Book Review: The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

About the book

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 a special book – 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....

Because this book is worth killing for.

Why we love it

I've probably said it before but books about books, bookshops, libraries and booksellers are my weak spot. Very meta I know, but I just can't help it - it's like catnip to this particular bookseller.

So the cover of this book and the blurb for this book were pretty much guaranteed to catch my attention. And I was not disappointed. I loved it. I devoured it. 

The story is primarily centred on Cassie, a young bookseller who comes into contact with a mysterious book with the ability to transport her through any open door anywhere. Imagine stepping through a door in New York and coming out in Venice or Paris or London...magical!

But all magic comes with a price and Cassie soon discovers just how dangerous this unexpected gift can be. 

I loved the development of Cassie throughout the book, from a young, naive girl, enchanted by the promise of excitement and adventure, into a more mature woman, tempered by tragedy, who has come to respect the danger of the wrong book in the wrong hands.

The villains were satisfyingly villainous and there were so many plot twists that I couldn’t begin to guess where the story would go next or how it would all pan out in the end. Engrossing and immersive, every chapter felt like a cliff-hanger making the book impossible to put down.

Yet despite the many layers and narrative threads, Gareth Brown still skilfully manages to weave all the characters and strands together in a way that feels both surprising and deeply satisfying., albeit with just the right amount of ambiguity to leave you wondering whether there might ever be a sequel. I do hope so because I'll be first in line to read it!

Gripping, perfectly plotted and impossible to put down, The Book of Doors is a spellbinding fantasy adventure - perfect for anyone who sees books as magical portals for the imagination!