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e_flah's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Cloisters is one of those books that I found captivating while reading it and then noticed all of its flaws as soon as I'd had some time away from it to reflect on the reading experience. It's an atmospheric literary fiction read with some dark academia influences.
I loved seeing the Met Cloisters get the acclaim it deserves. It's one of my all-time favorite places in NYC that was the perfect setting for this story. I do wish there had been a map in the book as a lot of gallery and cloisters names within the museum were just used with no details about where these spaces were or what they really looked like beyond a few minor details. Even as someone who's been to the Cloisters, I found this disorienting, so I imagine it would be even more confusing for readers who haven't visited the museum.
The other main issue I had with The Cloisters was the flimsy character development. Many of the main characters, particularly our narrator Ann, felt more like personas than people. Rachel was the stereotypical "not like other girls" character in dark academia who was defined seemingly solely by her money and poise. We saw so much of her on the page that I kept hoping for a sense of who she was as a person but we never really got it. Some of this I'll attribute to dark academia as a subgenre, which loves to focus on people as ideals, but there was still room for a bit more character development to help this book stand out from the many other dark academia books I've read.
I loved seeing the Met Cloisters get the acclaim it deserves. It's one of my all-time favorite places in NYC that was the perfect setting for this story. I do wish there had been a map in the book as a lot of gallery and cloisters names within the museum were just used with no details about where these spaces were or what they really looked like beyond a few minor details. Even as someone who's been to the Cloisters, I found this disorienting, so I imagine it would be even more confusing for readers who haven't visited the museum.
The other main issue I had with The Cloisters was the flimsy character development. Many of the main characters, particularly our narrator Ann, felt more like personas than people. Rachel was the stereotypical "not like other girls" character in dark academia who was defined seemingly solely by her money and poise. We saw so much of her on the page that I kept hoping for a sense of who she was as a person but we never really got it. Some of this I'll attribute to dark academia as a subgenre, which loves to focus on people as ideals, but there was still room for a bit more character development to help this book stand out from the many other dark academia books I've read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Car accident, and Murder
kimasenbeck's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
ohennui's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
aklovekorn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
city_girl_writer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I kinda blame the marketing of this book for contributing to my utter disappointment. However, as a contemporary mystery novel with gothic elements...this was really underwhelming and predictable. The prologue gave things away at the start. Imma just say that the book is basically a murder mystery novel that fits the dark academia aesthetic in order to market the novel to a bigger audience. If you want dark academia vibes, then I guess you get it this book. But if you are looking for a good mystery novel, then you might be disappointed. The characters are not interesting or likeable. Those unlikeable characters are not even entertaining or intriguing enough to carry the story either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity and Murder
Minor: Misogyny and Sexual content
universeofdust's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
sallysimply's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
4.5
I could not put this down! It’s exactly what I needed.
I loved the setting, which is probably no surprise to anyone who knows me, because Fort Tryon Park is one of my favorite places on earth. The humidity, the cool breeze, I felt all of it; I know well that feeling of getting to the top of the park a little disheveled.
The characters are fun — nobody is particularly likable, everybody is more than a little suspicious.
I do wish this had been more magical. I kept expecting it to take a turn in that direction, and then it took a turn into more of the relationship dynamics. I didn’t mind that, exactly, but it was disappointing when I thought we were going in one direction and ended up in another.
Still, this was fun!
I have to say, I cannot even imagine someone driving into WaHI from Tarrytown every day. Possibly the least believable thing about this book.
I loved the setting, which is probably no surprise to anyone who knows me, because Fort Tryon Park is one of my favorite places on earth. The humidity, the cool breeze, I felt all of it; I know well that feeling of getting to the top of the park a little disheveled.
The characters are fun — nobody is particularly likable, everybody is more than a little suspicious.
I do wish this had been more magical. I kept expecting it to take a turn in that direction, and then it took a turn into more of the relationship dynamics. I didn’t mind that, exactly, but it was disappointing when I thought we were going in one direction and ended up in another.
Still, this was fun!
I have to say, I cannot even imagine someone driving into WaHI from Tarrytown every day. Possibly the least believable thing about this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Death of parent
caseythereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Thanks to Atria Books for the free advance copy of this book.
- THE CLOISTERS scratches that dark academia itch. I love a book focused on the strange and esoteric, and this book fits the bill with all kinds of details about art and the occult in the Renaissance.
- I did find the pacing of this book to be a bit off. I thought it lagged in the middle when Ann was kept out of the loop for a bit too long, and then the ending tumbled together quickly.
- Despite this and a few other character building quibbles I had (i.e., it should have been 100% more queer), I still tore through this book quickly and felt immersed in the uneasy atmosphere Hays built within it.
- THE CLOISTERS scratches that dark academia itch. I love a book focused on the strange and esoteric, and this book fits the bill with all kinds of details about art and the occult in the Renaissance.
- I did find the pacing of this book to be a bit off. I thought it lagged in the middle when Ann was kept out of the loop for a bit too long, and then the ending tumbled together quickly.
- Despite this and a few other character building quibbles I had (i.e., it should have been 100% more queer), I still tore through this book quickly and felt immersed in the uneasy atmosphere Hays built within it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Out November 1, 2022 [Thank you so much to the author for my gifted ARC!]
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Ann Stilwell is a young art historian who lands a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—only to learn that her position has been removed at the last moment. Instead, she finds herself at The Cloisters, a museum and garden filled with a staff that is seeking answers to unusual questions about tarot, fate, and divination.
When I saw this book announced, I instantly knew it would be a mix of all of my favorite things—suspense, dark academia, history/culture, and just a bit of mysticism and magic. Fortunately, in the end it was all this and more. The vibes were impeccable and I loved the world of this book, which was somehow both tense and welcoming, inviting and eerie.
Best of all, the writing is astoundingly beautiful, and I have no doubt that Katy Hays is going to be a massive literary star as soon as everyone gets their hands on this book. It’s everything you could want in a fall/spooky season read, and I’m so excited for the world to read it!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: dark academia; Ashley Winstead-esque vibes; art history.
CW: Loss of parent/grief; drug use; murder; car accident; toxic relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
thevioletfoxbookshop's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Cloisters by Katy Hays is what I imagine Mary Shelley might write if she lived in the 21st century. There are elements of horror, a little romance, an eerie setting, characters that will keep you guessing, and an ending you won't see coming. But more than that, The Cloisters seems to play with a lot of the same themes that Mary Shelley did - ambition and fallibility, romanticism in nature, dangerous knowledge, secrecy, and isolation. But where Shelley writes about what makes us human (or not), Hays writes about what agency we have as humans. Do we have free will? Is anything predestined? Or is everything just fate?
A Brief Summary:
When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination. Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers’ more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs.
Sound intriguing?
Come tiptoe through the hushed hallways of The Cloisters, teeming with dark academia that whispers ancient secrets from the shadows. Mysteries smolder at the edges. What begins as a slow burn will have you holding your breath as you race to the end. The Cloisters is chock full of art history, architectural delights, and occult vibes.
This was one of those books that took over my world while I was reading it - casting a thin veil of darkness and tension over everything until I was so immersed in the characters and story that I was thinking about them and what would happen next throughout the day. Even almost a week later, I'm still pondering... the secrets we all hold, the dreams we have for ourselves and how far we're willing to go to reach them. And whether any of that is our choice... or just fate.
Get ready to break out your tarot cards (I sure did)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Sexual content