I love Tarot and books filled with magic. I also completely enjoyed KJ Dell’Antonia’s previous books In Her Boots and The Chicken Sisters. Add in that Playing the Witch Card is being touted as Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls, of course I was excited for Dell’Antonia to be putting out a witchy book this month!
After a divorce, Flair Hardwicke is determined to start over with her teenage daughter. After her grandma’s passing, Flair decides to take over her grandmother’s bakery and head back to a town she promised to never return to. She’s also determined to avoid anything dealing with magic or Halloween which might be hard to do since the town has one of the most prominent Halloween festivals in the country. As the magic winds its way back into Flair’s life, she’s forced to comes to terms with her magic and what happened 20 years ago.
I love a cozy read in the fall, especially when it pairs with small town magic, but this one missed the mark for me. I’m still giving it 3 stars because it does have fall vibes, but I didn’t get the Gilmore Girl and barely got Practical Magic vibes. I also found the first 30% of the book to be slow, and while the Tarot portions of the story were interesting, I need more about the origins of this magic. Flair’s reasoning for not using the Tarot or magic also seemed repetitive, and I could have done without the ex-husband bewitched portion of the story.
If you’re look for more of a cozy, atmospheric, witchy books, then you’ll enjoy this one. I’d definitely read more from Dell’Antonia but this one won’t be in my most recommended list.
In Her Boots REview
Playing the Witch Card is out now. Huge thank you to Putnam Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
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