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The Portal Between
Sam was gone, and no one knew where or why. Her car was found near the old oak tree, empty and abandoned. There was no sign of foul play, but also no sign of Sam, except for footprints that led to the oak tree...and stopped.
Two years later, her best friend Kate still cares for Sam’s children, waiting for Sam to return for them. Then one day she does. “I don’t have long,” Sam says. “Can you help me?” Kate must help her return home from a place that is closer than you might think, but still a world away.
Sam's escape is just the beginning of her journey. Sam must go back to confront and defeat her abductor, leaving Kate to care for her children. Sam returns to the old oak tree, and the Portal to the world where she was held prisoner. In a whirlwind world of magic and monsters, where people and things are not who or what they appear to be, there are hard choices ahead, and Sam must learn if she's strong enough to make them.
Two years later, her best friend Kate still cares for Sam’s children, waiting for Sam to return for them. Then one day she does. “I don’t have long,” Sam says. “Can you help me?” Kate must help her return home from a place that is closer than you might think, but still a world away.
Sam's escape is just the beginning of her journey. Sam must go back to confront and defeat her abductor, leaving Kate to care for her children. Sam returns to the old oak tree, and the Portal to the world where she was held prisoner. In a whirlwind world of magic and monsters, where people and things are not who or what they appear to be, there are hard choices ahead, and Sam must learn if she's strong enough to make them.
- GenresFantasy
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Barnard
16 books36 followersSarah was born in March 1969 in Dunfermline, grew up in the south of England and now lives in Wales.
She's a pisces according to one zodiac and a rooster by another. Make of that what you will.
Sarah's work appeals across generations and ages but is generally sci fi or fantasy at its core.
She's a pisces according to one zodiac and a rooster by another. Make of that what you will.
Sarah's work appeals across generations and ages but is generally sci fi or fantasy at its core.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 4, 2011
Sarah Barnards novel does something very well...it makes you believe that a different realm could actually exist. The characters are so well written, one is easily convinced that these people really lived through this experience, being transported from the world we know to one that is very foreign and intriguing. I particularly enjoyed the fact that it was penned by someone in the UK, giving the novel a rich, delicious flavor. Buy it..read it. You won't be disappointed.
February 17, 2011
A great fantasy work, full of wonderful characters and creatures inhabiting this world and another, it contrasts every day life the the possibilities created by 'what if'.
The characterisation of the main characters including the children is first rate; the painting of locations is excellent, and the narrative is well written and pacey.
I highly recommend it!
The characterisation of the main characters including the children is first rate; the painting of locations is excellent, and the narrative is well written and pacey.
I highly recommend it!
June 25, 2011
I was drawn into the book from the first line. I was hooked all the way through and am excited to be reading the next in the series. Already I can tell you, reading her last one is going to make me sad. I don't want to see the life of any of these characters fall to an end.
I love this author! She weaves words like a florist does flower patterns. She is unbelievably amazing.
I love this author! She weaves words like a florist does flower patterns. She is unbelievably amazing.
May 15, 2011
Engsging plot, wonderful characters, Kate, Sam, Lily (Lilith) and the children. Read half the night. Look forward to reading the next. Plot evenly paced, deepening with rising tension. Good writing.
April 11, 2011
Two years have passed since Sam mysteriously disappeared, leaving nothing behind except for her car that was found near an old oak tree. No one knew where she had gone, and all that was found was a set of footprints that led to the tree and disappeared. Kate, a friend who had been babysitting Sam’s kids on the night of her disappearance, had taken on guardianship of Sam’s children. Years had passed, but Kate and the kids didn’t give up hope that one day Sam would return, and then, one day, she did.
Their first encounter was cryptic, but Sam told Kate to meet her near the old oak tree. With her friend Lily watching the kids, Kate heads to the oak. Sam appears from the tree, followed closely by a beast that Kate doesn’t recognize. After a successful escape, Sam explains that she had gone through the portal on that fateful night, and had just managed to escape. The return home was a happy but incredibly awkward one, followed by a length of time trying to reacclimatize to life. The worst isn’t over yet though, as the beast from the tree is still after Sam, as is the man who sent it. They don’t want to wait around for him to come to them though, and risk endangering the children. They’ll have to go through the portal and face him!
My main contention with the plot of this book was the complete and total lack of official follow up. A woman went missing for two years and suddenly reappeared, and the only person who cares is the social worker? Where are the police? I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t want to question Sam relentlessly as to where she had been for the last two years… And no one they came into contact with seemed terribly unsettled by her sudden reappearance. This woman mysteriously vanished, and when encountering people she knew, such as Kate’s ex, no questions were asked! The end drives me nuts for similar reasons… I don’t want to give anything away, so suffice it to say that apparently in the England that Barnard has written, people can vanish for extensive periods of time whenever they want and the authorities accept it with no questions asked.
There were other points in the plot that were poorly explained as well. One point which stood out to me was when Lily was looking at an orb that was made by Sam and she said, “Oh! Well that’s interesting!” which would indicate to the reader that she realized something. Unfortunately, you never clearly find out what that realization was. I can toss out a theory or two, but I was left wondering. Another thing which confused me was how long Sam was actually gone. She thought only a few days would pass in our world in the time she was in the other, but never indicated how long she had actually been there for. I’m assuming it was a long time, since she seemed to have lost all of her social skills and looked a bit haggard. She also mentions at one point towards the end that she’ll explain what had happened to her in the other world, but never does.
