Reviews

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan

catherinept's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

theciz's review against another edition

3.5

This book started quite trite and mediocre, and I found myself skimming some paragraphs, expecting a disappointing read. But actually, the more I read, the more the story grew on me, and I finished actively interested to read more. The characters are quite flat and archetypal, but the world building and overall mysteries in the plot more than made up for it, even if some of the smaller ones are quite predictable. Medieval Spanish history and Jewish folklore are both new areas to me, which gave this a refreshing take on familiar fantasy tropes.

janahain's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

zahramclin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

chelsea_meadow's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

katieanne4's review against another edition

slow-paced

so... this is the first book i've read that has taken me more than a day or two to get through in a while. in a good way and a bad way. in a good way because it's denser and more meaty than most of the smut i've been inhaling for the last couple of years. in a bad way because i did find it slow, and when i got to the 90% point and realized it was the setup for a series i was kind of like, more annoyed than happy? like sometimes i will do anything to stay in the world of the story for longer, but with this it felt like i would have preferred that it just wrap up. but in a good way because i DNF at the slightest provocation, and the fact that i stuck with this in spite of the slowness means i actually really liked it. i felt invested in what happened but it wasn't uncomfortably tense. there were a lot of surprises. masterful world building, i never felt info dumped, or lost, but just learned things as i went along. 

the romance, or romances?, did not hit for me. we'll see how they play out in book two. well i guess i'm going to try book two. i wasn't sure but it seems like subconsciously i had already decided.

vindication's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

thesegreenskies's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

4.25

4.25 I really enjoyed this book. The characters are interesting and for all the serious subject matter in the book it is funny as well. The relationship dynamics between certain characters are really interesting and I want more! I definitely recommend this book and I cannot wait for the next book!!

lotsoflev's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A fantasy book focused on Jews set in the time of the inquisition and it’s so well done! Great characters and stories, good suspense and keeps you guessing

nic_readsbooks's review against another edition

3.0

This took me a while to get into. I love the concept and I think some of the fantasy elements are pretty epic but the pacing was too slow for me. 

The setting of the Spanish Inquisition is unique and not one I’ve seen in many fantasy books before, I liked the elements of Jewish folklore which again, I haven’t seen very often. 

The writing is fine, straightforward to read but I just found myself wanting it all to speed up a bit. At times I couldn’t quite work out why the characters were doing what they were doing.  

Lots of potential and I know some readers have loved this book but it just didn’t quite work for me