⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 This book is a magical world perfect for any book lover. This world of fantasy thriller is new to me but was excited to read it for my love of both genres and it did not disappoint. Cassie works in a dreamy bookstore in New York when a mysterious book lands in her possession. What turns out to be a magical book that can take her anywhere also turns out to be a life changing dangerous turn not realizing people will kill to have what she now possesses. I loved the action in this book as well as seeing Cassie’s character grow and change as well as the friendships that develop. This book kept me hooked and I never truly knew what was coming or how it would end and it did not disappoint! I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the ARC.

This book was AMAZING! I did not want it to end...and yet it did, perfectly. Full of wonder and magic and love and what it is to be loyal and kind and what happens to you if the darkness seeps in too much. I absolutely loved this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I delved into this unique fantasy novel that deviates from the typical time travel narratives. The premise revolves around Cassie, who is bestowed with an extraordinary gift—a Book of Doors, allowing her to open portals to any location on Earth. Initially, I was captivated by the idea that she could traverse freely, but there's a catch: she must visualize the door she wishes to enter. The twist, however, lies in the existence of multiple magical books, each with its own capabilities. Cassie's book is special, granting her passage through doors spanning both present and past.

As the storyline unfolds, the pace, admittedly, takes its time to pick up. Yet, once it does, I found myself thoroughly engaged. Cassie's character, while somewhat lacking in humor and emotions, serves as a focal point. Her personality didn't quite resonate on the pages. In contrast, Izzy emerges as a livelier and more developed character, injecting vitality into the narrative. However, there's a peculiar character referred to as "the woman" who remains incomplete and contributes to the overall disjointed feel of the ensemble.

The aspect that left me perplexed was the unconventional take on time travel. Whether the explanation was convoluted or my comprehension fell short, I found myself confused at various points throughout the book, especially towards the ending. Despite this confusion, the novel was an enjoyable read, blending fun and perplexity in equal measure.

I would like to express my gratitude to William Morrow and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Title: Embarking on the Mystical Journey of "The Book of Doors"

Recently, I stepped into the enchanting world of "The Book of Doors," a debut novel that seamlessly blends magic, adventure, and romance. Cassie Andrews, a regular bookshop employee, inherits the mystical Book of Doors from a charming yet lonely old man, catapulting her into a fantastical adventure.

The narrative, with its mix of contemporary fantasy reminiscent of favorites like "The Midnight Library" and "The Invisible Life of Addie Larue," turned Cassie's ordinary life into something extraordinary. However, there were moments when the pacing felt a bit uneven, leaving me yearning for a smoother flow.

A notable aspect that gave me pause was the portrayal of the villain, who used derogatory language, including outdated terms based on race and gender. While I understand the intent of depicting a reprehensible character, I felt the story could've stood strong without resorting to such language.

Despite these considerations, the book's strengths shine through. The clever concept seamlessly intertwines time travel and magic, creating a visually stunning world. The characters are well-crafted, and even as a non-fantasy reader, I found the world-building and magical elements surprisingly engaging.

What's truly commendable is that this is a debut work. The writing exceeds expectations, offering detailed descriptions and nuanced characterizations. "The Book of Doors" stands out not just for its magical storyline but also for the impressive craftsmanship of a debut author. If you enjoy stories with visual allure, temporal intricacies, and the timeless struggle between good and evil, consider taking a journey through this debut novel.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Transworld Publishers Limited in exchange for an honest review. The Book Of Doors is such an interesting concept and as an avid fantasy reader, what’s not to love. I love the idea that these valuable and limited books are circulating the globe that possess the ability to cause pain, joy, time travel and more. I felt this book could have easily been a duology with the amount of information and details that were given. It left me wanting more dialogue. At times I felt so rushed through the plot and with concepts like time travel, you need time to process. That being said, I did enjoy the style of writing and the concept.

3.5/5⭐️
I want to thank NetGalley, William Morrow, and Gareth Brown for the ebook ARC of the Book of Doors in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the concept and plot of this book! It was set up to be one of my favorites: a book about books with magic, mystery, thrill, and found family.

