What I Loved:
I loved all the questions this story provided! The main characters are as lost as the reader as they step through the green door to an unknown world. It was fun and exciting, and I really enjoyed it!

How I Felt:
This is my second book by Heather Kindt, and I am really starting to enjoy her writing! I think that she has a way of creating these fantastic fantasy settings that are rooted in today’s world. It’s a great mix!

The plot of The Green Door took me all over the place! The characters enter the green door to get an egg, but so much more than that happens! I thought it was an exciting adventure for the characters, and I loved the way they encountered so many situations they needed to work through.

The characters were filled with personality. The main character, Meg, was easy to like, and I enjoyed her compassion and her snarky attitude when it was needed. The story is filled with so many other characters that you can love and hate. I think they were well developed when created. So many secondary characters had secrets and depth, and I liked reading about their stories too!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was filled with exciting moments that kept me turning the pages, and I liked the adventure! I look forward to the second book!!

To Read or Not To Read:
I would recommend The Green Door to readers that enjoy adventure fantasy stories that have characters from the world we know. Readers that enjoy books like The Hunger Games might enjoy this one!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

My full review of this book will post to my blog on 6/23/20.

This book was very reminiscent of Narnia, kind of mixed with the Maze Runner or the Hunger Games. It was very entertaining and fast-paced, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest feedback.

Wow. Okay. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I didn't-- found it kinda boring and almost DNF it, the worldbuilding was not there at all, the characters were incredibly plain (even with a Mary Sue kind of main character) and the writing felt all over the place with rabbits pulled out of a hat moments and not really knowing what was going on half the time. I still thought I'd give it two stars, maybe three, because the idea was interesting and it could be a good kind-of-middle-grade if the sex parts were written off.

BUT THEN. THEN. The second half of the book happened. And I'm livid.

First of all, I want to talk about what I've already said. The worldbuilding was absent, there was none of it-- why did this "game" exist? How was the world behind the first door possible? What were the rules of that said world? What the hell was happening? And I guess you could just ignore this part, because it's possible that the whole thing is about knowing as much (or as none) as the characters, and that'd be okay. I still have my doubts since the little details we do get to know are basically told by other characters when you need to know them-- but not in like an "ah, this whole situation led to this explanation" fashion but in a "oops, I forgot to write this in a previous chapter lol take this information with you so you can make sense of like 13% of what's happening" situation.

That leds me to the pulling rabbits out of the hat all the time. I can totally understand if it happens once, maybe twice... but damn, this book was full of it. "Hey, I got this glove from this X place that's similar to the ones they use at the palace, so this means this character is a traitor-- I never told you I got it nor was shown in the book, but believe me, I DID took it from there" is not a plot twist, is pulling a rabbit. Someone from the palace taking someone as their servant after founding them in the woods (and afther them saying "oh, I stole this from the person I currently serve!!"--"oh... okay. How convenient, I've been looking for a servant") is not a plot twist, is pulling a rabbit. Meeting two characters that are the ones that've been trying to do a certain thing (trying to avoid spoilers, sorry) for a WEEK and only doing it (with incredible ease, may I mention) when the main characters just arrived is not a plot twist, is pulling a rabbit. The only two "plot twists" regarding two characters after like half of the book were boring, because I didn't care about the characters at all.

And that brings me to the characters being incredible plain. They don't have traits, they don't have personalities (carrying sticky notes with you is not a personality-- also, I didn't get the need for them, since everything they did with them could have been done writing on the ground or something like that) and therefore there's not a possible coherent relationship between them.

The bullies are often mentioned-- but we don't get a single anecdote about them before entering this world, and only once (that I recall of) inside the world, one Meg didn't even know about. Videogames are also often mentioned regarding Brek-- but, again, we don't get a single mention of it before entering the world. What we do get is a kinda musician Brek, with an old guitar and Meg's desire to buy him a new one with the money they could win. BUT, excepting a couple of Meg's thoughts about this, they never mention it again. But they DO mention videogames and apparently Brek's a big gamer?? Always playing videogames and *checks notes* Mortal Kombat???

I won't even talk about Carter. A rich, heartbreaker clichéd boy that apparently wants to get into Meg's heart after an instalove that shouldn't exist, only to make sense of a love triangle that's really fake, because apparently Brek's never implied even a little bit of romantic interest in Meg but now he's kind of jealous of Carter? And also, even if this detail is mentioned, at almost the end of the book Meg remembers when Brek tried to kiss her when they were sixteen??

I didn't want to be rude and actually planned this review very differently, because I don't really enjoy leaving these kind of hurtful reviews. But. BUT.

