Some parts of this were great while others were slowwwww. I liked the fantasy aspect of this and thought the different books were so intriguing. However I was shocked at some of the racist comments in this book, as well as some of the depictions of the villains. Overall not for me.

What if you had a book that you could open any door to enter a place you are thinking about? I'd head to Venice, Edinburgh, Cairo or Tokyo! What if you could travel to a different time? I'd go back and see my parents or grandparents!

Bookseller Cassie befriends a sweet older gentleman who shares her love of The Count of Monte Cristo. One day while chatting in the shop, he sits down to read and as she is closing up, she realizes he has passed away. She sees his two books - The Count of Monte Cristo and old leather book, "The Book of Doors" . He left her a note telling her he hopes she will enjoy it.

The beginning of an interesting story. as she discovers what this book can do....however there is intrigue with dangerous people who want this book. And there are more books - a lot more books like the Books of Luck, Shadows, Memories and many more. This is where I began to lose a bit of interest with so many books, the time travel and shady characters. I know there are those who will love this book but since I am not a big fan of fantasy, magical realism or time travel, this book went much deeper into these areas and I lost interest. I do think for those who love this genre, they will enjoy this book. It just wasn't for me.

My thanks to Net Galley and William Morrow books for an advanced copy of this e-book.

I happily requested an ARC of The Book of Doors after receiving a promotional email from NetGalley. I was intrigued by both the description and the fact that it was a debut novel. Overall, I was so impressed with Gareth Brown's writing. I loved the setting, loved the characters, and loved the plot. I truly could not put The Book of Doors down and am waiting anxiously for Brown's next book already!

Run, don't walk to pick up this book. This book easily earned a spot on my favorite books list. Amazing storytelling! I truly believed I was in this world created by Gareth Brown in The Book of Doors, complete with magical books that could do all sorts of crazy things.

In The Book of Doors we meet Cassie, a young woman who works in a bookshop in NYC who is gifted a magical book. A book that allows her to open any and every door. The only problem is that there are unsavory people looking for this book and she doesn't realize she's in danger simply by possessing this book.

I cannot speak highly enough of this book. It is not something I would typically pick up or decide to read, however it is easily one of my favorite books now. It is the perfect blend of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. *Chefs kiss*

My first reaction is I loved this book.

A few things bugged me on a personal level. Sadly, some of those things I have come to expect to from male authors. I will address those first. If a woman having self-esteem issues or body issues does not actively influence the story, and get solved or addressed then leave it out. Some language even when from a villainous character is going to bother some people. Some of the descriptive writing is a bit graphic on the violence front. Be warned.

With that addressed, I will now talk about what I loved. A book about books always hits the spot for me. I thought this was another interesting way to incorporate magic into a world. That any door is every door was an interesting concept. Where it takes us is amazing. I found the beginning when they were testing it to be a little silly and like many friendships one is brave and the other hesitant.

I like when we start to have different timelines and the switch in POVs. The further in the more invested I got. I wasn't expecting some of the twists, but others were a bit predictable. The timeline when things were revealed seemed well paced for the most part.

I think the other reason I really identify with the main female character is the way her grief affected her. I have been through some very close and tough losses. This book did make me cry, but because I related to the feelings and how grief can change your personality. It was nice how this theme was included, and the main character had the chance to address her grief head on eventually.

This will be one some people dive into head first, and devour. Others will get stuck on the things that offend and not see the positives. I hope if you decide to read it you enjoy the experience like I did.

Thanks to netgalley for my ebook edition in exchange for my honest review.

I was interested in reading this because I am a huge fan of The Midnight Library.

This book did not disappoint. I intend to make this as spoiler free. But it is important to note that this is a story that starts off very slow. It was not interesting and almost too boring as the story starts out. I found myself not reading at my average speed and setting the story aside because I was having trouble being invested.
This was my mistake, because once you get there. You realize that everything matters in this book. Once I had this understanding, I was giddy and went back and started reading it over again with new eyes. I really ended up enjoying it!

I have already recommended this book to my friends and will be excited to purchase one for my shelf. This surprisingly was my favorite book I read this month

Didn't enjoy this as much as I think I could have when I hadn't read it. I feel like that and me not liking the mc was kind of my own mind convincing me to not like this. Not horrible at all, this just isn't for me at the time but I may read again to see of im just being self-destructive.

The Book of Doors is a light read filled with interesting characters and lots of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff. Most of the story was predictable but it didn't take away from my enjoyment. Time travel stories can get overly complicated in how twisted everything is, but I felt like it was handled well here. I would've liked more about the books and villains. Especially about the creation of the books which.. I get what the author was going for, but kind of missed the mark for me. Everything wraps up pretty well, minus one small open end that leaves room for a potential sequel.

3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. The idea that a book can open doors to anywhere and allow the holder of the book to physically transport themselves was a cool concept. The creation of this world of books that Gareth Brown creates was magical. I do wish the books had been used more during the course of the book. I felt some areas were a little slow, and with the potential in the book I wanted a bit more action. Still really enjoyed this work and would look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this unbelievably fantastic book - I didn't want it to end!! The well developed characters, story line and detailed descriptions made it difficult to put this book down! This gifted brilliant writer manages to paint a magical story that feels so real! At times, I felt like I was a actually there with the characters as their stories were unfolding. Fantasy and time travel typically isn't my thing (or, at least I thought it wasn't, but this book managed to pull me in from start to finish!

