Publishers Weekly
★ 01/30/2023
Six teenage wizards are stranded in the wilderness after a spell goes awry in this pulse-pounding series launch from Reintgen (the Ashlords duology). Balmerick University scholarship student Ren Monroe may be talented, but she lacks the connections necessary to secure employment at one of the wealthy, powerful political houses in the hierarchical city of Kathor. That is, until disaster strikes. Ren and five classmates—including two house heirs—are traveling via portal when something misfires and drops them in the Dires, a distant, desolate place where dragons once dwelled and monsters still roam. One person mysteriously dies in transit, inspiring distrust among the survivors, but since Kathor is too far for transport via sorcery, the group must join forces to return on foot. Though the long, dangerous trek is further complicated by limited resources, Ren determines it a serendipitous opportunity to impress the heirs and obtain placement in one of their houses—provided that they all live. Reintgen combines inventive worldbuilding, intricate plotting, and a strongly developed, racially diverse cast to craft a twisty tale of classism, redemption, and revenge. Tense prose and escalating environmental, magical, and social conflicts foster constant fear for the characters’ fates. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary. (Mar.)
K.D. Edwards
"Magical boarding school students mysteriously stranded in a hostile wilderness? Yes, please. Reintgen blends thriller and fantasy in an absolute page-turner. I love when you don't see the twists coming, and this flawlessly delivers."
Booklist
"A fitting successor for readers who have just finished Naomi Novik's The Golden Enclaves (2022) and are ravenous for more dark academia."
Ayana Gray
"Readers craving the electrifying twists and turns of a thriller alongside a healthy dose of magic will find their prayers spectacularly answered in Reintgen’s A Door in the Dark. With dexterous prose, an impellent plot, and characters you can’t turn away from, this story sinks its claws into you and doesn’t let go."
New York Times bestselling author Ayana Gray
With dexterous prose, an impellent plot, and characters you can’t turn away from, this story sinks its claws into you and doesn’t let go.”
School Library Journal
05/01/2023
Gr 9 Up—Magic comes out of the ground, from land once inhabited by dragons. People travel on waxways, portalling from one location to another via concentration and candles. Those in the lower city strive to raise their status, hoping to improve their lives and their monthly allotment of magic. But protagonist Ren's ambition is darker and stronger than most. She seeks revenge for her father's murder at the hands of one man at the top of society. She attends Balmerick, the magic school, becoming the perfect student in order to gain the best employment upon graduation. But on a waxways trip home with fellow students, something goes horribly wrong, sending all of them far into the Dires, menacing wilderness days outside of the city. One of them is already gruesomely dead upon arrival, and now they are being hunted. Fleeing for safety across treacherous slopes with scant supplies and dwindling magic, Ren determines her best path not only back home but to impress her companions to secure her future. The only problem? One of these students is a killer. Part locked-room mystery, part glorious new fantasy world, Reintgen's latest novel is filled with unexpected friendships, surprising moments of comedy, deadly adventure, and a cleverly explained magical world. An explosive ending with a major plot twist in the final paragraphs will have readers clamoring for the sequel the moment they close the cover on the first. VERDICT A must purchase for libraries serving teens.—Kristen Rademacher
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-12-14
This dark fantasy duology opener has a magic school, a death, and five students who find themselves stranded in the wilderness.
Ren Monroe is a promising student wizard at Balmerick, a private school in the city of Kathor. Along with her best friend, Timmons, Ren is one of the few welfare students attending on a scholarship, and despite being one of the most accomplished people at the school, finding a placement in one of the top houses is proving difficult and is a hurdle in the way of the secret mission Ren has set out to accomplish. When a portal spell goes awry and Ren, Timmons, and four other students from different walks of life are thrown together into the Dires, an uncharted land where the last dragons lived, one of them ends up dead and the rest need to learn to work together to make their way back home before they succumb to the harsh environment or the terrifying revenant following them. This may well be the chance Ren was looking for to prove her worth. Placing elements of a locked-room mystery and an original magic system within the familiar trappings of a school for magic, this is a no-holds-barred tale of revenge, atonement, and the pursuit of justice set in a world diverse in skin color and social classes. Ren is a protagonist for the ages: equal parts smart, calculating, and ruthless, forming a lethal package as an avenging angel.
Truly fantastic. (Fantasy. 14-18)