I received an ARC of this book. I enjoyed this interesting, unusual story. I found it a little confusing but that's just me. Good fantasy novel.

The Book of Doors was a great ride and a wonderful magic system that appealed to the book lover in me. A great tale of adventure, danger, and the imaginative use of books to literally transport the “reader” to another place.
It was a slow start for me and I didn’t get particularly invested in any of the characters until about 40% of the way into the book. The compelling magic system in the book held my attention and I’m glad I stuck with it. While there are preferences that didn’t appeal to me I think it will appeal to many. If you are a lover of books and magic, I think you will sufficiently enjoy this book. Happy reading.

This book was so surprising and intricate. So many twists and turns and I couldn’t have guessed what would happen if I had tried. This follows Cassie as she discovers a unique and magical book that can take her wherever she imagines. It also has a twist of multiple realities and outcomes.
My cons would have been that the book dragged for a while, and I lost interest about mid way, I think what would have given a 5 stars is if the book had been condensed a lot more.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

Cassie has had a hard life at a young age. She works in a bookstore and there she meets Mr. Webber. When he dies in the store, she finds he has left her a book. This is the book of doors. It allows her to open a door to anywhere and she does. I do not want to give away any surprises in this wonderful story. This is time travel on a whole other level. I read this book in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. There is danger, excitement, intrigue, everything you could need in one book. A must read!

What can I say about this book but Wow! It's hard to know where to start, but I'll try.

A young woman working in a bookstore in NY receives a gift from a customer. It's a book, which seems to be very old, with lots of strange writings and drawings in it. Cassie takes it home and finds that it opens to doors to other places and times. As she travels to places she's never been, and returns to places and times in her past, she finds that there are others who know about her book, and want it. There are also other, less positive but equally magical books out there being sought by people with nefarious plans for the world. In her travels Carrie meets Drummond Fox, who curates the Shadow Library where other magical books are protected. As more evil pops up in Carrie's time, she and Drummond, assisted by her close friend Izzy and her friend Lund, come up with a dangerous but vital plan to rid the world of those who want the books for evil.

Yes this sounds like a crazy story but it all works, and will keep you turning the pages well into the night. Full of action, adventure, danger but also love, friendship and courage, The Book of Doors is a fantastic read.

ATTN: THIS IS FEEDBACK FOR THE PUBLISHER- LOTS OF SPOILERS. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK.

SPOILERS- Great concept for a book. I loved the time travel aspect- and how things were tied together, esp Mr Weber and Cassie having had a friendship. Loved that it was set in a bookshop. However, I struggled to get through this one. I think that the book needed more character development, so that you actually care about what happens to them. The books are a fascinating idea and great plan for a book- but the way Cassie was written- I don't feel like she was smart enough or interesting enough to have created them herself. I also didn't enjoy know "the woman" used the books to hurt others- I typically like dark novels but the descriptions in this section were off-putting somehow) I haven't finished it yet and don't know if I will. (I'm 80% through) I think an added element to make at least one of the constant friendships more emotional (or add a romantic interest perhaps?) to where you FEEL what the characters are feeling would help improve it and keep me hooked. And to make Mr Drummond more likable. Thank you for letting me read an advance copy! Apologies it took me so long to review.

Coming back to say that I finished the last 20% of the book and it picked up pace dramatically- the last couple of chapters were so good - starting with the last act of Hugo - the end. Because of the end- I’m bumping the rating from a two to a three

I love the premise of this so much! The beginning is a little slow but it does eventually pick up. At first I was getting the two friends (Cassie & Izzy) confused because they were a little flat but I think it just takes a second for this book to grab your attention. Also I thought the bringing up of food was a little odd. Overall it was a fun/quick little read.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded so awesome. But it is a slow burn book, and it took until easily 70% for anything to pick up for me. And by that point, I just wanted to get to the end. I mean it wasn’t OK in. It just took too long to get there for me.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

Everything comes full circle.

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be about one thing - a young woman who finds adventure. Well, yes, she does, but this book is so much more than just that. It is filled with suspense, action, danger, magic, and friendship.

