Beyond the Black Door Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Beyond the Black Door
Author: A.M. Strickland 
Genre: YA LGBT Fantasy
Release Date: October 29, 2019
Publisher: Imprint

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...

Beyond the Black Door is a dark and twisting young adult fantasy novel that will sweep readers off their feet. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect after reading the description. It sounded awesome and I was excited to see an asexual main character in the mix. After finishing the book though, I'm not exactly sure how I feel or where I stand. I definitely think it's going to need a re-read to help me really pin down my thoughts and feelings, but I'll try to write a somewhat coherent review now.

The characters were all very interesting and rounded, especially our main character, Kamai. She was a great protagonist for the book - easy to connect with and incredibly realistic. There were obviously some aspects of her character that I couldn't personally identify with, mainly the asexual aspect, but the way that it made her feel - broken, alone, hating herself, wondering what's wrong with her - those are things that everyone has experienced in their lives. The LGBT aspect of the novel was a big part of the story - almost overdone, in my personal opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love diverse characters and I'm all about giving everyone a voice - but sometimes it felt like that's all Kamai thought about. Granted, it's a big part of yourself and when you're trying to figure out who that is, it's going to be confusing enough. The author wrote the story in the first person point of view (which is by far my favorite), so we really get to now Kamai on a deeply personal level. We're inside her mind and are privy to her innermost thoughts and feelings, her hopes and dreams, fears and nightmares, memories, and everything in between. I loved getting to know her so well. By the end of the book it felt like I had been right beside Kamai throughout the entire book experiencing everything alongside her.

The world building was amazing, but did take quite a bit of time to accomplish. The setting is interesting, but what really fascinated me was the mythology, lore, and belief systems that these people integrated into their society. And the soulwalking! That had me hooked as soon as the author mentioned it. I loved learning everything about it - how Kamai was a soulwalker like her mother and could go into other people's souls while they're sleeping. I found it fascinating that each person's soul was like a house - it could be big or small, rich or poor - it varied from person to person. I loved walking around inside these other souls and exploring alongside Kamai. Another part of Kamai's world that I loved learning about was the whole court scene with all the secrets and political intrigue. I absolutely loved learning about all of these things but it did feel like it slowed the pace down a bit, at least in the beginning. I know the author is giving us a history and background, as well as setting up Kamai's world for us, but it felt really slow and nothing happened. 

I don't do spoilers in my reviews, so I can't really go into the plot much more without giving anything away. I can say that there's lots of twists and turns, mysteries to be unraveled - mainly the black door! - and things you won't see coming. I thought that all the different elements of the book added up to an original story with diverse characters and one heck of a plot. I do want to mention that the author has trigger warnings up to give readers a heads up about what they might run across in the book, so please be aware of these if you're affected by certain topics. All in all, this wasn't really anything like I thought or hoped it would be - but it was beautiful in it's own way and an unique read for the genre.

 

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).  


PRE-ORDER OFFER:

IT'STIME. Pre-order BEYOND THE BLACK DOOR before 10/29 & submit proof of purchase to receive:

• 2 character cards (by the amazing Nicole Deal!)

• a signed bookplate

• gratitude

Pre-order: https://t.co/t7HdyfmLHo
Pre-order form: https://t.co/TkNjJ04PSj

(U.S. and Canada only.) pic.twitter.com/bsQiRpM17B

— AdriAnne/A.M. Strickland (@AdriAnneMS) September 29, 2019

 Win a copy of BEYOND THE BLACK DOOR by A.M. Strickland (US/CAN Only)

Starts: October 23, 2019

Ends: November 6, 2019

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Something Like Gravity Blog Tour: Spotlight + Giveaway

Something Like Gravity
Author: Amber Smith
Genre: YA Contemporary/LGBT/Romance
Release Date: June 18, 2019
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Synopsis:

For fans of Love, Simon and Eleanor and Park, a romantic and sweet novel about a transgender boy who falls in love for the first time—and how first love changes us all—from New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith.

