THE BOOK OF DOORS by Gareth Brown

Fiction, Time Travel, 416 pages

5+*****

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.

Thoughts: This is an amazing book, made even more wonderful by the fact that it is a debut novel. I must admit, I am insanely jealous (but in a good way). The author draws you into Cassie’s world(s) and makes what is happening to her and her friends almost believable. She receives The Book of Doors from an old man who she befriended. She quickly realizes it’s a magic book—one that can take her anywhere in the world. Then she discovers that it can also take her “any-when”. Like back to when her grandfather was alive. And it’s not the only magic book there is. There are books of shadow, pain, joy, safety, despair, and more. All the emotions a person has. 

The author gives the reader incredible imagery. For instance: the buildings across the street a crossword puzzle of lit and unlit windows. Can’t you just see windows in city buildings at night looking like this? 

The situations caused by the people using (and misusing) the books are interesting. I was really pulled into the story. And the ending was well-done and tied up all the loose ends. I can see where there could be other books in a series, but this one is complete.

Recommendation: definitely recommended for those who want something a little different. 

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: Hendrik Van Loon (1882), Hugh Lofting (1886), John dos Passos (1896), Emily Hahn (1905), Tillie Olsen (1913), Dudley Randall (1914), John Killens (1916), Kenneth Bulmer (1921), Yukio Mishima (1925), Thomas Tryon (1926), Taylor Branch (1947), Eric Maisel (1947), John Lescroart (1948), Mary Robison (1949), Arthur Cover (1950), Maureen Dowd (1952), Anchee Min (1957), David Beren (1957),

Hendrik Van Loon won the first Newbery Award in 1922 for his children’s book “The Story of Mankind”

Hugh Lofting wrote “Dr. Dolittle”

John Dos Passos is best known for his USA Trilogy

Taylor Branch won the Pulitzer Prize for History for “Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 1954-63”

Quote: “I make no claim to be an authority on writing or illustrating for children. The fact that I have been successful merely means that I can write and illustrate in my own way.” – Hugh Lofting (creator of Doctor Dolittle)

Tip: If you want to be a successful writer, you have to be willing to promote your work and yourself. If you don’t, you may get published…but you’ll rarely get anywhere. Figure out what you’re comfortable with and do it. A good rule of thumb is to spend ten percent of your writing time on promo.

Jumpstart: Get a timer and set it for fifteen minutes, then write. Anything. Everything. Do not think about anything. Just write. No idea? Write about that.

Birthdays: A.B. Guthrie Jr. (1901), Carolyn Heilbrun (aka Amanda Cross) (1926), Michael Bond (1926), Flora Nwapa (1931), Horatio Alger Jr (1932), Ron Goulart (1933), Carolyn See (1934), Edmund White (1940), Frank Peretti (1951), Jay McInerney (1955), Claudia Emerson (1957), Lorrie Moore (1957),

A.B. Guthrie Jr. won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “The Way West”

Claudia Emerson won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “Late Wife”

Thought for the day: “The great advantage of having a bear as a central character is that he can combine the innocence of a child with the sophistication of an adult.” – Michael Bond (creator of Paddington Bear)

Tip: Know your audience. Writing for children, teens, young adults, adults all require a different style of writing. So do different genres. Figure out what you want to write, who you’re writing for, and learn the craft for that angle.

Jumpstart: The borough has just dumped four feet of snow in front of your driveway and you cannot get out. Come up with a plausible excuse for your boss as to why you can’t get to work. You’ve used the “snowed in” excuse one too many times.

Birthdays: Charles Perrault (1628), Edmund Burke (1729), Laura Adams Amer (1874), Jack London (1876), Margaret Danner (1915), William Nicholson (1948), Haruki Murakami (1949), Walter Mosley (1952), David Mitchell (1969), Julia Quinn (1970)

Charles Perrault is noted for being the originator of the fairy tale genre.

Laura Amer won the 1932 Newbery Award winner for “Waterless Mountain”

Quote: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London

Tip: Be sure to give your characters conflicts to struggle against—both internally and externally. Basically, what do they want? Why do they want it? Why can’t they have it?

Jumpstart: Create a new creature for a fantasy world. What does it look like? Large or small? Furry, scaled, hairy? Legs? Wings? Would it be of use to humans? In what way? What does it eat? Where does it live? Be specific.

I read a lot of Jack London when I was in high school. Some of his works are still favorites. But Charles Perrault is the one who gave us tales we’ll remember forever – like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, and more.

Today is National Thank You Day (among other things). So I am going to say thank you to all of you who look at this site. Thank you for checking out the books and authors I spotlight. Thank you for checking out my reviews. And thank you authors for sending me your work to review and spotlight. And finally, thank you to the authors for their creativity and hard work putting out those amazing books.

Other national “days” today: Splash in a Puddle Day (have had plenty of chances to do this of late!); Hot Toddy Day (great drink to have this time of year, especially when you have a cold. I drink the non-alcoholic kind, but still a great drink on a cold night when you aren’t feeling good); Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day (…- .. -.-. -.- -.–) A very long time ago, I had a friend who was into ham radios (and still is) and he taught me Morse Code. I don’t remember much of it, but I do remember some. The most commonly known code? SOS: … — …

Have a good day!

f you haven’t read any of this authors series, you really need to. She writes action/adventure romances, sometimes with a touch of the paranormal. But this Victory series is seriously good. Give it a try!

