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maddie_can_read's review against another edition
Very interesting premise but I felt like I just kept waiting for it to get going. The tone and the pacing felt very inconsistent.
Didn't like how some of the female characters negatively talked about their bodies/ eating too much/ getting fat/ food restriction especially since it has nothing to do with the plot. Felt a little sexist and unecessary. one of my progress notes: Why is Izzie thinking about being fat when they have a magical space travelling book?? .
I also enjoyed that Cassie had a female friend to go through the journey withuntil she's replaced by a man when the author is done with her
I also was not a fan of the narrator, very flat and sad sounding, didn't seem to match the characters.
Didn't like how some of the female characters negatively talked about their bodies/ eating too much/ getting fat/ food restriction especially since it has nothing to do with the plot. Felt a little sexist and unecessary.
I also enjoyed that Cassie had a female friend to go through the journey with
I also was not a fan of the narrator, very flat and sad sounding, didn't seem to match the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Murder, Violence, Gore, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking
lgmelcher's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.0
This was much more violent than I expected. Ultimately I enjoyed the character arcs and message but I recommend sensitive readers check out the content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Terminal illness
gondorgirl's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Alcohol, Grief, Murder, Torture, Gun violence, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, Cancer, and Death
_krysta's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was thought provoking and has an interesting premise. I enjoyed the overall theme of good versus bad, and how a thirst for power can corrupt. There was a surprising cast of diverse characters I wouldn't have expected to team together so well. The bad people were truly evil, which is where a lot of the horror and violence comes in. So truly consider content warnings on that front, there are some brutal murders. It goes to show how a lot of pain and suffering can lead others to inflict the worst upon the world. I felt the magic books was unique and enjoyed learning how each worked. It was also reflective on how a book can be used for good and bad, depending on the users intentions. I thought the characters also showed immense growth by the end. We get insight into each one and I appreciated the third person omniscent narration for that purpose. The time travel was well done, I didn't have to work too hard to keep track of the time jumps.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Body horror, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Torture, Death of parent, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Cursing, Eating disorder, Alcohol, and Misogyny
Gruesome death, hateful language by antagonists. Eating disorder minor, really just random comments on food by 2nd fmc.aylajn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Either this book was not predictable at all or I was so engrossed that I wasn’t trying to figure out what was coming. Either way, it was so compelling and creative.
The only reason I won’t give this a full 5 stars is that the level of pure evil from the villains in this story simply did not fit with the tone of the rest of the book. Those scenes, though very short in relation to the rest of the story, were overly disturbing in comparison with the whimsy, adventure, friendship, and beauty of the rest of the story.
Major spoiler below:
I will say the very last scene with The Woman where she essentially soaks up all of Hugo’s pain filled in that last gap and made sense of the evil. But that made me so sad for that little girl who became The Woman, and I wished that there was a way that she could have been saved from her pain the way that Hugo was. She became who she was unknowingly because of him, and I wish she could have been redeemed.
The only reason I won’t give this a full 5 stars is that the level of pure evil from the villains in this story simply did not fit with the tone of the rest of the book. Those scenes, though very short in relation to the rest of the story, were overly disturbing in comparison with the whimsy, adventure, friendship, and beauty of the rest of the story.
Major spoiler below:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicide, Racism, Racial slurs, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
dclazygirl's review
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs
thebookwormkatie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and author Gareth Brown for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
I cannot remember how this novel ended up on my NetGalley shelf, but I am SO glad this did.
A Book of Doors is a trip- in all the best ways! It has time travel mixed into a fantasy, characters you’ll love, and characters you’ll hate. It’s adventurous, mysterious, slightly mind boggling, and a little gruesome at times, but I truly loved it.
“Because if you stop you admit the bad stuff has won, don’t you? All you can do is keep going. Refuse to be beaten, even when you are beaten. The bad stuff only wins if you let it.”
I think many of my book loving friends who enjoy a good adventure and/or fantasy will enjoy this one. I’m already planning to purchase a hard copy for myself, and I will be forcing my husband to read it
I cannot remember how this novel ended up on my NetGalley shelf, but I am SO glad this did.
A Book of Doors is a trip- in all the best ways! It has time travel mixed into a fantasy, characters you’ll love, and characters you’ll hate. It’s adventurous, mysterious, slightly mind boggling, and a little gruesome at times, but I truly loved it.
“Because if you stop you admit the bad stuff has won, don’t you? All you can do is keep going. Refuse to be beaten, even when you are beaten. The bad stuff only wins if you let it.”
I think many of my book loving friends who enjoy a good adventure and/or fantasy will enjoy this one. I’m already planning to purchase a hard copy for myself, and I will be forcing my husband to read it
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Grief, and Violence
tonisecelecticlibrary's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book could best be described as a contemporary fantasy/ magical realism thriller. Ever since reading Ink Blood Sister Scribe I have loved the idea of books as magic. This book’s fantasy and magical books were so well thought out and crafted and so completely unique I loved it.
Other things I loved:
The realness of some of most of the characters being driven by basic human emotions- particularly greed. It was infuriating but a pretty good picture of humanity.
The way everything comes together at the end and all starts to make sense was just amazing. I applaud the author on that.
Good vs evil trope with some morally gray in between. The bad guys in this book were really bad and pretty masterful on the part of the author.
Unfortunately, this book is only 3 stars for me because there were some aspects I just did not like.
Unfortunately, this book is only 3 stars for me because there were some aspects I just did not like.
