Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book had good promise but poor execution. A lot of the worldbuilding felt like it just was not fully thought out.

I hate to do this but this book was just not it for me. I made it to 50% and had to DNF.

I actually thought this was going to be a tarot deck when I requested it so that was my bad. I did give it a try when reading though and it was just slow and a bit boring. I am sorry.

This book was so much fun. Loved the use of Tarot in the book; was just enough without starting to get confusing which makes it feel like it is for everyone. Another highlight is how descriptive the author is when talking about everything from the setting to the clothing. Hannah feels like someone you could easily become friends with and her growth is inspiring. Worth the read.

This book has a great idea behind it that makes me think of Alice in Wonderland a lot throughout.

Hannah is living a life that seems to be one disaster after the next, but is then transported into a land of Tarot. I really wish we got to see more about different tarot cards and how the shop truly plays a role. Mirror versions of people are interesting but I wish they were also explored and explained more. A lot of the world dynamics and explanations dont seem completely thought out. How Hannah ends her story is interesting, to say the least. I understand being upset with how your life is going, but seems like an extreme for what felt like an “instant love” that wasn’t entirely believable. Would have been cool to see how her choices in the land of Tarot and her world played a role afterwards to even open up to another story. Unfortunately, I was also questioning how no one recognized Kane. It baffled me that not one person caught them early on.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hannah has a problem - she's adrift in her own life, and after messing up a huge proposal at work and getting shown the door by her lover, she desperately wishes she could take control of her own life. So, when she walks past a store offering future readings, she is handed a tarot card - the Empress! A powerful figure who walks with her head held high and taking decisive action. But the effects of the card are made real when Hannah is yanked from the cold, snowy streets of Chicago and into the decidedly different world of Towerfall, where magic is banned and the kingdom of Pentacles is edging towards danger. Enter Kane, a former guard of the King of Pentacles and the kingdom's only hope of stopping the oncoming destruction. But can they learn to trust each, trust themselves, before disaster strikes?
A fun romp into romantasy, but much lighter fare than previous books by this author.

I did not finish this at 25%, I tried to push through but couldn’t. I’m not sure if it was the dialogue or what it was but I couldn’t get myself to keep reading.

The beautiful cover, and the the premise for this what called to me, a romantasy series starter in a world based on the tarot? Sign me up.

Hannah, the FMC, was painfully, oh so painfully, annoying in parts, and this does read as pretty YA, but since it was categorized as “new adult”, I did my best to remain mindful of that during my reading.

However, this fell flat for me.

My issues:
*the publisher synopsis didn’t deliver and what’s left is a story where the characters and plot aren’t developed enough to make for a satisfying read
*insta-insta-insta love
*the writing wasn’t for me

While other readers may appreciate this one more; I wasn’t the reader for this.



Thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the DRC

From the blurb, I kind of expected a little more of a true fantasy, but this was a bit lighter in tone than I expected. So I went in prepared for a bit more gravitas and ended up with something between a fantasy and a romcom. I definitely see the appeal, and honestly I would probably enjoy it more if I went in with no expectations. It started off funny, and the writing is fun too, just not quite what I expected! I didn't finish because it's just not quite what I need to read at the moment, but I do plan to return to it in a different reading mood. Based on what I read and flipped through, this is about a 3.5-4 star read for me. I've enjoyed other Cast books in the past, so I think this is just me being cranky 🤣

Thank you to Netgalley, Kristin Cast, and Bloom Books for the arc! This is my own review.

The Empress is a captivating fantasy story. The story follows a young woman stepping into her newfound power and facing challenges that test her courage and heart. It is a story about embracing your true strength and self-discovery. It explores themes of courage, identity, and the struggle to embrace one’s true self, making it not only an entertaining read but also an inspiring one. Although I did find the story interesting and enjoyed the book, the pacing of the story made me feel as some parts were rushed while others dragged on a bit which affected the plot. The main character was very well written, but some of the side characters felt a little undeveloped.

Arc from NetGalley-all thoughts are my own. 3.5 stars, solid series starter. Enemies to loves, forced proximity and tarot cards?? Sign me up. Kind of reminded me of a Disney adventure but like a grown up version. I’m excited to see where the series goes!

