This book has an exciting premise and is interesting in the first half. Unfortunately, the characters fall flat and the villain's big reveal takes away from the entire build up. The end felt silly so I am not sure if this is more targeted towards children or teens.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I devoured this book—The Book of Doors is pure magic, and it completely swept me away. 📖✨🗝️

This story is a love letter to readers, bookshops, and the power of stories themselves. With a premise that feels like The Midnight Library meets The Starless Sea, it pulls you into a world where books hold unimaginable power—and doors can lead to places far more incredible (or dangerous) than you ever imagined.

The writing is beautiful without being overly flowery, and the pacing? Spot on. There’s adventure, mystery, a touch of darkness, and characters who feel like they’ve stepped right off the page. It explores grief, choice, and fate in a way that’s thoughtful but never heavy. I felt completely transported.

It’s one of those rare books that reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place. Highly recommend going in with as little info as possible and letting the magic unfold. ✨

📚 Huge thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

The Book of Doors was such a great read. I loved the character development, the storylines, and the buildup. I would give this book a 5/5 review.

There’s a reason The Book of Doors has been so widely praised—it’s a truly compelling and imaginative story that pulled me in right from the start. With a mix of time travel, magic, and a classic battle between good and evil, it delivers everything I love in a fantasy adventure. The premise of a magical book that allows you to go anywhere is endlessly intriguing, and Gareth Brown uses it to build a story full of surprises, emotion, and high stakes. The death of a trusted confidant adds real weight to the plot, giving the story emotional depth as well as excitement. I was all in—every hour of every day. This is a standout novel that’s easy to recommend to fans of fantasy, mystery, and speculative fiction alike.

I really enjoyed reading this book and listening to the audiobook (both great experiences).

The Book of Doors is such an interesting and unique concept for a novel. While this book is on the whimsical side in theory (you have a book in your possession that allows you to open doors to seemingly anywhere), this book is actually quite dark which I did not expect.

I was kinda on the edge of my seat and filled with a minor sense of dread while reading this. However, I did enjoy the book, it was just not what I expected when I started reading it.

The book of doors was an absolute delight, and was completely different from anything I was expecting. This was time travel done in almost a cozy way. Yes there was constant fear but it still gave me cozy bookshop codes. The idea that these doors can grant powers felt truly magical—just like books do in their own way, opening up entire worlds and ideas.

Cassie stood out as the most kind, patient, and sincere character. She was so inspiring in just waiting. Her warmth was remarkable and made the journey even more meaningful. I also felt such deep attachment to each character, and Drummond’s arc was beautifully done, giving him the closure he deserved.

Reading along with the audiobook was a damn treat, they were all well chosen voice actors. But truly this book is beautiful.

I expected a more simple and whimsical book than what it really is, and I am so thankful for that! The book keeps twisting and turning up to the last moment. A perfect blend of mystery and magic! The characters are a smidge more flat than I would prefer, but they did still grown on me as the book progressed.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown is a spellbinding debut that blends magical realism, mystery, and adventure into an imaginative and heartfelt tale. At its center is Cassie, a New York City bookseller who discovers a strange book that can open doors—literally—to other places, times, and possibilities. What begins as a dreamlike gift quickly unravels into a dangerous journey filled with secrets, power struggles, and ethical dilemmas.

Brown’s love for books and storytelling shines through every page. The premise is rich and whimsical, with echoes of The Midnight Library and The Ten Thousand Doors of January, yet it holds its own with a compelling voice and brisk pacing. The world-building is immersive, and the themes of choice, destiny, and the consequences of curiosity are thoughtfully explored.

While some secondary characters could have used more depth and a few plot turns are a bit predictable, the novel’s charm, emotional resonance, and clever central concept make it a thoroughly enjoyable read. It’s a story that celebrates the magic of books—both literally and figuratively.

A great pick for fans of contemporary fantasy with a literary twist.

Well, this book has a great concept and should have been incredible. Unfortunately there were several reasons that it fell short with me. I had difficulty getting into the story. Then there was a lot of racist and misogynistic statements that were just unnecessary to the story. An author can make it clear which characters we should feel compassion for and which are the evil ones without this gratuitous ugliness. It definitely did nothing to improve the story and will limit who I recommend this to.

#TheBookofDoors #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow

I wanted to love this one. The concept was amazing. But the book itself was just okay.

I didn't love the main character for a lot of the book. The first third or so bored me somewhat. And some of the interactions between the characters were awkward.

It just ended up leaving me wanting more.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC.

I am a sucker for a fantasy with a door. It is a beautiful symbol and also a fun way to go to another world. It feels like it could be real. Every time I open my pantry door or closet door I wonder if I am going to find myself in a fantasy world. Beyond the door trope, this story is also just beautiful. Beautiful writing and beautiful story telling. A must for library purchase.

I REALLY liked this book, but it took me quite a while to really get into it. When I first started it, while I liked the premise, I was expecting it to be a 3 or 4 star book for me. Once you finally get into the meat and potatoes of this book, it gets GOOD and is actually kind of stressful at times? I found myself gasping a lot and having some existential crises at points.

Imagine you found a book that could turn any door into a door to anywhere... then imagine that someone out there intends to use that book for evil. And that there are actually people out there who would kill and maim and torture for that book (and more). This book is the story of how all of that comes to happen to sweet, easy-going Cassie - a bookseller in NYC who doesn't really do much and doesn't really go anywhere. Until she is given the book. And then everything goes NUTS.

