Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for this ARC Copy!

I saw this cover and absolutely fell in love with it, I just wish that the story had gripped me as much as as the cover had.

This book was just not for me but I do know that it will be for a lot of others who really enjoy romantasy. I just never could connect with the FMC, and the MMC was not it for me. I can definitely see how he will be beloved by the right reader, but sadly that is just not me.

I really WANTED to enjoy this book, but it just fell short in too many ways for that too happen.

Hannah is going through a rough time in life when she gets whisked away to the mystical world of Towerfall, where the Arcana are real figures, not just tarot cards. Towerfall is a world where magic was once practice, but it has been outlawed and anyone who practices gets banished or killed. Hannah meets Kane when he heroically saves her life and the two strike up a deal. Both of them need to get into the palace of the Kingdom of Pentacles - her to escape back to her own world, and Kane to save Towerfall from certain destruction, so they will pretend to be married to help each other accomplish their tasks.

So I just had a couple of issues with this book that I really couldn't move past in order for me to enjoy it more. First, the blurb talks about how the Arcana are real, terrifying figures in Towerfall, but that's not really fleshed out all that well in the actual book. There's the tower, hence the name Towerfall, and there's the Kingdom of Pentacles and the Kingdom of Cups, and of course the antagonist to the Kingdom of Pentacles, Four. But that's it?? The Empress is the tarot card that brought Hannah to Towerfall, and she never actually meets the embodiment of the Empress! It was frustrating to be expecting a living tarot deck to be depicted and to get so little. AND there's supposedly these mirror versions of people that live in different realms, so there was Kane and then there was Earth-Kane, and there was Ivy and Stephanie who were mirror versions of each other. Hannah is from Chicago which is a large city with lots of people and she keeps meeting mirror versions of people she knows in either realm and I just feel like the odds of her meeting THAT MANY people she knew from the other realm were extremely slim and it bothered me.

Second, I felt like the spice was a little cringe-y to read and that's coming from me, a voracious spice lover. The lust just kind of came out of nowhere, and honestly Hannah seemed immature in so many aspects and it was really highlighted by the spicy scenes. The "good girl" stuff was somehow both over- and under-played. I don't know, I just didn't vibe with it at all.

Third, the drama/conflict between Hannah and Kane as the "third-act breakup" was so dumb, and again just really highlighted her immaturity as a person. He shouldn't have kept the secret from her, that was dumb of him but her response was so extreme and then she got over it in like one day... which was wild.

And finally, fourth, I totally get why Hannah went back to Towerfall, but the way she did it was so out of pocket I was just stunned for the last 10% of the book. She just racks up all her credit card(s) (which is understandable to go out in style, but that debt has to be dealt with one way or another) and she calls her mother and sister and is just like "I'm taking a self reflecting vacay to Europe, and I'm getting rid of my phone so you won't be able to contact me, but just know I'm safe! Toodles!" And the thing is, is she will never be able to come back from Towerfall, this isn't a vacation at all, for all intents and purposes she will be dead to them. And her family is just fine with that explanation??? It was just wild to me and I can't get over it.


So yeah, I didn't really like the book despite desperately wanting to. The premise had so much potential but it fell flat in so many ways it just couldn't recover. I do still want to say thank you to SOURCEBOOK/Bloom Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I still hold so much appreciation for the opportunity even if I didn't love the book, so thank you.

I liked this but I unfortunately didn’t believe the love story and couldn’t really become invested in the worldbuilding. I liked the side characters more than the main characters.

Hannah bombs a presentation, probably costing herself the promotion she was up for, and then finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her, and finds her clingy and beneath him. Brutal. But a visit to a tarot reader leads her to a while different realm. Kane, the hot warrior who finds her and keeps saving her asks for her help to save his kingdom...

I was surprised at the steaminess of this book. I was anticipating the fantasy side of it, but didn't expect the low-key bondage kink that Kane and Hannah dove RIGHT into.

That said, I enjoyed the fantasy "down the rabbit hole" type of world shift that happened, and that the people Hannah knows in her world have doppelgangers in the other world. The story is really interesting and well-written, and I'd be interested to read more of this series. This feels like a really interesting opening to a while world of kingdoms related to tarot, and I'd be more interested to see the not-of-their-world person comment on the similarities a little more than what happened here. I am not very knowledge on tarot cards or their meaning, and would have benefited from a little more exposition about them.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
3.5***

I try to go into books blindly, but I had read the synopsis prior for this one and was pretty excited for the unique/fresh tarot card element.
Unfortunately something fell flat for me and it turned into another basic romantasy novel.

