This book should be labeled more prominently as "new adult." I did not connect with the main character due to her age but I'm sure this book would be liked by readers looking for more "new adult" style type books.

An exhilarating adventure filled with intrigue, suspense, and moments of pure enchantment...

Book Information

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown is a 416-page fantasy/fiction novel published on February 13, 2024. Thank you to William Morrow Books for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy for review.

Summary

In New York City, Cassie Andrews, a bookseller, receives the Book of Doors from a favorite customer. This mysterious book grants unimaginable powers, leading Cassie and her friend Izzy on adventures beyond their wildest dreams. However, they soon realize they're not the only ones with magical books, facing danger from those who seek their newfound abilities.

Seeking help from Drummond Fox, who harbors his own collection of magical tomes, Cassie and Izzy confront a nameless evil that threatens them all. Together, they navigate a perilous journey, bound by their quest for survival in a world where magic and danger collide.

My Thoughts

"The Book of Doors" by Gareth Brown is an exceptional debut that exceeded all my expectations. While some have compared it to "The Midnight Library," a book I also enjoyed, I found it refreshingly unique. Brown weaves a beautifully written tale filled with magic, wonder, and mystery that kept me engaged from start to finish. Despite its 400-page length, the story read quickly and kept me turning pages to see what happened next. "The Book of Doors" is a breathtaking odyssey through realms of wonder.

The novel offers a complex storyline with numerous twists and surprises, taking unexpected directions that add to its allure. Brown's skillful character and world-building create a rich tapestry of fantasy, mystery, adventure, family, friends, suspense, horror, romance, and magic—truly something for everyone. Brown creates a Literary kaleidoscope that fractures reality and invites readers into a world where wonders never cease.

Similar to the TV series/comic book "Locke & Key," the premise involves magical elements tied to objects, in this case, books imbuing their holders with extraordinary powers. There is no limit to the quantity of books that might exist or to the unique powers that they might hold. Each new book introduced has the potential to turn the story in a new direction which Brown uses to keep the reader engaged. Every page holds the promise of adventure, danger, and unexpected enchantment.

There was a moment around three-quarters of the way through where I felt the story veered off course—"jumped the shark” so to say. I was worried as I had really enjoyed the book to that point. It was just one chapter that I thought stretched too far, but Brown managed to steer it back on track and recover, albeit with a slight hiccup.

The novel's conclusion is satisfyingly well-plotted, delivering suspenseful twists and surprises that tie up loose ends but also set the stage for a sequel.

Recommendation

"The Book of Doors" is a fantastic read that not only stimulates the mind but also tugs at the heartstrings, leaving a lasting impression. It’s an unforgettable exploration of magic and possibility. Brown blends the elements of fantasy and suspense into a mesmerizing tapestry that will keep you on the edge of your seat—highly recommended.

Rating

5 Magic Book Stars

“Happiness is not something you sit and wait for. You have to choose it and pursue it in spite of everything else.”

Oh I loved this one! I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting with this one but a thrilling fantasy wasn’t it but this one was FANTASTIC! The cover, the characters and the premise was absolutely captivating. This book follows Cassie who is gifted the Book of Doors only to realize that the book isn’t just an ordinary book but instead a book the holds magic. This sought after book soon lands Cassie on the run from some very bad people looking to add this magical book to their collection.
If you liked Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Books for an advance readers copy.

I had high hopes for this book; I loved the premise. However, it seems I am in a reading slump, and I couldn’t make any progress in this book. Also, the writing seemed to be lacking to me. Overall, I would want to give this book another try in the future (just not now).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy.

The Book of Doors opens the reader to time travel, epic battles between good and evil and the belief that books hold special powers. The storyline is interesting, but it lacked the culmination to all the build-up. It was just over.

A women loves books, works in a bookshop and finds a book that lets her travel to places through doors. This book leads the heroine into a series of events that endanger her life, and those of her friend as she becomes the hunted for her book. Immaturity got the best of the character often frustrating the me as the reader. This story had a lot highs and a lot of lows but ends up being just good not great.

Thank you, William Morrow.

To say I loved this story is an understatement, it gave me all the feels... I reccomend thowing yourself in semi unaware of the premise but read if you like:
Doors 😏
Bookstores & Libraries
Books about Books
Stories within Stories
Found Family
Magic
Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey stuff
The Starless Sea- Lite
Emotional Rollercoasters

That last paragraph made me happy cry 💙
I feel like a door was left open for a sequel(s). Fingers crossed

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC!

ARC Review ~ The Book of Doors~

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love the concept of this book, books with magic powers, especially to create a doorway to anywhere. It’s a fun idea and the characters are interesting though lost a little dimension. It kept me entertained though I would have liked a little more world building.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC!

