When I tell you, I was so pleasantly surprised with this book right from the beginning! I felt like I was immediately thrust into the adventure and excitement of the story when I was less than 10% into it. Author Gareth Brown is fantastic at painting, the picture of a scene and scenario for you with top-notch description that made this book really hard to put down. In my notes while reading, multiple times I just wrote in all caps “ADVENTURE!!!!” and that held true throughout the entire journey. For me, the book really was giving “National Treasure” (come on Nick Cage 😮‍💨) meets magical realism — I mean if that doesn’t sell you on this book then what does??

One thing I will say: when it comes to the character known as “The Woman,” if you have a weak stomach with gore and violence, this book may not be for you! ⚠️

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for this eARC!

As readers, we already know that books are the most powerful and magical items in the world, but what if there are books out there with actual magical powers, powers that give a reader, for example, the ability to literally travel around the world or even through time? "The Book of Doors" by Gareth Brown explores such a possibility and the lengths some people would go to obtain one of these magical books.

Though Fantasy isn't my preferred genre, I absolutely devoured this book. It kept my attention from the very first page to the last, with an inventive and exciting plot and vibrant characters. The twists and turns kept me guessing and enthralled. I don't want to give anything away, but this is a truly wonderful book, with an intelligent and creative story that I will recommend over and over.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this book. Five stars!

🥳Happy Pub Day!🎉
📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 413 / Genre: Magical Realism

Cassie Andrews is living an unremarkable life working in a bookstore in NYC until the day her favorite customer passes away peacefully and leaves her a very special book. The Book of Doors allows her to travel to any destination she wants by just imagining it and opening any door. She soon learns that there are other books with special powers, some awesome and some horrifying. But she’s not the only one who knows about these books. And those who are the most determined to possess all of them are pure evil.

I absolutely loved this book! There’s magic, time travel, close friendships, terrifying villains, and so much action. It’s a thing of beauty to see how all these puzzle pieces fit together for a very satisfying ending. My favorite book of the year so far!

Thank you @NetGalley, @WilliamMorrowBooks, and @GarethJBrown13 for the advanced copy of this book. I absolutely loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for gifting me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars!!

When I first requested this book, I wasn't really sure what to expect. However, it took me on the most fun journey. At first, I wasn't sure about the plot, but it developed beautifully. I was fully invested in the characters, and I would love if there could possibly be more books created for them. This story proves that you can certainly live multiple lives through books. When you finish this book, you will feel as if it were a warm hug. I will be recommending this to my audience!

I thought this book was good, but a little too fantastical for my taste.

Cassie discovers a book that can turn any door to any other door in place or time. Any door is every door.

I liked the concept of this book, but the execution was off for me. The characters lacked depth, and it quickly turned into good vs. evil or hero vs. villain.

I think that others will enjoy this book, it just didn't work for me.

If someone gave you a book that you could use to open any door, would you use it?

That is the problem that plagued Cassie, a 20 something New Yorker who works in a bookstore. She is given a mysterious gift by a customer of the bookstore and soon discovers that she can go anywhere in the world if she is holding this book.

The premise sounds fantastic, right? I felt like the execution was just kind of meh. The story had so many characters and timelines. The perspectives switch back and forth. Honestly, it was a bit difficult to keep track.

I really wanted to love this book because of the storyline. However, it drug on a bit long and just got confusing and wordy.

Cassie Andrews finds a book that can send her anywhere her heart desires simply by walking through a door. The power possessed by this book quickly draws the attention of a group of people dedicated to tracking down special books like Cassie’s. Fortunately, there is a librarian to save the day. Together, Cassie and the librarian must protect the book, and themselves, before the shadows consume them all.

Each chapter is a different character’s perspective. There is no indication whose perspective the chapter is in, so it's up to the reader to engage with the literature and solve the mystery. These mini-mysteries at the start of each chapter combined with the tension in the story create a tingling sense of adrenaline that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I am finding this review to be a very difficult one to right. I looked forward to reading this book, having heard it compared to Matt Haig's Midnight Library but was disappointed. I loved the concept of the book: All of these different doors to magical things revealed through books. I knew it involved time travel, which I love (even though I am not a big fantasy and science fiction reader). However, this book was nothing like Midnight Library. That would have been fine had the book been different in its own right and if it were not for a few things.
The big thing (the reason why this only got two stars) here is some of the racial slurs that were in the book. This is a modern book and even though some of this takes place in earlier time periods, I cannot abide by racial slurs. This is not just a matter of the book not just being my cup of tea (and it really should have been anyway). I am not all about political correctness but this was a bit hard for me to take.
Aside from this, I probably would have given three stars. Why? As I said, the concept was great. However, the story started out slowly and I almost gave up at one point. It did improve later on, as there was more action. I did like the ending. I did not lower my rating because of this but potential readers should know this. I thought that this would be an uplifting book and story and that it would be generally happy and it really wasn't. Most parts were very sad. I did not lower my rating for this because it may have been my misunderstanding as to what this was.
The book was confusing. There were lots of different characters (one simply called "the woman) and they were hard to keep track, as well as the different time periods. Had other things been better, though, I would have been all right with this as that can be hard to do in time travel.
Positives: the main characters were well developed and the premise was intriguing. Just be forewarned that it can move slowly and there might be some objectionable things in the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't like this book nearly as much as I wanted to. The characters felt too simplistic and the dialogue forced. In a fantasy world that could have been so much more developed and magical, it just fell flat.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown delivered a delightful adventure filled with danger, time travel, magical realism and books. A fast-paced tale with twists, unique characters and fresh ideas. Narrated by Marinda Raison, I highly recommend listening!

