I think the plot of this book, concerning magic books, one of which allows you to turn a regular door into a door to anywhere is really excellent. There are some really good twists that kept me interested and made me think. The characters, though, felt really flat to me. The bad guys were ridiculously bad and I wasn’t very invested in the main characters. I feel as if this will be a book that gets really good reviews, however, and it will end up one of those books that just wasn’t for me. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Name of Book: The Book of Doors
Author: Gareth Brown – Debut Author
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller, Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: William Morrow
Pub Date: February 13, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 412

When I read the blurb on this, it reminded me of "The Midnight Library" where the books contain a chance
to life a try another life that one could have lived.
One must first start with the book of regrets. Then may choose any book about a life that could have been!
The book was great and I wrote down a quote I liked~:
~~You don’t have to understand life ~ you just have to live it ~ I am Alive! ~

Cassie Andrews is a bookseller at Kellner Books on the Upper East Side of NYC. On a typical evening Cassie’s favorite customer John Webber would be at his usual table reading; however this evening turned out not to be typical although they chatted for a bit as they often do as it was near closing she looked over and saw Mr. Webber was still sitting at the table. She approached him and touched his shoulder she realized he was dead! She was so sadden by this death.
As she was putting away the book he had been reading she noticed another book - this book was his and it had a personal note to her in it.
~Cassie, This book is for you as a gift in thanks of your kindness.
May you enjoy the places it takes you and the friends you find there. ~ John Webber. ~

Cassie soon discovers that the Book of Doors bestows extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it. So Cassie and her best friend Izzy are exploring what the book can do.

When Cassie meets Drummond Fox, a Scottish man in his 40s, who inherited the Fox Library from his grandfather, Edmund; he warns her of danger she faces. He explains that there are numerous books in the world, each bestowing unique powers on its possessor.

I know I am in the minority but I wasn’t wowed by this story and I so wanted to like even love it.
I hung in there as I have read many books that I was ready to give up on but hate to be a quitter and sure enough they completed turned me around to likening it.
I I did like the last chapter ‘The Quiet Death of Me. Webber”; but I am going to let you read it for yourself.

Want to thank NetGalley and William Morrow Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 13. 2024.

I have a serious love/hate relationship for this book! The amount of times that if I had the physical copy of this book, I would have ran it over with my car. However, I could not put it down! Does that make sense?

What I didn't like....
1. TOO MANY CHARACTERS (It was hard to keep track of who, and what)
2. In my opinion, this would have worked out better as a series. It felt like it was jammed together and rushed.
3. I was left with so many lingering questions at the end

There are a few more things that I didn't like but I will not post those because it involves specific things in the book and I don't want to ruin it for anyone!

Little rundown of the book:
Cassie works in a book store. She comes into possession of a book. However, it is just not an ordinary book. People will kill for this book. People are hunting for this book. Cassie now not only has to keep herself safe but the book as well.

The early chapters in this mesmerizing book kept me glued to the pages. I was fascinated by the concept of the books, especially the Book of Doors. However, I put the book down after the introduction of “the woman” and the subsequent chapters that described her sociopathic, cruel behavior. That introduction, particularly what she did with the Book of Despair, really turned me off and I needed a break.

When I came back, I waded through chapters that became increasingly challenging to keep straight. Make no mistake, this is a complex plot that requires close reading. The concept of the books was so intriguing that I was able to set aside several instances of irritating and insensitive dialog and description, which could be fixed with some editing.

There is some insight to the “why” of the cruelty and sociopathy at the end, but that part left me wondering if the final scene in NYC actually started the whole cycle all over again.

My prediction is that most readers will either love or hate this book. I’m in the middle - I am totally here for the Books, but less so for the humans.

I’ll start my review with the disclaimer that while I thought this book was just okay, others will probably love it! There are some things I didn’t like about the book that made me set it down a few times and take a while to get back to it, but I was ultimately invested enough in the plot to want to know how it ended.
First off, I felt like the book didn’t match the premise. The book sounded like the perfect book for me, about a bookseller who is given a magical book. It was likened to The Night Circus and The Invisible life of Addie LaRue but besides all three books containing magic, I didn’t see much similar between them. While Cassie uses the book at first to do some magical things, the plot quickly dives into the sinister world of evil people who will do whatever it takes to get their hands on the magical books. I wanted the plot to focus more on the books but instead we learn about a sociopath who does twisted things to get her hands on the books. The plot moves to revolve around her and another evil character. This book also makes many plot holes for itself that it doesn’t clear up due to the nature of the magic in the book.
The pacing of this book is also off. At one point years pass in a single chapter. At other points it takes multiple chapters to cover the same event. The beginning was slow while the ending felt very rushed.
One thing I did like was the “good” characters. I instantly liked Cassie and Izzy. It took me a bit to warm up to Drummond but that fit his character. I also really liked Lund. I hated the “evil” characters. I felt like they were over the top evil for no real reason besides to make the main characters not feel bad about their actions. I really hated reading their chapters. They also were racist which maybe was supposed to make them more evil but it felt weird to read. And because of the way the book is written, their motives aren’t entirely clear until the very end.
Overall, the plot and good characters were enticing enough to make me finish this book so I’ll give it 3 stars.

