When I started reading I wasn't entirely sure about 'The Cloisters', but I'm glad I continued. Set in one of the loveliest museums - The Cloisters - it's the story of academics determined to uncover the secrets of the medieval tarot. Do they? You will have to read to find out, and it is worth your time.

A great debut from Katy Hays; and highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Transworld for an ARC.

Delicious, dark, and twisty. I didn’t know the cloisters was a real place - makes me wanna go to New York! A solid debut, excellent dark academia vibes, gothic atmosphere - what’s not to love?!

I had mixed feelings on this book. Part of it is good, part of it isn't. It just felt very messy and not easy to follow. The plot was good, but could have been organised better.

This was a little too formulaic for me, and a little too slow I'm afraid. I was intrigued by the comparisons to The Secret History and I could see some echoes but overall it was lacking. I did love the descriptions of The Cloisters which sounds gorgeous, and the relationship between the two main characters and didn't see the twist coming which is always a nice surprise.

When Ann Stilwell leaves her family home, she's determiend never to go back. Now she's found a dream job in The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection, and joins other scholars there studying the lost art of divination. Soon Ann is caught up in the world of tarot, and living, breathing and eating everything about The Cloisters.

This wasn't bad - I haven't read too many 'dark academia' books and I think this is quite a nice book to start out with as we have a clear purpose of Ann's desires, and the overwhelming impulses of knowledge and research and how they may help her in the future. The book's atmosphere was really good - there were times I could feel the cool shadowed corridors of The Cloisters, and the brightness of the gardens in contrast, as well as smell the old books and artefacts and hear the pages rustling - or even see the flash of gold from the tarot cards.

I'm not really into tarot myself so I'd be interested to know if those who are found the book accurate in terms of readings and how tarot and divination can be used. From the outside perspective I found it interesting but couldn't quite understand the hold it took on Rachel and Ann.

Rachel and Ann's relationship is one of the main focuses on this story as well as they become more wrapped around each other, and you're not really sure if Ann can trust Rachel or if Rachel is vulnerable and lonely and therefore leaning more on Ann than she realises. I actually wouldn't have minded this taking a darker, sexy , sapphic turn as the relationship between the two of them was probably one beat away from being sexual and I think it would have worked pretty well for the story.

Ann is heading from small town America to a huge summer intern job in a major NY museum but gets there, having burned all her bridges, to find the job no longer exists… thereby starts the twisting, winding intrigue when Ann takes a role at The Cloisters. This is a small niche museum and she’ll be working with Rachel and a professor on researching a definitive set of tarot cards. Tarot cards that are several hundred years old may not be the anchor that’s expected in a novel but it works.

Ms Hays has written a very good novel. It could be brilliant but there’s a little too much telling and I didn’t really "see" the museum or the cards. At times the whole narrative drags and you’re thrown out of the milieu on occasion.

The characters are very well developed with the good and the bad interchanging so often, you’re not sure who to root for. The ending is unexpected (even in a twisty plot) and very satisfying.

As a debut book, this is stunning and the author certainly has a bright future. I will look out for further work from Ms Hays.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

I went into this book completely blind, not knowing hugely what it was about nor hearing anyone talk about it, which was actually very refreshing! I feel like I've been reading a lot of romances and more contemporary novels at the moment, so this was a nice change with the mystery and almost magical elements. I felt drawn into this world and its story straight away, and I really enjoyed it being set in the art and curating industry as it's something I'm a big fan of but don't come across often in books. I did find the story predictable at times, and I guessed most of the plot points and what would happen next, but I didn't necessarily mind that. I could enjoy the overall story without feeling that it had to be groundbreaking or covering something new. I did feel that Ann as a protagonist could have been more developed but understand that it's not a priority in genre fiction. Overall I'm excited to see what Hays comes out with next, and it was a solid debut novel.

3.5 stars

Really disappointed with this one. I was sucked in by a pretty cover and the promise of mystery and secrets, but the entire story is flat and rather dull. I found it too predictable, and was left wanting more. I didn't warm to any of the characters. Overall, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

The Cloisters is a darkly atmospheric read with unlikable characters, set in NYC and the Cloisters Museum. It is clear that Hays did a lot of research into academia, tarot, poisons which was very enjoyable. I appreciated Hays writing style, however I felt the pacing was a bit too slow. Unfortunately this story fell a bit flat for me which was a shame as it was a little too obvious so there wasn't enough tension to carry this book through. By half way I was struggling to keep reading. A lot however happens in the last quarter of the book, which I think should have happened earlier in the story.

Beautifully written and well-paced, very dark and atmospheric too. All the characters are very unlikeable and I like that though, I love to hate a character.
The Tarot in this book was very interesting too, being a Tarot enthusiast it was even more interesting as I already know the meaning of the Cards and learning the historical side was excellent.
I would recommend this book if you like dark and broody novels, with a hint of mystery and thrill thrown in, don't want to miss it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love a dark academia tale, and though I will admit I was expecting a few more actual fantasy elements to the tale than ended up being involved, I was still gripped by the narrative. The dynamic between Ann and Rachel was compelling and felt very realistic, played out against the background of class and privilege. I found the ending very satisfying.

