Not in the Cards by Amy Cissell – Review

Summary:

Oracle Bay attracts everyone who’s a little off, particularly the descendants of the divine vacationers who used to frolic in the quaint seaside town. When a true descendent steps foot in Oracle Bay, their divine powers awaken, they receive a visit from the Psychic Union, and shenanigans ensue.

Sandy Franklin is on the run from her old life and her almost-ex-husband. The promise of cheap rent and a ready-made business, combined with the tarot cards she’d never managed to discard, make settling down to try her hand at divination sound like a reasonable solution.

When Vincent, the man who owns most of the town, shows up to announce he’s selling to stave off his own personal problems, the only thing left for Sandy and the other resident psychics to do is devise a plan to save the town using a combination of their divination skills and a little old-fashioned sleuthing.

The one thing Sandy couldn’t predict was how personal her interest in saving Vincent would get.

Review: 4 Stars

Not in the Cards is a cozy mystery set in Oracle Bay, a small town by the beach that ha an extraordinary amount of psychics living and working there. I have recently been introduced to the cozy mystery genre and have found them charming and entertaining, so when I got the request to review this book I happily accepted. Not in the Cards combined fantasy elements that I love with an interesting mystery set in a small town setting

My favorite thing about this novel was the characters. The group of psychics were entertaining to read about as well as funny and loyal to each other. I am happy to hear that this series continues to focus on the town and each novel is centered around a different character, I did enjoy reading about Sandy, but her story seems to be over by the end of this book and her romance was a bit insta-love like for me. I can’t wait to learn more about the other psychics, the coming ‘storm’ and more mysteries in Oracle Bay.

The plot of this book didn’t really impress me. Less than halfway into the story the mystery was pretty much solved and there weren’t many twists or surprising elements. It was more of a romance than a mystery, which typically isn’t my thing. I do love the writing, the characters and the charm of the town though, and am emotionally invested in what happens next. This was my first Amy Cissell book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the Oracle Bay series.