I was looking forward to a cute and festive Halloween read and was drawn to the promise of Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic. Unfortunately, the plot and dialogue were boring and the characters were superficial. I did not care about the romance aspect and was only briefly entertained at the very end when the pace picked up and there were a few plot twists. Overall, this book just really missed the mark for me.

Unfortunately I could not get into this one and had to DNF at 40 percent.

Connecting to the main character in some way makes or breaks a book for me and unfortunately Flair really was hard for me to connect to. I found her to be controlling in a way that was just too heard to get past. Maybe its just not the right time for me to be reading this book? I am not sure but this one just did not work for me.

I would definitely check out reviews on goodreads before making a determination as there are a bunch of sparkling reviews!

While this one didn't work, I am interested to read more from KJ Dell'Antonia.

This is a paranormal romance about a woman named Flair who doesn’t want her magic. She’s got a daughter and wants to raise her without witchcraft, because she’s seen the trouble her mother has gotten into mixing romance and magic. Flair inherited her grandmother’s house and the family bakery, and now she’s back in her hometown just in time for the Halloween festivities. Her first love is back in town too, and she’s not sure what to do about him.

After the tarot cookie cards she bakes come alive, Flair realizes that not everyone in town means her well, and someone is not who she appears to be. It all comes to a head on Halloween, when Flair finds out that “she might have given up on magic but it hasn’t given up on her”.

If you like a paranormal romance you’ll enjoy this book! 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

If you're looking for a magical, cozy fall read, look no further. I loved it.
The story takes place in a small town obsessed with Halloween. It centers around a loving mother from a magical bloodline who has distanced herself from magic and the family tarot cards in order to protect her family. It's full of family drama, magical curses, and lots of Halloween fun. I was hooked. It perfectly captures the magic of the season.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The town of Rattlnboro, Kansas is devoted to Halloween, mainly because of the real witches that live there.Flair Hardwicke, who had grown up there, gave up her magic, married and had a daughter. Then her husband cheated and she fled back to her hometown with her teenage daughter to open a bakery. She intended to avoid Halloween, but the return of her mother who had hexed her ex-husband, and her magical ability with tarot cards (she baked them as cookies). Unfortunately there is a dark secret in the town, putting her daughter at risk, and only by Playing the Witch Card (paper from‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons) can she face the ancient evil in the town. . I really enjoyed this tale by KJ Dell'Antonia, and would enjoy visiting with the characters again.

Fantastic story , I was prepared to enjoy this, but didn’t realise how much iwould be engrossed, that I wouldn’t want to leave it’s pages, I haven’t laughed so much or thoroughly enjoyed a witch based fantasy/paranormal read in a long time. I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading more by KJ Dell’Antonia

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you're looking for a cozy Halloween book with a whole lot of the small town charm Playing the Witch Card may be for you. This was the perfect low stakes, witchy read to kick off spooky season.

Flair has inherited her grandmother's tea shop, so she moves back to her hometown following her divorce. Flair knows she has witch blood and her family is magical, but she's always been one to repress her magic. When the family tarot cards present themselves to her, Flair knows she can't hide from her heritage any longer. The town begins to prepare for their famous Halloween walk and what better way to get reacquainted with the townsfolk than to become a part of it? Even better when a handsome man from her youth returns to help his family during the festival.

While I didn't really buy or care for the romance in Playing the Witch Card I really did enjoy the small town vibes. It felt very Stars Hollow and I can definitely see where the comparison to Gilmore Girls comes in. All of the town residents we meet have their roles and I loved the lead up to the Halloween walk. The story was a bit slow and I wish there had been more witchy elements. I did like seeing how Flair's relationships with her mother and daughter grew by the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam for a review copy.

I was excited to read this book to put me in a “fall mood.” It definitely did the job with all of its witchy, Halloween vibes.

The overall story was enjoyable, however there were some parts that fell a little flat for me. The relationship between the main character, Flair and her ex-husband and daughter bothered me as there wasn’t much communication happening. I am aware this does add the plot, however, it was bothersome as I was reading. Another thing I didn’t really buy into was the love interest. Flair hadn’t even spoken to him since she was 17 years old, but all of a sudden is falling head over heels for him. It was just hard for me to buy into that because as a grown woman I can’t imagine feeling like that over someone I dated as a teenager. I could be alone in my opinion about that though.