I first found and loved Kristin when I came across the House of Night Series written with her mother P.C.

This is Kristin's adult solo debut.

I really wanted to love this book. A favorite author, adult, romance, fantasy, interesting blurb and a lovely cover.

However, it fell short for me.

Hannah drove me bonkers. She's trying but failing in work and love. She blew her chance at a promotion and walked in on her boyfriend in bed with another woman. When trying to make her way home, she misses a bus, slips on the snow/ice and suddenly she's falling down like an Alice in Wonderland moment. (Though I did like that part)
She's now in this new realm where the Empress herself chose her to heal the realms.

Meantime, she's rescued by Kane. He was cast out of the palace and looking to find his way back into the palace in its good graces. Until then he and Hannah are in a cabin where Kane tends to her and heals her.
Hanna was too immature for me the entire time. The constant scenarios she thinks off comes off too immature and the constant doing things without thinking. I just could not get myself to like her at all.

Overall, I had a hard time with this book. Mainly due to Hannah and the story at times sounding more YA than adult. I do love the author so I pushed through and it was at the halfway mark when the book finally gained my interested to get me through it.

I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either. It has the potential to a series I could love. The overall idea of this world is great but Hannah needs to come off more as an adult and the story written in a more adult format and just really fine tune the next book. I do want to read the next book and hope that it redeems this series for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. In the past I haven't minded books written by this author, but this one didn't sit well with me. It didn't pull me in and make me want to keep reading until it was done. I didn't quite care for the two main characters, but I enjoyed the secondary characters. I don't know, it just didn't click with me. But I hope those who enjoy this kind of book, enjoys this particular one.

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of The Empress from NetGalley, and it was a MAGICAL experience for sure!
To start, I loved Hannah and her rock bottom. Figuring out how this all was woven together was so different than most romantic fantasy books I’ve read in the past. I loved that she remained confused, originally being baffled by the world she’s in and leaning on Kane to save her life, it makes perfect sense that she would be irate. At first I was like, why would you react like that?! And than realized that of course she’d be so confused.

Kane was a cookie cutter morally gray MMC. I felt like I walked away with a few unanswered questions in his regard: why was he the protector? How did he end up in the original bedroom? How did he know ahead of time she was coming?

There were a few other small things that I felt were confusing or skirted over which resulted in the four stars - most of all, it’s specific to like the unrest in the kingdom. A lot of it was not specifically addressed - how did four end up where he did? What happened with the magic? Why did the empress come from a tarot card but there were no other cards?

Overall, I enjoyed the read. I enjoyed the magic of it, I enjoyed how it was different than most fantasy books. I wish it had been fleshed out a bit more thoroughly but overall I enjoyed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. The Empress felt like an adult take on Once Upon a Broken Heart/Caraval, but with some different twists. I enjoyed the premise, but I can't say I loved the main character, and that really impacted my enjoyment honestly. I found her annoying, and there were so many comments that felt out of place and took me out of the moment. I liked it, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

I could not stand the FMC. I wanted to like this book, and based on the genre and description, I should have, but the FMC was so annoying. I DNFed at 37%. At every turn up to that point, Hannah (the FMC) was constantly making me cringe. She’s being considered for a promotion at work, but can’t handle a single pitch to her bosses. She spent a few paragraphs going on about how much she missed/needed her phone. She was warned as they were entering the palace (basically enemy territory) to listen more than she speaks, and almost immediately started blabbering on to the steward about needing a “nice scrub-a-dub-dub”. This book was just not one I was able to enjoy, based solely on the characters. I will say I was enjoying the plot; my annoyance with the FMC was just stronger than my enjoyment.

I really liked the premise of this book and was excited to read it, but the description is misleading. The book really is about a young woman that finds herself in a different realm kind of trying to get home but also trying to save the new realm she has fallen into. The first third of the book is pretty cringy. The main female character is very awkward and finds herself in situations that blow up her life in Chicago. She then finds herself in this new realm via the tarot card and find herself lusting after the first man she sees with no real character building or relationship build up.

