Thank you netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to have access to this book early. I do not know personally how to feel about this book. I know my copy the format was a bit weird but that did not stop me from reading the book and kind of makes me want to see the proper format. The subject of the book was fun and the murder mystery aspect to it all was great. I just felt I do not know, it is hard to explain. It is not my favorite but it is not the worse by far. Like I had to finish it just to see who did all the murders and the back and forth trying to figure it out did leave you trying to guess. Over all this is not a me book but I will not hold that against it, and if you love teen like murder mysteries you are in for a treat. I did love how unique the world was. So once again thank you for allowing me to read it.

These Deadly Prophecies follows a teenager who is the apprentice of a very powerful and rich sorcerer. When this sorcerer is killed, she teams up with his son to solve the murder.

I really liked this book! I like the mystery and the characters. There were a lot of twists throughout that surprised me and kept me interested. There were also a lot of good relationships and heart felt moments. The relationships felt realistic throughout. There was also a bit of romance that was cute. I also loved the narrator and how the narrator was talking to the reader. I love that in books. There was a bit of humor sprinkled throughout.

It was not quite a 5 star for me because I feel like I’m a little too old for this book. Obviously it is YA so i think teens will really like it.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Penguin for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The cover was the first thing that attracted me to the book, These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang. After reading it, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tang does a wonderful job of character building by adding an interesting group of individuals with extremely different personalities. I appreciated her portrayal of the main character, Tabitha Zeng, is a young female whose main interest is learning from the famous fortuneteller Sorcerer Solomon. When Solomon ends up dead, she becomes one of the suspects in his murder and for the most part, Solomon's family members feel they have good reason to dislike her except for his son Callum.

The story is told using Tabitha's voice which is every bit that of a young, fun, somewhat too trusting, rather clueless female who has been so devoted to her craft, she doesn't have many friends or experience with males, so that comes through when she ends up working with Callum to find the murderer.

The setting is also intriguing with information about the magical world she lives in which isn't the reality for everyone who lives in this area. The story also includes a detective whose job it is to ferret out people with magical abilities that misuse them.

The book had an intriguing plot and the ending was nicely wrapped up. I'd give this 4 stars.

Thank you @penguinteen for the #gifted copy of this book!

Young adult mystery thriller with magic?! Yes please! I was definitely sold when I saw this book was likened to Inheritance Games. Sign. Me. Up. Can we just also talk about the cover?! It’s gorgeous! I’m obsessed with the skull and candles 💀🕯️

What it’s about:

This book is about a young sorcerers apprentice, Tabitha, who has been thrown into the middle of the case surrounding her boss, Sorcerer Solomon, death. Tabitha is launched squarely in the center of trying to solve the mystery surrounding his gruesome death. What’s even more odd is the sorcerer predicted his death before it happened. 👀

Unfortunately for Tabitha, she is on the short list for being a suspect as the police zero in on her and also Callum as prime suspects. Callum, the Sorcerers youngest son, tries to get closer to Tabitha as he believes she’s involved in his father’s death. As he tries to dig up clues, Tabitha also feels she can’t trust him either however a budding romance between the two starts and it’s hard for her to hide her feelings. They look into each family member and who could have been responsible and have motive to kill Sourcerer Solomon. Everyone is a suspect and it’s nearly impossible for them to clear their names!

Thoughts: This was the perfect bingeable magical mystery for fans of young adult books! I loved the plot and idea around sorcerers! When is the last time you’ve read a book about them?! Me, never! So this was definitely a fun change of pace! The characters and storyline were perfectly written and I loved how the author made me think at any given point any of them were the killers! It kept me guessing until the end! This was a super fast paced, fun mystical whodunnit! Thanks again #penguinteen for giving me the opportunity to read this!

A big thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group and Netgalley for providing me the ARC.

Tabatha Zeng, a young sorcerer-in-training, has been studying with the famous Sorcerer Solomon for three years when his mysteriously prophecized death turns her world upside down. Everyone is a suspect, including herself and it’s up to her to piece together the puzzle of the mentor she thought she knew. Working alongside her mentor’s son, Callum, she uncovers the dirty truths hidden behind the curtains of Solomon Manor.

Overall, this was quite a thrilling journey. The story is told in contemporary, fourth-wall breaking commentary reminiscent of Fourth Wing. Tabatha is a witty and funny honor roll student and fairly likable. The mystery of the book dragged me in and kept me reading on. That aspect reminds me a bit of Inheritance Games, so if you’re a fan of that series you will most likely be a fan of this.

