Gareth Brown’s The Book of Doors follows Cassie, a young woman working in an NYC bookshop, after one of her favorite customers passes, leaving her a mysterious book that promises “any door can be every door.” To the shock of Cassie and her roommate, Izzy, the Book of Doors does just that, allowing Cassie to open a door to any destination she imagines while holding it. Their excitement is short-lived however, as they are soon approached by Drummond Fox, a librarian charged with protecting a collection of rare, powerful books from those who might misuse them, and the Book of Doors happens to be the most wanted volume of that collection.

It’s a brisk, intriguing story made for book-lovers, but while the idea is compelling, the execution falls a little short. All the right ingredients are there, but because the characters are a little flat on the page & the pacing is surprisingly rapid in places, I can’t help wonder if it’s one of those stories where a movie version would actually serve it better.

Cassie is compelling enough, and we do see her grow and change over the course of the story, and I really liked Izzy, but I felt like I was being given the broad strokes for many of the other characters rather than really connecting with them. Drummond Fox, for example, is haunted by a tragic past, and living in the shadows in survival mode rather than making active choices before he meets Cassie. I did like him, but we’re told more about his feelings rather than really getting to see them, which is why I feel like his character could really come alive in a big way in the hands of the right actor conveying more grief and angst subtextually.

The plot plays with time-travel in an effective way that isn’t too mind-bendy, but it’s a little too perfectly circular for my personal preferences…I don’t want to give too much away, but I wouldn’t have minded some questions about the books being left unanswered, and I would have gone with a different explanation for the Woman’s origin, because to me it seemed unfair and took away some of the satisfaction of the other villain’s ending.

All in all, I give The Book of Doors 3.5 stars out of 5 for an unusual premise and a fun ride.