this was bad.. ARE we back in 2012? There's a forced love triangle, we only claim polyamory in 2021 son. The worldbuilding is weak, the plot mediocre. This is suitable fpr younger people or those who just started reading YA. The magic is basic. 2021 is rich of amazing YA fantasy look those up

Foretold is the first book of a new urban fantasy series, The Scryers, for young adults. Like most teenaged girls who feel different, Cassandra just wants to be “normal.” She’s been diagnosed with “intrusive thoughts, OCD, catastrophic thinking, and anxiety.” Foreseeing her mother’s death really messed with Cassie’s head. So when she has another vision, foretelling yet another death, she can’t just stand by and let it happen. She is a perfectly imperfect heroine on a mission to save the boy.

This is an emotional book that tackles big issues such as fear, loss, grief, and guilt, while also dealing with mental health issues so many people can relate to. OCD and anxiety are rarely talked about in YA fantasy, but I loved how Cassie not only has a therapist to help her deal with her issues, but her very real condition is also woven into her visions with a deft explanation by her mentor, Pict.

Foretold is a solid debut and I look forward to reading the sequel, Hindsight, which is forthcoming next year.

Real rating 3,5 rounding up to 4

I couldn’t put this down. I found myself anticipating the moment I would be able to read again in peace. So lots of points for that.
Foretold is a play on the Greek myth of Cassandra, who had the gift of prophecy but the curse that no one would ever believe her.

What I loved:

- the ocd representation (as an observer) was so incredibly well done. I think that was the most captivating aspect of the book. I feel that the author put a lot of work into portraying OCD as realistic and how it affects all parts of a person’s life so the first person narrative was definitely suitable to achieve that.
- The concept! Although the execution was far from perfect, I still have a strong belief that this series is worth continuing as, for me at least, is the first time I encounter such a premise of scryers and foretelling school.

What I wanted more of:

- I needed more descriptions and world building!!! I felt like a lot fell on me as a reader to imagine which I am not mad about but I might have needed more info.
- More fullfletched and multilayered side characters like Griffin who we mostly meet through one liners of his and only develops more later in the book.

What I didn’t love:

- The pacing was off-putting at times and that is where it was made obvious that it is a debut so I am not too harsh on this.
- Introducing characters and mentioning them again much later without any reminder of who they are which made it difficult at times if we had very little information about them to begin with.

That said, I want to continue the series and I really believe the author is promising!

My rating was mostly based on my experience and taking into account that it is a debut novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Anyone who wasn't wrecked by the conclusion to this book is heartless! Foretold is a play on the Greek myth of Cassandra, who had the gift of prophecy but the curse that no one would ever believe her. Lumani's Cassandra also has OCD, which interplays with her abilities in an interesting discussion of mental health issues. The Theban Group is a great concept and I enjoyed the plot and the relationships that formed between the characters throughout the book. I'll definitely pick up the second one.

very cool concept, not a cool enough execution.

i couldn't really continue reading this book because every time i tried to get into it, the writing would put me off. it's the very slow pacing for me.

It only took me 2 months but I finally finished this book. I actually thought I would like this, the premise sounded so interesting, I've never read or heard about a book like this one, but sadly the way this was executed was not for me. Get ready for a rant!


Thank you Netgalley and Uproar books for an eARC in exchange of an honest review! All opinions are my own.


Trigger Warnings: OCD, anxiety, death, grief


In this book we are following Cassandra who sees death and devestation all around her in vivid detail, the price of living with OCD and severe anxiety. She always imagines the worst possible situations. But now it's not her imagination, not this time. She sees that the boy who just moved next door, Colin, is destined to die. This isn't the first time Cass has foretold a death. In order to save Colin's life she emerges herself in a secret organization but things aren't really the way they seemed at first. Cheating death will not be easy.