Cassie lives a pretty simple life. She lives with her best friend Izzy in NYC. She goes to her job at Kellner Books in the afternoon and closes most nights. Cassie is very friendly to an old man that comes in every day. One evening the man passes in her bookstore and Cassie is so sad. She ends up noticing a book next to him and inside is a note to her which is weird but very sweet of him, so she takes it.
What ensues is a magical universe that opens to Cassie and she is very excited and wants to fully embrace this new world but Izzy warns her there has to be a bad side. Soon the two realize the bad side but they are too far in at that point
I can honestly not believe this book is a debut novel I'm shocked by the pros and the incredible story line that this author was able to create. I was completely enthralled by all of it. I could not put this book down.

As a lover of magical realism and time travel fantasy, I adored the Book of Doors. This novel begins when an elderly customer passes away in the bookstore where Cassie works, leaving a strange book in her possession. She quickly discovers this book gives her the power to turn any regular door into a door that will take her to any place or time she imagines — and that it's not the only book with magical powers. After using the Book of Doors just a few times, Cassie begins running into other people who hold different books — and running from a mysterious, dangerous woman who will do anything to collect all the magical books. The rules of this magical version of our world were plotted masterfully, allowing the reader to be carried along on Cassie's adventure without breaking the spell of the story. What I loved most of all were the relationships Cassie develops with the fellow book-holders she meets along the way — and the bittersweet loss she experiences through the passage of time. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys magical realism or fantasy.

I'm giving this one 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. It would have been a solid 5-star read, but I found the first half too slow and occasionally boring. However, the second half was so great that it entirely made me forget I was ever bored.

The Book of Doors is brilliantly magical, mysterious, and action-packed. Even with all that action, a few parts actually brought me to tears. There were so many twists and turns in the second half that it was a bit of a roller-coaster. The ending left me with questions still and wanting more, but sometimes I enjoy not having everything neatly wrapped up. It lets my imagination take over.

This ended up being one of the most entertaining books I've read in a while. I highly recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Absolutely loved this book!! This is magical realism at its finest. The story moves along as the characters develop in an organic way. I can already say this will be a favorite read for me in 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was intrigued with the idea of this book and it’s so very unique.

I liked:
I loooovee Cassie and Izzy from the first page. I was sucked in. Then, the chapters themselves start jumping. Almost creating a sense of time-travel for the reader!

The descriptions of places were lovely. I enjoyed imagining what Brown was describing.

I struggled with:
The extreme violence - felt out of place in an otherwise vibey story. The characters inflicting the violence were also cartoonish in how they are “bad.”

But, the main reason I struggle to give this a 4 star fully are the racist descriptions of characters. He does it in a way that almost feels okay which just feels so wrong.

With some coaching on how to describe people and develop his characters, Brown might be a fun author to follow!

A book about magical books that grant powers to the person who holds them? Sign me up! Cassie is given The Book of Doors by a customer at the bookstore where she works. The book is mysterious, with writing and drawings she doesn't understand. She soon finds that this book can open doors to literally anywhere in the world. What she doesn't know is that this book is part of a collection of extremely powerful books that grant powers to those that use them. There are those who want to keep those books safe and those who would use these books to cause harm to others. I liked how this book was written. I will say that the first half of the book builds very slowly. I was interested in the story and where it was going so I definitely kept going, but it was definitely slower than I would normally like. The second half picks up the pace as the events start to unfold. I thought this half of the story was really engaging and I kept wanting to know what was going to happen with the books. The dialogue sometimes felt a little clunky, but I think once I understood that characters more, I didn't even notice that anymore.

The characters themselves were pretty interesting. While Cassie is the main protagonist, there is a relatively large ensemble cast and each character is explored further throughout the book. I liked Cassie generally. While she jumps right into believing the magic of the Book of Doors, she is rightfully skeptical of the new people in her life until she spends time with them. Her friend Izzy is similarly unsure about everything and is swept up into this world despite her misgivings. Drummond Fox, the Librarian, is a quiet man working to ensure the safety of the books and making sure the books don't end up in the wrong hands. The villains are truly evil in this book and sometimes over the top. Somehow though, they are still believable. There are a few other characters that play important roles throughout the book and I felt like they were developed really well for secondary characters as well!

Overall, I really liked this debut! I thought it was a perfect balance of whimsical and magical with some mystery and action as well. I would definitely recommend it and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author!

I DNF’d about 30% in. I am also a big mood reader and this could very much be a me problem. This is just not for me. The time traveling/ jump in characters was confusing. Overall It didn’t hold my interest and I found myself having to re-read pages.

This is a very unique premise and it has a lot of layers and nuance that can make it difficult to follow along at times. But it kept my interest the whole time. Lots of intrigue and mystery, this was a wild ride until almost the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I enjoyed reading this book and thinking about the possibilities that could happen. Overall I liked the idea of the magic books and what they were capable of. The story did have some interesting twists that I didn’t see coming, but were also not surprising in a sense. There were a few plot holes at the end that were kind of confusing and not explained.

I read the first 30 percent and skimmed the rest. This could have been good. Great even. Except for the terrible written female characters and blatant racism. Really, the villains are the only black characters? The women are obsessed with body image? Hopefully this was taken care of before it was actually published.