Author: Gareth Brown
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Genre: Fantasy, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Magical Realism.
Year of release: 2024
Release Date: 13 February 2024
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Synopsis
Because some doors should never be opened.
New York bookseller Cassie Andrews is not sure what she’s doing with her life. She lives quietly, sharing an apartment with her best friend, Izzy. Then a favourite customer gives her an old book. Full of strange writing and mysterious drawings, at the very front there is a handwritten message-
This is the Book of Doors. Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door.
Cassie is about to discover that the Book of Doors is special – a magic book. A book that bestows extraordinary abilities on whoever possesses it. And she is about to learn that there are other magic books out there that can also do wondrous – or dreadful and terrifying – things.
Because where there is magic there is power and there are those who will stop at nothing to possess it.
Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is Drummond Fox who has a secret library of magical books hidden in the shadows for safekeeping, a man fleeing his own demons. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .
Review
New York bookseller Cassie Andrews is at a crossroads in her life she shares an apartment with her closest friend Izzy. During her shift at the bookstore one late afternoon before closing Cassie receives a gift from her favourite customer a book that is filled with strange writing and mysterious drawings, the book is very old. Cassie opens the book reading the handwritten words This is the Book of Doors. Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door.
Cassie is about to discover the book she has just been given is a special book, a magical book, allowing whoever has it with them could posses magical abilities. Cassie is about to discover there are people out there who will stop at nothing to possess this book and others like it these books are about to put Cassie and those around her in immediate and grave danger.
Cassie will soon understand some doors should never be opened will she be able to close them in time or will it be to late…
A book about books the Book of Doors is a magic book. A book that bestows extraordinary abilities on whoever possesses it. A book that possesses the belief that books hold all the power.
I have always felt there is something special about a book that celebrates books and bookshops with the promise of magic and magical realism even if it could be a little dangerous, because some doors should never be opened… this reader is opening those doors to find out what lies in wait behind them.
In the beginning, I was rather worried this book wouldn’t be for me after all as a character-driven reader I didn’t feel as if I would ever connect to Cassie Andrews and her best friend Izzy; it took longer and not as much as I would’ve liked but eventually, I warmed to the pair even if just a little bit, this reader believes Izzy was cold, disinterested, and blunt about most things throughout the book, it’s not until other characters are added into the plot she got an attitude adjustment but unfortunately by that point I had lost interest in her.
Introverted and kind-hearted Cassie Andrews gets a few more gold stars from me at different times the heartbreak she feels is an emotion I think everyone has felt at different times in their lives, making Cassie relatable to this reader at least, that being said there were times when it was really easy to get frustrated with her especially when she’d do something and think of the consequences later not bothering to consider if this would affect anyone else around her, in the opening chapters I wasn’t even certain she cared all the much for herself either.
Minor characters have a brilliant and three-dimensional backstory, even though the connection with the woman in this story felt at times impossible, Drummond Fox had my full interest the reason being I couldn’t make up my mind whether I should trust him or not, the unknown had my interest peaked the moment we first time we meet Mr Fox.
The Book of Doors turned out to be a much slower read for me than I had anticipated the reason for this being there is a lot of detail for a reader to digest and on the one hand, this makes it one of the best current and original offerings in the fantasy, magical realism genre available to readers but it also feels like there was information overload in other parts of the story.
I found at times it was a struggle to make sense of some of the details and what was happening in the closing chapters, even when the author included a few explanations which helped a little, but for this reader it wasn’t until I went back and re-read parts I think I finally was able to make sense of things. I find having to do this somewhat bothersome me because I feel as if I’m trying to make sense of the book rather than simply enjoying reading it, in this reviewer’s opinion reading should never feel like a chore.
If you are a reader who likes to jump straight into the action, I feel like I should warn you this book whilst it does move at a steady pace especially in the opening chapters as the plot moves towards the middle chapters there are small periods when the plot felt like it was slowing rather than keeping a steady pace in my opinion.
subplots included in The Book of Doors:
- A Treo of friends
- Terminal illness
- Death of a friend/ family member
- Good vs evil
- Time travel
- The quest
- All feels lost
- Trapped between two worlds
tropes included in The Book of Doors:
- Death of a friend/ family member
- Female friendship
- Time travel
- Good vs Evil
- Ancient and powerful books
- Evil characters who seek to destroy all to gain power or inflict pain on others.
- Good characters who try to do the right thing no matter the cause.
- Chosen one- the book responds to
- Reluctant hero- Cassie and Izzie are not sure if they’re doing the right thing
- The quest
- All feels lost
- Trapped between two worlds
- Libraries filled with books
- What emotions leave you with?
I most definitely recommend The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown for mature readers who enjoy Magical Realism, Mystery Thriller reads.
With continued thanks to Penguin Books Australia and author Gareth Brown for sending a gifted copy of this book to read and review in exchange for my honest opinion.