The banter, spice, and action was enough to keep the pages turning and not dnf- but something deeper was missing and I just could not connect with any of the characters. Felt like a lot of filler rather than going into anything- maybe it's one of those first book set ups for the rest of the series?

Overall it was a decent romance book- just lacking the oomph for me to be great.

A very interesting and unique concept for a book, but could have been developed a little further to expand the concept and themes.

I gave this a 3 because I finished the book. If this had not been a netgalley book I probably would have DNFed it. No shade to anyone who loves this book. If you love it, I am happy for you, but this was not the book for me and remember reading is subjective.

I was so excited about this book as it sounded like a really interesting concept. I mean I haven't seen many books inspired by tarot elements, so I was excited for something new. I will admit I am not familiar with tarot and tarot cards so maybe there was more elements inspired by it, but I could not identify them at all. I saw three things that made me thing of tarot cards, the name of the two kingdoms and one character was called four so that made me think that was an important element in tarot. In my opinion when you are going with something like tarot that is nuanced and not widely understood when you use the elements, they have to be a little more in your face otherwise for readers like me it just felt like throw away elements put into the book. Also, this a plot where she is supposedly like the chosen one to save this kingdom but as I was reading the book I completely forgot that was the plot and this was a fantasy magic book because there was little magic or fantasy. If this was a time travel book to the past, I could have equally believed that and the fight to save the kingdom felt like an afterthought at the last 25% of the book and it just felt like a book where this girl is trying to get back to her own time.

I will also say I didn't really like any of the characters except for 2. The butler and the best friend but then the best friend did something in the book that I didn't like but she later apologized for but at the time I was upset because I was like great another unlikable character. The FMC at the start everything just seems to have everything growing wrong with her, but her personality makes her a little grating and desperate especially when she goes to this other realm, and it clashes with her modern mentality and behaviors that come annoying and make her stand out when she is supposed to be trying to fit in so as not to be caught.

Then the MMC Kane his interactions at the start with Hannah just felt so awkward to me with all his come Ons and innuendos. It just reminded me of middle school when middle school boys try to be "clever" and talk about their penises and how horny they are. I just didn't feel the chemistry at all, and their interactions just always felt awkward to me.

Then you combine that with a husband of a character who every single sentence out of his mouth was always had to include a way to put down women. Every single sentence always turned around to demean women, like he could talk about the weather and turn it into talking down to women. Like I get the point you're trying to make but that was a point made by other elements in the book so he added nothing to the book other than to be a douche and if he wasn't in the book that point would still have been made. Also, then out of nowhere he starts sexually harassing the FMC and when she goes to his wife her best friend who I liked up to this point she then turns it around and blames the FMC! Later she apologizes but the whole marriage dynamic between the couple was weird and then for her to blame the FMC like that just turned me off to her at the moment and I just kept thinking damn I don't like a single character left in this book other than the butler who was sweet and funny.

Overall, this was not the book for me.

This book is about Hannah who is having a rough go at it. She didn't get the promotion she hoped for, she just found out her BF was cheating on her and she can barely make rent. It can't get any worse right.... that is until she finds a tarot card in the snow, and it transports her to another realm in a kingdom where some of the first people she meets try to kill her! She is able to escape with the help of a warrior named Kane who takes her to his hideout to heal. While he is nice and hot she isn't sure she can trust him, but she needs his help to get back home as the card that brought her to this place was lost in the castle and the only way in is with his help. Which is perfect as he is trying to get back into the castle himself to carry out his own mission to help save the kingdom, he loves but seems to be rotting from within. So, win win right, but how to get in??? Well, a fake marriage and assuming the identities of foreign dignitaries seems to be their best bet, and it works. Now if they can just stay on task and keep their hands off one another while they figure out how to save the kingdom and get Hannah home while keeping up their charade. Should be easy right???

I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a YA librarian that is the target of many book challenges in my area, it becomes necessary to preview as many books as possible. I appreciate the opportunity to preview the book and I believe it is the refreshing piece of work that YA fantasy needs right now.

The Empress is a story about a woman who doesn't quite fit into her world and is brought by magic into an entirely different world that she is somehow supposed to fix and she doesn't think she's capable of that or the right person for it. Can someone who has always been down on her luck be the savior that Towerfall needs? I found that I really identified with Hannah and was rooting for her to succeed. I wanted her to save the world, get the guy and have the life she deserved. I absolutely loved this book, and am excited to read more, even though the wait will be a while.

