A young woman enters a ruthless competition in order to avenge her mother in The Tarot Trials, a queer epic fantasy from romance powerhouse Katee Robert (Neon Gods).
Kestrel has been raised by her surrogate father in the Dregs, the poor, desperate district of Caelria City. He has trained her to compete in the Trials, the competition her mother won 22 years ago. The Trials begin with the Culling, where prospects present themselves as possible champions for one of 22 gods and fight until one person per god emerges victorious. Then the champions murder one another until only five remain to become the Cinque and join the ruling Concilium. Kestrel's mother went mad after winning and was executed, so no one except Kestrel is willing to take her place as the Moon's champion this time around. Kestrel will risk her life to join the Cinque, get justice for her mother, and use her power to improve life for the residents of the Dregs.
Robert puts the romance they're known for in the background in The Tarot Trials, instead keeping the focus on the brutality of the Trials as Kestrel and her new allies--including an unwanted love interest and a contestant who's underestimated because of their "bad leg"--fight to stay alive every night and navigate aristocratic machinations during the day. The well-developed, diverse cast and relationships will have readers eager for the next installment.
Fans of the competition-based fantasy plots in The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen and The Serpent & the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent will want to pick up this tarot-based take on the trope. --Suzanne Krohn, librarian