This is probably a really good book for people who are just starting to get into fantasy or kids on the younger side of Young Adult. If you are acustomed with books with amazing plotlines/plot-twists, that have a put together world building and you tend to look pretty critiquely when reading, this is really not the book for you. This is not eactly a bad book. If I read it when I was younger and when I hadn't learnt how to look objectively at a book, I would have probably liked it a lot. So if you wanna pick this book up keep in mind that while this is not a bad book and many people can enjoy it, but it still might not actually be for you.


The magic system and world building was pretty weird and I believe the author could have done a way better way at explaining it. For most of the book I was extremely confused about how everything worked and still am now a few weeks after finishing the book. To me it didn't make that much sense. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention but I doubt that's the case. Even when I don't look carefully enough I can still see the differences between a well written world building and whatt hat isn't.


I honestly didn't have any strong feelings towards the characters in this book. They were okay, but didn't stand out to me in any way. Most of them were ether extremely boring like Cassandra was, or just very steriotypical and what you would probably find in a lot of other YA books. I didn't really like her as a main character at all. She didn't bring anything interesting to the story and she was pretty much a standard YA protagonist which I've read way to many of before. None of the other characters really stood out. All of them were so forgettable and the only thing we really knew about them through out the story was their names. No backstory. No personality except bad guy-good guy dynamics, the troublemaker and all the other generalizations about high school kids. The side characters were all written pretty superficially in my opnion and they were flesh out as well as I wished.


Aside that, my main critique about the characters is that the author seemed to have done no research as to how teenagers speak these days. The dialogue was so cringy and it felt very forced on more than one occasion. It was clear that she was venturing in a place that she had no idea about and I'm honestly kind of mad about that. From the beginning we could see very well that the author was tying her best to make them sound like teenagers, but in the end she failed and it just made the chaarcters feel even more unrealistic.


The villain was very cartoonish. I least it felt that way to me. They were there just or the sake of actually having one and the reveal was very predictable. I didn't believe for one second that they actually wanted Cassandra's good. This specific part of the book could have been handled better and I really wish it was.


I hated the romance so much. I think it was my least favourite part in the whole book. First of all, obviously, there's a love triangle. Who's surprised there? Not me. And to make it even more basic, one of the love interests was the sweet good guy, while the other was the sarcastic bad guy. And of course, to add to my hatred, we have insta-love. Can you hear me screaming in frustration? The love traingle was predictable, but the thing is they had no chemestry at all. They met and now they are in love. Please stop it. I want development!


The plot was pretty inconsistent through out. I was hoping from more from it and at this point I honestly don't remember a lot of what happened overall with it to be able to state my opinion as clearly as I would like to.


The only thing that I actually liked through out the book was the mental health representation. And surprisingly it was also the only thing that did not feel forced while reading. As I do not suffer from OCD I cannot fully comment on how well it was done. I can say that I loved the way the author wrote Cass' anxiety and there were so many scenes where I related with her because of that. I've read quite a few books with characters dealing with mental health, but none where someone had OCD. Mental health is always something hard to portray in books. It's extremely hard to write good representation as no one has the same experience with mental illnesses. But as much as I liked and appreciated the representation, I still cannot rate this book higher as there are just so many other things I did not enjoy.


I though about DNF-ing this book more than once, but in the end I decided that I wanted to pull through. I thought the concept was so interesting and I just wanted to see it to the end. But in the end I did not like the execution as the book felt either really lacking or was just straight up boring/ I went into this wanting to really like it, but I was left disappointed.


Thank you again to Netgalley and Uproar books!

I really enjoyed Foretold, it was different from what I’d usually read but I’m glad I took a chance on something out of my comfort zone because it was definitely worth it. I’ll be looking out for more from this author.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook.

I’ve seen a few critiques of the depth of this books characters and world building, and whilst I see where they’re coming from, this book is amazing.

