A review by ohmage_resistance
Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

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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