This was suchhh a fun book! I’m truly a sucker for books about books so I had to jump on this one immediately.

Book of Doors by Gareth Brown follows Cassie, a bookseller in NYC, who is left a book by her favorite customer. She soon learns it’s a magical book that can transport her to any door in her imagination. This sets off an adventure of others with ill intentions trying to get their hands on the book to add to their collection of other magical books.

I found this book to be whimsical and magical. All of the characters were interesting to read about. It was truly a fantastic journey to read through. I don’t usually love fantasy books but this one was definitely a good one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I was thrilled to get the chance to read this book because it has a similar vibe to some of my favorite books. If you like The Starless Sea + The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue + The City of Stardust + The Atlas Six then you will like The Book of Doors.

This book is a fun literary portal fantasy about magical books that will appeal to literary fiction readers and fantasy readers alike. Our protagonist, Cassie, acquires one of these books called The Book of Doors, which allows her to open any door anywhere at any time. At first, she is having fun exploring the world, but then she learns that sinister individuals want her book to add to their magical book collection, and they will do whatever it takes to get it. So ensues a chase through time and doors that is both mysterious and exhilarating.

I had such a great time reading this book. It's fun but also has moments of seriousness. There are great characters and great portrayals of friendship. I definitely recommend giving this one a go, and I cannot wait to read more from Gareth Brown in the future.

An enchanting tale, The Book of Doors opens up unending possibilities of portals to adventure around the world for any who have it. This magical book is not the only one and floating around the world. This unique magic system was captivating, especially for those who are lovers of books, Fast-paced with action, fights, mystery, and wonder, my attention was held throughout the story as I wondered what books would be uncovered and characters revealed. This book did get a bit detailed and gruesome at some points, but it also showed the length of insanity and power some feel. The romance was a slowburn and not the center of the book, both of which I enjoyed. There were a lot of characters, places, and time lines in this plot, that in a few occasions lost me, but they all came together in the end.

In his debut, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀, Brown presents an intriguing concept - a book that gives one the ability to travel anywhere via any door. The adventure begins in the most magical of places - a bookshop!

One evening as Cassie’s closing up shop, one of her regular customers, passes away, leaving behind a book for her. He’d always encouraged her to travel, and claimed this book would help her. Baffled and skeptical, she shows her roommate Izzy, and they both learn that it’s the real deal! Unfortunately, it puts them in harm’s way for anyone looking to own this book. It’s also not the only book of its kind out there. There are bad people with nefarious motives who want to get their evil hands on it.

While the premise is good, I felt the characters were one dimensional, and lacked the kind of depth that gets me emotionally invested in the journey. The one character who elicited a reaction from me was only known as ‘the woman’, and she was vile! Her scenes were disturbing.

That being said, there are some creative twists more than halfway through the book that I was happy to see. I think it’s a good debut, and that the things I felt were missing will improve as this talented author grows.

Read this for:
*time travel & magical realism
*suspense/thriller vibes
*lots of croissants

Be aware of: racist & sexist language (bad guys), body issues talk (FMCs)

Thanks to @williammorrowbooks for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such an interesting and dreamy read!! Loved it but was a little slow at times for me. Definitely would want to read more from this author!

The authors concept of time travel really hasn't spoken much to me in past reads. However, I was drawn into this read for its beautiful depiction of life and all the doors we have to go through to end up where we are today.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown in exchange for an honest review. When I first started this book it felt a lot like Locke and Key by Joe Hill. As I kept reading though, it developed more into its own story. I really enjoyed it and the characters. This was a sci-fi/philosophy/fantasy novel that kept my interest until the last page. I finished this book sad that it was over and wishing for more.

As an avid reader and a book publisher, it is rare for me to reach the end of a story and feel drawn to start it all over again. Yet "The Book of Doors" was just such a book for me. I think perhaps it is one of the best books of the year!

I loved the relationship between Cassie and Mr. Webber (although I wondered why, after spending so much time together, they never graduated to a first-name basis). But there were plenty of other relationships I enjoyed too, including Izzy and Lund's, and Cassie and Drummond's.

