan and Griffin, they were great supporting characters. The atmosphere of the book was also great. I felt like I was there and I could vividly imagine where Cassie was. I was able to imagine Cassie's classes, the Coil, her home basically I thought there was enough attention to details, so the reader can image the places and events that occurred in the book.

Even though I did enjoy the book, I thought it was slow paced especially the first half the book. There were a couple of occasions where I just didn't want to pick up the book, but I'm glad I pushed through it because it does pick up in the latter half. Overall, I did like this book and I plan on adding this book to my classroom library in the fall .

First things first, the cover is just beautiful - look at it!! I got attracted by it and made me read the synopsis - which then drew me to read the book.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The trilogy has great potential and it looks like in this first book, we only discovered a small part of what can be a wonderful new world.
Some elements were based on mythology - which is always a plus for me; some parts made me chuckle and others made me gasp.
I liked how the characters were built, except for Noah, which I am still struggling with and hope to have some sort of closure in the next book.

Said so, I gave this 4 stars just because there were only a couple of things I struggled with. It has a bit of a messy plot at the beginning, it was slow to start with but I wanted to see where it was going and towards 60% of the book, it became better and better. So now I am looking forward to reading the second one, specially after the ending! OMG that ending. I did not see it coming at all, had to re-read that part a couple of times to make sure I read it correctly the first time.

Thank so much to NetGalley and Uproar Books for the ARC of this book.
Foretold is the first book of 'The Scryers' trilogy by Violet Lumani and will be published on 20/07/21 - will definitely get the physical copy of this.

Thank you to Net Galley and Uproar Books for the advance reading copy! Foretold releases July 20th!⁣
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As soon as I heard about Foretold by Violet Lumani, a YA OwnVoices contemporary fantasy with a main character who has OCD, I was intrigued. And I was not disappointed by the mental health rep in this book! At times, the pacing felt a bit off but I enjoyed being in Cassandra’s head so much that I didn’t mind. I really feel like I could have followed her point of view forever and been content. ⁣
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Cassandra’s journey as she deals with OCD and discovers she’s part of a long line of scryers - people with the magical ability to see the future - was riveting. I feel like the author depicted OCD really well and the intersection with a magical world was just awesome to read about.⁣
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I feel like we just touched the surface with the world-building but I think it’s a great setup for the rest of the series. I’m still not sure what I think of the ending because Cassandra made some really big mistakes that I feel were too predictable. Nevertheless, this was an excellent debut and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book!⁣ Fantasy fans, don’t miss out on this one!

Trigger/content warnings: panic attacks, anxiety, self-harm, intrusive thoughts and negative ideation, death of a loved one, occasional strong language, depression, gun violence, threat of cannibalism, horror-esque supernatural violence.

It felt like a teen book to me and I think teens would really benefit from this kind of mental health rep. However it would probably be rated R especially for the language.

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has everything I love: magic, mysticism, mystery, and high stakes. I adored this book so much and I cannot wait for the next one to see where the story goes.

Sadly I did not finish this book. It just wasn’t for me. The book just didn’t bring me in like I had hoped. I enjoyed the concept and maybe if I were a little younger it would’ve grasped my attention a little better. I just really like when books pull me in from the beginning and this just didn’t do it for me. I do think it would be great for a lot of younger people.

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!

Thank you so much to Uproar Books for providing me with an ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

This was an interesting read. I thought the concept from the book’s description sounded pretty cool, which is why I was drawn to it in the first place, but I wish the concept had been executed better. There were many points in which I was confused by the magic system because of the info dumps that occurred mainly in the first half of the book. I think the story could definitely have used more action in the first half--the action did pick up a bit towards the end.

I also wish I was able to connect with Cassandra more. She seemed to be lacking depth as a character and I wish there were more qualities about her that stood out to me, but there really weren’t. The insta-love between Cassandra and the love interest in this book also made the characters feel underdeveloped. There is a love triangle in this book and I did feel like it was pretty predictable.

This is the first time I’ve read a book in which a main character has OCD and although I can’t specifically speak to the OCD representation in this book, many other reviewers have shared their satisfaction with the way Cassandra’s OCD was portrayed. Thus, I think that readers who are seeking OCD representation should definitely check out this book!

I started this right after finishing a 5 star read and was struggling to get into Foretold but, once we started getting into Theban Group I couldn't put it down!

Our main character Cass is a scryer who also struggles with OCD. I don't have OCD so I can't speak to how accurately it was portrayed however, it didn't at any point feel romanticized and I felt it was handled sensitively and realistically.

Greif played a large role in this book, I haven't lost a parent but reading Cass grieve her mother had me bawling my eyes out right along with her.

