The premise of this story drew me in but unfortunately for me it failed to match my expectations. The writing was very good and the author’s knowledge of the subject was exceptional but I felt the pace of the book was all wrong. Information was sprung upon me that I felt had no prior lead up and the story got bogged down in detail.

DNF. Everything about this book appealed to me. Mystery, history, occult. I should have loved it. But I was just… bored. I couldn’t care about the protagonist, or her small circle of scholars, or their quest to establish historical precedence and credibility of tarot. I tried to stick with it but found I was conjuring up excuses not to read. So I admit defeat and move on. Two stars because the writing is good and a more patient reader could appreciate that

I absolutely loved this. The slow build of tension, the characters and plot line and the settings were memorable and gripping. A great thriller exploring the dynamics of a friendship but with great deflection away from the truth, until it is finally revealed at the end.

If you were a fan of The Atlas Six, but fancy something a little more sinister, then The Cloisters by Katy Hays might be for you. In the hustle and bustle of New York lie the Cloisters, a dark enigmatic place renowned for its collection of medieval and Renaissance art. Ann, our MC, finds herself working here after a chance encounter with the museum curator Patrick. He is desperate to unlock the history and secrets of tarot, but, after a chance discovery the novel quickly tumbles down a rabbit hole of deceit and obsession.

I feel like I'm looking out from the inside of a renaissance painting when I read this book. Through the layers of dust and varnish, surrounded by painted fading roses, I can see this haunting world. It's a lovely adult, dark academia, novel with fantastic imagery throughout. It captures you quickly and soon you are being tugged into a gloriously sinister world. I loved the descriptions of the tarot cards, of the clear descriptions of fate throughout and the guide to tarot at the back of the novel. I also loved the scientific names for plants and descriptions of their use. I feel like this book is perfect between a fantasy novel, an apothecary guide and a explanation of tarot meanings.

I would recommend this book to anyone who feels like they'd like a haunting escape into a world of tradition, prestige and scholars that has become tainted at the edges with secrets and lies. The Cloisters will echo in your mind for months to come.

Wow. Just wow.
I devoured this splendid novel in two sittings - I could barely put it down.

I was invited to apply (thank you NetGalley) with a strapline mentioning The Secret History, as a favourite book of mine I knew I needed to read The Cloisters, and it didn’t disappoint, which is a really tall order!

The atmosphere of the cold gothic building was superbly described, the story weaves its way through the whole book and ended up somewhere you really didn’t expect at all. The characters were well written and had their own complexities that you were left to imagine yourself - putting your own theories to the test as the book moved on through the story.

It’s an absolute 5 stars from me, I loved it and will definitely read it again.

I will read anything marketed a being reminiscent of The Secret History and am pretty much always disappointed, but not this time! I loved this dark academia novel. Ann is a fish-out-of-water recent college graduate who flees her small Washington town for a job in NYC's Metropolitan Museum. Rather than working at the Met in the heart of NYC she ends up being assigned to the Cloisters, a Medieval off-shoot of the museum located in northern Manhattan. She ends up working alongside glamorous, Ivy-League educated Rachel and becomes enamored of her. They are researching Renaissance era tarot cards for an upcoming exhibition. They become sucked into the draw of the tarot cards as events begin to spiral out of their control, forcing them to confront issues of free-will vs. fate. The Cloisters setting is perfect for this story, and the marriage of the occult and academia worked very well in this story.

The Cloisters is a novel about a woman who moves to New York City to work in a museum, only to find herself drawn into strange Tarot research, questions about fate, and a toxic web of relationships. Ann moves from her hometown in Washington to New York, ready to start a summer role at the Met. When a mistake leads her to end up working at The Cloisters instead, a small museum and garden focusing on medieval and Renaissance art, Ann meets Patrick and Rachel, both working at The Cloisters and intrigued by the history of Tarot. As Ann finds herself drawn into the work and into Rachel's world, things start to spiral out of control.

This book is being marketed as very much a modern version of The Secret History, and the focus on Tarot seems perfect for that, fitting into the contemporary internet interests in astrology and Tarot that probably are liked by people who also like the dark academia genre. The premise, with a less well-off protagonist moving across the country to find academic success, sounds very much like The Secret History, but like many similar books, it lacks the actual atmosphere and ever-increasing stakes of Tartt's novel, focusing more on Ann's torn allegiance between Rachel and Leo, Ann's love interest and gardener at The Cloisters.

The novel starts promisingly, but a lot of the narrative doesn't quite go down the dark routes it seems it might and doesn't really linger with the questions of power and fate as much as a mystery story and some flawed characters. The revelations in the plot are neither surprising nor particularly bring tension (Ann as the narrator doesn't really draw out any kind of sinister atmosphere and the big moments in the narrative don't really get enough drama), but it is a decent story, particularly if you focus more on Ann's journey from an uncertain person leaving her past behind to someone with more of a sense of purpose. The wider main characters don't actually interact as much as you might expect, and any interesting elements between Ann and Rachel in terms of their dynamic aren't really explored, either in terms of a Talented Mr Ripley-esque wanting to be her or any kind of sexual tension.