Overall, "The Book of Doors" is an excellent time travel fantasy story that focuses on the power of books and friendships, and the pain of love and loss. I enjoyed the characters, the twists and turns of the plot, and the narrative. The pacing kept me enthralled with the story and there were many times I was surprised by a sudden turn I hadn't anticipated.

My only "complaint" is that the author has set the bar high for his next book. :-)

Thank you to Gareth Brown, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

The Book of Doors was such a fun and magical read, though not quite what I was expecting. I really loved the adventure found in these pages, and the thought of having a magical book that could literally transport me is an idea that I think all avid-readers can appreciate and love. The book went in a direction that I did not expect - the beginning of the story felt so unique and mystical, but by the end it read more like a general good versus evil story. The pacing also wasn't consistent, and I found some parts dragged a bit. Some dialogue was a bit problematic to me, but overall it was an enjoyable story.

*spoiler-filled summary*

Have you ever read a book and wondered how the author’s mind is able to create such elaborate stories and intricate characters? This is how I felt about the Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. When I started this book, I had no idea what to expect with this concept of a magical book, capable of opening every door. I started to imagine what I would do if I owned the Book of Doors. Probably never drive again and save a lot of money on flights. I thought the main character, Cassie, would discover new cities and make profound discoveries about life and happiness. Instead, I was pulled into a whirlwind adventure about secret societies, evil villains, and time travel.

Time travel is one of the main points of the book. Honestly I am amazed at how the book kept me on my toes at where the characters would travel to next. I enjoyed every minute of this book and I adore all the characters.

Aside from time travel, grief is heavily touched on in this book. Cassie’s relationship with her grandfather and Mr. Webber was heart-warming to see. I loved that she used the book to connect with them even after they passed away. It makes me wonder what it would be like to talk to someone at an older age, an age they never got to see in their lifetime.

Overall, the premise of this book was spectacular. I enjoyed my experience reading this book. I felt that it was thought-provoking and I often catch myself wondering what I would do if I had a Book of Doors.

*side note*
I am still not over the ending of Hugo Barbary and Rachel. I can’t believe how full circle it was knowing where the villain came from and why she changed so suddenly. I quite literally audibly gasped.

Love love loved this book ! Fantasy, action, adventure that really held my attention. 5 stars.
I have no negatives for it.
Cassie works in a book store and lives a quiet life with her friend Izzy. Mr Webber is a customer who has become a friend to Cassie. He loves to talk about books and encourages Cassie to read “The Count of Monte Crisco”. Mr Webber passes away in the store after giving Cassie a book.
When she returns to her apartment, feeling depressed, she opens the Book of Doors . The friend soon discover that any door will lead them somewhere else in the world, even the past .
Cassie and Izzy travel to distant places and meet up with a book hunter that wants the magic book but he wants their trust. He warns of others looking for their book with violent intentions.
Wonderful story that ends perfectly. Thank you NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

First and foremost I'd like to thank netgalley for sharing my arc copy of the book of doors. The plot of this book was very intriguing and I even encourgaed several friends to pick it up. A few of them really Loved it. Personally, I really enjoyed the unique magic system that the books provided. However, I did struggle thru in overcoming my uncomfort for some of the darker themes. I think it just wasn't the proper genre for me. Thank you again for the opportunity

I love the idea of a book filled with magical doors and would love to find such a thing myself. This book, however, just annoyed me.

The author holds the reader's hand way too tightly. There are lots of bits like, "the old man sighed, as if he was sad." I can draw my own conclusions here! If you can't think of another way to tell me the guy is sad other than to outright tell me, you need to be practicing your craft more. Context clues were already there, please trust me enough to figure out what the sigh means on my own.

I got bored. The sweet, smart, bookish and beautiful Brooklynnite with the sassy roommate, the cute quips about finding magic doors and the interminable expressions of disbelief about the magic doors, wonderment at what to do about the doors, just the whole production felt cliched and predictable. I didn't trust the author to take me anywhere I wanted to do with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

🚪 fantasy, magical realism
📖 time travel
🚪 good vs evil
📖 Special books
🚪 friendship, found family, love, loss, grief

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5) Okay I loved this book!! I finished last night and have been bouncing between four and five stars ever since. I finally landed on five because for one, this was the first book I've read in a while that made me sad instead of relieved when I knew it was almost over and two, this read like a magical movie and it was truly a unique and fun adventure.