It did take some time for the story to really get going but, as this is the first in the series it does need to lay the foundation for the rest of the series. It wasn't quite info-dumping as I felt I was learning as Cass was.

I loved the characters in this book - a supportive and loving dad, a ride-or-die best friend in Regan, and a sweetheart in Colin as well as all the other supporting characters. I'm also really interested to see more of Sebastian and learn more about his role in the story - I feel a love triangle being created but I hope that isn't the case.

The plot itself took some time to get going but once it hit its stride we got a few twists and turns and some nail-biting moments! I also liked the underlying messaging of even if you know the future, sometimes it's better to let things play out how they are meant to instead of interfering - as all actions have consequences

I'm very interested to see where this story is going in the next book - what is Aunt Bree planning? who really was Cass's mum? What is Sebastian's dad up to? and how will these characters continue to grow

This is a fantasy story somewhat akin to HP. We follow Cassandra Morai as she works on living with her anxiety, OCD, and unique ability to see the future. She finds out that she is gifted with this ability, and that it’s more than just a vision type manifestation of her anxiety. Turns out, she's not the only person with this gift: there’s a whole society of people like her. But, when she has a vision about a death, it sets her on a path of discovery in an attempt to save this person's life which leads her to a greater knowledge of self, and into deeper connection with others.

I am not a person who has any diagnosed mental illness, but I liked the way our MCs mental health was reframed as something that could be a hindrance in her tasks but also a benefit. There is so much grey in the world - things are not always black and white - and I liked that her OCD and anxiety were spared from that simplistic binary.

There were a few points in the book where I felt like information was missing, and when that occurred it really took me out of the story. This happened more in the first 2/3rds of the book. Overall, I would say it was solid, but not life-changing.

I received a free e-arc copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing an ARC in response for an honest review!

I’m not necessarily sure where to start with reviewing this book, on the one hand it felt like I was inside my own head with the OCD descriptions which were so delicately handled and described in a way I haven’t seen before. But on the other hand, the story was slightly bland but still has so more potential for the sequel.

The world building in this book is extensive and can be overwhelming at times, but I feel like this adds to the atmosphere of the protagonists head so it doesn’t bother me so much.

I would still highly recommend this book if just for the way OCD is represented. Having intrusive thoughts put into words that aren’t demonised or used to villainise the protagonist genuinely made me cry the first time I read the pages.

Although the story can be overwhelming and it seems like too much is happening too fast, the pacing is pretty amazing so it can be bearable at times. However, I despised Regan. She was so irritating and hard to stand that I would skim read chapters that she featured heavily in (sorry!)

I didn’t really care much for the romantic aspects of the book despite it being the primary focus but overall I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

I was pretty excited when first reading the premise of this book. As someone with OCD tendencies, I was excited to see it written into a story where the protagonist suffers from this mental health illness. Her level of description on OCD was fantastic, and Cassandra's inner monolog was spot on I felt as she struggled.

There were a lot of info dumps that I feel could have been written a little better. There were times where there were a lot thrown at you, that you almost forgot most of it and I had to go back to certain parts just to remember, but overall I enjoyed the series, and I do look forward to the sequel.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Foretold in exchange for an honest review.

I'm absolutely in love with the concept of this, but in execution it fell short. I think a lot of that comes down to how similar every single character speaks which normally isn't a huge issue, but Cass legitimately has a unique protagonist voice and interests so it was extra jarring seeing that reflected back on her by every other "good guy" character in this book. I'm even torn there though because my favourite bits of this were also moments of dialogue. When it comes down to it, I think Lumani had an amazing idea here and is pretty good at writing quirky yet witty dialogue, but she laid too heavily into it the entire story and as a result, everything felt off. No one talks like that 24/7 so it served as a constant reminder that these were characters, not people.

Firstly thank you NetGalley and the author for this ARC ❤️
I had so many high hopes starting this book. The synopsis sold the book to me and the cover art is just stunning. I was so disappointed I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.

The book focuses on the main character, Cassandra, who suffers with OCD and anxiety, and as a result she always imagines the worst case scenario happening. She sees people in their worst moments, their deaths.
However it turns out she's not just imagining these scenarios they're actually glimpses of the future. She joins a secret organisation that helps her train her abilities to hopefully change the fate of her next door neighbour.

Okay let's get into it.. I struggled to read this book, there's so many pockets of "info dump" where you're just bombarded with alot of information all at once, it kind of made it hard to really get into and focus. I found I struggled more in the beginning of the book, the first couple of chapters were at times boring. As the book progresses it gets more enjoyable and faster paced and I actually quite enjoyed the ending.

