Reviews

Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

lostinruins's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

A lot of things happened to and around Kamai, the protagonist, but it felt she lacked agency in her own story. I don't believe she changed much throughout the story. Other characters were dull even with interesting set-ups e.g. Kamai's brother. 

The pacing was quite poor. The ending felt rushed and the middle dragged.

One positive was a fairly healthy representation of asexuality, although it felt laboured and repetitively explained at times. 

cosima_elena's review against another edition

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2.0

This has such an interesting concept as the basis for the story! So much potential for a really cool book.
Unfortunately, it's such a minuscule part of it while the rest is similarly underdeveloped.

I struggled through the book and ultimately DNFed at 70%. I had more issues with it but I'll just leave it at that.

writer_gabby's review against another edition

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4.0

3,75*

I really loved some things in this book so so much, like the ace rep, its so rare and it was so good, but the ending didnt work for me, I wanted more, I felt like it was rushed.
Still, really liked it, its a great book and I still recomend it

mikaylataggart's review against another edition

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4.0

i’m not going to lie - i was so confused for like 60% of this book lol. but once i finally was grasping what was happening i couldn’t put it down. i did end up loving it - but as a warning to people wanting to read it - it might take some time to get into it. i thought it was worth the read though!

zaczytaga's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5/5⭐️

Plusy:
+ ciekawie stworzony świat, mitologia, wierzenia, społeczeństwo, koncepcja duszy
+ spiski, tajne ugrupowania, tajemnice, mroczny klimat
+ odkrywanie własnej tożsamości przez główną bohaterkę, która jest mocno wyidealizowana, ale jednocześnie jestem w stanie uwierzyć w to, co przeżywa
+ wartka akcja, szczególnie w drugiej połowie, jak już zaznajomimy się ze światem i bohaterami
+ całkiem ciekawie nakreśleni bohaterowie
+ podobał mi się główny wątek, stawka i to jak potoczyła się fabuła
+ autentycznie zaangażowała mnie ta historia, przeżywałam zwroty akcji i ostatnie rozdziały czytałam w pełnym napięciu

Minusy:
to wszystko co zaliczyłam jako plusy było jak dla mnie trochę za mało rozwinięte:
- bohaterowie – różnorodni, ale jednocześnie poza Kamai, główną bohaterką, nie poznajemy głębiej ich charakterów i motywacji
- relacje - w dużej mierze opierają się na krótkich interakcjach i nie zawsze widziałam ich podłoże
- świat – jak na książkę, w której jest raczej więcej akcji niż worldbuildingu jest on naprawdę porządnie zrobiony, ale do perfekcji trochę mu brakuje. Może nie jest to wada, ale warto mieć to na uwadze
- da się zauważyć sporo schematów, na które na początku zwracałam uwagę, ale nie przeszkodziło mi to, żeby się wciągnąć w historię i jednocześnie był to w jakimś stopniu powiewu świeżości

Zdecydowanie jest to dobre rozpoczęcie nowego roku, oby tak dalej.

caelizha's review against another edition

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4.0

very good worldbuilding and plot, kamai is really a strong girl love her!! would have been better if it was longer, needed more of it

anaelements's review against another edition

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5.0

why have i never heard of it until now? i love villain's romances so much and this book was so good

cas_the_poet's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Honestly the Asexual representation in this was so good! I told the people around me as I was reading it that it read like spice, but without any actual spice in it. This truly was a character working through and exploring their sexuality and as a fellow asexual person myself, it was incredibly nice to read a romance that was just as steamy and just as addicting regardless of whether or not their romance ever become sexual.

miss_cheevious's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

belle_fiction's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 stars

I am VERY surprised by the relatively low rating for this book on Goodreads. I thought it was such an enjoyable and fast-paced read, and the sheer amount of diversity was incredible! I loved the asexuality rep a heck of a tonne!

Full thoughts to come.