"Ten Thousand Doors of January" Discuss Everything *Spoilers*

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

In another unusual move, to further accommodate the plans mods knew about for this book, I am posting the full discussion thread now.

Please try not to use spoiler tags so that everyone can participate when they're ready to see spoilers!

[Silvana]

I just finished this. Enjoyed the story but somehow I kind of expected more of it, since it was so hyped and Alix won the Hugo for best short story last year.

What I liked:
- the easy-to-read narrative
- the setting (funny that I actually enjoyed the real world one than the fantasy ones). Then again, portal fantasy is a genre that I'm still decided whether I like it or not.
- the loyal dog (though there were some moments I truly feared for his fate)

What could be improved:
- the villain (I rolled my eyes when it was revealed that one of the villains was a vampire - I know this is a fantasy book but that one just distracting). Even the Society, the way they were described was not too convincing, I needed more than just the league of evil extraordinary gentleman. It felt kind of infodumpy towards the end too with the Founder and whatnots.
- that everyone is related
- the epilogue, which was like Harry Potter epilogue - not necessary

[Jack]

I was unexpectedly charmed by this book (note that I had no expectations going in). I found the author's command of language and description to be unexpectedly good, I enjoyed the variety of rich settings in the story (I particularly liked the Locke mansion, as the Smithsonian nature of the place permitted all this intriguing description of unusual artifacts), and I liked the way the Doors permitted alternative worlds to set within a relatively classical early 1900s framework.

That being said, I agree the vampire was a bit much (I also rolled my eyes with some muttered comment about "Of course there is a vampire"). As an additional comment, I had some quibbles with the two 1st person accounts (January and Yule Ian) as I kept getting lost on the switches between the two. All other things being equal, I think the book could have benefited from only one 1st person account (i.e. January).

[Kaa]

I also enjoyed this quite a bit. I tried not to have too many expectations going in, but I definitely think this book could be hurt by all the hype, which I don't think it quite lives up to.

To agree with both Silvana and Jack, the villains seemed a bit over-the-top - especially given how simple it ended up being to defeat them. I felt a lot of dread for January and her friends and (especially) Bad over the course of the book, but the final confrontations with the various evil men all felt a little anti-climatic.

I also agree that the switching back and forth between two POVs seemed a bit excessive - I was getting really fed up with it toward the middle, although it won me over a bit more toward the end.

[Sabrina]

Silvana wrote: "I just finished this. Enjoyed the story but somehow I kind of expected more of it, since it was so hyped and Alix won the Hugo for best short story last year..."

Same for me! Also, maybe I'm the only one, but I was very disappointed that "January" war a girl! I've never heard of such a name, though apparently a January is doing the audible book. I guess after reading A Night in the Lonesome October I expected more?

I was also intrigued by the two POVs or rather the book "Ten Thousand Doors" - at first I found it quite boring and it only picked up after I noticed the connection.

Other than that, I quite enjoyed it, I like to see the different threads revealed, to explore some cool worlds of Leopardwomen, oceans and island. And the love story was cute. A good read, but definitively overhyped.

[Silvana]

Did you feel bothered by the insta-love thing between Yule and Ade? At least January and her boyfriend got much more development. A friend of mine pointed that out and it made me think that it should be a minor tick for because it's an overused trope.

[Sabrina]

I was actually mostly referencing to the love story of January and Samuel. The other one never quite convinced me - they spent more time searching for each other than actually spending together. This does make for cute telling, but not for real-life love. I actually didn't even think insta-love, because it seemed more infatuation than love. Because how can you love someone without spending time together?

[Silvana]

Sabrina wrote: "I was actually mostly referencing to the love story of January and Samuel. The other one never quite convinced me - they spent more time searching for each other than actually spending together. Th..."

yeah....and for the case of Yule and Ade it was just minutes before they decided they needed to dedicate their lives to find each other.

January and Samuel's relationship, I kiiiinda bought it since they did spend time to know each other's better since childhood - maybe like the real world's texting or sending love letters? Also, January was still hesitant when Samuel declared his love so that made it slightly more believable.

[Silvana]

Kaa wrote: "but the final confrontations with the various evil men all felt a little anti-climatic."

yes. I did not feel the full scope of the evil men, but maybe that's deliberate? It would be more entertaining for me at least if we have more people like January and Jane fighting the cabal. Here it feels more narrow with January and Locke. Which is funny since their names show what they were, a door and a lock.

