I really liked the concept with fate and destiny (card), and how much you can control yourself. The characters are well written, and the story is good. I was entertained and will recommend this book to others who like fantasy, witches, and adventure.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for e-ARC in return for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I really did not enjoy this book.

The concept was really interesting but honestly got lost in the writing and almost became an after thought.

The writing style wasn’t for me, I found it clunky and the dialogue for me was unbelievable.

The story is over explained in some places (the draining of mana) and under explained in other places (what magic can Morgana actually access - this seemed to change to fit the plot).

There was a lot of repetitive info dumping and tropes that I just don’t go for - miscommunication, pregnancy - and plot holes.. at one stage a character essentially zones out while ‘off screen’ for a fight scene and animals regularly running away during fight scenes but conveniently returning once the action is over.

This book has given me a severe dislike of the word amble - why can no one walk and how does a horse amble exactly?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an opportunity to read this book. This is my honest opinion/feedback.

I intrigued of the premise of the book, especially because I am a professional tarot card reader. However, I struggled to work through the book because I felt like many other reviewers I felt like the world building and characters were a bit flat. The characters didn’t draw me in as much as I would’ve liked. I wish the author went into more detail about the importance of the fate cards. For example, why are Golden Empress and Hanged Man soul cards? What’s the correlation between the two? Could any two major arcana cards (e.g. Death and the Magician) be paired together? Again, maybe I’m nitpicking because I read tarot. But the chapter titles mad more sense to me than the premise of the major arcana/soul cards.

I enjoy fantasy fiction, but at times the dialogue between the characters felt stiff, like they were just going through the motions instead of really talking to each other.

The book has good bones but I just wished it was fleshed out a bit more.

I really wanted to like this one, but I just could not get into it.

Morgana is an orphan who is blessed with magic in a time where magic is considered to be terrifying and she had to hide her abilities. When her best friend, Princess Lafraya, is kidnapped by the Demon king Morgana must team up with Captain Leopold and Princess Lafraya's fiancé, Duke Leighton, to go and find Layfraya.

Will Morgana give in to her long time crush, Leo? Will they live to find Lafraya? And, who is the Demon King?

Unfortunately, while the premise of this book is excellent, I really struggled with the language. From "I concur" to "my bad". It just didn't work for me.

This was a very middle-of-the-road book for me. But I do know people I can recommend this book to that will love and enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Cards of Fate in return for an honest review. The book is about a witch in hiding trying to find her cousin, the princess, from the Demon Lord. Morgana, the witch, is being accompanied by Lafreya’s (the princess) fiancé, Leighton and the captain of the guard (and Morgana’s love interest) Leopold. I decided to dnf this book at 17%. The few things I think should be revisited are: 1) the writing. It was very hard for me to want to continue reading this book because the writing style felt akin to when I used to write short stories in middle school. I feel that maybe the author and the editor could go back and revise some of the novel. 2) the characters. I am sorry but I couldn’t attach myself to any of the characters. I feel they were very two dimensional and they would just say the most random things that in that moment no character would say. For example, when Lafreya is kidnapped, Morgana feels responsible because she was under her care. Leopold (her love interest) shows up and this man who is in love with her says (to the effect of) well if I had been there this wouldn’t have happened. But oh well. I just don’t think a character would say that to someone who they supposedly love. 3rd) there is mention of SA in the novel and they way it is handled feels (to me) very random and also brushed over like it isn’t a big deal. You have the characters inner monologue about how that was hard for her and then in the next sentence the character is acting like it wasn’t a big deal. It felt very weird to read. The book comes out 2/14/23 but I will not be purchasing it.

Thank you to Quill Keen Press for the opportunity to read, rate and review this book which is out Feb 14,2023

I found this story okay. Nothing about it grabbed me, felt special or even passed meh. Even the spicy parts were kinda blah. To be honest this was a chore to get through. The premise was great. Writing just fell flat.

But like always even if I don’t like it I really hope you give it a try. My yuck just may be your yum.

A dynamic and thrilling medieval romance story. It definitely gave me some Arthurian and magic vibes, so it will appeal to readers who are fans of that fantasy subgenre. The worldbuilding and magic systems are enchantingly rich and captivating; you will become lost in this adventure. Morgana de Laurent is a high stakes heroine who understandably wants to safeguard her partner as well as her powers. It's not often that I read a story about a witch on the run who actually has a support system behind her, i.e., in this case Leopold and Lafreya. If you enjoy stories about women embracing their destinies and finding love along the way, then this is the perfect read for you!

Writing: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Character Development: 4/5
World Building: 3/5

Warnings: Language, Sexual Contenr

Themes: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Cards of Fate is about a witch who lives in a kingdom that burns witches. Her best friend is kidnapped and she must work with a duke abd the captain of the guard, who she has feelings for, to rescue her. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Sometimes I wished the author would go into more detail but other than that this was a good read.

