Melissa Abrehamsen

5 Star Editorial Review from Readers Favorite

Book Review

Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Foretold is a novel of intrigue and suspense by Melissa Abrehamsen. Lance Harper is a student at Mount Dora High School and the son of the town psychic. Unbeknownst to others, Lance also has the gift of foresight. Lucy Burns is a member of the ‘God Squad’ – an elite group of students who think they are above everybody else. Lucy is also the daughter of the strict town preacher, a bully who likes to threaten people and who refuses to let Lucy have any contact with boys. Lance takes a special interest in Lucy after having a vision of her committing suicide. He does his best to befriend Lucy, trying to dissuade her from ending her life, but her torment is not about popularity or grades. As Lance arrives by her side amidst a suicide attempt, Lucy tells him that she’d fallen pregnant to her ex-boyfriend, Danny, who’d then given her cash to abort the baby before fleeing and leaving her alone to deal with it. While mourning for her lost child, Lucy also has a premonition when she meets up with Lance at school – a vision of future events which he also sees - but this time it is of a school shooting, leading to a full-scale massacre. Suspecting the school loner, Dustin, might be the culprit, Lance hatches a plan that might prevent the shooting and he plans to tell Lucy on her birthday.

I have never read a book so terrifying, yet so passionate. Melissa Abrehamsen has put together the perfect enigma of a relationship between a devout Christian and a Pagan, both with the power of foresight, who must overcome their differences in order to save the people they love. Not even the fear which Lucy’s father tries so hard to instill could keep them apart. Foretold is a book which leads two people to find themselves before finding each other. I very much look forward to Melissa Abrehamsen’s next book, as she has mastered the art of leaving readers begging for more.

5 Star Editorial Review From Rose Reviews

Book Review 

Reviewed by Amber Rose from Rose Reviews

"This was a great read. The synopsis had me interested immediately, and I became hooked as soon as I started reading. The two main characters, Lance and Lucy, obviously share a special connection but thankfully the story doesn't center around their relationship (or lack thereof). I loved the mix of supernatural elements and religious views. The author did a great job of combining the different views without becoming preachy, which seems to happen in a lot of books. There is a clear line of religious differences in the book, but neither become too preachy or take away from the storyline, which I think is a great thing.

I personally am not very religious, and it seems that a lot of books tend to become preachy when religion gets involved. This was certainly not the case with Foretold. There were moments of religion mentioned, but only briefly, and most often it was to simply point out the differences of views between the characters.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book was that the author wrote so well that she made the characters seem real. I felt like I personally knew each person mentioned in the book, and that made me get into it even more. I also enjoyed the rough road to friendship between Lance and Lucy. You could tell from the beginning that there was some kind of connection between them, but it didn't just happen without a couple pages. It was something that was worked on all throughout, which I loved. I felt it was very refreshing to watch their relationship go from simply school classmates to friendship (and maybe more?)

Another thing I really enjoyed is the topic of depression and suicide in the book. Lucy suffers from depression due to a terrible secret she's been keeping from everyone, and she even attempts suicide. What I enjoyed most about it was that the author kept going to back to her depression, instead of simply brushing it off once the suicide attempt was over. Depression is an ongoing illness, it doesn't just vanish, and I think Melissa Abrehamsen did well with it.

I expected to like this book, but not as much as I ended up doing so. I highly recommend this to those who enjoy the supernatural and plot twists that you never see coming!"