Unique plot resulting in a wonderfully written book.

This book kept my attention and made it hard to put down. The plot left me guessing until the very end.

Highly recommend this read, 5/5 stars!

What a fun book! You can’t go wrong with sorcerers and murder. I loved the whole whodunnit vibes of this book and was guessing til the end.

The writing style was interesting. It’s not often you get a book that directly speaks to the reader, so it took a minute to get used to.

The characters were fun and it was interesting to see how they progressed and evolved as the story went on.

Tabatha Zeng is the apprentice to Sorcerer Solomon. Or she was, until the prophecy he told her one evening comes true and he is found gruesomely murdered in his own home. The police have two suspects - Tabatha and Callum Solomon, the sorcerer’s youngest son. The two young suspects decide to team up, to find the real killer and clear their own names.

First, I love the overall premise of this book. The magic involved is really interesting, and I would have enjoyed seeing Tabatha use her magical skills more often. The characters all had distinct and interesting personalities and the sibling relationships were well done. The level of mystery in this book was a bit lacking for me. Tabatha and Callum are supposed to be seeking out clues but it never really feels like they are using detective skills. Their detective work amounted to talking to each other about their suspects. I also found the ending a bit unsatisfying and wish it hadn’t wrapped up quite so quickly.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

These Deadly Prophecies brings us to a modern world where sorcery is a viable career option. Our narrator, Tabatha, loves the occult, and is the apprentice of Sorcerer Solomon, one of the most well-known sorcerers in eastern America who specializes in prophecies. Unfortunately, Sorcerer Solomon prophesized his own death, and the book begins where his life ends. But who murdered Sorcerer Solomon?

I was absolutely enthralled with this book. I loved Tabatha as the narrator of this story, giving her account of what happened. Her narrative is engaging and full of excitement. At times she addresses the reader directly, which makes the story feel even more real. I think the fact that Tabatha is not originally from the sorcery world makes her very relatable to readers, explaining the intricacies of sigils, spells and traditions.

This book really takes on the feel of a murder mystery, as Tabatha teams up with Solomon's youngest son, Callum, to try to find our who committed the murder. This book had me making my own theories then changing my mind as I learned more, just like the characters did in the book. The book really kept me guessing until the very end when everything was revealed. I enjoyed the interactions between Tabatha and Callum and enjoyed both characters a lot. There's also a cast of side characters who are diverse and add to the charm of the story.

I felt like this book was very well written. It was nearly impossible to put down, and I ended up staying up until 2am to finish the story - once I got so far into the book, I just couldn't wait until the morning to find out the solution to the mystery and how things would end. I'll be seeking out more books by Andrea Tang for sure!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the free advance copy of These Deadly Prophecies. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and all opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this. It's told in 1st-person narration, which can be hit-or-miss for me, but I honestly really liked it. Tabatha had a really distinct voice and I really enjoyed her interactions with all the characters. She wasn't quite as active a character as I would've liked. A lot of things that happened were just her bearing witness to it, but I still enjoyed her narration. I also thought her budding relationship with Callum was surprisingly cute.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that really had the book lacking, in my opinion. For one, it was far too short for my liking. At first, the pacing was fine, but it seemed to have a bit of difficulty wrapping it all up at the end. Plus, this being an urban fantasy, I really wanted to see our protagonist utilize her magical abilities a bit more. Part of that was that she was an apprentice--and a mostly rule-abiding one at that. But it still felt a little lacking.

The mystery could've been done a bit better, but for the most part I didn't mind it. I think, though, it would've been more satisfying if the book hadn't opened up with Sorcerer Solomon prophesizing his death to Tabatha. I think if we'd started showing Tabatha learning more of the magic first-hand and giving the reader a chance to learn with her, it would've made the ending feel a bit more satisfying. As it is, a lot of what is learned about magic comes like halfway through the book by the time we've established characters and whatnot. It just felt like a bit of a weird placement.