This is great for anyone who loves magic, adventure and a quest to save a princess.

I received a free copy of this book and am leaving an honest review.

It was an interesting read and was very well written. I am currently working with Tarot and it was an interesting idea to not only have the characters rely of tarot for their fate, but to assign the chapters certain cards. My one complaint which I do see in other reviews, is that it just felt a little long, and then the ending rushed. I would have liked to have us be more with the demon king and have that drag out, I also feel like he was forgiven too soon. But still a good book that I would recommend to my fantasy lovers.

Thank You Netgalley for a free copy of this book! Now to my thoughts

TW: SA of a child is mentioned.

TL;DR: This book needs more time in the oven before it was written. The characters are flat. The world-building was difficult to follow. And the sex scenes had no tension.

Firstly, this cover is what grabbed my attention. Then the blurb about political intrigue grabbed me like a toddler holding onto their new obsession. The cover is beautiful, the intrigue is nonexistent. That is probably the best word for the book, nonexistent, all the promises that are given aren't held up. We are promised a scary demon king, he turns out to be easily killed with teamwork and magic. We are promised a country that hates magic. We get a few chase scenes. We are promised erotica. We get a couple who have no real barriers to keep them apart and are both. Nice? They're both normal nice people? I don't think there is one interesting thing about Leo that I can remember off the top of my head. And I don't even remember what he looked like. This isn't like reading ACoTaR and I can tell you what Rhysand, Tamlin, and Lucien look like. I don't remember what anyone looks like.

The world-building in this book is abysmal. There is such a great idea here. Fate being a part of everyone's life? How a society would suffer and grow because people know what they are going to do? That's fascinating, but it's not used. Not really outside of Morgana might or might not do something. Sadly outside of the premise things fall apart. Morgana's best friend is a princess who is going to be married so her husband can rule. Though she has a younger brother who in normal monarchies would have taken over after her. It's not explained why she is still going to inherit when her brother would. There is no explanation about the different countries we run through(and yes run, I don't remember the names because there was so little time in them).

Morgana has to be saved for 90% of the book and was knocked out for a good third so we were stuck with the guys who had the same personality just with different goals. The book feels like it's head hopping but the author utilizes scene breaks to justify the head hops. I started to lose track of who I was with and it became a daze for me. I wish we had stuck with just Morgana and Leo if we had to stick with anyone. The moment we popped into Baba Yaga's head I was done. Also yes, Baba Yaga is in this, and she's as disneyfied as I worried she would be. There was no world-building for her so she appeared out of nowhere and I was left questioning if we were in a Slavic country with characters with French names.

Just a little bit more on the romance. Leo and Morgana have the tension of a puddle of water. Why they can't be together on page one is flimsy and once they are on the run it keeps getting dragged on and on about how they both love each other and want to be together, but then don't. It is frustrating to read. and other is no 'will they won't they' it's more 'they're going to be together whatever'. And since they have no tension I also don't want to see them romantically together. The sex scenes were flat because there was no desperation. Then they have a lot of really boring sex scenes and I thought for one moment there was going to be a shift where Leo was going to be manipulating Morgana, but no. They were just horny. Nothing to shake up the story from the characters. They passively continued toward their mission.

Speaking of being passive. That was an issue throughout the whole book. The whole time Morgana and the gang are having to dodge what's happening to them. Yes, they are on their way to save the Princess (I can't remember her name, there were so many L names that I didn't learn the Princess or the Duke's names), but they don't do anything. There is no action being done. Gathering allies in other kingdoms. Tricking the demon king into a trap. Creating a cult to summon another demon who could fight for them. There were so many things the characters could have done to be proactive but they didn't.

I know I've ripped this book apart pretty hard, but I do this to warn folks and to get out all the anger I have in a healthy way. I do hope to see a book with this premise one day. I'm devastated that it wasn't this book. Also I'm giving this a two star review because I didn't DNF and I didn't see typoes on every page. Two stars means it's a book I wish I hadn't picked up and will advise against.

Cards of Fate by A.R. Kingston is a new adult romantic fantasy featuring witch Morgana, Knight Leopold, and Duke Leighton as they seek to recover the kidnapped Princess Lafreya from the evil Demon King. Described as “part thrilling adventure, part erotic romance,” this novel does contain those elements, but in the least satisfying way possible.

Content warning: sexual abuse. And major spoilers to come.