[Chris]

I had a lot of problems with this one: purple prose, slow pace, cartoon villains, preachiness. The prose style irked me the most because at least every other sentence evoked a frustrated thought of "Just get on with the damned story!"

The writing style buries us in metaphors, similies, adjectives, and adverbs. Accompanying each concrete detail of action or dialogue are several sentences describing feelings, thoughts, comparisons, and conclusions. A novella's worth of plot gets stretched into a book three times as long. Some novels sacrifice plot to focus on characters, but January is really the only character I know well by the end. Everyone else has little depth.

The themes are fine, as far they go. Imagination is wonderful. Different people from different societies are exciting and have much to teach. Racism and xenophobia are bad. We shouldn't fear the different and the unknown. The problem is that everyone has already heard these things. If an author isn't going to break new ground, she should at least let readers draw the conclusions. If we read about an immigrant being mistreated and think, on our own initiative, about how terrible xenophobia is, that's a worthwhile experience. If an author straight up writes, "Xenophobia is terrible," readers may think, "Duh!"

[Silvana]

Arjan wrote: "Question: a lot of books, including these just have a cover that scream: look, I am a book that generally doesn't appeal to men, it has a lot of pretty flowers on it!

Just like a lot of fantasy h..."

I was thinking about it the other day and I do think this book will appeal sliiiightly more (not a lot) to female readers.

Chris wrote: "I had a lot of problems with this one: purple prose, slow pace, cartoon villains, preachiness. The prose style irked me the most because at least every other sentence evoked a frustrated thought of..."

To me some of those stuff were not that bothersome (I basically only glazed through the purple proses) but I can understand your sentiment.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Arjan, I don't like generalizations like that because we're not dealing with statistics here, we have individuals. Individuals may have whatever preference they want. Feel free to ask if there is content that you find uncomfortable or unappealing, but i'm not going to question anyone's masculinity for their feelings about this book.

[Arjan]

Allison wrote: "Arjan, I don't like generalizations like that because we're not dealing with statistics here, we have individuals. Individuals may have whatever preference they want. Feel free to ask if there is c..."


I'm deleting the comment because it gets misinterpreted.

Take a Barbie doll for example. In current society it appeals more to girls and women. It's because of how most of us are brought up. Maybe that should change.

Same for this cover will appear to more female readers than male. And I'm wondering if that's the same for the story within. Not trying to judge or generalize.

I don't know how te be more specific. I generally don't like books that have people swooning over someone and in the end they finally get together. I don't have any more specific examples right now.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I understand you have no ill intent but the last bit is the most helpful in figuring out how to answer what I think your real question is. :)

There is a romance in this book. It wasn't my favorite part of the story (I also don't like swooning!) but I thought there was plenty of action, exploration of what it means to belong (or conversely, to be "other") and cool fantasy stuff that I was still able to enjoy it.

[Arjan]

Allison wrote: "I understand you have no ill intent but the last bit is the most helpful in figuring out how to answer what I think your real question is. :)

There is a romance in this book. It wasn't my favorite..."

Thanks, yeah I should be more specific sometimes, thanks! Might give this one a go then

[Jack]

I found the "purple prose" comment by Chris interesting.

I do agree that the prose is ornate, descriptive, and complex. No debate there! In fact, I'll be very frank in that my first response was ENVY. I'm afraid my prose is more along the line of "and George tightened the 1/4 nut and sat back on his heels". So, I read in wonder and fascination (to the point of losing track of the story) as the author unveiled prose that I would never be able to create myself. (Like watching Mahomes throw, excellence outside your own capabilities.)

The second point I think worth raising is that the story is set in the early 1900s (a century ago). The prose WAS more purple in that era, and I think the author has attempted to capture this. NOW, that being said, I think the author overshot by about fifty years - the prose immediately reminded me of Jane Eyre (written in 1847) and Alice in Wonderland (written in 1865).

