What an intriguing concept, beautifully rendered. An epic fantasy set among Sephardic Jews during the Spanish Inquisition, this may be stepping out ahead of my skis, since just the one book is published, but it could do for Sephardic magical stories what S.A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad Trilogy did for Arabic folklore.

I’ll say little to spoil the plot – so much of the The Pomegranate Gate’s delight is in the lush and strange world, the strange but alluring characters (those that are - or seem - human and those that very much do not), the sense that not everything is as it appears. There’s not yet a publication date for the sequel(s?) in the Mirror Realm Cycle but hopefully we’ll get them soon!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫 4.5 stars rounded up
Rep: Queer, Jewish

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I really expected to like this book. The premise is excellent - inquisition-era fantasy is such a great avenue for storytelling given the vibrancy and complexity of the period - and I'm always glad to see efforts to bring portal fantasy back into vogue. I could see the bones of an excellent story here, but ultimately, it failed to grip me. I think my main problem is simply that nothing happens for the first half of the book; Toba spends a lot of time trying to do vague magic that mostly involves turning lentils into other things, and Naftaly is simply wandering around trying to find a girl he barely even knows. There wasn't enough for me to latch on to the characters as their worlds seemed so small despite the hints of a larger universe, and I didn't really understand their motivations or what drove them throughout the story.

I did enjoy the way that Jewish myths and beliefs were incorporated into the story, and I'd potentially still recommend this book for others looking for more religious-themed works, but I just wish I'd been more inspired by this book overall.

5 ✰ // a wonderful book full of rich sephardic folklore and an engaging storyline. utterly atmospheric and truly refreshing to get to read books told from a lesser told tradition that i wish was more widely written upon. also, i cannot wait to read more of Kaplan’s work in the future!! i would highly recommend this book to those with sephardim heritage or anyone just looking to read an invigorating book with a riveting plot, interesting characters, and an immersive setting! cannot recommend this book highly enough! if you are a fantasy reader make sure to get The Pomegranate Gate on your tbr asap!!

thank you so much to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A stunning first entry to the series, Ariel Kaplan has created an absolutely magical world. The prose is beautiful, and the characters are extremely well fleshed out and I can’t wait to see what happens next

the pomegranate gate is a beautifully written adult fantasy inspired by jewish folklore that was engaging and kept me hooked the entire time. the found family trope (and reluctancy of the characters) was so sweet. magical books and mysterious libraries, alternate gated worlds and magic all around made for well written and atmospheric read that i enjoyed the entire time. the tiny smidge of romance that we got had me swooning and i can’t wait to read more about the world and characters and the messy lives they live in

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc copy of this book.

It was a wild read. I took way too long to review it. I quite liked it, it was engaging and had just enough fantasy to keep me engaged.

Many, many thanks to Kensington Books, Erewhon Books, NetGalley, and Ariel Kaplan for such a lovely novel to receive as an ARC!

5 out of 5⭐

A Sephardic tale by nature--The Pomegranate Gate, upon opening the novel, thrusts its readers into throws of the Spanish Inquisition as it spreads throughout the Iberian Peninsula. The story begins, and continues, with alternating narratives of Toba Peres, a disabled young woman whose intelligence is stifled by the limitations of body and gender in the time she lives in, and Naftaly Cresques, a young tailor who, better off doing anything else, is limited by visions and dreamwalking he cannot share with anyone.

Jews throughout the Peninsula are forced to choose between unwanted conversion or exodus, and Toba's family, Naftaly, and the many families in their town flee from their homes in a convoy with hopes of making a home elsewhere--a place where they won't be at odds with the world once again. Toba's disabilities cause her to fall further and further behind as the convoy moves onward, and it doesn't take her long to be captured by a gang of men looking to make a profit. She is rescued by strange, odd looking men and secretly follows them into a pomegranate grove and into a gate that takes her far from the land of mortals. When Naftaly spots that Toba is lagging behind, he makes to follow and get her back on track only to lose her as she slips through the gate with it closing behind her.

Feeling strangely responsible for her, Naftaly abandons the caravan to search for Toba with an old woman and Toba's grandmother. While they search, Toba struggles to keep herself afloat and alive in what she learns immediately is the Mazik world. Both parties become immersed in unexpected danger that is far more complex and intwined with one another as it becomes apparent that the Mazik would has more to do with them than ever thought before.

