Beyond the Black Door
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- Create Date：2021-04-23 14:55:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：A.M. Strickland
- ISBN：1250198747
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Summary
Kamai was warned never to open the black door， but she didn't listen 。。。
Everyone has a soul。 Some are beautiful gardens， others are frightening dungeons。 Soulwalkers―like Kamai and her mother―can journey into other people's souls while they sleep。
But no matter where Kamai visits， she sees the black door。 It follows her into every soul， and her mother has told her to never， ever open it。
When Kamai touches the door， it is warm and beating， like it has a pulse。 When she puts her ear to it， she hears her own name whispered from the other side。 And when tragedy strikes， Kamai does the unthinkable: she opens the door。
A。M。 Strickland's imaginative dark fantasy features court intrigue and romance， a main character coming to terms with her asexuality， and twists and turns as a seductive mystery unfolds that endangers not just Kamai's own soul， but the entire kingdom 。。。
Everyone has a soul。 Some are beautiful gardens， others are frightening dungeons。 Soulwalkers―like Kamai and her mother―can journey into other people's souls while they sleep。
But no matter where Kamai visits， she sees the black door。 It follows her into every soul， and her mother has told her to never， ever open it。
When Kamai touches the door， it is warm and beating， like it has a pulse。 When she puts her ear to it， she hears her own name whispered from the other side。 And when tragedy strikes， Kamai does the unthinkable: she opens the door。
A。M。 Strickland's imaginative dark fantasy features court intrigue and romance， a main character coming to terms with her asexuality， and twists and turns as a seductive mystery unfolds that endangers not just Kamai's own soul， but the entire kingdom 。。。
Reviews
Amy
，
TW: internalised acephobia by mc， some misgendering of trans character who has not switched pronouns yet （Strickland explains their reasons for this over here）， forced pregnancy/contaminating with a woman's birth control， violence， murder， death of a parent， house fire， attempted murder， attempted suicide， Rep: own voices author， Kamai （mc） is demi-biromantic asexual， Kihan （sc） is transgender， wide range of LGBTQ+ characters throughout the book， world is not heteronormative and so gender/sexu TW: internalised acephobia by mc， some misgendering of trans character who has not switched pronouns yet （Strickland explains their reasons for this over here）， forced pregnancy/contaminating with a woman's birth control， violence， murder， death of a parent， house fire， attempted murder， attempted suicide， Rep: own voices author， Kamai （mc） is demi-biromantic asexual， Kihan （sc） is transgender， wide range of LGBTQ+ characters throughout the book， world is not heteronormative and so gender/sexuality is not an issue for the world - although some of the characters struggle with their gender/sexualityI was so excited to read this one because I absolutely loved In the Ravenous Dark but this one just didn't quite hit the mark for me as much as I hoped it would。 I do want to say that the plot is incredibly unique and interesting and I think Strickland has an amazing way at weaving unique and intriguing plot lines together with a range of diverse and intriguing characters。 This book was no different。 There is also an amazing and diverse character rep throughout this book; our main character explores her romantic and lack of sexual interest in others throughout this book， we also have a trans side character who knows that they are trans but it takes them a while to feel comfortable to tell those he trusts。 I felt that the representation fit naturally into the story， watching these characters build and develop their relationships and feeling comfortable with themselves but also with each other and feeling able to have that trust in others and tell them who they are。 This is very much not a heteronormative world and it's refreshing to see diverse rep。For me though， the problem with this book is that I just didn't feel connected to the story at all。 I felt the plot was both convoluted but also lacked a severe or tense edge。 I honestly became a bit baffled at the actions and plot threads throughout the book and struggled to follow what was actually happening at times。 I never felt that there was a big ending looming and it felt a bit lackluster。 The romance really didn't work for me。 I never got why Kamai felt drawn to Vehyn or why their romance developed。 It felt rushed and underdeveloped for me all in one go。 I also found it so problematic。 Vehyn has been watching over Kamai her whole life without her knowing and constantly claims her as "his" and tells her that she belongs to him and no-one else。 This isn't a healthy relationship dynamic for me。 I also just didn't find him a convincing villain。 I'm so disappointed I didn't love this one but books don't work for everyone and this is just one of those that missed the mark for me。 。。。more
