DNF @ 20%. Unfortunately, this one is a no for me. Minimally invested, writing not my jam, main character entirely unbelievable. Thanks for the opportunity to review.

One of the standout aspects of this novel is Chern's ability to create deeply layered and flawed characters that feel incredibly real. The pacing of the novel is generally well-balanced, although there are instances where the introspective nature of the writing slows down the plot. While these moments contribute to the character development, they may not appeal to readers who prefer a faster-paced story. However, the author's skillful handling of the emotional depth of the characters compensates for these slower moments.

I have to admit this was one of those don't judge a book by its cover. I loved loved loved the cover with the neon and the tarot aspects. But unfortunately for me, this did not keep me wanting to finish this book. It seems far-reaching in some parts and alittle to out there.



Thanks to #NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was fun and exactly what I needed. Though certain aspects were heavy, it was a light read. The characters were great and I loved the banter between Jamie and Katie.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Katie True is living an aimless existence bouncing from one dead-end job to the next. When she meets Marley, she thinks she's found someone that truly gets her. But when a strange man stumbles bleeding into the shop where she works, her world is upended.. She reads his tarot cards, and while he isn't looking, she looks at his phone and sees a picture of Marley...dead. As he struggles to find out what happened to Marley, she may find herself in more trouble than she bargained for.

Though predictable I enjoyed this book. stuck with it even though there were many times I had to suspend belief. Katie was relatable in that she was a young woman searching for purpose and fulfillment. What was not so relatable is the way she just started acting like she was a member of the police force, interrogating potential suspects and using Tarot as an interrogation method. All in all, it was a fun little read as long as you don't take it too seriously. Rounded up to a 4 from 3.5

Thank you PRH for sending me this novel!

To be honest, I don't usually read this genre. PRH sent me this novel without me requesting it, so I was just like, fine I'll read it. I don't know if it was more me or more the book, but I just really couldn't get into it. I'm just not a mystery person. I'm sure people will love this book, but it just didn't fit what I usually read.

3-3.5 stars

When a man stumbles into the shop where Katie True works, she decides to do a tarot reading for him. But when she sneaks a glance at his phone and finds a photo of her friend Marley — with a bullet hole in her head — everything changes. Now she’s gotten herself tangled up in a world of lies and deceit, putting her own life in danger while searching for Marley’s killer. But how well did she truly know Marley and how far is she willing to go to find the truth?

For me, this book was just okay, but I think I enjoyed the idea of the story more than the actual story itself. Some parts dragged on and were a bit anticlimactic, and when Katie discovered what really happened to Marley, I have to admit, I was surprised but also a little disappointed. I felt bad for Katie getting dragged into something that had nothing to do with her, all because she cared so much about Marley and wanted her to get the justice she deserved.

Overall, it was a decent story but I’m not sure if I’d recommend this one.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for providing a copy of this book to review.*

I have mixed feelings about this one. The cover drew me to the book, and with the main character being a card reader I was definitely interested to see where it went! The book wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t good. The first half was decent, but the further into the investigation of Marley’s death the more unrealistic things got. The ending was a little expected, but still liked the closure it brought to the story.

Quirky and eccentric was what I was hoping for, and I got half of that. While It was fun to see tarot explored, the second half of the story dragged and got a bit boring for me.

While I enjoyed the premise of this book, it seemed to not quite know what kind of story it wanted to tell. Each element thrown in felt more like a checklist rather than a needed plot point. I could also never tell if the psychic elements wanted to be portrayed as real or as a good hoax. The story moved very slowly through more than half of the book, and the ending seemed to shove everything together.

This is good for a debut. I would read more by the author, but I didn't love this one. I thought the premise was good, but it was a little too police-y for me, and I wanted more from the ending.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

DNF. Stopped at 25%. Had no idea what was going on. The plot was all over the place and I didn't get it.

Play the Fool is a debut novel by Lina Chern. The premise of this story was really good and I enjoyed the main characters but I feel there were so many characters it was sometimes confusing. The book also dragged in places but was fast paced in others. Overall, decent but I would like to have seen a little more in this book.

For a debut novel this book is great. It has the potential to move into a series while operating just fine as a stand alone novel. I love it.

There were times when I struggled to relate and it was definitely difficult to keep up with our FMC as she is all over the place and that my friends is very relatable for me.

I found the case itself to be predictable, but as this genre and style are my wheelhouse, that isn’t saying much. The journey to get to the end is great though and I feel like that’s what matters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ebook copy of this one! It’s worth the read and I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

This was a good quick read! The strength of this book is really the characters. Honestly if each character had their own short "day-in-the-life" story, I would read it! They were all so unique and interesting, even the characters we didn't spend that much time with, like the police officer with all the kids for example.

The plot was fine and drug on in some places with lengthy descriptions places and Katie's thoughts. I started to pick up on a pattern where the first half of a chapter was descriptions and the last half would ramp up with dialogue and plot to ensure the chapters ended with "suspense."

Overall a great idea to interweave the mystics of a psychic reader with the logistics of a crime drama.

Thanks to Lina Chern, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and Netgally for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book has a great female lead character. The murder mystery was interesting but not exciting. It is definitely a character driven story, I prefer a plot driven story that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I didn't feel that with this one. There seemed to be no urgency in resolving the mystery. This is a preference thing. If you enjoy a strong female lead in a character driven story, this may be for you,

Katie True is jumping from one dead-end job to the next, trying to keep a low profile with her overbearing family that's always hoping she'll live up to her potential.
She's currently selling tchotchkes in the mall and reading tarot while her friend Marley works in a clothing store across the way...

until a man stumbles into Katie's shop with a photo of Marley with a gunshot wound.

Katie has to use her street smarts and cunning to solve Marley's murder while asking herself if she ever truly knew her friend at all.

This was a fun murder mystery with faint rom-com vibes that would translate well to the screen! While there's plenty of things that happen that require a strong suspension of disbelief, I went along for the ride because I understood it's a lighthearted story here to entertain and that's what it did!

Thanks to Bantam and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Play the Fool was released on March 28, 2023.

I wasn’t sold on this when I first started reading it. The writing style was a bit different than what I was used to, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the main character, Katie. She’s kind of stuck in her life and seemed a little world weary. I wasn’t sure if we could trust her as a narrator. But as I continued to read, I got used to the writing and the world and I ended up having a pretty good time with it.

The characters and their relationships were what really drove the story for me. The mystery wasn’t that difficult to figure out and the reveal at the end was a bit predictable. But I loved seeing Katie with her brother, who is neurodivergent. And the relationship between Katie and Jamie, the cop who gets involved, was really fun.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Bantam, and Lina Chern for an e-arc of Play the Fool in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. I tend to like any book that involves tarot cards, so that was a bonus. Had the language been "cleaner" I would have called this a cozy mystery. The strong female protagonist carries the story well. Katie and her brother Owen are both interesting and likeable characters. Jamie is also a good character. The characters all seem to fit together well to create a slightly odd but good group for solving the mystery. An enjoyable read

The premise of this book sounded interesting, but the writing style is a bit distracting at times and I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to stay interested in the mystery.