Leah Holt – ARC Queen of Pentacles (Cards of Love)

To say I’m excited about the Cards of Love book collection would be an understatement. Thus far, I’ve read Sierra Simone’s The Moon, and I’m waiting for Ashley Jade’s The Devil, along with many more. When given the opportunity to sign up for an ARC of Leah Holt’s Queen of Pentacles, I jumped. She posted a teaser from one of the final chapters in this novella, and I was hooked. There was something provocative about the characters, Ash and Nola, and I knew I wanted to read an advanced copy to see the development of their story.

According to Holt, The Queen of Pentacles “when facing upright, […] is motherly, showing a love for others. [,,,] This card wants you to be practical, compassionate, and down-to-earth when dealing with people.” And at the outset of their story, Nola embodies this queen. She teeters on the edge of giving too much of herself and caring too much about others that it can be her downfall. In the story, Nola illustrates this initially by giving into her temptation at the hands of Ash. She is not someone who would make hasty decisions that might imperil her professional standing, but her connection to Ash and her want to give herself completely to him sexually are too great. As a character, she is a strong woman who simply makes some questionable choices that get her in quite a bit of trouble.

Now, from the outset, Ash seems uncomplicated and typically male in his lust for Nola. He sees her initially as a quick one-night stand. He is clearly attracted to her, but, like any good romance, he realizes quickly that she completes him. What was meant to be a one-night stand quickly becomes something more. When they meet again, we find that Nola is Ash’s new boss, and their chemistry grows, connecting them beyond their one night. From that point, Ash knows beyond a doubt that Nola is his everything. He realizes this before Nola, a refreshing change from many romances where men take longer to realize their deeper feelings.

I have to admit that I sometimes struggle with novellas because I want more story, and that isn’t the point of a novella. I want more back story for Ash and Nola. I don’t want to rush their love story, but the form of the novella doesn’t allow that. That being said, Holt develops the story and the characters well within that format, and we leave the book fulfilled with Ash and Nola’s story from beginning to end.

What we learn about the Queen of Pentacles is that the upside down card which begets “…chaos and an inability to separate what’s important” easily becomes right side up with love. Ash and Nola together embody this truth in Leah Holt’s romance.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

In love and romance,

Professor A