The story starts with a young girl, Cassie, being given a book that can magically take her anywhere by walking through a door. Sounds like fun until other people around the world are searching for this and other magic books which puts Cassie’s life in danger. I enjoyed the story, especially when the element of time travel was introduced, but I have to say at times the book got a little confusing to follow. There was also some pretty graphic violence which prevents me from recommending it to my middle grade students. I know it wouldn’t be new to them but I can’t have it coming from me. All in all it was a fun story that kept me well entertained!

The Book of Doors is not like any other book I have read before. Not only is it a novel full of adventure, romance, and magic, it is a mystical world for reading fans of books such as The Midnight Library, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, The Night Circus,- books I have not liked as much as others have. However, this particular book changed my perspective of this fantasy/ adventure romance genre.

Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers—a lonely yet charming old man—dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading.
But this is no ordinary book…It is "the Book of Doors. "
There are many incidents that occur along the way that the main character learns and tries to understand. Ways that she needs to decipher in order to survive. What is being hidden through secrets of the dark unknown world around her? What can she do to make things right,? This book has many twists and turns, and unique mystical elements throughout the story.

This is the story about a book that can take you anywhere in the world - really! Anywhere, anytime, the possibilities are endless. This is what happens to Cassie, a young bookseller, who befriends an older gentleman who is a regular at the bookstore where she works. When this gentleman passes away at the store, he leaves a note gifting The Book of Doors to her. What follows is an amazing story of magic, time travel, special books, and the ruthless characters who "collect" them. 

Imagine that book in the wrong hands and you'll know why Cassie and her friends need to protect the book. But, the Book of Doors is not the only magical book. There are others and they are being used by "collectors" to obtain the Book of Doors by any means necessary, each more gruesome than the last.

A story of friendship, trust, betrayal, ruthlessness, and redemption. It was a rollercoaster read.

Fair warning: There are some very graphic and violent descriptions of what the bad guy/gal do to people who get in their way. Don't say I didn't warn you.

All in all, this was a good read and I have already recommended it to several people. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

The book is set to release on February 13, 2024. You can pre-order on Amazon or from your local bookstore. 

Thanks for reading.

The Book of Doors by, Gareth Brown has a good story idea, and beautiful cover art. I wanted to love it, but the women shaming, and racist descriptions of people turned me off.

Bookseller Cassie Andrews receives a book from a favorite customer before his passing. A handwritten
message tells her that it is called the Book of Doors which allows the owner to use the book to use any
door to travel to another place. While Cassie is excited to think about all the places she can go, her
friend Izzy is concerned.
It is revealed that there are other magical books that can be used tio do dreadful things in the hands of
ruthless individuals. The Book of Doors is sought after by many. Cassie, along with the help of others, must
find a way to keep the book out of those who would use it to harm. An intriguing read.
#TheBookofDoors #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the arc

This book is described as “A debut novel full of magic, adventure, and romance” and it just simply falls short on every single one of these fronts. The magic in this book is unimpressive. The adventure was nothing to call home about. And the romance felt forced and unnatural.

While reading this book the pacing was all over the place, it would speed up and slow down and so on and so forth.

The dialogue was at best mildly interesting, and at worst unbearable. Throughout the book the author would mention details that rubbed me the wrong way such as when one of the female MCs described themselves as being “ too tall, too thin, her hips too narrow, her chest too flat, her eyes were big and wide like deer’s” These details felt a little unneeded in my opinion, and this wasn’t just a one off thing.The author continuously wrote details in the story that came off a bit like body shaming. For example when the two FMCs where eating at a restaurant one of the characters remarked about how they felt disgusting for eating pancakes and bacon, and it felt absolutely unnecessary to add this detail into the story.

Overall, this book disappointed me as I feel it was poorly executed and thought out.