Things I didn’t like:
As much as I said I liked the characters being real and driven by emotion, the FMC was so intelligent I thought she’d be a little past that. Her impulsive decisions without thinking through the consequences were the catalyst for most of the plot in the book. Even her well thought out actions were still sometimes problematic.
The pacing. Some chapters spanned years, others not even an hour. While that is common in fantasy books, I feel as though it could’ve been done differently to be more cohesive.
While realistic to see, the racism from the “bad” characters, fat comments, and low self-esteem in the FMC were cringey at times.
There was no need for the hints of romance in this book. The book was described as being full of “adventure, magic, and romance.” The romance was slim to none and did not add to the book at all.
I also had a really hard time getting into the book. It wasn’t until about 60% through I started wanting to pick it up. I think it was my frustration with the FMC but also I may just be in a bit of a book hangover, so I’m not holding that one against the author.
Overall a good book. I would recommend it to fans of Ink Blood Sister Scribe, people who like reading about other people with a love of books, or other magical realism/ contemporary fantasy readers. This is Gareth Brown’s debut novel and I think there will be a lot more good things from him in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book. This review is given voluntarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Fatphobia and Misogyny
amandalywarren's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
*thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my review*
In concept, this book is brilliant. Gareth Brown devised a fascinating alternate reality where magic is real and time travel is possible. And magical realism in contemporary fiction is a big win for me. But the high of the world building did not balance with the low of the character building.
While there were a few characters that I felt a connection with the vast majority of characters (including our MFC, Cassie) fell flat. They were one-dimensional and functioned more like catalysts for the plot, rather than active participants in the plot. Because of the few lovable, believable ones, I know Brown can write characters in a more compelling way.
I want to note that the woman was a terrifying and anxiety-inducing character for me. She needs to come with trigger warnings, frankly. I think this takes special talent (hats off to you, Brown). It’s not every day that a chilling, psychopathic killer on a page makes me want to vomit. But I wish the other characters felt as palpable as the woman. Also I don’t think we, as the readers, were given justice in her origin story or her end.
The origin of the books was also disappointing for me—the nebulous prose was a dissatisfying experience, given the importance of the books in the plot. But Brown’s handling of time throughout the story was masterful. His closed concept of time and concise explanation was perfect, and I really felt that I understood how time travel worked in his world. He should get an award for making time travel seem simple and plausible.
Overall, the plot was fascinating, but Brown deserved a better editor. I have to believe that the characters and relationships were more fleshed out in his mind. Maybe the story should have been longer, giving more space for character and relationship building. Maybe the details of the plot distracted from detailing the characters more carefully. I can’t say for sure. But this is a debut, after all, and I believe that editing was at fault.
I’ll be on the lookout for more books from Gareth Brown in the future. If he has more ideas as fascinating as this one, I know I’ll want to read them.
In concept, this book is brilliant. Gareth Brown devised a fascinating alternate reality where magic is real and time travel is possible. And magical realism in contemporary fiction is a big win for me. But the high of the world building did not balance with the low of the character building.
While there were a few characters that I felt a connection with the vast majority of characters (including our MFC, Cassie) fell flat. They were one-dimensional and functioned more like catalysts for the plot, rather than active participants in the plot. Because of the few lovable, believable ones, I know Brown can write characters in a more compelling way.
I want to note that the woman was a terrifying and anxiety-inducing character for me. She needs to come with trigger warnings, frankly. I think this takes special talent (hats off to you, Brown). It’s not every day that a chilling, psychopathic killer on a page makes me want to vomit. But I wish the other characters felt as palpable as the woman. Also I don’t think we, as the readers, were given justice in her origin story or her end.
The origin of the books was also disappointing for me—the nebulous prose was a dissatisfying experience, given the importance of the books in the plot. But Brown’s handling of time throughout the story was masterful. His closed concept of time and concise explanation was perfect, and I really felt that I understood how time travel worked in his world. He should get an award for making time travel seem simple and plausible.
Overall, the plot was fascinating, but Brown deserved a better editor. I have to believe that the characters and relationships were more fleshed out in his mind. Maybe the story should have been longer, giving more space for character and relationship building. Maybe the details of the plot distracted from detailing the characters more carefully. I can’t say for sure. But this is a debut, after all, and I believe that editing was at fault.
I’ll be on the lookout for more books from Gareth Brown in the future. If he has more ideas as fascinating as this one, I know I’ll want to read them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Gore, Violence, and Murder
geneticginger's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Cassie works in a bookshop and one day is given a book that allows her to open any door in the world. She discovers that there are more 'special books' in the world along with a lot of danger from evil people wanting the books.
The premise of this book was fascinating, but the concept as a whole really fell flat. I've read all the books that this book is compared to (The Starless Sea, The Immortal Life of Addie LaRue, and The Midnight Library) and this book did not compare. It felt like this book was trying to do it all - fantasy, time travel, romance, mystery - without doing any of it well. The characters were underdeveloped and very one-note with no personality. The whole time travel feature was circular and had a weird element of mysticism that didn't make sense.
There were also several violent/gory scenes in the book that were hard to read with how descriptive they were and really turned my stomach.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.
The premise of this book was fascinating, but the concept as a whole really fell flat. I've read all the books that this book is compared to (The Starless Sea, The Immortal Life of Addie LaRue, and The Midnight Library) and this book did not compare. It felt like this book was trying to do it all - fantasy, time travel, romance, mystery - without doing any of it well. The characters were underdeveloped and very one-note with no personality. The whole time travel feature was circular and had a weird element of mysticism that didn't make sense.
There were also several violent/gory scenes in the book that were hard to read with how descriptive they were and really turned my stomach.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence