Hello, readers!

I’m trying to gather interest for The Name and the Key and to promote it the best way I can so it has a solid launch. One of the ways I’m trying to accomplish that is through the creation of an ARC team.

What is an ARC team?

An ARC team is a group of excited readers who help authors promote their forthcoming works. They are given access to Advanced Reader Copies where they are able to read the book early before release, and then are asked to leave a review of the book on Goodreads, Amazon, and other important places.

ARC readers are encouraged to leave reviews but are not required to. However, it’s considered helpful (and good form!) if you do.

I am asking my newsletter subscribers and all of you viewers of my website if you want to take part in this venture. Two weeks before the release of The Name and the Key (before July 21, 2026), you will receive an eARC link to download the book from BookSprout. The link will be emailed to the address you provide.

Swag Awarded!

If you sign up to join the ARC team, you will receive two chibi stickers of the lead characters, and an art postcard by Juhaihai. Here’s a preview of the stickers:

The art postcard is currently being commissioned, but will feature realistic, more serious artwork of Lily and Andresh.

A note about the swag: The swag is not meant to be exchanged for a review. The swag is a reward for signing up for the ARC team. Swag will be delivered late June/early July for those who sign up, which is before the eARCS open. Reviewing is completely optional.

About the Book

Some doors are sealed for a reason—and some names should never be spoken aloud.​
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At thirteen, Lily Bellamy finds her mother’s body in the marshes. What haunts her afterward is worse.
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A corpselike spirit that looks like her mother follows Lily through every reflective surface—mirrors, glass, still water—whispering for Lily to open the door and let her out. Lily has no idea what the door is, how to stop the visions, or whether saving her mother is even possible. The haunting stretches into her young adulthood, eroding her sanity and dragging her closer to a breaking point she can feel but cannot escape.
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When Lily is eighteen, Andresh Zatavier returns—the boy who once knew her better than anyone, and perhaps still does. Changed by years overseas, Andresh confesses his study of dark magic and forbidden knowledge beyond human limits. He believes he knows the key to Lily’s curse—and how to end death itself.
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But every secret Andresh carries comes at a cost.
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As Lily is drawn deeper into a world of dark gates and dangerous names, she must decide how far she is willing to go to save the woman she lost… and whether opening the door will free her mother—or unleash something far worse.
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Kristina Elyse Butke launches a chilling new dark fantasy series with The Name and the Key, weaving grief, forbidden magic, and aching connection into a story where love tempts fate—and some doors should never be opened.

Where do I sign up?

Sign up at the ARC registration form here:

​https://form.jotform.com/260682601877060​

A final word

When Son of the Siren debuted, I did not have an ARC team or street team or anything like that. I didn’t know they existed, or how to go about creating one, and the launch of the book was affected by this.

I want The Name and the Key to be bigger. It’s a different beast entirely and I hope for its success. You can help by becoming an ARC reader who leaves an honest review. It will help the launch immensely and build buzz for the book.

Thank you!