An interesting take on portals and traveling. I would not consider it my genre of choice, but the writing was well done and the characters were likable. I can see a lot of my followers loving this book, especially mu science, supernatural readers!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Cassie works in a bookstore in NYC and one day one of her favorite customers dies in front of her. He leaves her a magical book - the Book of Doors. Inscribed in the book is the statement “any door is every door” for those can wield its power. Acquiring the book leads Cassie and her roommate Izzy to encounter various people who all desire to possess any and all magical books they can find. They meet various allies and enemies along the way - those who covet the magical books and those who wish to protect them.
It is hard to share too many details without spoiling too much of the story. Gareth Brown does an amazing job of weaving together different perspectives and times. He creates a world most readers dream of - a world in which books can take you anywhere, lend you power and bring you joy.
I highly recommend this book.

This book kept me thinking the whole time. My daughter and I often talk about how great it would be to be able to teleport. This book explores what that could be like. I can see lots of discussions with this book.

Here’s what I liked about “The Book of Doors” by Gareth Brown - a number of things. First this book reminded me a lot of VE Schwab’s “A Darker Shade of Magic” (maybe it’s the magical part? Maybe it’s the overall feeling I got reading these two books?). I can understand why some are relating it to Midnight Library, but while I see the connection, but these are two very different types of books. Second thing I liked about this book was how the timelines crossed and how, in the end, the pieces fit together. While at times I found it a bit maddening trying to keep track of who was where when, in the end, all was made clear. Third thing is that part of it takes place in a bookstore and libraries, all which sounded like lovely places to visit to have some tea (or whiskey!). If Magical Realism if your thing, I’d strongly recommend this book. What I wasn’t quite so keen about was one of the characters - he seems to be bad to, well, just be bad. His language is horribly mean and there doesn’t seem to be a redeeming thing about him; out of all the characters I felt he was the least developed. I also wasn’t too keen on the downer talk that some of the women had regarding carbs [really unnecessary]. Additionally I had difficulties for part of the book keeping two female characters separate and wish that “The Woman” had been either in quotes or noted somehow because it would’ve been a smoother read. In very many ways I enjoyed the book, the friendships made, the timelines, the fact that one cannot change what has happened before - but in other ways I didn’t love the book as much as I wanted (part 5 I’d skip on a re-read for instance).

The idea of magic books that can time travel, protect you, cause harm, etc is fascinating. But the descriptions of people are not done well. Women are constantly described as an ethnicity (the Chinese lady coming to take their order, describing a woman’s skin as African American?), which read as lazy and also kind of racist.
I cringed reading the character refer to “that Jap and his ape.” How was this approved? How did an editor read these descriptions and think it was ok?
Overall, the concept of magic in books is lovely, but it wasn’t a book I’d ever read again, and I’d be hesitant to read anything from this author is the future.
I was allowed to read this books thanks to NetGalley.

When I first started this I thought it was going to be all about a girl who is gifted this magical book that can open doors to anywhere in the world. Thankfully it is more than that since it is over 400 pages. Mystery, murder, magic, friendships and more all bring this book together to make one heck of a page turner.
There are so many magical books in this story, but the scariest one of all is the Book of Despair. What it can do to people will make your stomach clench. Don’t miss out on this one when it comes out. I feel like it’s going to be one of those books people won’t be able to stop talking about!

I don’t often read fantasy but something about the description for this one spoke to me. Plus, I recently read The Unmaking of June Farrow, which also involved a magical door - LOL! Plus, the main character works in a bookstore - count me in! Cassie is a bookseller who one day is gifted a very special gift from a customer. It’s an extraordinary item that can seemingly transport her anywhere just by opening a door. Cassie and her best friend Izzy spend time exploring and traveling wherever they wish before finding out that some doors aren’t meant to be opened.

This book reminded me so much of a fairy tale! How fun it is to be transported into this world where anything seems possible. I can’t believe this was a debut - it was very impressive!

Thank you to Netgalley, Transworld Digital and Gareth Brown for the ARC! “The Book of Doors” publishes February 15, 2024.

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_botle) shortly.

A very interesting read! Kept me captivated until the very end, I enjoyed how we switched between different narrative voices and stories yet by the end they all intertwined.

The Book of Doors sucked me in from the start. I was intrigued with the idea of the power of books and the magic that these volumes could conjure. The author managed the back and forth of time travel in an interesting way and The Book of Doors reminded me again how much I enjoyed similar books like The Time Travelers Wife and The Night Circus.
I found the book a bit too descriptive midway but it did not keep me from wanting to see where the story led. I would recommend it to others who enjoy fantasy/ magic.