Some of my criticisms (noting that I read an unrevised version):
1. There was some repetition in some of the language that became a bit bothersome.
2. I did like the casual tone between the character and the reader, but sometimes it was a bit over the top and became cringy.
3. The romance wasn’t built up enough and wasn’t entirely believable to me. It was a bit awkward and didn’t leave me rooting for them.
4. The beginning and end were strong but the story dragged in the middle for me a little bit.
5. The book is short, which can be a nice thing, but I feel that it leaves space to develop the characters, romance and magic system more. It would take this book from good to great.

With that being said, I really did enjoy the book! It’s a bit outside my normal fantasy, a bit more on the contemporary mystery thriller spectrum, but still a good one. I’d definitely recommend it to YA readers, especially those new to fantasy.

This was a bit hard for me to rate in solid stars, it’s between a 3 and a 4 for me but I did enjoy it so I rounded up.

This book combines two of my favorite things: urban fantasy and old-money family melodrama.
Let's talk about the highlights: Tabatha Zeng is hands down one of the most fun-to-read protagonists I've come across. The unique stylistic choice of using second person, with Tabatha recounting her past from the future, adds a layer of humor, engagement, and elements of suspense. The dynamics between characters, particularly Tabatha and Callum, took a pleasantly unconventional turn, playing with familiar stereotypes while subverting them. I applaud the presence of healthy communication between parents and children, a refreshing break from the typical YA thriller/mystery where teens often dive into danger without the adults in their lives having a clue.
The vibe of this novel leans toward middle grade, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. There were moments when some characters felt a bit like caricatures, and more than a few times they were making funny quips in life-threatening situations that seemed a tad unrealistic. Oddly enough, this narrative tone made the realistic decisions of the characters stand out even more. My only real gripe was that the climax didn't particularly wow me.
All in all, this book was an engaging read, especially thanks to Tabatha's hilarious internal dialogue. For Tabatha's character alone, I’ll definitely be checking out any future works of Andrea Tang.

I really enjoyed this! The narration was the best part of it, I think I thought this was going to be more fantasy than it actually is which was disappointing. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Many thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group, author Andrea Tang, and Netgalley for providing me the ARC.
Release date: January 30, 2024

Tabatha Zeng has been apprenticing to the famous Sorcerer Solomon, who has prophesied his own death. When his death occurs, Tabatha starts investigating with the help of Solomon’s son Callum. We get dysfunctional family revelations, magical shenanigans, and a cute early-days romance.

This book does not match my typical tastes in fantasy or YA fantasy reading. The tone is something specific. It’s a blend of the dark sorcery aesthetic, straightforward storytelling of a mystery, and some dry referential wit. The fun, distinct authorial voice is definitely a highlight of the reading experience!

I am always pleasantly surprised when a YA female protagonist is likable, relatable, and not written as overly combative and snarky. Yay for Tabatha Zeng! She spends much of the book interacting with Callum. Tabatha starts to have feelings for him but doesn’t know whether she can even trust him, since he is on her list of murder suspects. I liked this conflicted dynamic and how Andrea tells the story in such a way where Callum is a big question.

By 50%, not much had “happened” with the plot. Read TDP for the vibes and the characters. The latter half of the book is where the story picks up speed in terms of both the murder investigation and magic. The way the mystery wraps up and the conversations unraveling it were satisying. Although the book is engaging as is, I do think the book could have sped up the timeline and contained more substantive, magical events. Overall, it’s an enjoyable, engaging one-time read.

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang was such a fun and entertaining story.
With a fast paced plot and the murder mystery plus magic you have this fantastic book! This debut is well crafted and wonderfully written.
Tang’s incredible storytelling along with her almost overwhelmingly vivid worldbuilding and characterization was simply the best.
The characters were well developed and kept me so intrigued I didn’t put this down.
It’s safe to say I’m a fan!

Thank You NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I think I was expecting more of a high stakes fantasy rather than this light, fun, magical romp. Once I got into the vibe of the book, I throughly enjoyed Tabatha and Callum's Nancy Drew/Joe Hardy investigation.

Personally, I really had no idea who the murderer was until the reveal. I loved the murder mystery, Inheritance Games vibe and there were definitely some swoon worthy moments.

Thank you to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

tl;dr
There's a dash of magic in here, but the snappy narration and relatable protagonist keep the story grounded and surprisingly realistic.

