I had mixed feelings about this. But I still enjoyed it well enough even though it wasn't everything I wanted it to be.

Ann, a grad student, gets recruited for a summer at The Met Cloisters, a museum with a medieval gothic atmosphere, a garden full of poisonous plants and some driven researchers with interesting personalities, researching the history of divination. Ann initially only throws herself to her work for the sake of her career, but slowly she starts to obsess over everything related to it including the people around her.

I'm always intrigued when a book is compared to Tartt's Secret History. This one was quite the atmospheric read and definitely a slow burn. I was very intrigued by the concepts and the questions raised as well as the relationships between the characters. There were some fun unexpected twists. For me, the story itself fell a bit short, I craved more depth into everything. I really questioned some of the choices the MC made. I also didn't feel like I learned enough about tarot and divination in the end even though the characters were preoccupied with the topic.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this one!

This book could make the reader question their very ethics. It offers a great Book Club read as motivations and points of view are debated.. Is life fated to be? Are tarot cards works of art, or divination tools, or both? Katy Hays shines as she describes the jewel of New York- The Cloisters.

This book was deeply embarrassing to read. I am a classics phd who has volunteered at the Met. The things that impress the staff of the cloisters are a joke. So many examples of class or education are embarrassing. The author clearly didn’t talk to anyone who has worked at the met nor anyone who has pursued graduate work in art history. I wanted to get into the vibes but I got stuck on the weird inaccuracies.

This book is the moody, suspenseful, artsy novel I didn’t realize I needed. It follows Ann, who expects to spend her summer working at The Met, but is instead sent to the Cloisters, a gothic museum with a group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination.

This novel somehow speaks to tarot, art history, free will, power, friendship and family all at once. I was worried the divination aspect would be too heavy-handed for someone like me who is not an astrology girly, but it’s not; I learned enough to get me intrigued by ultimately loved this story because of the characters and plot, not the mystical elements. I also have a soft spot for books about art and how art reflects culture, and this book definitely fits into that category.

Some books just kind of seduce the reader, and The Cloisters was one of those books for me. With its brooding atmosphere, compelling mystery, complex characterizations, and absolutely stunning writing, Katy Hays' debut novel intoxicated me from beginning to end.

When Ann arrives in New York City from her hometown in Walla Walla, Washington, she's hoping for a fresh start as an intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But in a twist of fate, she's assigned instead to The Cloisters, a medieval museum surrounded by lush gardens -- a Gothic paradise in the center of the city. There, she's drawn into the mystical world of renaissance divination -- and into a complex web of seduction and competition with her fellow researchers.

The Cloisters is a slow-burning novel of literary suspense that explores questions surrounding fate, chance, and choice in interesting and unique ways. It practically oozes with dark, Gothic atmosphere, completely transporting the reader to a sweltering New York summer, where the only relief from the heat is the cool shade trees in The Cloisters' poisonous gardens. The characters are vivid and fascinating, and their relationships anchor the novel from beginning to end as they develop, expand, and dissolve. Hays' plotting feels intentional, and her writing is spellbinding, even in the slower sections of the book, as she weaves a engrossing tale about tarot and toxic female friendship.

The Cloisters is a captivating blend of dark academia, Gothic suspense, murder mystery, and historical mysticism that has a little something for everyone. It's an impressive, well-researched debut and makes me excited for whatever Katy Hays writes next.

The Cloisters is the debut novel by Katy Hays, which comes out on November 1, 2022. Atria Book provided an early galley for review.

As a librarian and one who has always been fascinated by New York City, this was an instant draw for me. I even dabbled a bit in tarot cards and fortune telling back in my college days. So, this checked several boxes.

From the opening chapters, one can tell Hays is drawing from her own personal background for her story (she being an Art History professor and having worked in curatorial and research roles at museums and galleries). She employs several technical terms and art history details in the story, but she also makes sure to explain them so the layman reader can easily follow. It is a perk when I can learn from a book as well as be entertained. She also has a very descriptive writing style that pulls the reader into the world and the situations.

The story has its share of characters who the reader will quicky start to suspect what their motives are, just as Ann begins to. Is it passion? Is it profit? Is it power? There is also a tension throughout as Ann goes through her interactions with Patrick (the man in charge), Rachel (a fellow curator) and Leo (the gardner). This ties to the motives as well. It kept me on edge and alert throughout.

