This was well written but the world building was middle of the road at best and Cassie wasn't quite a rounded character enough for me to truly lose myself in the writing.

Started off really strong but fell apart in the second half. Loved the magical realism vibes and special book powers. If the energy and pacing from the first half had been maintained, this easily could have been a five star read.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

I highly suggest you to pick this up if you enjoyed The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow which is a book I adored so it doesn’t surprise me that I enjoyed this one. Here we follow Cassie who is a girl working in a bookstore. Her favorite customer gifts her a book. And It looks super unique with odd drawings and words that are strung together. After some events, she realizes that it can transport her to other locations just by opening a random door. Her and her best friend set out together, traveling anywhere their hearts desire. But they soon discover they aren’t the only ones with a magical book and they are being hunted by the not so nicest people. Super enjoyable!

This was an incredibly beautiful story filled with magic and wonders. The imagination runs wild with this story. Imagine finding a library filled with books that not only contain marvels and mysteries but could also make magic. The possibilities could be endless but that would also mean that there may be chances for them to fall into the wrong hands. There are so many things this story touches on. We get to see examples of true friendship, what it is and looks like. We get to experience the emotional roads the MC travels on because of how wonderfully the author described everything. Such a good read in my opinion. I loved it!

Have you ever just imagined about being teleported to a place in an instance. Or jump into a book to be in their world with those characters. I have and I know I'm not alone.

This book was just a fun read over all. The first half of the book was really slow for me and it was hard to keep engaged, but the second half was great. I couldn't put the book down. The twist and turns in the book had me guessing what would happen next.

Having all these magical books and learning what they can do was interesting. People from different walks of life band together to stop "the woman" from collecting all the books and destroying the world. I liked the concept of going back in time and also seeing other peoples memories.

The only thing I was really confused about is the nothing and everywhere chapter. So much information was thrown out and I was just real confused on how the books really were made. I get the whole feelings thing from the event that just happened, but nothing else.

Overall I truly enjoyed reading about magic books and how everyone used them.

Thank you Netgalley, Gareth Brown, and Publisher for this Arc, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

I really, really enjoyed this book. I keep telling myself I'm not a fantasy reader, and then I stumble upon books like this and completely have to rethink things.

This book was well-paced, interesting, twisty, and thought-provoking. If you hate all things magic then I'd stay away from this one, but if you're open to it I'd highly recommend it. I can't wait to see what else this author has in store.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. This book was everything I wanted it to be. Our main character Cassie starts out at a NY city bookshop where she meets a sweet quiet old man who lives her a special gift. That gift sets her on a course of going to incredible places, but it also comes with danger and grief. I could not stop reading and when I got to the end, this story stayed with me. A must read.

First things first, this cover is gorgeous. I was completely hooked and invested in this book from roughly page three.

Cassie comes to possess the Book of Doors, and her life turns upside down. She’s suddenly in danger and buckle up because you’re in for a ride from there.

Without getting into spoilers, Brown approaches a common concept from an interesting angle, and it gave me a lot to think about. It also allowed for the intersecting storylines to be wrapped up and explained nicely and tidily.

It is a well-written, engaging, and thought-provoking read. I had to knock off a star because some of the descriptions of gore were a bit intense for my taste.

4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC! I loved the concept of this book even though I’m not huge on fantasy and really enjoyed how magical it was, especially since it took place in NYC and centered around a bookstore! I will recommend this one!

What can I say about this book? This book had magic joy, sadness, friendship. I thought this was a really good book and not something I've read before. The characters were flawed, but in a realistic way,. They weren't perfect, they weren't all likeable, but its what made a book about magic books seem a bit more realistic.

I really liked the main character Cassie and her best friend Izzy. I wish there was a bit more development on some of the other supporting cast, but overall, I thought this was a solid book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

As a reader, I love a book about books. In this case, the books are special - the Book of Doors, which Cassie receives as a gift from a customer who passes away on her shift, gives her access to all doors - she can open any door and be anywhere in the world she chooses. She soon discovers their are other special books out there - and other collectors. And some of those collectors will do anything to get their hands on her book. A tale of magic, travel through time and space, and love of books...who could ask for more?

4.25 ⭐️

Magical realism that felt cozy and also action packed. Solid character development and a really fun plot. I love a book about books so much, add in some time travel and I’m sold.

I did feel like this book took me an eternity to read but I am still not sure if it was the books pacing or my will to read. I did enjoy it, but sometimes I felt like I could put it down at any point. For a debut novel this is really great. Looking forward to more from the author!

Thank you to Netgally, William Marrow, and the author for the ARC.

