This one hooked me from the first chapter and didn't let go till I'd finished. It's not that it was edge-of-seat action, it's just that the subject matter is super-entertaining - the history of divination with emphasis on tarot cards - and the story is well-written. The conclusion is far less a big surprise than a, well, it couldn't/shouldn't have ended any other way finale.

Ann Stilwell traded a troubled past in Walla Walla, Washington, for a chance to spend the summer working as a sort of curator intern at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Circumstances beyond her control changed where she would spend her time - instead at The Cloisters, a vast gothic museum with extensive gardens and expansive medieval art collection. There, she works with chief curator Patrick Roland and another summer intern, Rachel Mondray - both of whom are into researching the origins of tarot and the cards and their earliest relationship, if any exists, to divination, or predicting the future (raising the age-old question of whether whatever happens to us humans is because we have free will or because every move we make is predestined).

Early on comes the triangle of Ann, Rachel and Patrick, the latter of whom is obsessed with tarot; into the midst add hippie-like museum gardener named Leo, a charismatic man whose motives are always suspect. What is the "glue" that binds these four characters together? What secrets do their past lives hold and how do they affect their futures, individually and collectively - and what role, if any, do the tarot cards play in their yesterdays, todays and tomorrows?

The answers are slowly, enticingly revealed along with a ton of intrigue and a few twists, keeping me turning pages as fast as I could and wishing I could finish the book without life's necessary interruptions. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this wonderful book. Highly recommended!

though the cloisters was not necessarily bad, i found it to be lacking in any sort of depth. the writing was good and intriguing, but it all felt very surface level and a bit more like a check list of "dark academia" necessities that the author was checking off.

i had such a difficult time sympathizing with our main character, ann. i understand the whole "naive small town girl in the big city trope" (though i think it's one that's over used) but my gosh, it wasn't that she was just naive and lost in the city, she lacked complete and total common sense. there were so many red flags with EVERYTHING and everyone around the cloisters and she completely turned a blind eye, and after a while, it just got annoying.

most of the big reveals and twists didn't really shock me, but there was one at the very end of the book that did take me by surprise, which i appreciated. but overall, the cloisters fell flat

Thank you so much to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC! I was really intrigued by The Cloisters; the comparison to Ninth House, the dark academia vibes, and the entire premise seemed entirely up my alley. While I was initially really hooked and invested, there was just something about this book that I struggled to connect with. I think this book would've captured more of my interest if it contained several POVs, especially Rachel's.

The Cloisters has an intriguing premise, an academic thriller with shades of the magical and occult. But after a slow but promising start, introducing protagonist Ann and a gorgeously sensual atmosphere in the gardens and halls of the Cloisters, the plot takes a long time to get to anything interesting...and then goes a little off the rails.

The writing feels like the debut it is, with stilted dialogue, insipid prose other than the evocative descriptions of the setting, and awkward action & motivations behind the frankly bland plot. The tarot aspect isn't as magical or intriguing as I expected from the way the book was marketed, and the interpersonal machinations all feel so...petty, until suddenly there's some death and dramatics. By that time it was just all so unbelievable, and Ann so passively pathetic a protagonist, that I didn't really care who got murdered or who got arrested for it. The final revelations were just a melodramatic cherry on top. Definitely did not work for me, but fans of The Lost Apothecary might enjoy it more.

The cover is what is officially caught my eye. I love books that are set in academia, dealing with history and the occult. I feel that the author wrote an excellent, slow burn book. She put a lot of time into researching her subject matter of ancient Tarot cards and their meanings.

I love the concept of the book. The author did an excellent job with character development, giving each characters good and bad qualities and her plot lines, both main and minor ones held my attention. The twist ending was excellent, I totally didn't see it coming. Great read.

I was so excited to start The Cloisters. The cover and the synopsis were so intriguing and sounded like they were my type of novel. Unfortunately, I’m severely disappointed by the outcome. The storyline was so slow. Slower than a slow burn. I felt there was no direction. Not enough events to keep pace. The characters were two dimensional at best. I fell asleep several times while picking up this book to read, each time hoping it would get better. The last 10% finally kept my attention and got the ball rolling but in general, would never be enough to compare to other novels page turning qualities. To anyone who reviewed this novel as “sinister, jaw dropping, or haunting” has misled me and everyone else immensely.
Ann was the worst female lead. She was so boring and weak minded. I wish the story had been narrated with multiple point of views or at minimum by Rachel who clearly had a more exciting story to tell. Ann’s thoughts were repetitive and at times, irrelevant.
I felt like the plot had promise and the story could’ve been so much better but instead was kept in a tiny box with a green ribbon and never dared to reach out to be more creative, exciting, or psychologically shocking.

I want to give so many thanks to Atria Books via Netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of The Cloisters. I was so excited to be able to read it.