Acacia
，
First I want to say that I really enjoyed the asexual representation in this book， it was well done and it covered a few different identities under the ace umbrella。 Second， I'm really tired of toxic romances in YA novels。 Like， really tired。 First I want to say that I really enjoyed the asexual representation in this book， it was well done and it covered a few different identities under the ace umbrella。 Second， I'm really tired of toxic romances in YA novels。 Like， really tired。 。。。more
Deja
，
This is a tough book to rate。 It was also a tough book to get through， despite how much I wanted to love it。 I was actually drawn to this book because of Strickland's upcoming release In The Ravenous Dark。 That synopsis intrigued me， so I decided to check out her prior writing to get a feel for it， and once I read that this book had an asexual protagonist， I was even more excited to jump in。 But those hopes were crushed pretty severely。Let's start with the pros: -The concept of walking into othe This is a tough book to rate。 It was also a tough book to get through， despite how much I wanted to love it。 I was actually drawn to this book because of Strickland's upcoming release In The Ravenous Dark。 That synopsis intrigued me， so I decided to check out her prior writing to get a feel for it， and once I read that this book had an asexual protagonist， I was even more excited to jump in。 But those hopes were crushed pretty severely。Let's start with the pros: -The concept of walking into others' souls through their dreams is just downright cool。-Asexual characters are practically nonexistent in fantasy， so the inclusion of that alone is something to be admired。 Not to mention the colorful cast of queer characters that fill out the rest of the book as well。 Now on to the cons， which will be a much longer list so brace yourselves:-The biggest problem with this book is the fact that the love interest is a GIANT WALKING RED FLAG WITH BLINKING LEDS。 Not only is he a possessive， manipulative creep， he's also （view spoiler）[a child groomer， having lived in the protagonist's head since the day she was born， （hide spoiler）] ew。 -Also when he kisses her hand as a greeting he。。。licks her hand？ Which was weird。-All the kissing that happens in this book is weirdly detailed。 I can't tell if it's because the MC is ace and therefore is describing the physical sensation more than the emotional feeling， but she sure does know exactly which lip is being kissed and the exact location of people's tongues within her mouth， so that's that I guess。 -Her step brother who also grew up with her has a weird， possessive， lustful and sometimes violent crush on her， which， incestuous implications aside， （view spoiler）[ is explained away because the Darkness was making him creep on his stepsister， so clearly we just have to forgive that （hide spoiler）]。-The main character somehow blames the idea of love for her mother's death， and keeps repeating the mantra of "never fall in love" to herself because bad things will happen。 Maybe the lesson there instead should have been （view spoiler）[ never fall in love with the creepy dude who lives in your head and claims ownership over you the first time you speak。 Or if you wanna connect her mom to it so badly， never become a spy for a cult that worships the being who will bring forth the end of humanity？ （hide spoiler）]-Despite the joys of having queer characters abound in this book， there's also a strange scene towards the middle of the book where a fantastical version of the Kinsey Scale is introduced and said queer characters are essentially forced to out themselves to total strangers。 One of these strangers even says to the asexual MC that her being ace is "inconvenient" because of their plot to （view spoiler）[ have her become a sex worker to spy on people， as her mother did （hide spoiler）] won't work。 The stranger brushes this off with a "no offense" which。 Yikes。-Speaking of yikes， the asexual main character is told from birth by her mother that she doesn't have a soul。 Then she is dubbed a "New Soul"， this universe's name for asexuality， which comes off as pretty damn infantilizing。 （view spoiler）[ Best of all， it turns out she does have a soul， but it's just been corrupted by darkness。 What a nice message！ （hide spoiler）] -The plot twists are laughably obvious。 （view spoiler）[Hmmm， the dark haired dark eyed love interest who wears all black and lives in a castle made of endless shadows is the Darkness Incarnate。 And the TWILIGHTERS （which is a name I cannot take seriously no matter how hard I try） are actually a cult that worship the Darkness？ Who woulda thunk it？ （hide spoiler）]-Have I mentioned the love interest being Red Flag City？ I have？ Let me emphasize it again。-（view spoiler）["You're my child， my bride， my soul。 