The novel is compelling in its characterization of Toba and Naftaly. Bother characters find what burdens them lends to their benefit more than could ever be expected. The dynamic between the human and Mazik characters was an utter & constant delight.

Primarily exposed to Ashkenazi culture through media, it was exciting to read through the perspective lens of Sephardic characters. It took me quite a while to process the novel upon finishing it; it was full of complex cultural layers that were hard to wade through as a gentile, but I ended the novel with a greater understanding of Jewish folklore and storytelling than when I began. It was well worth the journey!

I've recommended the novel to so many people at this point, and I'm sure that I won't be stopping any time soon!

This book is very original. I think its amazing to have Jewish rep in a fantasy novel. I liked the idea of the mirror realms and the Mazik. I just didn't sense the urgency of the plot and the transitions between POVs seemed disjointed.

4.5/5
I really enjoyed this fantasy novel. The storyline and characters were so well developed, I know it will stick with me for a long time. The book is long, but Ariel Kaplan essentially created two entire worlds: the world of everyday people and the world of the Maziks. I liked the combo of historical fiction with fantasy. Despite its length, I found that the storyline progressed rather quickly. There were constant surprises and suspenseful moments that kept me engaged. Of course the old lady was my favorite, but all of the characters were very likable. I wish the second book of this series was already out!

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Amazon Review is submitted and pending system review
Youtube Review should be live within the month
Blog Post should be live October 6th

The Pomegranate Gate is slow - that’s the best thing I can tell you right out of the gate (see what I did there?). But it’s got so many interesting elements and fascinating draws from it’s Jewish Inspiration that I can’t even be that mad at it.

Inspired by Jewish myth and history it follows several characters. Toba, a sickly girl who finds herself stumbling through a magical gate into a mirror world and those she leaves behind including her grandmother and a neighborhood boy who gets caught up in the quest to find her. The story bounces between the two groups as Toba explores the mirror world and the group with Naftaly attempt to first find their way to her then to safety.

My only complaint on this was simply the pacing, which I think didn’t lend it well to reading via digital for me. It’s slow, which for me means I’d need to sit with it for long periods of time which I wasn’t able to do. I loved so much here, but was so distracted it didn’t get the attention it deserved. I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes physical reads mean I am able to pay closer attention. Keep that in mind, it takes attention but I feel like the pay off would be worth it. So much so I’ll likely pick this up to reread when a sequel is announced.

For now this one sits at a high three for me, but I look forward to giving it another try in the next year or so. For a slower, unique fantasy with some super interesting magic this is a great one to try.

Not going to repeat the synopsis - it does its work very well, and I don't want to inadvertantly give away any of the surprises.

Seriously, READ. THIS. BOOK.

At 560 pages, this heckin' chonk of a novel is slooow storytelling at its finest, with clues interspersed here and there in this multi POV tale (go crazy with your bookmarks and highlights - you'll need them all), till the threads all come together in their final glory and ugliness.

- Multi POV and multi world
- Old women as masterminds (Grandma Elena and the old woman cracked me up! Naftaly's a sweetheart, but those two made it happen)
- I'm SPESHUL but my magic is outta control!!
- The good, bad (and the morally grey) politicking and out-maneuvering each other like no one's business
- Dandies enderingly falling for their brown eyes boys
- Libraries and translating ancient tomes

Ariel Kaplan deviously deviates (!) from all the fantasy tropes - I'm on the edge of my seat till the next book!

My thanks to Kensington, Erewhon Books and the author for an eARC!

This review is based on an uncorrected e-galley of this novel.

I enjoyed the premise of this novel, but it was really long and by the end, I just wanted it to be over. Despite wanting to know what happens to the characters, I found myself not wanting to pick it back up because it was so long.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
4/5 Stars.

The Pomegrante Gate is an epic fantasy with historical and folklore influences and, honestly, I loved it. This is an immersive story where we follow Toba and Nafatly who both have links to the world of the Maziks.
I loved the slow and subtle world building as we learn about the world alongside the characters. There is humour, themes of identity and change, family and love which make this epic tale so complex and expansive. In some parts of the story I did find it slow but for those who love detailed world's, it would be perfect and the plot is very character driven which is another positive.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing an eARC of The Pomegranate Gate! This is an honest review.

