New York book seller Cassie comes into possession of a strange book upon the death of a beloved bookstore patron. This book turns any door into anyplace you want to go. As Cassie shares this with her best friend and roommate Izzy, she isn't so sure it is safe. Googling the "book of doors" sparks interest all over the work and they embark on a dangerous, time traveling journey discovering many books with different powers, the book of illusions, the book of pain, the book of joy and many more. To protect the books, Cassie and Izzy must deceive and out maneuver book collectors that want the books for pure evil and help others keep the books safe.
What an interesting concept, multiple different books with different powers and themes. The story did have a dreamy whimsical feel and kind of reminded me of the Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harlow, which i loved, however also had some violent, evil characters in it. I loved the relationship dynamic of the different characters and a well thought out ending that involved time traveling to eventually best the villain as well as learn how the villain came about. The ending was wrapped up nicely, unpredictable and not rushed. Well done. Thank you to NetGalley and Gareth Brown for the ARC copy

The most fitting one word review for this amazing debut: MAGICAL.

Gareth Brown, you had me at hello from the first page to the last. Magic books, SAY NO MORE. Just the metaphor itself of the magic contained in books and the escape and other worlds they contain…. But the story itself is so perfect. A blend of light and dark, life and death, friends and foes, joy and grief.

I could not have imagined a better read to kick off 2024. I will be SHOCKED if this doesn’t land in my top 5 of the year!

4.5 stars!
This was a delightful, imaginative tale of adventure, mystery with a dash of danger. Cassie is gifted a book of magic and possibilities. It can take her to any door anywhere. At first she is filled with delight and develops a near obsession in visiting her favorite places around the world. Much like you can escape with a good book this magical book is a place of escape. However, she quickly realizes that this book has hidden dangers about it. Soon she has to go through a world of mystery, magic and intrigue to save herself, her best friend and roommate Izzy as well as her new friends.

The book does take a bit of time to get started so if at first you find it slow, stick with it. I made the mistake of starting it in the middle of holidays where a lot was happening. As such it took a little longer than usual to get into it as I had to put it down often. That meant it took several days to finish it when normally I would have read it more quickly. If you stick with it, the story will eventually transport you into a different world where you too can escape regular life as Cassie does.

I can definitely see this as a book club book as it lends itself to good discussions. I will be recommending it to mine.

A magical and adventure filled story that reminds me of when I was a kid and could not wait until Sunday evening to watch the Disney movie.

When Cassie is gifted a book from a customer in the beloved book store that she helps run she doesn't think much of it. But she soon realizes that the book provides entryway to where ever she wants to go! It's not long before she is contacted by the librarian of such rare books and chased by someone who is hunting for the special tome.

With just her roommate Izzy to help can Cassie outrun the hunters and help put the magical library back together again?

so fun, so magical, you will get swept away! #Williammorrow #thebookofdoors #garethbrown

When a bookstore regular leaves Cassie the book, she questions what it means and why he gave it to her. Through complete accident, Cassie learns that this is the book of doors and that visualizing a door and opening one in front of her can take her wherever she wishes to go. She and her best friend Izzy are enjoying where the book can take them, when they learn that not only do people know about this book…but many of there looking for it. Cassie and Izzy are in serious danger.

WHEW! What a way to start off my 2024 reading! This book was absolutely fantastic! I could not stop reading. The twists and turns the story takes are like riding a roller coaster…in the best way. I have so much that I want to say about this story, but I don’t want to give any spoilers, so all I will say is this…read this book! If you enjoyed Addie Larue, or The Midnight Library, you will adore this one just as much as I did! This is book is going to be a huge hit in 2024, I can already tell!

The Book of Doors is a fabulous read for anyone who enjoys an imaginative fantasy novel with engaging characters that keep you flipping pages.

The main protagonist Cassie, works in a bookshop, in New York City. She doesn't have a great social life or many friends, though her roommate Izzy is her best friend despite being very dissimilar in nature. Izzy is boisterous and Cassie quite reserved.

Cassie was close to her grandfather and is still grieving his loss because she feels she let down when he died, years earlier. So it's hardly surprising she is happy to spend time chatting with another elderly man, a customer in her bookstore, quickly saddened when he also dies suddenly in the store at his regular table. What she doesn't expect is for him to leave her a parting gift, a small rather tattered, yet mysterious little leather bound book called the “Book of Doors.”

It turns out to have some very interesting properties/magical abilities, which allow the holder to open doors to ... anywhere and anytime in the world. Wow! What a gift, but why was it left for her specifically? As Cassie learns how to travel the world in moments, she drags an unwilling Izzy along for the ride and what seems like a dream come true soon becomes a nightmare for both women and they learn that magic isn’t always used by those who are good.

It's a roller coaster ride of huge imagination, eerie and magical and mind blowing inventive. Yet, despite quite a lot of violence and sorrow, it never becomes too heavy and it's always pretty easy to follow, it fired all my synapses but didn't over tax my brain. Great to curl up on a cozy sofa with - it’s a hard one to put down!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read the eARC of The Book of Doors in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I did really enjoy this story. There is a villain that says some questionable things and I have complicated feelings about this. The villain must say and do horrible things in order to show his character, but they don’t need to involve race.

I hope this is corrected before the book is published, and if so, I would give this story a 3.75.

It was a book for book lovers. A book about magic and portals and all that special things that come along with it.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance arc of this title. After reading the synopsis I was anxious to read this one and it did not disappoint me. This is a fantasy story of a Book of Doors, a book that has magical powers to open doors among other things. Cassie gets in possession of the book and she and a friend decide to check out its powers, but they quickly learn that with such power comes danger. I overall enjoyed this fantasy story, I felt there needed to be a little more character development of the main characters so I was a bit more invested but overall it was an enjoyable escape in time book. 3.5 stars!

