Well, I totally requested this from NetGalley because it was set with/around tarot, and I love that, without really reading too much more…and perhaps I should have given it more research. Or at least read some other reviews... Because this one just was not for me.

Mostly, honestly, it was the writing that did it in. It was just...bad. I mean the concept wasn't anything groundbreaking, but it could have been entertaining, reasonably solid, enjoyable, if it had been written better. I don't hate portal fantasies, messy/lost heroine vibes, instalove/lust, all the romantasy tropes...but this fell short on delivering all of them. The tone (Hannah’s narration/dialogue) felt too flippant and cutesy; or trying too hard?  And Kane’s sexual innuendo feels anachronistic or out of place in the world that was being "built." And I can’t with the “good little girl shit” - also trying wayyyy too hard. The world-building itself was honestly MEH, like it couldn’t decide whether to be the real world set over a fantasy world, or vice versa, and the half-assed both ended up really disconcerting. Plus, it was just flat. The whole “tarot characters are real” thing that is the basis for this novel is basically one dude being named Four, kingdoms named Pentacles and Cups, and a single card that can do magic…like, what? The characters - their development and motivations and relationships - were also incredibly flat, no believable movement or growth. And oooof in general everything was so repetitive. Kane and Hannah's push-and-pull interactions, Hannah's internal dialogue, the ebb and flow of the "I want to save this world vs I want to get back to my own world," it was so gratingly the same, over and over and over. Another issue: the feminism is too obvious and therefore, does itself a disservice. Finally, the ending. What the heck was that?? It’s unrealistic even for a “romantasy.” This whole novel was surreal and not in a good way. When I finished, I literally said, out loud: "Well, that was a book. And I read it." That's about all I can say.