- Firstly, it’s the first of a series, so I’m hoping more depth will be added thorough the other books, but I quite liked the fact that it wasn’t all fully developed. It meant an easy read that was really engaging. It was an interesting story with one of the best endings I’ve ever read.
- I’m not usually a fan of the love triangle, but I loved the way that both love interests treated the mc well, neither was a cruel ‘bad boy’, and the losing character was completely respectful of her decision. I didn’t see any toxicity in either relationship, and that was a huge positive for the book.
- The OCD and anxiety rep was realistic and definitely moulded the story, though I will say it could definitely be triggering.

I would definitely recommend this book, and am looking forward to the sequel.

Cassandra sees death and devastation all around her. In vivid detail.

Synopsis: 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.

FORETOLD is the first book of The Scryers trilogy by Violet Lumani, whose personal struggle with OCD helped inspire and guide this story.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the OCD representation. The premise sounds great! But I’ve been trying to read this book for months and I just cannot get into it. I couldn’t finish it.
Every time I would read a chapter of this book, I could never make myself read another one. The writing was fine, but I just wasn’t interested enough to keep reading. I don’t find the characters interesting and the dialogue just isn’t for me. I can see other people enjoying this book, but it’s just not my style. I’m giving it two stars instead of one because I do think this book will be good for someone, just not me. When it becomes a chore for me to read a book, I know I have to let it go.
One more concern I had for the book was that it might not be good for some people with OCD to read. It could possibly have them wondering if their intrusive thoughts could be prophecy and that could make the intrusive thoughts even more difficult to deal with. So be wary if you have OCD that this storyline could be triggering.
One day I might get curious and pick this up again because the premise really did intrigue me!

Thank you NetGalley and Uproar Books for this arc. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 50%

I really tried with this book but I think it was not for me. I took a break from reading it as I initially thought I just wasn’t in the mood to read it and so picked up 2 books before I started reading it again but I just was not feeling it at all.

I appreciated the neurodivergent rep of the MC (Cassie Morai suffers from OCD, anxiety and grief) and it was one of the few aspects that pushed me to keep trying with the book but a lot of the book was not doing it for me. The setting of Theban was pretty confusing (with the magpies, different scrying techniques, the Coil etc) and I felt like it could have been introduced in smaller chunks as I found it pretty overwhelming. The side characters were…okay but I found it hard to be invested in them whenever Cassie interacted with them.

I did really like Mrs O’s character and I love the cover of the book as well which really drew me into reading the book in the first place (plus the synopsis). The scenes with Colin were cute but I didn’t really have any strong feelings towards them for me to be invested in Cassie’s mission.

Foretold wasn’t my kind of book but I’m sure others may enjoy it! I also saw it was part of a series so it may be that I pick it up again in the future to see if I find it any better

I wanted to read this book as I have OCD myself, and I'm always interested to see how it is represented on the pages of fiction. At first, it started off surprisingly well, with accurate demonstrations of how debilitating OCD can be, from rituals to catostrophic thinking. However, when the fantastical side kicked in, I became uncomfortable with how it was using OCD as an almost superpower.

While I went into this book knowing what I would be reading, I was still disappointed that it wasn't handled as well as it began with. I ended up not finishing the novel. I wish the author all the best, and have given three stars for the natural skill of writing, which is evident.

Thank you to NetGalley and Uproar Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Cassandra Morai has OCD, and she and her father are still grieving the loss of her mother from cancer. Suddenly her aunt Bree stops by and she turns Cassie's world upside down. Cassie is a seer. And Bree's arranged for Cassie to be trained. But Bree isn't telling Cassie everything and Bree's loyalty to Cassie seems false. Not everything is what it seems.

Cassie makes a host of friends and has a love interest, Colin, who seems to be very genuine. Their little romance was a pleasure to read. It was an honest take on first love, teenagers who don't know what they're doing, and the author did an excellent job of keeping it pure. Colin isn't an angsty teenaged bad boy who is clearly toxic for the main character. He is just a boy, with hopes and dreams and feelings and flaws. It was really nice. Some say 'cheesy' but to be honest I'm tired of the romances in YA having to be "edgy" with a bad boy or toxic manchild with a sob story to try to smooth over his rough edges for the reader.

