Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read The Book of Doors as an eARC in exchange for an honest review. If you are not a fan of negative reviews, I would probably not recommend reading this one. Potentially minor spoilers (just a few out-of-context quotes).

The Book of Doors is marketed as being "for the types of readers who have flocked to the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Night Circus, and Babel". As these are three of my favorite books in existence, you can imagine how much I was looking forward to this title. Unfortunately, when new releases are marketed as being similar to these books, I find that I am often disappointed- this was no exception.

I had extremely high hopes for this book; even just the concept sounded like something I would enjoy, aside from being compared to some of my favorite books! Part of me does feel bad giving a negative review to this book, knowing that it just wasn't for me, (because that does not mean that YOU, as a reader, wouldn't enjoy it); but I knew within 6% of the way through that this book was not my cup of tea. There were things in this book that really rubbed me the wrong way; let me tell you why.

First of all- the pacing of this book felt completely off to me. I don't want to spoil anything, but even though this is a fantasy novel, the way that the plot began to unfold felt very.. unrealistic, for lack of a better word. Sort of rushed? Then, within the first few chapters, the fmc was described as being "in her own eyes, too tall/too thin/her hips too narrow/her chest too flat/her eyes were big and wide like deer's", which felt.. unnecessary. There were many additional unnecessary comments about eating/food, which was irrelevant to the plot (for example, fmc #2 talking about how she LOVES bread, but can't eat it because it'll go straight to her hips! She later goes on to call herself disgusting for eating pancakes and bacon). I understand how this kind of stuff isn't a big deal to other readers, and that's totally okay! For me, I find it unnecessary, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I read it.

The pacing, writing style, and plot continued to disappoint me throughout the rest of the book, but the part that made me decide that this book was ABSOLUTELY not for me was some specific quotes from a specific character. The character in question is the villain of the story, and refers to another female character (who is Black) as "that f*cking Black, bald bitch", before referring to another character duo as "that Jap and his ape". This same character later on in the book says, "one of the worst things that ever happened was when all you women started thinking you were equal to us men... sometimes I wish I lived back in the 1970's when the natural order was still in place". And here's the thing- I get that this is "the bad guy". I understand that he's supposed to suck as a human being. But I feel like there was probably a way to write the exact same storyline, the exact same book, the exact same plot, without having to say those kinds of things.

If you're reading this review, or even this book, and think, "you know, that kind of stuff doesn't bother me, that's no big deal, it's just one character"- that's fine. In my eyes- I just find it unnecessary (and honestly, just icky). I don't think it is necessary in any sense to have a character say those kinds of things. By the time this book comes out, it will be 2024- I would hope that authors would no longer feel the need to include those kinds of quotes in their books by now. That content alone is plenty for me to have not enjoyed this book, but even if those quotes weren't included, I still don't think I would have enjoyed it.

Overall, I was disappointed in this book. I recognize that I used the word "unnecessary" probably too many times in this review, but I truly could not think of another word that better describes how I feel after reading this. I will be giving this title a 1-star for Netgalley and Goodreads' sake. This is the first truly negative review I have ever written, and I will be spending the rest of my evening trying not to apologize for it. (I'm sorry).

This one was, regretfully, a DNF at 36% for me.

Cassie works at a bookstore in NYC. One night while closing, a regular customer dies while chilling in the bookstore. On his (dead) person is a book with a handwritten message to Cassie saying that it is the book of doors and it belongs to her now. The book turns out to be magic; it can open any door in the world. Cassie and her roommate Izzy start experimenting with the book, but their adventures are soon brought to a halt when they meet Drummond Fox who warns them they are in danger. There are more magic books and there are collectors of these books. Some of these collectors are very bad people. And that's as far as I read.

I appreciated what this book was trying to do, but it didn't work for me. Brown is trying very hard to appeal to readers and travelers--he describes each setting in the story which so much depth. The thing is, the descriptions weren't that great. At one point, Cassie, Izzie, and Drummond are eating croissants in Lyon after escaping a violent scene from a magic book hunter. Here are some of the MANY quotes about the croissant that Cassie ate:

" Finally Cassie relented, lifting the croissant to take a bite. It was good: hot and buttery and flaky."

"I love croissants in France."

"It was a cold morning, but she was wearing her old greatcoat, and her woolen scarf wrapped around her neck, and she felt warm and cozy in the chair, with the coffee in her stomach and the taste of the croissant on her lips."

"She once more felt herself trembling, as if the beneficial effects of the croissant were wearing off"

"'You don't have to like it,' Drummond said. 'But drink it. It's good for you; just like the croissants in Lyon.'"

This last croissant quote was my final straw.

There is a plot, but it's clunky. The storyline kind of gets lost in the onslaught of these commentaries on tiny details. My biggest issue with the book, though, was the flat characters and the showing rather than telling. I felt no connection to anyone we met in this story. I kept confusing Cassie and Izzy because neither of them had a personality. There were other characters being introduced, but I couldn't find the patience to explore them any further. I REALLY wanted to love this book, being a book-lover and a traveler myself, but it was a complete miss for me.

