This book had a really good plot and represented religious confusion and doubt well. We follow Jude and Maeve through their tumultuous relationship where she was tasked to paint him and the last thing he is going to do is let her. They go on a journey together to uncover the Abbey‘s secrets. I think calling this book a romantasy is a huge stretch and personally don’t believe it should be called a romance at all. The book was mainly plot and didn’t develop the characters or relationship enough for the romance trope. I really had trouble connecting with the characters. I felt like the book should’ve ended multiple chapters before it did, rather than including sex scenes that frankly felt like obligatory romance book scenes. I would definitely recommend this to gothic, sci-fi, and magic readers, but don’t go into it expecting a romance. Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was lovely! I really enjoyed the unique, gothic atmosphere and the sweetness at the heart of the story. 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown & Co. for the advanced reader copy.

This story had me gripped from the beginning. The first half was a delight to read. The stunning atmospheric writing, the prose was fantastic. I was savoring every delicious sentence. The introduction to the characters, Jude and Maeve, was really beautiful. I loved the slow destruction of Maeve's faith and Jude's struggles in trusting her. Their relationship was my favorite part of this story. The pacing was fantastic and I loved reading the slow build of their relationship.

The second half lost me a bit. Going deeper into the magic system had me confused as well. The repetitiveness of the chapters and their endings were a bit annoying to read. The magic system felt a bit underdeveloped, so I felt a bit lost in the end. Also, Maeve's family and sister felt super random and I was left wanting more.

I think this is a stunning debut and I thoroughly enjoyed Kalie's writing. I'm looking forward to reading more from her!

For lover's of atmospheric writing, gothic atmosphere, and romance, this one's for you!

**A Hauntingly Beautiful Tale of Faith, Forbidden Love, and Unraveling Secrets**

I was thrilled to receive this ARC! Having followed Kalie on TikTok for some time, I couldn’t wait to dive into her debut, and it did not disappoint.

At its heart is Maeve, an iconographer wholly devoted to her craft and faith - until she’s sent to the gloomy, rain-lashed moors to paint the exiled Saint, Jude. What begins as a final task before her promotion soon becomes a journey of unraveling secrets, shaking the very foundations of everything she believes in.

The magic system, intricately woven into the fabric of a religious institution, is both fresh and immersive, adding layers of depth and historical richness.

The slow-burn romance between Maeve and Jude is so tender - Kalie promised yearning, and she delivered. Their relationship unfolds with a quiet, aching tenderness that perfectly mirrors the book’s atmospheric setting. The writing felt like it was a match for the story; with reverence, doubt, and the quiet rebellion of a heart learning to question.

**Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!**

“The Sacred Space Between” was such an atmospheric read about belonging and connection. I found the POV switches between Jude & Maeve to be highly effective and equal in their execution. I didn’t prefer one over the other as that happens sometimes. I thought the romance was sweet and tender but would not classify it as “enemies to lovers.”

There were some things I found lacking within the overall narrative but they didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. I will say I really wish there had been more building out of the magic systems. I really wanted to know more!

Overall it was a pretty read and I would recommend you give it a go! :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5

I really did speed through this one! I started it last night before I went to bed and I finished it shortly after waking up in the morning.

What really drew me to this book was the other book comparisons, Divine Rivals and A Study in Drowning were both listed (and I LOVE both of those series).

This story follows Maeve, she is an iconographer who has been sent to paint a specific saint. She is also there to spy on him. And this is an enemies to lovers situation.

I did really enjoy the atmospheric feel of this book that is very reminiscent of the comparison books (and also Tenderly, I Am Devoured in a way). But I was a tad bit disappointed in the overall smoothness of the writing style. I didn't always flow as nicely as I wanted it to. The pacing was a bit choppy at times and I think that's what really did it.

Overall, this was a pretty dang good fantasy novel with some really interesting themes and conversations on religion. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, especially if you enjoy the more atmospheric fantasy reads. Very vibey. Love me some good vibes.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

The Sacred Space Between is a deeply moving and refreshingly different take on romantasy. It explores faith, sainthood, and spiritual trauma in a way I haven’t seen before in the genre. Maeve and Jude’s relationship is compelling, but what really stood out to me was how the story ties magic to belief and memory. The religious imagery and emotional weight give the book a quiet intensity. This isn’t a romance sprinkled with fantasy, it’s a story about belief, identity, and the cost of devotion, with romance growing naturally within that.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown for the advanced copy!

I had a really good time with this. I think this book's comparison to A Study in Drowning is fairly accurate. It has a similar feel as an isolated, intimate, romantic, and atmospheric fantasy.

This book features pretty significant religious exploration of the relationship between devotion, control, and violence. It was particularly interesting to see characters like Maeve who still felt connected to their own personal sense of religious devotion, trying to separate that from the religious institution of power that abused them. I loved Jude's bitterness towards it all, and how that manifested in his being an absolute menace to Maeve in the beginning. Their eventual relationship with each other was sweet but also desperate and vulnerable. While there wasn't the levity and quiet domesticity that I like to see in romances to really buy into them, theirs was still compelling and I enjoyed it a lot.

Towards the climax, it did get a bit repetitive just how many chapters were ending with a character passing out, but this was a relatively minor issue.

I've been in a bit of a slump lately, so I really appreciated how easy this book was to get sucked into. This was a really solid read for me.

Oh I’ve been excited for this one; the premise sounded great, and for the most part, I was not disappointed! Jude …. HE’S A YEARNER. LOVE THAT, I loooved Jude and Maeve and watching their relationship blossom. THEY’RE SO SOFT, I really enjoyed their snarky banter when Maeve first arrived and then seeing them just be soft and adorable together in the end.

I thought the magic of the icons was so unique, though I didn’t always understand or like the memory magic. The first 60% of this was fantastic, but once they started to return to the Abbey, I started to lose interest. I wasn’t as invested in that aspect of the plot and found the pacing to drag even while the action ramped up. But overall, Maeve and Jude’s sweet relationship really stole the show in this one, and I’ll look out for more books by this author in the future!

This was a very odd reading experience because I loved the premise and so much of the atmosphere but the flow of the story was so choppy that I felt like I was reading a draft. I will say, my ARC copy had a lot of spelling errors and formatting issues so I do believe this has some more edits ahead of publication but I often found myself confused about where characters were (how did we get outside all of a sudden?!) who was speaking, and also how the magic itself worked. The cherry on top for me was that the last 10% of the book is dedicated to two sex scenes which were strangely the most detailed and least choppy scenes in the entire book. The rest of the book felt like a collection of short moments and then the sex scenes were extremely long and descriptive. I wish I liked this more than I did because I liked the moments where we discussed faith and devotion but at the end of the day, I feel like this needs a few more rounds of edits.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯, but when I received an email from the publisher containing an e-galley widget and I saw 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴 and 𝘈 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 as comp titles, I was sold!

We follow Maeve, an iconographer at the Abbey, as she is sent to paint the icon of a banished saint - and spy on him. While I can see the comparison to Ava Reid, especially in the religious themes of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯, I didn't connect with Maeve and Jude as I had with Iris and Roman of 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴. I also embarked on this journey with the expectation of dreamy prose, and I unfortunately found the writing to be choppy, short, and disjointed.

This story suffers from some severe pacing issues; while I enjoyed the lush, almost gothic setting and touch of mystery present in the first quarter, I quickly became bored through the middle half of the book. It's way too long for what it is, and it nearly put me into a terrible reading slump. It even affected Maeve and Jude's relationship, which was only a slow burn because the plot was painfully dragged out.

I liked the themes of hope and longing, and I was moderately interested in how Maeve and Jude's religious beliefs would evolve, but I didn't care about the plot, setting, or characters as much as I should have.

Overall, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 is worth picking up, but it's not one that will stick with me for the long run.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for the advanced reader copy!

I really liked the concept of this book, and the imagery was my favorite part. I was immediately drawn in by the beautifully descriptive elements, such as a the description of Maeve's bedroom and painting studio, Jude's home, and the other locations, like the Goddenwood.

Regarding the story, I couldn't get past the feeling that the characters were a little flat. Maeve, for example, was very black-and-white. She didn't seem to show even the slightest bit of remorse in one of the early scenes with Jude, even though she had previously been questioning the Abbey, which made her come off as a bit one-dimensional. I also felt that the "twist" didn't seem so natural and wasn't about something I cared about, as the reader.

Overall, I really loved the descriptions and would have loved a descriptive deep dive into the world in lieu of the characters telling me about it. It felt like there was a lot of telling and not so much showing. I don't think this was the story for me, but if a patron is looking for a debut romantasy, I would share it with them.

The book was a breath of fresh air for a Romantasy lover. I really enjoyed it! It reminded me of The Knight and the Moth in its premise and Gothic aesthetic.

The characters are well developed, and the writing is evocative of their desperation and loneliness. I liked both characters but I also understood why they didn’t like each other to begin with. Their relationship develops at a natural feeling pace. For folks who like yearning, this delivers.

I was a bit confused by the magic at certain parts but it still worked for me, and I loved that it was a standalone with a complete story arc. Highly recommend!

Thank you so much Kalie Reid, Net Galley, and Little, Brown and Company for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

En un mundo donde los santos existen, las oraciones se contestan y el arte es un canal sagrado entre lo humano y lo divino, Maeve ha dedicado su vida a la iconografía: retratar santos en óleo como puente entre ellos y sus devotos. Su mayor aspiración es convertirse en la líder iconógrafa del monasterio que la crió desde niña, un lugar estrictamente jerárquico y cerrado al mundo exterior.

