Review: The Gates

Camille is determined to stand by the man she loves as he works to save his people.  Gavin is a vampire and he is leading a resistance to overthrow Samina, their powerful queen. But to do so, he and his small band of supporters must venture across the veil to her kingdom and the realm of Amaranth, where vampires go to reclaim their humanity.

In their travels, they reunite with old friends and uncover new enemies.  But the relationship between Camille and Gavin is the driving force of the story. Unfortunately, Gavin refuses to seal the deal until they are married.  He says he wants to prove to her how special she is to him.  This was not only bad news for Camille, but bad news for me as well.  Instead of striking a romantic chord, it left me irritated and frustrated.  This was even more true after the introduction of Gavin's ex, Scarlet, who makes no secret of their sexual history or her desire to have him back.

I empathized with poor Camille, as Gavin pushed away her advances and ignored her concerns about Scarlet.  And frankly, it wasn't until Camille and Gavin finally got physical that I stopped being annoyed.  Not because I was dying for the scene, but because the whole waiting-thing felt so heavy handed.  Like I was reading a YA book, a genre I generally avoid. I didn't like Gavin getting to make this decision on his own, as if Camille were a child or an unequal part of the relationship.  And then when he did finally decide it was time for them to be together, it felt totally arbitrary, like it was an unnecessary hurdle all along. 

Moving on.  I'm really interested in Gavin's adopted sister Arianna and her story.  (And I haven't given up hope that her man, Joel, is somehow still alive and planning a comeback in book 3.)  In fact, the secondary characters are fleshed out and interesting in general, which helped when the primary romance was ticking me off.  I like the world-building and I really feel like the author is building toward something big for the Resistance.  She has managed to deliver some pretty good surprises so far.

Despite the whole sex thing, I do like Gavin and Camille and hopefully now that we're past that issue, I can enjoy them together.  I look forward to see how the trilogy will end.  3 1/2 stars.

*ARC provided by author for review

Click to purchase: Amazon

The Gates

by Rachael Wade

Release Date: April 25, 2012

Publisher: Rabbit Hole Press