In a Nutshell: A contemporary fantasy-thriller combining low fantasy and time travel with the evergreen good vs. evil trope. Mindboggling plotting! Enjoyed this debut novel from start to end, despite a few minor niggles.

Plot Preview:
New York City. Cassie, who works at a bookstore, is surprised when her favourite customer leaves her a book on his passing. The book seems to be full of strange writing and drawings, and has an inscription at the start revealing its name: the ‘Book of Doors’.
Soon, Cassie realises the significance of the title. Using the book, she can go through any door and enter any other place. Along with her best friend Izzy, Cassie begins exploring places using the magical book. Little does she know that this is not the only magical book in the world, and through their fun adventures, they have stirred the interest of some violent people who will do anything to get their hands on this powerful book. The only person who is equipped to help them is the mysterious Drummond Fox, but he seems to be escaping his own past.
The story comes to us through the third person perspectives of various characters.

The official blurb recommends this to readers of ‘The Midnight Library’, ‘The Invisible Life of Addie Larue’, and ‘The Night Circus’. Of these, I have read only the first one, and this book is nothing like it except for the presence of doors. So I’m going to advocate this to readers who enjoyed Peng Shepherd’s ‘The Cartographers’ and Alix E. Harrow’s ‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’, both of which I loved for their creativity.

Bookish Yays:
🚪 First things first. A debut novel, with a clear focus, and an ambitious storyline, and no overload of needless themes, and a plot that fits together almost like a jigsaw puzzle, a piece at a time. Well done!
🚪 This is a classic good vs evil fantasy. With most characters slotting neatly into either section, this is almost like watching a superhero movie where ordinary characters save the world.
🚪 On that note, the main characters are not heroes but realistic, flawed humans. Cassie is concerned only about her own wishes for a long while. Izzy is obsessed with staying thin. Drummond is a coward who chooses flight over fight. It’s amazing to see them grow in maturity and spirit over the course of the novel.
🚪 The secondary characters, though in somewhat limited roles, are also interesting. Book hunter Azaki, and Lottie aka The Bookseller are amazing grey characters. Azaki’s “bodyguard” Lund is the strong-silent type; I wish he had had a greater active role. The characters that sent a chill through my bones were the antagonists. The book has two of the most heinous villains I have read. (Admittedly, I don’t read a lot of villainous thrillers, so take this line with a pinch of salt.) The main antagonist – ‘The Woman’ – is 100% evil and creepy as heck!
🚪 There are multiple characters at the start, but introduced in a way that is easy to remember who's who. The identity of the characters doesn’t get confusing.
🚪 As a bibliophile, I loved not just that books played such an important role in the plot but also the reveal about how the books came into being. There was something almost spiritual in that scene. And who doesn’t want magical books!?
🚪 You will NEVER see me listing gore and/or brutality in the Yays column, and yes, this book has a quite a lot of brutality. (Remember? Heinous villains!) I actually have a poor tolerance for gory scenes. But the writing in this book is such that I was more fascinated+horrified than grossed out by the carnage.
🚪 The writing is descriptive without going over the top. I could visualise every scene vividly. (which wasn’t a good thing during the bloodshed scenes; oh well!)
🚪 The pacing is somewhat uneven, but I didn’t mind it, as the story doesn’t regress or falter even during the slow moments. The tempo goes in sync with the characters’ actions and emotions at that time. It was almost as if the pace altered in accordance with the state of the character’s freedom. And hey, I still completed this 400+ pager within two days, so no complaints.
🚪 My favourite part of this book is the intricacy of the plotting and how it all comes together. Unlike the more grounded genres such as crime thrillers or historical fiction, genres such as fantasy and time travel cannot be overanalysed for logical accuracy as they are essentially imaginative. Keeping this in mind, the book astounded me with how neatly *almost* all its threads came together at the end. Moreover, the book offers plenty of twists and surprises along the way, while avoiding unwarranted infodumps and needless backstories for the characters. Most importantly, the book takes a couple of plotting calls that are hardly common in time travel stories – such a brave writing choice!
🚪 There is a hint of a romantic development, but thankfully, the story never deviates from its main track and the romance is kept exactly where it belonged – on the backburner.
🚪 I am not a fan of chapter titles in adult novels, but they are used wonderfully in this book.
🚪 Don't you just love authors who thank their pets in their final acknowledgement? I do!

