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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
I wanted to love this. I saw a lot of hype & love for it, but it wasn’t for me. It was predictable & also felt a bit like it didn’t have enough to it. I wanted more from it. It felt unfinished, like a first draft.
Horribly pretentious and naïve and evil protagonist paired with caricatures of soulless academics in a setting the author thinks she understands made a book that pissed me the fuck off. Reading that she did the Williams Art History MA and is basing this idea of rare books and archives on being a curator at SFMOMA???? Girl the special collections space is not an underbelly of self centered isolated academics obsessed with discovery, yeah those people exist, but a lot of us are actually trying to do something wholly separate from ourselves and devoid of ambition and WHY do all of these books about archives try to talk about some insidious secret world of dark magic, most of us are NORMAL if not introverted dorks who just love history and actually do have a good community of friends because we are curious about the world and empathetic about community and holy FUCK that pissed me off. If you want to write about the power hungry elites that run art galleries and curate private collections, DO THAT, don’t drag archives into it. And AGAIN if this is FICTION why is it always so motherfucking DARK let’s talk about how bright and wonderful archival discovery can be???? UGH the reveal that she ******* her *** and ****** actually made me throw my arms up in resignation. Sorry Maycee.
Suspend rational thought - for example, who would tote around 500-year-old Tarot cards in their purse? - and it is an enjoyable read.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Giving it 3 stars feels generous because I didn’t enjoy this book after a certain point.
The tarot aspect was interesting and at first I really did like the main character but ended up disliking her at the end. The book dragged at points and while I think the writing was good it just wasn’t for me.
The end itself is what really cemented my dislike for the book and the main character, as I felt it just made her as bad as the rest of characters within this book if not even worse.
The tarot aspect was interesting and at first I really did like the main character but ended up disliking her at the end. The book dragged at points and while I think the writing was good it just wasn’t for me.
The end itself is what really cemented my dislike for the book and the main character, as I felt it just made her as bad as the rest of characters within this book if not even worse.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Ann Stilwell moves from Washington state to New York City to work for the Metropolitan. Once she arrives, she finds out there is no longer a spot for her. However, she is saved by Patrick, the curator at the Cloisters, as he invites her to work for him. Ann meets Rachel, who is her mentor, and Leo, the gardener. Rachel is the type of person Ann wants to emulate, so she quickly bonds to her. With Leo, sparks fly, and she enjoys his free spirit. Rachel, Ann, and Patrick are working to put together an exhibit. They are also working with Tarot cards, investigating how far back in history they were used. About half way through the story, someone is murdered, and I spent the rest of the book reading to find out who did it. I found the atmosphere, the museum work, and the tarot cards very interesting. Sadly I couldn’t rate this book any higher due to the very slow pacing.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated