Book Review: The Book of Doors by Gareth Jones

Rating: 3.5⭐️

After a long-time customer passes away while visiting the bookstore where she works, Cassie Andrews finds herself in the possession of a strange little book, “The Book of Doors” – a magical book that leads Cassie and her friend Izzy to wherever they desire, opening any closed door to their destination of choice. Unbeknownst to Cassie, this special book is one of a unique collection - each of which possesses unique magical powers that can be harnessed for good or evil. The books have been hidden throughout history in different corners of the world and several people have devoted their lives to finding and owning them – each with their own agenda - Drummond Fox, the “Librarian” and owner of a magical library, a mysterious ”Detective” with a secret mission, book collectors who’d go to any length to find those books and use their magical powers to further their own interests, among whom is the “Woman” whose quest for the books has left death and destruction in its wake. We follow Cassie, Izzy, and Drummond as they try to find as many books as possible before they fall into the wrong hands.

With a cast of interesting characters, an imaginative plot, and an immersive setting, The Book of Doors by Gareth Jones is an engaging read. I loved the premise of this novel and thoroughly enjoyed following the adventures of Cassie, Izzy and Drummond, who I thought was an intriguing character. Cassie is an endearing protagonist and I enjoyed getting to know her. The narrative is shared through multiple perspectives and timelines and the author weaves a magical tale bringing all the threads together in a well-crafted narrative. Though the story flows well, it does suffer from inconsistent pacing, minor repetitiveness, and verbosity. (There were a few dialogues and descriptions I thought were offensive and unnecessary, but that’s more a personal observation.) The time travel element was interesting but left me with unanswered questions. I liked the protagonist and her friends and though the villains in the story were evil enough and also provided an element of comic relief, they weren’t strongly developed characters.

In short, though I loved parts of the story and was entertained, I didn't enjoy this novel as much as I had hoped.

Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.