Cassie is a young woman who has had a somewhat difficult life. She lost her mother at a very young age and was raised by her Grandfather until he was gone, too. I feel like she is a bit of a lost soul and floundering to find her place until she befriends Mr. Webber at the bookstore where she works. He leaves her The Book of Doors. This book allows her to travel anywhere in the world as long as there is an unlocked door. Forget transporters from Star Trek; this is the way to travel!

I loved her adventures, but her friend, and roommate, Izzy, is concerned about what the book could do. Is it safe? Will they be harmed? One wouldn't think so until we come across a bunch of book hunters who want these books for their personal gain. These individuals are not to be trifled with in the least. They are hard and ruthless. However, this is the full-circle comment I made. While I can't divulge much because it would give away a lot of the story, we learn how these individuals came to be who they are today. It might be a bit of a surprise when you get to that portion of the story (last 30%).

While I thought Cassie was a good protagonist, there was a period near the end when I did not like her and thought she was wishy-washy and weak. After everything that she had gone through, to act the way she did was mind-boggling. However, she does redeem herself after that.

The story has a varied cast of characters. All add depth to the story, which makes it even more engaging. 

I highly recommend this book and give it 5 paws up.

The Book of Doors was an engaging and interesting read. I enjoyed Garth Brown's detail in creating this world where Books can do many different things. I was engulfed in where the books could take the characters and what other books were out there. Occasionally, towards the end, there were times when I felt like the plot dragged on and other parts could have been left out. Thank you, NetGalley and William Morris, for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

It has a great premise and likable characters. I will have to give it another read because I just could get vested in the outcome. Having the ability to open doors that lead elsewhere while avoiding a nefarious secret society is my mojo, but this time it just wasn't there.

The Book of Doors is a book of magic, mystery and time travel like I had never read before! The twists and turns had me constantly guessing what could happen, how an event can go, and is something not quite as I thought it was. It was thought provoking and sent me on a journey with such a diverse set of characters. I adored this book, might be one of my favorites so far this year! It was such a delight to find all of the threads connecting at the end.

Three and a half solid stars.

Are you into a bit of magical realism? This book is for you. A bit of fantasy? This book is for you. A well thought out book full of twists and turns and things tied up in a bow? This book is for you.

This is not my normal genre, so I found parts of it incredibly fascinating. There were parts that were way too graphic (violence wise) for me. And some descriptions seemed a bit harsh for this day and age, but... I would try another book from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morris for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

2024 is knocking it out of the park when it comes to the portal fantasy sub-genre. The Book of Doors is the second book of the sort I’ve read this year and I loved it. It’s a wonderful, thought provoking exploration into what would happen if you could open a door to any place or even any time. I wasn’t expecting a book that would literally make me cry.
The Book of Doors follows Cassie, a young woman living in New York City and working in a bookstore. She’s going about her normal shift chatting with a favorite older customer, and when she returns to check on old Mr. Webber before closing, she finds that he’s passed away and left a small leatherbound book to her. It’s full of nonsense scribbles and drawings of doors and she accidentally discovers what the book is capable of when she’s absently daydreaming of a past trip to Italy. She and her roommate Izzy take a test drive of the book, hopping to their favorite locations around New York, but what they don’t realize is that they’re being watched and magical books are priceless, highly coveted items.
The pair are soon violently dragged into the world of magical books, though Cassie is fortunately guided by Drummond Fox, the Librarian. Drummond has been seeking magical books to preserve and keep them from the hands of those who would seek to do evil with them. The Fox Library goes back over a century, though Drummond has had to hide it using his Book of Shadows so a psychotic book hunter known only as the woman can’t find it. The woman enjoys using her books to cause pain and suffering and her life goal is to find the Fox Library so she might attain all seventeen books held within. Cassie’s Book of Doors is the only way to get in since Drummond Fox hid it in the shadows and he insists that her book must be destroyed.
The story seems like it would be a fairly straightforward one of collecting books, defeating the woman, and saving the day but it’s far more convoluted than that. Remember, the Book of Doors can open any door, even to the past. What actually plays out is a complicated and very well executed time travel sequence full of action and absolutely heartbreaking emotion. Cassie was raised by her grandfather, but he died of cancer years before and she goes back to visit him at one point and I cried like a baby. The emotions this book wrung from me were unexpected.
The Book of Doors was an incredible story. I admire any book that can bring me to the emotional edge and push me over, but that can’t be all a book has to offer. This had solid friendships, a truly awful villain character, plenty of adventure, and strong women! I couldn’t put this down and I’d highly recommend it, particularly for folks who like books about books and portal fantasy!

