Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

What a fun read! The writing was great and characters were really memorable. The story was a real ride, a mystery I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see resolved. And the finale? Incredible.

Thank you to the author Kane Jesse Howard for allowing me to read Romeo's card early!

I really enjoyed reading this queer mystery novel. It was thrilling and full of surprises.

Just finished this book and oh my god. I need to buy this book and eat it page by page until this story lives in me forever.

The writing is SO BEAUTIFUL, it's so compelling and I blazed through a good 60% of the book in a couple of hours (at night) before my eyes were stinging from my phone's glare. I loved how there was action straight away in the first few chapters, paired with the gradual introduction to the world of Romeo's Card, which I really love. There were so many anxiety-inducing moments in this book (which was strangely enjoyable to read), wlw panic that made me smile uncontrollably, and the descriptions! Oh my god the descriptions in this book was well done and really made me feel like I'm seeing what Romeo's seeing. I do love how much of a dilemma I was in whether or not to trust and like Romeo at the beginning. Oh, and speaking of trust, this book gave me massive trust issues.

I won't spoil this book but can I talk about the final showdown? I'm going ballistic. I am ballistic. OH it's so nicely wrapped together OUGH I'll not shut up about this book.

Okay .. i have discovered a new favourite author, a new favourite book and a lot of favourite characters !!!
WHAT AN ADVENTURE
The writing was good ! Kept me intrigued the whole time this was a mix between V.E shwab leigh bardugo and fricking Shakespeare
The plot was simple yet well done.
This ARC has exceeding my expectations ...also ....ROMEO IS THE MOST OBLIVIOUS CHARACTER OH MY GOD lol
I'll have a full reading vlog on my channel soon after editing it. but yeah this was just absolutely perfect it went back to basic fantasy and it 100% was everything that makes this whole genre so loved. Absolutely loved it and cannot wait for more from the author.

I'd like to thank Netgalley for the ARC!

I went into this book with a lot of hopes. The plot sounded interesting and I have a great love of queer genre fiction. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book. For various reasons, it took great time and energy to get through for me personally, so I only made it about halfway in, or 200 pages. To this book's credit, it is a sapphic road trip with magic and mystery. If you enjoy the fun of tropes like there was only bed or the idea pining intensified by plot relevant scenarios then this book is definitely worth checking out. It's a solid escapist sapphic fantasy story and I am sorry I couldn't finish it, but there were enough technical issues for me to the point where I didn't want to finish. Don't let this discourage you if you're looking for a casual queer read though. My much longer thoughts are below.

Even with only being half way through, a lot had happened. The beginning was very jam-packed and there was a lot to process, both action-wise and worldbuilding-wise. There are witches in the world that seem relatively common (or at least common enough for powerful spells to be accessed online), supernatural entities and gods, and heaven and hell. The main character is a shape shifter, but also a witch, who through teenage dabbling gave herself telekinesis. A lot of this is revealed right when it's useful and there was a fair amount of expository writing that could have been integrated a little smoother. At one point, the main character conveniently remembers a helpful piece of lore and asks her companion if she could think of anything like that. Her companion remembers something with that wording precisely and they immediately find what they were looking for. To me it was a shame, because it was so plot relevant that I was hoping for more build up.
The other main issue for was simply that I did not enjoy what I can only assume is the eventual love interest. This part is a matter of personal taste, so please take it with a grain of salt. However, the love interest is often very naive and generally looks to the main character for everything. At one point when the main character needs to steal food, she helpfully distracts the love interest by saying, "Hey, look, clothes." The love interest quickly looks away and loses focus. And yet, her relationship with the main character is awfully one sided despite her reliance. The love interest is often judgemental or dismissive of the main character, with two points where I was in the book where she seriously upset her. In contrast, the main character does tell herself that the relationship is for personal gain, but is incredibly devoted despite only knowing the love interest for a short while. It wasn't to my taste.
Of course, this all super subjective and I can see a different reader having a lot of fun, which absolutely trumps technical standards. If my issues with it don't sound that bad, then perhaps you might want to give a try.