Didn’t enjoy this book and found that the writing style wasn’t for me. Found characters bland and boring as well.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Foretold weaves a tale of oracles and their interweaving in the tragectory of the future. Cassandra "Cassie" Morai is a 16-year-old oracle who has severe OCD and anxiety. When she has a vision of her neighbor, Colin's death can she find a way to twist fate in her favor, or will the price be one too high to pay?

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This story had some highs and some lows. First, the highs! Cassie and the way she is a prisoner to her OCD is such a fresh take on a character. The way she spins out any situation into a tragedy seems like it would be off-putting and distance the reader from her, but as a reader who has SEVERE anxiety this tossed me a lifeline to our heroine. Also, how much she truly stumbles and falls is new as well, she isn't an expert right off the bat and makes huge mistakes. The ending of this novel leaves me wanting more and definitely overrides my frustrations enough I look forward to reading the next installment. Now, the bad...Colin is a really interesting character who gets used and abused to simply be a love sick puppy for Cassie. All of this for a love triangle opportunity to be introduced while Cassie is at "oracle training". The school portion of Foretold has a huge "A Deadly Education" vibes; so much so that I had a hard time not comparing the two throughout, with A Deadly Education's writing "winning" in my mind. Also, the pacing halfway through drops off for a good 20% of the book just to go break-neck speed at the end.

All in all, this was a solid beginning to a series, even if at times it was a bit blah. I recommend this for all fantasy/Scholomance lovers 12+, especially those with anxiety. 3.5 stars rounded up, I hope you enjoy that ending as much as I did.

This was an okay book but not really my cup of tea. Easily forgettable and I just don’t find it interesting. Would still recommend to other people who particularly like this genre.

Loved the friendships formed in this book. I thought the story was a little slow in start and the romance didn't seem to hit it off for me. Liked the insight into anxiety and ocd this was great to see representation in this story.

3.5 stars

I was skeptical before picking up Foretold, I remained skeptical for most of the book, and I might still be a little skeptical. (Fun fact: 'skeptical' is one of only a handful of times - that I know of - that Canadians choose the American spelling over the British version... I know I live in Australia, but I can't do it - my Canadian instincts run deep. 'Sceptical' looks clinical, like a mood experienced while suffering sepsis. Excuse the tangent, but I remain skeptical.) Divination is a hard sell, made more complicated by the instalove component of the narrative. If this was a standalone, I don't know if it would be possible to make it work, but by the end, I was totally on board and ready for the next book.

"One, two, three. The compulsion is not me.
Four, five, six. I control it. It doesn't control me.
My heart aches. I twist the knob. Five times."

Cassie is a refreshing protagonist. Her day-to-day life with OCD and anxiety is written honestly; it's not just a convenient plot gimmick. Clues about her coping mechanisms and struggles are peppered throughout like easter eggs - they can fade into the background unless you're looking for them. It took a while for the story to get started, but this allowed for a solid introduction to Cassie, her family, and her life. The cast of characters is interesting. Cassie's dad, while a little oblivious, is loving and delivers some highly emotional speeches. Regan was full-on at first, but I grew to appreciate her personality and her strong sense of loyalty. My absolute favourite (and probably everyone else's) is Bacchy; he's the most vibrant, and all of his interactions were quirky and interesting.

By far the most intriguing, and the most confusing, part of Foretold was the Celidon Coil. Uniquely terrifying, the last few chapters totally sold me on this book and this series. While it was painfully obvious what would happen in the overarching theme, there were some pretty good surprises. The actual events or actions may not have been surprising, but the extremity certainly blindsided me. I can't wait to see what happens with this love triangle, and how Cassie will live with the decisions she's made.

This book was a really enjoyable read. It started off a little slow but after about 25% of the way through it started picking up and I couldn't put it down. I was super invested in the characters and what was going to happen to them. This book also looked into some mental health issues like OCD and anxiety and while I can't say how accurate of a portrayal it was because I have not experienced some of these thoughts or feelings it was pretty insightful for me. You hardly see these types of things outside of contemporary books and I am glad that we are now reaching across genres,

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Like so many before me, I was drawn in by an intriguing premise and a beautiful cover. I should've known better.

First, I want to say that there are solid ideas here. Thought has been put into the magic. A skeleton of the world has been constructed. There are distinct characters. But none of it was given enough love and attention; there are massive defects in all of these elements and it makes for a fitful, messy story.

Let's start with the world-building and general plot. Sometimes it was too slow, plodding along and losing my interest. Other times it moved so fast I had to page back to make sure I hadn't missed something. It made for a muddied story. I'm not convinced it always knew where it was going. Information about the world was hard-won and had so many holes and distrust around it that you never really feel like you're on solid ground.

The magic is interesting. I wish we knew more about the theory and history behind it. I wish it was less ubiquitous and that different characters had strengths and weaknesses depending on the medium. It also seems rather convenient at times.

The characters are a mess. They don't often feel like they're in their late teens, except for small interpersonal moments. Or in the romantic bits. Cassie is a strong presence in the story but everyone else is fluffy bits of convenience. I mean, does Sebastian ever appear when he isn't being used to smoothly move us from one moment to the next? He's a tool, not a character, and that's a shame because I feel like he has potential. And what does Cassie see in Colin? I can understand wanting to save him because she doesn't want to see him die but it doesn't ever feel like she loves him.

I finished the book so it was at least compelling enough for me to do that. I'm on the fence on whether I'll read the next installment.

I really loved foretold the characters and their relationships felt very real and well constructed and the mental illness representation was excellently done in my opinion. I also thought that Lumani made the plot very interesting and gripping to the point where it was hard to put down even at the end of a chapter, the magic system was intricate and very interesting but at times could be hard to understand which took away from the overall magic of the book which is the only reason Foretold is not a five star read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this arc.