I wanted to love this book, unfortunately there were some things that didn’t set well with me. The main would being the comments surrounding eating and food. Why would it be disgusting to eat bacon and pancakes? I found that very off pointing and made me want to dnf

“The best place to enjoy a stormy night is in a warm room with a book in your lap.”

They say reading opens doors, but The Book of Doors took this in the most literal sense, and it was so beautifully executed. It was heartwarming. I found myself growing attached to each cast of characters we met, and lost.

The Book of Doors is an ode to the fragility and beauty of being human. It also shows us the darkness and evil that lie beneath that beauty. It reiterates that books are more than imagination, but that they hold actual power.

This is a book I will purchase to sit on my shelves to leaf through time and time again, if only to hope that some of the magic within exists in real life.

A big thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Time travel? Say less, sign me up!

The Book of Doors by Garreth Brown is a fantasy mystery novel. Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers—a lonely yet charming old man—dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading. But this is no ordinary book… It is the Book of Doors. Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them. Then she’s approached by a gaunt stranger in a rumpled black suit with a Scottish brogue who calls himself Drummond Fox. He’s a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes. The tome now in Cassie’s possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them. Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books. With only her roommate Izzy to confide in, she has to decide if she will help the mysterious and haunted Drummond protect the Book of Doors—and the other books in his secret library’s care—from those who will do evil. Because only Drummond knows where the unique library is and only Cassie’s book can get them there. But there are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets. And a dark force—in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman—is at the very top of that list.

I am a sucker for any book with the comp title of Addie LaRue (aka my favorite book of all time). So I was happy to see that this book wasn't proven wrong. It's magical. Its whimsical. It's just *chef's kiss*

This book was not what I was expecting! I figuring it was going to be another pithy do something with your life novel, but it was so much more exciting than that! The Book of Doors was an exciting ride, and much darker and more gruesome than I was expecting. It had me on my toes and reveling in the magical realism of magic books, and what it could mean these were real. I really enjoyed this so much more than I thought! Thank you for an early copy.

What a gem of a book! It’s a book about books, and time travel and magic. It was a dizzying journey through time but the relationships and story lines were engaging and twisty. Cassie’s storyline is fantastic and her role in bringing the books out of the shadows was spectacular. Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC.

The Book of Doors was a fun, bookish fantasy. It would make a great Marvel-esque movie. The villains, etc. really reminded me of that throughout. I wish that Cassie would have had more chance to explore the world before it all went south. I loved exploring her relationship with Mr. Webber and her grandfather. It was a great story, full of magic.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book's concept was fantastic. Unfortunately, the way it was carried out has left me feeling confused. I didn't enjoy the first 20% of the book. The characters were incredibly bland, and the pace felt too hurried. About halfway through, I finally started to like the main character, and after that, I fell in love with her. That's also roughly when the plot really started to pick up steam and captivate me; at this point, I was unwilling to put the book down. Character conversations frequently seemed forced and unnatural, and the wording frequently sounded "off." Many of the scenes were far more graphic than I had anticipated. This novel, in my opinion, had so much unrealized potential. It may also just not be for me, and that's okay too.

A unique story of magical realism. This is not a genre that I usually read, but I enjoyed the story. I loved Cassie and her adventure was incredible, although sometimes a bit scary. I liked that the story focused on books. Kind of cool.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

Cassie and Izzy are roommates in NYC. Izzy works at a bookstore which is frequented by an older patron who passes away unexpectedly. He leaves behind a magical book that is able to transport its possessor to any location simply by envisioning a location and walking through any door. There exists a whole seedy underworld that wants to possess books like these to use for unsavory purposes and Cassie and Izzy quickly find themselves in danger. There also exists another group of people who try to protect the books from the evildoers.


Themes and Triggers:
Good vs. Evil, Friendship, Time Travel, Loss and Grief, Violence, Gore, Misogyny.

What worked:
The plot was very imaginative, and contained lots of twists and turns. The writing style felt very accessible, and not overly complicated and flowery. The book kept me engaged, and moved along quickly. The writer did a good job of creating atmosphere, particularly with the hotel scenes and the library/mansion, although he was not consistent with this in other areas.

What didn’t work:
The characters felt hollow, and oftentimes the dialog felt clunky and juvenile. The characters were very stereotyped, and cartoonish and there were definite areas of the book that felt very uncomfortable, particularly when the author would make dialog comments about the women feeling “fat like cows” for eating something.

The author would sometimes go on tangents, so chunks of the text felt unnecessary and repetitive. The author also has the odd quirk of going off on tangents about food, and what the characters were eating, which did nothing to add to the story.

