I didn’t love or hate what I read is how I feel about All Our Hidden Gifts. For the positive, I enjoyed how O’Donoghue heavily integrated tarot cards into the story and in such a meaningful way. I liked that she introduced the occult with an air of mystery and even reverence in such a mundane space, while also never making Maeve, the protagonist, seem silly just because she’s interested in divination. I also found this sociopolitical exploration of Ireland in tandem with tarot reading really interesting, which added a layer of complexity to the novel that definitely helped set it up for the sequel.

What I didn’t love as much were most of the characters (especially the protagonist), though this is more a me issue than there being badly written characters. Considering that All Our Hidden Gifts is a YA novel, I did my absolute best to keep that in mind as I read, knowing that I wasn’t the target audience. Many of the characters were teenagers who were still learning about themselves, but I found being in the mind of one rather tiring after a while. It definitely didn’t help that the protagonist seemed far less mature than her friends, unfortunately. I also had somewhat mixed opinions about how gender/sexuality were handled in this novel, which read a bit shallow to me (especially when it came to gender identity). That being said, I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that it’s because the characters themselves are exploring who they are as individuals, along with the fact that the novel was definitely set up with the intention for the reader to pick up the sequel.

I think for those who like YA, the occult, and some fantastical elements in an everyday setting will find this novel to be an enjoyable read. I’m on the fence about reading the next installment; I’m admittedly curious to know what will happen next, given the direction the story went.