This book gives Invisible Life of Addie LaRue mixed with The Atlas Six vibes. Very good, and LOTS of stuff happening. I really enjoyed it!

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. Pub Date: February 23, 2024. Rating: 4 stars. I never know what to expect when I pick up a book based on fantasy/magical realism because it is not often genres that I read, but this book was a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed it! This book is a journey through the experiences of Cassie who is opening doors to the past, fighting evil and protecting powerful books. She is overcoming grief all while protecting what is close to her. I really enjoyed this novel! It was quite an adventure to read. Thanks to #netgalley and #williammorrow for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. This book had an amazing premise. We all know that books are special, but these books are REALLY special. Cassie works in a bookstore in NYC. One of her regulars dies in the book shop moments after she has talked to him. He leaves her a book. This is a book unlike anything she even knew existed. This book allows her to travel to anywhere she can image, as long as she has a door to open. The books jumps between a couple POV's. There was a spot that was pretty triggering for me, and I struggled with that, but otherwise, this was a magical, beautiful story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Al thoughts an opinions are my own.

I’ve occasionally likened the reading of certain books to being on a roller coaster ride, replete with sharp twists and unexpected turns. Reading The Book of Doors, however, is more like being in a fun house full of trick mirrors that make you appear taller or fatter than you actually are or look distorted in any number of ways. The story has so many twists and turns it’s mind boggling and is so choc full of surprises I rarely could anticipate. I cannot imagine how author Gareth Brown managed to keep the myriad threads straight to form a coherent story.

The Book of Doors is a fantastical tale, yet its characters (or most of them, anyway,) are so genuine and down to earth that it often feels realistic. It’s hard to believe that this is Mr. Brown’s debut novel. His writing is so superb! I expect many great stories from him in the future, and I look forward to reading them. Thank you to NetGalley, Gareth Brown, and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me an advanced reader’s copy. My opinions are voluntary.

Firstly, how is everyone not screaming from the rooftops about this book? It was nominated for all kinds of awards last year — 2024 Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Readers Favorite Fantasy and Debut Novels; 2025 Audie Award for Science Fiction — but I’ve barely heard a word about it on online. Personally, I absolutely adored everything about this story!

There was a lot of heart and plenty of action. The villain of the story is … an intense individual … I’ll leave it at that. BUT make sure to look into trigger/content warnings, because there are quite a few of them, including by not limited to dementia, multiple sclerosis, cancer, violence.

Brown’s storytelling was full of possibilities that I didn’t even try to uncover. I simply went along for the ride. The twists at the end had me mind blown for a solid 30 minutes. Right up until I read the last page when everything finally comes together. When the story was over I had the thought of … I feel like I have questions, but I don’t even know what they are!

I’m still not entirely sure I fully comprehend exactly what happened, but I can tell you that I will be rereading this one again. I can’t wait to see what I uncover the second time around. If you like anything about books, magic, magical books, time travel, and good vs. evil, you'll enjoy this one too! It gave me “The Invisible Life for Addie LaRue vibes, which I adored!

I am looking forward to Brown’s next novel, “The Society of Unknowable Objects,” which is set to publish on Aug. 7, 2025.

This would make a good movie. I really love the concept of this book. At some points in the story I was really emotional over the characters and hoping they would make it out ok. Unfortunately sometimes though I did get a little lost towards the end of the story. I liked how it all wrapped up.

There was some language in the book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book, all thoughts are my own.

I knew going in, that this book was going to require a lot of suspension of belief. It's a fantasy, after all! The premise was absolutely so cool! Who wouldn't want a magical book that can take you anywhere you want to go?! But this book fell a bit flat, for me. One thing I hate in books, is when a character is described too much. And then add in the negative descriptions, like "her hips were too narrow" "her chest was too flat". We get it. Women everywhere always feel like they're lacking in SOMETHING, but this is a FANTASY. We read books to ESCAPE life, not constantly be brought back to the things we feel inferior in. It just took away from the fantastical world I wanted to be put in.
I also REALLY hated the racist comments that were made. I know that specific character was meant for us to hate, but were those things being said REALLY necessary? Again, it took away from my reading experience.
This is, unfortunately, not a book I would buy or recommend, which is so disappointing, because it had such high potential!

This book is touching and poignant. Literally one of the best books of the year. I hope that Gareth Brown's pillow is always cold and his coffee is always the preferred temperature. This is truly a remarkable book about the time we have on this planet, but told in such a fun way.

To be honest, I forget I had this as an ARC. I waited and waited for it from the library, only to find out it had been in my NetGalley the whole time.

But, it was worth the wait.

This was a five star read for me and I really had no notes. Every time I thought there might be a plot hole, Gareth Brown masterfully closed the gap.

The premise of the magical books alone was enough to have me hooked. It was even more interesting to really play with good vs. evil and dive into some tough topics through the books.

I also like there there was no magical solution for the main characters. They had to live through some tough outcomes and figure out how to adapt.

The only flaw that really stuck out to me is that one of the villains is a bigot and the things he says are not PC. I'm not sure it had to be included but he was definitely a villain.

One more note: The audiobook is also lovely.