I went into this thinking it would be a cutesy fantasy and I put it off because that wasn't really my mood. Well I was wrong, because things get DARK at times. I don't want to spoil but I will say that it's multi-pov and one character in particular is not a nice person and their view is quite disturbing. So keep that in mind because although it didn't bother me, I'm not sure this will be for everyone. Feel free to dm me if you need more on this before deciding to read. Anyway, it all begins with main character Cassie. She's just a normal young adult working at a bookshop in NYC. Until, one night an old man who's a regular customer dies in the shop and Cassie discovers he has left her a mysterious book. She quickly discovers it is not a regular book, when she and her roommate are able to transport through doors while in possession of the book. What begins as a fun night out hopping through doors in New York, turns into a journey through different places and time, and ends in an epic battle against evil.

Overall, I'm not a huge fantasy reader but books like this make me think I should read more in the fantasy/magical realism genre. So I definitely think The Books of Doors can be enjoyed by casual fantasy readers like me! Lastly, this was a DEBUT novel! I'm so impressed and will definitely be reading the author's next work.

I was not able to finish the book and therefore do not feel that I can give an unbiased review about the book, its plot, characters, or the author's work. I might revisit this book at a later time and finish it then, but not right now.

The books of doors… the book of light… the book of safety…. the book of pain…. Was I able to keep tracks of all the books???? The answer is no. Did I love this book? Yes, so much yes. If you’re a book lover most likely you will love this fantasy! So much fun and honestly I went to almost all my emotions here. Cassie and her grandpa, then Izzy and even Mr Webber. LOVED IT.

This book was fantastic! The concept of books doing different things, like offering join or inflicting pain was perfectly done! The ending leaves it open for a book 2 and let me tell you, if there is, I. Am. Here. For. It. Definitely recommend this book if you're a fan of Addie LuRue! Same kind of feel.

Thank you William Morrow for the gifted copy of this book.

The Book of Doors is a captivating fantasy story involving magic books, time travel, villains, and a "normal" woman that gets dragged into a world she was previously unaware of.

Cassie works at a bookstore and one night, one of her customers gives her a strange book. The Book of Doors can transport you to any place and time if you can visualize the door there. Cassie thinks this is super cool and her and her roommate spend an evening traveling all over NYC. However, others out there want this book and will do whatever they can to get their hands on it. It turns out there's a bunch of different magical books out there in the world, and people collect them to use for good and/or evil.

I loved the premise of this book and was really excited to dive in. The first couple of chapters sucked me in, but then the pacing got off. Most of the first 2/3 of the book was really slow. I feel like I read 100 pages and I'd only be at 15%. The last 1/3 or so really picked up and I flew through the ending. There's also a lot of time travel and parts got a bit hard to keep track of. There's an elaborate plan at the end and I found myself having to reread pages to keep track of what was going on and how the plan worked.

The creativity that went into writing this bumped it up to 4 stars. The world building with the various books and what each specific book does is fascinating. I also liked the time travel aspect because it added an extra layer to the plot that enhanced the magic.

Looking forward to more from this author!

If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?

I am a sucker for magical realism and this book did not disappoint. This is a fantastical, magical, thrilling, and poignant story that I absolutely devoured and I highly recommend to anyone that loves magical realism. I was shocked that this is a debut work. Even more shocking (and exciting) there seems to be a sequel in the works! At some times it felt like there was a lot of set up (which makes sense if there is going to be a sequel...first books are usually set up heavy), but it didn't take away from the overall power of the story.

I loved the premise of this book but I felt as though the tone was inconsistent. It went from a fairy-tale-ish feel to f-bombs and liquified corpses. The two psychopathic characters were too much and felt like cartoon villains. I also didn’t feel like the other characters were very well fleshed-out… in particular the relationship between Cassie and Izzy felt very flat to me. The book had a lot of potential but didn’t quite go from good to great.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.