There were definite misogynistic undertones with one of the main villains in the story, that felt unnecessary and uncomfortable. One example is “I wish it were still the 70’s when women still knew their place.” While I realize that we are not supposed to like the villain, and well…he is a villain and a jerk, it just felt unnecessary, and did nothing to develop the character. If the author had asked himself, "Does this detail/scene/dialog contribute to the plot, character development, tone" it would have been very useful to the reader and to his writing style.

The chapter where the main character goes into “nowhere” to deal with her pain didn’t work for me. It felt like the author was trying to be profound, which would have worked had the rest of the book been written to match the style of this chapter. It felt very thrown in and disjointed. In fact, the overall book felt disjointed with the writing style/s and tones.

This book was in need of a good edit. At times it dragged, and I found myself skipping over all the unnecessary pages of details about things that were extraneous to the plot. At one point there were two full pages of details that just felt like meandering to fill up space and word count.

In general, this book was marketed as an adult mystery/suspense novel and was compared to The Midnight Library, but it read more like a young adult horror/science fiction/superhero book. It could have been cut down to 250 to 300 pages with a good edit. The character dialog could use some work in order to make it feel less cartoony, and juvenile.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. It could have been a five star book had the writing been more skilled, and the tone more even.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my review. I had high hopes for this book, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. The premise of the book was enjoyable. However, the pacing seemed a bit off - parts moving too slow or others (like the big face off scene) moving too fast and without much suspense.

The paragraph where Hugo Barbary shows just how sexist and racist he is wasn't needed. We all know he's trash but adding in the abrasive dialogue felt out of place. I did enjoy Cassie and Drummond though.

Overall, I'm giving it a 3/5. I will definitely check out other books he's written/will write.

This book really got me. First of all, I was so sick and at times I could barely keep my eyes open. But I couldn't stay away from the story. So I would bargain with myself that I could read a few pages and then rest again. I can't think of any way to talk about this book without spoiling anything. It's cozy yet adventure-filled. It's deep and fantastical. I like the way the ending set it up that it could be a series or just be a standalone. Though, I really hope it's a series!

Thank you NetGalley! My actual rating is 4.75

What a cool book! Loved how it all pieced together even if sometimes my brain hurt. One I would definitely recommend for someone wanting a fantasy/sci-fi/magic type book. It's definitely a little YA at times and the MC seemed younger than I think she was but I still had a great time reading it. I may round up to 5, tbd.

3 Stars
One Liner: Great premise, uninteresting characters

New York City
Cassie Andrews works in a cozy café-cum-bookstore and has a routine life. One evening, she is gifted a unique book by an old customer. Taking it home, Cassie and her friend Izzy discover that the book is magical and can take them to any place through the door. Cassie is delighted to own the Book of Doors, enjoying the prospect of traveling at a whim.
However, she doesn’t acknowledge the danger the book attracts until faced with violence and danger. There’s a mysterious man who can help her. However, Drummond Fox is battling his demons and hiding from enemies. Out there is someone so evil that nothing will stop them from getting what they want.
The story comes in multiple POVs of Cassie, Drummond, Lund, The Woman, Lottie, and a few others.

My Thoughts:
How can I resist a premise like that? I don’t bother with comparisons (unless they involve a book I hate), but I do have the mentioned titles in my TBR, so it counts (maybe).
The concept of books as magical objects, not just a door to places and different times, but with an ability to do good or evil, is fascinating.
Time as a cyclic (and wheel-like) entity aligns with the Indic theory, so it was easy enough to go with the flow despite the lack of explanation.
Characters are important for any book. What can a reader do if she doesn’t connect with the MC? I wasn’t impressed with Cassie, and my opinion didn’t change even at the end. Izzy was better (if we ignore how physical attributes are important for most women in the book).
Drummond could have been ‘the MMC’, but he was uninspiring. A bookish male lead is a great idea. Having him act as a ‘coward’ instead of a fighter is also a nice touch. He can still be interesting, given the potential in his backstory.
The Woman- I loved her intro. Imagine an antagonist who is evil personified and will destroy the world with nonchalance. My kinda lady! However, she has no character development. That’s all she is, which makes her as solid as a torn page. And the reason for her evilness is… I don’t know. I like the concept but not the execution. It feels so anticlimactic.
The uneven pacing and multiple POVs didn’t help either. Though we get the story from different perspectives, none of them are compelling narrators. The magic system was okay, but nothing wow. I also have some questions.
I appreciate the gory parts being matter-of-fact (or maybe they weren’t, but I couldn’t connect). Either way, nothing moved me- not Cassie's grief or the Woman’s evil.
There’s a hint of what could be called romance, but thankfully, we don’t explore it. The best decision made in the book. I rounded the rating up to 3 stars just for this.

To summarize, The Book of Doors has an intriguing premise but is underwhelming as a whole. Of course, if you connect with the FMC, you will enjoy the book a lot more.
Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.