It was my favorite kind of book being slow to start to allow the reader time to understand the backstory then sped up as the book went along at just the right times. The characters were well developed as were the concepts presented. I could not put this down. It was a great book, just wish I knew more about polish history to enjoy it even more. Did some research on my own and then read it a second time and enjoyed it even more! A must read! ( )

Plot:
Kassia is a shai, a woman born with the mark of the goddess. And she is the first woman to be allowed to study magic under Master Lukusha. In fact, she is the first woman in ages to be allowed to study and practice magic at all, which means that most of the shai magic has been forgotten. Despite the people like Lukusha's assistant Zakarij doubting her, Kassia throws herself into her studies - as much as being a single mother allows her to.

The Spirit Gate was an enjoyable read with a good protagonist that wasn't absolutely great, but it definitely wasn't bad at all.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2018/10/11/the-spirit-gate-maya-kaathryn-bohnhoff/ ( )

This is honestly such a beautifully written story, with gorgeous descriptions and realistic characters. I'm in love with the author's use of language, and impressed that she got me so invested in a novel infused with politics and religion, which I don't tend to prefer.

There were times when I knew what was going to happen next, and other times in which I was completely surprised. I appreciate this in a story, because while I enjoy finding out I'm right, I also enjoy discovering I was wrong and thinking of things in completely the wrong way.

I will admit there were a couple of things that moved a little quickly for me to find realistic, that I won't name to preserve the story, but one of them could be accounted for with the time period, and the other helps the story have a happy ending, so I don't really dislike it.

It appears to be a standalone novel at this point, and while I loved it, I'm not sure it needs a sequel. (But if the author happens to read this, I definitely wouldn't be upset if there was one!)

In conclusion, I found this to be a unique, well-written, magic-infused novel that has the potential to grab the attention of many different kinds of people. I highly recommend it for the beautiful writing alone, with the story itself being a delightful plus.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Early Reviewers in exchange for my honest review. Everything I've written above is completely sincere. ( )

I could have sworn I'd reviewed this, but I did have some technical issues with LT a while back, so maybe it got eaten.

I broadly enjoyed this novel. It's less medieval western europe than a lot of fantasy, but doesn't always exploit this to its full extent. The heroine's personal journey comes in fits and starts, and the extent to which other characters deferred to her as her powers developed annoyed me occasionally (especially as her real talents for research were more worthy of their praise), though generally she was likeable enough, and having a single mother heroine in fantasy is unusual. The love interest was bland, and the plot with the king was awkward.

The most awkward plot was her teacher being slowly seduced by power. I kept expecting him to develop into a full on villain, but instead there was a strong "ends justify the means" overtone to the plot that made me feel like we were meant to condone his actions. It felt a little halfbaked, like a plot that had been rewritten at some point.

There was enough about this novel and its worldbuilding that was new to me that I kept reading, but in other respects it felt quite dated. ( )

It took me forever to figure out how to download the ebook, and when I finally did, I could only read it on my phone, so it took some time. I was happy I enjoyed it as much as I did! It captures the imagination and keeps you engrossed for hours. And although you get minimal detail of the past that is constantly referred to, you don't need too much information to understand what is going on, but you wished there was another book-a prequel if you will, to tell that story as well. ( )