The inclusion of a tarot guide in the back was very helpful for those readers who are unfamiliar with the general meanings of the cards.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was really excited to receive this copy because I visited The Cloisters earlier this year and enjoyed learning about the art there so much. While this book did deliver on the dark academia aspect, it fell a bit flat for me. The pacing was a bit clunky and it was really slow. The twist was obvious and I wasn't really shocked by it. I felt the characters were a bit inconsistently written as well. The saving grace was the actual intrigue brought on by the tarot cards and the art history--learning about that kept me reading! Overall, I enjoyed this read, but it wasn't memorable enough to become a favorite.

The Cloisters is out everywhere on November 1!

For those looking for dark academia or the Ninth House, look elsewhere. This is more like if Joe Goldberg was split into four characters hanging out at the Cloisters.

The book was chaotic. Tarot and occult seemed very important but it was woven in so haphazardly it could've literally been anything else. I still dont understand Ann as a character (and the deal with her dad). There were moments of what felt like a bare bones DaVinci code but even that didn't go anywhere.

It boils down to academia being hard to make a name for yourself, it being very male dominated and sociopaths finding their way to each other in a very non entertaining way.

Books like this needs more depth, more history, more mystery. There's nothing supernatural at play here either.

I was so excited to read this book and I saw someone mentioned that those who liked The Lost Apothecary may enjoy this (I am not one of those ppl so that may explain this).

Clearly a lot of research went into this, hence the 2 stars and it's not a sluggish read so the pacing is good. It just failed to live up to the premise for me.

This dark academia novel was atmospheric, mysterious, and twisty. Most characters are morally grey and often unlikable, deceiving each other often. While Ann, Rachel, Patrick, and Leo keep secrets from each other, the reader also is being kept in the dark on many things until the end of the book. While the mystery element was what kept me reading, I felt like the pacing was a bit off. The beginning of the book felt like there was such urgency and importance on the work being done at The Cloisters, the focus on the research was abruptly shifted towards the character's relationships and interpersonal problems towards the middle. While I really enjoyed the plot twists and reveals at the end of the book, it felt rushed. I was truly surprised by the secrets revealed about Ann, Rachel, and Leo, and wanted more of the suspenseful ending. The setting was extremely descriptive and felt very immersive which was one of the factors I enjoyed most.

This debut novel has all the makings of a great read: gorgeous cover, sensual and unusual setting and a plot that mixes Medieval/Renaissance art history with the occult. I think all of these elements will make this book very popular on BookTok - in a word, it's a mood. Unfortunately, once you get past that mood, the plot falls apart, the characters are inconsistent and unlikeable and there's a lot of musings about free will versus fate to wade through.

Anne is a recent college graduate in Renaissance history who has waitressed and saved up to escape her lower middle class existence in a boring Washington state town for a coveted internship at the Met in New York City. This is the strongest choice in the book - I rarely read novels where the protagonist is in a different class and very aware of it. Our first introduction to the Cloisters - the Medieval castle in the upper reaches of New York City is atmospheric and enticing.

But at about 40% through the lush descriptions start to repeat themselves and the narrator resorts to a LOT of foreshadowing along the lines of "If only I'd known at the beginning of that summer...." There's a lot of telling us that awful things are about to happen at the expense of an actual plot and character development.

Eventually, we get to the awful thing and inevitable twist which is really a cop-out on what we've been reading for hundreds of pages before. Hays is an excellent writer and I will look forward to future works once she has developed a stronger plot.

NOTE: The cover and some of the marketing may lead readers to think this is a fantasy and/or supernatural suspense. There's none of that here.

Thank you to Atria Books for an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this novel, but found the main character to be a bit one-dimensional and the writing was too flowery for my taste.

A recent grad moves to New York to pursue a summer job at the Met, only to find herself at a smaller, gothic museum nicknamed The Cloisters. As her work imcreases, she finds herself caught within a psychological web, pulled into beliefs of occult practices all while trying to heal from her father's death.

The novel was well written, and I think the plot works with the setting. The characters were believable and made for an interesting dynamic.

The beginning is definitely slow however, the pacing doesn't pick up until almost halfway in so you really have to wait for the plot to move forward. And then it isn't exactly difficult to figure out what is happening off the page but I think with books like these that's to be expected.

I recommend it to people who enjoy character studies and stories focused on art and how it connects to human change and behaviour.

I had a really hard time getting into this one. If there was something in it that was supposed to “hook” the reader early on, then I guess it missed me, because I struggled for 70 pages or so - and to be honest, I probably would have DNF’d if it hadn’t been a review copy. I kept waiting for the thing that would make me care about the characters, but aside from a feeling of sympathy for Ann’s past, it never materialized. Ann is bland and passive for much of the novel, and that made it harder to really engage with her as a POV character. Other people keep telling her she’s “special” but I don’t really see how. Many of the plot points which I think were intended to be “twists” were entirely predictable. When there’s a “whodunit” and you immediately know the answer to that question and it turns out you’re right, it’s not an interesting read. When your “suspense/thriller” book drags on and you find your mind wandering, it’s not a compelling read.

