The Pomegranate Gate

The Pomegranate Gate reads like a classic beloved fantasy novel. The rich world-building and character driven journey was slow paced and utterly charming.
I love a portal fiction, this was mixed with historical elements and Jewish folklore making it unique.
There’s politics, a plucky FMC, magic, different cultures clashing, books and family ties.
The dual POV works well fleshing out the world-building and different plot points. I did prefer some characters to others but I think with further development I will have new favourites.
Can’t wait to see where the journey goes from here, I’m intrigued and invested.
Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Within a few short chapters of 'The Pomegranate Gate' I knew I'd found another top quality fantasy series to invest my reading time in. Kaplan is one of those writers who can draw you into a story quickly and effortlessly, the writing flowing, the characters feeling like friends in a short span of words. The story is set in a fictional version of 15th century Spain, where the decree to force Jewish people to convert to Christianity or leave the country has just been announced. The viewpoint characters are two young people affected by the decree. Toba and Naftaly are separated from the column of refugees heading for the coast to escape. Toba accidentally crosses into a parallel world ruled by Mazik (similar to elves), where she must stay for a month. Naftaly finds himself with only a nameless and irascible old woman for company, and is suffering from worsening visions and strange dreams. Their stories unfold and eventually intersect, as they realise events in the Mazik world are reflected in the human one, and vice versa, and that sinister plotters amongst the Maziks will soon be wreaking havoc across both worlds.

It's a classic fantasy adventure with all the right elements to succeed. I've read fantasies set in Spain around this period before, but generally those have focussed on Muslim characters and legends rather than Jewish. The setting and concepts are familiar enough to not require effort to learn and understand, whilst still feeling fresh. The characters are all likeable (except the villains), particularly my favourite, the old woman. Her presence is a clever touch, cutting through the fantastical with practicality and cynicism that won me over very fast. If she'd been part of the Fellowship of the Ring in Tolkien they'd have finished the quest in half time but she'd probably have stolen half the elven artefacts in Rivendell on the way.

The plot is exciting, with lots of drama and intrigue, and it didn't turn out as I expected. I looked forwards to reading it and was compelled to keep trying to fit in 'one more chapter' when I should have been doing other things. My only criticism is that it suffers from 'first book in a series' syndrome - you get a lot of the set up but most of the pay off will be in future titles. I'm very glad it's a series, as I can look forwards to more outings in this world, but it does compromise the satisfaction you should get at the end of a book. That's true of most series, but some authors manage to give more of a satisfying interim story-arc conclusion so you don't feel quite so much that you've been left hanging.

I can see this becoming a really popular series in the same way as the Daevabad and Sandsea trilogies (SA Chakraborty and Chelsea Abdullah respectively). Certainly I am looking forwards to the next in the series being published so I can find out what happens next. I'd recommend to all fans of fantasy adventure, including those who only have time to read the best there is to offer.

When I say that Solaris are one of my favourite publishers, I am not exageratting. They have such an amazing eye for books that every release I've read of theirs in the last year has been an instant favourite, and The Pomegranate Gate is no exception.

I picked up this book in the middle of a reading slump and was a little concerned at the size of it. I've been struggling to get into books or get through them at all and this felt like a recipe for disaster but honeslty I was hooked. The worldbuilding in this is just absolutely incredible - something I've come to expect from Solaris - and everything felt so richly detailed.

There's such an air of mystery to this book because of weight placed on names, and it threads so smoothly through that you kind of almost forget about it, until it hits you again that hey, there's this whole THING you don't understand. It's absolutely gripping, and I'm a huge fan of the magic and mythology systems.

Cannot wait to get my hands on book 2!

This was a wonderful book, honestly like nothing I have ever read before. Filled with intersectional communities such as religious and otherwise as well as the unique world of maziks this was filled with jewish folklore and the worldbuilding was absolutely unreal. In the human realm, our main characters face religious persecution and familial losses for simply being jewish, and in the realm of the maziks through the gate there is an unknown amount of years worth of history filled with secret societies, antimonarchists, restorationists and all tied together through mazik magic.

Toba and Naftaly are crucial to the plot in uniquely different ways, but born into the human world both do have mazik heritage which has benefited them both differently. Tobas journey mostly takes place through in the mazik realm and has her getting to know her truth. Naftaly on the other hand has a books his father swore him to protect at all costs and visions he doesn't understand. The way this all ties together was not something i at all saw coming but i love every second of it. additionally, alongside toba i grew to love barsilay and asmel and everything they did for truth to be pursued.

One of the unique things I spotted and enjoyed the creativity of was how salt is harmful to maziks but is actually something Jewish people use for koshering meat, it was just one of many particular details i liked. Additionally - JEWISH PIRATES had. me absolutely gagged even though they were only brief and irrelevant to the majority of the plot. The plot mostly revolves around these mysterious different realms, the gates to them and the gates connection to the moon cycles but i honestly loved it, i didn't see any of the plot twist coming nor the reveals of who some of the characters going under title aliases were. This is my first read filled with jewish folklore, and the glossarys definitely helped me understand the complex worldbuilding, despite the complexity i really adored this and would not only reccomend but has definitely got me interested in learning more about jewish folklore.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for the ARC. All thoughts are my own and I wasn’t paid to write this review.

I first heard about this book from a Booktuber, and thought it sounded like something I would enjoy. I have to say, I did enjoy it. It’s was amazing. The Jewish representation, the world building, the characters, the premise, the writing. All of it was absolutely perfect in my mind and this is easily one of my favourite books of 2024, I am so excited to read the sequel and continue the adventure.

Jewish history, myth, and fantasy combined! So absorbing I barely paused to eat (or work), and am immensely grateful I've got book two in ARC form to read immediately afterwards. Very well constructed, paced, and thought through. A refreshing read for those tired of formulaic fantasy

If you’re a fan of the starless sea, strange the dreamer and the Daevabad trilogy, you need to pick this one up!

I loved the writing in this and it’s quite a unique concept for fantasy. Set during the Spanish Inquisition, steeped in Jewish folklore and beautifully whimsical while also being high stakes!

I loved the two main characters, they were incredibly endearing and it was amazing to see their growth throughout the story. The plot was full of mystery and intrigue and it was so satisfying to see some of the plot points weave together towards the end.

The romance is a subplot in this but I am guessing we will get more in the following books!

All in all I highly recommend this one for anyone who likes a whimsical fantasy full of mystery, intrigue, politics, folklore, found family and magic!