Major Detours by Zachary Sergi was my first choice novel in ages. Let me say: it was refreshing!

The story intrigued me right from the beginning. Everyone who is somewhat interested in Tarot will love how detailed the different interpretations and meanings of reading the cards are described.

Follow four best friends on a road trip that's full of adventures, surprises, and mysteries that need to be solved. Only a few weeks before everyone will go their separate ways, they want to find out where the old Tarot deck Amelia got gifted from her Grandma, really originated. Soon enough they will find out, that there's a way bigger story behind it than they had expected.

The story starts right away – on the road. The whole book is filled with strong emotions from every character, which sometimes were a little hard to get through and detangle.

The writing style was very picturesque and transported me right into the small towns and occult shops, that the friends came by on their journey. Now, the most important part: the decision-making! I loved how I could become part of the story and determine how everything will play out. Sometimes it can be the small decisions that affect the outcome of a story after all.

Magical, mystical, and overall a fun and interactive read.

Been long since I read any choices book (since goosebumps back in the day) and I love this one! I like how we get choices based on Tarot cards and their meaning. The characters are also sweet and loveable. Love it!

>> Thank you publisher and Netgalley for review copy in exchange for honest review <<

A fun, mysterious, and heartwarming read.
Major Detours focuses on four friends as they take a summer road trip right before they all leave for college. Amelia, Chase, Cleo, and Logan have decided to see if they can find out more information on the mysterious tarot deck Amelia’s grandma gifted to her. They soon find that it is way more valuable and rarer than they ever imagined. They must now race against various opponents to figure out the mysteries of the deck. The friends may also learn new things about themselves and the others on their journey. Pick how this story will end with this choices novel!
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I had a lot of fun reading this book. I was having a hard time putting it down – it had me super interested in the story. It was action packed, mysterious, and heartwarming. I loved seeing the relationships between the friends. I also love that this was a choices novel. It was intriguing to see how picking different choices would make the story change. Ultimately I believe the theme throughout the book was the same – the friends discover new or hidden things about themselves as well as each other. This helps them develop as characters, and it leaves for a good ending to the book. I also loved the integration with tarot. I’ve always found the cards and their meanings interesting, and this has definitely inspired me to get into tarot more. I would be really interested in seeing a sequel to this book. I really connected with the characters and would love to see their story continue on for just a little bit longer!
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Thank you to NetGalley and Perseus Books, Running Press for the ARC

I haven't read a "choose your own adventure" book since Goosebumps years ago, when I was a child. This sent me back to a time and place I forgot about... and made my heart warm.

This is such a unique way of telling a story and I need Sergi to write more and more.

Thank you for the e-arc!

First of all, I want to say that the format that I used didn’t help me like this story better, it just made me so confused! I used the ebook version on the Netgalley shelf app and the pages referenced were all over the place so that when you choose a path between this page/that page, you have to make sure all the time that you are on the right track. Going back and forth led to so many headaches, that I’m sure a physical version will help you avoid.
I wanted to read “Major Detours” because it was marketed as a “Choose your own path” novel and I used to love those books when I was very little. However, I had a peek often of the other path I wasn’t taking while reading and I don’t think there was too much difference in the end to justify the marketing entirely… The book in itself is well written enough, you switch the chapter between two out of the four main characters: Amelia and Chase. To be honest, Chase was fine but as the plot kept progressing I just couldn’t find it in me to make myself like Amelia. she started to get really interesting towards the last leg of their journey, but by then I thought it was a bit too late to turn things completely around. Oddly enough, I low-key preferred the other two characters, Cleo and Logan. perhaps because they felt more flawed and therefore more likable?
Otherwise, I liked the tarot part of the book (a huge part!) but as a novitiate I fear I missed a lot of enjoyment that a real connoisseur would appreciate to its full extent. Besides these elements, the plot in itself was okay but I was disappointed that every problem, every obstacle the characters faced were being resolved quite quickly a couple of pages after. Perhaps it explains why it was so difficult to care when the writing style was quite fun on the other hand. This was a nice book, clearly meant for a different audience though.

Very interesting concept. I have only read a “choose your own adventure” when I was a very little girl so this brought a lot of memories back... but I’m sad to say I wasn’t taken much my the voice of the characters. I think this is strictly geared at teens with interest in taro reading astrology and new age-like things.
The difference between the paths taken didn’t seem all that important either and I’m afraid I’ve had better fun with visual novels that gave more choices that seem to impact the end result more.

Major Detours was a lot of fun. I was excited about the prospect of a "grown up" choose your own adventure novel but it delivered so much more. Pacing is good and I was able to complete the read in a single sitting. I have no experience with tarot but I was able to follow and understand what was happening. The discussions between characters are explanation enough without feeling like the author is dumbing it down.

The character development could have been a little stronger as I found myself not particularly connected to anyone we meet. I realised about halfway through that I had subbed myself into each of the chapters. Almost all of the characters we meet are considered a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Most of the information is casual and sometimes while not explicit, quite obvious. Unfortunately, for some of the characters it seemed like token representation. We meet them very briefly yet have a somewhat lengthy and unnecessary discussion about their gender identity. Without this discussion we wouldn't have known but at the same time it seems like representation and inclusivity for the sake of it.