Cassie's OCD is an accurate portrayal and you could tell that the author took care to make sure that Cassandra isn't a caricature drawn from the OCD; that rather it's just a part of her. Cassie struggles with it but it doesn't consume the narrative. I also really enjoyed that the story isn't set in any specific time frame (so it can't be dated) but does feature modern tech without making it showy.

The first 30% was pretty slow, but I pushed through and I was really glad I did. The story and the characters grew on me and I was honestly expecting to DNF this but I found I couldn't stop reading it after that. There are a few twists that surprised me! I can't wait for the sequel! I would say this is a really solid 4 stars, at least, if you just push through the slower first chapters.

Cassandra Morai is a 16-year-old (almost 17) student with OCD. She is sometimes overwhelmed by the “what ifs” in situations can see death around her. While waiting to cross the street, she has a vision of the boy on the other side dying from a car accident. The boy ends up being her new neighbor and the two of them get to know each other. Cassie wishes more than anything to find a way to save the boy, Colin. Soon, Cassie finds out that her thoughts are something more and she has the ability of foresight. To hone her abilities she is signed up to begin a scryer “summer camp,” which will pair her with a mentor and teach her about the different methods.

The story takes a bit to get going as the action moves forward once Cassie starts training and meets some new friends. However, the portion before is a good introduction to Colin and Cassie getting to know each other, although I wish there was a little more to not have it come across as insta-love-y. It was interesting how Cassie makes it her mission to save Colin when they only knew each other for a short time. Once Cassie enters her training, she makes a lovely group of friends. There is Regan, Cassie’s new best friend, Noah and Griffin, two boys they meet and become part of their group, and Sebastian, the older prefect, and son of the founder. There are some romances with all the different members, so it will be interesting to see how these develop, and how the friendships develop further, as the series continues.

There are a lot of descriptions of everything from the facility to the classes, which can feel a little slow. While it was nice to get to know the world more, there were times where it felt like too much and I could have done with a few fewer passages. The “Coil” was an amazing concept as it was such an enigmatic entity. I love how it was described and how each other character interacts with it differently. It will be interesting to see how the world is going to be described in the future as there is a lot going on in this world and I am curious to learn more.

Overall, this was a very interesting concept. The different backgrounds of students all brought together gave me a Harry Potter vibe. There is the knowledgeable one, like Regan, who knows all about the facility and basics the first day, whereas you have the clueless hero, Cassie, who has zero background yet is very skilled. Cassie’s OCD and anxiety was well integrated into the story and I love how it fits naturally into the story. Although Cassie may not be the same as others, she is still accepted and I loved how it was written. While there was some predictability, I did not mind it as I was captivated once the story got going. The characters were fun and I love Cassie and her newfound group. I am definitely curious to read, Hindsight, as I cannot wait to see what happens next!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Uproar Books, for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

I'm behind on all my reading due to personal reasons.

I went to go read this one but I couldn't find it on my kindle and the book has now been archived.

Will try and purchase a copy when I have money and update my review.

Sorry!

Cassandra Morai has the sight; she can see into the future. Her OCD already made her think and see all sorts of possibilities, particularly the negative ones. But she can actually see into the future, too. When she sees a boy, Colin, killed in a car accident, she becomes determined to save him, especially after getting to know him and falling for him. Her aunt, Bree, introduces her to the world of seers, sending her to scrying school in order to harness her power. There are a lot of secrets in the world of scryers. New technology divides the scryers, as does ideology.

I enjoyed the concept of this more than the execution of it. I feel like only Cass is a fully fleshed out character. Others, even her best friend Regan, are reduced to the conversations Cass has with them. Characters are mentioned and, later, are mentioned again, as if Cass has some connection to them. But that connection doesn’t happen on page so it makes the impact very low and somewhat meaningless.

