The Gate: The Immortal Coil Saga, Book 1

by Brandi Schonberg

Amarynn, a legendary warrior who hates everything she's become, desperately wants her existence to end. But there's one problem with that. She's immortal.

She's also made a terrible mistake having given away the secrets of her immorality to Venalise Korr, a powerful mage capable of twisting that magic into something monstrous. Now Venalise has kidnapped Regealth, Amarynn's creator, and stolen the magical stone called The Gate – the key to everything immortal. Determined to right her wrongs, Amarynn enters into an uneasy partnership with the king's son.

Together, Amarynn and Jael risk everything to rescue both the mage and the stone. If their rescue fails, Venalise will have the power to create a league of immortal warriors just like Amarynn. With that power secured, the wars between kingdoms will never end. And if the wars continue, Amarynn loses the ending she seeks. Though now that she's gotten close to Prince Jael, she doesn't know if that's a bad thing after all.

Audible Audio

First published June 24, 2022

About the author

Brandi Schonberg has always written stories. The Gate is her debut novel and the first title in The Immortal Coil Saga. A native Texan, she works as a middle school science instructional coach in San Antonio, Texas, and has three grown children, a loving partner, and two exceptionally unusual cats.

Reviews

[꧁ Brutally Honest ꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and story. But it is still Young Adult. :( no sexy times and the love part was a bit cringy while we are handheld through some scenes as YA stories like to do.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took a bit to get going (about 30% in), but once it did—WOW. The action was intense, the plot was fresh, and the character development had me loving some and absolutely hating others. And that cliffhanger?! Thank The Gate (you see what I did there 😉) I waited until book 2 was out because the wait would've been brutal!

[Graham Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

"... she wrapped her braid around her hand, reached up with a dagger, and sliced."

Nothing encapsulates the bad assery of Amarynn, the main character, as this line. Amarynn is an IMMORTAL soldier for the Kingdom of Karth. Thats right I said an IMMORTAL, and not a vampire type of IMMORTAL, this is a whole fresh take on immortality, and the world is built around this question of where, and why are people like Amarynn Immortal.

For me that was the BIG SELLING point. Im intrigued in her story. I want to know more about how she came to be, and we get glimpses throughout the book, not just through her perspective, but also The Prince's Jael, a Mage named Regealth, and a Deckhand named Sia.

Their stories collide in a very fascinating ways, and I enjoyed the instances where you would witness a scene from Amarynns perspective, then see it through another characters eyes. It really helped establish each individuals thoughts and emotions to get a different view of events happening through out the book.

Brandi has made amazing characters and a lived in world, however some parts of the story gave away a lot of what would happen later. And thats okay it doesnt change how cool things are, but it took away how much cooler they could have been.

For example this is part where Jael, the prince, meets someone for the first time who is working for "the enemy"

A pearl of odd, unnerving wisdom glinting in the small man's eyes led Jael to wonder whether his loyalties truly lay with Lors.

It was a small line but immediately makes the reader go, "sweet so this character is gonna be a good guy now and help in some way" which doesn't deflate the story in any way, but its also doesn't allow an "OMG THIS GUY IS ON OUR SIDE" moment either, it just makes it predictable. There are a few instances where this happens, and every time I felt just a little bummed I knew what was gonna happen.

I genuinely enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading and seeing where Amarynns story will lead to. And if I am to compare this book to another book series I have read I would say if you enjoy Tamora Pierce's The Lioness Quartet I feel this is in a similar vain of Bad Ass Woman Knightery, just add more gruesome gore and make Alanna Immortal. :)

That being said I give The Gate by Brandi Schonberg 4 Atranoch's out of 5!

*I received an ARC from the Author.

[Kathleen White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing I haven’t read a fantasy book before like this but this was amazing I love the sorry about jael and Amarynn’s story I loved the action of it as well can’t wait for the next book

[Brandy Womack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It was a great fantasy story. It was a new storyline, not something that has been done over and over. I liked the main characters, hated the villians. I was sad that it was a series starter. I will have to look into finding the remaining books to discover the ending of the story.
Thank you to LibraryThing and the author for giving me a chance to read it.

[Olga Ziminska · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️5//5
This was such a fresh take on immortality!!
I really enjoyed seeing Amarynn reveal more of herself beyond the tough exterior in small moments throughout this book.

The magic elements in this were fascinating and I cannot wait to see how this may carry over to the next book!

There is a lot of potential for book 2 and with that ending???? I should hope so! The way my jaw dropped!!!! Ahhh!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written. Just enough action throughout to keep me fully invested and curious. I am horrible at writing these but this is a very good book. Magic, immortal warriors, beasts of legends, and the superb development of characters make for an excellent example of fantasy writing. I listened to the prerelease of the audio book narrated by Sarah Sampino and she did a wonderful job bringing the story to life.

[Dezi Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg I loved it, for it being my first fantasy book it was amazing Amarynn and Jael love it but omg that ending no no no why a cliff hanger im dying book 2 has to have clarification on the ending but overall I loved it.

[Erin Saulpaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. I loved it! I can't wait for book two... I love crystals so this was the perfect book for me

[Kasie Church · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️- this story started off very much like throne of glass. I will admit it took me a bit to get into but once I was around 50% in I got hooked! That cliff hanger at the end got me too!!

[Raven R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story and all the characters, especially our strong FMC, Amarynn. I'm also very intrigued by the magic system and the ending definitely has me excited for book two!

[Derek McGann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me right away! The action picks up from the beginning, remaining well paced throughout, interspersed with the world building in a way that kept me wanting to know what would happen next. The main character reminds me a little of Ciri from Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, since she is a warrior both deadly and feminine, along with possessing otherworldly powers. The ending was satisfying while also setting the stage for the next book in the series. Can't wait to see what this author does next!

[Tammy Matthies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It has relatable characters and an interesting storyline. I just got the second one, and I am looking forward to continuing this adventure.