The premise of this book had me so excited to read it! This was definitely one of my top five most anticipated reads of 2024 so being approved for the ARC had me so pumped! I think my expectations were a little high because I did not like it quite as much as I had hoped I would, but it was still enjoyable. I will definitely be picking up a physical copy for myself

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

DNF @7%
This book is offensively bad and judging by other reviews, it doesn't get better.

There's a joke about terrorists that shouldn't have been said once let alone twice. And the main character and her friend are basically the same person and are obnoxious.

The Book of Doors
One minute Cassie is enjoying a wintery evening and the next she's swooped up in an adventure she never could have imagined. Author Gareth Brown captures every reader's dream in his new book The Book of Doors. His main character Cassie receives a strange gift from her dying friend and it opens doors for her- literally - taking her to places she's been before and places she's never seen. While it's a fabulous opportunity in the beginning, the weight of the book becomes heavy. Luckily for her she's surrounded with people who can help shoulder that burden, she just needs to keep them safe.
Brown weaves a spell of storytelling unlike any I've read before. His characters are genuine and intriguing; loveable and hateable. His story is moving and shocking and a veritable feast for the reader.
I am grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy and give my review, the opinions of which are mine and freely given.

I absolutely loved this. The characters were vivid, the fantasy aspect was extremely unique and it kept me invested!

While I enjoyed so much about this book, there were just too many implausibilities and plot holes for me to retain my suspension of disbelief. I feel the writer had a great concept that just wasn’t thought through to its’ full potential. At points, I wondered if the author even knew where the story was leading at all, and even the most climactic scene before the denouement was akin to watered down coffee. Now, I read a lot of fantasy, and I know what a brilliant concept brought to life by a masterfully crafted narrative looks like- and this just didn’t hit that mark for me. An extra star given for the heartwarming relationships and found family theme, which kept me considerably more invested than the plot. Many thanks to the publishers for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I jumped at this novel when I read that readers who loved "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" would love "The Book of Doors", and because of this comparison, perhaps my bar was too high. I struggled with this book. The main character Cassie I could not learn to like, and I found myself shaking my head at her through the end. The pacing was too much for me and the time travel / changing characters had me so confused. It felt rushed during some parts and too slow during others. The longer I read the more I couldn't wait to finish so I could move on to another book.

This story is everything I love in a book. A book about books, always a favorite. Mysticism and fantasy, always intriguing to want to crawl into the authors mind while they think these scenarios up. Intrigue , who does what, who is the bad guy, who are the good guys, how will the author pull this all together into a cohesive story. The Book of Doors was all that for me. What would you do if you could open a door into another world? Would you walk through? Even not knowing what you will find? Would you go back and try to change anything? COULD you go back and try to change anything? What else is out there and how do you find it/them? I was completely captivated by this story and look forward to reading much more from this author.

Synopsis:
Cassie is a twenty something year old who works at a book store and has a regular customer, Mr. Webber, leave her a random book one day when he passes away at the bookstore. While looking through the book she realizes it's the Book of Doors and it can open a portal anywhere there is a door. Which is awesome... until she realizes there are bookhunters out there looking for this book and she is now in danger.

Review:
WOW! I started this book at the wrong time and it was reading slow for me. I almost DNF'd but I had heard others say how amazing it was so I pushed through. I am so glad I did! Once the story picked up, it really picked up! It went places I never imagined and had revelations that had me gasping. Gareth did a great job tying everything up in a pretty bow at the end, which is amazing to me seeing how many plot twists there were.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the ARC!

This is one of those books that suffers from my high expectations. Being compared to Night Circus one of my all time favorite books and while similar in the magical realism regard the writing wasn't nearly as magical in this one as Night Circus. The cover is stunning and the story was interesting but the writing seemed a bit clunky to me. Cassie works in a bookstore and when her favorite customer passes he leaves her with the "book of doors" a book with magical properties that allows one to travel through any door. This opens up the story to other magical books and the antagonists who are trying to get them and those that are trying to protect them.