You're mine forever。" And the fact that the ending suggests he'll redeem himself and she'll forgive him because of love？ （hide spoiler）] YIKES。-（view spoiler）[The fact that the narrative tries to make him redeemable AT ALL is a whole mess。 （hide spoiler）]-Speaking of the narrative， this book suffers from a terrible case of telling， not showing。 I still don't know much about the MC aside from the fact that she's asexual and has bad taste in love interests。 The pacing of the beginning goes by so fast， and the worldbuilding is dumped on us through clunky storytelling。 New elements are dropped when they need to be， and not a moment sooner。 Even small things like the loving blessing gesture could have been shown early on between the main character and her mother， but instead， the significance is only explained later in words rather than shown through an actual loving relationship。 I seem like I'm ripping this book apart， but there's a reason why this wasn't a one star。 I was definitely engrossed in the story， and I saw a lot of potential in the worldbuilding and characters。 Nikha was a standout to me， though Kamai's POV was so unremarkable in actually exploring her own personality that I forgot her name until I just looked it up again。 I am still interested in Strickland's future works， but I hope some of the problems I had with this book are improved upon。 。。。more
Chelsea Ferguson
，
This was a very fun read。 The word building was very unique in my opinion。 What I can only describe as the Elizabethton Era mixed with Greek gods and goddesses！ So colorful and rich， but dark and menacing at the same time！
Ankara
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3，75⭐️🖤🤍💜
Daryan
，
THIS IS WHY ACE REP IS IMPORTANT KIDStw: attempted suicide
Isabella Furtado
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4，5/5
Kathryn （Katie） Burlo
，
This is a dark and twisted YA fantasy that I absolutely got lost in。 It’s great！ There’s all the things I love - castles， darkness， creepy parts， romance， mystery。。。and on top of that， I really appreciate the main character being asexual。 I never see that in books and there needs to be more representation！ So I loved that Kamai is asexual and also struggles to comes to terms with it because I have heard many asexual people experience that。 Transgenderism （called “crossed souls”） is also explored This is a dark and twisted YA fantasy that I absolutely got lost in。 It’s great！ There’s all the things I love - castles， darkness， creepy parts， romance， mystery。。。and on top of that， I really appreciate the main character being asexual。 I never see that in books and there needs to be more representation！ So I loved that Kamai is asexual and also struggles to comes to terms with it because I have heard many asexual people experience that。 Transgenderism （called “crossed souls”） is also explored and I thought that was really cool。 Every character was developed well and the plot was so different and unique and ugh I can’t say enough good things。 The *one* tiny critique I have is that sometimes the writing was more telling than showing， but it wasn’t enough for me to take off a whole star。 Overall this was a great book filled with amazing characters， a very unique/dark fantastical plot， exploration of souls， mystery， and more。 Consensus: 4。5/5For more reviews and book boards， visit my IG！ @katiebreads 。。。more
Katie
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This took me almost an entire month to read， you could blame this on uni deadlines， or the fact I wasn't particularly drawn to picking this up so read around 1 chapter a day before bed and there are 33 chapters。 Writing Style I felt like this writing kept me at a distance throughout， as if we were an arm's length from the characters mind despite this being in first person， and it made it really hard to invest myself into this story。 Characters I loved the ace rep， Kamai's asexuality is weaved in This took me almost an entire month to read， you could blame this on uni deadlines， or the fact I wasn't particularly drawn to picking this up so read around 1 chapter a day before bed and there are 33 chapters。 Writing Style I felt like this writing kept me at a distance throughout， as if we were an arm's length from the characters mind despite this being in first person， and it made it really hard to invest myself into this story。 Characters I loved the ace rep， Kamai's asexuality is weaved into the story in an interesting way， and I loved reading about an ace character in a fantasy world。 Otherwise， Kamai didn't stand out to be in any particular way。I enjoyed Vehyn， as I've still not got enough of the monster/evil/dark male MC， though at times Vehyn could be too possessive for my tastes。 Honestly， Kamai's interaction with him， and the development throughout this novel saved this book for me。