There are things that I liked and disliked about this book. I believe it is a good story with a solid theme and creative ideas. But some parts fell a little flat for me.

What I did like…

The main character. Clara was very normal. She was a girl I could see in high school, living an ordinary life until all this magical drama interrupts things. She’s spunky, she’s funny, and she makes a wonderful protagonist. Its not difficult to cheer for her, which surprised me because ‘normal’ characters can become annoying very easily. She’s not this overly innocent and completely ignorant girl. She’s shocked by all that unfolds in the story but she doesn’t back away.

Can you imagine meeting a talking tiger? I don’t think I would have reacted as normally and calmly as Clara did but it was believable nonetheless. Her inner thoughts provide some silly humor and the actual theme itself is somewhat educational for those readers who aren’t familiar with this type of magic. I love all things dark and creepy but I’m pretty ignorant toward dark magic to be honest. So reading this was informative as far as how tarot cards work and how they can be tied into a highly imaginative and creative adventure.

Now, what I didn’t like about the book was the style of writing. Much of the book read like a long list of actions. I found many paragraphs that started with the same word or with ‘Clara did this’. Most of the time it didn’t flow very well.

Ex.

“She quickly got changed…She picked the card up and put it in her black canvas, messenger bag. She slung the bag over her shoulder…”

Much of the book was like that which really bothered me because I liked the story but I couldn’t really get past the writing. There also wasn’t much detail or description where it was needed. I mentioned before that Clara met a talking tiger but that’s about it. She meets a tiger, realizes he can talk and finds out his name is Alex. There’s no real description as to what the tiger looks like, if its majestic, if its beautiful, fierce, breathtaking, or just looks like a big striped kitty cat. I know that Clara is shocked by what happens in her life but that’s it.

I don’t see the sweat dripping from her brow, I don’t feel the shiver that runs up her spine. I just know that she’s surprised but determined to live up to her title and play the cards she’s been dealt. Ok…that kind of writing is fine for children’s fiction but I believe this book is intended for a teenage to young adult audience which requires more detail.

There was description in the dialogue, which flowed naturally as far as word exchange, but the extra details made the conversations seem long and choppy. Much of the dialogue was drowned in extra actions and unnecessary words.

For example…

“Why am I here? ...” she asked as she glanced down nervously.

“This is Gaia…” he informed her referring to the card on her pillow.

“…Cards?” she asked, having thought there was only one.

“Yes, the tarot cards,” he nodded, assuming she had found the card that was sent to her.

Some people may not mind all the extra words but I like for conversations to go as smoothly and quickly as possible. I just don’t see the point in adding things like ‘she said’ or ‘he said’ when there’s only two people in the conversation. It isn’t hard to keep up with who’s speaking with only a few characters.

Despite having some issues with the writing, I do believe this is a great story and I would recommend it to fans of magic, fantasy and maybe even a little mystery too. You will enjoy this exciting ride if you don’t mind the style of writing. It’s a creative and unique story that deserves to be told.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*