Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Beyond the Black Door

Holy hells, this book was a rollercoaster of emotion. The pacing was sort of all over the place in the beginning, but after the first big event of the book, the plot just took off running.

The concept of this book was a little out of left field for me at first, but once I got into it, I loved everything about it. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. Reading this book was as effortless as breathing, the author's prose and style were easy to breeze through, allowing me to greedily devour this book in only a couple sittings. I would often look up and realize that a couple hours had gone by when I had only meant to read for a few minutes.

Grief and mourning are huge themes in this book, but they way they were written feels realistic and often cut me to the bone. I cried several times throughout.

One of the best things about this book is its obvious yet respectful inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes.

Our main character is ace and demi, and likely bi, but nothing is really cemented in place (Sexuality and identity are fluid after all), her best friend is trans,

and there are many nuanced references to gay and lesbian relationships and interactions throughout the story. Not only are these things accepted, but they are even celebrated within the pages of this book. There are even specific terms that are used for such individuals, new soul and soul crossed.

It was refreshing to read a book with LGBTQ+ content that wasn't focused on homophobia, transphobia, or bigotry of any kind. The closest to that we see is a couple short sentences of internal fear where the main character worries that there is something wrong with her and wonders how others will perceive her, but everyone around her responds with love and respect for her identity.

As someone who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I loved seeing this representation and how it was shown. I hope I can read many more books like this, and I also hope that our real world can take a page from books like these.

Content Warnings

nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

If I’m being honest, I had a hard time deciding what to rate this book. There were quite a few things that weren’t great but my enjoyment outweighed most of those. If I was reviewing it strictly on writing quality and technicalities my rating would be less high. But I’d feel ingenious rating it lower because it was the prefect book I needed at the time I read it. So my review is just going to be a simple pros and cons list so you can decide for yourself (i was able to thoroughly enjoy it despite the cons)

Pros:
- diverse cast (both LGBTQ+ and skin color)
—> main character is on the asexual spectrum which was refreshing
—> secondary character is trans
—> multiple side characters are gay, bisexual, etc.
-interesting plot revolving around dreams and souls and sleep
- tension and suspense is done really well
- fictional pantheon that I found interesting
- likable main character
- light and fun read

Cons:
- sometimes things happen and it feels very much like they happen for plot reasons (they don’t feel as natural and it can pull you out of immersion a bit)
- some of the descriptions of buildings felt like they went on a little longer than necessary
- quite a few cliches
- felt rushed in some places
- left me wanting a bit more immersion and depth when it came to the worldbuilding (more about how the world works!)

neutral:
- toxic relationship (sometimes it feels like it’s romanticized and sometimes it feels like its not, it wasn’t clear so it might depend on how you read it)

Content Warnings

melaniereadsbooks's review

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this book! It is definitely a slow-paced one and felt like it was taking a while for me to really get into the story, but I loved it! The world building is so interesting and dark and creepy! I really loved Kamai and thought she was an amazing main character. I also liked some of the side characters a lot! I really loved the Soul Chart and discussions of the Asexual and Aromantic Spectrum!

Really great book!

Content Warnings

shadereads's review

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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rielbelle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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story_goblin's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I don't even remember how I heard about this book- some algorithm somewhere I think pulled it as similar to what else I read. Honestly, the premise did sound interesting, but I read "asexual main character" and immediately put it on my TBR list. It took me a while to get my hands on it and then even longer to finally find the time and space to read it. Even then, I almost couldn't. I was extremely stressed when I started this book and seeing a young girl think she has a voice when she's really just being manipulated and controlled by men was just too much; I had to set it down until I wasn't as stressed. But I finally finished it and am very glad I did. Overall this is a unique premise/world with great characters and a promise that a path CAN indeed be found no matter how dark or hopeless things may seem.

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alex_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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