It’s easy enough to read the blurb for this book and see what it’s generally about, so I’m gonna skip that for this review and stick to what this book was about to me.

To me, it’s about loss and how it can affect a person in unanticipated ways. It’s about accepting that there’s more to life than we realize in our limited perspective, and knowing that it’s okay to not know what comes next. It’s about unexpected friendships and coming together for a mutual purpose.

I really enjoyed this book. The concept and plot were appealing to me and I thought the characters were well-developed. However, the writing was a tad choppy (which is common with non-linear storytelling as well as multi-character pov) and it felt the suspense was a bit forced in places. I would recommend this book to others, and I’d be interested in reading more by this author in the future.

Thank you to William Morrow, Custom House, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this book. I started it being excited about the premise because it’s a magical story about books. But a few lines put me off and bothered me, and I wasn’t really liking the writing or characters. I usually know if I’ll like a book within the first few chapters, and this just isn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

With its time traveling and magic - this was a fun read! It was a bit fast paced, with a few slow chapters. The plot was all over the place, but I think that was part of the experience. Everything was connected somehow, and I loved it. I still have many questions so I think I should do a re-read to see if I find some answers. I wish we got more of Cassie’s back story, to understand her a little better. The book had its funny moments, but also very creepy scenes. I liked that darker side of it, because of course with books this powerful you get very evil people.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read this advance copy!

Cassie is living an ordinary life when she unexpectedly is given a strange old book called The Book of Doors. Inside it tells her that any door can become every door and she begins to use it to open door into far off lands (and even far into the past). But as she and her roommate and best friend Izzy soon discover, there are more magical book out there, and there are a lot of people who want them. Cassie and Izzy are found by a Scottish book collector named Drummond Fox who seems to want to help them (but does he just want the Book of Doors for himself?). As the story progresses Cassie learns more about the magical books and what they can do, and what some people are willing to do to get their hands on them.

I really enjoyed the time travel elements and how it is slowly revealed that there is this huge web of events that deliciously intersects and connects and criss-crosses and yet it all makes sense. I thought everything was handled masterfully.

WOW!! I don’t even know how to properly put the perfection of this book in words
I could not put it down!!! Super fast paced lots of magic and adventure. Amazing friend ships. This was one of those ultra satisfying ending where it wraps up in the most perfect bubble.

I did not expect this book to go to the places it went. That's a good thing.

When Cassie Andrews is unexpectedly gifted an old book, the Book of Doors, she opens herself up to an underground world of magic — and also murder. On the run from a psychopathic book collector, Cassie makes a host of new friends and discovers there's more to her own past than she ever imagined.

Cassie, our main character, is less compelling than some of the side characters — including the villains. But the most compelling part of this novel is the magic system. It's clever and strange and beyond the world building I expected of a book about books. To say more would give away some of the twists, which I found genuinely unexpected in places.

Overall, I think this is a book more worth reading for the plot than the characters, but the characters are still likable enough to carry you to the meatier plot points. 3.5 starts rounded up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

In "The Book of Doors," Cassie Andrews stumbles upon a magical book in her bookstore that grants her and her friend Izzy the power to travel anywhere they wish. This book is part of a collection, each with its own unique abilities, sought after by various factions for centuries. Characters include Drummond Fox, the keeper of a magical library; a mysterious detective on a secret quest; and a dangerous woman leaving chaos in her path. Cassie, Izzy, and Drummond embark on an adventure to secure these books against those with nefarious intentions.

Authored by Gareth Jones, this novel captivates with its inventive plot and vivid settings. I found the characters, particularly Drummond, fascinating and Cassie a relatable heroine. The story, told through multiple viewpoints, combines magic and mystery into a rich narrative, though it sometimes faces slow pacing and redundancy. While the time travel aspect raises questions, the dynamic between heroes and comically evil villains adds depth, despite the latter's underdevelopment.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the eARC of this book!

When Cassie is left a mysterious book by one of her favorite customers, a series of catastrophic events unfold. This book is called The Book of Doors which allows the holder of the book to use any door as a portal to another door anywhere in the world and in time. But by using the book Cassie has put a target on herself and those around her. She must embark on a journey to prevent dangerous people from getting The Book of Doors and other books like it.


The premise of this book had so much potential and it just fell flat for me. There was so much that happened that it felt rushed at times, and it got very confusing trying to keep up with where exactly you were in the storyline. Another issue I had was the dialogue that came from one of the main villains. I understand that you want the villain to be unlikeable or make them seem evil...BUT I don't think using racist language is ever necessary to do so. I also felt that the subtle comments about food and weight were entirely unnecessary.