I am a total sucker for this kind of book having grown up with The Secret History. It doesn’t quite live up to those auspicious highs but it is gripping nevertheless. A fantastic yarn.

Have been having a hard time with my reading choices lately and have wondered if I am losing my touch. Along came The Cloisters and I have realised what a breath of fresh air can do for one's equanimity - a big thank you to Katy Hays for "restoring me".

The book is a delight, the prose flows and I cannot fault it. The locations are lovely, the people are live and the whole story just hangs together so well.

Have had a smile on my face for most of the time, it is just such a well constructed tale. If you too would like a smile and something enjoyable to read, treat yourself to a copy of The Cloisters.

Delving into this book was like opening a rabbit hole of intrigue, mystery, mystical mysticism. I found myself catapulted into a world of dark acadamia, with gothic arches, gardens and a relentless New York Summer how I imagine it to be. I found Ann an intriguing character who was seduced by a world that she had longed to be part of while escaping one she wanted so desperately to leave. Leo, Rachel and Patrick were all secondary characters which rounded this novel to closing ranks of friendship, toxic love and a desperate need of acceptance. I found myself not wanting to leave the book, it pulled me in the way Rachel pulled Ann in and I devoured it with my whole heart. This book was absolutely magnificent.

*The Cloisters* by Katy Hays had a great premise and such potential. I really enjoyed it, though there were some things standing in the way of it being genuinely great. Hays’ writing style flows and successfully builds suspense in this dark academia-adjacent unsettling mystery. I will be reading more of Katy Hays’ work in the future.

Ann, the main character, unexpectedly gets a summer research placement at The Cloisters museum in New York City, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and finds herself surrounded by a small but intense cohort of researchers. She becomes friends with Rachel, a beautiful and wealthy young woman who seemingly has everything. While researching the history of divination with Rachel, Ann discovers a near-ancient tarot deck which catapults her into a dangerous mystery where the stakes are deadly.

I really wanted to love this book, but something was missing. I thought the tarot deck would be more instrumental and unsettling in itself than it was – or at least than I thought it was. I was expecting it to be pivotal like the deck in *All Our Hidden Gifts*, but instead, it occasionally offered extra depth or foreshadowing. I usually am enthralled by complicated and slightly vicious friendships, but this one was not as compelling as some I have read (e.g. *In My Dreams I Hold a Knife* and *These Violent Delights* by Micah Nemerever). Overall, it is still a decent book, but I wish I had gelled better with it.

The Cloisters checks all the boxes for a dark academia, gothic read. I did think that the writing was beautiful, smooth, and captures the reader. However, the slow burn was a little to slow and I needed more action, my interest fizzled out the more I read on.

When I saw that this book was compared to The secret history one of my all time favourites I had to try it, I was not disappointed.
The cloisters in NY, I could have visited it, but had a busy schedule so missed it, how I regret that decision.
The book is gripping from the start with Ann 's desperate need to leave Walla Walla and make something of her life. An unconfident person she applied to the Cloisters and is taken on seemingly by chance to help with research by Patrick, she fits in well and is befriended by the beautiful, mysterious and rich Rachel. Ann struggles with money and tried to make savings in her miserable apartment. Rachel invites Ann to move in with her ending her money worries.
Ann is included in tarot readings with rare cards and has a gift for reading them.
Leo is a gardener at the Cloisters and Ann has a relationship with him, he is a strange secretive character with a dark side.
All of this happens within an academic slightly haunting setting. A visit to Rachel's holiday home uncovers more secrets and alerts Ann to danger.
A death or is it a murder? Poses questions about theft, truth and deceit.
An insight into a rare world of research and secrecy.
Thank you NetGalley and katy.

Ann comes to New York for a placement but finds herself in a different one than she expected but she soon finds herself drawn into it. Tarot cards, her father's work and then the death of Patrick makes her wonder what is really going on.

This was an interesting premise and the location draws you in but the story fell a little flat. It was a very slow build and it was obvious early on who killed Patrick. I did like the twist of Ann's reasons for coming to the cloisters. The ending was well done though I had guessed about what might have happened to Rachel. A gothic read.

I really struggled with this book and at times found it boring.

The book centres around Ann, who leaves her home to escape the grief of her father's death, to move to New York and work at the Cloisters Museum.

Ann works on discovering a rare pack of tarot cards with her friend Rachel, and uses the cards to guide her in life but is Rachel the friend she believes she is.

The Cloisters was a cross between an historical fiction vs a murder mystery. It took a while for the story to really kick in and just didn't have the pace or mystery I was looking for

I loved The Cloisters from the first chapter. The relationships between the characters, dark academia elements and the mystery involving tarot cards? This is my kind of book. I've pre-ordered this book as soon as I finished reading and even if I don't plan yet to give it a re-read, I am so happy to look at it at my bookshelf. I also absolutely loved the guide to the tarot at the end - as someone who tried to learn it once but gave up, it was a nice addition and made guiding around the novel a bit easier.