This book was thought provoking and has an interesting premise. I enjoyed the overall theme of good versus bad, and how a thirst for power can corrupt. There was a surprising cast of diverse characters I wouldn't have expected to team together so well. The bad people were truly evil, which is where a lot of the horror and violence comes in. So truly consider content warnings on that front, there are some brutal murders. It goes to show how a lot of pain and suffering can lead others to inflict the worst upon the world. I felt the magic books was unique and enjoyed learning how each worked. It was also reflective on how a book can be used for good and bad, depending on the users intentions. I thought the characters also showed immense growth by the end. We get insight into each one and I appreciated the third person omniscent narration for that purpose. The time travel was well done, I didn't have to work too hard to keep track of the time jumps.

I really enjoyed The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. It had everything - mystery, magic, and self-discovery. The story is set in a world where certain books have magical powers and evil people want control of them all. The author has done a great job of creating a diverse cast of characters who are well-developed and have their own motivations and desires. The book explores the theme of agency and how we all have the power to make choices that can be good or bad. IIf you're looking for a great read, which will keep your interest throughout, look no further! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author, for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I am torn on this book. The concept--that there are magical books with various powers, that there are book hunters around the world collecting the books at any cost, that there is time travel and luck and worlds beyond our own—is one that I love, and I kept reading to find out what would happen next. Unfortunately, it seemed that the author's skills were not up to writing this book the way I hoped it would be. This is a true example of telling not showing, with extremely repetitive sentences, ideas made explicit when they would have been more powerful and just as intelligible as subtext, and large gaps of time which I would have loved to learn more about but were instead summed up with explanatory paragraphs rather than actual plot or character development. At times this book read like a YA novel, despite the tons of blood, gore, and curse words. About halfway through I started skimming so I could get the gist of the plot without the repetition of the prose. I wanted this book to be so much better than it was, and I still think the plot is incredible; this book just could have done with a few more rounds of edits.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown is a book full of magic with an emphasis on time travel. It is a cleverly written story of intrigue and ingenuity. As always, it is easy to get twisted up in the ramifications of time travel but that is far from the entire story. There are books: The Book of Doors, The Book of Pain, The Book of Illusion, The Book of Safety, et al. Most people don’t know anything about these books but a few select collectors own some and want more. They appear to be hand-written journals with illustrations. They make no sense until one holds one and feels, then uses, its power. Naturally these books must be kept from persons who would misuse their power. Drummond Fox has a library which was his grandfather’s; it is rather a house full of books, but he uses one of the books to protect the treasures it holds. He has not been there for ten years until he takes Cassie there. Cassie is the holder of The Book of Doors. She and her roommate, Lizzie, have been playing with it until Desmond comes upon them. That is when things start happening.

Cassie is thirty or so and works in a bookstore. She is given The Book Of Doors by a patron, who then closes his eyes and dies. The Book of Doors is the biggest conundrum in the story. No one seems to know from whence it came, and Desmond has a younger version of it in his library. Through clever usage of the book, the team manages to dispose of the current batch of ne’er-do-wells, leaving the door open for more to appear. It is a very readable, very enticing book with intricate characters and a well-thought-out plot. An exciting adventure. It raises questions in the reader’s mind and gets the reader thinking. Always a good thing. As one who is not normally a reader magic or of fantasy I thank Gareth Brown for a terrific read!

I was invited to read The Book of Doors by William Morrow. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #WilliamMorrow #GarethBrown #TheBookOfDoors

This was a very solid fantasy/time travel book. The magic was complex enough to be interesting, but easy enough to understand within the book’s 400 pages. I loved the plotting and scheming in the second half of the book - it kept me turning pages. I do think that the characters, especially Cassie and Izzy, lacked a bit of depth, but it was still an enjoyable read!

Wow! What in the Inception is this book?! It’s magic, it’s amazement, love, loss, and above all it’s a book that I will be thinking about for a while to come. Thank you to NetGalley and Morrow books for an advanced reader copy. I enjoyed Gareth Brown’s debut published novel so much that I had to buy the physical copy.