Let me just say something, not only to the future readers but also the author and publisher-- first of all, I didn't really like the bad one being described as, and I quote, "black hair. Scarves. Long skirt. Typical gypsy". Do you really think it's okay for this stereotype to come up when talking about the villain? Would you say "black hair, black skin, street clothes, typical n-word"? Please research antiziganism (antigypsyism, for some people). Gypsy is actually a slur for Romani people. You can read this piece by a Romani woman talking about this issue: https://now.org/blog/the-g-word-isnt-for-you-how-gypsy-erases-romani-women/

Second of all, and I think this will be the last part of this long, angry review: the sexism in this book was off the hooks. I mean, the Mary Sue thing is kinda sexist, but it's usually not used as a sexist concept-- just marysue-writing.

But the sexist comments and situations were off limits, for me. I have little patience when it comes to the low treatment of women and feminine characters, even more when it's about "feminine" situations.

The first comment that draw my attention was (and I quote) "[I'm] tidying up. (...) Maybe if you were raised by a mother and not a father, you'd have turned out different, too." That's incredibly sexist, puts down women to teaching house chores and "manners" to their children. I was REALLY mad when I read that.

But the one that made my blood BOIL was about a character that another one kinda outed??? As in "ah, but we all know you're gay". And the quote after this reads "yeah, he had FEMININE TENDENCIES at times, LIKE HIS ROOM WAS MUCH CLEANER THAN MINE, but he was far from gay" (capital letters mine, of course). Again, sexist, puts down women AND gay men.

You don't have to look much for why this is incredibly wrong-- take Wikipedia, for example, aka the first result when you look for "feminine tendencies": the effeminacy article. "The avoidance of effeminacy by men, including gay ones, has been linked to possible impedance of personal and public health". So you're telling me that we're STILL linking the feminine expression of our both feminine and masculine performances in society in men to homosexuality in 2020? Has the author ever read of the concept of gender performativity? Even if she didn't, did she REALLY have to write that, when minorities (women, gay men, Romani people...) face such discrimination in the modern world? When their rights are being taken by goverments in different societies?

Even with the writing mistakes, the plain characters, the lack of real world building, this book could have been a good read, even if only for passing the time. But these remarks, mostly in the second half of the book, not only ruined it for me but made me incredibly mad and I still can't believe this was being published this year and not in 2011.

I don't think the author meant wrong nor wanted to hurt any minority-- but ignorance can be not only hurtful but accomplice to the discriminatory and rights-refuser bigots. I stronly beleive educating ourselves and other people is the only solution to stop them.

I think the idea behind this book was solid, but unfortunately for me, it fell a little flat. I wasn't able to connect to the characters and found their motivations and reactions to dire situations to be lacking in areas. The scenes moved a little too quickly resulting in more telling than showing, but there are moments where the author does a great job bringing the reader into the story...I just wish there was more of that!

Overall - the plot wasn't bad and the animals in the book reminded me of those in Redwall. I think the missed mark is the age range. As far as the writing style goes, I feel that this book would be much better suited for younger readers - possibly Middle Grade. But there are some romantic moments and graphic scenes that may not be appropriate for a younger group.

I will say that I was intrigued enough to want to know what lies behind the other doors!

Really enjoyed this twist on a portal fantasy - sort of Wayward Children meets L J Smith's Forbidden Game, with nods to Narnia and various other portal fantasies. Fast paced with plenty of twists and turn, this was a lot of fun. I look forward to the next one.

The green door. It was just suppose to be a game. But it was so much more then that! I fell in love with this book from the very first chapter ! I cannot wait to continue the series and see where the other doors lead. I found d it to have so many twist and turns never expected what happened to occur. I am looking forward to the next book in the series hope it comes out quickly !

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC. Meg and Brek enter a game to win money and enter a magical world where animals run their own civilization and there is a lot of mythology.. Good world building, I can see this as a series.

What an interesting story. I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and had a unique storyline. It reminded me faintly of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, and I look forward to the next in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this eARC

This was a book that had a bit of everything, magic, romance, betrayal, loss and friendship. All the characters were likeable and the three main characters were ones that you could relate to. The story is about friendship but also being true to yourself and protecting those you love. It was an easy paced read and I am looking forward to the trios next adventure.

Title: The Green Door
Author: Heather Kindt
Pub. Date: June 11, 2020
Rating: 3

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m honestly a little lost with my thoughts and opinions on this book. I requested it on NG, because I’d read another book by this author and enjoyed it. I figured that I would enjoy this one too.
I did enjoy it, but my expectations were way off, and I thought the character relationships were a tad convenient. This book was a portal fantasy meets the Redwall series, and just kind of weird. I didn’t quite get the world, but it somehow worked? I’m trying to think of other fantasy books that I could kinda comp it with, but none come to mind. It was just this kind of weird, humanoid animal, tyrant king, magical game…thing. Basically I thought it would be more along the lines of Triwizard Tournament, and it wasn’t. Maybe we, as the reader, are supposed to be just as clueless as the MCs when it comes to what the purpose is, but it ends up feeling like an escape room, where no clues are given, and you just have to do things and hope the door opens. If we’re supposed to be as clueless, then okay? It’s frustrating, but I’ll deal…I guess.