By the way, none of this is intended to seriously oppose Chris's comments, many of which I agree with; but I DID want to present an alternative position.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I agree with you Jack, I thought she was aiming for the time period. I don't have much in the way of context for writing from the early 20th century, with the exception of WW1 poetry, which seems proportionately more flowery than this book, so it felt "of the time" to me, with a few anachronistic exceptions that I think the plot of the book (people from other worlds and cultures running Earth society) seems to explain away.

I liked the prose, personally. Or at least it didn't interfere with the story to me. It felt quite atmospheric not just for the era but for the sort of sweeping story the author was intending to create (I think!) so I could go along with that.

I don't love books with romance "A" plots, and this veered heavily towards that. I also am a bit tired of "incompetent mental health professionals" plot points, so that was also something I struggled with, but I really liked the idea that she was very strong with Words.

I got a sort of Pan's Labyrinth vibe in that so much of what happened felt sort of in between the literal truth and the fancy of a young girl undergoing extreme trauma.

[Silvana]

Allison wrote: "I agree with you Jack, I thought she was aiming for the time period. I don't have much in the way of context for writing from the early 20th century, with the exception of WW1 poetry, which seems p..."

Oooh...if this is more dark fantasy like Pan's Labyrinth....it would be so awesome!

[Raucous]

I was also unexpectedly charmed by this book. I tend not to read historical fantasy and especially historical fantasy set around 1900 since I get my MDR of period architecture and dress in a nearby Victorian seaport town. So this is a book that I likely wouldn't have read if it hadn't been a group pick. I didn't choose it but I'm very glad now that it won.

I fell in love with the characters of January and Bad early on and that continued throughout the book. I also enjoyed the prose (purple is a favorite color of mine that felt right here) and especially January LaVoy's narration of it. Yeah - it was a bit hard to follow the two first person accounts at the start but it was a puzzle that I enjoyed working out. Yes - the obsessive nature of the first romance felt beyond unlikely. January and Samuel's worked better for me. And, yes, the book tended towards preachy in a few places. It wasn't perfect. But those felt like minor aspects of a book whose flow and direction I very much enjoyed. I can tell that I'm particularly taken with an audiobook when I start making excuses to listen. It's been a while since the kitchen sinks have been so clean. 5 gleams.

[Gabi]

I'm glad to hear that, Raucous. I concur with you about the charm of the book. It came as a great relief to me after I've read other hyped about 2019 releases which where bummers for me. This one didn't disappoint.

[Mel]

Oh, it's so interesting to hear all the widely disparate opinions on the prose of this book, because one of the reasons I was so turned off was because it was entirely too modern. Starting out it read like some YA out of the 2000s with that self-congratulatory voice, and nothing like the turn of the century era in which it was supposedly set.

This isn't to say can't craft an amazing sentence. She has some really good ones in there that blew me away. But she write like, well... a debut author. A new author who just discovered her own talent and is bound and determined to shove it in your face. That said, I warmed up to the book as it progressed, but the vocabulary and style did not suit the era at all.

[Sabrina]

Melissa wrote: "Oh, it's so interesting to hear all the widely disparate opinions on the prose of this book, because one of the reasons I was so turned off was because it was entirely too modern. Starting out it read like some YA out of the 2000s with that self-congratulatory voice, and nothing like the turn of the century era in which it was supposedly set..."

I'm so glad you said that. I agree, as for me, it also felt too modern and not representative of the century area. I'm not a good judge, my mother language is not English, but I kind of started to question my own perception. The language is certainly flowery - but for me the words were modern ones.

[Travis]

I agree about the villains being a bit too one-dimensional. Unlike many, I was mostly okay with the romance bit. (I can definitely find myself enjoying a bit of swooning.) I also liked the writing--elaborate and figurative in ways that I found really enhanced my experience of the world and its characters. The main thing I loved, though, is the wonderful allegory of books as portals. I took this to be as much of a love letter to reading as more obviously bookish novels like Jo Walton's Among Others.

[Oleksandr]

I side with Jack regarding the writing style - yes, it is ornate but charming. Of course the experience with a book often depends on previous reads, both general and the recent ones. Right before this one I endured Gideon the Ninth and in comparison this book is much more pleasant read for me.

