What an interesting second installment of this series. I thought it was a duology so surprised at the end, which was clearly also a beginning.
In this book there is a lot of hopping in between the Mazik cities and the mortal cities. More characters get their own bits of stories which makes for a confusing read at times.
However the world-building and details are so intricate and inspired that you are sucked in as a reader.
This book more so than book one was incredibly tense all the way through. Might be good to alternate this with a lighter book.
Our protagonists run into a myriad of issues both in their awake and dream worlds.
Such interesting concepts and ideas. I love the moral gray areas of the characters and their thought processes.
I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

So I still haven't read the first book (it is currently staring at me from my color coordinated shelves next to my desk, AND in my netgalley shelf) so I am going to tentatively give this 4 stars, but will edit when I read it.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Republic of Salt starts right where the Pomegranate Gate left off, with our main team injured and scattered, with Toba Bet a flock of birds, and a magicless Asmel in the mortal world. On the other side of the gate, just outside Mazik Rimon, Elena, Naftaly, and the old woman have to nurse Barsilay back to health after he nearly died at the hands of the Courser.

While we spend the first third of the book or so traveling from Rimon to Zayit on both sides of the gate, this gives us a great insight into the world that Kaplan has built for us. Both groups are being pursued by the enemy, and must use their wits and cunning to evade la Caceria. I especially enjoyed the exploration of the Mazik world that Barsilay and Naftaly were traveling through, as well as the complex feelings that Toba Bet, Asmel, and Tsifra were battling on the mortal side.

Near the middle the pace slows as all the characters must set up the plot and prepare for the siege of Zayit by Tarses. Our group splits even more, so that our seven characters are now in four groups. This made the POV switches more drastic than earlier, as you have to catch yourself up to what all the different characters have been accomplishing recently. Here, the only part I was truly invested in was Toba Bet and Tsifra. They both are constantly battling within themselves, and it's captivating to read. Toba Bet must come to terms with being a buchuk, and what it means that the elder Toba is gone. Where does she fit into the world? Tsifra must also balance her hatred of Tarses, and her love of her sister with the knowledge that she is forever bound to him, and still secretly craves his approval and affection.

The pace picks up again near the end of the book, with showstopping conflicts between our main group of protagonists and Tarses's forces. With an ending that had me on the edge of my seat, I cannot wait for the third book!

Ok it’s been about a year since I read The Pomegranate Gate so it took me a few chapters to get back into the swing of things. Essentially Toba and Asmel are in the mortal realm which is clearly bad as being a Mazik means salt is poisonous to Asmel and Naftaly and the two human women are in the Mazik realm.
I did find the beginning a little slow as the various characters are all traveling and we get lots of different viewpoints as they each tell the reader what’s happening. This is fantasy that seats itself in history whilst adding Jewish myths to it which I found incredibly interesting. I will state that Naftaly is my favourite character even though those around him constantly underestimate and frankly baby him. Of course it’s the oldest female that made me smile the most because she’s quite simply a gem to read about ! There’s romance here but I just didn’t need it to be frank and I really enjoyed the juxtaposition as characters we thought bad could do a complete turn around. The later half when characters start to come together was fabulous and that ending is cruel because I turned the page and there was no more ! I certainly recommend this book if you enjoyed the first in this series although perhaps read closer together if possible to keep the flow going.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This is a gorgeous book cover AND a gorgeous book. I love the Jewish mythology and culture, as well as the diverse cast of characters we follow of different ages, races and genders. This book did not fall under the sequel curse, and I was engaged throughout. The character banter was great, and I love a good journey trope.

I went into The Republic of Salt fresh from reading The Pomegranate Gate (which I’m obsessed with) so I was very eager to see where the story went. It’s a direct continuation from where we left off in TPG. I looooove these characters so much, I love the worldbuilding, I love the story. My thing with this sequel is that it took me fooooreeeeveeeerrr to read. I certainly enjoyed the journey, but for most of the time I wasn’t really very invested (the first chunk was very much just everyone traveling in the forest and that got old for me after a while). I think it’s because this book is way more heavy in the plot department than its predecessor, which felt much more mysterious and atmospheric and character-focused. I wanted the same super magical immersive feeling, but since this book was more focused on the actual big-bad threats and the plotting and scheming and mechanics of war strategy, I wasn’t as enchanted. However, THE END WAS SO GOOD and everything absolutely came together

Thank you for this ARC!

I loved to read this book so much and found it to be a great sequel. The story was very compelling.

