
Title: The ten thousand doors of January.
Author: Alix E Harrow.
Format: Hardcover.
Publisher: Orbit.
Page count: 371.
Release day: September 10th 2019.
Genre: YA, fantasy.
Rating: 3 stars.
What is it about? (Summary from GoodReads)
In the early 1900s, a young woman
embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious
book in this captivating and lyrical debut.
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar
treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy
Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the
halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then she finds a strange book. A book that
carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love,
adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world
and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
Lush and richly imagined, a tale of
impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories
awaits in Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding debut–step inside and discover its
magic.

My thoughts:
I can really see why people absolutely love this book. I personally don’t, don’t get me wrong it is a 3 star read! But I just didn’t connect with the writing.
I really liked our main character, January. She might be a bit ‘weak’ in the beginning, in the way she acts towards Mr Locke, but I guess she doesn’t know any better. When she learns who the people around her really are she does stand up for herself and for the people/things she believes in!
My favourite character is Jane I think! I really enjoyed learning about her story, and would have loved to see more of her, especially at the ending!
Then we have January’s father, who I’m not sure what to think about. On the one side I can understand some of his choses, and they might have been for the best. But I just don’t understand why he could leave his, just-born, daughter with a stranger?! Especially because he keeps saying how much he loves her etc.
I did really enjoy the overall plot of this book. I liked were the story was going, and going in and out of these different worlds. I normally prefer books with a bit more action, but that wouldn’t necessarily fit this story. There is some kind of magic involved with these doors, of course, but it was kept quite vague how it worked exactly, which in this book I really enjoyed! There were some plot twists, which I did not see coming, but then they also did not surprise me all that much?!
My main problem with this book comes from the writing. It is quite lyrical, and I just could not connect with it. But I can really see why other readers do! Also for some parts of the book, it talks to you (if that makes any sense?!), like ‘you’re probably thinking..’ which I generally do not enjoy, but that is of course personal preference.
I’m sorry this did not work as well for you, Evelyn.
Unfortunately not every book is not for everyone 🙁
Yeah, I can see how if you wouldn’t vibe with the writing it would be a bit of a miss, it’s a very stylistic book in a lot of ways. Great review!
Thanks! It is!
A friend in book club mentioned reading this, and she felt the same. She enjoyed the book, but not as much as she’d hoped.
Yeah sometimes you have these books that just fall in between!
Wow this cover is stunning! Sorry it wasn’t what you had hoped, it’s always hard when you can’t connect with the writing, at that point there’s not much you can do.
Ash @ JennReneeRead
No indeed, its not something that will change throughout the book!
I really enjoyed this one, but I can definitely understand why other readers might not like it as much – the writing style is a big part of it, so if the writing style isn’t quite your thing it’s probably not going to be a new favourite. 🙂 I’m glad to hear you still enjoyed it for the most part! I know what you mean about January’s father – I liked him a lot, but there were times I definitely wanted to give him a shake and tell him to get his act together!
Glad you did enjoy it!