Magical realism, books of magic and secret libraries… yes, please! The Book of Doors has it all in this intriguing tale. In New York, we meet Cassie Andrews, who works at Kellner Books. That is where she met her friend Izzy and the two now share an apartment.

There is nothing extraordinary about Cassie’s life. She sells books, passes her friend Izzy each night as they work different shifts and curls up each night with her books. One evening at the bookshop, a regular gentleman who likes to take tea by the window and read books while sharing stories with Cassie falls dead. After the police and ambulance leave, Cassie finds an unusual book on the table where he died. It’s full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. At the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that …..

“This is The Book Of Doors. Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door.”

The tale that unfolds leads us on an adventure filled with danger, greed, magic and time travel. It took a little while for the story to unfold, but once it did, I was hooked. While I had the physical book, the audiobook was fantastic. Particularly for all the unique characters from the villains to the mysterious Mr. Fox.

Most of the story is from Cassie’s point of view as she explores doors and decides whom to trust once she is thrust into this world of magic books. But we get perspectives from others, including Drummond Fox, the Librarian, and the Woman, a most heinous villain.

The books, all similar in size, each possess magic. Some make you lose your memories, give you invisibility, make you invincible, grant you lucky and more. The owner of the books have power to manipulate others using them. In the wrong hands, these books are very dangerous. The Book of Doors will take you to any door, but not just in the present. You can go back to your own timeline. Unlike most time travel books that apply the “butterfly effect,” Brown gives it a twist.

This was a clever story with good vs evil, magic, time travel, books and hidden libraries. It could be very dark, but the author also sprinkled in lightness with happy moments and pastries. Perfect for fans of fantasy, magical realism and adventure. While the story wraps up nicely, Brown left the door open for more adventure and I hope we get them.

Marinda Raison’s narration captured the unique characters’ personalities, giving this cast their own voice. She helps set the tone of the story and made listening a pleasure. I highly recommend grabbing this in audio format.

This book is centered around a big cast of characters, but mainly Cassie Andrews. Cassie works in a New York City bookshop and she lives a pretty boring life centered around reading and keeping to herself. When one of her favorite customers, an old man named Mr. Webber, passes away, he leaves her the book that he has in his hands specifically for her. When Cassie realizes that this is no ordinary book (in fact, it's the Book of Doors), she tries to interpret its unique inscriptions and drawings to no avail. Once Cassie realizes this book can make any door into EVERY door, she begins to see the book's power. Through this new magical book, Cassie and her friend Izzy meet a "librarian" named Drummond Fox who warns that Cassie is in danger now that she has this book in her possession. She's in danger from hunters and collectors who want to use the book for their own selfish interests, some more malevolent than others. Cassie's enemies list begins to grow, with each new adversary more intimidating than the next.

This book was the most fun journey I've ever had with a fantasy book, ever. If you like Blake Crouch's Recursion, the television show The Magicians, and anything by V.E. Schwab, THE BOOK OF DOORS should be a top priority for you to read. Just when I thought that I knew where the book was going, it changed course! The book isn't scared to shy away from the dramatics and violence, but ultimately it is an adventure of a lifetime. I will never forget this book, nor will I ever not recommend THE BOOK OF DOORS. Some books are worth killing for and the BOOK OF DOORS will show you why. I can't believe that this book is a debut and I can't believe that I've read one of my favorite books for 2024 in 2023!

With The Book of Doors I'm moving a little out of my usual genre - but, Oh, what a ride. Cassie is gifted a magic book who can move her around the world with just the opening of a door. Giddy with the possibilities of reenacting some of her best memories, traveling in Europe, it soon becomes clear that the gift comes a grave danger. There are more magic books out there, and evil forces are determined to collect them all!
A great fantasy read.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

All books are precious and enchanting in their own way, but what if books were truly magical? That’s what we explore in “The Book of Doors,” where owners harness powers beyond belief, simply through the pages of a book.

This was described as being the perfect read for lovers of “The Night Circus,” one of my favorite books. I of course went in very skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised. The writing wasn’t quite as brilliant in comparison, but the story itself was wonderfully dreamy and magical. The characters were diverse, their relationships touching, and the overall plot was well developed. Very rarely do I enjoy a time-travel theme, but this was flushed out very well. It was described in a “realistic” way without being too specific to the point of being confusing. From start to finish things were wrapped up nicely.

