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The Door Keeper
Eden Saunders is a single mother who has learned to accept tragedy in her life. Her mother died during childbirth and her husband was killed just three years after they married. Eden's existence revolves around raising her ten year old daughter, Gabby. But when she is curiously prompted to open the door into her unknown lineage, Eden finds herself desiring things she has suppressed most of her adult life; adventure, love, and destiny.
In discovering where she truly came from, Eden inherits a key from her deceased mother that opens doors to different worlds beyond her imagination, including the world that should have been her home. The only thing stopping her from exploring them is the fear of leaving her own daughter behind. T he Door Keeper explores the circle of mother/daughter legacies, and the bond that unites them; a bond that even death can not break.
In discovering where she truly came from, Eden inherits a key from her deceased mother that opens doors to different worlds beyond her imagination, including the world that should have been her home. The only thing stopping her from exploring them is the fear of leaving her own daughter behind. T he Door Keeper explores the circle of mother/daughter legacies, and the bond that unites them; a bond that even death can not break.
330 pages, ebook
Published February 20, 2017
6 people are currently reading
606 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 28, 2017
Eden Cherubini, a beautiful young widow who owns a coffee shop lives a simple and ordinary life with her daughter(Gabby). She continues to enjoy her peaceful and uneventful life until she discovers a secret about herself and her family. This discovery changes her life forever.
It transforms her from an ordinary woman to a woman with a great destiny, giving her a lot of responsibilities. In the process of trying to find answers, Eden encounters different obstacles. At the same time, she finds love, happiness and fulfilment. Will she handle these overwhelming events carefully?
The Door Keeper is a very unique book with an amazing and outstanding plot. The idea of mystery, beauty, nature and even other worlds portrayed in the story is really fascinating and it leaves you totally glued.
The author(STEEN JONES) did a very good job in narrating her fictional story so well that it appears real, like it was something she had personally experienced.
The characters are mind-blowing. I particularly fell in love with Gabby, and her ability to spread joy and excitement wherever she went. Not forgetting the people of Caelum, the changing colours of their eyes and their special abilities.
The Door Keeper is full of Suspense and intrigue. Anyone can pick up this book and just enjoy it, but for lovers of adventure like me, it will totally blow your mind. I rate this book five stars.
Reviewed by Theophila on www.whisperingstories.com
It transforms her from an ordinary woman to a woman with a great destiny, giving her a lot of responsibilities. In the process of trying to find answers, Eden encounters different obstacles. At the same time, she finds love, happiness and fulfilment. Will she handle these overwhelming events carefully?
The Door Keeper is a very unique book with an amazing and outstanding plot. The idea of mystery, beauty, nature and even other worlds portrayed in the story is really fascinating and it leaves you totally glued.
The author(STEEN JONES) did a very good job in narrating her fictional story so well that it appears real, like it was something she had personally experienced.
The characters are mind-blowing. I particularly fell in love with Gabby, and her ability to spread joy and excitement wherever she went. Not forgetting the people of Caelum, the changing colours of their eyes and their special abilities.
The Door Keeper is full of Suspense and intrigue. Anyone can pick up this book and just enjoy it, but for lovers of adventure like me, it will totally blow your mind. I rate this book five stars.
Reviewed by Theophila on www.whisperingstories.com
February 16, 2017
I was sent a digital ARC copy of this book to review.
Eden’s life with her daughter Gabby is a normal and quite happy one. But with dreams of her mother’s death plaguing her, she can’t ignore the truth anymore and goes in search of answers to who her birth mother was. Her quest leads her to find a key, one that will open up more than just the past, it will open the door to other worlds.
The Door Keeper is the first in a fantasy trilogy and is great read. The story is very original and told in the first person by Eden. It starts off a bit slow as we learn about who Eden is and how her life is but there’s soon an indication of the interesting things to come with a mention of a certain door visible during a drive.
The story is well written and although the fantasy aspect takes a bit of time to appear, it’s a good start and gets far more exciting when Eden finally visits a different world. I won’t go into detail but there is more than one different world visited in this book and they are all so unique and so well imagined and described I could feel myself there! Although the focus of this book is on Eden and her journey I love all the individual characters introduced. Eden’s relationship with her daughter Gabby is extra special, though, and fun to read and it’s a theme in the story which just makes it such a great book.
As I said the book felt a bit slow to start, perhaps a little over descriptive in some places and chapter titles which sometimes gave away what was going to happen, but the book gets very exciting in the second half and continues on to a lovely and very satisfying ending. Although there is an epilogue which whets the appetite for the next book in the trilogy, I love the fact that this book is a great stand alone novel and you feel a real satisfaction with the ending.
There isn’t anything offensive in this book and teens who love to read fantasy might like this as well as adults. Although the book had a slow start for me, I always prefer books with a lot of action happening, it does get far better the more you read on. I am looking forward to the second book!