I don't care much about romances, but I cannot say that love in first sight is such an impossibility in real life... some may prefer to call it infatuation, but I thought more about a kind of feelings close to ones depicted in movie He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not and was more surprised and imaginary and real lovers coincided

[Chris]

I was curious about the prose style of the early 20th Century. I used a couple of Wikipedia pages to find a few books published in 1910 and 1911. I scanned for authors I recognized as big names. The first paragraph or two of the first few I looked at are below, after the excerpt from our book of the month. Apart from our book, the only book I've read beyond the sample is Ethan Frome. All are available for free on the Internet, usually Project Gutenberg.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January:

(view spoiler)[When I was seven, I found a door. I suspect I should capitalize that word, so you understand I’m not talking about your garden-or common-variety door that leads reliably to a white-tiled kitchen or a bedroom closet.

When I was seven, I found a Door. There—look how tall and proud the word stands on the page now, the belly of that D like a black archway leading into white nothing. When you see that word, I imagine a little prickle of familiarity makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You don’t know a thing about me; you can’t see me sitting at this yellow-wood desk, the salt-sweet breeze riffling these pages like a reader looking for her bookmark. You can’t see the scars that twist and knot across my skin. You don’t even know my name (it’s January Scaller; so now I suppose you do know a little something about me and I’ve ruined my point). (hide spoiler)]

Howards End by E.M. Forster:

(view spoiler)[Dearest Meg,

It isn't going to be what we expected. It is old and little, and altogether delightful--red brick. We can scarcely pack in as it is, and the dear knows what will happen when Paul (younger son) arrives tomorrow. From hall you go right or left into dining-room or drawing-room. Hall itself is practically a room. You open another door in it, and there are the stairs going up in a sort of tunnel to the first-floor. Three bedrooms in a row there, and three attics in a row above. That isn't all the house really, but it's all that one notices--nine windows as you look up from the front garden. (hide spoiler)]

The History of Mr. Polly by H.G. Wells:

(view spoiler)[“Hole!” said Mr. Polly, and then for a change, and with greatly increased emphasis: “’Ole!” He paused, and then broke out with one of his private and peculiar idioms. “Oh! Beastly Silly Wheeze of a Hole!”

He was sitting on a stile between two threadbare looking fields, and suffering acutely from indigestion. (hide spoiler)]

The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton:

(view spoiler)[Between the silver ribbon of morning and the green glittering ribbon of sea, the boat touched Harwich and let loose a swarm of folk like flies, among whom the man we must follow was by no means conspicuous—nor wished to be. There was nothing notable about him, except a slight contrast between the holiday gaiety of his clothes and the official gravity of his face. His clothes included a slight, pale grey jacket, a white waistcoat, and a silver straw hat with a grey-blue ribbon. His lean face was dark by contrast, and ended in a curt black beard that looked Spanish and suggested an Elizabethan ruff. He was smoking a cigarette with the seriousness of an idler. There was nothing about him to indicate the fact that the grey jacket covered a loaded revolver, that the white waistcoat covered a police card, or that the straw hat covered one of the most powerful intellects in Europe. For this was Valentin himself, the head of the Paris police and the most famous investigator of the world; and he was coming from Brussels to London to make the greatest arrest of the century. (hide spoiler)]

Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad:

(view spoiler)[To begin with I wish to disclaim the possession of those high gifts of imagination and expression which would have enabled my pen to create for the reader the personality of the man who called himself, after the Russian custom, Cyril son of Isidor—Kirylo Sidorovitch—Razumov.

If I have ever had these gifts in any sort of living form they have been smothered out of existence a long time ago under a wilderness of words. Words, as is well known, are the great foes of reality. I have been for many years a teacher of languages. It is an occupation which at length becomes fatal to whatever share of imagination, observation, and insight an ordinary person may be heir to. To a teacher of languages there comes a time when the world is but a place of many words and man appears a mere talking animal not much more wonderful than a parrot. (hide spoiler)]

The White Peacock by D.H. Lawrence:

(view spoiler)[I stood watching the shadowy fish slide through the gloom of the mill-pond. They were grey, descendants of the silvery things that had darted away from the monks, in the young days when the valley was lusty. The whole place was gathered in the musing of old age. The thick-piled trees on the far shore were too dark and sober to dally with the sun; the weeds stood crowded and motionless. Not even a little wind flickered the willows of the islets. The water lay softly, intensely still. Only the thin stream falling through the mill-race murmured to itself of the tumult of life which had once quickened the valley. (hide spoiler)]

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton:

(view spoiler)[I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.