Pero todo cambia cuando se le asigna una misión delicada: viajar a los confines del reino para pintar un nuevo ícono de Jude, un joven santo exiliado por un supuesto mal uso de su poder. Lo que parece una tarea devota se transforma rápidamente en una peligrosa confrontación con secretos antiguos, magia sagrada corrompida y dudas que Maeve ha intentado enterrar durante años. En la soledad del exilio de Jude, ambos deberán enfrentarse a lo que realmente significa la fe, el sacrificio… y el deseo.

Lo que comienza como una relación distante entre iconógrafa y santo se convierte en una conexión íntima, cargada de anhelos prohibidos, verdades escondidas y la posibilidad de una redención compartida. A medida que las fronteras entre el deber y el deseo se desdibujan, Maeve deberá decidir si su lealtad está con el monasterio… o con el hombre que le enseñó a ver más allá del dogma.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the arc!Overall, I unfortunately don’t have any other opinions other than the general “this is fine.” That sucks ass, because this was an anticipated release. I did have fuck-all expectations because this was a romantasy. Here are a few other notes:

This book was predictable straight up

Taking care of your partner during their menstrual cycle was a fantastic addition. One of my favorite parts of the whole book

… I am admittedly a slut for scenes where the love interest brushes the fmc’s hair. We do get that here.

This is a vibes > plot book. That being said, for me the characters aren’t strong enough to make up for the lacking plot

There isn’t world building in this book. Like there is actually near none. This world isn’t inhabited outside of the abbey and its moors. Some might say it’s because these characters are sheltered themselves, but I think it’s a weak excuse. I could really see both mcs hungrily devouring all knowledge about the outside world they now live in.

There ya have it. That’s all, folks. -3 icons

This was a great romantasy debut. I loved the slow burn, the yearning, and the tension between Maeve and Jude. I loved that there was an actual plot, the setting important, and an interesting magic system that is important to the book. On the other hand, I could tell this was a debut, in the pacing, especially. Also, some of it was very predictable. No spoilers because this is an arc review, but I saw a lot of the twists coming. Overall, I enjoyed this and would read more from this author.

Saints, sinners and all those in between hide within the clouded shadows of lost time in this novel where prayer does more harm than good.

After iconographer Maeve suffers a fainting spell leaving her studio covered in gold dust she is sent to spy on a long lost Saint to uncover what secrets he holds against the Abbey but soon finds more questions than answers and when her memory becomes untrustworthy she and Jude must work together to keep themselves out of the clutches of those who wish to exploit the magic of the holy for their own gain.

This was an interesting tale and one that I think, for me at least, suffers from pacing issues. The beginning is perfect setting up this mystery and conflict but then the middle seemed to drag exceedingly long before rushing head first towards the finish line. The moments of betrayal and broken trust get to be repetitive and I found myself rather bored with the same back and forth over and over. I understand their respective issues surrounding that element but once they both come to an understanding that their interests align even if their faith does not we really didn’t need to work through it again.

The characters were fine if not somewhat flat. I wish I felt more about Jude and Maeve as individuals in order to care about their will they won’t they like romance. I think it would have been more impactful if there was greater depth to the argument of faith and how it relates to their experiences to make more of that impact rather than just having them do so many superficial cuts and storm offs. Jude was absolutely victimized by an institution Maeve believes in and I needed more than just brushes of fingertips against old scars to discuss that.

Kind of mixed feelings on it as I think the story was cool I’m not quite sure I understand the point of why things were happening or had to be done that way but that could be a consequence of my indifference by the middle.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!** P

This book completely swept me away. The atmosphere that Kalie Reid creates in this book is dream-like and magical. The characters felt like a breath of fresh air with a romance that is tender and full of yearning.
Themes of grief and love are masterfully woven throughout, especially in the quiet moments that leave such a lasting impact. I really appreciate how nothing felt rushed as it made the characters and their decisions more meaningful. This felt both cozy yet emotional with the kind of writing that makes every emotion hit harder.
I can’t believe this is a debut because it is amazing.

Thank you Little, Brown and Company & Netgalley for this arc.

YA GIRL GOT THE ARC AND YALL ARE NOT FUCKIN READY FOR THIS BOOK TO COME OUT

thank god for a world that Jude exists in. my baby is SAD!! soft and a lil pathetic and i would die for him. yearning is so BACK BABY.

this book is a beautiful description of coming to terms with loneliness and isolation, and fighting with the disruption of your belief system all wrapped up in beautiful prose and the sweetest, softest romance. this baby just wants to take care of his girrllllll

thank you netgalley and little brown for this wonderful, beautiful e-arc that i will be screaming about until it's published.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thoughts
This unfortunately fell flat for me. While I did find the premise and some of the plot interesting, I just don't think it was executed well. The pacing felt clunky, the romance was awkward and I did not feel connected to the characters. I did like that the story was told in dual POV and the magic system was really cool.