When I'm done reading a book, I struggle to remember specifics about it weeks, months, or even years after finishing it. But I can always remember how a book makes me feel. The feelings this book produced will live in the core of me for a long, long time. Something about this book - the writing, the magic, the powers of the books - they just took my breath away. Cassie and Izzy are women I want to be friends with. Their friendship is true and beautiful; the way they support each other and continuously gravitate towards each other. The Fox Library sounds like an actual dream.

I don't want to give too much away since anyone who reads this book should go in with little to no information. It's going to knock your socks off and you're going to need to restrain yourself from devouring it, which I had to do a number of times. I literally cried at certain points, as Drummond shares information about how the Book of Doors truly works, and what Cassie can do with it. If you want to read a fantasy book with phenomenal twists and turns, this is it. Prepare to want to do nothing else but curl up with this one.

Thank you so very much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read an ARC of this book, and to Gareth Brown for bringing it into the world.

A book about magical books sounded right up my alley. While I loved the premise, the writing fell short for me. Some
sections had overly descriptive passages about the places she was visiting with her magic Book of Doors and the descriptions themselves were shallow and cliche. I wasn’t that invested in either of the two main female characters since they were not fleshed out well. There were also several derogatory descriptions of women and minorities.

I had high hopes for this book as it was described as appealing to fans of Addie LaRue and Midnight Library (both of which I loved) but unfortunately I could not get past the writing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

This read has unique magical books providing owners a swath of magical abilities; including the Book of Doors that allows for teleportation and time travel. I enjoyed the 'good vs. evil' conflict between those who want to preserve and protect the books compared to those who want to abuse/profit from the books. The plot was well-conceived and includes exploration of how time travel can potentially (?) alter the future and found the main character's journey through time to be full of unique settings and new found family relationships.

The negatives for this book related to the seemingly 'mismatched' or overly violent action from the villain. It clashed with the other more 'cozy' vibes of the plot. While I can appreciate true danger in a magical or fantasy read, it felt over the top and was jarring for me as a reader. Additionally, some of the secondary characters and the villain just didn't get fleshed out enough for me to be fully invested.

However, overall, I definitely was engaged in the main plot, the unique books' power, and wanted to reach the conclusion. I also enjoyed the plot twists and conclusion! Thank you to NetGalley for my e-arc in exchange for my feedback.

The premise snagged me: a book that can bring you to any doorway, from any doorway, with the promise of many other books with special powers. Unfortunately, the shallow and predictable story, wooden characters, and unengaging dialogue made this one a miss for me. There was so much that could have been done with this idea, but it fell far short of its potential. It was a struggle to get through the end, which should have been the most exciting part. Instead, it felt paint-by-numbers with more than a couple of eye-rolls.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I start? Initially when reading the synopsis I found this book to be to intriguing and right up my alley—mysterious books with different magical powers, a secret library, several different characters who come together because of said books—and I came into this expecting a whimsical fantasy adventure.

While I thought the premise of this story was so interesting and the way the story unfolds and comes full circle at some points in the end was somewhat satisfying, I was overall quite disappointed by this. I found the characters to be very surface level, and the interactions between them to be almost robotic—there were some points where I felt like I wanted to care for them, like instances with Cassie and Mr. Webber, but for the most part I felt nothing for these characters and their story.

The conflict in this book also felt like a fever dream. The violence? I literally found myself thinking "wtf" every time the woman appeared in the book because of how blatantly graphic and violent the scenes were, in contrast to the rest of the story. I understand trying to portray an evil antagonist with absolutely no humanity but the amount of violence was off-putting in the context of everything else happening with the other characters and pulled me out of story multiple times.

A huge plot point in the story has to do with time travel, which is something I love to read, and I love the concept of how everything is set in stone and traveling through time doesn't change the past, but reaffirms the present—which is prevalent in this book but it just wasn't working for me. I found the pacing to be messy. At times the chapters occur within hours and all of a sudden YEARS pass by (not through time travel) in the span of a couple of pages? Not only that, but the ending felt so rushed and the biggest conflict being resolved so suddenly felt like a slap on the wrist.

