About the Book
Title: The Book of Doors
Author: Gareth Brown
Series: none
Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism
Pages: 404
Edition Read: Hardcover Library Book
Dates Read: June 5 – 9, 2026
Challenge: GoodReads Spring 2026 Challenge, Escapist Reads
Blurb: 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.
Review
Another new book and new-to-me author! This book has so many things that I like. Magic books. Magic libraries. Magic mysteries. New York City.
Cassie is a good character for a reader to see themselves in. This is not to say that she doesn’t have a personality of her own. It’s just really easy to relate to her and all the crazy things happening. I also really love her relationship with her roommate, Izzy. There’s just something about reading about really solid, beautiful friendships that makes me so happy.
The Book of Doors is really cool, but it’s not the only magic book. There are lots of Books – the Book of Shadows, Book of Light, Book of Joy, Book of Despair, Book of Pain, Book of Healing – not to mention Books that haven’t even been discovered yet. There are several people searching for Books, for many different reasons. They are very powerful, which can often bring out the worst in people.
The one absolute bonus this book has is time travel DONE RIGHT! This may be a bit of a spoiler, but the Book of Doors doesn’t just let you travel from one place to another, but from one place in time to another place in time. The author wields time travel as a blessing, but also as a weapon. It was also really nice seeing time travel used to further plot twists and make them even more unpredictable, including learning why the main antagonist is as bad as she is.
Overall, this book was really fun with cool magic and I really, really enjoyed it.
GoodReads rating: 5 stars
Categories: Books I've Read
Life With No Plot 
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