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A review by oliviacornwell
The Door Before by N.D. Wilson
5.0
Can I give this more than five stars? It needs more than five.
I was incredibly satisfied by this book. I'd been looking forward to it for /months,/ and had been excited to see all the connections between the 100 Cupboards trilogy and the Ashtown Burials series.
It did not disappoint.
The storyline/worldbuilding tends to lean more toward the 100 Cupboards vibe, but you can find plenty of Ashtown references (Rupert as a KID!!!).
I loved Hyacinth, too. She's more of a reluctant hero, but when she has to, she can be determined and a "take-charge" kind of girl. She's not afraid to rebuke Mordecai or Caleb when they need it, and while she's afraid of the enemy and not very confident in her abilities, she doesn't back down.
Mordecai and Caleb were precious little beans. Caleb was sporting some funny humor, which I didn't expect but loved (kind of reminded me of his brother (Frank ;)). Hyacinth's family are also precious. Lawrence was adorable and funny (not even guns will stop him from finding the bathroom!). And Hyacinth's parents were strong individuals, even if they were scared for their children.
Nimiane was terrifying, as usual. Her mushroom men were disgusting and creepy and eww, and I liked it that way?? XD I pictured them clearly, which made heightened those impressions (and those fungal teeth in Morecai's shoulder were nasty and made me squirm XD). But Nimiane herself was evil and wicked and an enemy overconfident in herself, yet also knows when to be cautious. I liked her. B)
At first near the end I wasn't sure if there would be enough pages to satisfy my need for this story. There just didn't seem to be a lot of room left! But it ended so satisfyingly well, and while I can *always* go for more of this world and these characters, this storyline satisfied me. It was just enough to satisfy and "set up" for Henry's and Cyrus' stories (Also, how cool is it that Henry and Cyrus and Antigone are cousins???? X3)
It was really cool to recognize the worldbuilding from both series, and recognize characters or the names of other characters. It felt like coming home.
I was incredibly satisfied by this book. I'd been looking forward to it for /months,/ and had been excited to see all the connections between the 100 Cupboards trilogy and the Ashtown Burials series.
It did not disappoint.
The storyline/worldbuilding tends to lean more toward the 100 Cupboards vibe, but you can find plenty of Ashtown references (Rupert as a KID!!!).
I loved Hyacinth, too. She's more of a reluctant hero, but when she has to, she can be determined and a "take-charge" kind of girl. She's not afraid to rebuke Mordecai or Caleb when they need it, and while she's afraid of the enemy and not very confident in her abilities, she doesn't back down.
Mordecai and Caleb were precious little beans. Caleb was sporting some funny humor, which I didn't expect but loved (kind of reminded me of his brother (Frank ;)). Hyacinth's family are also precious. Lawrence was adorable and funny (not even guns will stop him from finding the bathroom!). And Hyacinth's parents were strong individuals, even if they were scared for their children.
Nimiane was terrifying, as usual. Her mushroom men were disgusting and creepy and eww, and I liked it that way?? XD I pictured them clearly, which made heightened those impressions (and those fungal teeth in Morecai's shoulder were nasty and made me squirm XD). But Nimiane herself was evil and wicked and an enemy overconfident in herself, yet also knows when to be cautious. I liked her. B)
At first near the end I wasn't sure if there would be enough pages to satisfy my need for this story. There just didn't seem to be a lot of room left! But it ended so satisfyingly well, and while I can *always* go for more of this world and these characters, this storyline satisfied me. It was just enough to satisfy and "set up" for Henry's and Cyrus' stories (Also, how cool is it that Henry and Cyrus and Antigone are cousins???? X3)
It was really cool to recognize the worldbuilding from both series, and recognize characters or the names of other characters. It felt like coming home.