Thank you William Morrow Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another excellent detour from reality thanks to Gareth Brown! The author describes this book as “much more straightforward” than The Book of Doors, and I would agree. In that way, I feel like it lacked a bit of the “magic” from his debut novel — figuratively! There was plenty of magic in this book!

I enjoy the world(s) he has created and think they are great for fans of magical realism. I just didn’t love these characters as much as I loved the ones from The Book of Doors. It’s hard not to compare!! I also felt like there were little breadcrumbs of potential magic items being used that were never followed up on or fleshed out? Maybe I was just hyper alert for one more twist.

I loved loved loved the epilogue cameo!! Was not disappointed and will excitedly read whatever Mr. Brown’s genius mind comes up with next.

I love love loved The Book of Doors and I love that this is set in the same world and we get tiny peaks into The Book of Doors in this book and I’m excited to see if they intertwine in a later book. I did feel like this was the same kind of story but not as well done plot wise as The Book of Doors, I wish I knew before going into it that it was set in the same world, I think that could have helped my mindset while reading this. I still had a fun time and I love Henry, James, and Magda. I can’t wait to see what else Gareth Brown writes, his prose is whimsical and fun!

After being thoroughly captivated by The Book of Doors, I had high hopes for The Society of Unknowable Objects. While the premise is undeniably intriguing, the first half didn’t quite grip me the way I’d anticipated. It felt a bit slow-moving and lacked the spark that made Brown’s previous novel so compelling. That said, the story found its rhythm as it progressed, and the second half delivered a satisfying blend of tension, mystery, and emotional payoff. Some of the character choices felt slightly exaggerated at times, but they didn’t take away too much from the experience.

The premise for this book involves everyday objects that are imbued with magical abilities. Although rare and of unknown creation they are powerful. The members of The Society of Unknowable objects seek these objects out and hides them to prevent any nefarious use. Upon finding out about a new magical item Magda goes to Hong Kong to interview the man who seems to have this new object. However, unknown to her, a dangerous person also pursues her in hopes to locate the object themself. She soon finds herself fleeing for her life while pursuit follows her.

I found the book's concept to be intriguing but the story slow and overly descriptive. The author built a deep and immersive everyday world but the book depended on these descriptive qualities while the plot and story line moved slowly along. I was not able to finish this book, finding it too slow and uninteresting.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but felt like it was a bit uneven. The first half was more of a fun puzzle - gradually uncovering the secrets of the Society and the Unknowable Objects, and building the characters (though Henrietta and Will could use a bit more fleshing out). Then, the story shifts abruptly -- and a new character is inserted who has seemingly limitless power.

I had a lot of questions around "Book of Doors" and missed opportunities there (ie, if the main protagonist had to lay low and wait out 7 or 10 years -- why wouldn't she be making some advantageous stock purchases and so on and preparing for the future?).

In this book, it's not entirely clear til midway through that we're dealing with another of the special books from the first book: it can create magical objects. The caveat is that magical objects cannot be destroyed so the Society tries to safeguard them. Why can't the book be used to un-create or destroy the objects? While Magda's mother, Imelda, was very careful in her wording in creating a special magical object to find magical objects -- why would someone be so careless in creating the human-like magical object without defining parameters? I'm also curious about James' medical condition(s) and whether he has to continue taking his "magic" pills or if that's something that would be resolved through alternate means (and what are the implications for him if he stops taking the medicine?).

I have so many questions due to my imperfect suspension of disbelief. I'm also sad that the book waited until the very last few pages before connecting to the first book.

I found the story to be engrossing and engaging and kept me reading past my bedtime. I liked the main character and I liked the way the magic items were laid out. It was a unique (to me at least) way of handling magical items.

