The Empress

Towerfall, Book 1

By: Kristin Cast

Narrated by: Amanda Leigh Cobb, Gabriel Spires

He's a ruthless, battle-scarred warrior with a dark past. She's stuck pretending to be his wife to save a fantasy kingdom.

The Arcana aren't just figures in a tarot deck―they're real. Terrifyingly real. That's what I learned when I found a tarot card in the snow and was yanked from my world into Towerfall. The first thing the people of this harsh, cruel realm did was try to kill me, and they probably would have succeeded if Kane hadn't taken me to his hideout in the woods and nursed me back to health.

I don't know if I can trust him. He's too hot to be good news, he's definitely hiding secrets, and I've already seen him kill two people to protect me. If I hadn't just been helplessly dumped into his world, the blood on his sword and his dark, brooding mood would have me running in the opposite direction.

But right now, convincing the Kingdom of Pentacles that Kane and I are married is my best chance of getting into the palace and back to my own world.

Because there's something wrong with Towerfall. Something deeply, deadly wrong. And if anyone finds out Kane and I aren't really husband and wife?

Well, then both of us are dead.

From New York Times bestselling author Kristin Cast comes a new tarot-inspired fantasy series. Scarlett St. Clair meets Outlander in the seductive and spellbinding world of Towerfall, starting with The Empress, a high-heat, fake marriage romantasy with a swoon-worthy, morally gray love interest. Narrated in duet style.

©2025 Kristin Cast (P)2025 Podium Audio

Enchanted and Entranced!

I was absolutely blown away by this audiobook! After falling in love with the House of Night series, I knew I had to give The Empress a shot, and I do not regret it one bit! Kristin Cast’s storytelling is mesmerizing, pulling me in with vivid imagery that makes me feel like I’m watching everything unfold on screen. The world she creates is so immersive that I feel as though I’m right there alongside the characters. I deeply relate to the protagonist, making the experience even more powerful. I can’t wait to dive into more of Kristin Cast’s books! I am even inspired to pull out the old books and start getting hard copies again. There’s just something special about holding a book in my hands and experiencing the story in a whole new way!

Such a Really Fun Fantasy Romance

This Book was really Good I love Tarot cards and Fantasy so put the to together perfect 👌

Interesting plot

Edit: Just finished and within the last two hours, I started to like Hannah more.


Original review 7.5 hrs in:
I like Tarot and the plot was interesting, so I had hoped that tarot would be involved in the lore of the story, (i still have 2.5hrs left so I’m not losing all hope).

Please be warned there is a medieval amount of violence in this story.

The reason I can’t wait to finish before I write a review is: Hannah. I promise this is not a spoiler- within moments of reading you will discover that Hannah has no self esteem, she engages in situations that reenforce her lack of self esteem, she doesn’t set boundaries then she gets mad and upset that her boundaries weren’t respected and her brain stops functioning properly.

Hannah’s dealing with a lot of negative self-talk, and I understand why, but Hannah was hard to like, I got emotional whiplash from trying to figure out her personality, page to page (one minute she is full of self-doubt, the next she is obnoxiously sure of her *incorrect* actions, with unearned confidence then immediately back to negative self talk as soon as someone doesn’t respond the way she wants).

Everything else about this book is really good so far, The plot, the world building, the dialog, the narration and the other characters, are quite good. I will look for the next book in the series, once it is released.

I like the fantasy of the book and the being outside yourself

I like the ability to be able to dream a bigger dream and that there really can be magic in the 🌎

A wildly fun and thrilling ride!

The Empress is an absolute blast! Between the fake marriage hijinks, the snarky banter, and the non-stop action, I was hooked. The mix of danger and laugh out loud moments made this story impossible to put down.

Kane is the ultimate broody but secretly sweet hero, and his dynamic with the heroine had me rooting for them while cracking up at their witty back and forth. Add in a killer audiobook performance with spot-on voices and pacing, and it took the story to a whole new level.

A little slow in parts, but the humor, chemistry, and wild twists more than made up for it. Perfect for fans of fantasy with a side of laughs and heat!

Loved the audiobook…not the story

Loved the narrators for this audiobook. The spicy scenes were great but overall, not my favorite story.

Such a cute & fun fantasy read!

I loved the way it was modern, but also more of a historical fantasy! I enjoy fantasy books that don’t require a lot of thinking when it comes to different characters and world building, it was super easy to follow along to and not feel lost with too much information. Can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

Not that great

It felt like I was reading a story written by a 16 year old. It was cringe. The writing was not that great. The story had potential, but was not delivered well.

Little Fawn

Gabriel and Amanda did an amazing job bringing towerfall to life! I loved the playful yet sultry banter between Kane and Hannah, and the idea of bringing tarot cards to life was super interesting and unique. Definitely a fun and fluffy read with a good amount of spice sprinkled in!

I enjoyed this story

I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve read from this author. This story was no different. I loved the hero & heroine too. The only “negative” for me was that maybe it could’ve used a little more magic maybe? But then when you’re in a world where having magic is a death sentence & you already have 2 people that have magic plus a magic tarot card & someone from a different realm, maybe you have enough magic already. Regardless I really liked the story & look forward to more in this series (hopefully) or something else if she’s not writing more in this series. :)