The Cloisters starts out promising with dark academia vibes but ultimately fell flat. I spent the whole book waiting for something to happen and waiting to understand more about the cards. When something did finally happen, it felt rushed. I felt that all of the twists were predictable and there was too much time in the middle where nothing happened. Overall it was a promising debut that was poorly executed.

2.5 stars

The Cloisters had all the makings of a great novel: the setting (NYC/musuem), the mysterious, the history, the occult. However, it fell very short of using those themes to form a complete thought other than if Fate exists.

There were plenty of twists and turns (i.e. the truth behind Ann's fathers' death, the missing artifacts), but overall the book kind of just dragged on without a real plot line other than people will do anything to get ahead.

Characters were either pathetic or poorly developed; none were worth rooting for, which made caring for what happened to them very hard.

I can see why some people would like this book. I imagine them to be the ones who buy Leo's magic herbs, but this just wasn't my cup of tea.

This paranormal mystery is a story of grief and fate. Set in a medieval museum designed to look like a monastery, the reader is taken on a tense journey full of intrigue. The atmospheric setting is incredible and very beautifully described, but the academic nature of the story line makes it a bit dry at times, and the real mysteries don't hit the page until quite far into the book. But I did enjoy it, and once I got to the meat of the mystery I was hooked.

Ann Stillwell is looking forward to getting away from home. Her father’s death earlier this year devastated her and she can’t deal with her mother’s deep depression. Getting away to New York City and starting a new job will do her good.
As is usual, circumstances don’t always go as planned. Ann arrives at her interview at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to find out her job offer fell through … the professor she was supposed to help has gone abroad. As luck would have it, another opportunity drops on her doorstep. Just as she is being dismissed, the curator of The Cloisters Museum pops his head into the interview room and steals her away.
Patrick, her benefactor is so animated he practically crackles with electricity. He needs her help with some research. He wants to prove that divination or the use of the tarot began back in the early Renaissance. This kind of work is right in Ann’s wheelhouse. She settles into life at The Cloisters like it was meant to be. She makes new friends and really begins to feel happy again until one evening she pops back into The Cloisters to retrieve something she forgot and walks into what at first glance looks like a séance. Patrick and Rachel, Ann’s co-worker, try to laugh it off and tell Ann that they were just fooling around. But if that were the case, why the secrecy? Ann isn’t sure who to trust anymore. When she discovers that someone has been stealing smaller museum pieces, she wonders if someone is trying to set her up.

Katy Hays wrote a remarkable debut novel. It is full of atmosphere, the sinister feeling of the old gothic museum, poisonous plants all about, obsession with the arcane, and odd characters who are mysterious and threatening. It is easy to see how this book was chosen as one of the November Library Reads picks. If you like Anne Downes or Stacy Willingham, you will enjoy this wonderful debut.

- THE CLOISTERS scratches that dark academia itch. I love a book focused on the strange and esoteric, and this book fits the bill with all kinds of details about art and the occult in the Renaissance.
- I did find the pacing of this book to be a bit off. I thought it lagged in the middle when Ann was kept out of the loop for a bit too long, and then the ending tumbled together quickly.
- Despite this and a few other character building quibbles I had (i.e., it should have been 100% more queer), I still tore through this book quickly and felt immersed in the uneasy atmosphere Hays built within it.

I so wanted to like this book. A dark academia mystery set in a museum with the potential for a paranormal element — I am basically the target audience. I was disappointed as a read and the story never drew me in. There was no point where I forgot I was reading a book and got lost in the story. Reading this book felt tedious and I felt I was always waiting for the suspense to start.

I have worked in a museum and there were elements I recognized as true, but overwhelmingly that was not the case. This book clearly wants to evoke a feeling of being mysterious, but the characters are just self absorbed and very immature. Mystery around tarot is told to the reader, but not fleshed out and never felt. Just having finished the book I couldn’t explain why tarot mattered. The murderer was obvious early on and I only kept reading because I hoped the story would get compelling all of a sudden.

This was a wild ride and a perfect fall read.

After Ann graduates, she gets an internship at The Cloisters in New York - a gothic museum and garden. They discover a rare set of tarot cards and secrets and lies are slowly uncovered.

This dark academia novel has everything you need to keep turning pages: shady characters, a mystery, twists, and more. I wasn’t sure at first if this was going to be a book for me as it’s heavy on art and museum culture at the beginning, but I found myself enjoying it more and more every time I picked it up.

Though for someone who knows nothing about tarot, I wish this was explained a little more. But it’s definitely a promising debut from Katy Hays, and I’ll be picking up her future books.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book was so fun. I really enjoyed it. This book kept me interested and i enjoyed the book and this genre

Thanks to Atria Books for the gifted ARC!

4,5 stars

"It's an incredible place - the city, The Cloisters. Just don't let it wear you down. Make it sharpen you instead."

