withlovearin 's review for:

Beyond the Aching Door by Victoria Mier

DID NOT FINISH: 14%

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The book is SO pretty. The cover art and all those interior illustrations? Scrumptious. Beautiful drawings of folkloric elements. Based on that alone I wanted to like this book.

The thing is, Beyond the Aching Door is REALLY slow. As in, it details the FMC’s (Raegan) entire daily routine. I get it in the beginning, for the first chapter or two, why we were following her on her way to work, sure. But I really don’t need to be present for every moment of this woman’s day? For god’s sake, I zone out of my own daily routines, what makes you think I want to read about someone else’s? I do not need to read about Raegan taking a stroll downtown, where she does literally NOTHING else other than walk and look around. 

It’s a repeated issue and a massive contributor to why this book is 540 pages long when it could’ve comfortably been no more than 300. I don’t want to be playing domestic walking simulator when I could be using that time learning about the plot. Or reading a different book. It’s like taking side quests in a video game, just with none of the rewards. The first 70 (!!!) pages take place over just one SINGLE day. The next day starts and I’m not being hyperbolic when I say it takes 5 ENTIRE pages, start to finish, for Raegan to get up, walk into the bathroom, brush her teeth, braid her hair, walk downstairs, make coffee, change her mind and make tea instead. I was THIS 🤏🏻 close to ripping out my hair by the bushels.

I genuinely liked the way the author wrote about grief, the sentiments were true to my personal experience and WOULD have been gut punching, had I been able to focus on them. Unfortunately, they were overshadowed by my overall boredom and annoyance caused by the glacial pacing. 

I DNF’d it at 76 pages because I could tell I was getting angry and upset. Even if the story is good (which I don’t know, I didn’t get a chance to get to the actual plot), I would never be able to enjoy it because at this point I’m hyperaware of all the time we’re wasting on mundane fluff that benefits no one. I’m sad about it, especially after reading the book’s dedication, which is SO sweet and romantic. I can’t stress how much I truly wanted to like this. 😕