Overall, I didn't mind this and I mostly enjoyed it, mostly due to the narration. I just wish there was a bit more padding out of the story to really make it feel like a satisfying mystery.

I was put on this earth to watch Chris Evans wear cable-knit sweaters in a murder mystery. Compare any book to my favorite movie, Knives Out, and I will read it.

The Knives Out comparison is on the nose. These Deadly Propheciess has an unhinged, quick-paced narrative, with a cooky cast of characters and a dash of magic and romance. Tabatha's goal is to be a sorcerer, but for now, she's just an apprentice to the greatest fortune-teller of all time, Sorcerer Solomon. When he is found brutally murdered, it's up to Tabitha to figure out who killed him, and why.

Tabitha is a great narrator. She's sarcastic, witty, and just a tad jaded. Her Chinese parents aren't a fan of her chosen career path, and she's desperate for approval; not just from them, but her mentor too. She's jealous of the ease Solomon's family moves through the world. Their money, status, and race lend them a leg up on her. Her pessimistic point of view and determination to find her mentor's killer made her an easy character to like.

The mystery aspect started a bit slower than expected. Yet, this book is under three hundred pages. Even with the slower start, it is still fast-paced and quickly resolved. The magical realism added a unique element to a stereotypical plot line. Despite the cheesy ending and villain reveal, the mystery was wrapped up nicely.

Overall, this book is just such a fun ride. If you like The Inheritance Games, or Knives Out, I highly recommend you give this a try.

Thank you, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, for the advance copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This was a quick YA fantasy book but a lot happens in those 25o pages! There's also a mystery/thriller aspect and some romance going on, I love when genres combine together. I liked the overall theme in this book but would have liked it to be longer. This had interesting twists that made you wonder who was who. If you want the inheritance games but with sorcery I would recommend!

I really enjoyed These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang, published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Tabatha Zeng, apprentice to Sorcerer Solomon, the most notorious fortune teller on the east coast had a problem.

Sorcerer Solomen was dead. And she was a suspect.

Magic. Mayhem. Murder Mystery.
What more do I have to say?

Dnf’ed at page 79.

Honestly, 80 pages in and just the story was so slow. Like… Tabitha has just started “investigating”.

I did like the hindsight is 2020 narration style.

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!:)

4.25⭐️ Just from the description I knew this was going to be a fun book. It pulled me in with the knives out and the inheritance game vibes that were in this book. This is about a sorcerers apprentice named Tabatha who gets pulled into a murder mystery plot when her boss dies the same way exactly how he predicted in his prophecy. Tabatha is determined to figure out who the killer is while also trying to survive the aftermath of the killing. This book was fun and fast paced with the plot. I loved that this book was a murder mystery with magic and sorcerers but also their was a dash of romance which I love. Nothing is as it seems in this book and the twists in this story got to me and had me second guessing everything I though I knew. I would definitely recommend if you want a quick read that has a lot going on.

This book has vibes of the movies <i>The Sorcerer’s Apprentice</i> and <i>Knives Out</i> as well as the wildly popular series <i>The Inheritance Games</i>. I enjoy all three of those, so I was really excited to read this.

This urban fantasy follows Tabatha, who has been apprenticed to a sorcerer and when he dies she becomes a suspect since she was one of the last people to see him alive. She teams up with one of the sons of the sorcerer to find the killer, thus clearing both their names.

A fantasy with a murder mystery twist sounded awesome to me. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the book as much as I was expecting to. Right off the bat I had trouble connecting with the writing style. There’s a lot of direct address to the reader which I’m personally not a fan of. There were also a bunch of characters introduced at the same time which made it very difficult to keep track of everyone.

As far as the mystery goes, I found it pretty lacking. I suspected the culprit the moment that character was introduced. And the reason why wasn’t satisfying either. I also found the ending very unsatisfying.

I liked the moments of the sorcerer interacting with Tabatha and I really liked the premise. I just wish I had liked the execution more than I did.