In the beginning of this novel, we learn that Princess Lafreya is in love with the ruler of a bordering dukedom, who himself is the subject of a curse due to his grandfather thwarting the Demon King’s first attempt at world domination. In order to lure the Duke to his demise, the Demon King kidnaps Lafreya. Our heroine Morgana is Lafreya’s cousin and political advisor, so she immediately volunteers to go after Lafreya with Duke Leighton and they are joined by Morgana’s lover Leopold, the Captain of the Guard. The majority of the novel covers their long journey across multiple countries and a sea in order to reach the Demon King’s lair in a land heavily coded as the Middle East. Their goal is to kill the Demon King to save Lafreya’s life and the Duke from his curse.

The three main characters have the maturity of sixteen-year-olds despite being in their mid-20s, and their speech alternates between contemporary surly teenagers and formal Middle Age nobles. The writing style indicates a reading level suitable for middle grade, and yet the frequent mention of sex and sexual abuse precludes the novel from being targeted towards anyone except adults. But even for an adult novel, I was shocked by the flippancy given towards the sexual abuse against Morgana, who is suggested to be a slut for her ongoing sexual activity after being raped by a trusted professor as a teenager. Rather than helping her work through her trauma in a healthy way, her lover Leopold waves away her trauma like an event to be forgotten and even shares her story with Leighton behind her back with no consequences. Additionally, Leopold is constantly horny for Morgana throughout the entire novel no matter how dire their circumstances, which comes across as wholly misplaced attention rather than affection.

The importance of tarot cards waxes and wanes throughout the novel. According to lore, everyone has a particular tarot reading fated for them from birth, which they cannot change. The three main characters plus Lafreya all hold “major arcana cards,” which indicates that they will be important forces for change and have a better chance of not dying in their personal quests. But the tarot cards are largely forgotten for the majority of the novel and they’re waved away as unimportant in the last chapter, so their use is inconsistent and confusing. Morgana’s magical abilities also seem to vary wildly throughout the book according to the needs of the plot. A tick that sucks out magical energy is conveniently used when the plot demands that she be weak, and in the final battle after being totally drained of energy, she springs back up completely renewed within five minutes.

Morgana talks about hiding her identity as a witch her entire life, and yet she openly keeps her natural purple hair and pink eyes- common signs of a predilection for some form of magic; so it doesn’t seem as if she was ever actually in any danger of being persecuted as a witch. She hides her witch heritage from her lover Leopold until past the halfway point in the novel despite them both being fiercely in love for years, which undercuts the strength of their bond. Her reasoning is to shield Leopold from persecution himself as Captain of the Guard, and yet the way he immediately forsakes his position in order to go on their rescue mission should have signaled to Morgana that he was trustworthy much sooner. It’s also unclear how a man in his mid-20s earned the distinction of Captain of the Guard.

The big reveal at the end of the novel is extremely predictable. Throughout the novel, the trio is thwarted by the Demon King’s minions trying to prevent them from rescuing Lafreya, and yet the Demon King personally rescues Morgana multiple times and is somehow able to visit her dreams to warn her to stop her quest. I’ll let you guess the connection between the two. Her memory of him had been magically obscured from her, so when she finally finds out the truth, she has to decide between killing him for the greater good or letting him live and destroy the world. But there was no great emotional connection with him built over the course of the novel, so the great reveal doesn’t leave much of an impression. And when it comes to actually killing him, the fight is over surprisingly quickly and with very little fanfare.

I had high hopes for a fantasy novel that combined adventure and romance with a dash of mystery via tarot cards, but unfortunately I can only warn readers away from picking up this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this arc to read.
I don't think I can say enough positive things about this book, fantasy with a touch of romance (FORBIDDEN ROMANCE AT THAT!). I really loved how unique this concept was and it really had me hooked beginning through end. While the book, I felt, somewhat lacked in painting a picture of the role of witches in this society and just some more details on the context of the setting, I feel like I really connected with our MC Morgana and her journey all together.

I was so engrossed in this book I forgot where I was. I think every fantasy reader will enjoy this as much as I did.
I just reviewed Cards of Fate by A.R. Kingston. #fantasyromanceromanticfantasymedievalknightswitches #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

i love how the author implemented tarot cards into the story! that was what initially drew me to this title when i first requested it. if i had to really critique it, i wish there had been more emotional stakes and and a bit more of a slow burn on the romance, but overall it was a pretty decent read. i feel like the description could be slightly misleading though.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley. But all the opinions are my own.
TW – SA of a child
Cards of Fate follows an orphaned witch who was adopted and moved to a kingdom which kills witches. The main character then tries to help find someone who is kidnapped.
The description was just up my alley. Also, the idea of using tarot cards reminds me of another book I read recently and loved. So, I was extremely excited to read this book. I believe that the writing was not up to par with the content of the book. I think that the writing style was more suited for a younger audience.
I think if the book had more political intrigue, no trauma, and enrich the characters it would have been a much better book. As someone who has dealt with SA in my life a trigger warning would have been great. Also, I do not appreciate how the topic was handled in the book. It was done in poor taste.
There is a lot of spice that at times was cringe and did not feel natural. I wish this book was executed differently. If the writing style and dialogue was edited better, I think it would have been more enjoyable. The world building needed to be fully fleshed out and the ending was predictable.
I will not be purchasing or recommending this book.

