Beyond the Gloaming Pass by Rebecca Holmes is a steampunkish adventure that takes readers on journeys with Molindra and Rubriel. As roommates and friends, they cross various countries, battling ghosts and border keepers, and confronting their personal demons and past mistakes.
The characters are portrayed as strong, both physically and mentally, yet they lack significant power. They often find themselves at the mercy of men, who dictate their actions and occasionally come to their rescue. Hopefully in future installments, they will see more gains in agency—there were some hints to this toward the end.
One thing that I particularly liked about the characters is their age. Unlike typical main characters in their early twenties, Molindra and Rubriel are mature women with a wealth of life experience to draw on. The absence of a romantic subplot with the main companion is a nice change, allowing the focus to remain on the adventure at hand.
The author is good at world-building, crafting an intriguing mythology centered around dark and light stones. However, the narrative falls short in providing a comprehensive background for the big bad. The dichotomy of good and evil, represented by the light and dark stones, raises questions about the moral alignment of the characters. If the antagonist is purely evil due to the influence of the dark stone, why aren’t those associated with the light stone paragons of virtue?
Beyond the Gloaming Pass is a decent read with some intriguing moments. Despite some minor shortcomings, I enjoyed the adventure. ( )

Reading the first chapter I was unsure if I was going to like this book or not, then it got so much better and I was really happy I kept on going. Rubriel and Mol are great charaters, each with their own personalities, both flawed and great at the same time. I really enjoyed seeing characters who weren't anything more then just good friends without romance thrown into it. The world building was right on point, things were explained without too much info dumping.
I found the ending of the book great, no guys rushing in to save the day, girl strength all the way. If you like fantasy, with magic and people just trying to do the right thing, finding themselves along the way and trying their best to fix their mistakes, then this book is for you. The flaws of these characters make it worth the read.