I absolutely loved the world building in this book. The tarot cards becoming alive is a great concept. However once I read the book it was not fairly executed. The beginning seemed a bit slow with an unsure direction for the story. I was left with some questions regarding the main character’s storyline at the end. I unfortunately did not relate nor had much likeness towards the FMC. I give this a solid 3 stars.

While I enjoyed this quite a bit I did really wish it was a bit more fleshed out. I loved the elements of tarot that was woven throughout the story but a lot of the other elements fell a little flat for me as far as the actual world building. It is the first book so that could also be part of it. I did enjoy the banter between our MC’s enough to keep reading though!

I was intrigued by The Empress, the first entry into the world of Towerfall, where realms collide and tarot cards come to life. With its promises of a tarot-based magic system and a deep dive into romance and fantasy. I went into the book with high expectations. Unfortunately, while I did find it an enjoyable read, it ultimately only scratched the surface of what I had hoped for.

As the first book in a new series, I was hoping for more world-building and a deeper narrative. While the tarot elements were certainly intriguing, they were often too heavily relied upon to drive the plot forward without much explanation or exploration. This left me wanting more context and substance in the magical system, which felt underdeveloped. Hannah and Kane while their banter was enjoyable, overall their romance felt rushed.

The Empress may not be groundbreaking or offer intricate storytelling; however, it does offer action, flirtatious banter, and a touch of spice.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A decent book overall, but I think could have used a lot more work in quite literally every facet of this book… I wish it would have been put through a few more rounds of editing prior to putting it out into the world.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I always love when the fmc is from the modern world and is pulled into a fantasy realm or world. but with this world being inspired by tarot cards I was very interested. I absolutely love the original and unique idea of this! Main character Hannah after having a horrible day ends up in a new world and is immediately in danger. Only through the help of Kane does she have a chance for survival. As Kane and Hannah work together posing as husband and wife it quickly becomes clear there are many deadly secrets at Towerfall.

I loved the relationship between Kane and Hannah! They really balance each other out and their chemistry/tension was perfect. Their fake relationship and forced proximity led to some great scenes. But my favorite thing has to be the court/political intrigue and the drama. I loved the secrets in this and the constant danger of execution if they can't convince everyone of their relationship. This did come across a little more light and entertaining than I expected but I did appreciate the happy ending after seeing how everything ended.

Thank you to Kristin Cast, NetGalley, and Bloom Books for an arc!

I was so excited to read this because I think the tarot premise is unique and interesting. Unfortunately it was a bit of a flop for me. I think other people will enjoy this but it wasn’t for me.

My Rating: 2 stars

CW: sex and violence, sexism, other women are bad trope.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded AMAZING and I used to read the Marked books when I was really in my YA Vampire phase. I read Into the Mist by PC Cast and thought that any foray into reading their separate books would be great.

But the first few pages had the lines “her breasts like offerings” and “I said to his cock” and “harness your power” all in ONE scene.

I also am SO SICK of antagonists for a women main character being other women. I HATE the mean girl shit and the “other woman being a bitch” shit. I get that it happens, I do, but it’d be nice for authors, especially women, to show some girls supporting girls. If you’re going to make fantasy, you might as well use that suspension of disbelief to do something fresh.
Hannah, the main character screams NLOG from the jump, she’s upset, fairly, her life does suck, and then she’s transported into the world of Arcana. Which is an INSANELY inventive plot. But it just doesn’t deliver. When a plot is like this, it needs a good character, good characters, plural, to keep it up. And it doesn’t do that.

The main male character is one of those that gives a weird and kind of infantilizing nickname to the FMC, with such a unique plot, Kristin Cast could’ve done a really good job of diverging from the usual tropes, she doesn’t. And if you like that sort of thing, then maybe that’s a plus for you. I think it’s pretty classic romantasy with a cool premise, just none of it is for me.
Like I’ve been saying, the plot is REALLY cool. Towerfall is this alternate world (there are mentions of “mirror selves”). It is made of several different kingdoms, each protected by a different group of cards (the MMC is the protector of the Kingdom of the Pentacles), all under the control of the Empress.

The romance is typical of new adult romantasy, borderline toxic, all her exes are cartoonishly bad people so he’s great by comparison even though he’s a walking red flag. He’s controlling, demeaning, doesn’t really treat her like an equal, the author portrays him as pro-women but it’s very surface level, she’s very much the same, she doesn’t seem to put a lot into her relationships with other women but she’s almost this caricature of the “klutz turned badass.”

