I personally am a huge fan of mystery’s and thrillers and I thought the being able to see the memories from items was such an interesting plot twist and I thought it was executed well. I am excited to see what other books this author comes out with because this really was so interesting.

This YA mystery brought something to the table I had never seen before, but ultimately it fell a bit flat. I really enjoyed the magical realism—with characters who could see the past, see the future, and feel others feelings. Our main characters, Hayden and Cassie, fit into the typical delinquent and popular girl categories, and their stories intertwine in an interesting way after Cassie is kidnapped. I enjoyed how their respective powers were used to advance and influence the storyline, though it was left pretty unexplained as to why they have the powers.

While I understand the whole team-up of Hayden, Cassie’s ex-boyfriend, and her best friend as an investigative team, I really think these kids went to far in trying to solve this case by themselves. The stakes felt both high and low—yes, Cassie was kidnapped and being held hostage, but the kids take days to investigate clues and kinda sit around a lot. They had the sheriff right there to help, yet they chose to keep all the evidence and information to themselves. They almost got killed for that.

Additionally, the characters felt a bit one-dimensional to me, and as a result a lot of the dialogue and inner-monologue was boring and had more telling than showing. It felt like a very basic and simple writing style. It wasn’t written badly necessarily, but it lacked the oomph that makes a book really shine. Overall it was a good YA mystery with some fun powers and a good twist ending, but nothing super noteworthy. I think this would be best suitable for a younger YA audience (though the Cassie POV chapters while kidnapped are a bit disturbing).

You Should of Seen This Coming
⭐️⭐️⭐️.4
Genre: YA Thriller / Fantasy / Mystery
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 4/12/22
Author: Shani Michelle
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Pages: 368
Goodreads Rating: 3.87

Thank you to NetGalley and Swoon Reads for providing a copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Hayden sees the past, sometimes just touching an object will illicit flashes of the owner’s previous memories. If the memory Hayden sees is a deep secret, she will use this to her advantage by blackmailing the person for cash to keep the secret. Cassie sees the future and it sucks. Cassie frequently wakes after dreaming of a disaster that she feels compelled to stop. Cassie also envisions her boyfriend falling in love with someone else, the “sucks” part. When Cassie tries to warn Hayden that her latest blackmail scheme is a trap, she knows she’s really in trouble. She has the visions to warn of an upcoming kidnapping, however, no matter what she tries, she is unable to stop it. Hayden could be to blame. Can Hayden do good and help find Cassie before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: Most of the chapters are short, which I love, however, there are a few that are longer. The story is told from the POV of our MCs, Cassie and Hayden. Here lately, I have really been loving YA books and this one is no different. This book has a spin of supernatural/fantasy that just works well for this story. I really enjoyed this story. Cassie’s banter was amazing and the sarcasm displayed by Hayden is my favorite. The characters are very well-developed and intriguing. I love the supernatural spin with the psychic gifts, makes for an amazing story. This was a fast-paced book that was mysterious and page-turning, I continued anticipating the next twist, when boom it was in my face. I would read more by this author. Very good read.

You Should Have Seen This Coming is a YA mystery packed with actions and supernatural elements.
The plot revolve around a character who has the ability to see the future and another character has the ability to see the past. But what happens when one of them is kidnapped. Hayden is on a mission to save Cassie
It's a refreshing and fun read! Overall I did enjoy it but I find some parts a bit slow and boring.

I love characters that aren't exactly likable. WE don't like everyone in real life, so its natural to not love a character. I loved that about this book! It was a good read.

Hayden and Cassie both struggle with a version of psychic abilities. Cassie can see glimpses of the future and Hayden sees glimpses of the past. When Cassie is mysteriously taken, Hayden finds herself working besides Cassie's best friends to find her.

I like the premise of two gifted girls from different sides of the track colliding together in a race against time. I'll admit that I found the build up more engrossing than the climax. Hayden comes off as an unlikable character. Her rough exterior harbors a resentment against the rich and vicious. Some of her resentments and walls were slightly over the top but I appreciated watching her come to terms with her aggressive nature as she grows closer with Brody. I also liked how she stands firm against bullying but the novel portrays a sense of needing to know both sides of some stories.

Cassie's POV is limited. I enjoyed the suspense hers added to the plot. Even though she isn't all over the novel, I was impressed the author was able to give her the depth she had.

I did want more of the special abilities. Some readers may enjoy the fact this aspect isnt soaked into every page. I personally love the unique and obscure. I felt this lacked something more exciting. Maybe it was the climax that didn't hit the nail on the head for me. Maybe it was the character connection I wasn't able to establish fully. I did want a little something more though.

Overall, this was a likeable read. I could see young adult readers who enjoy mystery and magical realism together with a smidge of suspense. Thank you Penguin Teen for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

You Should Have Seen This Coming is a mystery thriller with a paranormal twist! It's a story about two high school students Hayden and Cassie one can see the future and one can see the past. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! And one of those reasons was because the author added the paranormal to the thriller as an extra but didn't take away from the actual suspense. Hopefully I explained that right! The mystery itself was interesting and engaging and kept me guessing and when everything did come together it felt right not rushed or out of the blue! It will be interesting to see what comes in the next book! Overall it was a fun and suspenseful read!