I kept reading and really enjoyed the middle part of the book. Some great world, plot and character development. But then the ending feels very rushed. If different decisions were made at the end it would set this series up for the next book, but nothing was left out there to be resolved or answered.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristin Cast and SOURCEBOOKS/Bloom Books for my free ebook ARC copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Spicy Romantasy? It's all in here.

There is no shortage of Romantasy out there and I'm afraid that I might be getting a little Romantasy-fatigue.

And then I came across The Empress. What makes this one stand apart? Well, I have been wishing for a book where there is fantasy that is still tied to our modern world aka City of Bones or even Outlander. So, I'm glad to say that this book delivered!

Hannah is a modern girl dealing with modern problems and she is very reminiscent of Bridget Jones’s Diary. Life is not going her way and that's before she is given a tarot reading and thrown out of the shop with a warning and a card showing The Empress.

Soon, she finds herself in another realm confused and accused of being a witch when a handsome stranger whisks her out of danger and into the forest.

And thus begins Hannah and Kane's not meet cute and their mutual need of each other to fulfill specific missions to get into the castle in the Kingdom of Pentacles for their own reasons.

Throw in a faked marriage, hidden witches, the multiverse and some spice and you're in for a treat! I really appreciated Hannah and her dropping modern references/pop culture inside jokes and the contrast of our time and the realm she was transported to.

And since this is a series we get to see what else is in the cards for Hannah. Stay tuned...

This was a DNF for me. Personally, I did not enjoy the writing, pacing, or the characters too much. That being said, I think that there will be a lot of readers out there who will enjoy this one. I will not be opposed to recommending this book to readers looking for a new adventure romantasy. I can see fans of ACOTAR and Fourth Wing enjoying this book

Could not finish. Story was trite and main character was dumb as a box of rocks. I love fantasy but this was thin and the main character was not relatable.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC. I’m truly grateful.

I read the description of this book and just HAD to read it. A book based on Tarot cards? Sign me up! It is such a unique concept, and it did not disappoint.

The good: I loved the story overall. I loved the tarot card concept and the use of it throughout the story, showing the author’s research and knowledge on it. I’ve tried teaching myself tarot reading and let me tell you it is complicated. Right from chapter 1 I was hooked. It had me thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading it, and I couldn’t wait to see where the story went. Without giving any spoilers, as I continued to read, I was tempted to skip to the last couple of chapters and read ahead because I was worried it was going to end a certain way, and if it was going to end that way I was going to be so upset. However, it didn’t go that route, and I was very happy it! I totally related to Hannah and her luck, or lack of it. I teared up a few times thinking to myself “Oh my god, I feel you girl.” I loved the morally-gray, enemies to lovers’ relationship between Kane and Hannah and I loved the friendship between Hannah and Marion. A friendship everyone only wishes to have, that doesn’t always happen in our lifetime. I even loved the part McDougall and Highgate played. Both roles written perfectly for the story. All of the characters were actually perfect, and I loved the way the characters were written/represented in both worlds.

Not so much the bad, but the noticeable: The book was advertised as adult, but it seemed to be written very YA. Hannah acts more like she is 16, than she does as an adult. It feels like it is written more for the Gen Z, Gen A audience that I feel are both considered the Digital Age. There were a few annoying times throughout the book related to that, but nothing that completely ruined it for me. I understand how confusing it probably was for her, but in my head I was thinking “C’mon, don’t be dumb” or “C’mon, don’t just stand there.” I’m going to say that is because I’m always aware of my surroundings and train in self-defense and Hannah to an extent sounds more like a girly girl, so I’ll let it slide (haha). One other thing I was iffy about, and again without spoiling anything, was the explanation to her world and the time difference (I’m probably overthinking it, but I don’t know if it adds up). I’m not sure how that would pan out in the real world, but I honestly couldn’t think of another way to write that in.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It made me smile and it was a feel-good book. There are a bunch of questions I have, but I’m hoping these are intentional questions that get answered in the next book, which I am very excited for.

Thank you again for giving me this opportunity!