Today I’m posting my sixth Finalist review for #SPFBOX (here’s a link to the Finalist table).  I’ve already posted a review for The Humane Society for Creatures & Cryptids (Teraglossa #1) by Stephanie A. Gillis,  The Forest at the Heart of Her Mage by Hiyodori, Oathsworn Legacy by KR Gangi, Wolf of Withervale (Noss Saga #1) by Joaquin Baldwin and Runelight (The Aenigma Lights Book 1) by JA Andrews:.  I have three more reviews to post over the next few days.  So, without further ado let’s get to my review for Gates of Hope by JE Hannaford :

Firstly here’s the description (courtesy of Goodreads), the cover and a link.

The Watcher shattered the gates. Now hope must arise from the shards.

Five hundred cycles ago, the Watcher closed the gates between the world of Lieus and its moons to end a war. Since then magic has been hidden, relegated to childhood tales. On the outer moon of Tebein, any human showing magically aligned traits would sentence their entire community to death at the hands of the native awldrin overlords.

For awldrin are immortal and their memories long.

Even peace is transient, and on Lieus, invasive monsters are encroaching on Caldera, leaving Darin and his bonded moonhound to face nightmares made real. As the creatures spread their wings, Suriin’s father is injured, and she must delve deep into the secrets of the Black Palace to try and save him.

Elissa’s magic could not have bloomed a a worse time on Tebein, as the awldrin are roused, and now she must run to save everyone she loves.

Far more than the fate of their loved ones is at stake, but will any of them see it in time?

Gates of Hope is epic fantasy but with a slice of life feel to it.

I’m not going to go into great depth about the world (or worlds) as I think there are other reviews out there that make a better go of it.  Just briefly, the planet Lieus has two moons (Mythos and Tebein).  The three used to be connected via gates which were destroyed by the Watcher during a period of war (the Watcher is a dragon now revered as a God).  After the split the planet of Lieus has become an almost uninhabitable world, the people there live in the craters and rarely venture to the surface.  On Tebein there is a mix of human and Awldrin.  The Awldrin are a very long lived race of warriors, they keep the humans on the moon subdued and magic is forbidden.

So, the story is told in three POVs.  Elissa, Darin and Suriin.  Surin and Elissa have similar coloured hair (marking them out as wielders of magic).  Their stories otherwise are very different.  Surin lives on Lieus and is desperate to leave the family home and have adventure.  Her story takes her to Redpike where she will learn more about her magic.  Darin also lives on Lieus and also has travelled to Redpick hoping to find work as a soldier to help his struggling family.  His plans change when he forms a bond with a Moonhound (these dogs rarely bond with a male) and in fact Darin struggles at first to perform the simplest magical tasks (the magic uses crystals and music).  However, his story changes quite dramatically, and quite secretly with a couple of discoveries that I won’t post here and spoil for other readers.

Elissa lives on Tebein.  She is one of the untouched – her hair is purple, singling her out as a magic wielder so she must hide her hair colour and keep a low profile.  Elissa actually bonds with a magical crystal which sets her story onto a different course of action.

I enjoyed Gates of Hope.  It’s very well written and once again the author’s love for the world and characters really shines out.

I think the magical system is very well imagined and there is a good deal of promise yet to be realised in future editions.

That being said, I don’t think this book was for me – although I have no doubt it will find plenty of readers who love it.  I found this a little meandering, there’s too much focus on everyday matters that keep the pace quite slow, and apart from Darin and his moonhound I didn’t really connect to the characters.  To be fair to the book and the author I will say that I think this is down to me and not the book.  I do love epic fantasy, I do love detailed books, but, I find myself wanting something more – that element that raises the stakes somehow or just gives it something new.

I received a copy courtesy of the author, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 6.5 of 10