A mentor she never expected. A piece of herself she can’t leave behind. This journey will teach her more than she wants to know.
Talise knows little of what the future will hold. When a mysterious guardian insists on teaching her the history of her empire, everything will change. Matters become worse when the problems in her personal life escalate.
With a relentless enemy hot on her heels, … on her heels, failure is not an option. Can she prove her honor? Will it be in time?
Smoke Gate is episode 6 in The Elements of Kamdaria. Don’t miss the other books in this novella series.
Episode 1: Ice Crown
Episode 2: Wind Crown
Episode 3: Dust Crown
Episode 4: Flame Crown
Episode 5: River Gate
Episode 6: Smoke Gate
Episode 7: Vine Gate
Episode 8: Ember Gate
More episodes to come…
more
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Talise is truly becoming a princess worth fighting for. Not only amongst her soldiers, but the people as well.
There was a lot of action throughout. Ms. Moody did a good job really developed Talise’s character. I felt the inner struggle, the turmoil that she battled as she working on becoming the princess that her country needed.
I can’t wait for the next book.
I received an eARC of this book via the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Smoke Gate by Kay L. Moody is the sixth installment of the novella series The Elements of Kamdaria. After finishing the previous novella, I knew that this installment would be action packed and break my heart. Y’all Kay L. Moody delivered! The book opens with a chapter from Aaden’s point of view. We haven’t heard from him since Flame Crown, and it was a relief to know he wasn’t dead. But I may have chose death over his betrayal
Talise is still adjusting to her new normal as princess. She isn’t used to making decisions for other people. She sees her soldiers, the ones that have willingly followed her, as something else for her to protect. It isn’t easy for her to relinquish that and allow them to do their job of protecting her. But this isn’t the only new normal for her, Talise is also dealing with Aaden’s disappearance. He didn’t return when he promised, and now she questions if she can trust him and mourns that betrayal.
At her side and having never left it are Wendy and Claye. During River Gate, Talise and her friends realize that there is a spy among them, feeding information about their location and Talise’s security to Kessouku. The question is who. Talise doesn’t want to suspect her friends, but all fingers point to it being Wendy or Claye. Wanting and needing to believe in them, Talise pushes aside her doubt and doesn’t trust her gut. Bad move in my opinion! Wendy works with the head general of Talise’s soldiers and knows everything. Claye is there as her friend and support, but in truth I can’t help but question his motives. During River Gate, he made it quite clear he has feelings that go beyond friendship for Talise, feelings she doesn’t return. These feelings feel forced and unnatural to the character that was portrayed in the first part of the series. While Talise is questioning Wendy, I question Claye’s true intentions.
Smoke Gate delves deeper into the world of Kamdaria than the previous books. As Talise has been touring the kingdom as the long lost princess, she learns some interesting things about Kamdaria’s history, things that contradict what she was taught. Not only that but we get to meet the mysterious cloaked stranger from the last book who offered Talise knowledge about Kamdar’s amulet, the powerful artifact the Kessouku are searching for. I love the world-building here, but I love Talise’s reaction to it even more. It’s raw, heart-breaking and real. As she’s already begun to question her father’s motives, the things she learns from the protector of the amulet break her heart. What will she do going forward? This question plagues Talise.
Overall, I really enjoyed Smoke Gate. I think this is my favorite installment of the series to date. If you enjoy YA fantasy, political intrigue, and rebellions, I highly recommend it!
This is another exciting instalment in this series! It’s action packed as we follow Talise and the choices that have to be made. The storyline continues to grow and develop as does the amazing world building and there are some awesome characters, some old, some new. A highly addictive series, can’t wait for the next instalment!
An addictive read and series that is so much fun to read especially during this time
This story is truly amazing. I’m at a lost for words. If you haven’t started it yet, start from the bonus short story “Ice and Fire” if you can get your hands on it. This is my review for the fisrt boxset: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49113333-the-elements-of-the-crown
In this book our heroine comes to some pretty hard decisions. I would hate to be on her shoes, but the story is really worth told and I’m loving following along her struggles to do good by her kingdom and all its citizens. The other characters are not forgotten and our improvised spy makes a few breath stealing appearances (even with a chapter of it’s own – I love those too!).