Like I said, I’m kind of conflicted on how I feel. I can’t figure out if these books are going to pull from various literary worlds – the second book, The Red Door kind of feels like it might be Wonderland inspired…but if that’s the case, I have no idea which literary world The Green Door pulled from. I am hoping that this is going to be a bunch of books, one to cover each door introduced in this book. I think that could be really cool!

Back to the characters really quick…I loved the best friend dynamic between Meg and Brek, even if it felt a bit cheesy at times. I didn’t really understand Meg, her character kind of flip flopped for me, a bit surface but overall, but she’s kind of cool. Brek by himself didn’t really do much for me. I liked him much better in conversation with Meg. He just felt meh, and his whole “achievement unlocked” moment towards the end of the book felt strangely out of character. As for Carter…well, I don’t really buy into Insta love. He was also, absolutely a freaking rich boy cliché. I can’t tell you how many times I rolled my eyes.
Actually, all the romance in this book felt so cliché and there’s a moment at the end with Brek that I just “wtf’ed” because “of course now he feels that way”. Like, he had 8 years to feel something, and only when Meg starts feeling something for Carter, does he hint at anything. Jfc.
Come to think of it, this book plays heavily on basic character tropes and stereotypes. While some of it works, I think that it also doesn’t necessarily help. It all just ends up feeling kind of surface.

So, if you’re looking for a quick, enjoyable, low-pressure, portal fantasy meets Redwall, then give this a chance. Just turn your brain off for 300ish pages and read. Don’t try to be too critical. I’m definitely looking forward to reading book 2 when it comes out. I’m hooked enough to want to know what happens next. This book is out today, so there’s no wait!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Initially the plot of the book really interested me. It has a lot of the young adult tropes. My biggest issue was that I had a hard time following the story and making sense of what was going on. The love triangle was unnecessary. There was only a connection between Meg and Brek. Carter seemed like a filler and I personally felt no connection to him. The story read more like a juvenile book than young adult fiction, so I’m not sure who the intended audience was for. That being said, the story line was interesting. I would probably read a second installment.

The concept behind The Green Door is fascinating. People have the opportunity to play, in pairs, a game. This game begins in a long hallway with a bunch of different colored doors. Each door is a portal that leads to a magical world (participants don’t know this before they begin), and contestants must find a specific object. If the object is found, they win the prize money marked on the door.

The story focuses on best friends Meg and Brek as well as Carter, Meg’s love interest. Meg and Brek enter a magical game in the hopes of earning money for college. Meg and Brek choose the green door which has a payout of $10,000 if they find a special seed. This task takes them on a dangerous and action-packed quest in a world much different from their own.

Early in their journey Carter, alone and terrified after the horrific death of his partner, joins the pair. Captain of their high school football team, popular, and rich, Carter is very different from the less popular and financially struggling duo. However, their dissimilarities become inconsequential in this magical world where trusting each other could be the difference between life and death.

In order to find the seed, the trio works with a tribe of humans-turned animals. Cursed into their animal forms by a rival leader, the group is desperate to return to their human selves. Meg, Brek, and Carter travel to find the seed and help their new allies only to be thrust into one conflict after the other.

They meet others, human and animal, who have problems that Meg, Brek, and Carter feel honor-bound to solve. However, helping the people of this world is dangerous and could mean extending their stay and losing their reward money. The trio must decide if they want to take the risk and face the consequences of their actions. This aspect of the story is interesting, as each character has to examine their own morals and truths before deciding on their course of action.

Their decisions result in a fast-paced and action-packed odyssey through a fantastical world of magical beings, magical powers, ruthless leaders, deadly sirens, and enemies hiding in plain sight. It’s a world and a story that I easily immersed me.

The world behind the green door is vivid and immense. Described with such depth and clarity, it is easy to visualize the enormous trees that are the width of an airplane and the massive, ferocious wolves that stalk all who enter the door. It’s a world similar to ours in the struggles for power, the political divisiveness, and the development of personal relationships, yet the setting, the anthropomorphism, and the unique powers that many possess are very different.

In addition to the amazing world-building and the fascinating concept behind the story, the character development is wonderful. Meg is snarky, sarcastic, and selfless. Brek is understanding, loyal, and brave, and Carter is helpful, smart, and strong. They, as well as the characters they meet along their journey, are richly developed.

Meg and Brek have a fabulous relationship. Friends for years, they are comfortable and sure of each other. Their camaraderie, affectionate teasing, and deep love for each other show how beneficial friendships are. However, I think that Brek’s feelings for Meg run pretty deep. There are hints along the way that Brek might like Meg as more than a friend, but he holds back in fear of ruining their wonderful friendship.