If you have a problem no one else can fix, Victory can. Its clients can be found not only in the highest reaches of government and society but also the most ordinary of neighborhoods. Only one commonality has existed—if Victory takes your case, they will succeed.

Until someone with a vendetta sets out to destroy Victory and everyone who is part of it.

Website: https://nataliedamschroder.com/

Dedicated to You By Andrew Grey

Fiction, M/M Contemporary Romance, 236 pages

4****

Blurb: Dillon Fitzgerald is a famous singer. He’s also exhausted. Too many shows in a too busy schedule have left too little time for him to write or relax. He feels like the music is being strangled out of him. Some time is just what the doctor ordered, so when his friend offers him a week on a cruise, Dillon gets right on board. All he has to do is grow a little beard and hope no one recognizes him. Financial advisor Tio Smythe-Barrett has been friends with Dillon forever. When the latest in a long string of girlfriends turns out to be a cheater, Tio offers her spot on what would have been a romantic vacation to Dillon instead. After all, why wouldn’t he want to spend a week with his best friend? As Tio and Dillon share close quarters, the boundaries in their friendship shift like the ocean currents. Spending time with Tio has Dillon’s creative muse singing, and he can no longer deny that his feelings for Tio go beyond friendship. His heart soars when Tio responds to his flirting—but is he willing to risk what they have for the chance at true love?

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this story. The characters are believable and their conflict realistic. Dillon is out and proud, but he’s never had a real relationship. His life doesn’t allow much time for that. Tio is bisexual jumping from one woman’s bed to another, but never finding one who really draws him in. Dillon has always been a friend, but when they go on a cruise together, Tio discovers that there is a lot more to explore than “friendship”. Between fending off Dillon’s fans and Tio’s ex, there’s a lot going on for this cruise. 

While I did enjoy the story, there was one thing for me that I questioned. Tio’s ex, Carole. I really would have loved to have seen her taken off in handcuffs. Something needed to be seriously done about her. I didn’t care for the way that seemed to be left hanging. 

Recommendation: Recommended. This is a hot M/M romance with a satisfying ending.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: Wilkie Collins (1824), Linnie Marsh Wolfe (1881), Storm Jameson (1891), Dennis Wheatley (1897), Peter Taylor (1917), Charles Tomlinson (1927), Alexandra Ripley (1934), Stephen Hawking (1942), Terry Brooks (1944), Nancy Bond (1945), Karen Tei Yamashita (1951)

Linnie Marsh Wolfe won the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for “Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir”

Peter Taylor won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “A Summons to Memphis”

Alexandra Ripley is best known for her book “Scarlett”, a sequel to “Gone with the Wind”

Quote: “I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of work of fiction should be to tell a story.” – Wilkie Collins

         “I still approach each book with the same basic plan in mind: to put some people under severe stress and see how they hold up.” – Terry Brooks

Tip: Keep at it. And grow a thick skin. Writing is not easy and rejections and bad reviews hurt. A lot. Learn to take it. You can spend a day wallowing, but then, let it go. You have to or it can stall you. Keep going.

I adore Terry Brooks books. Especially his “Shannara” series. Found out though that while I can read them, I can’t handle watching the series. However, his “Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold” is and will always be one of my favorite fantasy books.

Birthdays: John Remsburg (1848), Zora Hurston (1891), Cresson Kearny (1914), Robert Duncan (1919), Gerald Durell (1925), William Blatty (1928), Edwin Torres (1931), Kay Chorao (1936), Hayford Peirce (1942), Ben Fong-Torres (1945), Nicholson Baker (1957), Billy Merrell (1982),

Quote: “Poetry is prose in slow motion.” – Nicholson Baker, The Anthologist

Zora Hurston was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on hoodoo. The most popular of her four novels is “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, published in 1937. She also wrote more than 50 short stories, plays, and essays.

William Blatty is best known for his 1971 novel “The Exorcist”, for which he won the Academy Award for the screenplay of its film adaptation and was nominated for Best Picture as its producer. The film also earned Blatty the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama as producer.

Edwin Torres is best known for his book “Carlito’s Way.”

I tried reading Blatty’s “The Exorcist” once. Nope. Nor the movie. Kind of freaked me out.

Birthdays: Carl Sandburg (1878), Khalil Gibran (1883?), John Holmes (1904), Wright Morris (1910), Alan Watts (1915), E.L. Doctorow (1931), Allen Appel (1945), Barry Lopez (1945), Carolyn D. Wright (1940), Elizabeth Strout (1956), Nigella Lawson (1960), Antonya Nelson (1961), Ree Drummond (1969), Karin Slaughter (1971)

Carl Sandburg is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

Kahlil Gibran is best known for his 1923 book “The Prophet”

Wright Morris is a two-time winner of the National Book Award for Fiction

Carolyn Wright won the 2010 National Book Award for Poetry

Elizabet Strout won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “Olive Kitteridge”

Quotes: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” – E.L.Doctorow

“Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work.” – Carl Sandburg

Tip: Use all five senses in writing. If your character walks past a bakery, let the reader smell the aromas. Her perfume? Have him inhale deeply. How does the wind in the trees sound? How does his clammy shirt feel on a hot day? Give us details that put us there with the characters, but be careful not to overdo.

Jumpstart: You character is a secret agent with many aliases. Select five names to represent his or her different personalities and describe how the character dresses or changes his/her appearance, job, and background information to become each persona.

I remember reading Carl Sandburg’s books on Lincoln with my dad when I was growing up. I also read a lot of his poetry.