Tabatha, a sorcerer’s apprentice to the most affluent sorcerer ever Solomon, she fights her families wishes and continue her training under him even when she just a mere high school. Solomon has seen a prophecy of his own death by the one he loves the most, but when it occurs the mystery plagues her and his family with finding the killer. As she is the main suspect along with one of his children Callum then go full on detective mode to find the actual murderer.

“These Deadly Prophecies” by Andrea Tang was a very entertaining mystery/fantasy book. It reminded me so much of The Magicians show in the magic systems and vibe. Although the romance was minimal and chaste, I was hoping they could fall for each other and find the murderer. The ending was surprising and not how I thought the book would go. 5 out of 5 stars.

1-2 stars

These Deadly Prophecies has such a great premise and I’m always down to read about dysfunctional families and mysteries. However, by the halfway point I found myself skimming and felt like the book really underutilized its characters. The result is a bland ending and a romance with zero chemistry that bogged down the story.

First of all, the protagonist, Tabatha, wasn’t that interesting. I rooted for her at first but felt wholly uninvested by the 50% mark because I felt as if I knew nothing about her. Her relationship with Sorceror Solomon is the most interesting thing about her as she wants to be part of his legacy but also understands that she’s not his family. I also liked the idea of yearning for the approval of someone who would never truly give it to you, but felt that this tension was set aside in favor of her romance with one of the sons. Another little thing that bothered me about Tabatha’s characterization is that she’s supposedly the best of all of Solomon’s apprentices, with both heart and skill, yet she only has one moment where she’s kind of clever. Otherwise, we just have to take for granted that she is.

Solomon’s family was more interesting to me than Tabatha but they still felt so shallow. They could play off each other in interesting ways, but Tabatha only sees them through the lens of an outsider. I wish we got to know them better as they were before the murder and to see more of their complicated relationship with Solomon and the other family members. This is something that Knives Out, one of the comp titles for the book, does excellently. Because the protagonist in that movie spends time with the family, both before and after the murder, and we also see them together at other times, we get a deeper look into just how dysfunctional they are.

As a result of not spending enough time with other members of the family besides the son Tabatha has a romance with, the ending felt pretty tepid. The reveal was unexpected but I didn’t feel particularly shocked or moved by the murderer or how they murdered Solomon. I would actually say that I became most invested in Tabatha’s mom at the end of the story since it’s interesting how Tabatha’s relationship with her parallels Solomon’s family with him. I also thought she made a couple of pretty good points about Solomon.

Overall, These Deadly Prophecies felt a bit uninspired for me. There’s a lot of potential that was squandered by worldbuilding info dumps, the romance, and the static characterization of the Solomon family.

Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This review will be posted on my blog (clearsummers.wordpress.com) and Goodreads on January 16, 2024.

"These Deadly Prophecies" by Andrea Tang is an enchanting and thrilling young adult murder mystery infused with magic, perfect for fans of "Knives Out" and "The Inheritance Games."

Tabatha Zeng is an apprentice to Sorcerer Solomon, one of the world's most famous sorcerers. However, her life takes a dark turn when her boss, Sorcerer Solomon, predicts his own brutal death, and tragically, this prophecy comes true. Tabatha becomes a prime suspect in the murder, as does Callum Solomon, the deceased's youngest son.

With suspicion and the police closing in on them, Tabatha and Callum join forces to uncover the truth behind the murder and clear their names. As they delve into the case, they face a daunting challenge, especially when the list of suspects comprises wealthy, influential, and magical members of Sorcerer Solomon's family. Tabatha begins to question how much she can trust Callum and is plagued by doubt.

The story is a quick-witted and fantastical murder mystery that keeps readers on their toes. It masterfully blends elements of magic, mystery, and intricate family dynamics. The world-building is captivating, and the characters are multifaceted. The relationship between Tabatha and Callum adds depth to the narrative, creating a balance between romance and intrigue.

