The Lovers by Kristin Cast

Towerfall #2

by Kristin Cast

From the bestselling author of 'House of Night', Kristin Cast, comes a captivating light romance filled with tarot, wit, tension, and a heroine torn between her toxic ex and a charismatic king with hidden depths. Gemma Summers, down on her luck and nearing a move back home, encounters Alder Hawke, her ex who still haunts her dreams and could change her life with ease. A magical tarot card propels them into the steampunk-inspired Kingdom of Cups, where Gemma must rely on Alder for survival. Caught between Alder and a roguish former king, Gemma navigates secrets, shifting identities, and a heart on the line. She must cling to her real-world self or risk everything to become her true self. One enchanted tarot card, two irresistible men, and a modern woman refusing to be a damsel.

Genres: Romance, Romantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Adult, Ebooks, Tarot

Unknown Binding

First published February 10, 2026

About the author

Kristin is a #1 NYT and #1 USA Today bestselling author with over 30 million books in print.

She is proudly neurodivergent (ASD + OCD) and deeply consumed by character-driven chaos, emotionally vulnerable heroes, and smart, sexy heroines who always get the last word and the hot guy. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her devouring thriller, horror, and romance novels, practicing witchcraft, and being the exact kind of unhinged that makes group chats worth opening.

Reviews

[Maddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

i'm sorry but this was not a good book.

i'm a sucker for a portal fantasy. A SUCKER I TELL YOU. I have NEVER not liked one because i have fun with it always. however, this book takes the portal fantasy elements that are fun to experience (learning about the world from someone who had to figure it out too) and throws them away.

this kingdom is a combination of magic and clockwork machines that's function is...unclear? i don't know how tarot relates. i don't know why magic was banned. i don't know how magic and machines interact. i don't know how on EARTH the background movements even happened because the entire plot sequence is nonsensical.

the romance is dry and aggravating the whole time. the fmc is boring and lame. i'm sorry but there's not a single part of this book that i found enjoyable or redeemable.

**thank you to Bloom for the ARC copy**

[P.C. Cast · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! I love that our MFC is voluptuous and so relatable. Towerfall is a great world is great to play in and I look forward to the rest of the series! If you like enchanted kingdoms with a HEA this is the series for you! What a great escape!

[Jackie Franks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really need to start listening to reviews. 2⭐️ instead of one because a man dies.

[Maddie Meisenheimer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was SUCH a cool and promising concept - but this is AI. Maybe not all of it, but a lot. The writing lacks depth, follows some of the classic AI formulas, and is extremely repetitive. I tried to look past it or doubted myself but by 130 pages (halfway in) not a damn thing happened except the same 3 convos between the MMCs and the FMCs over and over. Disappointed to say the least.

[Zo Kawalilak-Kambeitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have realized that the suggestive cut open strawberries on the cover were a bad, ominous, no good sign. Cool concept, but not for me!

[Grayson · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.25 stars

I really wanted to like The Lovers, but it just did not work for me. I never connected with Gemma and honestly found her kind of annoying throughout the book, and neither love interest did anything to win me over. Alder irritated me from the second he opened his mouth, and while Lockhart was technically better, it was mostly because he met the bare minimum of not treating Gemma like she was worthless, which is not exactly compelling. I was also frustrated by how underexplained the fantasy elements were. We are dropped into this world with almost no real context beyond the existence of kingdoms, and the magick system made no sense to me at all, especially since we are never told why magick was even banned in Towerfall. My biggest issue, though, is the fact that both male love interests look identical but have completely different personalities. It drove me crazy that whenever Gemma was with Lockhart, she would suddenly think about how differently Alder treated her, as if she completely forgot that she had already met Lockhart, who is literally Alder’s doppelgänger, within hours of arriving in Towerfall. Overall, this just left me confused, frustrated, and wishing the book had spent more time developing its world and characters instead of expecting me to fill in the gaps myself.

[Brooke ✌︎㋡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so I rated this book 3.5 ⭐️! Not a bad rating in my book at all! And while I appreciate the angle of having survived through narcissism, some parts just irritated me lol. Not in an “I hate this book” kind of way, but in a “hey girl! Wake up and realize that these are two different guys 😂” way.

The whole magic system and machines I would have LOVED to go into more about all that. What caused them to come to life was keeping me turning the pages the whole time but when I found out I was like “oh ok”.

I loved the world building and the mystery I always love portal fantasies so this book will definitely satisfy with all that. Who wouldn’t love having a hot romp and then immediately being zerped into another dimension where you’re fitted with ball gowns and there’s castles and hot naked men in the woods!

