Taking portal fantasy in its stride this novel revolves around a magical book whose pages are the portal to not just other places but also other times.
We meet Cassie in her workplace, Kellner Books where she speaks to one of her favourite customers Mr. Webber. Later that evening she finds that he has died, however he left a small leather bound book full or pictures of doors which she takes in his memory. When she returns to her flat she shares the evening happenings with her flat mate Izzy, and by chance the learn the secret of the book that can take you anywhere.
The Book of Doors is one of a set of books that influence Luck, Invincibility, Invisibility and much more. There is a guardian in the shape of Drummond Fox who is the Librarian, and his role is to protect these books as they are not only desirable but dangerous. Our adversary in the tale is the Woman, whose goal is to find the books and use them for evil, she relentlessly tracks down Cassie as the Book of Doors is a rare prize.
The narrative is fast paced, exploring not only the scope of the magical effects of the Books but also on what it is to be human.
I would recommend this book, all views are my own and my thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to the ARC.

Cassie happily works in a New York bookshop/ cafe. She has her favourite customers one of which is Mr Webber. When he dies in his sleep he leaves her a book. inside is the inscription- The Book of Doors; one door can be any door. Along with her friend Izzy she discovers that the book can take them through a door to anywhere. At first this seem a joyous wonder, but The Book of Doors is not the only magical book & not all of them are benign!

I absolutely adored this book. The story kept me gripped to the page in spite of some really grisly descriptions. It is a book that makes you glad that you can just go with the flow & not question the logic & leaves you with a real sense of loss that it is all over. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. It is probably my top read so far this year.

The idea behind the book of doors is wonderful, a magic book that allows you to walk through any door you can visualise? Yes please!
And I did enjoy the story, the characters and their journeys and emotions were complicated and enthralling yet at times I found the pacing of the book to be .. a bit off.
I really enjoyed the discovery of other books and the dark side of the community that wields them and I liked the friendship and family ties that were so important throughout the plot.

This book took me completely by surprise, not my normal kind of book to read but it definitely held my attention. I loved the magical plot of a book given as gift and doors into powers. The only draw back for me was I didnt really warm to the characters, the main character seems needy and I found myself wanting to shout at her at times lol.

A book that really can open doors

This book has ‘Inception’ like qualities to it, with the added dimension of a magic book that enables the owner to travel to anywhere and anywhen. And there are other books with their own special powers too, whether they’re used for good or evil is entirely down to their owners.

Just when you think that you’ve got a handle on things and wonder how Cassie is going to get back to reality a single sentence drops a bombshell that opens up a whole new set of questions to ponder. I hope that further books will follow to develop the relationships between the characters and reveal more about the magical books and the intrigues left hanging at the end of the book.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

An accomplished and engrossing debut. We all know books are magic, so a book about magic books is twice as magical!

Blurb:

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 powers 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...

I had such high hopes for this book. I love the idea of magical books, each granting the user a different ability. The novel starts slow but promising. Unfortunately, I soon realised that the pacing was off; it was full of unnecessary passages where nothing significant happened, and there were stereotypical characters. The main heroine is passive, has no distinct personality, and must be saved by men. The other characters are either noble or pure evil, with nothing in between and no moral ambiguity. The romantic themes appear spontaneously, without any meaningful character interactions. Above all, I believe the author failed at creating a point of view of a modern young woman, as Cassie's voice seemed unnatural.

The story starts in a bookshop and is about someone who loves books - I am loving it already

A magical book that can take you anywhere you want to go is an exceptional thing - but of course this means that others want it too. There is magic, there is danger, there is time travel, there are evil characters - what more do you want? This takes me back to the books that I could not put down when I was younger - it draw you in and you want to carry on reading late in to the night.

The writing flows easily and is quite beautiful.

Such a mesmerising and captivating book with interweaving plots that take you on the best kind of rollercoaster. Highly recommended!

Cassie works in a New Yorrk bookstore and flat shares with Izzy. Her life is a little humdrum until an elderly custo er leaves her a book. No ordinary book. You can use this one to open any door that you can visualise - a y place, in any time. Cassie has the Book Of Doors. But others want the Book and will do anything to get it and they have other books to help them get it.
A slow start,, as these kind of books often are. The characters are drawn well and develop as the story unfolds. Some of the bad characters are fairly dark so if choosing this for a YA, be aware of some violence and offensive language.
After about 1/3 of the way, the story becomes more exciting as plotlines interweave. I can only imagine how the author kept tabs on all threads in order for them to weave together at the end. It does have an end but I think there is more to come as more books are chased for the Fox library.