The setting of the scrying school wasn’t very clear, either. I found the description lacking and difficult to follow, particularly when describing the Coil and its purpose. The classes Cass attends are glossed over, too. Suddenly, she knows scrying techniques, harnessing her native power to find answers. Then there’s the equivalent of a smartphone device that can create rituals just by the person holding it thinking of the desired result. It just felt like such a copout; instead of showing Cass learning the proper techniques for scrying, it’s all just bypassed and glossed over because, well, there’s an app for that.

The pacing is off, days and weeks passing and so minimizing the relationships Cass forms. Her obsession with saving Colin comes before she even knows him; it’s instalove with a twist, which is one of my most hated tropes

I liked the inclusion of a neurodivergent character; Cass has OCD and anxiety, as well as some trauma from losing her mother to cancer, and it’s represented accurately on the page, and even portrayed in a positive light when it comes to scrying. Cass’s brain was already hardwired to think of all the possibilities, creating pathways other scryers didn’t have.

Overall, the premise was interesting but the execution was lacking in key places, mostly in terms of side character’s characterization, description and place setting.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

This book had numerous interesting plot threads and sympathetic characters, however, my overall impression of this book is that the many elements didn't gel together. The blend of occult magic, boarding school-esque setting, and a "chosen one" main character didn't work for me. At times the plot was pulled in too many different directions and didn't significantly advance those plots. The love triangle included two characters new to the main character, and therefore never built up enough chemistry with either of the leads to feel believable. The world building and setting felt underdeveloped to me.

I appreciated the OCD rep in this book. I think it is a great inclusion for both diversity and Cassie's role in the story. Her OCD is relevant to the story without being overwhelming.

If you're into occult magic, tarot cards and fortune telling, this might be the book for you. It wasn't quite for me, but I can see this building into an interesting series, so I'm rating it 3/5.

This book was not for me. The characters were unlikeable. I found them annoying and/or boring. I was really intrigued by the summary of the book, but the execution wasn’t there.

DNFed at 26%

I just feel like this book isn't for me. I adored the main character and her love interest and Mrs. O. I loved the OCD and anxiety rep, it felt spot on. But I didn't like any of the other characters I met along the way. Overall, this fell flat for me and with every new character I was introduced to I just didn't end up liking them.

I actually didn't like the setup for the Theban Group. It felt extremely cliche and her mentor Martin Pict felt so insensitive to Cassandra.

The premise for this sounded amazing and so I'm very disappointed I didn't end up enjoying it.

This is a refreshing change from most novels in the Young Adult world: Intelligently and empathetically written, but with a narrative that still manages to be interesting and exciting. The author doesn't resort to cheap and cliche tricks or language, she simply presents a story that is original, makes sense, uses language that is necessary while avoiding fluff, and explains what needs explanation without piling on unnecessary exposition.

I personally have very little in common with Cassandra. I am not a teenage girl, I don't live in a large city, and (as far as I can tell) I do not possess any powers of prophecy. She is, however, delivered as a character complete and human enough to warrant and attract my attention and concern. I care about her. I want her to get what she wants. I find myself smiling when she gets what she wants and scowling when she doesn't. The supporting characters are well-fleshed-out, as well, without resorting to stereotypes or cliches. No wicked stepmothers here!

The story goes places you don't expect, but which you appreciate. None of the characters or concepts introduced feel wasted. Too often novels in this genre will use the fact that the magical aspects of their world are unknown to the reader to set up cheap surprises or twists, but in this novel he particulars of the mysticism are clear, internally consistent, and...I hesitate to use the word "realistic" when describing magical abilities, but they are treated in a manner consistent with what I would expect them to be in the world I live in should they ever be revealed to exist here.

The portions of the book dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder feel organic, not tacked-on or agenda-driven. This was obviously written by someone with a comprehensive understanding of mental health issues and struggles.

This was very well put together, I look forward to more in this series as well as more from this author.