The beginning of this was a little slow or something to me - I just didn’t want to delve deeper in to it but I’m so glad I did. It was enchanting, magical and wonderful. The characters honestly didn’t matter so much to me. I was far more invested in the story and the books. This gave me the same feel as Cloud Atlas or even Cloud Cuckoo Land. Everything is connected and entwined and I love when authors are able to weave together the threads of their story in that way. Overall a good read!

I really enjoyed this book. It took me by surprise. I was thinking it would be a fun fantasy story about books, I was wrong. It was suspenseful, and heartbreaking at times. It kept me at the edge of my seat throughout the second half of the story. I love how there are many book with different magic aspects to them. They can be used for evil purposes, but also good. It just depends on the user of the book if they want to cause pain or happiness. They story follows the life of Cassie. She is left a book by a regular customer. Her whole world changes once she picks up the book, The Book of Doors. If you enjoy suspenseful fantasy about books. I recommend picking this one up next year!

I really enjoyed this book so much! I flew through this book and I was so upset when it was over. The plot was fast paced but not much which is what I really enjoy. I am obsessed with the characters and can not wait to read more by this author. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends and family.

A book about books? Sign me up! This was a great fantasy story for booklovers and anybody who just loves a good story about good versus evil. This take on time travel was also interesting without being overly complicated, and I loved how everything is tied together by the end.

This was such a fun and unique book, and what I thought would be a light-hearted story had a lot of depth and a little darkness in it—perfect!

When one of her favorite customers dies, Cassie 'inherits' a book that opens any doorway. Her and her friend Izzy get caught up with some bad people (and one very evil one) who want the book, and also a handful of good people. There's time travel and intrigue and you slowly get to know how everything fits into place. It was a great read and a devoured it in days.

Thank you so much to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC! I think this will be one of my reads here that I follow up with a published copy of the book.

This was a fun book with plenty of magic and time travel and bad guys and the like. Perfectly entertaining, though I didn't feel honestly that it was up to the standards of some of the other books mentioned by reviewers. It was a good, solid, F&SF story but didn't have the depth of character or smooth / literary writing of my real favorites.

Eep my first ARC, thank you NetGalley! This book was advertised as being very similar to the Midnight Library and the Night Circus, both of which are absolutely true. However, unlike those two, I really enjoyed this book! While the writing style and themes were similar, I think this book was better executed :)

I was expecting something a bit more whimsical and lighthearted, but this ended up being darker than I expected. The book follows Cassie, who unexpectedly acquires a book that can open doors anywhere called (you guessed it) the Book of Doors. What follows is quite an adventure involving magical books, cutthroat book hunters, and many new friends.

Also unexpected, time travel! I am very iffy on time travel as I think it’s really difficult to do well, but this is one of the best interpretations of time travel I’ve read. I appreciated the explanations of both open and closed time travel in a way that fit into the story, as this made it a lot easier for me to understand. I also felt like the author did a good job of wrapping everything up and tying all the loose ends together so that by the end of the book, everything connected back.

POV was third person, and jumped from character to character. I think multiple POV can get confusing, and while I was a little lost to begin with, it all came together nicely. My only real complaint was the pacing as some bits felt fast and others slow. As a result, it took me a while to get through the first half of this book, but I ended up flying through the second half.

Overall, I thought this book was a hit! Definitely recommending this one!

Rating- ⭐️⭐️ 2/5
Any door is every door. ‘The Book of Doors’ is a magical book that can take its user anywhere in the world. When the book falls into Cassie’s hands, she is thrust into a world of opportunity and danger. Cassie is thrilled to be able to revisit Europe, and share the experience with her best friend Izzy. The excitement quickly washes away when they realize there’s more than one special book, and people will do just about anything to get their hands on ‘The Book of Doors’. When Cassie and Izzy’s lives are threatened by dangerous collectors, they find friendship in unlikely places. I wanted to like this book but it just didn’t click with me. My major issue with this book was the writing which was drawn out in a lot of places. The characters were all one dimensional. For me, Cassie was an unlikeable protagonist and I found her character irritating. I would have liked to be more impacted by this book. I could not get invested into the story line and it unfortunately was a drag to finish. Ultimately, the concept is very cool and I enjoyed the whole magical book and time travel angle. My favorite thing about this story is how everything was cyclical. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance reader copy.

I'm happy about reading this book! The engaging description left me uncertain about its genre, but happily, it weaved elements of whimsy, mystery, and romance.

The nonlinear narrative involving time travel, a mysterious society, and secrets Society's within the library captivated me. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a blend of time travel and mystery.

Thank you to Gareth Brown and Netgallery for the opportunity to read this book!

Loved this! Really interesting plot. It kept me hooked for sure. It reminded me of Addie Lauren! I think this will be a hit!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc!