Things are getting really complicated but none the less, I thing her true friends are finally showing.
I can’t wait for the next book to come out.
This is the next epic story of our generation! Go grab it!
This is another excellent addition to The Elements of Kamdaria series. Talise’s story continues as she travels closer to obtaining the elusive and mysterious amulet and tries to evade the Kessoku while journeying to and helping different parts of the kingdom.
I like that the character development and world-building grow with each book. In Smoke Gate, for example, we are introduced to Wendy’s family. Her parents, grandmother, aunt, and uncle are extended versions of Wendy, and it’s clear where she gets her charm, beliefs, and morals. We also read and learn more about Claye and his devotion to Talise (though I still question his motives and sincerity).
Talise’s journey takes a more emotional/spiritual turn in this story. Though there is still a significant amount of action, the story focuses equally on Talise’s inner conflicts. Talise struggles with trusting people, letting people in, knowing what kind of ruler she wants to be, learning how to balance, and more. She suffered and continues to suffer from loss and rejection. Eben, a new mentor-like character and guardian of the amulet, teaches Talise about the amulet and the untold history of Kamdaria which, in turn, helps Talise on her journey toward ruling Kamdaria.
Then there’s Aaden’s reappearance!!! As Aaden was absent in the previous book, I was impatiently curious to find out what happened to him. Smoke Gate fills in the gaps (a little), and we get a small glimpse of what he’s been up to. Without giving too much away, it was interesting to see him try to balance his orders from the Kessoku and his obvious protective feelings toward Talise and her friends. Hopefully, in the next book, Moody will explore Aaden’s story further.
This is a quick and well-paced story that I enjoyed as much as the others in the series. I’m excited for the next book, Vine Gate, which comes out on May 12th!
Gee Marie, Kay L. Moody is taking us on a ride again!!! Why oh why do I keep doing this to myself. I should know by now that she will leave me with a cliffhanger. Luckily, she is a fast writer and I won’t have to wait too long for Vine Gate. Oh man, I need to know what happens!!! I have to admit that I didn’t expect much when I went into the first book which a friend recommended. But it was such a great fun and short read. I’ve been waiting for the next books all excited ever since. This book was the same … I just couldn’t get enough of Talise, Wendy & Co. and YEEEEESSSS, OMG, this time finally Aaden made a cameo! Great book!
Honestly, a good portion of the book felt like nothing was happening. But looking back on it, there was quite a bit of character growth and self-realization for Talise. The ending was dramatic and well depicted. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment. Things are getting intense!! The stakes have never been higher!
Fast moving and action packed as you’ve come to expect with this series, with a really well choreographed scene near the end. This book had the added bonus of a peak into the enemy camp and Aaden’s POV. While I haven’t really been #TeamAaden since the beginning, I have to admit, he has grown on me as a character and he is a great addition to the books. That said I’m not sold on #TeamClaye either. It was nice to see more of him and Wendy and I like that their characters are being further developed as well.
More introspective than previous books, the huge reveals about the history of Kamdar serve as a catalyst of sorts for Talise to understand herself. To use a worn phrase, they serve as a paradigm shift. This feels like a shift in the direction of the series too. Where previous books centered around Talise’s personal growth and character lessons while the truth of the kingdom was revealed, now she seems ready to take decisive action.
Smoke Gate is the sixth book in series The Elements of Kamdaria. In this book, Talise meets the guardian of the amulet of Kamdar. He teaches her things about the history of Kamdaria and gives her a few lessons about herself. She has to make some important and difficult decisions. Just like the previous books, I absolutely loved it again! The author keeps surprising me with the story. There are so many twists and turns. The story is very unpredictable, which I really like. There’s also a good amount of action and some fun and sweet moments. I can’t wait to see how the story continues in the next book.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Talise is back and dealing with the usual things her life has become. This mixed the usual mystery of what will happen with some history , and action to give an amazing book where Talise must face some decisions again. The characters were amazing and I loved seeing more of the her friends this time around. And do not forget the threat of the Kessoku always in the background no matter what. The story was fun and addicting as usual for this series.
