Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This being my first book I’ve read by this author, I really enjoyed it. It is a slow burn mystery with a unique and captivating storyline. I blew through this book!

I give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars! I enjoyed Simone and all the other characters however Jude there me off a little bit and even though the cover and synopsis was very interesting I felt like we were tip toeing around the plot a little bit. I felt like it took a long time to get to the ending . but I LOVED IT . just took a little long to get there I am a twin myself so I def enjoyed that part of the book.

I was really wanting to enjoy this book. The plot seemed interesting. The first 1/4 of the book had me full on invested. Then the characters just fell flat. I began to strongly dislike the main character, Simone, so much that I actually just wanted something bad to happen so the book could be over. There were twists and turns that just seemed a bit disjointed. Like they were put there just as a last minute thought to throw the reader off. And the ending, and how the plot wrapped up, just fell flat. Even the unexpected twist ending didn’t grab me.

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect when I started this book. Somewhere at the back of my mind I had thought that this would be perhaps a crime/detective novel. But it wasn't.

The main character, Simone, has me irritated throughout the first half of the book. For one, how do you just stupidly fall so quickly in love with someone? Perhaps it's just me being my normal cynical self, but come on, this girl was supposed to be moving to another town and a whirlwind romance changed her entire plan.
(You can read the rest of this review on my blog by clicking on the link attached below)

Overall, this book is definitely worth it, if you have patience, that is. The mystery doesn't really start until the middle of the book. Because of all the emotions it roused in me, I am giving it five stars. Check this out if you love mystery with a slice of drama and romance.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. Simone receives a reading from a fortune teller, predicting that if she chooses the path to marry a new love interest, she will be happy but have a tragedy happen in 5 years. Simone soon meets a new man, dates, marries and has children with him...and then as other predictions the fortune teller gave come true, she begins to obsess over her own dark fortune.

The concept that fate is pre-determined vs. we create our own fate is heavily centered in this book. Did Simone's own actions cause the tragedy to happen because she truly believed it would so subconsciously that's the path her life took, or was it fated to happen regardless of what she did?

This book was fast paced, well written and kept me interested the entire way through. Simone's character was interesting and you could truly feel her desperation at times!

Wow! I absolutely adored this novel, so unique, I had no idea which way the story was going to go there were so many different plot twists. I was routing for simmy and jude throughout and at times felt like shouting just tell him!!!! But my god that ending that came from nowhere! I was not expecting that, I would give more than 5 stars if I could, thank you!

The first half of this book was a slow burn, a lot of character building and background, which allowed the second half of the book to steam in, packing punches with so many unexpected snippets and an ending I most definitely didn’t see coming.

Simone & her friends visit a fortune teller at a funfair and she becomes obsessed with what she was told, so much so that it begins to take over her life. As things spiral and Simone appears to be losing her sanity the truths unravel with an explosive and dramatic finale.

Thank you to net galley, the publisher and the author for the arc of this book in exchange for a honest review.

The first half of this book was fast paced and left me guessing! As I transitioned into part 2, I started to feel like they were two different stories. However, as the plot unfolded, I began seeing the connections. All in all, I enjoyed this book!

This was such a fun, slow burn thriller that had me hooked. A definite recommend.

Thank you Boldwoodbooks and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book for a honest review

All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else

The Fortune Teller
by Natasha Boydell
I very much enjoyed this book. Simone takes the prediction too far. She almost missed the fortune of living.

This had me guessing up until the end! A group of women are at a fair one summer evening and visit a fortune teller...one of the friends is given an ominous fortune and she spends the next 5 years obsessing over what she was told and if it would come true. This is fast-paced and is a book you can read in one sitting. It made me a bit anxious as I couldn't quite tell what was going to happen and really wanted to know!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

Have you ever went to a fortune teller when you were younger and still to this day think about what the said? Simone and her friends do just that and now she can’t get the words of warning out of her head. If only she had listened, or should she of forgotten them?

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood books for this ARC of The Fortune Teller by Natasha Boydell.

I have a personal bias toward fatalism and have consulted mystics, tarot cards, palm readers, manifestation books and such in my lifetime. Naturally thus, the title and premise of this book made me rush to request it!

The narrative flows steadily and the story captured me with its suspense.

I found myself sympathizing with Simone even though after the halfway point I wanted to throttle her out of her paranoid submission.
I cheered once she finally found her claws once the threats to her life and family became real instead of merely foretold.

I suspect if some supposedly-enlightened individual told me with conviction that any fate awaited me I too would have devolved into fantastical imaginings. Perhaps not to the degree that Simone did though.

This story’s climax placed all the puzzle pieces into *realistic* place, satisfyingly.

A tense page-turner that I enjoyed getting lost in.

Five stars.

