This is a first novel by Kalie Reid, who is a Portland, Oregon native who now lives in Northern Ireland. To no one’s surprise, she lives with a cat. I was drawn to The Sacred Space Between by the title, and kept reading because of its intricate, mysterious magical system and the gorgeous prose.

The book feels like a nineteenth century Gothic romance, possibly because there is a lonely house surrounded by bleak, windswept moors. The moors are dangerous and unwelcoming, but their isolation also seems to provide a refuge, though no one seems at first to know why they might need one.

Maeve is an iconographer at the Abby, a religious institution which has turned the world’s magic into a well-controlled form of faith. The actual magic is done by Saints, through prayers to their painted icons. Maeve is very good at painting icons, but after unusual things happen during the sitting for a new icon, she is sent away to paint an icon of an exiled Saint named Jude. Maeve does not know whether this is punishment or praise. No one, including Jude, knows what terrible things he did to result in exile.

In Jude’s house on the moors, they learn that neither of them fully understands how the magic really works. Jude is convinced that understanding the magic and exposing the Abbey is critical, but Maeve wants to hold on to her faith. They must learn to trust each other. And, of course, they find themselves falling in love. They will need every bit of that trust and love to survive the betrayal the Abbey has in store for them.

For those who like romance, this is a moody slow-burn with plenty of pining and the promise of intimacy at the end. (It is not, however, cosy. The Abbey is physically and mentally abusive, and serious violence is eventually necessary.) For readers of fantasy, The Sacred Space Between provides a solid, unique magical world along with some interesting musings on the nature of memory and faith.