Hi everyone! Today I’m going to be reviewing Beckoning Of The Gate by Benjamin J. Ryan. Before I get into this review, I would like to say a massive thank you to him, along with his PR agent, Henry, for kindly sending me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯
Beckoning Of The Gate follows the protagonist, Santha, who longs to get out of her small town following a traumatic experience. She is granted her wish when she stumbles across a mysterious key in the forest, and soon undertakes her quest to fulfil the key’s purpose. The problem is, everything comes with a price… And will she be willing to pay it?
Honestly, one of the things which really stood out to me in this book was definitely the world building. I’m usually a little wary of fantasies because of how hit and miss this can be, but Benjamin did it perfectly! The world he crafted was so vivid and the faerie (both seelie and unseelie) were all incredibly well developed whilst being easy to digest and understand. It was certainly lovely to see!
I also really loved how great the protagonist was. Santha was incredibly strong (both physically and mentally) and she was definitely up there with one of the most selfless characters I’ve ever read. Of course, that’s not to say she didn’t have her faults – she was incredibly stubborn, for instance – which made for a really well developed character!
Of course, Santha wouldn’t have made it without her trusted companion, Biahnd! I loved the bond she shared with the little dog (their mind connection was brilliant) and Biahnd herself was a really interesting character. Their friendship was certainly nice to read!
I also really enjoyed Santha and Erod’s romance. They were very well suited to each other, and I loved reading them get to know each other more and fall more and more in love. It was a really lovely addition and certainly added some lighter moments to the book, which was great!
Of course, the whole book was incredibly fast paced. It was filled to the brim with action and adventure, which was brilliant to see! There was certainly never a dull moment, whether they were being chased by wights, learning more about the key’s true nature or being attacked by more of the faerie. I loved how things kept on moving, and it gave me an excellent excuse to keep on reading!
The twists were also brilliant. They ensured that things never became too predictable and certainly kept me guessing until the end about what the key truly wanted. The action packed ending definitely shocked me, as did seeing all of the final pieces click into place.
I also really liked the epilogue, which kept things really open! I definitely can’t wait to see what happens in the next book, and I really want to see more of where Santha and Erod go!
Another detail I really appreciated was the glossary at the end, which was super handy. Admittedly, I didn’t see this until I finished reading, but it was extremely helpful all the same, and a really lovely addition that I’m sure would benefit readers, particularly if they already knew it was there.
Overall, I would recommend Beckoning Of The Gate to any fan of fantasy, as this was a really enjoyable read with some truly amazing world building. I would also recommend it to anyone looking for a great new read in general, as this was a fantastic read!
However, please be mindful that this book does have trigger warnings of rape and sexual assault (mentions of both), so please do not read if you’re uncomfortable with that.
Have you read Beckoning Of The Gate before? Will you be adding it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed this review!
Ceri
Read And Review It 
Brilliant review Ceri!!! This book sounds like a interesting and great read!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
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Thank you! It definitely is, thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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Another great review. I am not a big fan of this type of book but I would love to give it a read to see what it is like. I will add it to my reading list. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you! This isn’t my usual read either but I really enjoyed it, so I’d definitely recommend checking it out. I really hope you enjoy it, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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After falling in love with the faerie world (including seelie and unseelie) in Cassandra Clare’s books, I’m sure I’d enjoy this book too – I’ll have to look out for it, thank you for a great review, Ceri!
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Ooh I’m sure you would too, I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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This sounds like a really fascinating book! I’m always a little nervous about faerie books because of how much I hate ACOTAR and The Folk of the Air. I prefer either more battle-heavy ones like The Falconer, or moody ones like Wicked Lovely. But this sounds like it could be right up my alley. Fast-paced, good world-building, and a strong lead? Yes, please! So glad I read this review!
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It definitely is! I haven’t read either of those just yet but I can definitely vouch for this one! I really hope you enjoy it if you do end up reading, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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Great review! I’m usually a bit cautious with books about faeries as it has become such a common trope these days, but this does sound like something I’d enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll definitely have to check this out!
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Thank you! Yes I agree, it’s definitely a lot more common now but I did really enjoy this one. I hope you like it as much as I do, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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What a great story! I’m happy to hear the world building stood out. I love reading books with strong characters and Santha sounds very well developed! Thank you for sharing such a great review and including trigger warnings!
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Thank you! Yes world building is so important to getting a fantasy right. Santha’s character was amazing too! Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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I haven’t heard of this book before. You have shared a great detailed review. This is isn’t usually my style of book but it sounds interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Lauren – bournemouthgirl
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I’m so glad I could bring it to your attention then! I would definitely recommend it, thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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Thank you for your great review. While I am intrigued, I don’t think it’s something I can read (thanks for the TW).
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Of course, it’s not for everyone. Thank you so much for reading and commenting anyway, I hope you find something else you’d enjoy!
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This is such a great review. I’m not really a fan of fantasy fiction however I know my mum really loves it. This sounds like something she would enjoy.
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Thank you! I really hope she enjoys it if she ends up checking it out, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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Amazing review! I haven’t read this book before but it seems very interesting! I’m really curious about what the ending is. I’ll definitely read this book if I had time to read novels again! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you! It definitely is, I hope you enjoy it if you end up reading it at some point! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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Another amazing review lovely, thank you so much for sharing this with us. I’m loving the sound of this book so I’ll defo check out asap! Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
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Thank you! I really hope you enjoy it, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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This is a very interesting story, love how you put together the review. I would love to check this story and read more about it
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I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy it, thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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Lovely review, Ceri!!! I think I’d definitely like this book so I’ll be checking it out for sure xx Penny | http://www.whatdidshetype.com
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Thank you! I really hope you enjoy it, thank you so much for reading and commenting xx
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I love a book that has an open ending and leaves you with a ton of thoughts! This sounded interesting thank you for sharing!
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Yes they’re great aren’t they?! Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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I have not heard of this book and I am not sure whether it would be something I would get into. Saying that I didn’t think thriller type books would be for me but I am now hooked on those! Also I do have a friend that loves these style of books and I know she would love this one so great idea for a present for her, thank you for sharing x
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Ooh I hope you both enjoy it if you do decide to give it a shot! Thank you so much for reading and commenting x
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This is such an interesting, well-written review! Thank you so much – I always come back to your blog when I look for new books to read and add to my list because I think you recommend the best books!
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Aw thank you so much, that means a lot to me – I’m glad you find it useful! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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The plot seems interesting and also different. And yes, I like fantasies. A very detailed review it was. Liked it. Xx
Isa A. Blogger
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It definitely is! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it, thank you so much for reading and commenting xx
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such a great and interesting post!
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it, I’d really recommend it! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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