Brooding and claustrophobic, this feels more of a literary novel than the mystery I had expected, although it does contain theft, career espionage and murder.

The characters exist in a haze of lust, power and obsession that main character, Ann, blunders and gropes her way through with a strange mixture of innocence and knowing that makes her seem more like an adolescent than a young adult at times. As a result, this is something of a coming-of-age story.

There is lots of exploration of running and hiding from the past and from yourself, as Ann slowly finds herself and her career path through the murky, druggy haze of the Cloisters and its cryptic, secretive staff.

Slow, heavy and oppressive in tone and style, the plot and characters struggle a little under the weight of the building and the history of the items within, particularly the tarot cards that form the focus of some of the story. The author has clearly done plenty of research into the subject, but between that and the characters’ obsession with academia and the pursuit of a scholarly life at all costs, the more human aspects of the story got lost among the dusty shelves.

This didn’t quite hit the mark for me, as I never really engaged with any of the characters, nor did the plot grip me. I did enjoy reading it though, mainly for the evocative atmosphere of ominous, undefined threat throughout.

I enjoyed reading this book, it took me a moment to get into but once I was in, I whizzed through it, The character development is good too.

A very atmospheric book. I really enjoyed the setting of this story. The story felt consuming and you could sense the characters all falling into madness. An obsession not just with each other but with tarot and power.
It felt a little long toward the end but a wonderful story nonetheless.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Cloisters by Katy Hays, it was mysterious and entertaining from the very first page.
Ann Stillwell has gone to New York expecting to spend her summer working at the Met Museum but she ends up at The Cloisters which is a famous gothic museum housing medieval art. Ann is set to work with the enigmatic Patrick and his assistant Rachel. Ann is surprised to discover that they are researching tarot cards and fortune telling and she is soon drawn into their dark and mysterious world.
The Cloisters was well paced, I didn’t want to stop reading when I got to the end of each chapter. It does have a feel of The Secret History about it, you do quickly feel ensconced in this small, elite circle of academics. I loved the tarot card element of the book and you can clearly see the research done by Katy Hays, I found it really interesting and it left me wanting to know more.
I would highly recommend this book, it is a brilliant, thought provoking mystery.

Firstly, the cover of this book needs a massive shout out because its so aesthetically pleasing! I wanted to love everything about this. I didn't... I enjoyed the Dark Academia vibes and the start of the story, but then it took a little turn. The characters were not likeable, but I'm unsure if they were meant to be. I enjoyed the tarot elements, but felt that we spent a proportion of the book uncovering a thriller.

It was well written and I appreciated that, I would love to see The Cloisters, that's for sure! I'd only hope that I wouldn't bump into any of the people who work there, as everyone seems to have a dislikeable altera motive! I buddy read this with a few of the lovely ladies in our Sub Club and there were some mixed thoughts on this one, so perhaps it just wasn't my cuppa!

Dark academia is a whole vibe at the moment, and this debut ticks every box to a tee. And so it should really - after all, the author is an art history professor herself. This book transports the reader to a hot New York summer, where we meet Ann as she embarks on an internship at The Met Cloisters. She's drawn into the strange, dark world of the Cloisters, complete with hidden secrets, tarot readings and deadly plants tended in the beautiful gardens.

The writing is vivid and atmospheric as the plot slow unfolds, twisted and intriguing. For me, there was a tiny something missing from this tale which held me back from giving it the full five stars - perhaps it was the characters, who were in general fairly unlikeable and unrelatable, or just the fact that this story isn't entirely unique. But it is beautiful told, gothic escapism and a very impressive debut.

I completely judged this book on its cover. It’s utterly stunning. And when I read the synopsis I was even more convinced I had to read it! Once I dove in, I realised this was absolutely not what I was expecting.

For me, The Cloisters was written like dark academia, but as a thriller. I didn’t like any of the characters, felt the narrator was unreliable and didn’t trust anyone.