It fell a little short compared to the first book for me personally. But it was still an incredible read with an in depth world and characters worth rooting for. The writing style was both thorough, yet easy to read, which really helps immerse you into the story.

I enjoyed a lot of this, but it felt a little bit flaily, as if the individual steps the characters needed to accomplish in support of the broader goal took too much time, relative to their importance to the plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
The pomegranate gate was just an ok read for me and I’d hoped this sequel would fill some of the gaps for me, but it also falls just a bit too flat. It’s still a good book and will especially work for folks that lean more towards historical fiction. But there are aspects here, specifically with the pacing and character development, that just prevent me from loving it.

This is a pretty slow-paced book, but the things that were happening kept me pretty interested throughout. It helped that the humor from the first book was still very much present in this one and that helped elevate some of those slower moments. I don't want to get too deep in the weeds of spoilers because this takes place directly after the ending of the first book. I think the way this is playing out is very fascinating and I'm so interested in how the author is going to end it.

I will say that the one thing I didn't like was the development of the relationship between Toba as Asmel. The first book seemed like the mentor/mentee relationship between them would stay largely platonic and was romantically one-sided on Toba's part. That... took at turn in this book and I hated it lol. For one thing, I still doesn't make sense or feel like it works for me. A lot of this is due to the fact that I don't really like Asmel. Like, he's a mildly interesting character, but I don't care much for his relationship with Toba at all.

Overall, still enjoyed my time, though I can see why others might not. Definitely excited to see this conclusion.

Much like its forerunner, The Pomegranate Gate, this book is a wondrous melding of historical fiction, Jewish myths, and magical fantasy. At the end of the first book, Toba and Naftaly had switched worlds, now Toba finds herself in the human world with Asmel ,while Naftaly and his group are in the Mazik world. The Republic of Salt continues the vivid world-building, expanding to the land of Zayit in both human .and magical worlds. The cast, too, has grown, and relationships, romantic and platonic develop slowly. The tale winds through curves of politics, magic, connections, and war with enjoyable prose that kept me tuning the pages to a suspenseful ending. I enthusiastically enjoyed this entry to The Mirror Realm Cycle as much as the previous one and look forward to the conclusion of this trilogy. I recommend this book to everyone who liked The Pomegranate Gate and for those that enjoy historical fantasy but haven't discovered The Pomegranate Gate, I suggest they start their reading journey into The Mirror Realm Cycle.
I received advanced access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Kensington Publishing -Erewhon Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Slow-building, slow-burning, and even gayer than the previous book! And full of rage, questions, grief, and love.

A fantastic build of a middle book, with a ending that both draws together threads and creates cliffhangers!

I thought this was ok but I think it suffered in places. The writing was decent but I found the pacing to be disjointed.

This was a great book. I really loved this book and the writing was so beautiful. And this book had a great message behind the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of The Republic of Salt in exchange for an honest review.

The book started really slow, but definitely picked up in the second half! I prefer The Pomegranate Gate, as all of the magic and mythology was so new, to this book which felt a bit meandering until it all came together at the end.

I am still really excited to see where the series goes from here and cannot wait for the next book!

I truly love Kaplans writing but I really struggled with this one. I'd definitely recommend going back to read the first book before delving back into this world as lot of things I had forgotten and I feel my tastes with fantasy has now changed but this doesn't change the fact that this is a great read and Kaplans writing is still one of the best!

A captivating and enchanting sequel to THE POMEGRANATE GATE, with a focus on more characters as they interweave into a complex story. Cannot wait for the next one!

Never have I read a fantasy so unique. Like its predecessor, The Republic of Salt is rich with Jewish mythology and culture. I love the diverse cast of characters we follow of different ages, races and genders. I especially like that you get to follow the perspective of two elderly women. It is not something I often see in fantasy. I adore all of our characters along with the relationships and friendships that have developed in this series. If you love found families you’ll enjoy that aspect. The dynamic and banter between the characters was one of my favorite parts. I found myself laughing a few times throughout the book. The pacing was a bit slow for me at times, as the characters to go on a long journey to get to the destination they all meet up in. I do enjoy political intrigue in my fantasy and this was certainly full of it. I was a bit confused at times, as it has been about a year since I read the first one. The world is very complex and can be hard to follow at times. But I do enjoy the fact that it is complex and unique. I would recommend rereading the first one before diving back into the sequel or waiting till the entire trilogy is out so you can read them back to back. Luckily there is an extensive glossary included, which I always really appreciate. I adore this series and can’t wait for the next book!

I loved to read this book so much. This is such a fun and cool story. The storyline and plot was amazing. The characters are super interesting.