The Gate by Isabella is a spellbinding fantasy with exceptional characters, a story that explores supernatural themes and a setting like nothing readers have read about before. Harley is heartbroken, and while still feeling the pain of betrayal from a cheating girlfriend, a birthmark leads her to a woman who claims to know her more than she could imagine. Now, she has to accept her destiny, her Paladin mantle, but she needs proof,. Little does she know that the proof could be the cause of her own destruction. Does she know that she is the Chosen?

Dawn is the protector of the cycle of life and death, a mission she was born with, but protecting one like Harley is a task that is both exciting and intimidating, and Dawn feels irrevocably drawn towards her. Lucius, her brother, is the Lord of the Gatekeepers, a man whose thirst for power and greed transforms him into something evil. He is now out to kill the souls moving on to their next life and he wants Harley to be part of him. Even Dawn, his sister, won’t be able to stand in his way. Harley is torn between embracing her path as the Chosen and being lured into Lucius’ game of power. Can Dawn dissuade her from following the Gatekeepers?

Isabella has composed a story that is exciting, masterfully blending together the themes of romance, the conflict between good and evil, destiny, and power of the choices we make to both excite and entertain readers. The plot is strong with sudden and unexpected twists, suspenseful moments that will put readers on the edge of their seats. The writing flows gracefully and the power of the prose absorbing. The Gate is a fantasy tale that is laced with symbolism, a story that explores the climates of the soul in an engaging way, a delightful story.

I enjoyed The Gate. I like reading about strong women doing great things. I can’t think of any two women in fiction or in life who are stronger than Dawn and Harley. They are hard living, hard drinking women, who remind me of soldiers more than anything else. And yet they are sexy and attractive. They are not dumb, they know how to think, they are guilty of being impulsive more than lacking in intelligence. In a supernatural world, that might not be a bad thing. Isabella wields a deft pen in this supernatural adventure and I liked it. The only female protagonist that even comes close to these two girls is Red Sonja, the creation of Robert E. Howard. That is pretty good company to be in.

I like the plot. It is a basic good versus evil story, but with some unusual and interesting variations thrown in. This accounts for The Gate feeling a bit fresher than the typical sword and sorcery tale. I think the characters are where Isabella excels most as a writer. She knows how to add unusual quirks and twists to personalities, both male, but especially female. Even classical Greek gods get a bit of a makeover under the pen of Isabella. She writes well, but more importantly for me, she writes action well. That is why I pick up a book like The Gate. I want an exciting story. I was not disappointed and I look forward to reading more books by Isabella.