Book Review: Tarot & Tequila by David Ross

  • Source: I received an advance copy of this book on NetGalley

  • My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ (see my review on Goodreads)

I was VERY EXCITED about this book, since I love both tarot and tequila, and I love the idea of witchy cocktails! To my disappointment, however, this book was just not for me. While the author gave the impression of being somewhat worldly and traveled, I found the general vibe of the book to be rather juvenile and not very self aware. There were anecdotes and terms tossed around that felt insensitive and dismissive of others, which left me feeling uncomfortable.

What I liked most about this book were the illustrations and descriptions of each tarot card, and I like that reversals were included. Each card also came with "tequila definitions" which I didn't really understand. Each one felt targeted for a person who regularly goes out drinking with friends in order to get wasted (like a stereotypical frat guy or something), which I thought was a rather narrow scope. Some of the cocktails sounded nice, although most of them were not easily accessible and required some ingredient that I either didn't recognize or wouldn't typically have on my bar cart.

I found the cocktail recipes to be pretty unrelated to each card, as there didn't seem to be much reason behind the ingredient choices that related back to the cards. Where I really started getting skeptical was the cocktail recipe for Temperance -- a card all about moderation -- that was so long and had so many ingredients it didn't even fit on the page! WHAT?! All that to say... this book really fell flat for me. There are plenty of other witchy cocktail books out there that I'd rather have on my shelves.

book reviewKelleytarot, witchcraft, cocktails, recipes, nonfiction