But I loved it.

Hays writing is heavy and thoughtful, and it sucked me in. From the toxic friendships, the misogynistic boss and the love triangle, there was so much going on, each layered over the other, to cast doubt on the reader’s interpretation of events and I was obsessed with reading more.

This is a gothic, atmospheric mystery, seeped in the magic of of the renaissance and the occult. The research into the academic history of the artwork and museum pieces brings the landscape to life and immerses the reader into the story, as though walking the shadowed passages and peaceful gardens of the museum with the characters.

The characters were awful, vain, entitled and perfect. Their ambition to succeed overrode any and all other traits; a joint obsession to achieve notoriety above all else, at any cost. They were horrible, and yet the perfect cast to play out Hays events.

The Cloisters is dark, it’s twisted and it is one hell of a ride.

After her beloved father's death Ann escapes her small town life to head to New York. Working at The Cloisters Gothic museum for curator Patrick and his assistant Rachel, Ann gets drawn into the search for a long lost deck of tarot cards. However the dark world of medieval poisons, the occult, competitive academia and secrets and lies are all waiting for Ann. Should she trust in fate or her intuition to help her?

There's a lot about this to like - deadly academia is always interesting. Yet the characters are all really unlikeable, and the obsession with secrets and mystery means that for me you never really get close enough to a character to root for them.

I went into this novel wanting a sinister and darkly fascinating tale, but unfortunately, what it was for me was a pretentious and ultimately boring meander through the lives of some pretty unpleasant people. I did enjoy the setting very much and found that to be atmospheric, but honestly, that was about all and I found the novel a real slog to get through. Such a shame.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

🎓🕯️ The Cloisters

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“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?”

📖 Ann arrives in New York, hoping to spend her summer working at the Met. Instead, she is assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum renowned for its art collection. When Ann discovers a mysterious deck of tarot cards, she finds herself at the centre of a dangerous game. Can Ann defy the cards and shape her own future?

💭 Coined as “The Secret History for a new generation”, I absolutely HAD to get my hands on this book! It’s a slow burn dark academia mystery, with a beautifully gothic setting. There’s a lot of tarot stuff (lol I really don’t have a clue), but I loved Ann’s narration and the delicious dark world of The Cloisters, as we discover what goes on behind the museum’s closed doors.

Ann is caught up with the ethereal Rachel, and we are taken on a journey of toxic female friendship. There’s mystery, murder, secrets, magic, and intrigue. There’s also lots of rich imagery, morally grey characters, and beautifully atmospheric writing.

If you’re a fan of dark academia, then this is definitely one you need to pick up!

I absolutely adored this lovely book. The premise was brilliant and the characters stuck with me so thoroughly. Thank you so so so much for letting me read this early!

This book was described as similar to The Secret History which is one of my favourite books so I was excited to read this to see if and how it compared.

It is essentially a tale of complex relationships, academic competition and death. It did have a gothic vibe and I can kind of see why it was compared to The Secret History. However, it took me a while to get into the story.
Some parts, particularly early on, dragged on and I skipped over a lot of the descriptive text that was just overly long. The book seemed to be really long (difficult to tell for sure as I was reading it on my kindle). Some of it was a bit of an effort but the story did keep me interested to read on. The relationship between the main character, Ann, and the influential Rachel, was quite intriguing and then there were a couple of twists.

Overall I did enjoy it enough but feel it could’ve cut out some of the descriptive text and it would have been a more satisfying read.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an advance copy in return for my honest opinion. I have also published this review on Goodreads.

I was drawn to this book by the description and the cover! Set in the world of academia, and centring around a mysterious tarot deck, this tale has secretive characters and a beautiful setting, (which I have only just discovered since finishing the book, is actually a real museum in New York). I found this very atmospheric, at times claustraphobic and ultimately a compelling read.