It’s a quick and easy read that dedicates part of the story to surviving a narcissist. And boy was that satisfying! I recommend this book if you’re wanting a fun little simple portal fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books and Kristen Cast for this fun little romp through a portal in exchange for my honest review!

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed returning to Towerfall and seeing Gemma and Alderic’s relationship bloom. I especially loved watching Gemma become empowered and stand up for herself despite a bad circumstance.

Plot: 7/10
Magic system: 2/5
Spice level: 2/5

[Tori Baz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this book 😭 I loved the empress but this one was absolutely stunning. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to be able to create a whole new story within the portal world but she freaking nailed it!

[Coral · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to DNF at 69%.

Gemma is too stupid to live by far. She can’t tell Alder from Alderic even though she’d been with Alder TEN YEARS?? That’s like not being able to tell your husband from his identical twin. So that “twist” was frustratingly idiotic.

Speaking of obvious and irritating twists: Alder is so laughably evil he becomes a one dimensional caricature with zero nuance. And having a chubby small-town gf is SO important to his image to jump through all those hoops? Doubt. Also, he is potentially in the top 5 of the most punchable MCs I’ve read.

So back to stupid-ass Gemma: her priorities are fucking WHACK. She spends 70% of the 2/3rds I read fucking focused on relationship shit between her and Alder. As much as she says she cares about getting home, she herself does nothing to actually further that agenda besides yell at Alder to do it.

The writing itself is fucking brain rotted FaRo BookTok shit and I can’t do it.

I WANT MY SUNDAY BACK.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Genuinely the worst book I have EVER read. Clearly Ai-assisted.

[Sabrina C Simoni · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars: As someone who rarely reads things that have fantasy elements I actually found this really fun. I needed a mindless break after finishing my thesis, and this worked out really well! A bit cliche & millennial (though I am in my millennial era rn, shout out maddy) and the indirect food porn was…. Interesting… so not quite 3 stars! I also liked that Tarot was so well wrapped into this! Just a fun one, but I’m not dead and dying over it. (LOVE the cover tho)

[Ravyn Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prose was very good, but it wasn’t enough to save this book for me. The ending feels rushed and some of the side characters feel like they were only put there to be Chekhov’s gun at the end.

I was ridiculously annoyed that Adler gaslights Gemma about magic not being real when they’re standing in the middle of an alternate reality. Is it that hard to believe dude? Because you’re standing in a castle.

The climactic battle scene was far too easy, for the main character and her crew to win, one shove and the big bad guy is dead. No woman dies, even though they’re all fighting armed and armoured guards, who’ve trained in combat to be guards. Gemma just watches the guards be massacred, and doesn’t even seem concerned that the girls that are fighting to help her, could get severely hurt or killed. Girl power I guess.

Also for the ending to be “no more monarchy!” without any form of government actually being established? It’s a whole kingdom, and they suddenly have no ruler and no law, and the only two leaders of this revolution, Gemma and Alderic, who might be able to establish some kind of plan for the kingdom to not fall into chaos, they just leave. But the castle maids are free now so we’re not going to talk about that.

Tons of nonsensical plot holes, and the ending felt very rushed and forced.

[leah | whatsyourromantasy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm honestly kind of confused by this book and would be unsurprised to find out that I somehow skipped several world building chapters (I didn't miss them, they just weren't there). I don't really understand what happened to the magic to make it disappear, or how the machine/mechanisms work. I also felt like the whole plot was crammed into the last 20% of the book.

I think there could have been some benefit from having a Lockhart POV chapter or two, from the perspective of someone native to the magic realm, to help explain the magic/issues plaguing the land AND to establish that there are two different dudes here. I knew there were two of them due to the synopsis on the back of the book, but it doesn't come up or be realized by the FMC at all until very late in the book. Too late, in my opinion, to fully establish a fully fleshed out love story.

[Nicole H. ✨️nicoledreamsofbooks✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: The Lovers
Author: Kristin Cast
Genre: Romantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
Pub Date: February 10, 2026
6/150📚

Obsessive passion, bad decisions, and the kind of love that absolutely should come with a warning label -- I ate this up!! So good! I really loved how Gemma just seemed so real - has flaws and insecurities like most of us. Her growth throughout the book was extremely satisfying. I liked that I already knew how the magick system worked because of book one, however, I don't think you'd be lost if you read it as a standalone (I definitely prefer the series together).

Gemma loses her job and needs to move back to her hometown, she is reunited with a toxic ex and of course a tarot card pulls them into another realm - Gemma then has to figure out how to break this toxic cycle to save herself and the kingdom. Add in some spice and a new love interest and we are good to go! I can't wait for book 3 out this May!!