Andrea Tang's storytelling is a delightful rollercoaster, offering a thrilling ride that young adult readers will thoroughly enjoy. The blend of fantasy, suspense, and magic in this murder mystery makes "These Deadly Prophecies" an engaging and entertaining read, leaving readers eagerly anticipating each revelation.

Imagine a world where 'Knives Out' collides with 'The Inheritance Games,' but with a magical and spiritual twist – a perfect concoction for fans of entertaining YA fantasy with a dash of romance! Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves for a whirlwind adventure that you won't want to put down. Get ready for an enchanting supernatural journey!

Meet Tabatha Zeng, a 17-year-old Chinese student who dares to dream differently from her highly ambitious parents' expectations. Rather than following in her mother's footsteps to become a powerful lawyer, she chooses to apprentice under the most formidable sorcerer of her time. Little did she know that this sorcerer would predict his own demise at the hands of someone he cherished, and tragically, the prediction comes true. Tabatha finds herself on the list of suspects, and her master, Julian Solomon, makes her promise to keep his son, Callum, close at hand as they team up to avert a looming catastrophe.

Callum attends the same high school as Tabatha, and to her, he is one of the popular kids, a stark contrast to her eerie, quirky, and loner style. He suspects Tabatha of being involved in his father's murder, just as she suspects him of being the possible perpetrator.

Within the family, everyone is a suspect: Julian's two wives, Angelique (his ex) and Rowena (his new wife with no supernatural powers), his three children, Felix (the golden boy) and his twin sister Circe (the angsty daughter who always lived in her brothers' shadows), Callum, and Tabatha's fellow apprentice, Hester, who captures the master's full attention and stirs up jealousy from the other wives and kids. The question remains, who among them, someone beloved by the sorcerer, would dare to take his life?

Tabatha finds herself on a mission to uncover the murderer before they strike again, even as she grapples with her doubts about Callum and a growing crush on him.

The mystery is expertly woven, and the narration style is both genuine and captivating. This is an incredibly enjoyable, fast-paced, and easy read, perfect for devouring with a bowl of popcorn and your favorite refreshments. I wholeheartedly recommend it to all YA fantasy enthusiasts!

A big thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group/G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for providing me with this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was enjoyable and i could definitely see the comparisons to Knives Out, but unfortunately it fell a little flat to me due to the prose. I felt like I was reading a story that took place in the 1500s but from a modern narrator and it just didn't mesh well. It also took a long time to finish due to the fact that she kept getting confused telling her own story, which I understand and thought was clever, but it made it hard to connect with her. The execution wasn't there. However, despite this, it was a fun mystery filled with magic and I think a lot of people will definitely like it more than me.

I really didn’t like this one. The plot felt really predictable and unoriginal, and the writing was not my favorite at all; it felt very juvenile. The characters were flat and uninteresting. Overall I felt like the story had a lot of potential, but it really let me down. The only good thing was the pacing; it was paced quick so at least it wasn’t a slog to read.

These Deadly Prophecies follows Tabatha Zeng, a teenage sorcerer's apprentice thrown into the mess of her mentor, Sorcerer Solomon's, murder. Tabatha joins Sorcerer Solomon's son, Callum, to unravel the prophecy that led to his death and the truth of who's behind the killing.

These Deadly Prophecies was a quick, fast-paced, and enjoyable read. The world-building is limited, but I didn't mind, as the book focused mainly on the plot and the characters. Tabatha was a relatable and likable main character, and I also found Callum to be very likable. I found them to be realistic, especially in their dialogue, for high school students.

The only issue I had with the book was the ending. I thought the final confessions as the mystery unraveled were a bit stilted and unrealistic. The full explanation for the murders was given very suddenly through a lot of monologues, and it felt somewhat out of place to me.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable fantasy read. The magic system is interesting, the characters are relatable, and the plot moves quickly. I would definitely recommend it to both fantasy and mystery fans, as it had a good balance of both elements.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the arc!


Finally a book that actually resembles Knives Out in some capacity but with magic! I really enjoyed this, the writing was very whimsical and I adored the characters. I really hope there’s more books in this world!