Thoughts
Modern stories where magic is considered just as standard as any other industry are always fun for me. So it was nice to have an apprentice who argues with her parents over whether or not to become a professional sorcerer, or something more respectable, like a lawyer. You know the one. And I think that's my favorite part of the book. Despite being a world with magic, the story is a very grounded novel with a relatable protagonist who has very relatable problems. The magic system is clearly explained, although not explored as deeply as I'd like, and magic is used way less often that I initially expected. The family and friends are appropriately messy, although there's a part of me that would not have complained if they were even MORE messy. Narration is quick and snappy, and I enjoyed the POV quite a bit. A good read for anyone looking for a YA modern mystery with just a touch of magic to it.

Well this is a Solid 4 stars, it is a pleasant surprise how much I liked this book. It was fast paced and written in a witty first person narration that I quickly finished it in two sittings, I was definitely sold on the fact that it is Knives out kind of mystery with an occult theme. It definitely has all the elements of cozy, low stakes mystery even with elements of gore because of the narrative style

Tabatha and Callum’s character’s were quite engaging and the mystery itself wasn’t the most compelling part of the story because in my humble opinion you could perhaps figure out whodunnit by half way point but the story was intriguing enough for me to stop thinking about who but focus mostly on why and how of the mystery element.I loved the core of the plot being able to find the version of yourself and love it fiercely, definitely an interesting take with a twist of magic and mystery.The world building while it was interesting, I thought it needed a bit more of refining because it sounded like it is a Magical realism but I wasn’t really sure about anything else other than that like how things worked with the Sorcerer world and common folks. Either way it’s an entertaining , quick YA fantasy to pick up for yourself for a fun read

When I saw the "Knives Out" comparison in the description of this book, I WAS HOOKED. That comparison is right on the money and the book was such a wild ride. It was quick paced, crazy characters, and a touch of romance...what else could you ask for?

Give this book a READ!

This book was cute, and also good not great. I felt like it moved at a breakneck pace and not in a good way. While Tang did a good job at moving the plot along, it often resulted in a lack of character and plot development. The culprit seemingly comes out of nowhere, with reasons that must be TOLD to the other characters in a data dump because they're so on the outskirts you barely know them as a character<

I enjoyed the world of this book; it was interesting to consider a world, which is this actual world, but with magic having survived the Salem Witch Trials and become integrated with society. A little bit more about HOW this happened would have greatly enhanced this, though. Tang wrote as if everyone knew that magic was just a thing, which makes complete sense for the characters, but as an outsider, a little more context/history would have been nice.

This book definitely wants to ride on the coattails of the success of properties like Knives Out and The Inheritance Games Trilogy (quadrilogy?) but it doesn't quite rise to the occasion. Its still enjoyable for fans of those stories, but will still stand in their shadows. Will be interesting to see if this becomes a duology or more, but this story and its characters might not be strong enough to go any further.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Okay this was SO good. I think that this was the ideal mystery/thriller for those who love to be curled up in front of the fire anxiously holding onto the edge of their seat all evening. Absolutely PERFECT for people that loved Knives Out, A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

Once I heard this compared to The Inheritance Games and Knives Out, I knew I needed to pick it up. A murder mystery with a magical twist? Yes, please. The premise sounded like it was going to be right up my alley, but unfortunately, I thought the execution was messy. I didn't like the writing style, and thought the world-building and characters needed a lot of work. The mystery was also pretty meh. I was able to tell who was behind it very quickly, so the big reveal wasn't as impressive. I did enjoy how fast-paced the story was and flew through it in one sitting, but as a whole, I found it lacking.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Fun little mystery! The pacing was a bit off at times but I enjoyed it and the twists.

Come for the 'Knives Out' and 'The Inheritance Games' but with magic! Stay for the snarky narration and adorable nerdy jock detective partner!

This was a fun murder mystery in which each member of the family is a suspect, and most of them can do magic. Highly recommended YA reading!

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.

This was really fun! Great characters, great world-building, great plot twists. I'd love to read more from this author.

A cute and funny murder mystery filled with magic, prophecy, and a sprinkle of romance. What’s not to love?

Tabatha Zeng is an apprentice of the famous fortune teller Sorcerer Solomon, who predicts his own brutal murder. Teamed up with Callum Solomon, the third son of Solomon and classmate of Zeng, the two must solve the murder before being framed for the deadly deed. The only hunch they have is the sorcerer’s own prophecy.

The dialogue really makes this book a must read. Callum is such a cute jock, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his super nerdy jokes. The mystery was great to solve along with the characters. Fans of Knives Out will love this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for this ARC.