I think this would be a good one for teens/20's/30's who enjoy fantasy novels or those looking to dip their toes with fantasy as this would be a great one to try as it's not a heavy fantasy. It had a compelling, unique idea and was a decent debut.

My favorite genre of books 🫱🏻‍🫲🏻 The Books of Doors. So happy to have added another novel to the very small list of books that make reading feel magical to me.

This is one of those novels that is set in our modern world, but with a little fantasy/magic. At the beginning of the book, Cassie is just an ordinary young woman working at a book store, when she comes into possession of a slim book called The Book of Doors, with an inscription that says “any door is every door.” She finds that she can now travel using the book - but also that she’s in danger. The book is told through Cassie’s eyes, but also through various other characters, both good and bad, who are in the possession of or seeking magical books.

This was a bit of a slow book punctuated with moments of action, and it was more than a little confusing at times. Still, it was an intriguing premise. I liked it, but didn’t quite love it the way many other early reviewers did.

3.5 stars

Cassie is an ordinary young woman working in a bookshop until the day a customer dies on her shift and leaves behind a book addressed to her. To her surprise, she discovers the book is magic and not just any magic book - it's the "book of doors" that will let a person travel to any place and any *time* in the world. But there are people who will stop at nothing to get the power of such a book and have killed before. Time traveling hijinx of course ensue, with excellent attention to cause-and-effect throughout. With the help of book collector/custodian Drummond and a cast of other interesting characters, it's up to Cassie to save her book... and her friends.

What a fantastic idea for a book!! Powerful books that bring great abilities. I loved this, thank you for the review copy

Title: The Book of Doors
Author: Gareth Brown
Genre: Mystery/thriller, fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

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

In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It's a book - an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door.

What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary power on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.

But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals - individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons - a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .

Because some doors should never be opened.

This felt like lit fic, but I actually finished reading it, so that can’t be quite right. I was engrossed in this from the very beginning. The opening scene is eye-catching—and raised all sorts of questions that I wanted answered. Cassie is a solid character; I liked her, rooted for her, and wanted to figure out how she was going to get out of the mess she was in. I do recommend this for a leisurely, fascinating read, but not a pulse-pounding one.

Gareth Brown lives in Scotland. The Book of Doors is his debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.)

This is the Book of Doors.
Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door.

Magical realism at its best. The Ten Thousand Doors of January meets The Once and Future Witches.

When the Book of Doors finds its way into Cassie’s hands, she is swept up in a journey across the world and time, meeting friends and foes along the way.

This story was beautifully written and well paced. I loved the characters and their development throughout the book and the way that everything came full circle at the end.



Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was such an interesting read and had me HOOKED! It's magic realism, which I don't read as much but every time it do it's so so good! You're immediately immersed in this world and you're in a battle between good and evil with time travel and magic! It has everything a fantasy reader would love!

“Any door is every door.”

I knew from the moment I read that first chapter that this book was going to consume me, and that it did.

I love nothing more than magical realism, especially time travel but a magical book that can take you to any door?

This book is beautifully written and the story building is phenomenal. Every character in this book has a story, and they are all unique and memorable. You feel what they feel.

This book is just straight up magical, and it's better to go in blind.

Just enjoy it. Just savor it.

This has made a ranking in my favorites, and will be recommended by me for days and days to come.

3.5 This was such an interesting concept! I loved the idea of magic books. I liked the way everything tied together in the end. This book was emotionally heavy for me though. There are multiple plot points that revolve around death. There's a lot of sadness. The main villain also enjoys killing people in gruesome ways. It's very descriptive. That's something to be aware of.
That said, if you like books about books, books about time travel, and magical items, you might enjoy this one.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and read this novel. It wasn't what I hoped and honestly it was difficult for me to finish. This will definitely hit with some readers, I just wasn't one of them. It didn't give me the fantasy vibes I was hoping for. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately, this book was not a good fit for me. I found the pacing to be horribly slow and the characters to be difficult to connect to. I made it about halfway through the book before giving up. I wish this book had clicked for me.