Overall, the characters are well written, although at times I was confused as to what children belonged to which mother. The book is part of a developing series, so hopefully there will be further explanation regarding why Kate and Sam, two seemingly normal women, possess this power that allows them to access the other world. I wasn’t too keen on the character relationships that were developed. This was one of those books that would have been exactly the same story even without the development of a relationship between the main characters, therefore making the relationship completely pointless. In cases like this one, it seems as though the author really just wanted to include some sex in the story purely for the sake of getting to write about it, and not as a means of adding to the storyline.
Overall, this story had some gaping holes in the plot and a slew of confusing and unnecessary plot elements. The pace was slow (how many times do we really have to sit through tea time and breakfast in a single book?) and the ending was fairly anticlimactic. The concept of this book has potential, but all in all I’d say this effort was a flop…
Their first encounter was cryptic, but Sam told Kate to meet her near the old oak tree. With her friend Lily watching the kids, Kate heads to the oak. Sam appears from the tree, followed closely by a beast that Kate doesn’t recognize. After a successful escape, Sam explains that she had gone through the portal on that fateful night, and had just managed to escape. The return home was a happy but incredibly awkward one, followed by a length of time trying to reacclimatize to life. The worst isn’t over yet though, as the beast from the tree is still after Sam, as is the man who sent it. They don’t want to wait around for him to come to them though, and risk endangering the children. They’ll have to go through the portal and face him!
My main contention with the plot of this book was the complete and total lack of official follow up. A woman went missing for two years and suddenly reappeared, and the only person who cares is the social worker? Where are the police? I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t want to question Sam relentlessly as to where she had been for the last two years… And no one they came into contact with seemed terribly unsettled by her sudden reappearance. This woman mysteriously vanished, and when encountering people she knew, such as Kate’s ex, no questions were asked! The end drives me nuts for similar reasons… I don’t want to give anything away, so suffice it to say that apparently in the England that Barnard has written, people can vanish for extensive periods of time whenever they want and the authorities accept it with no questions asked.
There were other points in the plot that were poorly explained as well. One point which stood out to me was when Lily was looking at an orb that was made by Sam and she said, “Oh! Well that’s interesting!” which would indicate to the reader that she realized something. Unfortunately, you never clearly find out what that realization was. I can toss out a theory or two, but I was left wondering. Another thing which confused me was how long Sam was actually gone. She thought only a few days would pass in our world in the time she was in the other, but never indicated how long she had actually been there for. I’m assuming it was a long time, since she seemed to have lost all of her social skills and looked a bit haggard. She also mentions at one point towards the end that she’ll explain what had happened to her in the other world, but never does.
Overall, the characters are well written, although at times I was confused as to what children belonged to which mother. The book is part of a developing series, so hopefully there will be further explanation regarding why Kate and Sam, two seemingly normal women, possess this power that allows them to access the other world. I wasn’t too keen on the character relationships that were developed. This was one of those books that would have been exactly the same story even without the development of a relationship between the main characters, therefore making the relationship completely pointless. In cases like this one, it seems as though the author really just wanted to include some sex in the story purely for the sake of getting to write about it, and not as a means of adding to the storyline.
Overall, this story had some gaping holes in the plot and a slew of confusing and unnecessary plot elements. The pace was slow (how many times do we really have to sit through tea time and breakfast in a single book?) and the ending was fairly anticlimactic. The concept of this book has potential, but all in all I’d say this effort was a flop…
November 9, 2011
This novel had all the possibilities of a really good read but was a little disappointing. I wanted to find myself enjoying the "other world" and it's characters but it fell flat. The mysterious place inside the oak doesn't have a name, doesn't have enough buy-in in the beginning for you to care about what is going on there.
I would have liked to have really cared about the other world and what happened there. It just didn't quite get me there. The author waited until the end to give you anything to care about, and it was just too little too late.
Then there is the relationship between Kate and Sam which I found unnecessary to the story. They could have been sisters, close childhood friends--but the author made them lovers which isn't my preferred reading material. If this is something you enjoy reading, you'll care deeply about these two characters and their friend Lily. There's is a very tight relationship brought to the breaking point. Them, you will care about.
Another problem I had was the emotional distance between Sam and her children. There also seems to be some distance between the author and these abandoned children. The two children who were abandoned appear to have gotten through all this with no emotional scars, while Kate's child is affected. I fear this is unrealistic and leaves me concerned for them more than Kate and Sam.
All in all, it just wasn't my "cup of tea" although I did feel it had great possibilities--it just didn't deliver.
I would have liked to have really cared about the other world and what happened there. It just didn't quite get me there. The author waited until the end to give you anything to care about, and it was just too little too late.
Then there is the relationship between Kate and Sam which I found unnecessary to the story. They could have been sisters, close childhood friends--but the author made them lovers which isn't my preferred reading material. If this is something you enjoy reading, you'll care deeply about these two characters and their friend Lily. There's is a very tight relationship brought to the breaking point. Them, you will care about.
Another problem I had was the emotional distance between Sam and her children. There also seems to be some distance between the author and these abandoned children. The two children who were abandoned appear to have gotten through all this with no emotional scars, while Kate's child is affected. I fear this is unrealistic and leaves me concerned for them more than Kate and Sam.
All in all, it just wasn't my "cup of tea" although I did feel it had great possibilities--it just didn't deliver.
March 7, 2012
2.5. So much promise. I weep. I weep at what could have been.
April 19, 2012
I absoloutely love the portal series. The characters feel real to me. Have read all of them over and over again.
January 1, 2013
Loved this book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews