The Book of Doors: A Novel

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 4,369 ratings

Price: 21.25

Last update: 11-15-2024


About this item

A debut novel full of magic, adventure, and romance, The Book of Doors opens up a thrilling world of contemporary fantasy for fans of The Midnight Library, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, The Night Circus, and any modern story that mixes the wonder of the unknown with just a tinge of darkness.

Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers—a lonely yet charming old man—dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading.

But this is no ordinary book…

It is the Book of Doors.

Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them.

Then she’s approached by a gaunt stranger in a rumpled black suit with a Scottish brogue who calls himself Drummond Fox. He’s a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes. The tome now in Cassie’s possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them.

Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books. With only her roommate Izzy to confide in, she has to decide if she will help the mysterious and haunted Drummond protect the Book of Doors—and the other books in his secret library’s care—from those who will do evil. Because only Drummond knows where the unique library is and only Cassie’s book can get them there.

But there are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets. And a dark force—in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman—is at the very top of that list.


Top reviews from the United States

Natelie Newton
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2024
This book was such a good read, that immediately after finishing it, i went to see if he wrote anything else. I'm an avid reader and so most of the books are beginning to have the same theme, plots, twist, storyline, ect... and at first I thought the same about this one. Okay there's this book of doors, no different than keys or rings.. so I thought oh this is gonna be like all the others. I was WRONG!! There were so many surprises and twist and excitement!! I was actually sad that I didn't have more to read at the end. Every single question that comes up during the reading, you get the answer to along the way. There were some parts that im still unclear on but that's the best part cause now I get to read it again. Really enjoyed!! I haven't been excited to read this much since the discovery of the "Seth Speaks" and "Dolores Cannon" material.
If you like mystery, adventure, thrill, suspense, and intrigue, I highly recommend this read.
Kristina
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2024
Interesting story full of vivid descriptions of places, situations and feelings. Characters are charismatic and story portraits a human nature and its capability of using things for good or bad in life. As a reader, you quickly get hooked on the story even though beginning was quite slow for me personally. I enjoyed reading this work and spending my free time on it. I understand why it is so popular but it didn't leave the best impression on me, meaning that I probably would not like to read it again. Story wasn't cheesy and it had just the right amount of romance which I really appreciate nowadays. It's not the type of fantasy I like the best but I would gladly recommend it to others because it was a nice time spent.
aad79
5.0 out of 5 stars a perfect read
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2024
What an amazing book full of vibrant, complex characters and a story that will linger with you for years to come. I absolutely adored this book and came to love and root for the characters within. Beautifully written, and it reads like you are watching it all unfold directly in front of your eyes.
Steve Krizman
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, light read
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2024
The magic in the Book of Doors allows adventure across borders and time. It takes you to picturesque spots in Europe and America, where characters hide out from evil hunters of magic books. These books have a wide range of powers — from bringing joy to intense pain.
The Book of Doors serves as one book to rule them all, and it falls into the hands of our main character, Cassie, a homebody thrust into peril that elicits her courage, loyalty, and practical wisdom.
The plot is complex but easy to follow. It takes a few unpredicatable swerves. Magic leads Cassie and her friends into trouble and helps them get out of it, without “jumping the shark.”
The writing is clean and simple. But efforts to dress up the prose are unsophisticated. It’s good, light reading.
Benjamin Alibasic
5.0 out of 5 stars wow
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2024
Very interesting book indeed. I wonder how Gareth got the idea for this story. Kept me on my toes wanting to know how it ended. I don’t normally go for fantasy books but this was a 5/5 for me!
F. Moyer
4.0 out of 5 stars First half a bit slow; second half much better
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2024
I would classify this book as Fantasy since the story is driven by the idea that a set of magical books exists, where each book imparts its own unique set of powers to whomever is holding that book. Still, Amazon’s “Product Details” calls the book “Time Travel Science Fiction” – probably because I’ve never seen a book classified as Time Travel Fantasy. Yet, isn’t the whole idea of time travel just wishful thinking rather than scientifically possible? Anyway …

The protagonist (Cassie) is gifted an odd looking book (the Book of Doors). Does she know the book was magical? Not initially; but odd, wondrous things certainly made it appear that perhaps it is magical. Does Cassie’s life remain peaceful and mundane? Of course not.

The story is slow getting started. And during that time, I’m thinking: this story should explain how all these magical books came to be. (To the author’s credit, he does explain that -- after a fashion, anyway.)

The second half of the book was much better. More action. More heart. More urgency. More twistiness in the storyline.

Bottom Line: A twisty, entertaining storyline. Suspend your skeptical nature and then just enjoy the ride. A heartwarming, fantastical read.

Note: There is one point in the story where I was shocked with what the author allowed to happen within the story. It was just against the basic “flow” and “feel” of the story. As a reader, I just had to power through it. If you hit this same part with similar emotions as I had, just power through it. Ultimately, you won’t regret it.
Dragoness
5.0 out of 5 stars Twisty Time-Travel
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2024
Interesting premise. Overall light but definitely has an edge and the 'big reveal' about the source of the books was quite a pleasant surprise and showed depth of thinking in terms of archetypal energies. I think a little more could've been done with that.

It got a little chaotic towards the end but that's to be expected with time travel, and the ending was satisfying. There was some gore that was unnecessary; I think the author could have made his point without it. But the gore itself wasn't really scary; it was so over-the-top that it didn't seem realistic. That's a minor critique and actually I'm glad because I don't like reading graphic depictions of gore.

The story and the writing style are both reminiscent of The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. So if you enjoyed those, you should enjoy this! Fans of The Night Circus by Erin Morgensen should probably like this too.
Sam Dee Turner, Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Read
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2024
I love time travel books and overall this one doesn’t disappoint. There are a few parts that drag but they are overcome by the scenes of sentimental wonderment that a Book of Doors and other special books could bring. I believe everyone has thought about traveling in time and this books foundation enables that world to come to life. wish there had been less of the violence at the hotel and more of the wonderment of the books creation but there is room for a companion book now. Great prose that enriches the reader with visual descriptions of an enchanting story. Well done.

Best Sellers in

 
 

Everything We Never Knew

4 4 out of 5 stars 1
21.43
 
 

The Paleontologist: A Novel

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 458
17.71
 
 

The Things We Cannot Say

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 38019
22.04
 
 

All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 227110
19.68
 
 

Fahrenheit 451

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 53025
17.46
 
 

Reminders of Him: A Novel

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 293346
21.88
 
 

The Wife You Know

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 5718
22.04
 
 

Death in the Spires

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1289
17.5