Blog Tour & Review: ‘Beyond the Black Door’

Beyond the Black Door

by A.M. Strickland
Publisher: Imprint
Release Date: October 29th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT

Synopsis:

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 …

REVIEW

This book truly blew me away. I was in somewhat of a reading slump when I started this and man, did this get me out of it! Generally, my thoughts on this book are that it is so well-written and the characters are just so good. You are immediately drawn in to Kamai’s story and you’re wondering what in the heck is beyond the black door (yes, there’s a literal door) and why she can’t go past it. You learn soon that Kamai and her mother by design are what they call Soulwalkers, which means they can go into other people’s souls when they sleep. This was one of the unique aspects for me that were well world-built and I wasn’t left wondering where do they come from, why are they there, that can sometimes happen in books.

I loved Kamai’s character. She felt so genuine and real and well-rounded. You follow both her plot driven journey as well as her journey to discover more about her asexuality and her identity. I really enjoy books that have inclusion within this community and this one was done really well. I felt like I was there with Kamai and felt for her. I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of this book and I couldn’t stop reading, resulting in me reading it in one sitting. I was enveloped in the story and wanting to know what happens. The world-building was so fantastic and it didn’t feel like there were any strings left untouched. I appreciated that because it appears to be a standalone but I could totally see more books in this world!

Finally, I wanted to comment on the romance. It wasn’t forced or overdone and made sense with her sexuality journey. The court intrigue was more so what I was interested in and finding out more about Kamai’s mother and why the black door is so forbidden. All of the pieces of this story were fantastically moving and I highly recommend this title.

AdriAnne Strickland was a bibliophile who wanted to be an author before she knew what either of those words meant. She shares a home base in Alaska with her husband, her pugs, and her piles and piles of books. She loves traveling, dancing, vests, tattoos, and every shade of teal in existence, but especially the darker ones. She is the coauthor of SHADOW RUN and SHADOW CALL (Delacorte/Penguin Random House) and author of the forthcoming BEYOND THE BLACK DOOR (Imprint/Macmillan).

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October 24th

NovelKnight – Guest Post

Here’s to Happy Endings – Review

The Reading Corner for All – Review + Favourite Quotes

Fanna Wants The World To Read – Review

Singer of Stories – Review

October 25th

Utopia State of Mind – Character Interview

YA/NA Book Divas – Review

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TBR and Beyond – Review + Playlist

Story-eyed Reviews – Review

October 26th

Confessions of a YA Reader – Story Behind The Cover

Morgan Vega – Review + Favourite Quotes

Frayed Books – Review

The Reading Chemist – Review

Shalini’s Books & Reviews – Review

October 27th

Bookish Looks – Top 10 List

Moonlight Rendezvous – Review + Favourite Quotes

The Layaway Dragon – Review + Favourite Quotes

A Dream Within A Dream – Review

Bookaholic’s Therapy – Review

October 28th

The Baroness of Books – Top 10 List

A Court of Coffee and Books – Review + Favourite Quotes

Flying Paperbacks – Review + Favourite Quotes

Novel Nerd Faction – Review

Bemused Bibliophile – Review

October 29th

Kait Plus Books – Interview

BookCrushin – Meet The Characters

Bluestocking Bookworm – Review + Favourite Quotes

Artsy Draft – Review + Favourite Quotes

Sometimes Leelynn Reads – Review + Favourite Quotes

GIVEAWAY

You can win a copy of BEYOND THE BLACK DOOR by A.M. Strickland (US/CAN only)

Stars: 23rd October 2019

Ends: 6th November 2019

Enter here!