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A review by drkbloodfntsies
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
4.0
⠀⠀✧ • ° . ◦ *⠀┊ three and a half stars.
⠀this was great, honestly. it’s original and captivating. i didn’t know much about this when i began to read but my expectations were met.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀” you’re nobody’s rainbow.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀you’re nobody’s princess.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀you’re nobody’s doorway but your own,
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀and the only one who gets to tell you how
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀your story ends is you. “
⠀things i really enjoyed:
❥ ┊the premise.
⠀⠀⠀⠀the idea of the wayward children stumbling upon doors & mirrors that lead them to a world that is more of a home than where they reside on earth is amazing. each land is so fascinating. i want nothing more than a complete list of. every. single. land.
❥ ┊the cast.
⠀⠀⠀⠀for what is worth, the cast was pretty enjoyable. their time in their respected lands were more memorable than... at least half of the main characters but they were fun in the moment.
❥ ┊normalization & rep.
⠀⠀⠀⠀two of the main characters, nancy and kade, are both lgbtq+. nancy is asexual and kade is trans. also, one of the characters mentions female masturbation in a nonchalant manner. since the focus of this story isn’t gender, sexuality or “controversy”, the rep that we are exposed to is almost normalized and spoken of as facts of life.
⠀things i didn’t enjoy:
❥ ┊the writing.
⠀⠀⠀⠀occasionally, i found this a little hard to follow. i had to reread a few passages because the third person style got too confusing. some parts were filler while others could have used more detail.
❥ ┊the pacing.
⠀⠀⠀⠀for the most part, the pacing was... fine. kind of like the prior point, i would have liked more time dedicated to certain events. something about it just felt a little off at times.
❥ ┊the ending.
⠀⠀⠀⠀some of it fell short and some of it was predictable. while i enjoyed the ending for nancy, i felt like the rest of it was wrapped up a little haphazardly. what about kade? what about jack and jill? yeah, you can assume what happened to the latter but it would have been nice to have something solid. closure is a thing, authors.
❥ ┊directions?
⠀⠀⠀⠀i understand nancy was supposed to have a difficult time understanding what happened to her and the other wayward children... but even i’m a bit confused. i would’ve liked a more comprehensive explanation of the compass (if you wanna call it). i get making it hard for the character to grasp, but let’s not make it hard for the reader.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀overall, this was cute and unexpected (for the most part, haha). despite what i said, i can’t wait to continue this series. this is such a short read i’d have a hard time not recommending this.
⠀this was great, honestly. it’s original and captivating. i didn’t know much about this when i began to read but my expectations were met.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀” you’re nobody’s rainbow.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀you’re nobody’s princess.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀you’re nobody’s doorway but your own,
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀and the only one who gets to tell you how
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀your story ends is you. “
⠀things i really enjoyed:
❥ ┊the premise.
⠀⠀⠀⠀the idea of the wayward children stumbling upon doors & mirrors that lead them to a world that is more of a home than where they reside on earth is amazing. each land is so fascinating. i want nothing more than a complete list of. every. single. land.
❥ ┊the cast.
⠀⠀⠀⠀for what is worth, the cast was pretty enjoyable. their time in their respected lands were more memorable than... at least half of the main characters but they were fun in the moment.
❥ ┊normalization & rep.
⠀⠀⠀⠀two of the main characters, nancy and kade, are both lgbtq+. nancy is asexual and kade is trans. also, one of the characters mentions female masturbation in a nonchalant manner. since the focus of this story isn’t gender, sexuality or “controversy”, the rep that we are exposed to is almost normalized and spoken of as facts of life.
⠀things i didn’t enjoy:
❥ ┊the writing.
⠀⠀⠀⠀occasionally, i found this a little hard to follow. i had to reread a few passages because the third person style got too confusing. some parts were filler while others could have used more detail.
❥ ┊the pacing.
⠀⠀⠀⠀for the most part, the pacing was... fine. kind of like the prior point, i would have liked more time dedicated to certain events. something about it just felt a little off at times.
❥ ┊the ending.
⠀⠀⠀⠀some of it fell short and some of it was predictable. while i enjoyed the ending for nancy, i felt like the rest of it was wrapped up a little haphazardly. what about kade? what about jack and jill? yeah, you can assume what happened to the latter but it would have been nice to have something solid. closure is a thing, authors.
❥ ┊directions?
⠀⠀⠀⠀i understand nancy was supposed to have a difficult time understanding what happened to her and the other wayward children... but even i’m a bit confused. i would’ve liked a more comprehensive explanation of the compass (if you wanna call it). i get making it hard for the character to grasp, but let’s not make it hard for the reader.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀overall, this was cute and unexpected (for the most part, haha). despite what i said, i can’t wait to continue this series. this is such a short read i’d have a hard time not recommending this.