What bothered me the most was the writing style. The book read YA, but the author would add in cussing and torture/gore to make it “adult fiction.”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis instantly drew me in and was so unique. But unfortunately I could not stay invested in the book itself. I picked it up and put it down several times before finally deciding to DNF at around 33%. I liked the concept of magic books that hold various types of powers and people who will stop at nothing to obtain those powers, but the execution of the story was lacking for me. I didn’t feel any attachment to the characters, even the main character Cassie, and there were too many other POVs from characters we aren’t given a good grasp of, which made it difficult to follow what was happening.

I can see how some readers would love this book if they enjoy this type of writing style, but it wasn’t for me.

What a fun ride this was! I really enjoyed it!

This book had :

📚 books
✨ magic
🕰️ time travel
💣 suspense
🥹 heart felt moments
🗺️ adventure

Add this to your TBRs!

Our main character Cassie, works in a bookstore in NYC. When one of her regular customers passes away and leaves her The Book of Doors, Cassie's life changes.

This book was exciting and nothing what I expected. I was hooked from the first chapter right up until the end. The use of magic in books captivated me. I loved how the author showed both good and evil through the books and through the characters. When I say the villain is evil, I mean evil. What an adventure this book took me on!

The star of the book- time travel. I have only read a handful of novels that used time travel and each time, I felt confused or lost. This was done perfectly. I enjoyed how everything came together. This was well written and unique.


Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC!

Bookstores and magic. Need I say more? Cassie works in a bookstore and is befriended by an older man who is a regular. He gives her a book one night, and then he passes away. Cassie discovers the book can open doors to other worlds and knows she will use it-even though she's warned that magic comes at a price.

I love books about books, other worlds and magic. This story didn't disappoint.

I didn’t know much about this book going in, but ended up really loving it!

Cassie, a lonely woman who works at a bookstore on the UES of Manhattan, befriends and older man who is a regular at the bookshop. One night, while he is telling her stories of his life, he slips her a small book and then promptly passes away. Learning this book can make any door into a portal to anywhere you want to go, Cassie is amazed at this newly found omnipotence. Her roommate, Izzy, warns her magic like this comes with a price, but Cassie has no idea what kind of price she’s going to pay to have this great power.

As I mentioned above, I ended up plowing through this as it was a fun adventure. I loved imagining a book that can take you anywhere and enjoyed the journey with all the characters. Definitely recommend if you like fantasy/magical realism and need a good escapist book!

This a unique book that has some great twists and is full of really wonderful ideas, but unfortunately it reads like a draft a lot of the time. The author had way too many characters and shifting POV which all detracted from the story and slowed down the pacing. I had to force myself to get through some parts of it but others were far more interesting. I don’t think the author, or unfortunately his editors, knew what this book wanted to be. Ironically in the acknowledgements the author said he was advised to put in more wonder and I think he should have. This book is at its best when we get the sense of wonder at what such amazing things can do and the author writes his best work about characters connecting but unfortunately that’s all dragged down with side characters and focus on a villain. I was hoping he’d be able to weave it all together better than he did because the beginning is a chore to get through with all the different characters introduced. Only Cassie and Drummond were fleshed out and interesting. This book should have focused more on them and on the magic. Despite all these flaws there are some wonderful elements here but I don’t know if I’d bother reading more by this author.

I adored the concept of this book, after reading the synopsis it became the top of my TBR. After reading I found myself hoping for more character development and I wasn't a huge fan of all the different POV's. I will recommend this book to anyone interested in magical realism.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm a total sucker for books about books, and magic books? Full stop. Needless to say, the concept of this book grabbed my attention immediately. Cassie works at a bookshop, and one of her favorite regular customers passes away during her late shift, leaving her a mysterious book with a note, "Any door is every door." Cassie and her friend soon figure out this is more than just a book. I loved how she embraced the magic, but after meeting The Librarian, she discovers that there are more possibilities than she could have imagined. Of course, there's always a Big Bad that wants to use magic for nefarious purposes. This is where we meet The Woman.

This book was a really interesting mix of fantasy, thriller, and a little sci-fi, and it was an incredibly ambitious storyline for a debut. I did find that some of the characters, mainly the women, felt very flat, and their dialogue was clunky. I wish there was a little more depth and backstory to some characters, but some of the descriptions of the natural world were almost poetic. There were several lines I reread just because they were beautiful. I also thought some of the timeline transitions to explain one part of the plot slowed the momentum of some of the subplots. I'm trying to do this without spoilers, so that's about all I can say. 😅 I reduced a star, but there were some major five star elements here. In the end, it really all comes together. There is one small blip that makes me wonder if there will be more to this story, though.

