beyond the aching door

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 541 pages
Author: Victoria Mier
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: March 26th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A mortal journalist. A mysterious series of drownings. An exiled Fey king. A forgotten Fatesong. A single, desperate chance to save magic from extinction.All Raegan Maeve Overhill wants is to survive another October. It’s the anniversary of the worst thing that ever happened to the unsolved disappearance of her father nearly two decades ago. But when mysterious drownings grip the city of Philadelphia, Raegan sets her mourning rituals aside for a career-making opportunity to lead her newspaper’s investigation.

Her hunt for answers takes her to the city’s shadowy places where magical beings appear in puddles, the Fair Folk offer bargains, and magic is very, very real. When Raegan uncovers a startling connection to her father’s disappearance, she knows she can’t just return to her normal life without finding the truth. To get it, though, she’ll need to make a deal with the dark, deadly and alluring Unseelie Fae King—and do her best to ignore their dangerous attraction to one another. Inspired by Welsh mythology, Slavic folklore and Arthurian legend, Beyond the Aching Door is an adult urban fantasy romance for fans of A Discovery of Witches and Dark Night, Golden Dawn. This spicy fae romantic fantasy is intended for readers 18+.

DID I READ A DIFFERENT BOOK?

After a few friends raved about this one I gave it a go and I’m so sad that it ended up not working for me.

Once again I have been plagued by another URBAN fantasy book masquerading as a true fantasy. If the modern world is present, it’s not FULL FANTASY (for my interpretation). And I really struggled with that. The first 200 pages were drawn out and had a repetitive quality to it that made reading tough.

The love interest does not have a personality. I wanted to love him (he gave me wannabe Rhys vibes), and it felt like we never got to KNOW him. The connection between him and Raegan was stilted even if I was loving the fated romance aspects.

I truly thought this was an interesting premise and many good bones were in place. Some of the execution lacked for me and these 550 pages felt longer than necessary.

Overall audience notes: