Flair Hardwicke has always been skeptical of two things: love and magic. When she inherits her grandmother's bakery in Kansas, she's determined to keep her business strictly magic-free, even though her grandmother had a side hustle in fortune-telling. However, Flair's world is turned upside down when a batch of Tarot card cookies she bakes for the Halloween celebration unleashes the power of her family's deck. The unexpected consequences include the return of Flair's first love, her magic-obsessed daughter, and her unpredictable mother's arrival in town.

As Flair tries to manage the chaos, her efforts backfire and she falls into the clutches of a powerful witch. Suddenly, she realizes that she can no longer ignore the magic within her. With her ex under a curse she cannot break and more than just her reluctance to become a witch at stake, Flair must embrace the magic she's always avoided if she hopes to save herself and those she loves.

Wow! “Playing the Witch Card” was a captivating story full of small-town charm and magic. I wish there was a Rattlebones trail to visit! As a mother, Flair’s relationship with her daughter and her mother were nuanced and I think it’s something I’ll reflect on as my kiddos grow into their teen years. It took me about 4 chapters to really get into the writing and the characters, but once I did I could not put the story down. I have never been one to dabble into tarot but after reading the book and the acknowledgments at the end, I might get myself a deck!

NetGalley and Putnam were kind enough to provide an advanced copy of this book to read. I LOVED IT!

I always enjoy a good contemporary witch novel, and this one surpassed my expectations. It was highly entertaining and the “romance” aspect was very minimal (which I prefer!). Sometimes you read these and the “one that got away” storyline can hijack the action. Not so in this one, it was definitely all about the women at the My only complaint was the main character, Flair. You just want to shake her and tell her to get over herself! Her foot dragging IS a major component of the story arc and how the action plays out, but you still want to smack her and tell her to get her head right 😆

Very quick read, and it will be a very timely seasonal read when it releases this fall. This was my first experience with this author, and I’ve already added another of hers to my TBR. I’ll definitely be buying the finished copy of this one for my collection.

I was totally surprised by this. I thought it would be ok, but boy was I wrong. It was absolutely stunning. I would give it 6 stars if I could. I highly recommend this.
I just reviewed Playing the Witch Card by KJ Dell'Antonia. #PlayingtheWitchCard #NetGalley
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Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls is the perfect way to describe this delightfully spellbinding story about mothers and daughters, fate, forgiveness, reclaiming one’s power, and embracing one’s magic ✨ Writing about female relationships and magic paired with food is definitely Dell’Antonia’s strong suit - and you can’t go wrong with a bakery that serves up magical treats!

I went in expecting a story about mothers and their magical daughters, and was delighted by the darker mystery that unfolded. The small town setting was charming and readers find themselves completely immersed in Rattleboro where people travel to experience its Halloween festivities, spooky trails, and witchy thrills.

Overall, I really loved how this was a story of turning fate on its head and the possibilities within tarot. I especially loved Dell’Antonia’s acknowledgements and her statement on tarot - “even when we can’t control the plot of our lives, we still control the narrative: the story we tell ourselves along the way.”

Thanks so much for the ARC. I enjoyed her other 2 books more but it was interesting to see how things worked out in this one. I learned a lot about tarot cards.

Magically chaotic!
Flair Hardwicke is just trying to survive - starting over in the town she grew up in with her daughter after separating from her unfaithful husband. Taking over her grandmothers bakery shouldn’t be too difficult, right? WRONG! Enter an overwhelming Halloween festival, nosey townspeople, an old flame, a cursed almost ex husband, an eccentric overbearing mother and an ancient big bad magical doomsday - it’s a bit overwhelming to say the least! Full of baked goods, an Emily Gilmore vibes mother, teenage hysterics and a budding romance - Playing the Witch Card was a fun and unique read!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The book is described as Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic, two of my very favorite things and that just absolutely hits the nail on the head.

Flair Hardwicke moves back to the town she grew up in when her grandmother passes and inherits her grandmother's home and bakery. Flair has magic in her blood but she fears it so rejected it at every chance she got and kept this secret from her own daughter. Their family's magic says to stem from one specific deck of tarot cards that Flair had kept hidden and as much as she wanted to could not find it in her to destroy them.

Flair is asked to provide a desert for a Halloween trail so one night she is decorating cookies to bring to a committee of sorts to share what she will provide as the desert she finds that had somehow decorated the cookies to look just like the tarot cards she had hidden.

Not long after her mom shows up to her home in the middle of the night with Flair's soon-to-be ex husband in the trunk of a car under a spell of control. (very Practical Magic, we love this) The story is so riveting and I finished it in a day. It was one of those cannot put down books. The characters are all unique and we experience love, found family, re-connections. It has some darkness in it, but it was still a beautiful tale.