Andrea Tang

“An incredibly fun thrill-ride by a masterful storyteller.” —Marie Lu, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Stars And Smoke A teenage sorcerer’s apprentice must solve her boss’s murder in order to prove her innocence in this twisty, magic-infused murder mystery perfect for fans of Knives Out and The Inheritance Games. Being an apprentice to one of the world's most famous sorcerers has its challenges; Tabatha Zeng just didn’t think they would include solving crime. But when her boss, the infamous fortuneteller Sorcerer Solomon, predicts his own brutal death—and worse, it comes true—Tabatha finds herself caught in the crosshairs. The police have their sights set on her and Callum Solomon, her murdered boss’s youngest son. With suspicion swirling around them, the two decide to team up to find the real killer and clear their own names once and for all. But solving a murder isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when the suspect list is mostly the rich, connected, and magical members of Sorcerer Solomon’s family. And Tabatha can’t quite escape the nagging voice in her head asking: just how much can she really trust Callum Solomon? Nothing is as it seems in this quick-witted and fantastical murder mystery.

These Deadly Prophecies

issa

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP for this arc!!

I fought through the first chapter of this book, I honestly wanted to put it down but I am so glad I didn’t! It kept me interested at every turn and I was honestly truly terrified in that last third of the book. A classic whodunit!

Tabatha Zeng is the apprentice to a world renowned prophet--a sorcerer who deals with seeing the future. When he predicts his own death, and warns Tabatha to stick with his youngest son, Callum, Tabatha decides to solve the mystery with Callum's help, of course. But the deeper she looks into Sorcerer Solomon, the truth slowly starts to come out, and Tabatha may just be a target.

I wanted to love this book. I was so excited, but it was very different from what I was expecting (which is partially on me!). This isn't a high fantasy book where sorcerers are common, it's more magical realism, wherein sorcery has always existed but at some point was allowed to become common practice. Tabatha has no sorcery in her family, while the Solomon family is a longstanding pillar of the magic community. There are brief discussions on race and expectations, but like most things in the book, they are barely touched on. I didn't see the ending coming, but it was so rushed that there wasn't time to unpack any of the complexities of why the murderer did what they did.

I was very confused by some of the verbiage used throughout the book. We are told multiple times that this takes place on the East Coast of the United States, but half the time the words sound... British? People were using "bloody" as a curse, and the syntax of certain sentences felt off. As far as I know, northerners don't sound like that, and southerners definitely don't.

The world-building here was quite weak. We're given pieces of information, but very little context. Like being told that a council(?) approved the use of magic beyond those biologically given it, but we learn nothing of why the practice was expanded or what pushback it faced.

Throughout the book, there are weird time jumps where we're told time passes, and yet nothing has happened. Neither within the pages nor off-page. It was hard to keep track of the timeline because we would go weeks within the same chapter, even. It was very muddled and hard to follow.

Speaking of action, there wasn't a lot. There's very little sleuthing, and clues are nearly non-existent. The murderer confesses about when Tabatha figures out who it is. The action to speak of is within the last 15%, if that. Any action throughout the book has very little stakes and is resolved quickly. I slogged through this because there wasn't a lot to grab my attention.

One of my major pet peeves is being spoken to as the reader. There were parts of this where it made sense (the beginning and end), and if it had been left that way, I wouldn't have any complaints. But being addressed throughout the book takes me out of the story. I don't need to be brought into the story, tell yours and let me see through the character's perspective.

I didn't really like this book, but I think it could be good for younger YA readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

Holly

Tabatha Zeng is the apprentice to a world renowned prophet--a sorcerer who deals with seeing the future. When he predicts his own death, and warns Tabatha to stick with his youngest son, Callum, Tabatha decides to solve the mystery with Callum's help, of course. But the deeper she looks into Sorcerer Solomon, the truth slowly starts to come out, and Tabatha may just be a target.

I wanted to love this book. I was so excited, but it was very different from what I was expecting (which is partially on me!). This isn't a high fantasy book where sorcerers are common, it's more magical realism, wherein sorcery has always existed but at some point was allowed to become common practice. Tabatha has no sorcery in her family, while the Solomon family is a longstanding pillar of the magic community. There are brief discussions on race and expectations, but like most things in the book, they are barely touched on. I didn't see the ending coming, but it was so rushed that there wasn't time to unpack any of the complexities of why the murderer did what they did.

I was very confused by some of the verbiage used throughout the book. We are told multiple times that this takes place on the East Coast of the United States, but half the time the words sound... British? People were using "bloody" as a curse, and the syntax of certain sentences felt off. As far as I know, northerners don't sound like that, and southerners definitely don't.

The world-building here was quite weak. We're given pieces of information, but very little context. Like being told that a council(?) approved the use of magic beyond those biologically given it, but we learn nothing of why the practice was expanded or what pushback it faced.

Throughout the book, there are weird time jumps where we're told time passes, and yet nothing has happened. Neither within the pages nor off-page. It was hard to keep track of the timeline because we would go weeks within the same chapter, even. It was very muddled and hard to follow.

Speaking of action, there wasn't a lot. There's very little sleuthing, and clues are nearly non-existent. The murderer confesses about when Tabatha figures out who it is. The action to speak of is within the last 15%, if that. Any action throughout the book has very little stakes and is resolved quickly. I slogged through this because there wasn't a lot to grab my attention.

One of my major pet peeves is being spoken to as the reader. There were parts of this where it made sense (the beginning and end), and if it had been left that way, I wouldn't have any complaints. But being addressed throughout the book takes me out of the story. I don't need to be brought into the story, tell yours and let me see through the character's perspective.

I didn't really like this book, but I think it could be good for younger YA readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

These Deadly Prophecies

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