If you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post-office. If you know the post-office you must have seen Ethan Frome drive up to it, drop the reins on his hollow-backed bay and drag himself across the brick pavement to the white colonnade; and you must have asked who he was. (hide spoiler)]

[Jordan]

I fall on the side of really liking the writing in this book, but I can definitely see how people could find it very tiring!

Also, I agree with the fact that the villains were over-the-top and not very well described. They get hyped up as being so terrible and nearly omnipotent and then they seem to get taken down so easily. So either they are way wimpier than they were made out to be, or January is just way overpowered. Which, I guess based on Yule Ian's descriptions of how her powers work in his world, she kind of is.

[Jack]

Chris wrote: "I was curious about the prose style of the early 20th Century. I used a couple of Wikipedia pages to find a few books published in 1910 and 1911. I scanned for authors I recognized as big names. Th..."

OK, now I'm REALLY curious. Since you looked at all these, what were your conclusions? Did you find the prose style similar to the early 1900s? Was it more reminiscent of earlier fiction (mid-1800s)? Or (as Melissa and Sabrina suggest) it is flowery modern language?

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

I just finished and will fall on the side of not liking it much. The adventure parts were fantastic but I felt like she was trying to jam in $5 words whenever she learned a new one. Obstreperous is great if you are reading a Paul Auster novel and it flows with all the other words I have to look up in the dictionary but in here it felt like a High School writer who just learned a new word and needed to use it in a sentence.

Definitely some good parts to the book and she certainly left you wanting more at the end.

[Chris]

Jack wrote: "Since you looked at all these, what were your conclusions?"

I wasn't sure what an early 20th Century writing style was. I don't know how well my sample captured it. I am curious to find out what books others had in mind when they mentioned that era.

I see substantial variation in the openings of the 1910-1911 books above. Some are verbose and others succinct. Wharton's sentences feel crisp and fresh, and we quickly get a view of the title character. Others lingered on visual detail. Conrad's opening reminds me the most of 10K Doors. Harrow's sentences are not as stuffy as Conrad's, but the focus of both is on the narrator's role.

[Edwin]

OK, in keeping with the what I liked and disliked concept here:

Stuff I liked:
--The Lemony-Snicket-y gothic feel to it
--I am going to fall on the side that liked the lyricism and word play. I felt it was in keeping with the time period and with the underlying theme of stories and words being tools of power
--Bad, the dog

Stuff that was OK:
--Harrow sometimes ventured too far into YA territory for my taste, such as the timorous and tentative relationship between January and Samuel or the overtly drawn lines between the good guys and the melodramatic sinister evils ones.
--I felt that the racism aspects were never really addressed very well, just kind of skirted around, and didn’t seem to give the plot or story any binding or cohesion.

And stuff I didn’t like:
--Way too much unfocused running around on the part of all of the characters
--the ending

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Good points, Edwin! I find myself agreeing with you. What did you think of the Ian and Ade story/plot?

[Edwin]

Allison wrote: "Good points, Edwin! I find myself agreeing with you. What did you think of the Ian and Ade story/plot?"

Charming and heart felt for sure, but again, way too much pointless racing around. Or waiting.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

A lot of those scenes to me felt like she was writing what she saw of the movie version - a sort of "The Notebook" esque racing across fields and staring at fires and all that.

[Oleksandr]

Edwin wrote: "
Stuff I liked:
...
-Bad, the dog"

I liked the dog too, but I was cringed by the early statements that "dogs bite only bad people" and that Bad horrified everyone around - it looked like a case where an owner doesn't care for other people

[Jack]

Chris wrote: "Jack wrote: "Since you looked at all these, what were your conclusions?"

I wasn't sure what an early 20th Century writing style was. I don't know how well my sample captured it. I am curious to fi..."

After reading your summary comments I went back and took a closer look at your excerpts (I REALLY have to apologize by the way, I was rushed when I last posted and hadn't realized you'd included the quotes as well, under spoiler tags). *THANK YOU*

In looking through the quotes, I totally agree with you on the observation of the similarity with Conrad. This similarity is marked enough that it may be more than just the author matching the style of the era - the author may have literally had Conrad in mind as a model, as Conrad seems to have had an inordinate amount of influence on writing style both for his generation and beyond.

