So this is spectacular - so much so that I’m desperate for it to come out so I can make all my friends read it.

Ann’s academic career is faltering, when she fails to secure a post-grad place, but then a summer museum job in New York provides an opportunity and escape from her dusty hometown. Still reeling from the death of her father, she arrives ready to make her name and salvage her career.

A twist of fate means her role has vanished before it even began, but a fortunate intervention finds her working at the Cloisters. Here she’s drawn into a dark world of mysticism, ambition, jealousy, ancient poisons and murder. Like the Secret History but with tarot it’s twisty and gripping with one twist that made me gasp out loud.

Beautifully written, with fabulous descriptions and a gorgeous gothic setting, it’s a gripping read. I loved it, and I wanted more. The characters are well drawn and you find yourself desperately wanting to be part of their world - even as it’s descending into danger. Loved the tarot, the art, the artefacts. Everything is so well described, and so beautiful. The ambitious and cliquey nature of academia is a perfect setting for this kind of book.

Good for lovers of the Secret History (Tartt), The Likeness (French) and If We Were Villains.

I’ll be buying a hardback version for a reread as soon as it’s out.

The stunning cover of this book was the first thing that drew me to it, the second was that it is set in a gothic museum - The Cloisters in New York. You only have to google it and see the place to immediately dive straight in. Ann has left her home and her recently widowed mother to move to New York to work at the museum for Patrick who is driven to find references to ancient tarot, ancient forms of divination to show that this is the key to telling the future. She joins Rachel who has been Patrick's researcher for some months. She is drawn into the research but also realises that Patrick and Rachel are keeping something from her. She is also drawn to the gardens and the gardener, Leo with whom she has a relationship. Her working relationship with Rachel also changes in a closer friendship of sorts. The work consumes her and when, as part of her research, Ann finds a set of tarot cards that are older than anything in the museum's collection she finds that she is drawn into a dangerous situation where she finds that her relationships take on a different hue.

The writing, the descriptions of the museum and the gardens are so atmospheric and at times quite creepy. As for the characters, Rachel is the rich girl who charms everyone around her while Ann at times comes across as quite naive. Sadly, however, I could not empathise with Ann. While I could appreciate that everyone deals with grief differently and that the loss of her father had affected her badly, for me the almost callous way that she abandoned her grieving mother, not returning texts etc, I just could not like her.

But, despite my feelings about Ann, I enjoyed this immensely, especially the twists that I never expected, the secrets that were revealed, as well as the descriptions of the tarot cards, the rivalries in academic circles and he rich settings. An excellent debut.

Fun and enjoyable book mixing academia, the occult and art together in one book. Slightly supernatural, slightly thriller, this book is a good read.

I was completely swept away by this engrossing, sinister book, and loved the way it played with the ideas of fate and choice. Ann was a complicated, spiky character but I was firmly on her side, and I was definitely drawn to Leo. I loved the way it started with the scene in the library, then backtracked to where it all started. The Cloisters was such an atmospheric setting, both beautiful and unnerving, and I loved the slow way things played out, ramping up to some conclusions I had anticipated and some I was properly shocked by. A dark and compelling read that I know is going to linger in my thoughts for a long time.

The story was well written and kept my interest. I would have loved it if there had been more focus on the tarot cards other than as a museum piece.
The characters were mostly likeable though some changes to some felt a little rushed towards the end.
The suspense was well paced and kept me guessing until the end.

Initially it was the cover and the title of the book which drew me in!!

But I’m ngl this book was very easy to get into, had really good pacing!!

This book is full of suspense and twists, making for an exciting read.
Definitely surpassed my expectations

Ann Stilwell arrives in New York ready to spend the summer working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art but instead she is assigned to The Cloisters a museum with a medieval art collection and a garden tended by the laid back Leo.

Ann is unsure In herself and desperate to escape from the sadness at home. She is drawn to her confident, rich and clever fellow researcher Rachel who treats the lead curator Patrick like an equal. Rachel pulls Ann in closer and closer so that their research on the history of divination becomes suffocating. The academic study of Tarot falls by the wayside in the hunt for the ultimate pack of Tarot cards that can show the future. Ann is not sure if she can trust Rachel or if Leo is as straightforward as he seems. As jealousies build in the summer’s oppressive heat the hypnotic pull of the Tarot seems to have a hand in everyone’s fate.

A beautiful compelling book, I just loved it and would have read it in one sitting if I could. The descriptions of the museum are heady and evocative and the characters’ steps along the path to risking everything for their obsession are convincing and spellbinding.

Highly recommended.