There were some minor aspects that I liked about the story that kept me from completely DNFing it, but I was incredibly disappointed by the end. I love time travel, magical realism, and books about books, but this one just didn't click for me the way I was expecting it to.

The use of magic and time travel is always a crowd-pleaser in my book (no pun intended here). In The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown, female main character Cassie Andrews inherits a mysterious and magical book from a late friend, Mr. Webber. This book is The Book of Doors. Little does Cassie know that the whimsy and fun that can be had with the book only just scratches the surface of what magic, mayhem, and mystery it causes to unfold.

The wonderful thing about this book is the depth in which it goes to weave timelines of multiple characters, with satisfying resolution, all in under 400 pages. Never did I find myself lost or unsure of the plot or timeframe due to Brown's perfect layout of back and forths. Another incredible aspect of this novel is the amount of magic that essentially can be left up to the imagination of the reader. While we mainly focus on The Book of Doors in this novel, there are many other magical books both mentioned and left up to speculation as the story moves along. I enjoyed how this creates a door (again, no pun intended) for the reader's mind to fantasize about the endless possibilities of magical books. This is the type of writing that leaves a book lingering in my mind for days and weeks afterward.

I will mention the one quip I have that makes this a 4.25/5 star read for me. In some areas of the novel, mostly in the high-action parts, I felt the story gets a tad clunky. The way characters are described moving around in some situations seemed off-paced to the action happening around them. But, this is a minor observation and hardly deterred from the magic of the story.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! I really enjoyed this experience and can't wait to see this book hit shelves!

Interesting story, I wanted to know how it was all going to work out. I would recommend it. I've never done one of these reviews before so I'm not sure what to say.

Imagine being gifted a book....a small, tattered leatherbound book filled with illustrations of doors. But not just any doors, one looks familiar from a favorite vacation tour - ornate heavy with a carved design. Wait....there are green and purple lights pulsating as your hand is drawn to the closet door. You open it to find......

The story drew me in and I fell in love with all the characters, their challenges, sense of adventure and fierce dedication to keeping the magical books safe from those who will do harm. Is it a love story? Sure. Is it good versus evil? Yes. Adventure? For sure. But most of all it is an entertaining novel of possibilities!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy! I loved this book and will have to pick up a hard copy because both versions of the cover are lovely.
I don’t want to give too many details away, but this is a fantasy adventure that follows Cassie, a bookstore employee, after she is given a mysterious book with magical powers. The Book of Doors that makes any door into every door. I thought all the threads and stories woven throughout this book tied in together seamlessly at the end of the story. This is also one of those books that’s going to be just as much fun to reread as it was the first time around. The story is pretty fast paced but picks up about 30% of the way through and is hard to put down from that point forward. Definitely add to your TBR if you enjoy V. E. Schwab, Erin Morgenstern, or the Time Traveler’s Wife.

This type of story is not in my wheelhouse, but I'm so glad I requested it! Gareth Brown has so many genres going on in this book - mystery, time travel, love, hate, murder, sadness, despair, friendship and so much more - it will satisfy every reader. This is the Book of Life! Kudos for a debut novel!

The Book of Doors pulled me in right away. I mean, who doesn't love a book about a girl who works in a library (dream job). I loved the concept of the book, I did get slightly lost along the way and had to reread some pages to try and understand. Overall, I was entertained and liked the story.

"The Book of Doors" is a captivating tale that quickly transports readers from the mundane to the magical. The story follows Cassie's discovery of a mystical book that turns doors into portals to anywhere. This enchanting premise, however, swiftly transitions into a darker narrative, illustrating the dangers of such power.