Okay so this has to be the most unique and brilliant book I have EVER read!!!! I don’t want it to ever end, I was entranced with it and dear god how I wanna read it all over again!!!

I can’t believe this is a debut….its a mesmerising and enchanting fantasy novel that transports readers to a world of magic and danger.

When Cassie is given a book by her favourite customer she realises it has powers to open any door you want, you think of somewhere you’ve been before, hold the book, open the door and you are there; soon her and her best friend Izzy are using the Book of Doors to travel the world and by doing so put themselves in immense danger, from people who want the book for its power; they meet Drummond Fox who who can help them as he himself has a whole library full of magical books!

Hence the adventures begin!!

A truly magical book full of adventure, romance, drama, edge of your seat stuff and totally unique in its plot.

Bravo it’s fantastic!

Beautifully written, descriptive and immersive.

I was pleasantly surprised how dark the story and characters could be, I will admit I was expecting a nice travelling story with some hijinx along the way, but boy was I wrong!

The plot starts from the get go, no messing around and I was hooked.
Just when I thought I had worked things out there was always something to keep me on my toes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher
4/5 ⭐️

I loved the premise of this book and couldn't wait to read it. It more than lived up to my expectations and I was completely immersed.

I’m a sucker for books about magical books, so The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown easily caught my attention. In Brown’s debut novel, Cassie is working her usual shift in a bookshop when she’s left a gift by a regular customer. The book is filled with odd writings and strange illustrations and has a message to Cassie informing her that telling her that this is the Book of Doors and that any door is every door. On the way home, she can’t get the message out of her head; does that mean what she thinks it means? No, that would be ridiculous, right? A book can’t open doors… can it?

When she gets home, she tells her friend and roommate Izzy about the book, and they find out that the does open doors. The two women don’t realise that their magical book is one of many, and that particular book is one that people would kill to get their hands on. Thrown into a dark and mysterious world, only one thing is for certain; Cassie and Izzy’s lives will never be the same again.

The synopsis for The Book of Doors hints at a lot; mystery, magic, dark powers, violence, and some unnamed evil. What it doesn’t mention is there’s a whole lot of time travel thrown in as well, and it is very well done. Brown has written an intense story that captures the essence of science fiction, the whimsy of fantasy and the thrill of mysteries. With interesting and charismatic characters, this is a book that will keep you glued to the pages until the very end. As mentioned, this book gets pretty dark and there is one particular character who is very repulsive (see content warnings for details). Overall, it’s a very clever story that isn’t afraid to show that people come in all shapes and sizes, with very different motivations and personalities.

The only thing that stopped this from being a five-star for me was that I felt the explanation about the creation of the books was a little lacking. Brown put a huge amount of detail into every other aspect of the Book of Doors, with every scene linking together perfectly. Yet with the books’ origin story, it felt like he dropped the ball a bit, and decided less was more. That would have worked if that approach had been taken with other areas of the book. Instead, it just felt out of place to me.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown is stunning, especially when you realise that this is a debut. If this is Brown’s first book, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

The Book of Doors has been on my Amazon wishlist since last year so I was very grareful to receive a copy to review. What drew me to this book was the idea of a magic book that meant the owner could travel anywhere immediately, including to the past. When reading The Book of Doors I realised that it was more than just a book about a magic, it is a thriller, with lots of menace, it has adventure, time travel, and intrigue.

The Book of Doors was a revelation to me, in that there was a lot more to it than I originally thought. I loved the fast pace of this book, there was never a dull moment, meaning that I honestly couldn’t put it down. There is such a wonderful cast of characters, all have a quirkiness to them and some are absolutely terrifying. Cassie is the main protagonist of the book, a young woman working in a bookstore in New York who is left the Book of Doors by a regular customer Mr Webber. I loved Cassie and could relate to her on many levels, her joy in books, her wanting to use the book to visit her grandad rather than for the evil it could be used for. Her relationship with the other characters was very natural, she was kind and loyal to those she befriended, but as the plot progressed her dogged determination came out, her need to do the right thing even if it meant putting herself in danger. I was fascinated with her relationship with book collector, the enigmatic Drummond Fox, they had a lot in common including their wariness of trusting each other. Fox shows her the evil that wants to possess her book and others like it.I was really hoping for a romance between them, but Gareth Brown cleverly keeps this ambiguous.

