Not for me I'm afraid!

I wanted to love this book, the premise sounded amazing. Your favourite character from your favourite book series is real and standing in your house? And requires your help? Sign me up!

Unfortunately the execution fell flat, I found the writing quite juvenile and repetitive, and the fact that the FMC's name was repeated probably 10 times per page was frustrating to read.

The plot was fast paced (I think possibly too fast paced in some areas), we didn't really get any proper character development so I wasn't really invested in any of them...I felt like I was skimming over pages at certain points just to get through it.

I feel like with a bit more editing, refining certain areas so it's not as repetitve, and taking out around half of the "Aliya"'s, this book would be a good light fantasy read for a younger audience.

This book was so fast paced! I love that it only took place over 2 days.

It drew on everyone's little daydream - to meet your favourite characters! And, it is a wild ride.

I'm so thrilled that romance wasn't one of the main plot points - too many books these days only draw on romance and capitalise on having a romantic plot as the forefront of the text, but the fact that this one didn't allowed it to focus on so many other huge themes and ideas!

Sometimes I found it a touch repetitive, like we were revisiting the same themes and ideas over and over again, and having the same conversations just pages after we'd already had it, but I enjoyed it and I would definitely recommend it to someone.

I really wanted to love this book based on the premise (I'm a sucker for meta books about books) - however this was not my cup of tea. This is an ARC so I know that the grammatical/syntax errors will be fixed before publication, however it felt like there was a lot of editing that still needs to occur. I think the author has a great idea for the plot but it just fell flat for me. However I'm going to rate this a 3/5 because I think others might really enjoy this book post final editing.

“No fictional character should know the extent [to which] you love them.” I want to start by saying that I loved the premise of the book - you come home one day and your favorite character is standing in your living room and needs your help? Uh, yes please.

Where I think the idea gets let down is in the pacing (so fast) and the writing style (so repetitive!), as well as in the (lack of) character development. It doesn’t really make sense that Enzo would form such a bond with Aliya as fast as he does, and even the reader knows basically nothing about her by the end of the book. And also, he is kind of a jerk to her! To me, the chapter headings were a little silly, and not a good fit for the chapters themselves, though I did chuckle at the one about Aliya thinking Damon would be taller. I know we are not meant to comment on these types of things, but… an editor is really needed to catch the MANY errors in spelling and grammar, and some (albeit minor) plot holes, such as one character having a bat in the backseat of her car (but she is actually driving another character’s car at the time….).

I really wanted to hear more about the original book series that had made Aliya such a fan. My favorite line in the book - “Even Crown Princes can be side characters in someone else’s story,” - is so awesome, but we hear nothing about that someone else and never learn whether it was a real person or whether it was a story that Sienna had made up.

I did like the cliffhanger ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and Akira Varma for allowing me to read an advance release copy of the book; this is my honest review.

Thank you to Akira Varma and Netgalley for giving me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

As an aspiring writer myself, one of my WIPs actually has the same basic premise: "What would you do if your favorite character suddenly shows up?" which is what made me want to read this book in the first place. The first 20% was... okay, and some parts are great; this book touched on some aspects of "meeting your favorite character" that I haven't quite explored in my own work.

Unfortunately, it's all downhill from there. The grammatical issues and typos are things I could overlook, as they may get fixed in the final version anyway. But so much telling makes the reading experience tedious, and it's hard to overlook how plot-convenient some things could be.

First of all, it's never explained how Aliya could find the address to her favorite author's home SO EASILY, when the said author uses a pseudonym and supposedly protects her identity very well. And then there's the repetitions; this book would describe the same actions and/or feelings more than once at times. In addition, the book would use weird phrases multiple times, such as:
(Statement), that was.
(Statement), her mind added, unhelpfully.
His body ached in places he didn't know he has muscles.

But what bothers me the most is how none of the characters' motivations are explored deeply enough; Enzo wants to return to where he comes from, sure, but after a while he no longer bases his actions on that - and I'm not even sure what Aliya wants. And when I don't get their motivations, I can't relate to them nor care about them.

The two main characters are almost immediately attracted to each other; Aliya, I get, since this is her favorite fictional character in the flesh - but Enzo? Then again, I don't get why Aliya is willing to risk so much - even her life - for Enzo. Heck, I don't even get why the so-called villain is so insistently on their tails. It's like this book is trying to do so many things at once.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this but unfortunately this is a DNF for me.

I was intrigued by the premise but felt some of the language language used didn't fit and certain words overused. It also felt like it was geared towards a younger audience than me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Akira Varma for allowing me a chance to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet your favorite fictional book character?

Well, Aliya does.