“You need to die first. You’ll have plenty of time to rescue your girl. Trust me”
“Dear child, you can’t heal a wound by opening up a fresh ones.”
This book was totally unexpected!!! When I saw the cover and read the blurb I kind of had an idea of where it would have led me but I had no idea it would have been this good!!!
A fantasy romance with some characters you’d be fighting against the devil for.
Political intrigue as well as magic and a spicy romance made this book so interesting it was hard to put it down !!!
Morgana and Leopold were absolutely the sweetest and their friends so amazing I couldn’t just fall for them all!!
Leopold is mmc I don’t usually prefer (morally grey kinda gal here) but this time around his sweetness and devotion completely caught me in the net!!!
The magical system was great with mention of Slavic folklore and fully based on the deck of cards used for tarots.
And there were magical creatures too!!
But most of all I have to say I loved how the author dealt with the SA theme and how the character tries to deal with her emotions and feeling on the aftermath of that !!!
And that ending !!! Beautiful plot twist at the end of the book that, to be completely honest, was half expected and half not, and I absolutely loved it!!
I’m so glad I had a chance to read this book and I can’t wait for it to be out!!
“I am the luckiest man on the planet because you consider me to be important to you”
“What if I don’t care? What if I want to walk into hell with you and bathe in the flames at your side?”
“I know now that fate cards only show you a glimpse of your future. Good or bad, out destiny is up to us”

There is no trigger warning on Netgalley or in the beginning of the book - This book contains depictions of SA of a child by an authority figure and Mental Health issues and trauma responses relating to that abuse

I picked up this title due to the description - our main character an 'orphaned witch living in the last kingdom in Dresbourn to still enforce the practice of witch-burning' and the mention of 'a momentous political transition'.
I was expecting some political intrigue, some "burn the witch" vibes and then on top of that there is a kidnapping forcing our witch to go on a quest to save magic. It truly seemed like something I would enjoy.

For starters, there's very little political intrigue, and very little focus on the fact that our main character is a witch in a kingdom where witches are hunted - one singular druid is burned which takes all of 2 pages to discuss. So in that regard, I feel like the description is misleading. If you were hoping for "burn the witch" vibes you aren't really getting that here.

When I first started reading, I thought that I had accidentally requested a middle-grade novel, as that is how the writing presented. Which is fine, but I felt like right away I was not the target audience. Soon enough we had some very adult content (the description of SA and trauma) and I realized that this was not in fact a middle-grade book. This was disappointing because even though I originally thought that I was not the intended audience, I was much more forgiving of the writing style and the dialogue with the understanding that this was intended for younger readers. The mesh of spicy scenes and the writing did not mesh for me at all, it at times made me cringe. Honestly, I skimmed a lot of this.

I did enjoy the tarot card element, the idea of fates and intertwining fates. I liked some of the creatures and magic that appear throughout the quest (the death echos in particular were really cool to me) and I liked the characters to some extent even though their dialogue (which is a major part of how I get to know a character) was painful. I think the premise of the story had a lot of potential, but the execution did not work for me at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

DNF pg 174 (45%)
1/12/23 - 1/21/23

loved the premise of this and the tarot card aspect!

not much has really happened so far. I normally will give a fantasy about 100 pages to worldbuild and introduce the plot, but I was getting a little bored throughout the sections I had read.

here are some of my thoughts:

characters: 3 out of the 4 main characters’ names start with L (Leo, Leighton, Lafreya) and it’s a little hard to keep track of them. I’m not really attached to the characters.

plot: I could tell I was getting to a more exciting part when I DNFed the book, but it shouldn’t take this long. So far, it was just a journey to rescue Lafreya but there hasn’t been too much action. I actually enjoyed the earlier portion that showcased Lafreya and Morgana’s friendship a bit more.

romance: both of the couples were already in love when the book started, and I feel like the romance isn’t as big of a plotline as I would expect from a romantasy.

overall, the idea was there, but the outcome just wasn’t what I expected.

Cards of Fate has an interesting premise! I liked the use of tarot cards! Did not quite hit the mark for me!

At the beginning, I was a bit boring! Yeah sure things are happening but it all felt very superficial and at times it felt like incomplete! The plot twist, you can see it from a mile away!

Morgan’s is a good FMC but lacks depth! I didn’t felt like we got to know her or see her character develop. 😒😒

The spicy scenes, could have been better! The connection between Morgan’s and Leo was not substantial 😢

Overall, the book was ok. It had a lot of potential but there was never a point where it felt like “ OMG.. I can’t put this down”

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”