Though on paper The Cloisters sounds like a perfect novel for the moment, with Tarot and dark academia and a young woman trying to prove her research-worth, for me The Cloisters didn't quite delve far enough into its characters and concepts. Plenty of fans of books like The Secret History will probably like it (and maybe if you're more interested in Tarot than me, that side of thing will particularly appeal, as there's a lot of interesting history and lore), but as with many books trying to be this kind of novel, this one doesn't quite feel dark enough or build up enough atmosphere.

Describing The Cloisters as 'The Secret History' for a new generation is a bold claim - whether it is a sign of confidence in a debut novel or a reawakened interest to find the next 'version of that title will be up to the reader to decide. There are clear parallels - a novel set against a background of academia, telling us from the first chapter 'things did not go well' and layered elements of relationships between the central characters.
The novel centres on Ann, coming from a small community to New York, and hoping to begin her career in art history academia. Rachel, the enigmatic socialite/ academic hybrid, Patrick, the curator of the titular art gallery and Leo, the mysterious gardener (cum author/ punk band member).
I enjoyed the book - and was not put off, as some seem to have been, by the at times leisurely (or descriptive) passages and chapters. I did find it slightly at odds with itself in the telling of the tale: to the point where I'm not sure whether the revelations that came out in the final chapters were meant to be 'twists' or not. It felt, deliberately or not, as pre-ordained in its resolution as the book's central question of predetermination versus fate questions.
How much the reader enjoys the book may be affected by their views on a specific element central to the story. Without wanting to present spoilers,. I'll just say that there is a lengthy explanation after the novel's end outlining the themes/ rules to help the reader understand key points of something they may have been struggling to understand the relevance of throughout the book itself.
Overall, I enjoyed the writing style, but it is not one that seems to allow us to 'care' for any of the characters in it. I wouldn't say it is 'dry' it's just... quite academic.
Is it the new The Secret History? No - but it's an enjoyable read.

Many thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Katy Hays for the advanced copy of The Cloisters via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

I was drawn in by the absolutely beautiful cover of The Cloisters and the dark, atmospheric promises of the synopsis.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the book itself.

It was very obvious that the academic content of the book is something close to the author’s heart, and something they wanted to share with the world. However, it was not shared in a terribly gripping way and lead to me skim-reading at times.

The promises of academic obsession, sinister atmospheres and sexual tension fell flat for me. The academic interests were tedious, the atmospheres were repetitive and the sexual contents were awkward. The male love interest was awkward and the other possible sexual tension character…was that sexual tension? It certainly did not strike me as such.

Overall, unfortunately the book fell flat for me. Even the ‘ah ha’ moment didn’t inspire me and it’s not left any imprint on my brain at all, which has saddened me, as I had such high hopes for it!

Moods: dark, mysterious, reflective
Pace: slow-medium
Character development: weak
Plot or character driven: plot
Diversity: low
Trigger warnings: Abusive relationship, Alcohol/drug abuse, Death, Death of a family member, Mental Illness, Murder, Poisoning, Suicide
Rating: 3/5

'The Cloisters' starts as pretentious as I expect from a dark academia novel and I like the writing style. Sadly the book has some flaws, that hindered my enjoyment. Although the particular eras of art history are obviously well researched, they are often presented from one character in an info dump, instead of an organic discussion.
It's also not clear what draws the main character into Patrick and Rachel. Supposedly they're all charismatic, but we don't ever see them being that. Conversations are skipped, bonding time is skipped.
Besides the setting and the aspects of grief, which I really enjoyed, there's nothing pulling me into the story. The main character is so bland, none of the intrigue transfers to the reader and I struggled to get even 30 percent in. Overall just not enough character work, not enough academia for my taste.

I can't rate this book higher than five stars, which is a damn shame. Dark, gripping, and ridiculously readable - this is a The Secret History for the 2020s, delving into the world of academia and exploring the history of fortune telling. Utterly brilliant

This was a wild ride and I LOVED IT. Twisty, so full of vivid architectural, historical and artistic imagery it delivered on every level. I loved the depiction of New York and the clever pacing. A brilliant novel.

I couldnt put this book down and read it in one sitting. I loved it it was deliciously dark and so well written. I loved the front cover too.

"We are, you see, both masters of our fate and at the mercy of the Moirai— the three Fates who weave our futures and cut them short."

The Cloisters is the dark academia I've been longing for!

It is beautifully written and thrillingly paced. I felt the tension and claustrophobia from start to finish like I was there myself, walking under the gothic arches of The Cloisters. Ann's obsession became my obsession. I desperately wanted to be a part of their candlelit tarot readings and get lost in the belief that our fates are written in the stars.

I also loved how at the end of the book there's a guide to reading tarot. I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy upon release!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I felt sure I was going to really like this.
Drawn in by the cover and sticking around for the tarot, tense relationships, and the claustrophobic Cloisters.
It fell a bit flat for me.
There were chapters I thought great, others just dragged.
Unfortunately though, it went exactly as I thought it would, so held few surprises.
Never the less, the world of the Cloisters itself was somewhere I'd love to go again.
A setting I'd happily read about again