Kay L Moody continues to soar with Smoke Gate (The Elements of Kamdaria #6). In this book, Talise sets out to train with the guardian of the amulet that she met at the end of book five. The journey is full of peril and conspiracy. Talise is not sure who she can trust. She does a lot of soul-searching and evaluation.
Aaden is still with the Kessoku. No one is certain of his loyalty. Kay L Moody does a fantastic job with this story. It is full of action and suspense. The characters are complicated and well developed. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy fantasies. I also recommend reading the books in order. I would love to see this series turned into a movie or television series. It would be visually appealing and exciting. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
I just adore this series! This episode was really cool. It had a lot of fun elements (no pun intended). We go to new places, meet our mystery man, have new obstacles, Talise’s character continues to grow. Its great!
Aaden’s back! I won’t lie, the last book felt like something was missing because he wasn’t in it. At all.
Smoke Gate begins with Aaden trying to gain the trust of the Kessoku…who want to take down the royal family which means capturing and killing the princess. Aaden is assigned that particular duty. Does he finally see things their way and will he follow through? And if he doesn’t, what will that mean for the trust he is trying to gain?
In the meantime, Talise is still trying to find the amulet before the Kessoku, as well as fix things for her people in the Gate. She is nearly captured several times and has to make some crucial decisions. Would she take a weapon of power that has the potential of turning her evil? What if hiding it only ensured that the enemy would use it instead? And as she becomes increasingly convinced that there is a spy on the inside, will she be able to trust anyone? If so, who will she choose to trust?
Despite all the action, this book felt a little slower and more introspective than the previous books in the series, but it also gave us a glimpse of Talise’s developing character and morals, as well as a greater insight into the motivations of Wendy and Claye. It also filled in a lot of backstory on the founding of Kamdaria in a way that was intriguing, but utterly surprising. This book was a fantastic new chapter of the Kamdaria series and I can’t wait for book seven!
I received a free ARC of Smoke Gate from the author and have reviewed it willingly.
*I received an early copy from the author. This does not affect my review.*
After the last installment, I knew this one would be action-packed and full of tough choices. And it was, but oh so much more than I expected happened in this one! I loved the first chapter, and more so what we finally get to meet one of the characters mentioned earlier in the series! I loved their part, and can’t wait to see more of them! I also really liked seeing where Aaden’s thoughts were on all of it… I’m super curious to see how his plans and Talise’s new mission play out.
I also loved seeing more of Wendy’s family, and seeing Claye with Talise. (While I don’t ‘ship’ them, I do enjoy the three of them as friends, and enjoyed seeing Talise consider if it’s worth loosing them just to ease her own fears and paranoia.) I do wonder if Aaden will delay his return until Talise is forced to choose Claye? I’m pretty sure Aaden would try to say it’s okay, he’s moved on too…but it would almost certainly be a lie, so what interesting…would be painful development for our dear fire user. The history of Kamdar was also interesting, and paralleled not only with the Emperor, but another character who’s going through similar struggles of loyalty and trusting friends again. (An interesting comparison, and I’m surprised she didn’t realize that, but I expect most readers could guess who.)
I loved the balance of world-building/history, seeing Talise with her friends, Talise having to work through hard choices, and the action in this one. It has a little of everything, and I look forward to seeing how her plans for Kamdaria and her choice to trust others both turn out for her.
Kay L. Moody is incapable of disappointing me. I always look forward to the next installment of these books.
Let it be known. New. Ship. Incoming.
This is a fantastic series that I definitely recommend. Its has twisted and turns that I don’t see coming. It also grabbed me right from the beginning to the end of this read. It’s definitely a page Turner that has you definitely looking forward to the next book.
Shauna Joesten
Received as an ARC, this is an honest review. Aaden may be a part of Kessoku, but he is not comfortable with their actions to the people of Kamdaria. As Talise and her company head to the Smoke Gate, she is seeking the Guardian of the Amulet and prove to him she can possess it. But she will discover not just from the cryptic test he sets but his knowledge of history; that the amulet is immensely powerful and dangerous. As much as she hates it, the amulet may be the only key to win the ever looming war with Kessoku. Epic and intense, highly recommended.
Kay L. Moody is such a amazing author. She never disappoints. Love the character of Talise. And loved reading this book…