Someone—or something—is waking up.
In bustling downtown Philadelphia, a string of murders has investigative reporter Reagan Overhill struggling to answer some disturbing questions:
Who is picking off homeless (sensitively worded as “unhoused”) people?
Why them, specifically?
And how the heck are they drowning in shallow puddles of street water?
This assignment comes at the absolute worst time for her, too. It’s the anniversary of her beloved father’s disappearance, with no answers or anything remotely resembling a clue as to what happened to the loving, warm, bookworm Welshman who told strange stories about mysterious train stations and sepia skies.
It’s all Reagan can do to keep her sanity together while doing her job, especially when things start to overlap between professional and personal.
And, most especially, when a stranger she shouldn’t recognize—yet somehow does—begins to help her unravel both mysteries and reveal how they’re connected to something much bigger, and far more dangerous, than she’d ever imagined.
Told in third person perspective through Reagan’s focus, Beyond the Aching Door is a contemporary fantasy romance (aka “romantasy”) that explores the depths of grief, longing, and the desperate denial that comes from wanting the soul-aching pain to disappear.
I’m a sucker for beautiful prose, and this book does not disappoint!
To be honest, the amount of anxiety over my own style of writing compared to this absolutely poetic narrative that weaves magic among the mundane had me repeatedly going back to my own manuscript and editing sections to be less…whatever that was…and more like this.
But let’s be honest: there is nothing quite like this. Beyond the Aching Door is an echo of the Olde Worlde, reminiscent of the very same Arthurian legends woven into its fabric.
To explore the symbolism used throughout is to explore the motifs of Arthurian legend.
That could take up a whole other blog post plus a glossary for those of you who may be unfamiliar with Le Morte D’Arthur, the fanfiction mistakenly accepted as fact (*cough* Lancelot and Guinevere *cough*), and the archaeological undertakings to find Camelot and maybe, potentially, Avalon.
I am one of “those” nerds, though—the high schooler lugging around an unabridged edition of Sir Thomas Malory’s tales of the high king and his court. I was the aspiring archaeologist devouring the special edition of Smithsonian Magazine when they examined the possible ruins of Camelot.
Suffice it to say, the symbolism in Beyond the Aching Door translated easily for me.
I’m not giving away spoilers, by the way. It’s in the marketing material: this book and its sequel (which I’m still reading) involves the famous and recognizable mythos of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and all the characters involved with Camelot.
A spoiler would be telling you how it’s woven into the story.
I’m going to leave that for you to discover on your own. Hopefully, you’ll suck in a sharp gasp as hard as I did, flip back to earlier chapters, and then sit in awe at how Victoria Mier managed to take something so timeless and ancient and make it new.
My theory? Fae magic.
I also must applaud the wonderfully clean copy, completely free of typos (seriously, I track that sort of thing and I found NOTHING) and structurally formatted in a way that makes it feel traditionally published until you check the copyright page just to make sure.
Yep, this is an indie novel.
An incredibly good one, too.
The amount of emotions this book put me through should be illegal.
First, there’s the fact that Reagan is in her thirties and therefore beyond the People Pleasing stage of adulthood. Completely relatable. She understands me. She is me.
But then there’s the aching grief that just won’t go away no matter how much work and other priorities are shoved on top of it. The deep truths, the harsh facts, that sometimes we are given unendurable pain because—maddeningly so—we’re actually able to endure it.
Not because we asked for it.
Simply because we’re made of stronger stuff than the average person down the street who’d crumple into the fetal position if this was their life.
I don’t want to make this review all about myself, but I do want to bring up the point of how a book can both soothe the soul while simultaneously ripping the old scars wide open. I’ve got some things in my past, and present, that have been difficult to carry despite every attempt to let them go.
It’s been quite the experience to read Beyond the Aching Door and see so much of my own grief and loss and eternal heartache right there, on paper (or iPad, in my case), written by an author who has never met me and yet understands.
This is the power books can wield.
This is why we must give independent authors the credit and attention they deserve—because power like this cannot be strictly monetized for the sake of wealth or fame.
About the Author
I wanted to write a catchy segment about Victoria Mier, but I have to admit: the website has a much better bio!
A fellow indie author and bookseller after my own heart, there’s also solid support for other bookstores on the website to showcase where you can go in-person to buy the paperback (hint: I’ll be ordering a few for your visit to The Amana Colonies).
Make this TBR a solid READ!
Bookstores and libraries big and small need to add Beyond the Aching Door to their shelves—and readers do, too! This is a surefire “win” for sellers and collectors alike, with a gorgeous cover and equally beautiful story between.
Signed copies and additional merchandise (for those of us who love to matchy-match our fave reads with stickers, book plates, and more) are available online through The Spiral Bookcase.
My review for the sequel in this duology, Beneath the Buried Sea, will be coming soon!