When she gets home from work one night to find an injured man in her house. She realizes that its Crown Prince Enzo of Ravendore, a character from her favorite book series. The rest of the story from there is a wild ride.

If you like:
✔ Changing timelines
✔ Fae
✔ Magic portals
✔ Adventure
✔ War torn kingdoms

There's a lot more, but I'll leave it at that.

This book was very fast paced (it takes place over only 2 DAYS) and I found myself flying through it. It was nice to read about the characters of books being placed into our world. I found myself laughing out loud whenever Enzo was riding in a car.

Romance was not the main point of this plot, which is a bit out of the norm for me, but I really enjoyed it. The plot of the book had you wondering what was going to happen next and the CLIFFHANGER at the end of this book. This book isn't even out yet and I need the second one.

A few things that I found was the repetitiveness, it felt like sometimes I was reading the same thing over and over and I was just ready to get to the next part. Also the fact that the same words were being used quite often. I don't think I've read the word "unhelpfully" more in my life than I did in this book.

Overall I would recommend this book, just push past the repetitiveness and I think you'll really enjoy it.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and rate your novel, but I will not post a public review. I thought that the overall creativity of the book was excellent, the foundation of the story is there. My dilemma came with the the prose and editing. The writing was repetitive about details and could have used an additional round of editing and rework. An example of this repetition: within the first couple of chapters of the book a knife is mentioned and noted that it was purchased at ComicCon. The same specific detail is provided again two pages later. Within a singular character, the subjects name is mentioned 2-3 times. Because of issues like this, I was not able to finish the book. With another round or two of editing I believe you have a great story on your hands!

So so so so so gooooood! Loved every second of this book. The plot is fantastic. The author is fantastic for creating this story and characters.

This book breathes life into the protagonist's favourite fictional character and book series. It was interesting to see a fantasy we've probably all indulged in be brought to life through the pages of this story.
The light humour in Aliya's thoughts was really entertaining, and Enzo's rogue behaviour and confusion as he navigates the modern human world was comical. The multiple perspectives were fun to explore, but I wanted to feel more connected to Aliya in particular by learning more about her personally. I think that this would be developed in later books within the series, and I'm particularly invested in how things will turn out for Aliya and Enzo.
The book is probably best suited for those looking to read some light fantasy, and would be enjoyable for those interested in fan fiction as a theme.

Thank you very much for the eARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.

I want to start this of by saying thank you to Akria Varma for giving me the opportunity to be an arc reader of Only a Portal Away.

Being someone who has enjoyed fantasy for years and has always dreamed of what it would be like to get to meet a character from a book, the amount of joy I had for Aliya while reading this was unexplainable. She was living my dream.

When ordinary college student Aliya comes face to face with her favourite fictional character, her whole world turns upside down. She is pulled into a war that she has only read about and sees things that seem so unimaginable.

The world-building was amazing, with multiple kingdoms, magic portals, battles, and different creatures you can really imagine everything that is going on. I really enjoyed the muli-POVs giving us insight to each of the characters. I also think that Enzo’s memories were very well done and helped expand our knowledge of the plot as a whole.

The only thing that really bothered me, is how fast the plot moved. I’ve had issues like this before, so it might just be a personal preference, but just into the second chapter I felt thrown into so much that I would have preferred a bit more build-up. Though it got better in the second half of the book, everything in general seemed to move really quickly which didn’t feel entirely realistic to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the cliffhanger definitely got me so I will be watching out for a second book. I would recommend this book to any lover of fantasy who wants to see their own unimaginable dreams come to life.

“No fictional character should know the extend you love them.”

“Only a Portal Away,” by Akira Varma

Aliya, a struggling college student, comes home one day to find her favorite fictional character in her apartment and he’s injured. Crown Prince Enzo al’Deran goes through a portal to the human realm even though he’s in the middle of a war. Now he and Aliya are trying to find a way to portal him back to his realm.

This book is incredibly adventurous. It had a fun, lighthearted, joking feel even though they are being hunted and then when he dreams of the war, he was in. the banter between the two main characters and the humor of Enzo being so confused by human realm things was very entertaining. The story was interesting and never boring the entire way through. I really liked it and can’t wait for the next book. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Slow Burn
-Portal Fantasy
-Multi POV
-Elves

Thank you for the ARC.

Aliya comes home and finds her favorite fictional character, Enzo, comes to life in her living room. He asks for her help to return home...

A fresh story. I love the plot! Love Aliya and Enzo too. Both are terrific charaters and interesting independently.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Loved this book! Really liked the premise and the characters were wonderful, especially the chemistry between Aliya and Enzo. The ending was action packed and the cliffhanger left me wanting more - can't wait to read the next book!

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.