I’m very pleased today to welcome The BBNYA 2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight Tour for Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren’s Corruption! This book made it to the semi-finals, so you know there’s something good going on–but before getting to this Spotlight, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.
BBNYA:
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (18 in 2026) and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.
Book Details:
Title: Corruption by Alexander by Verbeek-van den Toren
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Format: Paperback, eBook
Length: 203 pg.
Publication Date: January 13, 2026
About the Book:
When their ability to connect to the magical Flow disappears, Revan and the other students at his college’s island are stranded, surrounded by fiery seas separating habitable regions. Revan can’t retreat to his home island, only in contact with people who don’t know his true identity.
While most people only have one of the five crystals in their torso lit up, determining their role in society, Revan is among the few with more than one lit-up crystal. If anyone find out, he’ll be considered Othercrystalled, and cast from society.
Torn between his feelings for his male best friend and a female classmate, with his secret close to being revealed, Revan discovers evidence the magic might not have been cut off naturally. Someone might be using the chaos to hunt Othercrystalled. Someone full of Corruption.
What is the opening line? Revan could no longer form a gate with his magic.
What’s a fun fact about the book? I wrote this book after writing a fantasy novel where the worldbuilding felt too earthly. So in this I was like, let’s throw in ALLLLL the weirdness I can imagine.
What food or drink pairs best with the book? I think a soda would be nice! And some pizza, perhaps. Pretzels could also work well.
What music pairs best with the book? Queer songs would probably do well. Think It’s A Sin, or Smalltown Boy.
Book Links:
Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Bookshop.org ~ Goodreads ~ The Story Graph
About the Author:
Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren is a Dutch writer who enjoys queer books and strange cultures, preferably even together, and loves both writing and reading about them. Alexander writes both in Dutch and in English; in English his debut novel ‘Corruption’ came out this year, in Dutch he regularly appears in collections and magazines with his short stories. Apart from writing Alexander is a child psychologist. He lives in Spijkenisse, near Rotterdam, together with his husband and their dog.
My thanks to The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.