You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A more mature version of " Every Heart a Doorway" with a similar premise of alternate worlds accessible through doors. The mood of the ending was quite happy and hopeful. It was fairy tale perfect but it felt earned. You could call this a mystery. I liked picking up hints and guessing at what was to come. It might be a bit obvious to some people cuz that's not my best skill.
I almost don't like when books take a meta approach that makes me want to believe in the fantastical things. My brain crushes my hopes while my heart longs for them.
I almost don't like when books take a meta approach that makes me want to believe in the fantastical things. My brain crushes my hopes while my heart longs for them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Colonisation
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When I jumped into this book, I was expecting that it would illicit a great passion in me. I had heard it compared to The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, which is one of my favorite books of all time. And, having read 150 pages, I can see the comparison, but I also heartedly disagree. This book is like The Starless Sea, but with all the heart cut out of it. Where's the warmth? The coziness? The feeling of being called home in a world you've never been? Well, I can answer where those things are- nowhere. They just aren't present in The Ten Thousand Doors of January. At least, not for me. Additionally, despite attempting to will it into being with sheer determination, I could not connect with the characters. I wanted to care, but I just didn't. Sadly, I did not want to force myself to slog through the entirety of this book when I clearly was not enjoying it.
Hopefully, you have better luck :)
Hopefully, you have better luck :)
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not my favorite by Harrow.
Starts out slow but gets better as you continue.
Interesting concept.
Starts out slow but gets better as you continue.
Interesting concept.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Didn’t really get moving until about halfway through so it felt like a slog until the end. Interesting concept, though, and I could see myself recommending it to certain people.
This isn't a perfect book. Until a little less than half the way in , I was only slightly interested in the story, though I could appreciate what a gifted writer the author is, exquisitely crafting every single sentence. This was mostly because I felt like shaking January every other page. So by all rights this book should be a 3 or 4 star book, but when it came down to it, I couldn't bear to give this book anything less than 5 stars, because it was such an experience to read. Once I was invested, the emotions of the characters were so palpable they leaped off the page, and Harrow succeeded at creating a vast, limitless world and placing a whole host of characters with varied motivations in it, without making it too unbelievable or overextending the main character. Harrow was also excellent at demonstrating the complexity of human relationships. How we feel about someone doesn't necessarily correlate to the objective conclusion and sometimes there isn't any objective conclusion, and this comes up in January's story again and again.
Not everything was solved at the end, which I am glad of, because January couldn't have righted all the wrongs in the "multiverse" just in this book. On that note, I could have done without the epilogue. Usually I love epilogues because, but here too much was spelled out when the strength of the ending was that it didn't do so.
I also liked the small instances of January's romance that were complementary to main story. There is an element of Love at First Sight in this book which I usually dislike, but I'd argue it's a little justified here.
Finally, another reason for why I truly loved this book was how all of the seemingly random elements are incorporated into one cohesive story. Each strand comes together in the complex, glorious web that Harrow has woven. This is one of those books where rereading would reveal so many previously hidden clues!
Spoiler
when I realized who Julian was, my jaw dropped, and I couldn't look at this book the same way again (honestly others could probably figure this out earlier, I'm just very obtuse)Not everything was solved at the end, which I am glad of, because January couldn't have righted all the wrongs in the "multiverse" just in this book. On that note, I could have done without the epilogue. Usually I love epilogues because
Spoiler
happily-ever-after scenes are so sweetI also liked the small instances of January's romance that were complementary to main story.
Spoiler
Of course, there was a far larger theme of romance with Julian and Adelaide, but that was central to the plot, so I didn't mind it, though it did suffer from one thing:Finally, another reason for why I truly loved this book was how all of the seemingly random elements are incorporated into one cohesive story. Each strand comes together in the complex, glorious web that Harrow has woven. This is one of those books where rereading would reveal so many previously hidden clues!
This was a beautiful YA fantasy. It was innocent, but didn't feel childish.
January is a young girl of mixed race, living as a ward in her guardian Mr. Lockes home. Her father is only semi present, he often travels collecting rare artifacts to be sold. Their relationship is strained, she longs for quality time with her father and wishes she could go explore with him.
She is gifted a book which changes her life and opens her horizons. She learns about other worlds and her ability to find them.
This book is filled with adventure, it's a coming of age and we are finding ourselves and family. I loved the setting and the diverse characters.
It kind of reminded me of A Wrinkle In Time.
January is a young girl of mixed race, living as a ward in her guardian Mr. Lockes home. Her father is only semi present, he often travels collecting rare artifacts to be sold. Their relationship is strained, she longs for quality time with her father and wishes she could go explore with him.
She is gifted a book which changes her life and opens her horizons. She learns about other worlds and her ability to find them.
This book is filled with adventure, it's a coming of age and we are finding ourselves and family. I loved the setting and the diverse characters.
It kind of reminded me of A Wrinkle In Time.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Enjoyed this on audiobook