I checked out Wiki to understand Conrad's unusual influence and noted that (among other things) many of Conrad's works were adapted to cinema (and later to TV), thus influencing the culture at least twice (once from the work itself, and a second time 20-50 years later from the movie/TV show). Perhaps even a third time, as movie-watchers of "modern" movies adapted from Conrad go back and read the novel again!

I agree with you on Lawrence as well (and Lawrence greatly admired Conrad) so convergence of styles somewhat makes these two equivalent in the larger picture of Ten Thousand Doors (view spoiler)[ He's absolutely the most haunting thing in prose that ever was: I wish I knew how every paragraph he writes (...they are all paragraphs: he seldom writes a single sentence...) goes on sounding in waves, like the note of a tenor bell, after it stops. It's not built in the rhythm of ordinary prose, but on something existing only in his head, and as he can never say what it is he wants to say, all his things end in a kind of hunger, a suggestion of something he can't say or do or think. So his books always look bigger than they are. He's as much a giant of the subjective as Kipling is of the objective. Do they hate one another? (Lawrence about Conrad from Wiki) (hide spoiler)]

Again, thanks so much for that detailed look - you certainly answered a lot of my questions (generating more questions, of course, but still *GRIN*)

[Shannon]

RE: Cartoony villains, esp the vampire. I enjoyed how the fact he was a vampire was almost the least scary thing about him. The scary part is that she's locked up and vulnerable in the asylum and he is just let in to do what he likes to her. He abducts Samuel but he hardly needed to be a vampire to do that either. His vampire powers mean v little compared to the powers he has just as a wealthy man with "influence".

Same with Mr Locke. Him being The Founder at the end means virtually nothing, the awful thing about him is when that "Mr Locke loves me" rug is pulled out from under January's feet so easily.

Both would be just as monstrous without any Monster Parts. Maybe I wouldn't have picked that up if they had been left as just normal human villains though.

Going to stick my head above the parapet here and say I didn't enjoy Bad the Dog. I just wasn't feeling the inseparable bond. I would probably have preferred Samuel be left as the childhood friend and all that energy devoted to Bad instead.

[Kristenelle]

Chris wrote: "I had a lot of problems with this one: purple prose, slow pace, cartoon villains, preachiness. The prose style irked me the most because at least every other sentence evoked a frustrated thought of..."

Yes, totally agree about the purple prose. (And thanks, that is a new term for me.) I found it pretty annoying. The metaphors were very clunky and stood out rather than blending in.

[Kristenelle]

This book had a lot of things I liked, but also a lot of things I didn't like. I feel like this is a solid 3 star book for me. It wasn't what I was hoping for.

I was really hoping that this would be a book with an immersive world about discovering a variety of other worlds through doors. I wanted mystery, adventure, surprises, super imaginative made up things, and a faster moving plot.

I felt like the story didn't start until a third-half way through....or maybe it was just the story I wanted didn't start until then. I was very bored with the perspective of a girl who is basically imprisoned in a lonely room.

I did not mind the cartoony villains.

Having finished the book, I regret that I didn't get to spend more time seeing worlds and having good relationships. The main character is so painfully lonely. The story would have been much more enjoyable if she was journeying, trusting, loving, and discovering with Jane or Samuel the entire story. Those parts were the highlights for me.

[Marie]

I am about 67% done with the audiobook, and I am really enjoying it.

In the beginning, this book seemed alot like The Starless Sea, but it is turning out to be much more. The Starless Sea was at times meandering, plot- and action-wise. This book, when you get to the middle, has a plan. The mystery, romance, family, and friendship elements are lovely. And any story with a faithful dog is always going to catch my eye!

The main character is a teen, so the story does have those angsty YA moments, but it happens infrequently. I like and I am rooting for January! I am anxious to see what happens to her and her family and friends.

[Lesley]

I think it’s really interesting how this seems to be a mixed bag for most people. I just finished it and found I really, really enjoyed it, much more than I expected. I expected to at least like it, but the plot really spoke to me in unexpected ways. I think this could be a case of reading the right book at exactly the right time. I can see the faults that others saw, like the cartoony villain vampire (though I didn’t see Locke as cartoony), the sometimes weak secondary characters and the aimless running around that slowed down the plot. But I think I overlooked all of that because I was emotionally involved with January’s journey of figuring out who she is behind all of society’s and other people’s expectations.