I loved how Cass's OCD was handled throughout the whole book, it was beautifully done and wasn't used as just a "character quirk."

Overall review - 3.5 ⭐

Review also posted to Goodreads (link included)

I’m a little frustrated with this book. I love the idea of combining mental health rep with YA fantasy, and Foretold has a decent premise: Cassandra finds out some of her visions of doom and gloom are not intrusive thoughts brought on by her OCD but actually visions of the future because she’s a seer. When she sees the boy she loves die, she decides to find a way to change his fate. She goes to train in a corporate, American version of Hogwarts (I don’t know if it’s ever explicitly stated it’s in New York, but there are bodegas so I’m going to say it’s New York,) and learns the biggest lesson of all: everything comes with a cost.

I came for the own voices OCD rep, and I was not disappointed. Lumani gives us a glimpse into the life and mind of someone with OCD. The rep feels genuine and real, and Foretold provides an honest look at some of the challenges and misconceptions that come with it. I appreciate the way Lumani raises awareness about OCD without letting it define Cassandra or take over the narrative.

Unfortunately, the rest of the story is less than impressive. The world-building is mostly done through info dumping and still feels a bit incomplete. We’re basically taken through variations of Professor Trelawney’s class, but if you were to ask me to explain how the magical system works, I'm still at a loss. Cassandra isn't a particularly compelling protagonist and while there are some interesting side characters, they aren't really developed. Despite the slow start, the story's pacing was actually fairly decent, but there are some major plot holes that need to be addressed. I can suspend disbelief and accept the existence of a secret society of insurance-selling fortune tellers, but I can't suspend common sense when things that should logically happen don't happen??

I’m no seer, but I’m not a fan of where the double love triangles are headed. (That’s right, we get not one, but two love triangles! And if you call now, you can get some insta-love absolutely free!) I don’t need to go join a secret organization of soothsayers to read the writing on the wall—or the very obvious foreshadowing—to figure out which love interests are gonna end up winning the fair maidens’ hearts which wouldn’t bother me so much if Lumani weren’t completely messing with characters for the sake of an unnecessary love triangle. We can save the debate about the necessity of the primary love triangle for another day (I get it, the symbolism, okay?) but why start another love triangle if you’re going to kill it off so easily?? It hasn’t died yet, but like I said, writing’s on the wall and Lumani used the big font. Pro tip: if a loaf of bread has a longer shelf life than a fictional relationship, maybe you don’t need it in your story. I honestly would consider continuing the series for more OCD rep and to see how the rest of the story unfolds, but I really don't know if I'll be able to knowing the trajectory certain characters' lives and relationships are going to have to take in order to reach the resolution to the love triangles Lumani's set up.

This book is the start of a great series, for sure.
Cassie has an OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. Plus, she can see how the people die, their future. It's disturbing and frustrating, so her aunt Bree introduce her to The Theban group - the organization for scryers, to help her to learn how control her powers. Cassie enters to the new and fantastic world of divination and magic, but things don't go easily for her: she must save her friend Colin from death and survive the tests at her new 'school'.
I loved a lot this book. It reminds me of the magic world of Harry Potter. I loved the idea of scryers and how they develop their powers for divination. But, I have mixed feelings about the story.
Things I loved:
- The story hooks from the first page. It never gets boring.
-The main idea of scrying is pretty cool.
- The characters are awesome.
- The story is pretty interesting.

Things I didn't like:
- I need more description of the school for scryers. I can't make the whole picture about the place and it's a bit frustrating, because I know it would be very interesting to see it.
- Sometimes the information is missing between the chapters. It's like, I don't know how the main character get from one place to appear in another one.
-There are moments I would love more information and to see how the characters develop.
- I would love to read more about the teachers and how the lessons go on.

I think, this could be a great book, but there are a lot of missing information. But, I will read the second book and I want to know what will happen in its sequel.

I just completed Foretold by Violet Lumani. This was an ARC provided to by NetGalley for an honest review. This story was very good. There will be a sequel and I will be interested in reading this. The main protagonist is a teenage girl with extreme OCD. While dealing with OCD episodes she also has visions of future events. She meets a sweet guy and foresees something going to happen to him. She finds out she is a scryer and has a lot to learn. But she also finds out that she can possibly change future events - at a cost. What are those costs? Read the book because there are some worthwhile twists to this one. Further notes - the main character is quite likable and she touched my heart when she talked about her mom. I liked the majority of her friends and there is a guy that I am interested to see her decide to possibly let become more than a friend. The storyline was good and flowed well. I liked this enough to rate it 4 stars.