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abbyschalupa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content and Acephobia/Arophobia
cakeboxing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
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.
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.
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
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
aqulia's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I loved the world building in Beyond the Black Door. Everything I saw of the world was intriguing and immersive. However, I would have liked to see more of the different aspect of the gods and the darkness, along with more specifics of Ranta and the king's bond. I liked most of the characters, and I really appreciate an ace protagonist, and that she's alloromantic. However, I would have liked to see more of Agrir, the king and uncorrupted Razim , because their characters felt under used. I also wasn't a fan of Kamai and Vehyn's dynamic, but that may just be preference. In summary, Beyond the Black Door is a book with phenomenal world building and great characters we don't see quite enough of.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, and Sexual content
story_goblin's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Self harm
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy
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