I was really excited for this title loving some of Kristin's past work that I had read as a teen. Unfortunately this feels like it was written for a teen audience. DNF about 20% through. Both main characters are insufferable. The kingdoms and ideas are unique.

This was such a fun wild ride of a read! The aspect of tarot cards was executed so well and it was such an intriguing magic system. Kane is definitely swoon worthy whenever he gained control. Plus the nickname little fawn? I was so here for it! The beginning of the story definitely catches your interest and then how everything quickly falls apart for Hannah. I loved her character progression throughout the book! Thank you so much to the author for allowing me to read an ARC, The Empress is now available to read!
.
One of my fav quotes:
“I nearly lost you.” His voice is a rough whisper as he undoes the pins from my hair with deliberate slowness. “And without tasting you first.” He fists my long braid in his hand and pulls it down until my face tilts up. “A mistake I will not make again.”

A new Kristin Cast book? I signed up immediately!

I was SO excited for this one. It had a great premise, reeling me in with the mention of romantasy and a gruff mmc. Execution wise? It missed the mark. HARD.

The pacing was so ... off. As a series opener, this should have hooked its claws into me and not let go. But I was bored, practically falling asleep with my e-reader in my hands, eventually falling on my nose (it hurt so bad, y'all). It took me a month to finish this and I powered through it, but honestly I should have DNF'd 50% in, but I had hopes it would get better.

I think fans of Cast's work will like this, but new readers may not be impressed.

Everything about this book had me intrigued!!

If you’re looking for something fast paced, full of tension, and a new magical realm to explore… well, this is the book for you.
Kristen Cast has written one of the most interesting concepts I’ve ever read. While this is a fun romantasy, there’s a twist on the usage of tarot cards. It’s honestly epic. I absolutely love Hannah and Kane and am looking forward to the second installment in the series!!

Also, the banter and tension was so top notch it deserved its own section. It was truly magical, and I’m obsessed with these characters.

DNF @ 35%. I really wanted to love this one, and I'm beyond sad that I didn't. This was marketed as adult but is way too juvenile to actually be for adults. I think if they changed the marketing and paced it better it would do great on the YA market.

The striking cover and the premise of this book captivated me immediately but I'm not quite sure that the book lived up to the spectacular premise.

I wanted to love this. It has everything I could have been interested in rolled into one plot: tarot cards, a whimsical almost Alice in Wonderland kind of world, and a grumpy knight sworn to protect the kingdom. But something about this fell flat. I can honestly say that I'm not even 100% sure what it was about this that I wasn't into. Maybe the writing style? The beginning of the book is certainly a little confusing, but I think it's meant to be because we're taking this journey with our FMC. I wish I had more to say, but it was just kind of "eh" for me.

This was a fun Romantasy read! I did have a bit of a hard time getting into the romance and feeling that romantic tension between them, but it did pick up! I really like the world in this but I do feel like the magic was lacking. There just wasn’t enough of it. I wanted more and I wanted more with the tarot cards.

This is a tough one because I think I’m pretty easy to please. This book was easy to read but I got bored and didn’t want to finish it. Plus I hate cheating… like I never want to continue reading when cheating is involved. There were also a few other senses I didn’t like but the plot had promise…. Just maybe needed a different set of eyes on it.

This book has potential—interesting premises and world building. The prose was fine, good even. It’s another girl-falls-into-an-alternate-reality book where she’s the chosen one to save the realm, but it had a unique twist in the way that each kingdom of the alternate world encompassed a different suit of tarot (in this first book, pentacles). My issues were with the characters and the “romance." They were annoying and misogynistic and just instalove no buildup.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't do it with this one. The book is marketed as adult, but is definitely not.

This was a major miss for me. I feel like the marketing for the book makes it seem like it’s going to be way more exciting than it ended up being. The modern language throughout also ended up making me cringe often.

Unique take on a fantasy setting. I really enjoyed this book the plot was intriguing, the character development was well thought out. The banter and sexual tension between the FMC and MMC was really good and well placed throughout the story. although I would not say this is high heat. What you do get for spice is very good but not on the level of high heat. my biggest critique of this book is that there really wasn't anything to do with tarot throughout out the story. You get a little bit in the beginning and that's it. It's not even very descriptive. She gets one card and that's the only thing that it has to do with Tarot. I would have love to see a more immersive dive into the deck. all in all i found this book highly entertaining and i would recommend it to other readers.

This book was just so easy to get lost in. I completely got lost in the story and I just loved getting to see these new characters come together. I just absolutely love this story and I just didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

ok so hear me out. three stars is a good review. Just like #theempress is a good book. not epic omg have to have more right now but also not eh I'm good. Will I listen to the next in the series? absolutely. this was fun. it was light hearted. it was smutty. I'm not looking for award winning literature. I loved Casts earlier books which brought me here and will bring me back. it's ok to be good.

I enjoyed this book a decent amount. I found the main character Hannah really annoying but I really liked to love interest Kane. I liked some of the side as well but there were some I hated. I felt for Hannah though during a couple of parts.

I think I need to give up on Kristin Cast, I loved the House of night books as a teen and her short stories I really like, but longer newer stuff just doesn't grip me. Marketed as adult but the MC is very immature.

The cover is gorgeous but the rest of the book didn't measure up to what I was hoping for. The shallow characters, the instalust/instalove was not enough for me to put aside the other annoyances I had with this book. The book reads very YA even though it is in fact an adult novel- but that could just be the main character being immature.

It was okay. MC wasn't really likeable, though, and the book felt rushed. If it were spread out by another book or two, I feel the author could've let the MC have a more authentic relationship build?

I have always been intrigued with tarot cards, how they're read, what they mean.. so when I find a book that has them "coming to life" I am absolutely interested in reading them.

While that interest led me to this book, the book didn't keep me interested. It wasn't what I was expecting I suppose. The way that this is written is one of those where it doesn't age well. It isn't something I could read in 10 years and think that it is timeless, that the slang or jokes are still fitting.