haahu's review against another edition
2.0
It was ok, I suppose. Nice combination of Irish mythology and modern day environment, but otherwise kinda "meh".
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
The book's trailer on Youtube caught my eye, and did a good job of convincing me to buy this indie ebook. Cedar is a single mother with a child from a boyfriend that disappeared years ago.
She comes home from work one day to find out that her child has an amazing ability; to open a door to anywhere.
This realization sends Cedar and her daughter, Eden, hurtling down a path of discovery towards Eden's true parentage the world of the Tuatha De Danaan.
For an indie release, this book was excellent, on par with a traditionally published book in terms of editing and format. The story went along at a good clip after Eden discovers her power; with both Cedar and Eden finding themselves battling magic to find their way home to each other. The Celtic lore in this is definitely detailed and believable.
Unfortunately for my own taste, I never really gave my heart to Eden or Cedar, which lessened my enjoyment of the book. We spend time in the POV of Nuala, a Tuatha De Danaan who is the main antagonist. I think this was meant to show Nuala off as more than just a cardboard villainess, but it ended up taking too much time away from Cedar for me. Cedar's mommy issues along with her own complicated feelings about Eden are a goldmine of interesting character development that I thought the book kind of glossed over. I was hoping for a deeper delving.
The gaggle of Tuatha De Danaan that came along with Cedar's ex-boyfriend could all be rich characters in their own right. However, this book didn't spend enough time with their introduction or giving them fully fledged stories for me to keep them straight. Thus some of their motivations seemed just general irritation and crankiness and later sad events lost some depth of feeling.
In general, this is a good debut novel. I'd at least try the second in the series to see if the characters can come more richly alive as the story develops.
This Book's Snack Rating: Salt and Vinegar Lay's for the Irish pub folklore flavor on decent characters
She comes home from work one day to find out that her child has an amazing ability; to open a door to anywhere.
This realization sends Cedar and her daughter, Eden, hurtling down a path of discovery towards Eden's true parentage the world of the Tuatha De Danaan.
For an indie release, this book was excellent, on par with a traditionally published book in terms of editing and format. The story went along at a good clip after Eden discovers her power; with both Cedar and Eden finding themselves battling magic to find their way home to each other. The Celtic lore in this is definitely detailed and believable.
Unfortunately for my own taste, I never really gave my heart to Eden or Cedar, which lessened my enjoyment of the book. We spend time in the POV of Nuala, a Tuatha De Danaan who is the main antagonist. I think this was meant to show Nuala off as more than just a cardboard villainess, but it ended up taking too much time away from Cedar for me. Cedar's mommy issues along with her own complicated feelings about Eden are a goldmine of interesting character development that I thought the book kind of glossed over. I was hoping for a deeper delving.
The gaggle of Tuatha De Danaan that came along with Cedar's ex-boyfriend could all be rich characters in their own right. However, this book didn't spend enough time with their introduction or giving them fully fledged stories for me to keep them straight. Thus some of their motivations seemed just general irritation and crankiness and later sad events lost some depth of feeling.
In general, this is a good debut novel. I'd at least try the second in the series to see if the characters can come more richly alive as the story develops.
This Book's Snack Rating: Salt and Vinegar Lay's for the Irish pub folklore flavor on decent characters
ac223's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, thank you Jodi McIsaac for the ARC copy of Through the Door.
Cedar loved Finn more than anyone, and after two years was about to give him the news that she was pregnant. That was before he disappeared without ever knowing they were having a child. Six years later, Eden opens a door into wherever her mind can take her. Cedar has no idea what is going on, but she's convinced that Finn must be the link to Eden's ability to open these portals. During her search she finds Finns parents, whom she was told were both deceased. While Cedar is on her quest for information, Eden disappears from their home. Cedar is desperate to find Eden and despite her fear of this new world she knows she must accept help from the only people who can help her.