I would like to start off by saying thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for being generous enough to lend me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this book after reading the overview of it, the concept of magical books, and being able to escape through time and reality seemed like a great idea. However, in my opinion, it was just executed poorly.

The characters fell flat, and I had such difficulty trying to connect with them. The pacing of this book was all over the place. It felt rushed at times and painstakingly slowed the next. The timelime felt erratic. One second, it would be a few days, and the next the jump was to five years. I truly felt like I could not keep up with everything going on. Another thing that kind of irked me were the "jokes" that were made. They felt extremely distasteful.

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! I have no doubt The Book of Doors will be one of the top 10 book debuts of 2024! Highly recommend!

I was really excited to read this book however it did not meet my expectations. It was hard to connect to the characters and I felt like the plot was a little all over the place.

Thank you for the ARC!!

Some books seem special to us. Others are special in a different way. One such book—The Book of Doors—has landed in the hands of book-lover Cassie Andrews, and now she is on the run, fleeing from evil.

Drummond Fox is—or was—a librarian of a large private library. Once. Long ago. Now his library is gone, unreachable, and he wanders alone, lost in his pain.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown, to be published by William Morrow on February 13, 2024, takes you on a thrilling, sometimes disturbing, adventure.

I encourage you to read it, to learn what has happened to Cassie and Drummond, and what will happen in their futures.

I read this book in December and finished it at 1am Jan 1 - closing the door on one year and opening the door to the next!

When I first started reading The Book of Doors, I went in blind other than a vague recollection of the blurb on Netgalley - and for the first chapter or two this book felt like a cozy book about friendship and seeing the world. But things take a turn and it becomes a fantastical race against (and with!) time, featuring some pretty gnarly death scenes sprinkled throughout.

I was surprisingly invested in all of the characters, main or otherwise, and the world spanning settings give the book real life grounding within the magic. Questions are all answered in a satisfying way, but the door is left open (LOL) for more. And I have to tip my hat to the creation of a particularly unpleasant villain in the book - any time I brush by someone in the street from now on I'll be nervous!

Four and a half star ⭐️ read for me!

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Book of Doors
By: Gareth Brown

5 Stars

How do you start with a book like this? It is different, but in a magical, fantastical sort of way. This book shows a world where books can do amazing things. They can take you places, do things for and against you, or others. There are so many books, so many ways to change a life. Your life. What would you do with a book that can open any door?

This story was awesome from beginning to end. It was magical and fantastical. It was full of adventure and danger. I thought with all the different characters that I would get confused, but surprisingly, I didn't. Each added a unique element to the story. I think it was the way it is written, perhaps. It was very well done and intriguing.

I absolutely loved the story, but sometimes it could really be an emotional roller-coaster. So, I'll leave a friendly warning for the reader. Grab the tissues and hold on. You are in for a wild ride.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Reviewed By
Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

thank you Netgalley for being generous enough to lend me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

i was so excited to read this book after reading the overview of it. the idea of magical books and being able to escape through time and reality seems like a great idea, it was just executed poorly in my opinion. the characters fell flat, there was no time to connect with them. you didn't get a chance to fall in love with the characters, to learn all that you could.

the pacing of this book was also all over the place. one second it would be a few days and the next the jump was to five years. the timeline was a bit confusing and i feel like if it were executed a little better and not so rushed, this could have easily been an amazing read. but at times i just felt like i couldn't keep up with everything that was going on.

another thing that had me side-eyeing the book was some of the "jokes" that were made, if we can even call them that. at the very beginning of the book of doors, there's a joke made about being on a plane and that only terrorists take a plane. i nearly shut the book just from that alone. not even a full chapter into the book yet. all of the "jokes" were distasteful. there was even one about another person of color regarding their skin tone.

i powered through in hopes that perhaps maybe the pacing would even out, i would connect with the characters and that maybe, just maybe the writing would improve. it did not.

for a debut novel, the idea of this book was magnificent and whimsical, i think it just needed to be executed a little better.
1 like

Rating: 4.5

This book was quite the rollercoaster. It had everything I needed to be an amazing story. It had time travel, magic, dynamic characters who are likeable. It was absolutely amazing! This book also triggered so many emotions. I definitely cried in a few sections of it.

I loved the relationship that Izzy and Cassie had where if Cassie was involved in anything Izzy would be there to back her up. Same way the other way. I also loved the character building that was seen throughout the book with Cassie as she aged up. I enjoyed how the book hinted towards that and as the book continued, you started realizing it was true.

I also really liked Drummond as a character and his relationship with Cassie. Although it wasn't a romantic relationship, it was like Drummond was a protective older brother to Cassie.

One final thing I loved, although it wasn't blatantly said, was the backstory with Rachel. I may be wrong about my theory, but if I am correct, I think it's cool how they gave The Woman a backstory as to how she became so hateful. That was a cool touch, even if I am making it up!

Cassie lives in New York City where she works in a book store and shares an apartment with her best friend Izzy. She loves books and her job. When an elderly customer, one of her favorites, dies in the bookshop he leaves her a mysterious book. It is unlike any book she has ever seen. It is the Book of Doors. Cassie finds that she and Izzy can travel anywhere she can envision by holding the book and opening a door. But there is danger. Other people know about these magic books and they want hers.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eGalley of this title.

Was not a fan of pacing or character descriptions that rubbed me the wrong way. Unfortunately was unable to finish.

The Book of Doors is a deeply moving, amazing and sometimes, horrific adventure! I enjoyed enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it. I sincerely hope that there is a sequel in the works, especially exploring Drummond and Cassie’s future.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from Netgalley and this is my honest and freely given opinion.

The Book of Doors
by Gareth Brown
Pub Date: 13 Feb 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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.