Again, the writing wasn’t perfect… there were a few clunky and repetitive sections, but overall, a well deserved 5 stars. I do agree that if you enjoyed “The Night Circus,” “The Invisible Life of Addie Larue,” and “The Midnight Library,” this will be in your wheelhouse. Maybe a bit premature, but I found myself hoping this gets picked up as a movie. I would love to see the characters and magic come to life on the big screen as it so beautifully did in my mind. Already looking forward to reading more from Brown. A great debut novel!

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers, and William Morrow for this advanced copy, available February 13, 2024.

I feel awful having to DNF an ARC at 45% but I just can’t get through this.

Let’s start with what I liked: I thought the concept of the book was very creative and intriguing. Who wouldn’t love a world with magical books? I thought this concept had a lot of potential, especially because we started with many characters with no concept of how they would all relate to each other and the storyline. I also really enjoyed all the references to NYC locations. As a New Yorker myself, I enjoyed reading about locations I am familiar with, and some I am not.

With that being said, I was really disappointed by the writing as I continued the book. I felt like this story was trying to accomplish too much with very little development. First, the characters’ reactions to situations were completely unbelievable. In one case, a character is speaking to another about a situation he knows she knows nothing about, and yet doesn’t understand that he needs to explain things to her. In another, a character is faced with a completely wild and impossible concept (time travel) and just accepts it on a whim. Second, there was both too much and too little development. As an example, a character we spent chapters learning the background of becomes irrelevant to the plot less than halfway through the book. He could have been left out. In that same vein, I made it through a quarter of the book and we were still having pieces of the plot set up for us. Yet we also had in depth explanation of the same object (the book of doors) multiple times.

In summary, interesting concept, poor execution.

Cassie works in a bookstore in New York City. She rooms with a friend who previously worked in the bookstore. Life is pretty much the same day to day until an elderly man dies in the bookstore and leaves Cassie a book. It has an unusual cover and seems to be filled with illegible writing and drawings. Cassie is a book lover and she loves it regardless. But even her walk home isn’t normal. Someone is possibly following her. The inscription in the book says “any door is every door”. What could that possibly mean? But somewhere, somehow it appears that Cassie knows what this means and her life is no longer ordinary.

I loved this book. I was taken into it and traveled with Cassie. This book is truly a gem.

Imagine if the books you encountered possessed special powers - that could be used for good and bad - would you choose the dark side or the good side? Cassie Andrews is gifted a very special and mysterious book. She soon finds out that her and her best friend Izzy are in grave danger as they are being tracked by hunters. Go on a wild adventure with this one!! Read this book if you like stories about books, booksellers and book hunters, mystery/intrigue, magical realism and time traveling. This was a new author for me and a 4★ experience. Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I seriously enjoyed The Book of Doors - this felt like magical realism at its finest. There's magical books, underground book hunters, some whimsy and big feelings, and tons of action.

This story starts with a young woman inheriting a magical book - with this book, every door becomes any door. As she starts to explore its power, she fails to realize that there are folks willing to do anything to get their hands on this magical book, and the others...

The pacing felt perfect, I love magic books, and the main character felt really relatable. It gave me everything that I wanted, but didn't get, from The Book Eaters. I think this would be perfect for fans of The Magicians.

Check out my review on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3SmrPJrxsN/?igsh=MXN5Z3VxeG1mY3g2cQ==
Check out my review on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hannah_fink_/video/7335077159230360874?_r=1&_t=8jqn4Wuk2VH

This is a debut book by this author. I could not get enough of this book, I was flying through the pages if you are a fan of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library or How to Stop Time I can not recommend this book enough. This book follows a girl name Cassie whom befriends an elderly gentleman and is gifted the book of doors. Throughout the book Cassie works with Drummond Fox and Mr Webber to find and keep special book safe from The Woman. The woman is a bad lady that wants to sell all the special books to the highest bidder and doesn’t care if destruction comes from the sales. This book had me flipping the pages and I have a book hangover from it that I never want to end. I have never reread a book but this may be the one that I do!! Thank you netgalley and publisher William Morrow for the ARC

I knew from the beginning that the Book of Doors was exactly my type of book. Who hasn't wished for a way to open any door and be anywhere else? With that premise, the possibilities for this book were endless.

"Any door is every door"

The book Cassie receives opens any door for her and she tumbles down a rabbit hole of adventure she never asked for, but of which she is somehow the center.

The minute I met her, I knew I would like Cassie. She's a character who makes sense to me and acts in many of the same ways I might in a similar situation. I loved the beginning of the book, watching her an Izzy explore the possibilities of the Book of Doors together. I could've read 400 pages of them exploring without all all the tension that came later.

But as Cassie and Izzy dive into the possibilities of their new book, they draw the attention of a variety of mostly unsavory characters from across the world. The twists and turns and connections this book makes as it goes on are fantastic. I gasped audibly so many times as pieces clicked into place.

If you are a fan of the Starless Sea, but wish it had a bit more murder and a bit less confusing fantasy magic system, I definitely recommend the Book of Doors. Be warned though, some of the murder is quite gruesome.

4.5 rounded up.

I think that the pacing was odd, I also didn't love how the author wrote the female main character. She felt like a stereotype but with no purpose to it.