Thank you Kristin for my ARC, I can't wait for the next one!!

[Leslie Faulkner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad to rate it this low because it is such a neat concept.

[Emma Lovelady · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you Bloom for the gifted finished copy!!
this book was a ton of fun, i absolutely adored the first book in this series so i was so excited to read the next. while i think the first one was better, this was still such a fun quick read. they are all interconnected standalomes in a tarot card magic fantasy realm. i LOVE the tarot card system and the different time lines in this book!! such a cute cover as well!!

[Caitlin H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this one not realizing it was the second book in a series. I didn’t feel lost, but I’m sure I missed a lot of the world building and potentially a bit about the characters in book one.
Overall, not a bad read I just didn’t like it as much as I’d hoped. It was an interesting take on modern world and fantasy world combination and had a lot of potential I just couldn’t get past the relationship of the main characters. I know it was the way it was for a reason, but it felt like it overshadowed a lot of the story! I enjoyed the tarot card, the magic, and a certain other male character (no spoilers here) a lot though. And bonus points for the gorgeous cover and pretty sprayed edges!

[Heather Lilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why there's so much hate with this one, but I found it an enjoyable, escapist palate cleanser. An isekai-esque portal fantasy, the book follows Gemma as she somehow wakes up in the kingdom of Towerfall with her sucky ex, Alder. I found the descriptions of the world really fun and silly, and this is a book that's meant to be read and just have fun with. Like, enjoy it for what it is instead of harping on why it's not perfect and it'll be a super fun time-- guaranteed.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don't understand why I enjoyed this as much as I did. This is heavily flawed, there are plot points that make 0 sense, I couldn't turn my brain off while reading, and yet I still enjoyed it. Something in this worked for me on some level. Personally, I think it's the setting and the horrid ex. We've all been there, an ex that won't let you go even though you're practically begging them to, and to follow Alder in this book, you just can't wait to see him get his just deserts.

Honestly there was a lot more we could have done with this. I think instead of the Author playing with the idea that readers wouldn't catch on that this was 'The tale of two Alders' and had Gemma realize from the first interaction with Alderic, we could have had more of the book to invest in their building relationship. We could have moved the plot and romance forward almost from the beginning, but instead we waited until after the 70% mark to do the super obvious Alderic reveal and the evil kingdom plot doesn't make a full appearance until almost 80%. Honestly most of the book is Gemma trying to grow a backbone towards Alder 1.0 and failing, so it's a lot of wasted potential.

Now, that said, I had fun with the Alderic 2.0 being very obviously a different person and Gemma being too dense to notice that the man she spent A. DECADE. WITH. Was suddenly a different man, mannerisms and scars and all. Good thing she's not a detective.🤭

Alderic 2.0 is honestly sweet, but he's not really fleshed out. He's there to support Gemma but without the "from first sight I knew I loved you", his whole schtick falls flat. He's silently pining while hoping she's choosing him, but they barely interact together for anything real to actually be building between them. Gemma's history with Alder 1.0 does all the heavy lifting here, and that's sad. As previously stated, if the author hadn't been trying to (poorly) play into a twist, we could have had relationship and plot building happening and I think this could have stuck the landing.

The overall climax was just ... what? Lol. Women supporting women, fuck the patriarchy, suddenly became what won the day, and it was laughable. Still don't understand why we went that way, as there was almost no lead up to it, but whatever. It was still fun to see a bunch of randos come charging in to save the day.

Gemma needs a brain overhaul. She's not a smart or strong character, but a lot of what she went through in her past as well as her determination stuck with me. She's a pushover but at least she acknowledges it and tries to stop and grow from it even if she's not always successful.

The ending. So this plays into plot points that make 0 sense. At the begining of the book Gemma lost her job, her home, everything. She had nothing to go back to. Alder 1.0 admits that he was fucked, and so he never wanted to go back because he was being indicted. So riddle me this batman, why would either Gemma or Alderic 2.0 ever want to go to that world? There's this pesky business of ID, and social security, and assuming he just takes over Alders' identity, he too, would be fucked. If not, cool, but how were they going to set themselves up in her world? No answers given... just they started a business together 6 months later and are happy.....hmmm...I call bullshit.
But whatever.

The story was entertaining, Towerfall is interesting, if not fully assembled. Some of the dialogue is genuinely either funny or heartfelt. The characters still somehow managed to get me on board with their half baked shenanigans, and somehow along the way I just decided to have fun.

I bought book 3, so obviously I have to continue. 🫪😁 Wish me luck.