This really wasn't for me, it reminded me of the Secret History (which I also rated 3 stars) because of the pacing and general insufferable/pretentious air about the setting - I couldn't finish this. That said, this will DEFINITELY be a favourite of those who enjoyed The Secret History and The Atlas Six, just not for me.

3.0/5.0

I wanted to love this book so much - a gothic NYC museum full of mysterious occult objects and deliciously brooding academics, what's not to love? But this book dragged...

It felt that the plot was lacking and did not deliver as promised in the blurb.
For a subject which I find so interesting and beguiling I found the characters to be quite dull and superficial with no real exploration of their relationships.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc of this book.

This story has an interesting theme involving art historians researching mysterious secrets relating to a set of tarot cards. The characters were interesting and had an air of mystery to them, the whole set up was satisfyingly sinister and the descriptive detail had been painstakingly thought through and portrayed. Despite this, or maybe because of it, the storyline seemed a bit sluggish at times, making it a bit of a painstaking read.

With thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

The Cloisters is a mystery novel that is written with such flair and finesse. The location is an open door into another world.

The Cloisters is a fantastical story set in magical location. There was so much that I loved about this story. Museums have always held that intrigue for me. It’s the only place that you truly feel as though you are walking through the hallways of time. Beautiful jewels to the right, ancient fossils to the left. It’s a place where your imagination can run wild and I definitely got that feeling whilst reading The Cloisters. The cover is absolutely stunning and upon reading the blurb I knew this was a story that deserved my full attention. History and tarot cards. So many questions flying through my head, what’s the connection and what kind of journey is it going to take us on?

So tell me, just who wouldn’t take the chance to work in a beautiful location trying to decipher the code that is a 15th century deck of tarot cards that may just hold clues to predicting the future?

Ann Stilwell escapes her hometown of Walla Walla to work as a curative associate in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Somehow her position doesn’t materialise but ends up working within The Cloisters under curator, Patrick. It isn’t what she initially signed up for but she’s happy there’s something for her because she does not want to go back to her insignificant life back home. Her father passed away a year ago and her mother isn’t doing very well. It’s suffocating to Ann, and she just needs the distance. Her mother is clingy and overanxious about her being in New York. She can’t deal with it.

Whilst working at The Cloisters she is introduced to Rachel, an IT rich girl that seems to have it all, including a strange obsession with Ann. She immediately wants to be her friend, or does she? Her motivations always came across as odd, she reminded me of ivy that clings to the walls for way too long, once its there its almost impossible to break free. Ann also strikes up a relationship with the edgy gardener who really has a penchant of poisonous plants. He’s everything she isn’t and isn’t the type of boy that she’s used to. He’s dangerous and there’s always an air of mystery, and what’s with his strange relationship with Rachel? I had lots of questions by this point and my head was going in a certain direction, it turns out I was right.

Like I said, I enjoyed this book and is a format that I’ve enjoyed in the past, however, I just didn’t feel like there was any element of surprise. I had worked out what was going on from about 50% through. There was no intake of breath, no shock factor that made me absolutely love it. I ended up just feeling that it was a good story but lacking in the things that make a good story an amazing one. I loved the atmosphere, the morally grey characters and interesting tropes but the lack of mystery as it were was disappointing.

I wanted this to be more witchy but it had definite dark academia vibes and I think fans of the genre (like myself!) will enjoy this one.

I have to begin by saying that it is crystal clear that the author has written a book in her field of expertise. The level of detail about the history of art, tarot and divination is thorough and I commend the amount of detail. Unfortunately for me I did find this one a bit of a slog, it was very heavy on the information and I did not find any of the characters particularly likeable. As the story progressed I found myself caring less and less about what was happening so those twists did not have the desired effect. It's a shame because I did have high hopes for this one but in this case the book wasn't for me.

Whilst I enjoyed much about this book, I’m not sure what it was but something just didn’t quite hit the spot for me, I liked the writing and the premise of the story, I think perhaps I just didn’t like the characters quite enough.