I wanted more from her relationship with her father， he read very much like a plot convenience for Kamai to have somewhere to say， and all the conflict with him felt very one dimensional。 It was a very flat arc。While I liked the trans rep， Kihan wasn't the most compelling character for me as while I saw them become close with Kamai I didn't feel any friendship-sparks between them。I was very non-plussed about all the other characters。 Plot SO MUCH of the conflict in this book was characters not telling Kamai things， especially Vehyn。 She'd be like， "tell me answers" and he's like， "heehee I have them and I'm not telling you。" and that was just wasn't intriguing？ I kept thinking if the answer was so exciting we could've found out earlier and it could carry the rest of the book。 When you're going through a book knowing there's ~mystery~ without any idea what that mystery is， it leaves the plot feeling stale and flat。 So much of reading this book was me wondering where it was going， and what the point of it all was。Honestly， anything that wasn't about the Black Door， and what was behind it， I really didn't care about。 It all felt surface level， and the same sort of Castle-core I'm bored of。 While it tied together in the end in a semi-interesting way， it wasn't enough as it didn't spare or change my reading experience of 75% of the novel。 。。。more
MJ
，
（More like 3。75， rounded up。） From the very first chapter， “Beyond the Black Door” was nothing like I was expecting。 It just wasn’t。 Somehow， from the cover and the blurb I had crafted a completely different story in my mind to expect。 So that threw me off a bit for the first part。 But once I got past that， it continued to be nothing like I expected。 Because this book is filled with twists and turns and the subverting of expectations。 And by the middle I had gotten so used to that， I could just （More like 3。75， rounded up。） From the very first chapter， “Beyond the Black Door” was nothing like I was expecting。 It just wasn’t。 Somehow， from the cover and the blurb I had crafted a completely different story in my mind to expect。 So that threw me off a bit for the first part。 But once I got past that， it continued to be nothing like I expected。 Because this book is filled with twists and turns and the subverting of expectations。 And by the middle I had gotten so used to that， I could just sit back and enjoy the ride。 And， you know what， it’s a pretty good one。 So let me tell you a few things you can certainly expect: - a high fantasy world - secrets and betrayal - a cast of characters that are all developed and diverse in different ways - lots and lots of action - magic and dreaminess So if that’s what you want， go ahead and enjoy。 Perhaps it wasn’t the most immersive fantasy book I’ve ever read， but I appreciated the characters and their development and journey。 It even had a conclusion that I enjoyed。 I was certainly more engaged during the latter half of the book， and it certainly paid off。 It was very， very satisfying in many ways。 And I am dying to play a round of Gods and Kings now， if anyone would like to join me。 ✨ 。。。more
Louise Esson
，
This is one of those books where it’s not a favourite personally but I think it objectively deserves a 5 star rating。 I don’t have any gripes with it at all！ I thought it was great！ The only reason I took so damn long to finish it is my own brain deciding I don’t like reading books anymore， which I’m actively trying to revolt against。
Faith
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3。5
Annabel
，
DAMN。 Oof freaking oof。 This book put me in such a trance state I feel like a part of my soul will be forever trapped in that world。 It's hard to review it without spoilers but if you like books about souls， gods and goddesses， and dark twisty love， you'll adore this。 The general premise is there are people with the power to explore the souls of others in their sleep。 There are secret organisations of sex workers （pleasure artists） who are soul-walkers who trade secrets hidden in the souls of th DAMN。 Oof freaking oof。 This book put me in such a trance state I feel like a part of my soul will be forever trapped in that world。 It's hard to review it without spoilers but if you like books about souls， gods and goddesses， and dark twisty love， you'll adore this。 The general premise is there are people with the power to explore the souls of others in their sleep。 There are secret organisations of sex workers （pleasure artists） who are soul-walkers who trade secrets hidden in the souls of their clients。 The main character is panromantic demisexual with a trans best friend。 There is a whole section devoted to exploring gender and sexuality like in the Genderbread Person chart but fantasy edition using souls and moon phases， which was utterly perfect。 The big forbidden love story between two asexual characters ruined me。 Just so much love。 。。。more
Meagan （FranticVampireReads）