'The Cloisters' is slow, overly earnest and derivative. This is not Donna Tartt, although the effort desperately to emulate 'The Secret History' is one of the novel's defining features.

'The Cloisters' is lazy in parts because it expects its readership to have read other literature dealing with these tropes, setting, and characters, and so Katy Hays writes in a slack manner that assumes you will be familiar already with, for instance, her characters' motivations, amongst other things; characters' behaviour is launched into without preliminary establishment of motive or drive. This applies even to Ann, the main character. I was asking myself till far beyond two-thirds in why she does what she does with the stolen tarot card. The novel takes much too long to offer what feels like a cursory glance at Ann’s motivations:

'The discovery, we both knew, would cement our careers, our stature in the academic world. It was an opportunity neither of us could risk by sharing what we knew with Patrick. Both of us knew how easily, how quickly the narrative of the discovery might shift, from us – two young women at the beginning of their careers – to Patrick, an established researcher of the occult. And so we had decided to keep quiet and bide our time.’

Motives are revealed at around the 90% mark, which was far too late to strain my interest. After that, the protagonist's behaviour is simply bizarre and unbelievable:

'What did one say to a friend who has committed murder? How was it possible to pass the time until you simply couldn’t avoid the truth any longer?’

Finally, at the end of the book, the author seems to realise what has been lacking and spells things out for the reader in the quaintest of manners:

‘New York had shown me how hungry I was. Hungry for joy and risk, hungry to admit, aloud to everyone around me, my ambitions. Hungry to realize them. Instead of being filled with fear, I was filled with a kind of giddy joy. And the knowledge that in a city like this, it was possible to start over, to make the memory of my father something that drove me forward, not something that held me back.’

On a plot level, protagonist Ann's dewey-eyed reaction to both Patrick and Leo is cringe-worthy and lacking any edge or originality:

'I could feel his breath on my neck. The way he inhabited my space was always a little unnerving, taking up too much of it, like it wasn’t mine, but his. And while it should have made me nervous, it only made me excited. It made me want to unlock all the carefully compartmentalized qualities in my life and let them loose.’

The scenes between Ann and Leo are nauseating. For instance, when Ann asks for Leo’s number, he says, "Give me a pen. I'll give it to you", then the following:

“Give me your arm,” said Leo, and I held it out obediently, enjoying the way he embossed the number on my skin, onto the softest part of my arm. “There,” he said. “Now you have it.” ’

In response, Ann gushes: ‘It was like Leo’s attraction to me was expansive and hungry, like it might eat the table, the bar, my life. I wanted to let him.’

On top of this, I was bewildered at how Ann could be so blind to Leo and Rachel’s involvement with each other for almost the entire novel!

So much of this book, particularly the wildly padded-out first 50%, speaks not to character or plot, but to dumps of research outcomes. Hays's coyness of style is mixed, curiously, with a brand of clunky author-splaining where characters decry huge chunks of author research as speech, as unnatural and stuffy as if they were reading excerpts from a dictionary. And from here, the author veers into the downright patronising:

‘ “Yes, but tarot,” Aruna interrupted, “only became part of the occult in the eighteenth century. Before, it was a trump-taking game. Something like bridge, played by the aristocracy. Four people, sitting around a table, shuffling and dealing a simple deck of cards. It wasn’t until that charlatan Antoine de Gebelin got involved that tarot cards were transformed into something more” – she waved her hands – “mystical.”
“Gebelin,” Rachel said, facing me, “was a notorious eighteenth-century rake of the French court. And he suggested that Egyptian priests, using the Book of Thoth, not fifteenth-century Italians, were responsible for the creation of the tarot deck, which consists, of course, of four suits like our regular deck, plus twenty-two cards that we now call the Major Arcana. Things like the High Priestess card, for example. Which used to be the Popess.”

A small thing, but linguistic repetition that is not used as a purposeful technique really irks me, and Hays, here, is tiresomely fond of the term 'parse' and uses it ad infinitum. Similarly overused is the word ‘scholar’; quite the antiquated term in British English. Some of Hays’s views on the academic world are downright outrageous: ‘I thought little about his obsessions because we were all too preoccupied with our own. That was, after all, what being an academic was all about.’

Katy Hays’s biography states that she has worked at major art institutions, but that fact doesn’t tally with the uncannily naïve depictions of the fine running of the mechanisms behind museums and galleries. If you work/have worked within the sector, prepare to feel patronised:

‘So while I hadn’t been through the storage facilities on Fifth Avenue, I knew from my brief time at The Cloisters that precious items were stored in all sorts of ways. So long as the room was climate controlled and protected from harsh sunlight, very little else mattered. But of course, visitors to museums don’t see works of art in that way, as functional objects to be rotated and deployed to create meaning. They see each one as a treasure, something they imagine finding in their attic, among their family storage, something they give immense value to out of sentimentality and lack of true research.’

