<b>3.5 stars.</b>
<i>The Accidental Gatekeeper</i> is a cute paranormal women's fiction (PWF) book. I say cute because the main character Everly is swear averse and uses phrases like 'clusterduck'. Also because it's <i>super</i> slow burn. I almost didn't feel the chemistry between Everly and Lawson.

It was a pretty fun read though. The pacing is brisk, with no parts that felt slow or boring. Most of the characters are interesting and reasonably fleshed out (given it's a first in a trilogy I'm hoping some will develop more in the next book). Chase and Luna were cute :P. The mystery is handled well, with a good balance between obvious and not-so-obvious clues.
It wraps up mostly clean and tidy. I was kinda disappointed that <spoiler>she was stripped of Gatekeeper status/powers</spoiler>, and as such I'm not sure I'd pick up the next book. However, the Sebastian 'wardrobe' thing has made me mighty curious as to what potential revelation that could reveal (or not, probably knowing my luck), so maybe I would given the chance.

Overall, I liked <i>The Accidental Gatekeeper</i>. It's a fun, action packed ride. But saying that, it lacked that spark that makes me <i>really</i> like a book. That unquantifiable 'wow' factor was missing for me. Would I recommend it? Yes, to PWF readers I'd say it's worth a try.

Couple of minor niggles:
<spoiler>When the first 'sleeping' death occurs and everyone just kinda carries on standing around chatting even though there's now blood everywhere. Nobody seems that bothered.</spoiler>
The town has electronics and technology and yet the angels don't appear to know what an iPhone is. Really?

One of the things I don't like about a lot of PWF books is the constant mention of how the MC's knees or back or hips are acting up all the time. Like, they hit you over the head with it. Everly is only mid 40s but she's got the body of someone in her mid 50s or even 60s. I know PWF authors are playing to an older audience and want them to connect with the older heroines, but you <i>can</i> emphasise the age of your MC in many other ways! Sheesh. I'm going to get a complex about ticking over into my next decade at this rate.

I received an ARC copy of this book via NetGalley.

I enjoyed it but it was a little slow in some places. It was funny and everly was easy to like. I would recommend if you like the witches and werewolves theme.

The Accidental Gatekeeper, is the first of a trilogy centered around Everly, a middle-aged woman who turned her drug-dealing husband into the Feds, and returned to her Central Texas hometown for safety...only to find she's jumped from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.

Sitting next to Hell's Gate, the town of Crossing Shadows, Texas, isn't your ordinary Texas town. It may look like it, but it's a chaotic mix of angels, demons, hellhounds, and a variety of other magical beings. Everly left years ago, denying her status as a "Marked" human, so she doesn't get the warmest of welcomes upon her return.

Everly's main goal is to keep her grown daughter safe from her husband's criminal pals. Sadie knows nothing of the family legacy. But before saving her daughter, Everly's forced into saving the town.

I like Everly, in part because she's not young. She has creaky knees and hot flashes, so she's an unlikely heroine. I also love the cheeky, snarky humor of the story, but Everly's heart shines through. She's a loving mom and wants to overcome the many mistakes she's made in her lifetime. The major characters are distinctive and fun, and the story moves less like a freight train and more like a supersonic jet...lots of action all the time.

This isn't the type of book I normally read, so if you love what I've already written, you'll enjoy this book. And I did, too, to a point. I would have liked to catch my breath here and there. The pace was a bit too breakneck for me. It also seemed like there were too many varieties of magical beings, which got a bit confusing.

Also, I am assuming (hoping) that since mine was a downloaded advance copy, the text formatting will get fixed in the final version. The formatting is inconsistent, making the book harder to read.

As a series, this book makes a good lead-in. It's a complete story but leaves some unresolved threads as bread crumbs for the books to follow. I will probably want to know what happens next with Everly. (I have a pet peeve when a series book doesn't have an actual ending, but this one does.) For an author writing a series, a reader wanting to continue is the ultimate goal.

I like to try out new authors every now and then, because you never know what kind of gem you will discover. In this case, I would call it 'a diamond in the rough'. Although the main character Everly is a hoot, with snarky comments and hilarious opinions, the story could use some polishing.

I think the concept is pretty funny and the story has a lot of action. But it is all just a bit too much. Too many confusing twists in the story, too much characters and too many different species to keep track off. So, yeah, I'll keep an eye out for Carla Rehse, but for this one only three out of five stars from me. with a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

I personally didn’t really enjoy this book all that much. I thought that it felt kind of predictable and boring at times. The world building was there but it wasn’t at the same time. I don’t see where the second book would go. I might get an ARC for it but I probably wouldn’t buy it. This book had some good points but not enough for me to fall in love with it.

Angels, witches, demons, and weres abound in The Accidental Gatekeeper. While the book has some laugh out loud moments, I found it to be a bit sluggish in its pace. Overall enjoyable, but doesn’t make me want to continue the series.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this one...it's almost a little slow, but there is action galore. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next, but at the same time I'm a bit worried that it'll fall flat...it's a conundrum that will resolve when I read book 2 :)

Angels, demons, witches, humans, and more! Such a great funny read that had me laughing out loud throughout the book! So much fun!

Light-hearted, humorous, and sassy: The Accidental Gatekeeper had me laughing out loud and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book.

Angels, demons, witches, were-people, hellhounds, humans, and more all live within Crossing Shadows, a town that separates heaven and hell with a Gate. Add in former-resident Everly Popa, a sassy, sarcastic, witty, middle-aged woman that hasn't been home in years who accidentally becomes Gatekeeper for said Gate, and you've got yourself a great adventure.

Everly is a fun, firecracker of a protagonist that doesn't drive you crazy (I'm 21 and still found Everly just as relatable). The town of Crossing Shadows became more and more real with every chapter (you never leave the town, but it didn't feel restrictive narratively) and I found myself loving all of the side characters and their quirks. Carla Rehse did a great job with similes, metaphors, and generally humorous phrases; they were well-crafted with great comedic timing (and my personal favorite: "I did my best impression of an overcooked noodle").

Occasionally I got a bit lost in the narrative because I had to go back and remind myself who a certain character was, but that happened more at the beginning and I caught on as the book went on. The dialogue and inner-thoughts could be cheesy at times, but it didn't feel too out of place in the humorous narrative (if this book had a more serious tone, then I think it would have been distracting). This could be a case of Stolkholm Syndrome, but I actually found myself enjoying the cheesiness over time.

The Accidental Gatekeeper is a paranormal, fantasy adventure with hints of Crescent City, Schitt's Creek, and Percy Jackson. If you enjoy a little humor mixed in your fantasies, then you'll love this book. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and I would recommend reading The Accidental Gatekeeper!

Thanks very much for giving me a chance to read ths book. I really enjoyed it. The narrator is humourous; she's smart, and I liked many of the other characters as well, as well as the beginning of a world that has been created. The first few pages read like a thriller, and then it turned into fantasy with angels and demons and good and evil. A great book. I can't wait for book 2.