***Spoilers***
Finn and his family are all Tuatha De Danann, from the land of Tir na nOg. Sometimes referred to as the "little folk" of Irish folklore. Eden must have inherited her abilities from her fathers family. Nuala who always wanted to be with Finn, but was rejected for Cedar kidnaps Eden to force her to open a portal back to Tir na nOg, where her kind have been unable to go for thirty years. Lucan, a nasty Danann whose power is absorbing others gifts upon their death, started a war with their previous High King long ago, and took over Tir na nOg with his other followers. They were all intent on returning here, to Eriu, and defeating the humans and taking their rightful place. Finns group and several others escaped after a lengthy battle, and hid in Eriu posing as humans. Finns father closed the portal, stopping anyone of Lucans group from coming here, but also preventing anyone from returning. Nuala travels with Eden all over searching for a picture of Tir na nOg, so that Eden can open the portal. After a visit with the mermaids she has what she needs, but because Tir na nOg is no longer how they left it, the painting they found doesn't allow Eden enough information to go there. Cedar finds out that her mother is a Druid who fell in love with the High King Brogan. Once the war started he left Maeve to return, telling her he must fight with his people and stand by his wife. He later comes to Maeve in a dream asking for her help, they are all in danger and he needs Maeve to hide his wife Kier and their unborn child. Kier comes through the portal, but she is in bad shape. Once the baby is delivered, Kier uses the last of her power to help Maeve turn her into a human, giving her the gift of humanity and preventing anyone who would use her from finding her. Maeve raises her lovers child as her own, and no one is aware that Cedar is really the princess of Tir na nOg. That is until the Danann find out she gave birth to a Danann child. Cedar and Finn follow Nuala and Eden into what was once the beautiful fairyland, only to find it a shell of it's former beauty. Cedar knows that her gift is humanity, and knows how to save Eden. When Lucan kills her, he automatically absorbs her humanity and turns into a very old man. Finn is able to kill him easily and escape with Cedar's body and Eden. A few days later Eden wakes up and is told that Lucans gift held the souls of those he killed, and with his death they were all returned. None of them knew if Cedars soul would return through the portal, but she was too broken to be moved back and wake up only to die. In the end Cedar and Finn decide to return back to Tir na nOg to help their people restore it to it's former glory.
Cedar loved Finn more than anyone, and after two years was about to give him the news that she was pregnant. That was before he disappeared without ever knowing they were having a child. Six years later, Eden opens a door into wherever her mind can take her. Cedar has no idea what is going on, but she's convinced that Finn must be the link to Eden's ability to open these portals. During her search she finds Finns parents, whom she was told were both deceased. While Cedar is on her quest for information, Eden disappears from their home. Cedar is desperate to find Eden and despite her fear of this new world she knows she must accept help from the only people who can help her.
***Spoilers***
Finn and his family are all Tuatha De Danann, from the land of Tir na nOg. Sometimes referred to as the "little folk" of Irish folklore. Eden must have inherited her abilities from her fathers family. Nuala who always wanted to be with Finn, but was rejected for Cedar kidnaps Eden to force her to open a portal back to Tir na nOg, where her kind have been unable to go for thirty years. Lucan, a nasty Danann whose power is absorbing others gifts upon their death, started a war with their previous High King long ago, and took over Tir na nOg with his other followers. They were all intent on returning here, to Eriu, and defeating the humans and taking their rightful place. Finns group and several others escaped after a lengthy battle, and hid in Eriu posing as humans. Finns father closed the portal, stopping anyone of Lucans group from coming here, but also preventing anyone from returning. Nuala travels with Eden all over searching for a picture of Tir na nOg, so that Eden can open the portal. After a visit with the mermaids she has what she needs, but because Tir na nOg is no longer how they left it, the painting they found doesn't allow Eden enough information to go there. Cedar finds out that her mother is a Druid who fell in love with the High King Brogan. Once the war started he left Maeve to return, telling her he must fight with his people and stand by his wife. He later comes to Maeve in a dream asking for her help, they are all in danger and he needs Maeve to hide his wife Kier and their unborn child. Kier comes through the portal, but she is in bad shape. Once the baby is delivered, Kier uses the last of her power to help Maeve turn her into a human, giving her the gift of humanity and preventing anyone who would use her from finding her. Maeve raises her lovers child as her own, and no one is aware that Cedar is really the princess of Tir na nOg. That is until the Danann find out she gave birth to a Danann child. Cedar and Finn follow Nuala and Eden into what was once the beautiful fairyland, only to find it a shell of it's former beauty. Cedar knows that her gift is humanity, and knows how to save Eden. When Lucan kills her, he automatically absorbs her humanity and turns into a very old man. Finn is able to kill him easily and escape with Cedar's body and Eden. A few days later Eden wakes up and is told that Lucans gift held the souls of those he killed, and with his death they were all returned. None of them knew if Cedars soul would return through the portal, but she was too broken to be moved back and wake up only to die. In the end Cedar and Finn decide to return back to Tir na nOg to help their people restore it to it's former glory.
jenbsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this ... I think I'll likely continue on with the series, but I'm not sure. I'll have to see if it calls to me. I'm not a huge fan of fae ... this wasn't as "fae" as some stories. No seelie/unseelie stuff. They are "Celtic Gods" with powers, come from a different "fairyland" ... Some merpeople, druids and a leprechaun too . As it starts out and for several chapters in, everything is fairly traditional. Then, magic doors. We the reader find out about the fae connection with Cedar as she attempts to unravel the mystery and track down her daughter.
