Reviews tagging 'Acephobia/Arophobia'

Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

8 reviews

ohmage_resistance's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This book wasn’t quite for me. It was a bit too angsty. I could see that other people might really like it though. 

I read this book for its asexuality representation, and I think it did a really good job exploring that. I think the author wrote this as a book they wish they could have read when they were younger, and you can really tell (in a really wonderful way). It was brought up a lot, and I could see that Kamai’s struggle to accept her asexuality would resonate with a lot of aces. It also did a very good job explaining the basics of asexuality and introducing the idea of romantic orientations.

(Can I just mentioned how impressed I am that Strickland managed to sneak in a fantasy version of the Split Attraction Model into the book?)

I really liked how queer this book was in general (gay/bi/trans side characters) as well as having multiple ace characters. The only major downside is that the word "asexuality" is never used (because of the fantasy setting), which is completely understandable. Also, Kamai and the other major asexual side character both have very similar orientations/experiences, which means that it does tend to emphasize one particular time of asexual experience, which is another nitpick I have.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia

There is a bit of internalized aphobia.

abbyschalupa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content and Acephobia/Arophobia

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abandonment, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Murder, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Gaslighting, Outing, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual assault, Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, and War

meagangrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia

korra_maddie's review

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? Yes

4.5

A slow start to the story including introducing characters and plot developments but picks up less than half way through the book. A plot reveal near the end of the book was predictable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Kidnapping and Murder

ursociallyawkwardbud's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Acephobia/Arophobia

vaniavela's review

adventurous challenging dark 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Acephobia/Arophobia

melaniereadsbooks's review

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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Misogyny