Andrea TangCritiques

Tabatha is an apprentice to Sorcerer Solomon. After a prophecy that he would die at the hands of his best beloved, he is murdered. Tabatha teams up with his youngest son, Callum to be the Nancy Drew to his Hardy Boy. Deception, intrigue, and danger abound as the two of them try to learn to trust each other and get to the bottom of the mystery.

I really enjoyed the start of this book, and thought it did well introducing the main character, and introducing her to the murder mystery. It's a contemporary setting with magical elements; magic is a normalized part of life and it's a really interesting take on the genre. It focuses on the magic of prophecy specifically, as in this world it's rare. The main character, Tabatha, is apprentice to the most famous sorcerer in the world, and he dies, after prophesying his own death. She teams up with his son, Callum, to figure out who did it. This was so interesting! I was really excited to read more. The rest of the book didn't meet my expectations, though. It was really fast-paced, but the book felt short. The world building was lacking. I was hoping for more focus on the characters and the relationships forming. I did like the book, but I didn't love it. Also, the ending was just... frustrating!

Tabitha is serious about learning from the best when it comes to sorcery, particularly the art of prophecy. Her apprenticeship to Sorcerer Solomon has become her be all and end all. When he shares a strange prophecy regarding his imminent death by his 'best-beloved, she's upset and can't believe it will happen...Until it does. Then all heck breaks loose. She is continually suspecting someone new, but at the same time is becoming more attracted to the younger brother, Collum, who also has the ability to create prophecies.
Add in a bizarre seance, another murder as gruesome as the first, car chases, and a fight over who inherits the sorcerer's things and heritage, a spell gone wrong, and you have a fun, but slightly gory romp.

These Deadly Prophecies is a contemporary YA fantasy and mystery. The story follows Tabatha Zeng, a high school student who is the apprentice of a renowned fortune telling sorcerer from an old and wealthy magical family. Her mentor is brutally murdered, and Tabatha becomes a suspect since she is one of the last people to see him alive. She finds herself attempting to solve the mystery by teaming up with the sorcerer's youngest son, Callum.
I really liked the idea of a world in which sorcery is another career path and magic has been integrated into society, however the world building was weak, and the magic system was not explained. The pacing at times could be very slow with a lot of internal monologues and telling rather than showing. The pace picked up in the last 25% with a good twist at the end.
The tone was light and fun, and will likely appeal to younger YA readers. Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy to review.

Fresh Storytelling

This contemporary fantasy was a fun ride the entire novel and I couldn't wait to get back to reading when I had to close the book. The point of view character's voice is snarky, sarcastic, and filled with dry humor--all of which I enjoyed. I immediately connected to the first person storytelling which I found fresh and intelligently plotted. At about the halfway point of the novel, I returned to the beginning and reread the first chapter and that's when the imaginative plot device clicked.

The mystery was good, not my favorite, but the characters were fantastic. Red herrings were tossed about that made me question everybody, including the narrator. The ending was too neatly wrapped up for me and I felt a bit disappointed when the suspect was revealed.

The romance felt right to me and even became part of the mystery plot which I enjoyed because once again I was questioning everyone's motives. The family dramas were fun too.

Overall, I found the writing style to be excellent. This world in which magical abilities were not only accepted in daily life, but could also become a person's profession, became a believable one to me.

This book was sent to my by the publisher as an archive paperback. I really enjoyed the book it had great pacing. It was the perfect mix of magic and murder mystery. Great light read to end the year with.

Gritty and engrossing are the first words that come to mind when describing this story. Zhong Ning'er lives in the Sixth Ring of a futuristic Beijing, one still ruled by descendants of the general who declared himself the emperor 150 years before. About the only thing that has changed is what often happens when corruption seeps into government and commerce. The rich get richer and more powerful, while those at the bottom just try to survive while feeling more desperate every day.
Ning'ers, existence is further complicated by her drug addicted father who has control over her and anything she earns from a part time job, coupled with theft. His desperation even went as far as selling one of her arms and one of her legs. Fortunately, she has been befriended by a man who has stolen plans and parts that enable him to make high quality prosthetics for her. Unfortunately, there have been times when she's reached a level of desperation that forced her to sell even these.
Having just discovered her father has drained her bank account yet again, she's at a crossroads. Unless a miracle happens, there's no way to pay her rent.
Enter that miracle in the form of Someone who wears two faces, one of privilege, the other as the infamous Red Yaksha, a figure who opposes the corruption poisoning the city. It begins when she's hired to steal something for him, but quickly becomes a rescue mission that involves breaking into a facility owned by the huge company that manufactures the drug known as Complacency which is what led to her father's desperation.
That raid and what is discovered during it are extremely shocking, leading to an all out attempt by the bad guys to capture the rebels before they can tell the people what was discovered. Plenty of action, a bit of romance, and an ending that allows for more left me quite satisfied.

I absolutely loved Knives Out and These Deadly Prophecies definitely has the same vibes, with the wonderful added twist of magic. I personally always enjoy stories that have a magical element to them, so it's great that these two worlds are colliding. It's always interesting to find out what the hierarchy of magic is in a new story and the author did a good job of building the world in the first few chapters, with lots more explored later on. From the very beginning, my mind was spinning, trying to figure out people's motivations. People who you think are innocent can sometimes surprise you, especially when there are multiple layers of shared history and drama that needs to be unpacked.

Because I've read and watched so many murder mysteries, I had a random theory on who it was, but then it changed twenty times in between. Until the last two chapters, I was captivated by the story and that's what a good murder mystery does. You may guess who it is, but you can't be 100% sure because you don't understand the motivation yet. Beyond the murder, mystery, and magic, there was also a great exploration of family dynamics. It was heartbreaking to see how the sorcery prestige of their father had different impacts on all of the Solomon children, and even the past and current wife. The desire to please the father left them all feeling less than, but also put them all in competition with each other, whether they expressed that openly or not. It was very heartwarming to see that Tabatha's mom was supportive of her choices all along, such an opposite of what Julian Sololmon was.

This was very close to a five star for me, but I guess I had a hard time buying how everything wrapped up in the end. It was believable, it just didn't leave me with a feeling of completeness. I did really enjoy how it was written, like it was a memoir and that sometimes the narrator was speaking directly to you. Overall, a very enjoyable read that kept me on my toes and guessing until the very end.

When I first read the excerpt for These Deadly Prophecies I was intrigued immediately and couldn’t wait to read it. All you have to say is Knives Out and I’m all in. The book started a little slow for me and I found myself feeling like we didn’t get to know the protagonist well enough. I feel like the character and overall storyline fell a little flat and I found myself wishing that there would have been more detail put into the book. Especially when it came to the characters and there scorchers powers. I also fell it lacked description in the magic department as well. Al so at times I felt my self really annoyed with our protagonist Tabitha and found the romance between her and Callum to be predictable. What I’d did really enjoy about this book was the ending because I have to say it did keep me guessing and changing my mind and that’s hard to find in books anymore. I would give this book a 3 star because honestly I just found myself wanting to know more. All in all is was an interesting read if you enjoy Ya mystery with a touch of magic thrown in.

Thank you #netgalley for free Arc. This is an honest review

Gripping story of revolution-adjacent teens at a private school in an unsettlingly possible future where only a few areas of North America remain Unincorporated (controlled by corporations).

3.5