The Society of Unknowable Objects is a return to the universe of Brown's previous novel, The Book of Doors, while not being a sequel. Magda is a member of the secret society, made up of 4 people with the common mission of keeping magical objects a secret and safe from misuse by others. As the book opens, we learn how her mother died while looking for lost objects, and then the book jumps 10 years forward to show how Magda is sent to Hong Kong to retrieve a new object for the collection of the society. The retrieval does not go smoothly which leads Magda to question the mission of the Society, with secrets coming to light about how it was founded and how the objects were created.
As with the Book of Doors, Magda is a strong female lead, but the teamwork of the Society is what drives the book as they work together to defeat the big bad and reshape the mission of the Society together to better help the world. There is also a cameo from a main character from The Book of Doors, which seems to promise a possible crossover sequel in the future. I would certainly read it, if it ever does come to fruition.
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

One of the best books of the year. An absolute masterpiece in storytelling from beginning to end. The twists and turns were absolutely insane and kept me guessing until the very end.

The epilogue was absolutely something I didn’t see coming and it made me so damn happy. I can’t wait for more books in this universe.

The book of doors was one of my faves of 2024 and the sequel did the same way too
One side i m sad seeing a book i loved so much come to the end but on the another the conclusion its so satisfactory and despite one spefic read i m not going to spoil about i loved it all
Looking for more of gareth in the future absolutely

Another super enjoyable book by Gareth Brown. Book of Doors is one of my favorite books and I was elated to receive this one

Gareth Brown clearly knows how to write books that I love. I love love loved his previous book so I was so excited to find out that he had a new one coming out. Magical books were awesome, magical objects turned out to be completely awesome, too. And I loved the references back to the first book in a way that was not disruptive to those who never read the first book but felt like an insider's gift to those who did!

Like his first book, this story is full of imagination, joy, a true joy for your senses, especially visually. Of course all the good must be balanced by evil, so evil is there too. Some very interesting choices for evil in this book. All the characters are unique and jump off the page.

It is clear to me I will forever read anything Brown writes, I just hope he writes fast so I can keep reading more and more of his wonderful stories.

I absolutely loved the Book of Doors so was very excited to get the opportunity to read Gareths 2nd book in advance! I love the way he creates such vivid pictures with his words. He is also a master at creating villains you love to loathe. I will say that overall I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't as exciting to read as BoD.

Probably the most interesting character to me was Lucas. Spoiler alert- I really was hoping Magda was going to create another "person" with the book of wonder and throw him/her in the impossible box with Lucas so he wouldn't be lonely. I was excited to see Cassie make a return at the end and leave an opening to another book.

Can't wait to read your next book Gareth! Thanks for the ARC!

I absolutely LOVED The Book of Doors, and so I was really excited to see what The Society of Unknowable Objects would bring. While not a direct sequel, it does exist in the same universe and I feel like it would be better appreciated after having read TBoD.

This book follows Magda Sparks, who is a member of a society whose goal is to protect a collection of magical objects. It had such a similar vibe to TBoD, and at the same time felt new and unique. I loved the magic system - there is just something so intriguing about magical objects that can do different things.

Gareth Brown has such a way with storytelling that is just a joy to read. I really adored this one. Brown also has a way of creating villains that are downright terrifying and I love that.

Also, shoutout to that PERFECT epilogue!

If you enjoyed The Book of Doors, there is a very good chance you will enjoy this one as well.

Apparently I never learn from my past misjudgments...I was very much not a fan of Gareth Brown's writing style in The Book of Doors and was somehow hoping that things would be different in this story. Not so. Brown is very much a fan of telling over showing, such that I felt constantly separated from the chapters as if by a veil. Reading this book was like playing a third person video game instead of a first person video game - it just felt impossible to inhabit that character's minds or really connect with them on any meaningful level. This book markets itself as separate from the Book of Doors so it was a bit frustrating to find it somewhat of a sequel/companion novel. Overall the plot and writing felt a bit too simplistic for me. I think this would greatly appeal to fans of The Midnight Library or Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. It has great promise to appear to readers of similar fiction who just happen to like a certain style of book/writing style that I do not.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! It was a fun mystery that at times felt cozy, and other times extremely dark. You keep finding new answers and new twists throughout the book instead of the author dumping it all at the end, which was great for the pace! I read this in a couple of days as I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

There were a couple of moments that left me hoping for more, but other than those (which I won’t spoil) I don’t have criticisms for this novel. I haven’t yet read The Book of Doors and this has inspired me to check it out!