The Cloisters is a prime dark academia book and perfect for a Fall read. Taking place in the gothic Met Cloisters in New York City, a group of curators uncovers an ancient tarot deck, hoping they can reveal a missing piece of the ancient history of divination. One of these curators is Ann, a summer intern who goes from curious to obsessed with the people and culture at The Cloisters. Sinister and unsettling, I couldn't put this book down. It's not so much twisty as just very compulsive; I found myself becoming increasingly obsessed with the tarot cards and curators just like Ann. I also loved the narrative on fate versus choice. I did wish there was more of an explanation for some of the tarot readings since I'm not very familiar with them, and wanted more of a certain character in the end -- there was definitely room for some expansion here. But - overall, very good and can't wait to see what Katy Hays comes out with next.

This is a terrific thriller from a great new voice. Ann arrives in New York for a summer job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When the curator she was intended to work for ends up traveling abroad for the summer, Ann thinks she is out of a job until she encounters the curator of The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden, and he offers her a summer position. Ann is put to work by the curator, Patrick, and the graduate student he is working with, Rachel, on their work focused on fortune telling and tarot cards. Initially dubious, Ann finds herself becoming more open to their theories, especially when she discovers a set of 15th century tarot cards that seems to validate many of their theories. When the research work becomes deadly, Ann realizes the world she has long wanted to join is much more complex than she expected -- and danger lurks around every corner.

This is a taunt and engaging thriller. I found myself tearing through it to learn more about the backgrounds of Ann, Rachel, and the other characters and to find out how the mystery will turn out. This is a really impressive debut.

Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this book.

First, the cover is great! I stepped out of my comfort zone to read this book, and I am so glad I did. It was a beautifully written book, and I can tell the author put a lot of time into researching the subject matter and adding the little details where she could to give it that extra "umph!"

It was a slow burn, which worked for the most part, but part of me was wanting things to move a bit quicker. I like the concept and idea of the book. Execution could be a little better, but overall this was a very enjoyable read.

Had high hopes for the book, but I lost interest. Didn't really like the main character. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

The perfect type of witchy/mystery read for the fall season! I could not tear myself away from this book due to the elegantly woven plot and the colorful characters.

2.5 stars
Ann Stilwell is used to being overlooked, struggling, getting the short end of the stick. A dedicated scholar to Renaissance-era art, history, and antiquities, she strives to make her deceased father proud by busting out of her nondescript town of Walla Walla and making a real contribution to the world of academia. Her chance to make her mark comes when Ann is abruptly recruited by the curator of The Cloisters, a tucked away Gothic-style museum that houses thousands of artifacts from the Renaissance. She teams up with the curator and his protege/lover, Rachel Mondray, a girl who is everything Ann isn’t: rich, classically beautiful, confident, and well-connected. Over the course of the summer, Ann becomes intensely intertwined with all personalities at The Cloisters, and her task in particular: to find historical proof that tarot cards were always intended as divinity tools, instead of evolving into that purpose. But Ann’s obsessive drive to get ahead and her increasing fixation on the idea of fate versus choice eventually begins to alter her personality.

Is Ann really at the mercy of fate? Or are all of her eventualities dictated by personal choice? She’s willing to test the theory out to the utmost limit.

Another dark academia contribution, and during the perfect season! I was beyond excited to get my hands on The Cloisters but sad to say my expectations weren’t met. Being a big fan of both M.L. Rio's If We Were Villains and Donna Tartt's The Secret History, this novel had some rather large shoes to fill. Because of this, I couldn't help but think throughout the duration of the book that Hays's story was like a little kid trailing after its bigger siblings, trying to imitate them and not quite achieving the desired effect.

Veterans of the genre will be quick to recognize all the signature tropes in Cloisters: an introduction in first person POV narrating in hindsight, mysteriously and remorsefully; a chip on the shoulder protagonist who doesn't have a lot of money hanging out with a bunch of people who do, who's unsure of their future, and has a hyper-niche academic focus...and so on. Despite this, the subject matter of tarot cards was fascinating to me since it seemed to offer a lot of drama and potential plot twists.

The plot development felt uneven in that it somehow moved too quickly in parts yet dragged in others. There is a lot less subtlety than comparative novels, which took away most of the mystery since I could predict the majority of the outcomes. The biggest surprise came at the very end, but instead of being rewarding I found it to be ridiculous and it effectively killed whatever sympathy I'd once had for the protagonist (honestly I didn't have a great deal to begin with).

In spite of these pitfalls, Cloisters still offers a unique contribution to the D.A. world. I did enjoy learning about the various card meanings and watching the characters' research unfold. Readers of mystery, suspense, and historical themes on the lighter side will likely appreciate The Cloisters and find in it a cozy autumn escape.