Thank you Turn The Page Tours and Shani Michelle for sharing this book with me!

In contemporary fiction of any sort, do me a favor and don’t name your seer any sort of variation on the name Cassandra, please? Talk about a little bit too on the nose and a little bit too cringe, am I right?

I don’t know what it was about this book, but it was all a little bit too cringe, and it was all a little bit of a mess. To me it came across not only as a YA book that didn’t sound like it was written by an author who understood how to write YA (remember when Kevin Williamson was writing “Dawson’s Creek” back in the day and everyone’s largest complaint was that teenagers don’t talk like that?), but also as a book that didn’t solidly know what genre it belonged in. It didn’t know what it wanted to be, and so the pacing was off and so were the characterizations. There was just too much going on, all the time.

I did enjoy the juxtaposition of a seer who looks into the future and a clairvoyant who looks into the past as our two main characters (incidentally, the etymology of the name “Hayden” ends up going back to the root word for “heathen”, which is interesting), but I really, really wish the whole plot hadn’t been set into motion by something so feeble. This book could have been so much better than it was.

Thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Children’s Books, and Swoon Reads for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. Per personal policy, this review will not appear on social media or bookseller websites due to its rating of 3 stars or lower.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller. There are different POVs and the little pieces of info that slowly come through really keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. At the end most of my questions were answered and it was an overall wonderful read.

Thank you for the early ARC access of this book!!
4⭐️ for me!

You Should Have Seen This Coming is a dual POV, YA mystery with fantasy aspects following our two main characters Hayden and Cassie. When Cassie goes missing, it's up to Hayden to work with Cassie's friends to find out what happened, and to try to save her before it's too late.

Hayden is a bit of a trouble maker, always sticking her nose in other people's business and profiting on it along the way. When she starts at a new high school, she quickly finds that most of the students don't like being blackmailed and knowing their secrets isn't exactly the perfect way to make friends.

While Cassie is able to see the future, Hayden has the ability to see someone's past once she touches one of their personal items. While this has been secret from everyone but her best friends, one afternoon changes everything when Hayden realizes there is someone just like her at this school... that is until Cassie disappears.

------------------

One of my favorite things about this book is Hayden's character arc! In the beginning I wasn't sure about Hayden. I found her to be a slightly annoying, unlikable character with a really bad attitude. I feel like understanding her background and where she comes from is essential to liking her character, and after getting to know her a bit though I really loved her character in the end! I definitely loved her POV, and found myself really engaged with the story in her chapters.

I really liked the mystery and thought it made sense in the end! This book is a very digestible story, and I was even rooting for the small romance in the end. I did think that having Cassie's chapters once she was kidnapped were a little unnecessary because I didn't feel like they contributed much to her backstory or solving the mystery, so those chapters dragged a bit for me. I also found that I wanted more answers for the magical aspects- how did they get their powers? How did the one character find them?? No spoilers, but I was left with questions in the end. Overall though I really liked this book!

Recommend for YA mystery readers who are in for an easygoing time with a sprinkle of romantic tension!

Full thoughts in our Netgalley vlog on Youtube

xx
-Christine

DNF at 25%. I was not connecting with any of the characters in the story, and found it hard to focus on. Will try again as I am a mood reader.

In this fast-paced YA thriller, two teens with the power of visions must use their abilities to hunt down kidnappers and unravel a mystery surrounding not only them but the people around them.

Hayden and Cassie aren't friends; Hayden uses her visions of the past to blackmail her classmates and keep her family afloat while Cassie's visions of the future have her living up to her fate by breaking up with her boyfriend after she's seen him with someone else. UGH. I can't even imagine having visions like that. I think I would choose Hayden's ability for sure, but I digress.

The plot moves along rather quickly from the start. I love how Hayden has to team up with her arch enemy turned romantic interest to help locate Cassie after she's reported missing. But I would have liked to see the disdain last a little longer (I'm a huge enemy to lovers fan!) but I did like the romance there despite it being a bit out of place given the circumstances. (another BUT) I did like that nobody faulted those two for what happens at the end :D

Speaking of plots, this was one of the most unique ones I've read by far. I love books involving special abilities. I did want a bit more of the character's backstories; I didn't feel like they were as fleshed out as I hoped. I would have loved to see when they came into their powers, or if they'd had them their whole lives and how it affected them.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and hope to read more from this author in the future!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm honestly not into thrillers, so I couldn't get into You Should Have Seen This Coming. While fast-paced and intriguing, I could not bring myself to finish the book. Also, the two POVs did not really work for me. Other may enjoy this book.

When I read this amazing blurb I just knew I needed to read it! Being able to discover someone's deepest secrets just by touching something that belonged to them sounds like a wonderful gift ...that could of course get you in all sorts of trouble. Do you ignore it, use it to help others to get justice (call it a modern version of Robin Hood) or try to gain something for your own benefit? Seeing future could be even more problematic for all sorts of reasons. What if you happen to see something personal that will hurt you or people you love, but feel you can't change the course of events? Do you try anyway or just brace or emotionally distance yourself? These are the dilemmas Hayden and Cassie, the protagonists of Shani Michelle's amazing YA thriller You should Have Seen This Coming grapple with on a daily basis. Now imagine one of them gets kidnapped and it's up to the others to save her life? You see why I simply couldn't put the book down?