Kudos to the author for an amazing debut! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early ecopy of The Book of Doors in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Overall Review (spoilers)

I have not cried from a book in forever. But I cried reading this one. Really hard.

On the surface, this is a beautiful fantasy book that makes you wonder if the author was inspired by movies or shows like The Librarian or Indiana Jones. It has everything but romance. A creepy woman set on capturing all magic and torturing people. A young woman who gets a wished granted. Time traveling. A hidden magic library. Honestly, sounds like a cozy book meant to give you a sense of whimsy.

Except it will make you cry every three chapters. This book is everything described above, but it is also a tale about the importance of processing grief, of finding joy, of learning to live in the moment, of friendships, and of doing the right thing even if it is the hard thing. The main characters story arc left me in tears, so much so I had to stop reading for a few days to process. I really recommend this book to anyone who has had a hard year recently, as it’ll help while also giving you an escapism.

Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Genre: fantasy, fiction, modern fantasy

Trigger Warnings: sexism, gore, graphic description of death

I had high hopes after reading the description but unfortunately they did not pan out. Very difficult to get into, many characters and a lot of jumping around.. Overall dare I say even very slow and somewhat boring. Overly descriptive at times when not really needed. Thumbs down for me.

DNF @ 20%.

I’m so upset I didn’t like this book. I’m not sure if it was the writing style, but it just wasn’t for me.

I had heard it compared to the Midnight Library & Addie LaRue, which are two of my favorites, but I didn’t feel that vibe here. I continued to see how much I had left to read and didn’t feel like I could continue on.

Just because this book wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean someone else may not like it!

Thank you to NetGalley & the author for the arc copy.

I really loved the idea of this book, but unfortunately it was a bit boring. I felt that it was lacking a lot of potential wonder and magic that could have been fleshed out a bit better. I kept finding myself stopping and starting the book which is not typical for me as a reader. It just didn't hold my attention. I will give it another go once it's published as I still hold out hope for this book as it reminds of the the Librarian movies series meets a myraid of characters.

The Book of Doors was phenomenal. I have been waiting for a book like this for a while. This book will start you on a string that twists and turns and winds around until you realize that there is no start or end to the string. This is a book of magic, mystery, loss, found family, and of course books.
I fell in love with the four main characters and I honestly hope that a sequel comes out of this. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book, but I am definitely going to be purchasing this when it comes out. I would recommend this to anyone.

For Cassie Andrews, life as she knows it will forever change the night a favored regular at the bookshop in which she works dies while she is closing shop. Heartbroken over his loss, Cassie takes the two books that were in his possession when he passed. One because it was his favorite, the other because the inscription inside left to her.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳.

It doesn’t take long for Cassie and her best friend Izzy to realize the meaning of the cryptic inscription, and with the book of doors Cassie is able to travel to any door she envisions. A delighted Cassie is just beginning to explore the books potential when the gaunt and evasive Drummond Fox, the Librarian, storms into her life. He tells Cassie that she is in danger, for hers is not the only special book, but it is the most coveted. With sadistic book hunters appearing around every corner, Cassie must choose to work with Drummond to keep these books safe, or hope the book of doors can keep her one step ahead of danger.

The Book of Doors is very creative story, with an in-depth and detailed plot that went in a direction I really didn’t see coming. That being said, it is a very plot driven story. While some characters are rich and fully developed, most are one dimensional. The dialogue is a little bland, but again this isn’t a character driven story. What imagination is lacking in conversation is more than made up for in the scenes that are described.

There are two types of stories: stories about extraordinary people, and stories about ordinary people that extraordinary things happen to. This is definitely the latter. I got frustrated at times, wondering why characters didn’t take what seemed like a totally logical course of action. More often than not, there was a valid reason, the book just took its time getting there. Needless to say, I feel the pacing could’ve been a little better, but I’m also willing to admit that could be a me issue.

A friend recently reminded me that not all books are masterpieces, some are just good, and that’s ok. That was the Book of Doors for me. Overall, I was entertained. It left room for a sequel, and if the series continues, at the point I would continue reading

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.