Really enjoyed this. Fast-paced, inventive, fun, perfect for fans of Addie LaRue and The Ten Thousand Doors of January. NYC setting didn't hurt a bit!

Time travel and books are two of my favorite things! This book is beautiful and the premises is engaging and interesting. I found all of the characters to be endearing, especially Cassie and Drummond. A great read.

I really enjoyed this book. I think the plot had just the right amount of suspense, action and pacing to keep me interested and reading. The characters were well developed and they felt realistic within the context of the story. The story of the books and how they can be used was creative and original in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the story of Cassie & Mr. Webber.

i can't believe this is a debut work! (!!!) genuinely one of my favorite things i've read this year, and one that has done sci-fi and movement in time so well. i'm always in for time travel, but some stories wield it as a plot device better than others, and this story did it so well. the magic was dreamy, the characters were multi-dimensional, and the story was engaging from start to finish. love love love. will buy a hard copy for my shelves!

a few more comments behind spoiler tag

– first of all, the discovery that cassie actually created the books was so lovely. i really appreciated how it happened and the way she found it out herself, and as always, i was clueless and didn't see it coming. second, there was a split second where hugo was reconsidering his life, and i thought holy shit, is he going to be revealed to be drummond? or someone else adjacent to our story? now obviously, there would've been some appearance shifting, but that wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility for this story, so the way it was phrased definitely gave me pause.

last thing, this reminded me a lot of the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle in that as i was reading, i realized i would likely reread just to gain additional context that i missed the first time around.

I received an E-Arc from Netgalley and publisher for an honest review!

Whoah! This book had my jaw dropping to the floor quite a few times. It was not what I thought was going to be because of the dark aspect of the story. Just wow. I loved the aspect of books being magical. I am really impressed with Gareth's writing on this book. It's a must read if you like fantasy.

I loved, loved the story because of the concept the author wrote as I probably state up above in the first paragraph - the books! There was such vivid descriptions of what is happening and the places that pop up. I also felt like there was a magical system type of feel. I will say time travel - that's all I'm saying. Read the story when it comes out to learn more!

This is a little bit different than what I normally read. Welll...sometimes I read some unique stories that capture my attention. This one was more geared towards fantasy and magic.

Cassie and Drummond are the main characters in the book. I loved how the obstacles they faced that they had to figure out ways to adapt. They also had an understanding for each other.

The other characters in this story have their own adventure and they all tie in to the story in one way or the other. I will say I did not like "the woman." Whoah..talk about being the villain in the story and soooo creepy. That character gave me dark vibes. Whooo. Creepy. I will say that the relationship of all the characters have some type of unique connection to each other and ties in with the plot.

Does it get a happy ending?

This did take me a little while to read. So much going on with the twists and turns. I cannot emphasize on the twist and turns...it's that good in my opinion. It's a great fantasy reads! I am so glad I read it.

This was SO unique. Thank you so much netgalley for this opportunity.
This sits solidly in dark academia land: think "The Night Circus" and "The Midnight Library" and "The Cloisters". A wonderfully, creepy, literary-entrenched story with books, time travel, just the teeniest hit of romance, and suspense. Cassie, our female lead, happens upon the Book of Doors, a book that can transport the holder to any place and time of their choosing, and learns quickly that magical books come at a heavy and dangerous price. We meet a cast of characters, all with their own books, through space and time as Cassie tries to stop a big bad.
OH and there's some gore. Really well written, not purposefully gratuitous, plot moving gore. I LOVED it.
This is a slow read: the twists and turns through time are really impactful and need to be carefully followed. There's some bends in the theory of time that you need to just accept as fact. But overall? A really great fun read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of The Book of Doors! This is the most thoroughly original read I’ve experienced in a long time. What a breath of fresh air! Everything from the concepts underlying the books to the characters was incredibly thought out and intricately woven together. While I sometimes struggle with the more sci-fi aspects of the genre, such as time travel, I really enjoyed the way in which it was used in the novel. I loved seeing every element come together in such clever and subtle ways. It was refreshing to see time travel used not as some kind of deus ex machina, but as a key player in the story. My only qualm was with the ending—I felt that the villain, who was repeatedly set up as a horrifying and nearly impossible to defeat figure, was dispatched almost too easily. Additionally, the events towards the end felt quite rushed, especially in comparison to the pacing of the beginning and middle of the book. Overall, however, I really, really enjoyed this novel. I am very excited to see what Brown writes next, but in the meantime, make sure to check out The Book of Doors!

I loved every single moment I spent with this book. From the beginning to the end, I loved the magic, the joy, the concept and the characters. I loved the idea of magical books. I loved so many of the concepts the book introduced and the idea that every single thing can be good or bad depending on who is using it. I cannot wait to read more books by this author.

If you love books and you love fantasy worlds built around books, I am confident you will love this book. I really hope they make it into a movie.

with gratitude to netgalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review