*will post on @youhavetoreadthisnow closer to pub date*

THE FORTUNE TELLER by Natasha Boydell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was such a fun, slow burn thriller that had an ending I did not see coming! I loved the character building in this one. I feel like we got to know them so well, while also maintaining enough mystery it kept me guessing and questioning who to trust. The first half of the book pulled me in fast, but the second half seemed to drag on a bit to me. I had to know what would happen, and I’m glad I stuck it out because that ending is NOT what I expected!

Simone and her friends are enjoying a night out when they decide to have their fortunes told. Simone learns that she will soon meet a handsome stranger, and children will arrive, but it will end in tragedy in five years. Will Simone brush it off, or let it haunt her?

Pub. Date: April 1, 2024

Perfect if you like:
•Slow burn thriller.
•Unexpected twists.
•Characters that leave you guessing.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Mood: 🍿🍷

⚠️: explicit language.

"The Fortune Teller" by Natasha Boydell is a gripping masterpiece that masterfully combines elements of mystery and suspense. Boydell's narrative unfolds like a carefully crafted puzzle, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The sense of suspense is palpable, making it nearly impossible to put the book down. As the intricate plot weaves its web of intrigue, the anticipation builds, creating a thrilling reading experience.

Interesting tale of a woman who lets a silly prediction run her life. Made me think of a similar event in my own life where a fortune teller told an eleven year old me that I would die at age 43 by a gunshot. Who tells a kid that??? Well it didn’t affect my life like it did this woman and I’m way past that age. Enjoyed this one!

I couldn't resist such a tantalizing title: <u>The Fortune Teller</u>!

Natasha Boydell's fast-paced, descriptive writing style drew me in during the opening scene at a local funfair - and held me riveted right up until the end of the first part of this story. What a dire warning by that mysterious young fortune teller... and - even worse..... so much of what she said was slowly coming to pass!

Part II of this winding tale started off with a whirlwind recounting of the usual trials and tribulations of parenthood - all those sagging, wet nappies and temper tantrums and sleepless nights! (I'm shuddering just remembering those long drawn out passages!)

Simone is a likeable character, but you often want to give her a shake and tell her to snap out of it! She has become her own worst enemy by letting fear take over her life. And this is the problem with people who cling to predictions and tarot card readings as gospel truth. They surrender their free will to the turn of a card or a prediction made by someone professing to have mystical powers. They live in hope or fear that their future is immutable, that they are doomed... or they fret that the wonderful fortune that was predicted for them has yet to materialize... so their turbulent emotions go from high to low like a roller coaster. Simone was totally hooked in to this vicious cycle.

When I first took up the study of the tarot, I had my own moments of naivety. I don't use my occasional tarot readings to try to predict the future. Instead, I use them much as Carl Jung did - to reveal the current state of my mind by the interpretation of the cards that I randomly choose from a deck. Jung believed that, like a blob in a Rorschach test, what we believe we see in an individual card or spread reflects our current state of mind.

In Simone's case, at first she resisted believing in the prediction, but then she started interpreting the "signs"." Paranoia and fear became her constant companions. I didn't enjoy the second half of this story as much as I did the first. It seemed to me that, in the first have of the story, the author was going in one direction regarding Tom and his his crazy stalker girlfriend, and then did a complete about-face in part two.

Was it deliberate misdirection - throwing dust in the reader's eyes? I'm not sure, but that surprise ending had me wondering whether I had completely missed all the clues in the first half of the novel..

I got the impression from that ending that there had been a light bulb moment while the author was scrambling about for a major literary bomb to throw into the mix of misdirection and misunderstandings.. I certainly didn't see that one coming. No spoilers, but Simone's sessions with the therapist who was trying to wean her off of fatalistic mystical predictions and fortune tellers went right down the tube - but I'm not telling you HOW! Find out for yourself.

I'm rating this one a 3.5 out of 5, rounded down to a 3 because I felt the second part wasn't as well crafted as the first, and didn't hold my interest as much. My thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun and intense read with a great premise. Whilst the storyline was quite mundane, it had me gripped from start to finish. I liked the plot twist nearing the end and really enjoyed the epilogue. I had a feeling that one particular character had some involvement but never would have guessed that ending for them.

When a fortune teller tells Simone that after the happiness of her marriage she will only have five years until a great tragedy occurs, she will eventually become obsessed.
It is a slow-paced thriller in a good way. It builds up the characters and creates the paranoia that the protagonist feels. We see how her friends and her husband, Jude, try to help her but fate permeates everything and it almost seems that she herself is ruining everything... almost.
Definitely a very interesting thriller with a couple of twists that will keep you glued to its pages.

It is so refreshing to read a thriller with a unique subject matter. Fortune telling leads itself to all sorts of things. This book as creepy and twisty, it really grabs your attention from the start.