This book is a bit of a mash-up: murder, romance and magic. The main action takes place at a year round Renaissance festival where Lilly, a part-time Tarot card reader meets "struggling artist" Ian. Lily is reluctantly dating Lucas, a man she has known since college and whom she feels obligated to because they have been together for long. MacLeod makes it clear very early in the novel that Lily is not invested in her relationship with Lucas and he quickly becomes the villain in the story. The plot moved back and forth in time from the present day relationship between Ian and Lily and their past selves. In this way Suit of Cups was a bit like Diana Gabaldon lite. The scenes from past lives were meant to enhance the story but they felt disjointed when mixed with the serial killer subplot. Maybe if Lucas was included in these past lives as well the different story lines would have come together in a more fluid manner. Instead Lucas becomes a plot twist. I decided to ignore the subplots and focus on the main storyline, Ian and Lily's love story. When I did that I found I really enjoyed Suit of Cups.