The ending picked up quite a bit with much more action and I found myself speeding through the last 25% of the book. If you are looking for a fun, fall read I would recommend picking this up. I’m now in the mood to light a fall themed candle and possibly enjoy a Halloween cookie or two.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fun witchy fall read! The atmosphere had perfect fall vibes and the story wasn’t cliche. I’ve loved the characters weeny in their 20s/30s!

This is marketed as Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic, and I think it delivers that. I would also add a dash of Hocus Pocus to the mix! Here’s the setup:

A newly single mother, Flair, moves back to the small town in Kansas where she grew up, turning the tea shop she inherited from her late grandmother into a bakery. In the small town of Rattleboro, Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year, but life doesn’t feel so wonderful for Flair and her teenaged daughter Lucie, who are met with an icy reception. The only person who seems happy about her return, in fact, is her former high school sweetheart, Jude, who is now a successful chocolatier (á la Willy Wonka) and has returned to Rattleboro to participate in the annual Halloween festivities. Everything changes when Flair makes a batch of sugar cookies, perfectly iced to look like a very significant deck of tarot cards, one that’s been hidden away for many years. But Flair doesn’t actually remember decorating them. And she certainly isn’t meaning to tell fortunes with them… they’re just cookies, after all, right?
Will Flair embrace an old flame, a fortune-telling family legacy, and this Halloween-obsessed town? Or will she leave it all behind all over again?

A fun, witchy novel with all of those cozy Halloween vibes you look for - small town, delicious pastries, and a little sprinkling of magic! Along with all of the fun, lighter moments, there’s also a lot of heart and some high-stakes moments near the end. I also really connected to the mother/daughter storyline and found that that particular plot line had a satisfying resolution. I thought the tarot card magic element was really well done and this is the first novel I’ve read where tarot plays a central role like that.

One element that was downplayed quite a bit was the romance. I wouldn’t approach this looking for a heaping helping of it or you might be a little disappointed! Instead, pick it up for its cozy fall vibes, fascinating tarot card magic, and its heartfelt exploration of familial relationships.

Thank you, Netgalley and Putnam, for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is such a fun Halloween story! I loved the small town setting, the cute little bakery, and the witchy/Halloween vibes. This book is great for getting in the spooky season spirit!👻

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Available now!

This was a cute, fun, witchy rom-com. I liked the somewhat dysfunctional family dynamics, the returning to a small-town and rediscovering of magic and tarot cards. This was a good fall read to get you ready for the spooky season.

Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Playing The Witch Card by KJ Dell'Antonia is a fun read. It's got mystery, and adventure. However I found the main protagonist a bit frustrating at times. If she had been younger it would have made more sense, but her character is in her late thirties / early forties. Flair grows, and comes to realizations about herself, her family, and her life. I really enjoyed her use and understanding of tarot cards. I found that to be fun and interesting. The end of the book is spooky, and has many twists and turns, and a satisfying ending that makes the book a worthwhile read.

Mother- daughter relationships across the generations? A bakery with pastries and latte art ? A hometown return ? Halloween night ? Second- chance romance ? A touch of magic ? An ex-husband turned into just a shell of himself awaiting release from the forces that bind him ? Ancient tarot cards and tarot card cookies ? Learning the hard way that you cannot control everything life throws at you ? Especially not if you are parenting a teen ? Buttery pastries for back door customers expecting tarot readings ? Customers kept at bay by bewitched plants? Lifelong friendships and old grievances? A cute pup called teabag ? Do any or all of these sound intriguing to you ? This book has it all. Flair and her daughter Lucie have recently moved to Rattleboro, KS from Chicago to take over Flair‘s grandmother‘s home and shop and turn it into a bakery and cafe. Things aren’t going well at the beginning of the book. Lucie would have preferred to stay in Chicago with her friends and her school instead of starting over in a new environment at the start of eighth grade. Flair is convinced her idea is solid, but her bakery and cafe are not attracting customers. Things take a turn for the worse when Flair’s mother Cynthia turns up with Lucie‘s dad … Flair wants to keep fate and the tarot cards that have been her calling out of the way by simply willing it to be so but can fate be so easily bent ? There are darker forces at play in Rattleboro and Flair is at a loss having left anything to do with magic long behind her.
I enjoyed this book so much - it is perfect for this season and a joy to read.