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I think I’ve officially hit a YA fantasy reading slump。 Every book that I’ve tried to read in that genre recently just。。。hasn’t been what I wanted。So， Beyond the Black Door。。。 I really liked the first 30 or so pages。 But from there I just could not get into it。 I ended up skim reading through the rest of the book。 And from what I read this probably would have been something that I would have liked。One of the best things about this book is how incredibly queer it is。 I loved the ace rep right off I think I’ve officially hit a YA fantasy reading slump。 Every book that I’ve tried to read in that genre recently just。。。hasn’t been what I wanted。So， Beyond the Black Door。。。 I really liked the first 30 or so pages。 But from there I just could not get into it。 I ended up skim reading through the rest of the book。 And from what I read this probably would have been something that I would have liked。One of the best things about this book is how incredibly queer it is。 I loved the ace rep right off the bat。 And the fact that it’s impossible to mistake for anything other than being ace is amazing。 I also loved the conversations about what love is and can be。I’m not giving this book a star rating because I don’t feel like I gave it a proper chance。 I think this might be one I have to try again some time in the future。 Maybe？ 。。。more
SoChi
，
I really liked reading this book。 It was a mystery with adventure all mixed into one。 I loved the ending the most。 The book took me to a different world and made me think I was living in the moment with the characters。
A。M。 Strickland
，
Hey all！ Author here。 See my "review" from my other account for more info about the content and content warnings:https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。Hope you enjoy！ Hey all！ Author here。 See my "review" from my other account for more info about the content and content warnings:https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。Hope you enjoy！ 。。。more
Melissa S。
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I really enjoyed this book， from the magical aspect to the main character and her strife。
Stephanie
，
The world-building in this story was quite strong， which helped lift the writing and some hand-waving that happened with the plot。I immensely enjoyed the push and pull relationship between Kamai and Vehyn。 Their interactions really drove the story。
Becca
，
Disclaimer: I binge read this book in like three hours because that's the kind of person I am so small details often escape me lol。 Feel free to disagree with absolutely anything I say！！I've been making a big effort recently to read more diverse literature and Beyond the Black Door was a great one！ I personally identify with a lot of the same struggles Kamai faces in accepting herself as she is and that she's not broken。 I also really liked the way （view spoiler）[Kihan's trans identity （hide spo Disclaimer: I binge read this book in like three hours because that's the kind of person I am so small details often escape me lol。 Feel free to disagree with absolutely anything I say！！I've been making a big effort recently to read more diverse literature and Beyond the Black Door was a great one！ I personally identify with a lot of the same struggles Kamai faces in accepting herself as she is and that she's not broken。 I also really liked the way （view spoiler）[Kihan's trans identity （hide spoiler）] was handled， and I felt that it was reflected the real struggles lots of people have to accept themselves fully。 I did see the big dark plot twist coming， but I live for sleuthing through author's clues in books， so you may be way more shocked than I was lol。One minor thing that keeps me from giving it a higher rating is that personally， the relationship between Kamai and Vehyn made me a little uncomfortable。 （Big spoilers ahead！） （view spoiler）[Vehyn really skeeved me out from the beginning （which is a compliment to the author， honestly！） and I really wanted to see Kamai grow into a more self assured and self confident person （which does happen somewhat， just not exactly in the way I had wanted）。 And seeing Kamai remain so stuck on Vehyn， after he is revealed to be an extension of the Darkness and even after the ultimate conflict and the closing of the door was frustrating for me。 On some level I can see how this could be supporting the narrative that everyone has good in them， and people can change， etc 。。。。。 but Vehyn is not a person technically。 He says himself at the very beginning that he is not human。 And as a piece of the actual Darkness， I'm not sure how there would be any possibility for him to change for the better。 Unless he's supposed to be breaking away from the Darkness and becoming his own autonomous being？ But that wasn't exactly clear to me as I read。 So yeah， her connection to him and almost addictive dependence on him made me kind of uncomfortable because it reads a lot like an abusive relationship and I don't see her rising above it and taking the power back from Vehyn， just from the Darkness。 She still seems very stuck on him in the final lines of the book， whether that's intended to be hope for his eventual goodness or her intense attraction to him。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Rachel