Chris and Maia aren’t off to a great start.

A near-fatal car accident first brings them together, and their next encounters don’t fare much better. Chris’s good intentions backfire. Maia’s temper gets the best of her.

But they’re neighbors, at least for the summer, and despite their best efforts, they just can’t seem to stay away from each other.

The path forward isn’t easy. Chris has come out as transgender, but he’s still processing a frightening assault he survived the year before. Maia is grieving the loss of her older sister and trying to find her place in the world without her. Falling in love was the last thing on either of their minds.

But would it be so bad if it happened anyway?

 

Amber Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels The Way I Used to Be, The Last to Let Go, and Something Like Gravity. An advocate for increased awareness of gendered violence, as well as LGBTQ equality, she writes in the hope that her books can help to foster change and spark dialogue surrounding these issues. She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her partner and their ever-growing family of rescued dogs and cats. You can find her online at AmberSmithAuthor.com.

Win a copy of SOMETHING LIKE GRAVITY by Amber Smith (US Only)

Starts: June 18, 2019

Ends: July 2, 2019

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The Wise and The Wicked Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

The Wise and the Wicked
Author: Rebecca Podos 
Genre: YA Fantasy/LGBT/Magical Realism
Release Date: May 28, 2019 
Publisher: HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray

Synopsis:

Ruby Chernyavsky has been told the stories since she was a child: The women in her family, once possessed of great magical abilities to remake lives and stave off death itself, were forced to flee their Russian home for America in order to escape the fearful men who sought to destroy them. Such has it always been, Ruby’s been told, for powerful women. Today, these stories seem no more real to Ruby than folktales, except for the smallest bit of power left in their blood: when each of them comes of age, she will have a vision of who she will be when she dies—a destiny as inescapable as it is inevitable. Ruby is no exception, and neither is her mother, although she ran from her fate years ago, abandoning Ruby and her sisters. It’s a fool’s errand, because they all know the truth: there is no escaping one’s Time.

Until Ruby’s great-aunt Polina passes away, and, for the first time, a Chernyavsky’s death does not match her vision. Suddenly, things Ruby never thought she’d be allowed to hope for—life, love, time—seem possible. But as she and her cousin Cece begin to dig into the family’s history to find out whether they, too, can change their fates, they learn that nothing comes without a cost. Especially not hope.

Check out an excerpt HERE!

 

Rebecca Podos' debut novel, THE MYSTERY OF HOLLOW PLACES, was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a B&N Best YA Book of 2016. Her second book, LIKE WATER, won the 2018 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Children's and Young Adult. THE WISE AND THE WICKED, her third novel, is forthcoming in May 2019.

A graduate of the Writing, Literature and Publishing Program at Emerson College and the Creative Writing Program at College of Santa Fe, Rebecca's fiction has been published in journals like Glimmer Train, Paper Darts, and Smokelong Quarterly. By day, she works as a YA and MG agent at the Rees Literary Agency in Boston.

Win a copy of THE WISE AND THE WICKED by Rebecca Podos (INT)

Start Date: May 22, 2019

End Date: June 5, 2019

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The Fever King Blog Tour: Spotlight + Giveaway

The Fever King (Feverwake #1) 
Author: Victoria Lee 
Genre: YA LGBT/Fantasy
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Publisher: Skyscape

Synopsis:

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

 

Victoria Lee grew up in Durham, North Carolina, where she spent twelve ascetic years as a vegetarian before discovering spicy chicken wings are, in fact, a delicacy. She’s been a state finalist competitive pianist, a hitchhiker, a pizza connoisseur, an EMT, an expat in China and Sweden, and a science doctoral student. She’s also a bit of a snob about fancy whisky.

Victoria writes early in the morning, then spends the rest of the day trying to impress her border collie puppy and make her experiments work.

She is represented by Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary.

Win a copy of THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee (US Only)

Start Date: March 18, 2019

End Date: March 31, 2019

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