To be honest, I was gripped from the word go. There's just something special about Shani's writing style and the way she structures the narrative. Chapter after chapter, I needed to read on and find out how Hayden's visions of past and Cassie's prophecies are going to help them survive. The pace was perfect- everything seemed well-developed, but there was never a dull or slow scene.

Both Hayden and Cassie are likeable protagonists. Don't let Hayden's prickly attitude at the beginning fool you. You'll soon discover what has made her feel and behave that way. One of the best things about this book is seeing how she finds new, true friends and finally gets a chance to have a stable, 'normal' life. I loved the dual POV narrative which takes the phrase 'put the events in perspective' to a whole new level.

Overall, it was a very entertaining, fast-paced YA mystery (with a touch of paranormal) that I would have no trouble recommending to anyone who loves the genre.

This book sucked me right in and I had to force myself to put it down so that I could go to bed. I would love to see this made into a movie, I instantly connected with Hayden's character and loved watching everything with her and Brody play out. love love love this book!

Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4/5

Special thanks to FierceReads and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.

I absolutely love mysteries/thrillers that have a little paranormal aspect. I think this niche genre is having a spike in YA right now, and I am here for it!

YSHSTC follows two girls with supernatural abilities—one who can see the future, and one who can see the past. When their paths collide, Cassie (the future-seer) gets kidnapped, and it’s up to Hayden (past-seer) to team up with Cassie’s best friends in order to save her.

I flew through this book. I read 60% in one sitting, and I only put it down because it was after midnight. It was the perfect mix of mystery and suspense without really getting creepy, making it a great read for younger YA readers and older ones. Cassie and Hayden both had distinct, loveable personalities that drew me into their narrations. Getting snippets from Cassie’s POV (I’d say the book is 70% Hayden, 30% Cassie) made the stakes feel so much higher because I, as the reader, had been in her head and felt all the more invested in her for it.
I loved how the supernatural aspects were woven into the narrative and plot. Despite there being visions and empaths and paranormal abilities, the mystery and the plot felt grounded. Sometimes authors (especially debuts) can lean too heavily on these supernatural aspects and turn them into crutches, but I think this book was stronger for those aspects. It was never used as a deus ex machina.
The mystery itself was engaging, and kept me guessing without the true culprit feeling as if they came out of left field. It was nothing truly groundbreaking, and it’s a plot I’ve read before, but it was well done. There were plenty of red-herrings, but they never felt like red-herrings. There were several suspects at all times, and that really kept me engaged and had me thinking about the book even when I wasn’t reading. I actually dreamed about this book, my subconscious was so absorbed in figuring out the whodunnit.

All in all, this was a fun, engaging, and suspenseful read that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a good mystery.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were wonderful and I enjoyed seeing the friendships grow. The mystery was interesting and I only figure out who the one person was shortly before the main character. I like when I don’t figure out things like that too early.

This book was well written and kept me engrossed from the beginning. Although it was intense in parts, it was never really scary. There were clues scattered throughout the story, including some red herrings which made for some fun twists.

The characters were well developed and the setting descriptions made it easy to visualize everything that was happening. The story was told from the points of of view of Cassie and Hayden, the two main characters who have visions. Their chapters were interspersed with their visions, which added to the story.

This would be a great read for those who enjoy mysteries, ages pre-teen and up.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #YouShouldHaveSeenThisComing by #ShaniMichelle in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are completely my own.

You Should Have Seen This Coming by Shani Michelle
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Happy Pub Day to You Should Have Seen This Coming! Thank you to @macmillanbooks and @netgalley for this advanced copy.

The best way I can describe this book is Veronica Mars meets A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets The Dead Zone. It was such a creative idea and a really fun book to read. I love the concept of this novel - the fact that multiple characters have different types of powers, and each band together to utilize them to solve a mystery was interesting and enjoyable. I loved reading about the different iterations of the abilities instead of a story where the “magical” portion is the same across the board and cookie cutter.

I do wish we got more backstory about how these abilities work and where they came from, and especially more of the sheriff’s background. I’m wondering if maybe this is intended to be part of a larger series; in which case, it makes sense to hold some of that back, but it did feel lacking. I also didn’t love how neatly the conflict/mystery was revealed and wrapped up, but again, if this was just the first adventure in a larger arc that makes sense to me.

Finally I will note this is definitely a young adult book. That didn’t factor into my rating/review because I’m not the target audience, but I do want to mention it in case you are like me - an adult who sometimes reads YA. Some YA books are written in a more mature tone; this one is not.

I think I’d rate this 4 stars if it is a larger series and some of my questions are answered, but as a stand-alone it had too many unresolved threads. So this might be one I revisit if there are more books! might be one I revisit if there are more books!

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller. There are different POVs and the little pieces of info that slowly come through really keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. At the end most of my questions were answered and it was an overall wonderful read.
I will definitely be purchasing this for my home library.