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🔐 Some of the language is a bit awkward. One of the villains, Dr. Hugo Barbary, is exactly as his last name suggests – barbaric not just in his savagery but also in his uncivilised opinions, especially about women and those of non-white ethnic origins. While his lines are cringeworthy to read, they highlight what kind of a prejudiced jerk he is. If we remember that the language reflects the character, it is easier to ignore.
🔐 The plotting gets a bit too convenient at times. Some character decisions are annoying. There are also some question marks in a couple of the scenes. Actually, all this is a hallmark of most contemporary thrillers anyway, which is why I avoid thrillers. I guess I should be grateful this novel doesn’t go as much over the top and gets most things right.

All in all, I had plenty of fun reading this wonderful and entertaining debut novel. While the conveniences could have been toned down, the complicated storyline and the vivid writing ensured my utter satisfaction.
Definitely recommended to readers who enjoy low fantasy/magical realism and innovative storylines and imperfect characters. Just throw your overanalytical caps aside and enjoy the journey!
The author recently revealed on Instagram that he has finally started penning his next book, the title of which also begins with ‘The Book of [xxxxxxxxxxx]’. Sign me up for it!

4.5 stars. (For a long while, I debated about whether to round this down or up. I choose ‘up’ for two main reasons; 1. it is a mind-blowing debut work; and 2. I simply couldn’t keep it aside!)

My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Book of Doors”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The Book of Doors seems like it would be a perfect read for me, magic, fantasy and books! I had a tough time getting into the story, the main character was one dimensional and the pacing was slow. If you think you might enjoy this book then by all means check it out. Happy reading!

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC. And the opportunity to read and review this book.

Unfortunately, DNF @ 22%. I was really into this in the beginning, but it started dragging. I ended up not finishing.

I enjoyed this fantasy - a love letter to readers. It wasn't a perfect read for me, but I would recommend for readers who love Alix E. Harrow.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I want to start by saying that I did genuinely enjoy the majority of my experience of reading this book and my criticisms of it are mainly based on my own reading style and interest. This book upends the narrative expectations of a "chosen one" + "magical object" storyline. I felt as if I could have been in Cassie's shoes and have made the same irrational, impulsive decisions she did at the beginning! Cassie learns quickly what many fantasy heroes have learned before her, that all magic comes at a cost. I loved that her family of friends (especially Izzy) carries her through this book. Now, for what I struggled with...

Cassie's inner thought life makes her seem shallow and judgmental. She seems to develop very little over the course of the extremely slowly paced story. What I want out of the pace of a story may not have been what the author had in mind, and that's okay! The book also purports to be asking interesting questions about the nature of humanity, society, and good and evil - but, I think it fails to deliver on even gesturing towards an answer or an argument to those questions. The book was marketed by comparing it to other texts that play with the same concepts in a more engaging and thoughtful way (i.e. The Midnight Library, Babel, etc.). The early chapters from the villain's perspective are haunting, but over time I started to feel like her characterization was very flat and she was being set up like a serial killer of the week on an episode of Criminal Minds - aka dehumanized to the point where the reader expects (and expects to celebrate) her death. The same goes for the latter half's villain, a cartoonishly evil figure.

Something else I wanted more of in the story (and, again, this is my own readerly bias, not necessarily a failure on the book's part) was in-depth lore and history behind the creation and use of the many magical Books and a more intricate / consistent explanation for how the magic system works. I am a huge fan of high fantasy and so maybe I'm looking for more depth in a book that wasn't designed to meet that need. That's okay with me, but I doubt I'll be returning to this read.

When a favorite book store customer dies suddenly in the store, Cassie, a devoted employee discovers that the customer left an unusual book with her name on it. When she returns to her apartment, Cassie and her roommate, Izzy soon discover that the book is very special as it contains magic that allows them to go through doors at any place and any time in history. But just as they are enjoying the perks of The Book of Doors, others who know of this book in addition to numerous other magical books, some well intentioned and some evil, pursue the women and their lives are quickly endangered.
I do like good fantasy and magical realism and this book offers some very unusual good versus evil magical components. I love the concept of using books as tools of magic but for the most part, I found this book to be choppy with too many story lines and POVs. I didn't think any of the characters were well developed with the exception of Cassie. I checked 2 or 3 times to see if the book is listed as YA because the characters seemed immature and it just read as a YA book to me. So, I liked the creativity but this book was just not enjoyable to me.

When I first read the excerpt for this book I was really intrigued. It's always fun to find books with a unique magic system. The book started off slower than I was expecting so it took me a bit to really get into it, but when I did I was hooked! Once this book dug its claws in I stayed up until 2 am because I HAD to know what happened. As I stated before, one of the things that drew me in was the unique magic system. In The Book of Doors, the magic comes from special books that give those who can read it abilities. There were 2 different antagonists and both were formidable in their own right. The male antagonist does make some comments that are both racially derogatory and misogynistic. However, they were a small part of the dialog so I was able to look past them, if you don't believe you can maybe consider skipping this book. Aside from that Gareth Brown did an impeccable job of interweaving the past and present timelines seamlessly and really explaining why and how everything happened. I can't wait to read more by this author.
Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing a digital review copy of this imaginative and bingeable book with me in exchange for my honest review.

The concept of this book really interested me however, it couldn’t keep me interested. I do plan on trying again in the future because again the concept of being able to travel through the pages of a book and bringing whoever was with along was intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an arc.

Full transparency: I have struggled with the idea of writing this review and leaving a rating because I did DNF this book at around 35%. Please take my feedback with a grain of salt. Just because I didn’t enjoy it doesn’t mean you won’t.

I was so excited to read this and I am so sad to say that I knew from about 10% of the way through that I was not going to enjoy it.

To begin with the positives, the premise and magic system described in the synopsis really intrigued me. I really enjoyed the magic books, even the more simple ones were made to feel exciting.

But, the pacing was inconsistent and the prose was odd to me. Everything felt very clunky and forced. In my opinion there were several instances where details that added nothing to the world/character building or plot. I also did not appreciate the author’s stereotypes he applied to the female characters. Some of the first introductions we get to Cassie and her roommate Izzy are them complaining about their bodies which to me is just lazy writing.

The main characters and villains also felt very flat to me. I couldn’t connect with any of them and I struggled to focus while reading.

All this to say, I was disappointed but that doesn’t mean someone else out there won’t enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed this book. The adventures and quest by various characters to collect the books kept me interested and kept the story moving. I have to admit the nefarious characters scared me a little. That added to the classic good vs. evil plot line. I also enjoyed the hint of romance between some of the characters. Finding out where the books came from, Cassie herself when she goes into the Nowhere, was very clever. All in all, a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley & William Morrow for an ARC copy of this book.

Oh my gosh - I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It sounded interesting from the synopsis, but it ended up being so much more than I expected. Although Cassie is our "main" character, all of the other characters get their time to shine and all of their backstories really adds to the depth of the entire novel. Although there were a few twists I figured out, the story had other surprises & action that kept my attention. And by the end all of those pieces came together nicely - I'm always so fascinated when narrators are able to do that. (I envision a wall of sticky notes moving around.) In the end I finished the book with a smile and wanting to be apart of a world with magic books... maybe.

This was suchhh a fun book! I’m truly a sucker for books about books so I had to jump on this one immediately.

Book of Doors by Gareth Brown follows Cassie, a bookseller in NYC, who is left a book by her favorite customer. She soon learns it’s a magical book that can transport her to any door in her imagination. This sets off an adventure of others with ill intentions trying to get their hands on the book to add to their collection of other magical books.

I found this book to be whimsical and magical. All of the characters were interesting to read about. It was truly a fantastic journey to read through. I don’t usually love fantasy books but this one was definitely a good one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I was thrilled to get the chance to read this book because it has a similar vibe to some of my favorite books. If you like The Starless Sea + The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue + The City of Stardust + The Atlas Six then you will like The Book of Doors.