Throughout, I was shocked at how wildly inaccurate and wacky Hays’s depiction of the museums and galleries sector is:

‘We both laughed and I thought to myself again how remarkable it was that we were rarely bothered by security, that we were allowed to work, to walk, to pass through the spaces of The Cloisters whenever and however we wanted, despite the value of work on display.’

The writing is clunky and in places reads as though sections of action or paragraphs of description have been moved around in editing and later scenes haven't been adjusted to reflect the removal or reshuffling of material in the draft. For instance, after Ann has had exactly two readings of the tarot, the text describes her as reporting: 'I had started to rely upon the cards to guide me, to sharpen [my intuition].’ Sections that exist side-by-side are, in places, plainly contradictory. For instance, Ann relates that Leo’s working area in the museum gardens shows ‘a tenderness to how carefully everything was arranged, to the handfuls of flowers tied up and drying from pegs on the wall, to the way the cutting shears were all tucked, sharp end down, into terra-cotta pots.’ Yet, within a few paragraphs, Ann describes the same location as ‘grassy and walled off from the rest of the museum, containing two small sheds and a long greenhouse full of sprouts. There were garden items like grass trimmers and cutting shears littered in piles, stacks of empty pots and bits of errant stonework tucked out of sight of any curious visitors. There were trash cans full of trimmings and a clump of leaves had been spread across the composting bed.’ I can't help but think that a final proof-read and edit is necessary here to iron out these chunks of chapters that read achronologically or antithetically.

‘The Cloisters' reads like a hesitant debut novel; the author too naïve to meet the expectations of readers of this sub-genre of ‘Dark Academia’, which is becoming so tired a type of fiction that it requires handling with verve and substance if it is to be accomplished with success, especially by first-time authors. Only at 45% did a trace of a plot emerge, and I wished to goodness we could have foregone the first almost-half of the novel. With a premise that promises a novel ‘Deeply researched, lushly and thrillingly told’, as the blurb claims, a novel that ‘explores the blurred line between what is real and imagined, the magical melding of the modern and the arcane – and the power we have to defy what is written in the stars in order to shape our own destinies’, this book should not have taken 50% of its substance to become interesting. The blurb is more expansive and finely crafted than the novel itself; for ‘deeply researched’, read ‘puffed out with detail’ or ‘lacking in plot and structure’.

All citations given are from a digital advanced copy and therefore subject to change in final publication.

My thanks are due to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the chance to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Okay… I can’t start talking about the novel without first acknowledging this cover.

This absolutely beautiful, stunning artwork is just amazing. Certainly did it’s job in stopping my scrolling and screamed “Pick me”!
So after all of that build up and expectation did it live up to it. Yes, yes it did and then some!

This was such a brilliant read, with a storyline involving Tarot cards. I’ve never read anything like this before, I thought it was fab. I was so engrossed in this book I barely noticed the amount I’d read in one sitting. It just had me gripped, where I needed to know what happened.
Honestly? The combination of the characters, the story, the atmosphere & the descriptive nature, the author has created a masterpiece. Chef’s kiss amazing. I’ll be recommending this to my friends without a doubt. I’ll also be on the lookout for more from this author in the future.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my arc.

I loved this tale of tarot and obsession . Great story and well researched on all things in the cards

Whilst I enjoyed this book, and have been interested in finding a decent tarot novel for a while, it didn't quite have the pay off I would have liked.
The characterisation was good and I thought Ann felt very real, and Rachel and Leo made decent foils for Ann to interact with.
The setting was fantastic, with the Cloisters museum and a hot NYC really brought to life.
But the murder mystery just didn't hang together for me, the motives of the suspects was negligible and the 'big reveal' was a bit 'so what'.
The prose was interesting and I can see the author tried to create something quite intellectual but as a whole this novel wasn't as clever as it would have liked to have been.

Ann Shiwell, an early Renaissance student, is looking for a summer job and is offered a place at The Cloisters Museum by the Curator Patrick. The Cloisters is a beautiful building having been rebuilt during the 1930s to resemble a medieval monastery. Patrick and his associate Rachel are researching the origins of Tarot cards. Rachel and Ann become good friends and Ann moves in with Rachel. There is an extensive garden at The Cloisters looked after by Leo whose particular interests lie in the herbs and poisons he grows. The four main characters become entangled with their powerful motivations and dreams. I was in initially fascinated by the history of the tarot but felt the story then became bogged down with too much information and not enough action - I was skipping chunks of paragraphs! A shame as I had initially been hooked!