Flair Hardwicke and her daughter Lucie move to Rattleboro to start a new life after Flair's marriage falls apart. The choice of locations is based on an inheritance from Flair's grandmother. With a home and a shop where Flair can open a bakery it is the obvious choice. But, Flair's business seems to be foundering even though she is an accomplished baker. At the same time, Lucie is having trouble making friends. Lucie wants to go back to St. Louis and live with her Dad. All of this, seems insurmountable to Flair, but she refuses to give up.
When the matriarch of the town requests (or demands) that Flair participate in the town Halloween celebration, it seems that things are looking up. But suddenly, Flair's family heritage with Tarot cards creates problems for Flair.
If that isn't enough, her estranged mother shows up with Flair's ex-husband in the trunk of the car.

Will Flair be able to sort out all of the issues without resorting to using the Family Tarot deck which has always seemed to cause more trouble than good?

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam,and KJ Dell'Antonia for the for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

I was not prepared for this magical but sorrowful and heartfelt book. This is a book that deals with magic and a lot of tarot cards but also separation, being a single parent, and a fraught family past. This is NOT a light and fun witchy romance. Is it a decent book and well written? Yes. If you need a book that gives you all the feelings, this is one can do that. I was unprepared for what the book turned out to be, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

It was right about being marketing as a Gilmore Girls/Practical Magic vibe. It was a pretty cozy read, very light on the romance which wasn't bad.

Playing the Witch Card by KJ Dell'Antonia is a fun and spooky book that follows Flair, an ex-witch, as she leaves her husband and returns to her hometown with her daughter, Lucie, in tow. The whole town is obsessed with Halloween, which is too bad for Flair, because she wants nothing to do with it. She just wants to run her bakery and raise her daughter away from David—their less-than-perfect husband and father.

When Flair's mother shows up with an enchanted David, who's willing to follow every command, Flair has to enlist the help of a local witch, Loretta, to provide enough power to undo the spell. Loretta's daughter, Renee, hates Flair for unknown reasons, and Jude, Loretta's son, was Flair's high school sweetheart. As Halloween grows closer, Flair struggles to choose between doing what's right and doing what will keep Lucie with her in Rattleboro.

I thought this was a great book for getting into the Halloween spirit, and I wished throughout the book that I could visit the town. That was, by far, the biggest plus of this story. I also appreciated the nuanced relationships and magic system in this one. I gave this book a four star rating because I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend, but I would not read it again.

Loved the title - wished the story was more engaging. Usually, less than the first half of a story will lay down some facts, hint at the plot, enhance the personalities of the characters & tie into the storyline. The first hints prove to be uneventful and loss leads - but certainly spotlighting on "bad" parenting and the main character's inability to decide, waiver & or just plain procrastinate That became the storyline and shadowed over the witchcraft/tarot cards. But if you hang on the last 3rd - the magic gets to have its spotlight.

It’s the time of year when I love reading witchy romances. This one was a mixed bag for me. I loved all of the details about tarot cards and how Flair’s magic, which she’d been denying for years, refused to stay bottled up. Since Flair was a master baker, she just couldn’t stop herself from creating tarot themed cookies, even while refusing to pick up her family’s special, hand painted deck of tarot cards.

However, I had a hard time with Flair’s actions. She was so stubborn and so determined to ignore everything relating to magic that she headed into TSTL territory. She took little responsibility for how her own actions contributed to her problems, from the dynamic in her failed marriage, to the hex placed on her ex, to her distance from her mother and grandmother, and the growing difficulties between her and her young teen daughter.

The book had a touch of romance, but I’d describe it more as women’s fiction, with a focus on Flair resolving her family relationships rather than on the budding second chance romance between her and the boy she was in love with as a teen. I’d place it in the Paranormal Women’s Fiction subgenre even though it isn’t explicitly labeled as such. I liked that Flair was mature and in her late 30’s. The book had some of the cozy vibes I was looking for, with a secondary emphasis on magical town of Rattleboro that goes all in for Halloween and I’d recommend it for that and for the detailed tarot card Magic and lore. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.