I wasn't sure I swallowed the ending ... and I really could have gone either way with Cedar's story at that point.
I wasn't sure I swallowed the ending ... and I really could have gone either way with Cedar's story at that point.
skinnamarink's review against another edition
5.0
I intended to read this over the next 2 weeks or so. It went a bit faster than that! More like 4 hours, with periodic breaks to refill my wine glass. :)
Through the Door is the first book in a trilogy, which is fortunate because I'm not nearly satisfied with my quick journey into its world yet.
The basic plot is that of a single mother (Cedar) raising a daughter (Eden) in Halifax. Eden, it turns out, has some odd abilities that start to show up when she's 6. Odd abilities like being able to open a door to anywhere she wants to go. Her bedroom door becomes a gateway to Egypt, the family cottage, or a Disneyland castle. Cedar is skeptical of such things, but this is in-your-face real magic. Suddenly a lot of family secrets start coming out of the woodwork, turning her worldview upside-down.
I'm still trying to put my finger on the thing that's different about the way Cedar is written, but I think it's this: Cedar is a mother of a young girl written by a mother of young girls. The book touches on family pressures, work/life balance, and the desire to be a great mom with a satisfying career. The conflict between being home with your child and working to pay for that home. The stress of raising a young kid and trying to figure out how to tell your kid that you adore them AND this might not actually be the most awesome chapter of your life. And no matter what, ancient gods be damned, no one's making decisions about your kid without your say-so.
It may be that I'm not used to reading fantasy novels written by women. It almost feels like a mash-up between Neil Gaiman and Alice Munro, which CLEARLY needed to happen.
The other thing I like is that the characters are complicated. We do have a clear hero and villain, but most of the characters are neither (or both?). Nuala is the main example of this. For the first half of the book, she seems like a fairly classic villain, but then things start shifting and getting more complicated. She has her reasons for what she's doing, and they don't mesh very well with Cedar's reasons. I can't decide how I feel about her and that's a very good thing.
Five stars! And I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.
Through the Door is the first book in a trilogy, which is fortunate because I'm not nearly satisfied with my quick journey into its world yet.
The basic plot is that of a single mother (Cedar) raising a daughter (Eden) in Halifax. Eden, it turns out, has some odd abilities that start to show up when she's 6. Odd abilities like being able to open a door to anywhere she wants to go. Her bedroom door becomes a gateway to Egypt, the family cottage, or a Disneyland castle. Cedar is skeptical of such things, but this is in-your-face real magic. Suddenly a lot of family secrets start coming out of the woodwork, turning her worldview upside-down.
I'm still trying to put my finger on the thing that's different about the way Cedar is written, but I think it's this: Cedar is a mother of a young girl written by a mother of young girls. The book touches on family pressures, work/life balance, and the desire to be a great mom with a satisfying career. The conflict between being home with your child and working to pay for that home. The stress of raising a young kid and trying to figure out how to tell your kid that you adore them AND this might not actually be the most awesome chapter of your life. And no matter what, ancient gods be damned, no one's making decisions about your kid without your say-so.
It may be that I'm not used to reading fantasy novels written by women. It almost feels like a mash-up between Neil Gaiman and Alice Munro, which CLEARLY needed to happen.
The other thing I like is that the characters are complicated. We do have a clear hero and villain, but most of the characters are neither (or both?). Nuala is the main example of this. For the first half of the book, she seems like a fairly classic villain, but then things start shifting and getting more complicated. She has her reasons for what she's doing, and they don't mesh very well with Cedar's reasons. I can't decide how I feel about her and that's a very good thing.
Five stars! And I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.
simply_sam's review against another edition
2.0
There's a lot I want to say about this book but I honestly don't really feel it's worth the time. Does that make me a bad person? Rrrr....okay, so here's a few things.
1.I hate that the actions of 3 of the main female characters revolved partly/mostly around pining after a man. Why?!
