The Astrologer's Daughter

by Rebecca Lim

[Kelly]

3½ Stars.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/07/the-astrologers-daughter-by-rebecca-lim.html
The Astrologer's Daughter was a unique contemporary, with a mythical element, depending how you perceive the gift of Astrology. It follows the story of Avicenna, who is in the midst of discovering that her mother is now missing and now fears she has lost two parents in devastating circumstances. Her mother has always instilled in her the importance of tying up loose ends, so when previous clients come knocking, Avicenna takes it upon herself to start their readings and finish what her mother seemingly couldn't. The police are skeptical of her mother's gift and believes it may be the reason she's disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but with little to go upon, the search for the truth isn't easy and Avicenna takes it upon herself to discover what her mother was working on.

Avicenna is a sassy and smart young woman, who's grief is simmering just beneath the surface. But true to her word, she picks herself up and begins to discover that being exposed to her mother's gift has left her with the knowledge and know how to carry on her work. What was so striking, was Avicenna's ability to pull herself together, when she should have been close to being inconsolable. I enjoyed the brief explanations of how she used a name, birthdate and time to determine a personality or history, but the longer passages were borderline tedious and too difficult to immerse myself in. Perhaps a short preface as an introduction would have allowed me to connect to the storyline more so, as Astrology is not all that familiar to me.

There are two love interests in Avicenna's life, handsome and wealthy client Hugh and the over achieving Simon who holds a secret of his own, but luckily it doesn't translate into a love triangle, as neither boy seems to be overly interested. The obvious choice of Avicenna's misguided feelings should have been towards Simon, who once her academic nemesis, sleeps on her couch. But even in the midst of the investigation, she described Hugh as her Dream Man, which seemed to be more a case of confusing interest with being romantically inclined towards her. It felt awkward and I was more interested in finding what happened to her mother, than Avicenna's love life.

Overall, it was a interesting read and while Rebecca Lim spun an intriguing and unique storyline, I couldn't find a connection to the characters or Avicenna's missing mother. The situation should have been heartbreaking, but the emotion and grief over not knowing what happened to her mother felt as though Avicenna had accepted her mother was gone and possibly felt more for her mother's clients. I adored the mythology behind the gift they had shared, but it wasn't enough to keep me enthralled. The ending felt very much incomplete and almost whimsical. Although the I enjoyed aspects of The Astrologer's Daughter, I just couldn't find a connection sadly.