jade’s review of The Book of Doors > Likes and Comments
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I just finished reading it and felt the same way you do! So disappointed by it
Noelle wrote: "I just finished reading it and felt the same way you do! So disappointed by it"
It's sad isn't it! Was so excited to read this, too!
Great review and agree with everything. I’ve just finished it and couldn’t be more disappointed. Not exactly a fantasy adventure with romance I was expecting!!!
Couldn’t agree more! IT WAS SO BORING and most of all WEIRD! Felt so immature ! “The book of joy.. causes joy! The book of pain.. causes pain!” Blah blah blah 😂
Your review is spot on! I too felt the characters were very one-dimensional. I was really looking forward to this and I’m very disappointed.
Karolina | Bookstagram wrote: "Great review and agree with everything. I’ve just finished it and couldn’t be more disappointed. Not exactly a fantasy adventure with romance I was expecting!!!"
Exactly! Not sure why this is tagged as a romance as I wouldn't call it that, the chemistry was awful!
Lauren wrote: "Couldn’t agree more! IT WAS SO BORING and most of all WEIRD! Felt so immature ! “The book of joy.. causes joy! The book of pain.. causes pain!” Blah blah blah 😂"
RIGHT! I've never felt such rage reading a book until I read this!
Nadine wrote: "Your review is spot on! I too felt the characters were very one-dimensional. I was really looking forward to this and I’m very disappointed."
I agree with you! I didn't connect with any of the characters and quite frankly didn't care what happened to them! Such a disappointment from such an intriguing premise.
Your review is 100% spot on. The book is terrible. I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one who felt this way!
Yes!! 100% accurate review! One dimensional characters and clunky plot/pacing. This book has so much potential. I finished it just to see if it would improve.
Yes thank you! It had such a high rating and the premise sounded promising, but I’m 2/3 of the way through and considering giving up because of everything you mentioned here. Also the incredibly descriptive gore is not my thing. Could have just said a character was crushed rather than describing it in minute detail. And the thing with the woman and the little girl really triggered me.
The romance was so unrealistic lollllll
Thanks for the review! I am feeling the same way at 25% and checked Goodreads reviews to see if book gets better. Sounds like not, so looking like DNF for me.
I just finished this book and never really pay attention to the author and automatically knew while reading that a man wrote this book.
My thoughts exactly -trying to slog through the rest of the audiobook and it is a challenge.
I could tell within one chapter that a man wrote this book. So so so ignorant of women.
What I don’t understand is Hugo loved the 70’s… so Cassie put him back there??? They are supposed to be enemies so although putting him back in time was revenge, why would she make it pleasent for him? Especially since if she did it further back in time, he would never be alive to come back to the present and get his revenge back
I'm only about 25% into the book, but from the first chapter, there were so many off-putting elements. Take this passage, for example:
"Cassie had spent a week in Rome years earlier when she traveled around Europe, and she remembered it well, but she wanted to let Mr. Webber speak. He was a man full of stories of a life well lived, a man with more tales than people to tell them to."
Because, of course, only men’s stories matter? Best for women to sit back and silently listen rather than engage in lively, intelligent discourse.
I’m so over the cultural narrative that a woman’s role is to be a passive, supportive presence—whether for customers, coworkers, or random men on the street. That we aren’t allowed to have complex personalities, or that we should be self-loathing about our physical traits (flat-chestedness or otherwise). This book reads like something written by a guy who resented the MeToo movement and decided to craft his version of how proper, passive women should be. It has all the depth of a YA novel—maybe it is one?
Look, I know I’m only a few chapters in, but this tone is nothing new to women in the real world. And while the concept itself is interesting, the execution isn’t compelling. Maybe that’s because my last reads were Margaret Atwood and Jeff VanderMeer, but either way, this just isn’t hitting the mark.
I came to Goodreads to see if I was the only one picking up on this 1950s-male-gaze energy, and I’m relieved I’m not alone. Sure, we seem to be in the minority, given the overwhelmingly positive reviews, but I’ll always prefer writers (and men) who bring something different—something better—to their female characters. This is an easy DNF for me.
Tara wrote: "What I don’t understand is Hugo loved the 70’s… so Cassie put him back there??? They are supposed to be enemies so although putting him back in time was revenge, why would she make it pleasent for ..."
It was comedy. “You like the ‘70s? How about I send you there!” In the heat of the moment it was the first era she could think of, and it’s relatively easy to conjure.
Even if Barbery liked the era, he would HATE being back there, stuck in time, having to wait 50 years to resume his hunt for the books, assuming he didn’t die first.
Oh man, I'm totally feeling this - I have less than 100 pages to go because I was so sure it would get better, but I'm just frustrated at this point. It doesn't make sense on so many levels!
I agree with so many of your points in your comment. To say I’m disappointed in this book is a complete understatement. This book was on so many recommended lists. It was on hold for several weeks. First book I’ve read in a long time that took me forever to complete it because it just did not hold my attention. I agree with your assessments of the characters and the timing and the plot. I never felt any attachment to any of the characters and the story went on way too long. So glad to be done with this one.
I wanted to write an review... but I read yours first. Honestly, thats my opinion in nicer words. I would have loved to like it but some books are not for me.
You've really put your finger on why I didn't love this book
Totally agree with everything you said, and I find it gross that a man wrote this.
I’m about 53% of the way through this book and I’m trying to get through it cus it’s for a book club I’m a part of but I agree with all of this and also the dialogue just feels so flat and lifeless to me… it’s really hard to get through 😅
I just finished it and agree with everything you have said.
I think the comments the male villain made inserted to make it easier to hate him. Sure, he could have made other comments to build this case but they didn’t bother me. I didn’t get a bit lost amongst the various timelines but that’s probably a me/focus problem. Overall, I enjoyed the book!