[Jazriel]

This book just pissed me the fuck off for so many reasons…. I get it there’s trigger warnings against narcissism and manipulation but this just took me to another level of annoyed. And I wasn’t even like trying to be annoyed at the MMC, but she just was annoying the fuck out of me. She couldn’t blatantly tell that these were two separate guys and every time she would talk about the guy who constantly manipulates her she would turn right around and act like she was in love with him. I just couldn’t get on the train with her. I just couldn’t. And the guy who was clearly another guy wasn’t telling her that it wasn’t even him like she would be like continuing a conversation with him that was obviously with the other guy and he would go along with it like are we so fucking serious right now.???

[Katya Moroziuk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book thought it was doing something when it was not. It was cliched in a bad way and cringeworthy. The spicy scenes felt like I was reading an unedited wattpad chapter and the rest was just poor character development with a lack of strong world building. This concept of book I think had huge potential but was just executed weakly and did not do the world concept justice. This book felt like it was rushing through scenes the author thought needed to happen to have a good story, but the transitions between were nonexistent so it felt jumpy and had absolute zero flow. The only reason I would give this a 1.5/5 instead of a 1 was because I liked the ending. Frankly this has been one of the worst books I’ve read.

[Ashlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

I liked this book and I liked the story, but I had a hard time picking it up. I was super excited when I saw this at the bookstore since I didn't even know that the next books in this series had come out yet, and I started it right away. However, it took me awhile to really get into the book. I feel like I would read it and then go days without wanting to pick it up again. I kind of just forced myself into finishing the book, and I'm really glad that I did. I also feel like I knew where the story was going, so I wasn't enjoying it because of that. I wish I would have gone in completely blind with this one, only having read book 1 in the series. Besides that, I think this had a good plot and I always enjoy reading Kristin Cast's books.

[Sarah’s Shelves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun but I enjoyed book one, The Empress, way more. I didn't care for the characters in this one as much. Also, it just felt like there was less of a plot to this book. The tarot card aspect, that was also included in the first book, felt like an afterthought and not like a driving force. The "twist" of the book did not take me by surprise at all, given the build-up. I was honestly surprised how long it took her to figure it out.

I have to say that a 3-star rating may not seem to exactly line up with my critiques, BUT it was unique and like I said before I had fun time with it overall. I just had a couple annoyances I needed to point out.

[Fenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think 3 stars is perfect for this book. I really wish I could give it 4, and I would, if not for the middle 150 pages of the book. The beginning? Really strong and interesting. The end? Had me on the edge of my seat. The middle was just so long and repetitive

[Jenna Essig · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at “wet ball slapping” 30% in

[Katie Balla · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was only intrigued at the twist even though i knew it was coming. boring read with no depth in characters or backstory.

[Meag · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so glad I didn’t spend money on this book like WTAF even happened I spent 80% confused

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A body positive fantasy romance where one woman is transported into a the Towerfall realm along with her toxic ex. Thinking she can trust him to get them out, she quickly realizes there are darker sides to him than even she knew and she will have to rely on her own strength (along with a mysterious other man) to escape. This was entertaining and had important messages about female empowerment and not tolerating abusive relationships. Can be read as a standalone but is the second book in a series. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Karina Halle or Devney Perry. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary digital copy and physical ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Grace Mercer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was hard for me to get through. I really wanted to like it… I just didn’t feel connected to the characters at all and the magic system/fantasy elements were so confusing.
I get that this is the second book in the series, but it is an interconnected STANDALONE. I shouldn’t have the read the first book in order to have even the slightest understanding of this world. I assume most of Alderic’s background and pretty much any basic information about him and his character is set up in the first book, because none of it was here. I know next to nothing about him aside from that he used to be the King of Pentacles, he sails, he loves Gemma, and he seems to love strawberries. I know nothing about his family, childhood, his past, overall likes and dislikes, or literally anything else.
The epilogue was so disappointing. Alderic looks exactly like Alder.. were there no consequences to him entering this world identical to Alder and with the woman Alder was known to be with??? Gemma’s best friend (rightly) despised Alder, does she just suddenly let that go?? ALDER WAS ABOUT TO BE INDICTED FOR FRUAD… HOW IS ALDERIC NOT IN JAIL???? You can’t exactly just tell the legal system he’s not Alder and is actually his doppelganger from another world. I needed answers to these very logical questions and got none. OH! And Alderic is this master baker/chef???? He’s this phenomenal cake decorator??? Where did that come from?! If the author had at the very least set up that he enjoys drawing or art it would make more sense.
I’m just really disappointed.