I can easily see myself recommending this to other readers such as:
-Young adult and teens. There are some references to sex but they can be avoided with choices offered to you.
-Adults that want to relive their choose your own adventure days.
-Readers wanting an easy, fast paced read.
-Readers wanting a unique story.
-Fans of the occult

A note to the publisher: I'm not sure if it's an intentional mistake on behalf of the character but Amelia misgenders Cleo immediately after their discussion regarding pronouns.

As another reviewer mentioned, a digital format does this book no favours. Unable to correctly skip to page numbers means guessing and occasionally reading the wrong page. I didn't mind too much but this is definitely a book that will work far better as a print. Any digital releases need to have page numbers and not just locations if you want the reader to have an enjoyable experience.

I love a good Choose Your Own Adventure story, and the fact that this one is also an end-of-high-school road trip makes it even better. The characters are interesting, and I appreciate the inclusion of LGBTQ characters.

Thank you to Running Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC.

I think the premise for this book is really creative, and there has been a lot of interesting in choose-your-own-story kind of adventures in books and TV a lot recently, so it fits right in. I unfortunately just couldn't connect with it, and ended up DNFing at about 45%. I didn't feel attached to the characters, and wasn't really feeling like choices I made created as much impact as I was expecting. However, my biggest issue was actually just that I found it really difficult to tell if I was turning to the right pages for making choices while using a digital copy off of a small screen. I was able to keep up until the choices got a little more layered, and then I was getting lost within chapters. I think this will be much easier to read once it is on shelves, and can't wait to see it happen!

This was a complete cover pick and I loved it. It was fun and enjoyable and I can't wait to read more from this author! Definitely kept me out of my reading slump and kept me going!

Major Detours is a very unique and innovative YA novel. Four teenagers, Amelia, Chase, Cleo, and Logan, who have recently graduated from high school decide to take a tripe before going off to college. Their trip is inspired by a very special tarot card deck, which develops into a scavenger hunt. This book in interactive and has several different possible endings, something that instantly grabbed my attention.

The characters were spectacular. I loved their relationships with one another! The banter was witty and cute, and each of the four characters are unique with their own personalities and voice.
The writing was really easy to digest, very straightforward, which allowed for me to finish it in two days. The plot was very intriguing and exciting and had me on the edge of my seat, excited to see what would happen next, however, the beginning was rather abrupt... I would have liked there to be more set up instead of immediately diving into them already on the road without explanation.

I really enjoyed that I was able to control the decisions of the characters and having an impact on the direction the story took. It was pretty cool having that power, and I would love to read more books like this!

Unfortunately, the epub is protected and not compatible with any of my devices. I tried to reach out to the publisher as well with no response. Please feel free to contact me to correct this.

I've got to say that this cover is absolutely beautiful!
Second, the idea of a mystery/romance set with tarot cards was really really interesting. I got approved for this a long time ago but I needed to review it because it was a great adventure book, with romance and intrigue embedded in every page!

I haven’t read a choose your own adventure book in a long time and I was so excited to read this book!

Four friends (Amelia, Chase, Cleo and Logan) take a road trip due to Amelia inheriting a tarot deck from her grandmother. The story is told from the POVs of Amelia and Chase, and you get to make the decisions for them. Along with uncovering the mystery of the tarot deck, there are also different romantic endings.

At the end of the book, you tally up your answers and discover the meaning of them. Overall, I had so much fun reading this book and I would totally recommend it - especially if you have bookish friends so you can compare answers!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Major Detours by Zachary Sergi is an innovative, new YA novel on the Choose Your Own Adventures books from the 1980's. I used to be fascinated with this genre of books and how we could make decisions for characters and follow them to see the effects of our choices. It's been a while since I've read a book like this, but it instantly brought back pleasant memories. I had so much fun reading this book! I wish more books were made this way. I found it to a wonderfully fun and entertaining experience.

The story revolves around 4 friends: Amelia, Chase, Cleo, and Logan, who are going on a tarot-inspired road trip that turns into a scavenger hunt of sorts. According to the description, there are four possible endings to this book, which is super exciting.. As I was reading this book, I enjoyed being able to control the decisions of the characters and deciding which path I wanted them to take. Often, books will take you the path that the author determines; here, the reader is given some control, and I really enjoyed having that power.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 when Amelia explains the impetus for their journey:

"The next two weeks stretch ahead of us like a highway, the last two weeks before we all head off in different directions. The best two weeks of our lives, we promised. I can already feel how good it’s going to be now, just two hours in, with junk food in my gut and a sugar rush buzzing in my veins. With my eyes set on the vivid blue sky and the dry green brush, on the puffed white clouds slung above the red hills.
Blue and green, white and red. The colors of the tarot. Or at least the colors of this tarot, our most prized possession. I really shouldn’t be holding it with my fast-food fingers, but I want to keep it close. This tarot deck, well-worn and beloved, was the inspiration for our road trip. It contains multitudes: histories and memories, mysticism and mysteries—the exact kind we hope to solve on this trip."

After I read that excerpt, I knew I was in for a wild adventure with hints of mystery and mysticism. I couldn't wait to keep reading. I ended up finishing this book in a day. I just couldn't put it down. Overall, Major Detours is a fun YA book that will appeal to fans of the Choose Your Own Adventures series. If you have fond memories of reading those books when you were a kid, or if you've always wanted to try them out but never got the chance, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September! You won't regret giving this a try, inviting your friends to try it out, and comparing your journeys and endings!