Cover Image: The Accidental Gatekeeper

The Accidental Gatekeeper

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Member Reviews

While I quite like the tropes that were outlined in the blurb, I'm not sure I exactly enjoyed this book. It wasn't bad, just not for me. I wasn't compelled to read the next book, but it was solidly written, the characters and snark at an acceptable level. I just didn't...click with it.

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Lighthearted fun, full of humour , I was addicted to this it’s fast paced, great characters and a whole cast of wonderful characters, definitely recommended for a smile

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The main character reminds me so much of Sandy Cheeks. I can’t help but laugh at her lines. Funny, fantasy, paranormal romance with a not so typical heroine.

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Took me a long time to read this book. Sorry to say i did not enjoy it. Nothing against the authour, its just not my thing.

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A humorous read on hiding from trouble and finding a different kind instead.


Thank you #NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for giving me the opportunity to read this!

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A good book but not great; I didn't feel especially attached to the story or the characters. The writing was good but I probably won't be reading book two.

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I loved this book… the fact that the protagonist wasn’t a twenty something pretty slim girl but a middle aged woman with a bad knee I felt was fantastic. The story flowed well, on the most part the characters were likeable and I felt for Everly as she ran around with all her health problems trying to save her life.

It was funny, paced well and really really enjoyable. I couldn’t put it down.

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An interesting new series with a great concept. For the most part, the book flows and is enjoyable. There are a few hiccups with family and old flames. The ending is interesting and I wouldn't mind fining the next in the series.

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Everly is in the midst of a mid-life crisis and thanks to her husband on the run from a drug cartel. She returns to her hometown, a supernatural place located at the Gates of Hell, and after a series of events accidentally becomes the gatekeeper.

This book is good, the premise is awesome, it's comical, and it kept me flipping pages until the very end. However, I didn't feel particularly attached to the characters and it made me feel a bit disconnected from the book. I will chop this up to me being younger than the targeted audience. That being said, I do look forward to reading the rest of the series. Additionally, I think my mom will love this book, and I might just get her a copy for Christmas.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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I'm delighted that sassy, snarky, funny urban fantasy stories are having another moment and this book kept me laughing through all of the best parts. We have a misfit who left her small town years and years ago, had a bit of a wild life and is now returning home for good reasons. Everyone remembers her, some less fondly than others, and before long she is the only one who can fix a rather nasty problem. I very much enjoyed this light read and have started recommending it to our library patrons and random people in bookstores. You should read it too.

Thank you BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

#TheAccidentalGatekeeper
#NetGalley

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I thought that the book, was such a page turner. A great read. The plot was very well written and I cannot wait to read another book by this author.

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Well….the premise for this story was superb. A woman in her forties flees from FBI agents trying to turn her into a state witness and the drug cartel her husband worked for that wants her dead, seeks sanctuary in her childhood home and town. The catch? Her town is the magical force guarding Hell’s Gate and a slew of creatures.

Sounds great right? Well it should have been but it just….wasn’t there. I think the major downside was that every other line was full of similes/idioms. You couldn’t take it serious when she was comparing things to drunk raccoons and gator puddles.

I really wanted to love it and I’m sad I didn’t. The idea of it is amazing and the story idea is unique.

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Another in the current genre of late booming female magics genre. Here our heroine is chosen by default - accidentally as it were - as the true gatekeeper was 'unavailable'.

Truthfully, the whoel plot got me confused - and I rate myself as being good at solving literary mysteries. I am not sure if I skipped / issed where it was explained / or it just wasn't clear. I got the idea of the hell-gate; gatekeeper; witches; demons; shifters; brownies (from Ireland) - this was unusual as they are really Scottish folklore -; angels; and everything else thrown into the mix. Just too too much in the mix for me. The author threw it all in and then lots happened - again too many things - overall just too much. for me a confused plot.

The next book in the series is the Accidental Archivist and i shan't be reading it. The heroine acquires another accidental job? Too much for me.

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I like reading different things and this caught my eye.
I really enjoyed the imagination that went into writing this book.
It was very well thought out and put together with great characters.
A cross between sci-fi and crime what a great combination.

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I really liked the premise of Carla Rehse’s ‘The Accidental Gatekeeper’, especially that the protagonist was older than in most of this type of books. But unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I thought I would. Narrated from Everly’s point of view, ‘The Accidental Gatekeeper’ is fast-paced read with a lot of intense things happening throughout the whole book, but unfortunately, I felt like there was a little too much of that, it felt like the book was trying to do too much at once, and while it worked in some places, it didn’t as much in others. Moreover, while I was excited about having an older protagonist, it didn’t feel like she was actually that mature at all, and I felt, far too often, like I was reading a narration from a teenager’s perspective. Ultimately, I felt that ‘The Accidental Gatekeeper’ missed the potential for me, but it might have just not been a right book for me, and I’m sure that others will find the characters more likeable and enjoyable.