The author’s dialogue is also full of what she seems to think are Gen Z buzz words, including “catch feelings” and characters being in their “__ era” according to other characters. It just comes off cringy and try-hard.
I think this book could’ve done really well with a MUCH gayer plot. Hannah could’ve had her rivalry with Stephanie, then met and fallen in love with her mirror self, and done a twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope, or something similar with Jade/Marion. But no, Cast chose the boring option!

Yet another scene makes a weird comparison to breasts (what is with the breasts?!?) this time calling them “pomegranates” the MMC then proceeds to simulate sex with the pomegranate. Hannah is taking a bath, the MMC intrudes, while she’s BATHING, she drops a pomegranate in the water, tells him as much, and he says “looks like you have two pomegranates right there.

??????!!!!????

Ultimately this book was just so cliched and predicable. It could’ve done so much and it fell flat.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC ebook.

*The Empress* follows the journey of Hannah, a woman in her late twenties or early thirties (this is a guess as it's not made clear) who feels like she's lost everything—her career is in a slump, her "relationship" ends abruptly the same day her career bombs, and her self-worth is at an all-time low. In a desperate attempt to find herself, she visits a tarot card shop on a whim and is unexpectedly transported to Towerfall after drawing a mysterious card. There, she meets Kane, a gruff, bossy, "hunk" of a man hiding within a castle. Hannah's horrible terrible no good day takes a sudden turn for the worse—she's in castle, there's a hot guy, she’s stabbed--accused of witchcraft (when trying to get away), and then escapes death with Kane’s help.

From there, the story continues to stretch the realms of possiblity when Hannah is determined to get back to the castle. While in the forest, they come upon a carriage which quickly turns into a botched rescue mission for the true Lord and Lady Ashwood. After their deaths, the two use it to their advantage to get back into the castle. Now, Hannah must pretend to be his wife and they share one bed (a great trope, hard to mess up...and YET)! Unfortunately, the chemistry between Hannah and Kane is forced, the banter is not even boring, it's TIRED. The will-they-won’t-they dynamic quickly became more like---could we just get this over with actually? At one point, particularly during Chapter 16, the interaction with a maid felt deeply uncomfortable and disconnected from the plot's tone. A recurring phrase, "Good Girl," was used to an excessive degree, which detracted further from the story's intimacy.

What had delicious potential (i.e. a romance I was ready to gobble, devour, ETC) because of the exciting things promised: time travel, magic, grumpy man/sworn protector....just fell so flat. Hannah’s character is whiny and inconsistent from the start, and her emotional turmoil becomes exhausting rather than compelling. Kane, on the other hand, lacks depth despite being presented as the protector of the kingdom and later the king. There’s a lack of significant character development on both sides, which made it difficult to invest in their story.

The best aspect of *The Empress* was its stunning cover art, which certainly drew me in. However, the rest of the book didn’t live up to the potential I had hoped for. While I may not be eager to continue with the series, part of me, like Hannah, might still be a bit of a glutton for punishment.

Overall, *The Empress* didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The forced chemistry, inconsistent characters, and awkward pacing overshadowed the promise of a thrilling fantasy. Fans of this genre may still enjoy it, but I found it to be a disappointing read. Maybe if this is your first romantasy to ever read-you may like it.

I wanted to like this book so bad, and I was highly intrigued with the premise at the very beginning. I was very locked in to the story, but it felt so immature. The spicy scenes were so rushed it felt like I was just reading a bunch of popular phrases. The insta love with no build up for isn't my thing.

I was so excited for this book, and the premise sounded like it was something I would love, but I was disappointed by almost everything. First, it was touted as a romantasy, but there were hardly any fantasy elements. I needed more worldbuilding, exploration of magick, and delving into the political conflict. Second, the pacing of the love story was off. It was very insta-lovey, with almost no chemistry or buildup. And finally, the modern slang and way that Hannah acted felt juvenile and jarring set against a fantasy backdrop.
👑
My rating: ⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️
👑
Read if you like:
▫️modern girl in a fantasy world
▫️fake marriage
▫️broody hero
▫️cute nickname “Fawn”
▫️Tarot like cards and magick
👑
Thank you to Bloom Books, Kristin Cast, and NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

⭐️: 2
DNF’d at 18%. I was excited for this book to come out, but it did not make the cut. For one, I didn’t realize that the story would begin in our world in modern times. That was a tad surprising. I also couldn’t make a connection to the FMC. It’s hard reading a book when you’re not invested in some aspect of it.