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Noelle
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Feb 05, 2024 06:27PM
I just finished reading it and felt the same way you do! So disappointed by it
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Noelle wrote: "I just finished reading it and felt the same way you do! So disappointed by it"It's sad isn't it! Was so excited to read this, too!
Great review and agree with everything. I’ve just finished it and couldn’t be more disappointed. Not exactly a fantasy adventure with romance I was expecting!!!
Couldn’t agree more! IT WAS SO BORING and most of all WEIRD! Felt so immature ! “The book of joy.. causes joy! The book of pain.. causes pain!” Blah blah blah 😂
Your review is spot on! I too felt the characters were very one-dimensional. I was really looking forward to this and I’m very disappointed.
Karolina | Bookstagram wrote: "Great review and agree with everything. I’ve just finished it and couldn’t be more disappointed. Not exactly a fantasy adventure with romance I was expecting!!!"Exactly! Not sure why this is tagged as a romance as I wouldn't call it that, the chemistry was awful!
Lauren wrote: "Couldn’t agree more! IT WAS SO BORING and most of all WEIRD! Felt so immature ! “The book of joy.. causes joy! The book of pain.. causes pain!” Blah blah blah 😂"RIGHT! I've never felt such rage reading a book until I read this!
Nadine wrote: "Your review is spot on! I too felt the characters were very one-dimensional. I was really looking forward to this and I’m very disappointed."I agree with you! I didn't connect with any of the characters and quite frankly didn't care what happened to them! Such a disappointment from such an intriguing premise.
Your review is 100% spot on. The book is terrible. I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one who felt this way!
Yes!! 100% accurate review! One dimensional characters and clunky plot/pacing. This book has so much potential. I finished it just to see if it would improve.
Yes thank you! It had such a high rating and the premise sounded promising, but I’m 2/3 of the way through and considering giving up because of everything you mentioned here. Also the incredibly descriptive gore is not my thing. Could have just said a character was crushed rather than describing it in minute detail. And the thing with the woman and the little girl really triggered me.
The romance was so unrealistic lollllll
Thanks for the review! I am feeling the same way at 25% and checked Goodreads reviews to see if book gets better. Sounds like not, so looking like DNF for me.
I just finished this book and never really pay attention to the author and automatically knew while reading that a man wrote this book.
My thoughts exactly -trying to slog through the rest of the audiobook and it is a challenge.
I could tell within one chapter that a man wrote this book. So so so ignorant of women.
What I don’t understand is Hugo loved the 70’s… so Cassie put him back there??? They are supposed to be enemies so although putting him back in time was revenge, why would she make it pleasent for him? Especially since if she did it further back in time, he would never be alive to come back to the present and get his revenge back
I'm only about 25% into the book, but from the first chapter, there were so many off-putting elements. Take this passage, for example:"Cassie had spent a week in Rome years earlier when she traveled around Europe, and she remembered it well, but she wanted to let Mr. Webber speak. He was a man full of stories of a life well lived, a man with more tales than people to tell them to."
Because, of course, only men’s stories matter? Best for women to sit back and silently listen rather than engage in lively, intelligent discourse.
I’m so over the cultural narrative that a woman’s role is to be a passive, supportive presence—whether for customers, coworkers, or random men on the street. That we aren’t allowed to have complex personalities, or that we should be self-loathing about our physical traits (flat-chestedness or otherwise). This book reads like something written by a guy who resented the MeToo movement and decided to craft his version of how proper, passive women should be. It has all the depth of a YA novel—maybe it is one?
Look, I know I’m only a few chapters in, but this tone is nothing new to women in the real world. And while the concept itself is interesting, the execution isn’t compelling. Maybe that’s because my last reads were Margaret Atwood and Jeff VanderMeer, but either way, this just isn’t hitting the mark.
I came to Goodreads to see if I was the only one picking up on this 1950s-male-gaze energy, and I’m relieved I’m not alone. Sure, we seem to be in the minority, given the overwhelmingly positive reviews, but I’ll always prefer writers (and men) who bring something different—something better—to their female characters. This is an easy DNF for me.
Tara wrote: "What I don’t understand is Hugo loved the 70’s… so Cassie put him back there??? They are supposed to be enemies so although putting him back in time was revenge, why would she make it pleasent for ..."It was comedy. “You like the ‘70s? How about I send you there!” In the heat of the moment it was the first era she could think of, and it’s relatively easy to conjure.
Even if Barbery liked the era, he would HATE being back there, stuck in time, having to wait 50 years to resume his hunt for the books, assuming he didn’t die first.
Oh man, I'm totally feeling this - I have less than 100 pages to go because I was so sure it would get better, but I'm just frustrated at this point. It doesn't make sense on so many levels!
I agree with so many of your points in your comment. To say I’m disappointed in this book is a complete understatement. This book was on so many recommended lists. It was on hold for several weeks. First book I’ve read in a long time that took me forever to complete it because it just did not hold my attention. I agree with your assessments of the characters and the timing and the plot. I never felt any attachment to any of the characters and the story went on way too long. So glad to be done with this one.
I wanted to write an review... but I read yours first. Honestly, thats my opinion in nicer words. I would have loved to like it but some books are not for me.
You've really put your finger on why I didn't love this book
Totally agree with everything you said, and I find it gross that a man wrote this.
I’m about 53% of the way through this book and I’m trying to get through it cus it’s for a book club I’m a part of but I agree with all of this and also the dialogue just feels so flat and lifeless to me… it’s really hard to get through 😅
I just finished it and agree with everything you have said.
I think the comments the male villain made inserted to make it easier to hate him. Sure, he could have made other comments to build this case but they didn’t bother me. I didn’t get a bit lost amongst the various timelines but that’s probably a me/focus problem. Overall, I enjoyed the book!