，
This was a fun little fantasy！ It felt a bit like a marriage of Disney （the older kid version） + GoT which I can get down with。 I was able to visualize the setting in my head and it was gorgeous。 Every scene was lush with color and detail。 I really loved the concept， but something about the writing didn't quite get there for me。 None of the characters resonated strongly with me， and I didn't end this book with any sort of book hangover which automatically knocks it out of 4-star range for me。 Bu This was a fun little fantasy！ It felt a bit like a marriage of Disney （the older kid version） + GoT which I can get down with。 I was able to visualize the setting in my head and it was gorgeous。 Every scene was lush with color and detail。 I really loved the concept， but something about the writing didn't quite get there for me。 None of the characters resonated strongly with me， and I didn't end this book with any sort of book hangover which automatically knocks it out of 4-star range for me。 But it was still a very enjoyable read， and I love that there are more books with diverse gender and sexualities out there these days。 Love the ace representation！ 。。。more
Liz T
，
Beyond The Black Door is a super imaginative little fantasy。 A。M。 Strickland crafts a really gorgeous world and gives us one of the coolest “magic systems。” We have soul-walkers who are able to traverse people’s souls while they are asleep。 There is a smaller mystery surrounding our main characters soul and a larger plot involving the murders of people close to our main character。 But despite the authors absolutely beautiful and evocative descriptions， I really struggled with this due to the pac Beyond The Black Door is a super imaginative little fantasy。 A。M。 Strickland crafts a really gorgeous world and gives us one of the coolest “magic systems。” We have soul-walkers who are able to traverse people’s souls while they are asleep。 There is a smaller mystery surrounding our main characters soul and a larger plot involving the murders of people close to our main character。 But despite the authors absolutely beautiful and evocative descriptions， I really struggled with this due to the pacing。 About 2/3 of the story I felt like I was having to work really hard to stay interested。 The last bit had much more going on and the ending was quite satisfying。 All in all， this was solid and I would LOVEEEE to see them write something else in this world， maybe something a bit darker， because this world and magic are sooo interesting。 。。。more
Gabriela Simões
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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
Katherine
，
It took me a while to get into this book but once I got into it I didn’t want to put it down。 It was a lovely dark fantasy story。 I enjoyed it
theStorykeeper
，
DNF @ 5%I'm extremely uncomfortable。 I will never understand why people write books with asexual representation that most asexuals would not be comfortable reading。 Where is the asexual rep that's actually written for asexual readers？ Furthermore， I would imagine many allosexual teens would be uncomfortable reading about a child whose parents are prostitutes。One of the first references to the MC's asexuality is her disinterest in sex at twelve。 Let's not place expectations on anyone to know thei DNF @ 5%I'm extremely uncomfortable。 I will never understand why people write books with asexual representation that most asexuals would not be comfortable reading。 Where is the asexual rep that's actually written for asexual readers？ Furthermore， I would imagine many allosexual teens would be uncomfortable reading about a child whose parents are prostitutes。One of the first references to the MC's asexuality is her disinterest in sex at twelve。 Let's not place expectations on anyone to know their sexuality by the time they are twelve。 If a child is not interested in sex at 12， it could be because they are a child。 。。。more
PottWab Regional Library
，
SM
Rooz
，
Beyond the Black Door by A。M。 Strickland is a really good YA dark fantasy！ It was a slow start but not in a bad way。 It was always intriguing and kept the reader wondering， about whats going to happen as well as the answers they are looking for。 You get ideas but are almost always wrong in a way， there is always a twist and a good one。 The concept of this book is truly interesting。 Its romance are really diverse and well executed， which was refreshing。 A lesson from the book the reader absolutel Beyond the Black Door by A。M。 Strickland is a really good YA dark fantasy！ It was a slow start but not in a bad way。 It was always intriguing and kept the reader wondering， about whats going to happen as well as the answers they are looking for。 You get ideas but are almost always wrong in a way， there is always a twist and a good one。 The concept of this book is truly interesting。 Its romance are really diverse and well executed， which was refreshing。 A lesson from the book the reader absolutely can take in is that， you are who you are and that is okey， you can love the whole you even the darker bits by accepting there is nothing wrong， which I think is a beautiful massage。 I really recommend this book， it's honestly worth the read。 。。。more