The Pomegranate Gate is a breathtaking epic fantasy spanning mirrored worlds full of Jewish folklore and history.

Toba has always been sickly, and with the Inquisition breathing down their necks, she is forced to flee her home. While making the journey to Merja, she is stolen away and finds herself in the Mazik world.

Naftaly is a tailor's son, yet lacks much skill for tailoring. He dreams reality and sees things that aren't there in the waking world. When his father dies and he leaves Rimon, Naftaly tries to rescue Toba from the man who took her away, only to see her disappear into a beam of light.

Now with a homeless, curmudgeonly old woman (though they are all homeless, seeing as they have been forced from their homes for their religious beliefs), and Toba's grandmother, Naftaly finds himself on a quest to save Toba.

My Thoughts
The character development throughout this story are absolutely incredible. You see characters be split in two and forced back into one, see the world ripped away from their hands, and feel the pain of every betrayal in the name of "what is good for everyone".

This is, however, not the easiest book to ease into. There is so much to take in on every page, but the commitment is well worth the story. I cannot wait to see where we end up in the sequel!

This book was so good! It's probably one of my favorites this year so far. The characters were so well-written, and I loved Toba, Naftaly, and the side characters (Barsilay was definitely my favorite). The magic system was so interesting and complex, and really different from most of what I've read before; the author did an excellent job laying everything out, without making anything very obvious. The plot was quite fast-paced, and overall, this book was pretty unputdownable! I'd definitely recommend it!

I don't know what happened but this book started off really great and then it lost me. I couldn't keep up with it at all.

The writing was really good but it was hard to care about all the characters and there were a lot of them. The descriptive narrative is what kept me going in the end and I am partly wondering if it was more my mindset than the books fault.

Right book wrong time so I may come back and read this one again but for now, it was just ok for me.

The Pomegranate Gate reads like a classic beloved fantasy novel. The rich world-building and character driven journey was slow paced and 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 Erewhon for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

The Pomegranate Gate is an adult fantasy debut that follows Toba and Naftaly as they are forced to flee their homes when the Queen demands all Jews convert to Catholicism or be expelled, inspired by inquisition-era Spain. Toba then accidentally stumbles through a pomegranate grove and into the magical realm of the Mazics (the world’s version of fae) and discovers latent magical abilities, which makes her a target to the Mazic Inquisition. Naftaly, stuck on the mortal side of the gate, vows to help Toba’s grandmother find her while running from the mortal Inquisition. Hunted by an Inquisition in both worlds, Toba and Naftaly must unravel history and magic to understand the link between their two worlds.

I enjoyed The Pomegranate Gate a lot more than I expected, it’s a very impressive and beautifully written debut. It’s told with three POVs, from Toba’s group, from Naftaly's group, and from a member of the Mazic Inquisition, though I didn’t really care about the third POV and found myself skimming those. There were many characters to keep track of, 3+ in each group and they almost all got some POV time, but it worked really well and it intricately weaved together to form a big picture. The characters are all very diverse and I think even the lesser main characters are developed beautifully (Barsilay definitely stole the show) This book was also compared to Studio Ghibli and I could really see the same whimsical fantastical vibes, so if you enjoy Studio Ghibli I think you’d like this. TPG was very slow-paced, which I personally don’t mind, though I’d say this book was very much act 1 of a trilogy(?) in that there wasn’t as much standalone plot and everything was working towards the overarching plot of the trilogy. Again, I don’t mind this, but that does mean that we’ll have to wait for the rest of the series to come out for any resolution. Overall, it was very beautifully written and I’m excited to see what comes next in the series!

I am sorry to say that I could not finish this book. I got about 50 pages in and realized this just isn't for me.

Now don't get me wrong! The characters were very interesting to me, and the political intrigue was wonderful. There was just too much description and not enough dialogue to break it all up. It took me two weeks to get 50 pages in simply because it lacked the excitement for me to pick it up. I want to love it! I want to know more about it! I just don't think I'm in a place to mentally invest in books that have paragraphs of description. If there was just a bit more dialogue, I would have been able to hold on.