Unlike Brek, Carter’s interest in Meg is obvious. His flirtations and behavior make it clear that he wants to be more than friends. Meg is unlike any girl he’s dated, and he is intrigued. Carter, used to getting what he wants, seems to like that Meg challenges him. He also admires her quick wit, courage, and selflessness.

For her part, Meg doesn’t seem to know how she feels. She’s strongly attracted to Carter, but she feels a deep bond (and some attraction) with Brek. Though her budding romance with Carter develops throughout the story, I have a feeling that this love triangle will be explored further in the next book.

The Green Door is a great start to what promises to be a fun and action-packed series. I can’t wait to find out what’s behind the red door in the next book and the other doors in subsequent books in the series! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

The Green Door looked enticing, but I found (much like the characters did) that it led to a world that I couldn't quite make sense of. This book is a proof that you can have too much of a good thing. There are many wonderful ideas and concepts, but they don't all fit well into the same story. I've taken to affectionately referring to this story as "Trope Soup". Start with a base of Dangerous Game, add in a Hotheaded Heroine, mix in a dash of Love Triangle and Star-Crossed Lovers, season with a bit of Fated Mate, and garnish with Talking Woodland Creatures. I'm a fan of cliches, honestly, but I don't think they all need to be in the same story. The book is decently written, but I get the sense that I've already read it all before.

Another area of confusion for me was who exactly the audience is supposed to be. The characters are all 18+, and their language and situations reflect this. However, the writing style seems like it would be better suited for juvenile fiction than teen. With a bit of reworking, this would make a great children's story, but it falls flat for a young adult audience.

Overall, this book just didn't work for me. Both the plot and characters lacked clarity, and I found myself struggling to even finish it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Heather Kindt for giving me access.

Remember the story Nerve? Where there was a game to play for money? Mix that with a Narnia like escape room and you have The Green Door.

Does that sound like a complaint? Well, it's not. Heather does an amazing job of world building and making you feel like you are with Meg, Brek, and Carter. The story is fast paced to where I didn't want to put it down.

I am looking forward to The Red Door to continue on their journey and to find out what adventures await them.

*Please be something Wonderland related*

I must say, I do find myself reading young adult fiction here and there, just to see how that genre is. It wasn't readily available when I was growing up. I really enjoyed this book. It felt like a cross between Narnia and Wonderland feel to it, which I really enjoyed. This book centers on best friends Meg, Brek and new friend Carter, who find themselves on a magical quest type game that offers cash prices Each doors completion offers a different amount of money, which is determinated by the level of difficulty to complete it. It's an interesting and fun sounding premise.

Contestants agree and sign documents stating that they won't sue, etc if something happens to them while they are in the game. The game involves choosing a room to go into. Each room involves entering a colored door. Next to the door are colored bracelets, the same color as the door that you go into. The plot is very well devised, setting up subsequent books in the series so that we see what possible next choices they will have.

I thought the it was extremely well written, and the main characters are interesting and richly developed. The storyline is so good and fast paced that I had a difficult time putting it down, which made for a fairly short read for me. Ms. Kindt made the characters engaging and interesting you are instantly hooked from page one.

An excellent start to a new series and I really find myself looking forward to book two. The red book. The Red Door has hearts on it. Please, please, please have a Wonderland feel to it! I will definitely be reading the sequel and I'm super excited for the release. Kudos!

I would like to thank Heather Kindt and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and exchange for a fair and honest review.

Unfortunately The Green Door didn’t work for me. This read more like a children’s book than YA. I think my 12 year old might have liked the story and writing style. However there was some content that wouldn’t be appropriate for the young reader. Meg was supposed to be strong and snarky but she came off as weak to me, looking to Brek to take the lead often. The world building needed more. The writing and especially the dialogue was simplistic. Just not a good fit for me.

Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for providing a digital ARC of The Green Door in exchange for an honest review.

The Green Door is such a well-paced, fun adventure. The world is unique (and I read a lot of YA fantasy settings so when I truly mean unique) without being bogged down with an excess of complex world building that harms the flow of the plot. While the whole "magic door" thing might make you go Narnia, The Green Door feels like a lot of the best bits of a ton of different worlds all thrown together in a way that makes so much sense I'm surprised I haven't seen it done before.

My one complaint would be the multiple references to (sometimes non-consensual) sex. BEFORE YOU CALL ME A PRUDE the books characters are old enough that it's not weird and I'm normally fine with sexual content. This book isn't super sexual so it doesn't do much to help the story to reference more adult topics and I could see a lot of 12-15 year old audiences loving this story but I'm hesitant to suggest it to that age bracket because of one or two short scenes.