Hillary
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I’m all for more ace representation， and I thought this book did a good job with explaining asexuality。 Although sometimes it was a little much， constantly thrown at you， don’t forget she’s asexual。 Don’t forget she’s asexual！ The story itself is intriguing， but it’s too much telling and not enough showing。 The first six chapters is just information thrown at you about the world， the soul world， the gods and goddesses。 It’s a lot to take in。 And then the story moves at a snail’s pace until the c I’m all for more ace representation， and I thought this book did a good job with explaining asexuality。 Although sometimes it was a little much， constantly thrown at you， don’t forget she’s asexual。 Don’t forget she’s asexual！ The story itself is intriguing， but it’s too much telling and not enough showing。 The first six chapters is just information thrown at you about the world， the soul world， the gods and goddesses。 It’s a lot to take in。 And then the story moves at a snail’s pace until the climax and then all of a sudden everything happens so quickly your neck hurts from whiplash。 The romance can be a bit sketchy。 I’m all for a good enemies to lovers story， but only if it’s done right。 This felt too manipulative。 And the feelings just kind of came out of nowhere。 Overall I’d recommend if you’re looking for some ace representation and some lgbt rep sprinkled in as well。 。。。more
M。L。 Allison
，
I started this book while I was on Cape High obsession so it had a lot to compete with， but when I started reading it， I would find myself getting caught up in it that it was easy to continue。 Toward the end it got compelling and exhilarating。 I started reading it because of the asexual representation， and I was not let down。 Not only was the main character ace， but there was an ace side character as well。 There were a diverse range of sexual orientations among the characters that took main feat I started this book while I was on Cape High obsession so it had a lot to compete with， but when I started reading it， I would find myself getting caught up in it that it was easy to continue。 Toward the end it got compelling and exhilarating。 I started reading it because of the asexual representation， and I was not let down。 Not only was the main character ace， but there was an ace side character as well。 There were a diverse range of sexual orientations among the characters that took main feature， and there was a wonderful scene that talked about the wide variety of asexuals and even talked about being gray-romantic。 I'm glad I ventured on this book and got to see the fascinated world it built， and the relatable characters that grew and learned to accept parts of themselves that didn't quite fit what they grew up thinking。 。。。more
Mandy
，
Finished Beyond the Black Door yesterday。 The book had beautiful writing， alluring scenes of walking through souls-as-houses and a lovely world。 There were some YA tropes （especially of the vaguely medieval fantasy world-building kind） but the plot， writing and world outweighed the negatives。 Also， solid ace representation which made my little heart sing。 So rare to see in books （and the reason I picked up this book）。
Mara
，
Vermutlich sollte ich dem Buch eigentlich nur drei Sterne geben， weil die romance sehr sehr abusive war und das zwar thematisiert， aber stellenweise dann trotzdem wieder negiert und entschuldigt wurde。（view spoiler）[ Deswegen bin ich auch *sehr* froh， dass sie die Tür am Ende geschlossen hat。 （hide spoiler）] Aber - ich habe die ace rep sehr geliebt und Kamai war eine fantastische Protagonistin。 Deswegen kriegt das Buch trotzdem vier Sterne， yay！ Vermutlich sollte ich dem Buch eigentlich nur drei Sterne geben， weil die romance sehr sehr abusive war und das zwar thematisiert， aber stellenweise dann trotzdem wieder negiert und entschuldigt wurde。（view spoiler）[ Deswegen bin ich auch *sehr* froh， dass sie die Tür am Ende geschlossen hat。 （hide spoiler）] Aber - ich habe die ace rep sehr geliebt und Kamai war eine fantastische Protagonistin。 Deswegen kriegt das Buch trotzdem vier Sterne， yay！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Beyond the Black Door
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Beyond the Black Door&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Beyond the Black Door&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0