Thriving on Tarot and Cigarettes: “The Cloisters” surprised us…in a good way

Red Wine Reads

This week, we read The Cloisters by Katy Hayes

This novel follows an academic that scores a job at The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, our main character becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs.

Rebekah Sausmikat, a New Yorker thriving off of the New York diet: caffeine and nicotine, joins me to talk about a book that was given to us by Sierra that had made its rounds on TikTok. We were pretty skeptical at first…but the book did grow on us.

In this episode we cover:

• Why the addition of multiple plot twists was Jenna’s cup of tea, but not Bekah’s
• How Jenna didn’t know this was a real place before sitting down to record
• The different roles Tarot plays in both Bekah and Jenna’s lives.

Open your book and press play on a podcast episode that will have you reaching out into the void for some answers from a higher power.

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• DRINK: Liquid Death, Canned Red Wine - Freakshow

• TV SHOW - Gossip Girl, The Librarians
• BOOK - Other People’s Clothes, Stargazer, Verity
• MOVIE - Harry Potter series, Knives Out, I Care a Lot

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you!

* Disclaimer *

At Red Wine Reads, we want to engage in the stories of people from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. The value of books lies in the power of storytelling and sharing a range of perspectives. We don't want to just read what we know, we want to read stories that open our worldview. And in turn, that means getting into challenging, rewarding conversations. But we are not experts in any field — literature, race relations, politics, etc .— and we know that our reviews of these books come from a place of privilege. We encourage our community of readers to add to these conversations with their own thoughts, critiques, and questions. We want to open up a safe place for people. That being said, we also realize that getting into race, sexuality, gender, and other difficult topics can be triggering. We aim to include content warnings whenever they are applicable but we are not perfect. So as we continue to do our best, know you have the room to tell us when we can do better and even, if you want to, share resources with us. Let's learn, grow, and have fun together.