Gareth Brown has a fantastic imagination that shines through in his writing. It is not only the Book of Doors that he creates, there are a whole library of others including The Book of Shadows, The Book of Despair, The Book of Pain and The Book of Mists. Some of these books, by account of their names, are used to control, to hurt and to kill. It is through these books that Gareth Brown adds a sinsister element and more than a touch of horror, most through a character that is simply called The Woman, a nightmarish character. This book flows beautifully, and kept my attention with the intrigue, adventure and twists and turns of the plot. For balance there is also Cassie’s heartwarming relationships with her Grandfather and Mr Webber.

The Book of Doors is a stunning debut from Gareth Brown. It works on so many levels and will appeal to so many readers with its complex plot and mix of magic, suspense, fantasy and a touch of horror. I found this an accomplished and beautifully written book with aimiable characters and compelling plot; who doesn’t like a book about books and saving books!!. Perfectly plotted with a dark undercurrent this is a stunning read.

I was sent a copy of The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown to read and review by NetGalley. The concept of this novel is brilliant and there are a lot of twists and turns to keep you interested. I did feel however, that it became a little confusing at times and somewhat repetitive in places. The story did jump around a lot, which you would expect when considering time travel and generally this was ok, but I did feel some episodes were unnecessary and there was one aspect in the book that wasn’t explained. I feel the prose could have been tightened up a bit, even though this is aimed at young adults, but overall it is a great read and I think it has the potential to turn into a series.

For me, this was a powerful book. I cried multiple times, especially so during the raw moments of grief and loss of paternal figures. There was an ache of loneliness that echoed throughout the book and it caught me unawares. I really connected with Cassie's desire to return to that feeling of home, of feeling displaced and adrift making her way through life.

From the beginning of the book, I was captivated by the irresistible bookish quotes and setting. Our main character works in a second-hand bookstore in New York, before being swept along on a journey to faraway places and high-stakes escapades. The glimpses of places such as Prague, Venice, New Orleans and New York have awoken my wanderlust and I'm now craving a solo trip to people watch and soak up a foreign city.

The magic system is a lovely metaphor for books holding power and having the ability to affect and transport you. All readers can relate to the feeling of getting lost or escaping within a book, as well as emerging having gained something unexpected. It reminded me a lot of The Starless Sea, The Midnight Library or The End of Mr Y, due to the prominence of books, libraries and doorways to other realities. However, this story felt more rooted in magical realism than your typical fantasy. Some twists (which I don't want to spoil) felt more sci-fi or paranormal in nature than magical and I'll be honest, many of the more scientific musings of the characters or events went over my head.

I don't disagree with other reviewers that some of the characters are abhorrent, designed to be shocking, racist, misogynistic and hateful and without those characteristics adding much to the plot. I can understand those who choose to avoid media with such content as that offends them. I am glad that I was able to stick with the story, to see the heroes take on such vile villains and values in the end.

Despite that, there is a coziness woven into the story that gives moments of comfort and respite. The Fox Library sounds like a reader's dream, made of old books, carved wood and comfy places to curl up with a cuppa. Regularly the characters steal precious minutes of camaraderie, croissants and coffee in far-flung corners of the world. I was generously provided with an e-book ARC and ended up switching to audiobook after the release and I really enjoyed the narrator's performance. She has a calm, soothing voice that lent itself to the story well. She also skillfully switched between accents and voices, Scottish, South African, French, English and American to name a few and that in itself left a lasting impression.

Thank you Random House UK and Gareth Brown for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is one of the most intelligent, heart-pounding, and enchanting books I've had the pleasure of reading in recent times. It resonates with both your intellect and your emotions. The author's imaginative storytelling whisks you away to diverse places and introduces you to intriguing, well-developed characters. You won't want to put this book down; it's the kind of story that makes you wish you could skip work and all other responsibilities, allowing you to immerse yourself in its mesmerizing words and magical universe.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a captivating book that has you on the edge of your seat

and who wouldnt want to have all those adventures with all those doors at your finger tips.. but there are people after those special books for their own gain...

Cassie is a bookseller in New York, one day she’s gifted a book by a customer - a book that can open doors to anywhere in the world. At first Cassie finds this exciting….but then realises there are more books like this that do different kinds of things…and they are sought after- at any price.

This book is right up my street - magic, danger, excitement, and a little tinge of sadness.

It’s a fast paced read, and one that I really loved reading.

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the copy