Yzabel / May 24, 2015

The Gateway Through Which They Came by Heather Marie

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

To seventeen-year-old Aiden Ortiz, letting the dead walk through his body to reach the other side comes with the territory. Being a Gateway isn’t an easy job, but someone’s gotta send Bleeders where they belong. Heaven. Salvation. Call it whatever you want. Dead is dead. But when his search for Koren Banks––the girl who went mysteriously missing seven months ago––leaves him with more questions than answers, he finds himself involved in something far more sinister and beyond his control.

With the threat of the Dark Priest’s resurrection, and his plan to summon his demon brothers from hell, Aiden is left to discover his identity before the Dark Priest’s curse infecting his blood consumes him, and before the world as he knows it succumbs to the darkness of hell on earth.

Review:

(I was given a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

An enjoyable book, good for a leisurely day, though I would’ve wanted to learn more about Aiden’s abilities in general and how he had received support—as a reader, I too often felt left in the dark.

The writing style itself wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it wasn’t anything unbearable either: I didn’t notice many blatant typos and mistakes, and it flowed well enough to carry the story. Aiden’s “voice” felt enough like a boy’s; it was easy to follow his struggles throughout the novel, how he realised something dark was growing inside him, how he was trying to battle it. There isn’t that much action, as it’s more internally-focused than translated into physical fights—there are a couple of exceptions to this, and they highlight the internal battles well.

At first I wasn’t sure about all the religious-themed surroundings (Catholic school and church, a priest as Aiden’s mentor, a religious mother…), but all in all, they remained surroundings only in my opinion: I didn’t feel they were used to shove anything down my throat, which was a good thing, as I wouldn’t have liked a preachy book. For instance, while there are talks about God, I never was under the impression that the souls going through the Gateway went to *either* Heaven *or* Hell, or that there weren’t any Gateways from other faiths than the Christian one. The religious part seemed like “one system of belief among others, that are just as valid”, so this was alright with me.

There’s a bit of romance, of the bittersweet kind, and one that plays a role throughout the story without being its main focus. That was good enough for me; I’m definitely tired of stories with high stakes where the characters are too busy pondering which girl or boy to choose, instead of focusing on the actual problem.

I wish there had been more information given to readers, though. The subplot behind Koren’s disappearance was introduced abruptly, and I would’ve liked to see more of her before that, even though this might have meant using more flashbacks. A lot of information was kept from Aiden, or presented in an “oh, read this book once you’re at home” way; wouldn’t it have been easier and faster if his mentor had explained things to him directly? It’d probably also given Aiden opportunities to talk about some of the people he had met, and realise sooner what was wrong. As it was, I felt like it was a method of keeping information from the reader too for as long as possible, and I’m not too keen on such a method. The villain’s identity was also easy to guess, and it was a wonder Aiden didn’t realise it sooner.

The other characters also weren’t too developed. They were supportive throughout, and I could feel their support, all the more after some of them witnessed Aiden changing yet still decided to forgive him and stay by his side (that’s friendship); however, I kept thinking they could’ve been brought into existence more efficiently.

2.5 stars. I’ll still read the next book, as I also have it, but I hope it’ll shed more light on the Gateways in general, on what exactly Aiden could become if he were to give in, on the other characters (especially Julie and Michael) and on the Brethren’s plans.