I liked the two narratives coming together, and even though it was predictable, it was still satisfying. I’m also on the side who liked the writing. I didn’t find it at all “purple” and felt that both the writing and the plot were less YA than some other books I’ve read recently like Gideon the Ninth, Strange the Dreamer and Chilling Effect.

[Chip]

I absolutely fell in love with this book. Period fantasy tends to pull on my heartstrings in general, for reasons I can’t explain, but this one was truly special to me.

I didn’t find the prose to be purple at all. Just beautifully written.

As for the more campy aspects, I think that’s part of the appeal. Those elements feel like they’re taken straight out of the pulpy fiction that January reads, and I think that was definitely intentional on the authors part.

This is a story about stories. All kinds of stories. And in a universe with ten thousand doors to ten thousand other worlds that inspire all our stories and legends, you’re inevitably gonna get vampires. It just worked for me.

Also, am I the only one who desperately wants a whole book about Jane? 😍

[Leticia]

This was beautifully written and the story/characters/themes were all awesome. This will be one of my favorites of 2020.

[Marie]

I finished the book a few days ago. I enjoyed the book when I was at 67% complete, and I still enjoyed the book at 100%. I couldn't wait to get back to the book to see what happens to January and the gang.

The author did a fine job taking the reader on January's self-discovery, coming-of-age journey. She really did change into a fierce young woman.

I do like happy endings, and I am glad January met up with her parents (together) and glad she is following her heart with Samuel (I'm generally not a romantic).

I agree that the vampires, other than being cold and a little pale, were not very vampirish, and really didn't need to be such a type.

Overall, I give it 4 stars.

BTW, it's also a Nebula finalist (https://nebulas.sfwa.org/news/).

[Oleksandr]

I think that vampires weren't intentionally not very supernatural: they are just blood-suckers and their abilities is more good PR than fact

[Ben]

Really interesting to see how divisive this book was! I'm honestly glad that I didn't look at the non-spoilery discussion before I finished because it wasn't able to affect my expectations. I absolutely loved this one. I loved the prose and didn't think it was too purple at all. I think it certainly straddled the line of YA, but all in all that's not a bad thing.

I think I've gotten a little tired of morally grey post-YA fantasy that it was honestly really refreshing to have such a black and white good-guy bad-guy story with a happy ending.

[Paul]

I grew to love this book. Started it late as I hadn't intended to read it but the no spoiler discussion did its job and I picked it up mid-month.

I enjoyed the start but then ground to a halt when the focus changed to what appeared to be a completely different story from the book. Of course, it wasn't, it was all part of the same story and I was able get into the pace of it.

A loved the adventure and the magic and the ideas that were created. The villains were slightly comic book wrapped in prose, but it read to me like an origin story for a magic hero wanderer, writing wrongs (excuse the pun!)

I may be male, but I wept at the end. Can't yet decide whether to give it 4 or 5 stars

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'm so glad you had an emotional connection! (And I will never excuse puns because I think they are wonderful)

Yay for the group system helping find an unexpected joy!

[Jen]

I finally got around to this and I absolutely loved it! Loved the writing, the characters, and especially that Bad did not have to die. I hate the trope of beloved pets not making it through the book. I can see why the writing style isn't for everyone, but I really thought it was beautifully written. Can't wait to read more from this author.

[Raucous]

Jen wrote: "I finally got around to this and I absolutely loved it! Loved the writing, the characters, and especially that Bad did not have to die. I hate the trope of beloved pets not making it through the bo..."

Yes! This is where I admit that I did a search on "Bad" when that was in doubt to make sure that I wanted to continue reading. I despise that trope too much not to know. Plus I knew that I'd need to tell my spouse (who is even more that way) not give up on him too soon for that same reason. That's really the only thing that I didn't love about this book.

[Jen]

Raucous wrote: "Jen wrote: "I finally got around to this and I absolutely loved it! Loved the writing, the characters, and especially that Bad did not have to die. I hate the trope of beloved pets not making it th..."


Bad gave me a lot of anxious moments for sure!