2.I also hate when authors intentionally withhold information from the protagonist. That played a major, MAJOR role in this book and it drove me crazy.
3. And I hate when everything just conveniently works out. Like everything is super convenient.
4. I hate the whole "I did this super douche baggy thing for your own good!" trope. Which is, again, basically every thing in this book.
5. Despite those four BIG gripes, surprisingly enough I didn't hate the book. It was well narrated (Kate Rudd always does a good job in my book) and for some reason it was strangely addictive.
6. This is the first in a series but has a pretty decent conclusion at the end of book 1. I'll probably stop here.
1.I hate that the actions of 3 of the main female characters revolved partly/mostly around pining after a man. Why?!
2.I also hate when authors intentionally withhold information from the protagonist. That played a major, MAJOR role in this book and it drove me crazy.
3. And I hate when everything just conveniently works out. Like everything is super convenient.
4. I hate the whole "I did this super douche baggy thing for your own good!" trope. Which is, again, basically every thing in this book.
5. Despite those four BIG gripes, surprisingly enough I didn't hate the book. It was well narrated (Kate Rudd always does a good job in my book) and for some reason it was strangely addictive.
6. This is the first in a series but has a pretty decent conclusion at the end of book 1. I'll probably stop here.
amynbell's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure exactly where this book came from, but I found it in my Kindle labeled as having come from the author. It was also listed as time travel novel. I find that a little odd since there is absolutely no time travel in this book whatsoever. Instead, it is a fantasy novel concerned with people that have magical abilities. Really, this is not the normal sort of book I like to read, but I thought I would give it a chance. However, it still wasn't my cup of tea. Mainly, it was a story of a woman trying to rescue her child from evil people who wanted to do her child harm. And as such, it was a little boring. Oh no. My child has been taken from me. I must find her. Oh, look, everyone suddenly has magical powers. Sorry, I was not really impressed. I think the book kinda lost me when the only person that could save the day was dead. *eyeroll*. I have to say that I didn't find any typos. So I guess it has that going for it. But I have to admit hoping the book would end soon through most of my read despite the introduction of fairies, druids, mermaids, and leprechauns ... which could have been interesting. The book was lacking in something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
kelseyat's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this! I found myself practically speed-reading because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The Celtic mythology is a really cool touch--something I knew almost nothing about previously, but it adds richness to the story as it lays the groundwork for this fantasy world-within-our-world. (Also, is it bad that the totally evil Nuala was my favourite character?)
cindyrdw's review against another edition
5.0
This was a freebie for my Kindle and some of them can be pretty dismally written. This one is a joy of an exception. It 's not fine literature maybe, but it is a completely entertaining read from beginning to end.
ravencrantz's review
2.0
1.5/5
Not much to say here about this book. It's one of my NetGalley backlog books, so I'm just going through them to get that list cleared whether I enjoy the book or not, but I really wish I could have put this one down. I happened to pick up a different book with the same mythology background and that looks like it's so much better than this one. The real killer here was the writing. It was boring and childish and unrefined. On top of that, there was no reason at all for people to keep so many secrets from Cedar. The lack of communication in this book was aggravating beyond belief and completely unnecessary except to move the plot along and keep the reader in the dark.
I'm not looking forward to the sequels, but since I have them and they seem to be relatively quick, I'll at least skim through them. [b:Hounded|9533378|Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)|Kevin Hearne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327883998s/9533378.jpg|14419515] looks to be a better alternative to this series.
(Not that you can't have more than one book about Irish or Celtic mythology, but when one does it better than the other I think that's a point worth making.)
Not much to say here about this book. It's one of my NetGalley backlog books, so I'm just going through them to get that list cleared whether I enjoy the book or not, but I really wish I could have put this one down. I happened to pick up a different book with the same mythology background and that looks like it's so much better than this one. The real killer here was the writing. It was boring and childish and unrefined. On top of that, there was no reason at all for people to keep so many secrets from Cedar. The lack of communication in this book was aggravating beyond belief and completely unnecessary except to move the plot along and keep the reader in the dark.
I'm not looking forward to the sequels, but since I have them and they seem to be relatively quick, I'll at least skim through them. [b:Hounded|9533378|Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)|Kevin Hearne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327883998s/9533378.jpg|14419515] looks to be a better alternative to this series.
(Not that you can't have more than one book about Irish or Celtic mythology, but when one does it better than the other I think that's a point worth making.)