I love dark academia novels and this one definitely fits the bill, especially as it was inspired by The Secret History. The dark and gothic tones were gripping, especially at this time of year and the plot was intriguing.

I felt like this book was so intelligent, with great twists and turns. This is quite an atmospheric book, being set in a museum really emphasised the genre.

The only negative I have is the pacing of the book. It takes quite a while for the build-up to end and for us to get the 'action' so to speak. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable and I am glad to have read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

The Cloisters has an interesting premise with extremely good writing throughout. I found it very atmospheric so was instantly gripped with the story and setting. It had a pretty slow start to get to the "action" as it were, around 50% of the way through.
Although I overall enjoyed it I felt that the ending was weak. Even though I found the writing atmospheric, I felt kept at arms length and not as drawn in to the story as I should have been given the beautiful wedding.
Overall, I enjoyed it very much and feel that fans of dark academia will love it.

Ann Stilwell arrives at The Met for her summer internship but finds herself instead working at The Cloisters, a museum specialising in medieval art and architecture. She begins assisting her new mentor and his protegee Rachel with research for an exhibition on tarot; however, things soon take a turn when a member of the team is found murdered and Ann goes in search of answers.

This debut novel by Kathy Hays is very atmospheric and you feel yourself becoming immersed in the world of The Cloisters – the history, the artefacts and the air of mystery that they lend.

As a former history and museum student, I found Ann and her thirst for knowledge from the past to be very relatable. An undercurrent of the supernatural mixed with suspicion and deception makes this story a really gripping page-turner.

Unfortunately, after such a build-up, I was disappointed with the ending. I expected complex twists but, as another reviewer stated, the author has gone for a much more reserved approach.

This book is just superb. Set in The Cloisters museum, this novel tells the story of Ann, a young intern, and her summer spent with those who work there. Revered academics are devoted to their research in divination, and as Ann becomes drawn in by the secrets they seem to be uncovering, she begins to question fate and chance herself.

Very dark and with perfect twists and turns, this is a fresh new take on the dark academia genre. Think enigmatic professors, candle-lit libraries and hidden art combined with a pace which accelerates as secrets are revealed. Super smart and with reveals that you won’t see coming!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Katy Hays for my ARC of ‘The Cloisters’ in return for my honest review.

I was drawn to the book at the mention of ‘The Secret History’ which is a favourite of mine. To a large extent I could see why it was mentioned and did enjoy the read.

Ann Stillwell wants to escape and is struggling to cope with the death of her father. She ends up at The Cloisters, New York where she investigates occultism. She discovers a deck of 15th century Tarot Cards and all begins to spiral.

Cleverly told with Ann, her boss Patrick and the cold, calculating Rachel evolving as well-rounded characters.

Full of twists and turns. Recommended

This book’s blurb mentions The Secret History and The Cloisters wears this inspiration on its sleeve. The protagonist, Ann, is from an ordinary background. She leaves her unremarkable West Coast American town for an elite institution on the East Coast, The Cloisters Museum where Professor Patrick Roland employs her as an intern along with the beautiful and monied Rachel.
Seduced by the grandeur of the museum and the desirable lifestyles on offer, Ann begins to participate in the occult practises carried out by Rachel and their Professor Patrick, who are obsessed by tarot card readings. Patrick being convinced that the practises of 15th century Italy can not only read their fate but alter it.

A good read, it definitely held my attention.

The Cloisters is definitely inspired by Secret History and whilst it is well written and enjoyable I feel it lags a little in the middle. Tighter pacing would have helped the final third really grip me as a reader. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, I just feel there's a better (shorter) book nestled in it's pages. (Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review)

A fresh-faced starry-eyed small town researcher arrives in New York expecting to spend her summer in the guts of the Metropolitan Museum of Art but ends up being sent to the Cloisters, the Met gothic affiliate with gorgeous conservation gardens and renown medieval collection. There , she becomes entangled in the messy dynamic of the team she is now an involuntary part of. Shrouded in mystery, magic and history, the quest for the meaning of a deck of tarot cards turns deadly and draws you in the atmospheric halls of the ancient building. Deception, seduction and ambition make an explosive and fascinating read riddled with facts about Tarot through the years, this book definitely stands out with a narrative so unexpected it might cost you a full night sleep.