The story follows Cassandra who has the ability to see death and devastation. However one day, when she sees the ill-fated destiny of the boy next door, Cassie decides to change fate. I thought the premise was very exciting and Cassie's internal struggles were relatable. I think if you are looking for a relatively young ya book, this book will fit the description. However, I do think the pacing of the story was a little strange, but it might have just been due to this book being the first book in the series.

Total DNF, I couldn't get into this. It just wasn't for me. I tried for a month and I just couldn't.

I really couldn’t get into the book. I really liked the premise but just wasn’t keeping my attention. I wanted to love it! The idea is totally interesting!

This book was an exciting and fascinating first dive into what promises to be an enchanting series. While the first half of the book was quite slow, I understand that the first book in a series is usually introductory, so we'll let that slide. I was deeply fascinated by the secret society, but most of the characters (aside from Cass) fell rather flat for me. I do look forward to seeing where this series goes, as I did love the way that Lumani portrayed Cass's struggles with mental health. It's not often that we see mental health (and mental illness) portrayed well in the YA genre, and this was a refreshing take.

As someone who suffers to this day with anxiety/ocd I thought that this was brilliant. I just wish this story had been out when I was a kid because I feel like it would have held such power for me. I think a lot of times all younger generations see in regards to these two things are tik Tok or instagrams "aesthetic version" the version where its wow ocd is so cute and quirky and my room always has to be a certain order, and not the actual annoyance of having to turn lights on a certain amount of times, or blink a certain amount of times out of fear if you don't something bad is going to happen. So this is my longwinded way of saying thank you, because I honestly find it so refreshing when the characters aren't just seen as quirky, or don't just brush it off, because sometimes it truly can be all consuming so I thought there was a certain level of relatability there. On another note, I was super invested in the story, but not so much the romance aspect which is rare for me but also a refreshing change. I think the author overall did a great job of creating a world that blended fantasy and reality together seamlessly. I cannot thank her enough for her story.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this title but sadly this book wasn’t for me and it did land on my dnf but that is only because I found it to be quite young which would still make this book great for a younger reader just starting out with fantasy but for me the premise sojnded so promising but it fell a little flat for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Uproar books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really, really wished that I liked this book more than I did. However I do think that I could enjoy it more on a second read through.

Violet Lumani’s debut Foretold is about a teenage girl with OCD and anxiety named Cassandra, who is dealing with the fact that she constantly sees death and destruction in every situation as she always imagines the worst possible outcomes. But then one day she sees the death of her new neighbor Colin, and this doesn’t feel like her imagination, this feels real.

Soon after this vision Cass finds out that she is a scryer and that there is a whole secret organization of people who see the future and sometimes intervene. Desperate to see if she can change the future for Colin and gain control over her life, Cass enrolls in a magic school. But is she willing to pay the price needed to cheat death?

This book did some things I really liked, however it also had aspects that made it really hard not only to enjoy but to simply finish. It took me a considerable amount of time to get through Foretold, when normally it takes me anywhere from 1-3 days to get through other books of similar length. The first 30-40% of this book truly seemed like a sludge. Not much happened, and the pacing was so slow to set up the rest of the book, that by time you got to the more exciting and engaging portions, you were tired from what you had to read to get there.

The character dynamics and development were also very lopsided making it hard to get properly invested. Cass is a strong character. The depiction of her anxiety, grief and OCD was what I liked most about the book. Lumani does a great job showing how all consuming the three states can be on their own, and how truly overwhelming they can be when combined. While I do not personally have OCD I have a best friend who does and this is very reminiscent to what at I’ve seen her go through. I do personally have grief and anxiety and the representation shown in this book was powerful.

Unfortunately as strong as Cass’ character was, others fell very flat for me. There were characters who came across as so animated and characterized that it was never very believable, and other characters who felt very shallow and bland, especially for the roles they played in the plot.

Overall I didn’t love this book, but I was far from hating it. I think I might like it more on a second pass through where I’ve already experienced the sections that drag. I would recommend to people to give it a shot, and would be interested in reading the sequel.

I had high expectations for this book but it just let me down. I felt like the plot was poorly executed and it took me quite a while to get into.

I really appreciated how this book approached Cassandra’s OCD and anxiety, particularly the way it was always present in her life. It showed how difficult it is to live with these conditions while also having a good balance of it not always being the main focus of what was going on. Additionally, it also tied Cassandra into the magic system of the book further which was also really well done. Showing how the characters used different methods to divine the future was so engaging while the background operations of the organization offer an intriguing mystery I am looking forward to learning more about in the next book.

I also loved the characters and want to see more of everyone in the next book. The support system around Cassandra is great. It has been interesting seeing these bonds pushed and tested through the events of the first book, and I’m looking forward to seeing the character development that has already begun as a result of these challenges. All around I enjoyed this book and found it to be a thought provoking and well rounded story.

Thank you net galley for the free arc of this one. This one was super interesting and something different from what I usually tend to read. Definitely was intriguing and the cover is beautiful so thats another reason this book drawed me in. I enjoyed the characters and the friendships that were formed between all of them. It was also interesting hearing all about the mental health issues and grief among this book. Overall it was a pretty good book, not my favorite but something different!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this! I will definitely be following to see what comes next. Characters were very relatable, and although at times the pacing was skewed I really couldn't get enough. Would definitely recommend!

Dnf- I really loved the premise of this book but it just wasn’t for me. The world and magic system wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed and I didn’t particularly like the characters. This however does not mean that this was a bad book, it just wasn’t something I wanted to continue reading.