Wow! Such a wonderful debut novel. The Sacred Space Between follows devout iconographer Maeve as she is sent to paint an updated icon (portrait) of Jude, an exiled saint. The two clash as Maeve still believes in the Abbey that sent her and Jude is jaded from his time there and his exile. Things change when as they slowly discover that Maeve shares the same powers as Jude and as Maeve realizes that the Abbey isn't quite what she believed it to be. I loved the slow burn between them, the way they went from dislike to yearning for each other had me on the edge of my seat. I really liked their magic and the world in general; it was very interesting and not like anything I have read before. I am also a sucker for a story with a corrupt religion; this book reminded me of the Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gilig in that aspect. Knowing this was a standalone, near the end, I kept wondering how things could possibly turn around for there to be a happy ending, but the author surprised me and the ending had me feeling warm and cozy. As I said in the beginning, this is a wonderful debut, and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future. 

This book has so many covers - one is the Allurial edition, one is the standard US edition, and one is the standard UK edition, but I wanted to include them all. The Allurial edition on the left and the UK edition on the right are my favorites. I just feel like the US edition doesn't fit the story as well. 

Synopsis:

Jude is a saint with dangerous magic – exiled by the Abbey to live out his days in a decaying estate on the moors alone – until gifted iconographer Maeve is sent to paint his icon. Suspecting she’s a spy for her beloved Abbey, Jude makes it his mission to get rid of Maeve as soon as possible. That is, until he discovers that Maeve holds the same tainted magic as he does, and she may be the key to destroying the Abbey’s power…

But this institution has eyes everywhere, and the only thing the Abbey loves more than a saint is a martyr.

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