Carinn Jade

Past indiscretions and current troubles collide when a group of friends and family attend a retreat weekend at the home of a renowned astrologer with an agenda that ends in one of their deaths.

Margot and Adam are brother and sister, made close by their parents’ untimely demise. Adam is married to mommy influencer Aimee, who befriends her obstetrician, Farah. Farah’s marriage is failing and she feels like a bad mother for struggling with her son’s emerging behavioral issues. Unlike Aimee, who always seems to have the answers to all questions relating to motherhood, Farah doubts her instincts. She has also developed a crush on her former patient turned best friend and a good amount of the novel is her reflecting on what could be, if only she could admit her feelings. Aimee’s husband, Adam, has had affairs. Three children later, Aimee struggles to gain her romance novelist husband’s attention and wonders what she needs to do to get back to the couple they were before becoming a family. Is he still cheating? You’ll have to read to find out. Then there’s Ted and Eden, fellow attendees of the weekend retreat, their host, Rini, and her sister Andi. What do the stars predict for this large and troubled cast? And what is the role of fate?

The writing style of The Astrology House hooked me off the bat on a couple of fronts: the mystery at a unique venue and astrology, which I love. Each character is struggling with something that made me wonder how each of their arcs would pan out. One of them is connected to the host, Rini, but who and how doesn’t become clear until the final act. I immediately mined for critical clues.

Add the threat of a storm, Rini’s romantic connection to her contractor, the question of what happened to her sister, and how the various plot threads might converge and The Astrology House is a bonafide page-turner full of potential.

But… I began to doubt the setup when it became clear that this tight-knit group didn’t like each other all that much. Yes, they’re interconnected, but do they come across as the sort to take regular group vacations? I would have liked to see a more cohesive beginning for the group as a whole before the infighting and obvious tension.

The cast is huge. For a debut novelist, it was handled quite well, but the multiple first-person points of view made it hard for me to figure out whose perspective I was in until about a third of the way through the novel. Third-person points of view might have sacrificed some inner monologue and intimacy but perhaps for the betterment of the novel as a whole. Several characters are glossed over to the plot’s detriment. If every chapter must either advance the plot or character, I question a few that made the final cut.

For as well-written as much of this book is, the exposition is clunky where backstory and a weird twist into a deer dream are concerned. I’m not sure that Margot and Adam’s parents’ demise deserved as much page time as it was given, or many of the characters’ observations on parenthood (getting pregnant and raising children are key topics in several points of view as Margot struggles with infertility, Farah doubts her skill at motherhood, and Aimee focuses on mommy influencing) when key characters such as Ted and Eden are glossed over. The book accomplishes a lot but fails on several points, which makes the reveal feel more contrived than it needed to be. I had a real issue with Andi’s story when it came to light and wondered if one more point of view might have saved what felt like a forced and underdeveloped subplot.

Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. It’s a fun read in a clever setting with a powder keg of potential issues if you suspend disbelief. Carinn Jade has written a commendable debut novel with common first-novel issues. I look forward to her next release and to watching her grow into what The Astrology House promises will be a must-read novelist. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advance reader copy.
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