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This was a pure joy to read. Something about the writing style and story meshed perfectly for me and I read the book in one sitting. It was an easy recommendation to reading groups for future reads. Well written and plotted with enjoyable characters.

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I really liked the premise of Carla Rehse’s ‘The Accidental Gatekeeper’, especially that the protagonist was older than in most of this type of books. But unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I thought I would.

Narrated from Everly’s point of view, ‘The Accidental Gatekeeper’ is fast-paced read with a lot of intense things happening throughout the whole book, but unfortunately, I felt like there was a little too much of that, it felt like the book was trying to do too much at once, and while it worked in some places, it didn’t as much in others. Moreover, while I was excited about having an older protagonist, it didn’t feel like she was actually that mature at all, and I felt, far too often, like I was reading a narration from a teenager’s perspective. Ultimately, I felt that ‘The Accidental Gatekeeper’ missed the potential for me, but it might have just not been a right book for me, and I’m sure that others will find the characters more likeable and enjoyable.

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"When all the good choices have disappeared faster than kids at chore time."

Personal Rating: 2.4/5✨

Our 45-year-old heroine came back to her hauntingly (literally) old hometown called Crossing Shadow in Texas. She needed an escape from the FBI who were looking for her almost ex-husband for selling drugs, so she thought she needed to come back home for some retreat. What she did not expect was to accidentally be the Gatekeeper between earth, heaven, and hell.

Characters: 2/5✨

To be honest, I only like the brownies and Everly. Not sure if this is because the book is written in the first-person point of view and there are more depths to Everly. The brownies are definitely my favourite of all. The rest felt like they are lack in character and I feel detached from most of them. Not even how Everly describes her daughter and Lawson, her old flame, can make me feel attached to them. More so, I feel that between Everly and Lawson, there's no chemistry at all.

I do feel that every single character in this book can be explored more because I can only feel them on the surface level.

Signature Magic System: 2/5✨

I honestly was lost in the whole magic system. I only can understand the part that as a Gatekeeper, Everly can get connected between heaven and hell. Other than that, it was very confusing, to say the least. I do feel if explained thoroughly and in detail, readers like me can gauge the story more than we anticipated.

World-Building: 2/5 ✨

Even though Crossing Shadows is a very small town, it definitely has a vast area to cover. It can have a big potential, seeing that this book is very plot-driven. I suggest having a full-on drawn map of the Crossing Shadows because I was half lost while reading. Though I do applaud myself for having a good imagination, there will be readers who are not blessed enough with how imaginative people imagine lol. Does that make sense to you?

Story Plot: 4/5 ✨

It's a very fast-paced, plot-driven, action-packed book. I could not put the book down when I started to read at the part where Everly accidentally became the Gatekeeper. Every action and scene just blend in together and create this thrilling paranormal plot as if I can imagine how this book be turned into a movie or something.

Writing Style: 2/5✨

It was written in the first-person point of view, which is Everly's. I enjoyed her musings and her humor in scenes. Especially when she made remarks on the celestial beings and demons around her, I caught myself chuckled way too loud in my own room. However, that was just it. Maybe that was why I felt that I can understand Everly more than the other characters because I felt like she has the most depth of character in this book.

CONCLUSION:

I enjoyed the book. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to start reading fantasy, paranormal, women's fiction. Everly's perimenopausal thoughts are really amusing. Not sure I'll pick up the next book though.

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The Story:

Everly Poppa is a 45 year old woman with a sassy teen daughter and a husband in jail. With no one else to turn to, she heads home to her Mom, despite having left her home town, years before, vowing never to return. Home is a small town in America that happens to be one of the Gates to Hell. Angels and demons govern the town which is in a state of flux. The old Gatekeeper has died and their successor has disappeared. A hellhound bites Everly. The town is locked down. Everly must find her daughter and the new Gatekeeper, battle the demons, support the angels and find a snarky witch. Oh – and deal with her old high school boyfriend just for good measure. Then perhaps she can deal with her real world issues: the FBI wanting her to testify against her husband and his drug-dealing friends who don’t.

This is a joy of a book. Everly Poppa is the the new premenopausal heroine of women everywhere. Anyone who is a daughter or a mother will love it.

Review
The Accidental Gatekeeper is a delight of a story that keeps you reading right to the end. Everly is very relatable and the relationship with her daughter and her mother very real. The fact is that we never grow up and humans can keep making the same mistakes over and over again. The paranormal element is well-drawn: the demons are annoying until things get messy and the angels are grand and judgemental until the chips are down. There are also shapeshifters, werewolves, ghosts and poltergeists and witches. The world is wonderfully drawn and I enjoyed the story immensely. I would recommend this story for people who enjoy paranormal stories. There will be two more books about Everly coming in the future and I am looking forward to reading more about her adventures.

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Very funny and light hearted. Found it to be a fast paced quick read and I really enjoyed it. Left me waiting impatiently for the next book.

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