The only thing saving this book from a truly terrible rating is the ending - the last 20 pages or so were actually pretty good. But slapping on a good ending isn’t enough to make up for 70 pages of slog followed by 170 pages of mediocrity. 2.5 stars, rounded down.

Representation: queer character, maybe?

CW: mild fatphobia, drug use

If you’re looking for a dark academia thriller with a dash of magic, murder, and secrets, then look no further! I am so glad my Cult Book Club #btwbookclub picked this one for November!

Pub day: November 1st, 2022
Pages: 320
My rating: 4 dark academia stars

Things I liked😌
📖 I will admit my art history knowledge is very minimal so this book TAUGHT me and I mean it really taught me. I had no idea what half of the items or people in this book were and I loved it. Being in academia (will I ever be done) it was exactly the type of book I love!
🪴 On top of art history I learned so much about plants, especially poisonous plants and I was here for it. I have a brown thumb myself so I thrived living through someone who can keep plants alive.
🕵🏼‍♀️ This ends up being a who done it academia murder mystery and I loved this twist that was thrown in there. I would have been more excited reading the first half if I knew it was going to get more dangerous, so here’s your heads up- it’s worth it!

Things that made me🤨
🤔 The weird twist at the end about our main girl Ann was a bit much for me but I think it’ll go well with most audiences. I just didn’t need that to be part of her back story. Also the way she treated her mom made me low key hate her at times but she’s realistic so I think that was the purpose of it.

Overall I can’t thank @atriabooks @netgalley and Katy Hays enough for letting me read an early copy. I loved this one the more I sat with it and I think it’ll be the perfect winter read for a lot of readers!

“What if our whole life - how we live and die - has already been decided for us? Would you want to know, if a roll of the dice or a deal of the cards could tell you the outcome?”

Well, this was quite a ride! The setting in this book is such a vibe. Dark academia mixed with occultism. In New York! The setting itself is enough to get me intrigued.

Imagine a deck of tarot cards that is centuries old and might hold the key to predicting the future. If you work in a museum and study occultism, you’d do anything to find it, right?

Ann Stilwell is the summer associate to the Renaissance department and she must find this deck of cards. And things might get a little dark in her treasure hunting.

This book is completly out of my comfort zone and I loved reading it. I only wish it was a liiiittle bit more fast paced.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I had only read a few novels in this genre, but I was interested in reading this during the fall when I felt the atmosphere matched the story. I have not visited The Cloisters before but the author did an excellent job describing them. I thought the writing and story were great -- especially for a debut novel. However, I just found Ann to be a pretty boring narrator. Everyone else was so interesting and she seemed naive and dull to me. I kept stopping reading and coming back because of this. I would have loved this if it were multiple POV.

A suspenseful mystery with characters that are hiding their motives and relationships and a setting that makes you feel like you're right in the secluded cloisters and vibrant gardens. I expected this book to be more on the magical side, with it's comparisons to Ninth House, but it was more rooted in human emotions and desires. Even though the tarot cards were a key plot point, the focus was about their historical importance rather than true readings of the deck or any kind of mysticism involved. In the end, it was human actions and machinations that caused the tension and drama.

The Cloisters by Katy Hays was everything I thought it would be and nothing like I thought it would be. I’m still thinking about it days after having finished. I’m lucky enough to have visited the real Cloisters multiple times. My mother grew up right next store and it was the playground of her youth. There’s something so beautiful and yet truly spooky about the actual Cloisters themselves. Katy Hays does remarkable job of bringing the building and the gardens to life in her story. I think even if I didn’t have such a good visual of the museum, I would’ve been able to create it in my mind thanks to her writing. The first few chapters dragged a tiny bit but once central mystery of the story got going it really picked up pace. Days after having finished the book I still want to know the more about motives Ann, Rachel, and Patrick. The Cloisters left me wanting more while still effectively wrapping up the story. There’s been a lot of comparisons to the Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and while they both share dark academia vibes The Cloister is definitely more rooted in realism. I will definitely be adding anything Katy Hays writes in the future to my TBR lists.

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book was wonderful - atmospheric and just the right side of spooky for the autumn. I loved all the New York-y details and learning about tarot. My one critique is that I think Ann could have been a bit more fleshed out, but I recognize that is a hazard of the genre.

This book was engaging, surprising, and fun to read. I enjoyed the chance to learn a bit about plans and the cloisters and tarot, all while being engaged in the characters and mystery.