What do you do when you get an arc of your most anticipated read of the year?! You devour it obviously 😍

The Society of Unknowable Objects (arc): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to williammorrowbooks & netgalley for an arc of The Society of Unknowable Objects✨

Many of you know that Brown’s debut novel, The Book of Doors, became my favorite book of ALL. TIME. last year, & so when I found out he’d be coming out with his second novel this August, I was over the moon. I was lucky enough to receive an arc (I’m still in shock ?!) and safe to say I had a great grand ol time with it!!!!!

This book is such a fun adventure, the perfect magical escape. Much like his first book, this one is a book for book lovers and readers everywhere, who love getting swept up in a crazy fantasy story. Following our main character Magda, & a few of her friends, this secret society is tasked with finding and protecting magical items, and we get to follow them on a truly wild adventure. Once you pick this one up, you will NOT want to put it down.

I finished this one today, and immediately had to get my review post up for it because I’ve been internally screaming about it & bugging my friends and mom about it because it simply was just the perfect adventure tale wrapped up in a wonderful book.

Gareth Brown does it again. I read the book of doors and this book takes place in the same universe although with different characters and different magical objects. All the magical objects in fact, guarded by a secret society. But it seems it is more secret than society, their true purpose and their true origin story hidden from even three of the only four members. All of it leading to the main question of what happens when magical objects end up in the wrong hands? Well, nothing good. Overall I really loved the story, the the flow of the plot, the different uses for the different magical objects and how were they gonna save themselves in the world?

There were one or two plot holes or devices, I didn't love. SPOILERS:



Like, how did the map show Lukas to Imelda when it only showed objects the society didn't know about... Frank knew about Lukas. I also felt like the romance was a bit forced (there just for the sake of having a romantic element rather than actual chemistry between the characters) and felt the resurrection of Imelda was gratuitous and added just to create additional emotional turmoil for Magda when I felt like she had enough going on and didn't need that extra gut punch.


But honestly the above doesn't matter because I was still turning the pages every night, and I'm so mad that there isn't another one already for me to read. Loved it!

4/5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this atmospheric, globe-spanning fantasy! The Society of Unknowable Objects is full of hidden magic, secret societies, and high-stakes adventure. Magda Sparks is a great lead—smart, determined, and thrown into a dangerous world she’s only beginning to understand. From London to Hong Kong to the deep South of the U.S., the story moves fast and keeps you hooked with twists, secrets, and a touch of darkness.

Some of the magical lore could’ve been fleshed out a bit more, and a few side characters felt a little thin—but overall, it’s a compelling, satisfying read. If you liked The Book of Doors or enjoy stories where magic hides just beneath the surface of everyday life, this one’s definitely worth picking up.

I enjoyed this book and the search for magical objects. Parts of it moved slow, but the ending pulled it all together.

I was completely blown away by this one. Having read Book of Doors and enjoying it, I was excited to read Society of Unknowable Objects. Taking a different twist on magical things, the story is based around a society sworn to protect items with magical powers, but when the main character is sent to Hong Kong to retrieve a new magical item for the collection, mystery and a battle for ownership begins.

To me this was a much stronger story than Book of Doors. The pacing was fantastic and the storytelling was well done. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and it kept me entertained the entire time. The epilogue also is intriguing as it sets up the opportunity for what could be a stellar follow up (slight spoiler,,, you'll need to have read Book of Doors to completely understand it). Only time will tell!

The story was very reminiscent of The Book of Doors. But, in my opinion, why fix something that isn’t broken. This is in the same world as his other novel and there are Easter eggs scattered throughout. I liked the story, it was interesting and thought-provoking. It didn’t seem to grip me as much as I had hoped and I didn’t feel particularly connected to the characters. Overall it was a good story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.