This book is a fun literary portal fantasy about magical books that will appeal to literary fiction readers and fantasy readers alike. Our protagonist, Cassie, acquires one of these books called The Book of Doors, which allows her to open any door anywhere at any time. At first, she is having fun exploring the world, but then she learns that sinister individuals want her book to add to their magical book collection, and they will do whatever it takes to get it. So ensues a chase through time and doors that is both mysterious and exhilarating.

I had such a great time reading this book. It's fun but also has moments of seriousness. There are great characters and great portrayals of friendship. I definitely recommend giving this one a go, and I cannot wait to read more from Gareth Brown in the future.

An enchanting tale, The Book of Doors opens up unending possibilities of portals to adventure around the world for any who have it. This magical book is not the only one and floating around the world. This unique magic system was captivating, especially for those who are lovers of books, Fast-paced with action, fights, mystery, and wonder, my attention was held throughout the story as I wondered what books would be uncovered and characters revealed. This book did get a bit detailed and gruesome at some points, but it also showed the length of insanity and power some feel. The romance was a slowburn and not the center of the book, both of which I enjoyed. There were a lot of characters, places, and time lines in this plot, that in a few occasions lost me, but they all came together in the end.

In his debut, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀, Brown presents an intriguing concept - a book that gives one the ability to travel anywhere via any door. The adventure begins in the most magical of places - a bookshop!

One evening as Cassie’s closing up shop, one of her regular customers, passes away, leaving behind a book for her. He’d always encouraged her to travel, and claimed this book would help her. Baffled and skeptical, she shows her roommate Izzy, and they both learn that it’s the real deal! Unfortunately, it puts them in harm’s way for anyone looking to own this book. It’s also not the only book of its kind out there. There are bad people with nefarious motives who want to get their evil hands on it.

While the premise is good, I felt the characters were one dimensional, and lacked the kind of depth that gets me emotionally invested in the journey. The one character who elicited a reaction from me was only known as ‘the woman’, and she was vile! Her scenes were disturbing.

That being said, there are some creative twists more than halfway through the book that I was happy to see. I think it’s a good debut, and that the things I felt were missing will improve as this talented author grows.

Read this for:
*time travel & magical realism
*suspense/thriller vibes
*lots of croissants

Be aware of: racist & sexist language (bad guys), body issues talk (FMCs)

Thanks to @williammorrowbooks for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such an interesting and dreamy read!! Loved it but was a little slow at times for me. Definitely would want to read more from this author!

The authors concept of time travel really hasn't spoken much to me in past reads. However, I was drawn into this read for its beautiful depiction of life and all the doors we have to go through to end up where we are today.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown in exchange for an honest review. When I first started this book it felt a lot like Locke and Key by Joe Hill. As I kept reading though, it developed more into its own story. I really enjoyed it and the characters. This was a sci-fi/philosophy/fantasy novel that kept my interest until the last page. I finished this book sad that it was over and wishing for more.

As an avid reader and a book publisher, it is rare for me to reach the end of a story and feel drawn to start it all over again. Yet "The Book of Doors" was just such a book for me. I think perhaps it is one of the best books of the year!

I loved the relationship between Cassie and Mr. Webber (although I wondered why, after spending so much time together, they never graduated to a first-name basis). But there were plenty of other relationships I enjoyed too, including Izzy and Lund's, and Cassie and Drummond's.

Overall, "The Book of Doors" is an excellent time travel fantasy story that focuses on the power of books and friendships, and the pain of love and loss. I enjoyed the characters, the twists and turns of the plot, and the narrative. The pacing kept me enthralled with the story and there were many times I was surprised by a sudden turn I hadn't anticipated.

My only "complaint" is that the author has set the bar high for his next book. :-)

Thank you to Gareth Brown, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

The Book of Doors was such a fun and magical read, though not quite what I was expecting. I really loved the adventure found in these pages, and the thought of having a magical book that could literally transport me is an idea that I think all avid-readers can appreciate and love. The book went in a direction that I did not expect - the beginning of the story felt so unique and mystical, but by the end it read more like a general good versus evil story. The pacing also wasn't consistent, and I found some parts dragged a bit. Some dialogue was a bit problematic to me, but overall it was an enjoyable story.