While the book excels in creating a world of wonder, its early chapters rush through Cassie's pre-magical life and initial explorations with her friend Izzy. A slower, more detailed unfolding here would have added depth. The dialogue sometimes lacks fluidity, yet these moments don't significantly detract from the story's overall charm.

For fans of the genre, "The Book of Doors" offers an enjoyable blend of whimsy and caution, leaving readers longing for more exploration into its magical possibilities.

4.5 stars!!

The amount of times in the last 20% of this book that I said WHAT out loud and looked around like Jim in The Office is too high to count. This was a THRILLING time travel/magical realism/mystery/heist adventure about some very special books!

Cassie Webber is having a normal work day at the bookshop when a regular customer passes away on her watch, leaving behind a book full of scribbles and text in languages that she can't even comprehend. She quickly learns that this Book of Doors is able to turn any door into every door, meaning she can go anywhere she wants in the world just by picturing the right doorway!! This triggers a chain reaction of absolutely chaotic events that send Cassie, her roommate Izzy, a mysterious Librarian, an angry not-actually-a-doctor doctor, a strong silent bodyguard, a gay single artist (self-described of course), a woman seeking higher power but doesn't use a name, and a high powered secret auctioneer on an adventure through time and across all corners of Earth.

I truly cannot state enough how innovative, well thought out, and genuinely enjoyable this book was to read. There were so many twists and turns that took the story to essentially a reset and left me thinking there was no way it could possibly get resolved. Time passed by both so slowly and yet so quickly. The characters grew through their circumstances and always stayed true to who and how they are. The twists and turns had me out of my seat, baffled and delighted with the turns it was taking. I felt like I was along for a super cool time heist- and I think this book truly has something for everyone!!

Thank you so much to Gareth Brown, Harper Collins, and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. Check out The Book of Doors when it comes out on February 13- you won't regret it!!

Netgalley had this one on their site and I jumped on adding it to my requests and was approved. I am so glad that I got this one. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but I will say that it was an adventure. I am glad I read it I want more. How it ended was so good. I am just glad I was able to experience this story.

THE BOOK OF DOORS is a standalone fantasy novel about the (literal) magic of books. We meet Cassie as she encounters a seemingly normal looking book that actually can take her anywhere in the world. This book entangles her in a deep-seated plot where people will kill for these magical books, especially the one Cassie has on her.

I think what this book does well is create a contained world in about 400 pages. It’s a feat to do standalone fantasy and have it make sense, and I think this does it well. I liked the magic and how everything in the plot connected. Some of the side characters felt a tad hollow, but nothing that really took away from the overall story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. THE BOOK OF DOORS out 2/13/24!

I was lulled to sleep by this book. Nothing that dragged me in and it didn't keep me occupied. DNFed

I was so excited about this book. Early reviews were stellar, the synopsis intrigued me, but there is a but: I didn’t enjoy reading this story. I kept picking up the book because I felt obligated to finish it. I love the concept of magical books, but the bookish details felt like heavy-handed attempts to appeal to readers: magical books + a bookstore + a bookseller + an ornate library hidden in the shadows + visits to bookish places throughout Manhattan… it was just a lot. When the how of the magical elements and certain plot points were revealed, I felt let down instead of amazed. My favorite part was the section about Cassie & Mr. Weber, honestly I could’ve read a book about them! Somehow the story just failed to capture my heart.

What did I just read?! This book was unlike anything I’ve read before. It was exciting and kept me interested the whole way through. Where would you go if you could walk through any door?

When one of Cassie's book store patrons drops dead right in front of her, she is sad that she will not have anything to remember him by. Until she picks up the latest book he was reading. Soon after she is approached by a strange man who claims to be the keeper of rare books and he need Cassie's help to return to a special library and keep those books safe. Perfect for fans of The Midnight Library and The Night Circus.

I wanted to like this book. I did like the idea of the story, I just feel that there were a lot of characters to keep up with and it was a little overwhelming.