The Cloisters wasn't what I wished it could be.  I try to just accept books for what they are instead of what I expected, but on its face, it just didn't have the kind of writing or plot to keep me really engaged.  

The story is extremely slow-paced until the last fifth of the book.  Up until then, I can't even say I was captured by the setting or the writing.  The prose was stuffy and lackluster, and the characters were devoid of humor or humanity.  Even the love/romance plot felt stifled and boring, like neither character really cared about it, even when it's later revealed that there was a third party involved.  Meh.

And like, listen - libraries and crypts are my favorite places.  I'm a professional tarot reader.  I love bookish, dark academia gothic settings, mysteries and magical realism. By the summary this book should have hit all the points in my wheelhouse.  I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to!

I'd recommend this book for people who don't enjoy the flowery language of fantasy, but would maybe like a departure from strict-realism historical fiction or murder mystery.