Meet Your Reviewer
About Beyond The Bookcase
Plot-first fantasy and sci-fi reviews from one reader who got tired of accidentally picking up romance novels.
Hi, I'm Nati.
After one too many "you have to read this fantasy book" recommendations that turned out to be mostly romance, I decided to build the resource I wished already existed.
I wanted a place where I could quickly tell whether a book was focused on worldbuilding, magic systems, mystery, adventure, or romance before investing my time in it.
Don't get me wrong—I don't hate romance. I loved the Throne of Glass series, even though things get a little spicy later on. But after seeing the same pattern over and over, I found myself spending more time trying to avoid certain books than finding new ones to read.
That's just one gal's opinion.
I have plenty of friends who love romance-heavy books, and you'll find those books here too. Some of them are fantastic. Browse The Bookcase to filter reviews by my rating system, or visit the Review Queue to vote on what I should read next.
The books that make you think.
The books that change you a little.
The books you still find yourself talking about years later.
The Bookstore That Changed My Mind
While building this website from scratch in basic HTML, I've had more than a few moments where I questioned whether I was wasting my time. Before a recent trip to Williamsburg, I was feeling especially unsure. Was anyone actually looking for the kind of site I wanted to create?
Then I walked into a local bookstore.
While browsing, I overheard someone say they couldn't get into fantasy anymore because every recommendation seemed to be filled with romance. I laughed because I had been having the exact same problem.
That tiny, completely random conversation reminded me that Beyond The Bookcase was not just solving a problem in my own head. Other readers were looking for the same thing I was: fantasy and sci-fi where the story comes first.
I left that bookstore more excited about this project than I'd been in months.
Every review on Beyond The Bookcase is written by me and based on my personal reading experience.
My goal isn't to tell you what you should like. It's to help you figure out whether a book might be right for you before you spend your time on it.
Plot First. Kiss Last.
