The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan

Source: NetGalley, thank you to the publisher!
TL;DR: A slow fantasy that deserves a lot of attention with what could be a great payoff

Plot: Alternating between two groups in two different worlds – I really liked this but it did slow everything down
Characters: I liked all our characters, flaws and all. My favorite by far was Toba’s grandmother. We don’t usually see parental figures with such drive to save their children
Setting: The setting really enhanced the story, set in an world inspired by inquisition plagued Spain.
Magic: A different, unique style focused on dreams and mirror worlds. I enjoyed that aspect as well.

Thoughts:

The Pomegranate Gate is slow – that’s the best thing I can tell you right out of the gate (see what I did there?). But it’s got so many interesting elements and fascinating draws from it’s Jewish Inspiration that I can’t even be that mad at it. 

Inspired by Jewish myth and history it follows several characters. Toba, a sickly girl who finds herself stumbling through a magical gate into a mirror world and those she leaves behind including her grandmother and a neighborhood boy who gets caught up in the quest to find her. The story bounces between the two groups as Toba explores the mirror world and the group with Naftaly attempt to first find their way to her then to safety. 

My only complaint on this was simply the pacing, which I think didn’t lend it well to reading via digital for me. It’s slow, which for me means I’d need to sit with it for long periods of time which I wasn’t able to do. I loved so much here, but was so distracted it didn’t get the attention it deserved. I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes physical reads mean I am able to pay closer attention. Keep that in mind, it takes attention but I feel like the pay off would be worth it. So much so I’ll likely pick this up to reread when a sequel is announced. 

For now this one sits at a high three for me, but I look forward to giving it another try in the next year or so. For a slower, unique fantasy with some super interesting magic this is a great one to try.