Eden’s life with her daughter Gabby is a normal and quite happy one. But with dreams of her mother’s death plaguing her, she can’t ignore the truth anymore and goes in search of answers to who her birth mother was. Her quest leads her to find a key, one that will open up more than just the past, it will open the door to other worlds.
The Door Keeper is the first in a fantasy trilogy and is great read. The story is very original and told in the first person by Eden. It starts off a bit slow as we learn about who Eden is and how her life is but there’s soon an indication of the interesting things to come with a mention of a certain door visible during a drive.
The story is well written and although the fantasy aspect takes a bit of time to appear, it’s a good start and gets far more exciting when Eden finally visits a different world. I won’t go into detail but there is more than one different world visited in this book and they are all so unique and so well imagined and described I could feel myself there! Although the focus of this book is on Eden and her journey I love all the individual characters introduced. Eden’s relationship with her daughter Gabby is extra special, though, and fun to read and it’s a theme in the story which just makes it such a great book.
As I said the book felt a bit slow to start, perhaps a little over descriptive in some places and chapter titles which sometimes gave away what was going to happen, but the book gets very exciting in the second half and continues on to a lovely and very satisfying ending. Although there is an epilogue which whets the appetite for the next book in the trilogy, I love the fact that this book is a great stand alone novel and you feel a real satisfaction with the ending.
There isn’t anything offensive in this book and teens who love to read fantasy might like this as well as adults. Although the book had a slow start for me, I always prefer books with a lot of action happening, it does get far better the more you read on. I am looking forward to the second book!
April 13, 2017
What a fun book! I don't usually find myself in the fantasy aisle at the local bookstore, but I found myself immediately immersed in the world(s) of Eden and James and their extended family. It's a tale about discovering who you are, who you were born to be, and who you choose to become. The older I get, the more I find myself pondering the legacy I'll leave. Hopefully, I'll be as brave as Eden, as devoted as James, as passionate as Marek, as fierce as Samuel, and as carefree as Gabby. I always think it's interesting when a fictional book can inspire real life questions. For me, this one was: "What am I willing to endure to discover my own purpose? How much am I willing to sacrifice to uncover the mystery and art of truly living?"
February 21, 2017
I devoured The Door Keeper and cannot wait for the next to come out and see what happens. My favorite parts happen at the end of each chapter when the author leaves little cliff hangers so I couldn't put the book down. I love books where I think about the plot and characters when I'm away from the book, and this is a text that offers that gift of writing - and allowing the reader to dream and invite the magical scenes and characters into their own mind. So, so good!!
February 13, 2017
Spoilers Alert: Precede with caution, spoilers might be spotted here and there. If spoilers are you pet peeves, then disregard this review altogether by going directly to Amazon for a purchase or further examination.
Without any shadow of the doubt Eden's story has been quiet great and unique adventure. Bravisimo to Steen Jones' debut novel. The author outdone with the characters and the plot development. Characters are charming, except the hostility some exuded, and well-placed in the plot. My favorite, of course, is Gabby. For 10 year-old girl, she knows and acts as typical middle school-er with sleepovers, school projects, and questions, but with her own sense of humor, especially around her mom and the new dude, James.
Another favorite is Eden. She comes as one of the main characters of the novel. Her life filled with weird dreams and often reoccurring nightmares, makes life even harder. She still has many questions about her family...
Eden is forced to have a look into her past, which opened the door to her destiny. Unknown key, strange doors had opened up new territories. Will she pass the fear not test and walk into her past, present, and future?
One of the strong landmarks of this novel are doors which are guarded by the Door Keepers... the different lands, the places realistically subjected to wars and times of peace. With a rightful queen returned to Caelum's throne, will the life and peace be brought to usual rhythm?
The ways of treason, imprisonment, and more secrets weaved into Eden's life, threatening to destroy all she knew and cherished.
Will fear factor ruin the legacy?
I love that the story ended on the sweet mystery. Gabby, Eden's daughter, went from ten to almost eighteen years-old. But when her mom disappeared again, only Gabby holds the key to the rescue. Will she believe the wild story her uncle told her, and with the mother's journals will she be fast enough to use her gift to unlock the place of her mom's disappearance just in time?
Without any shadow of the doubt Eden's story has been quiet great and unique adventure. Bravisimo to Steen Jones' debut novel. The author outdone with the characters and the plot development. Characters are charming, except the hostility some exuded, and well-placed in the plot. My favorite, of course, is Gabby. For 10 year-old girl, she knows and acts as typical middle school-er with sleepovers, school projects, and questions, but with her own sense of humor, especially around her mom and the new dude, James.
Another favorite is Eden. She comes as one of the main characters of the novel. Her life filled with weird dreams and often reoccurring nightmares, makes life even harder. She still has many questions about her family...
Eden is forced to have a look into her past, which opened the door to her destiny. Unknown key, strange doors had opened up new territories. Will she pass the fear not test and walk into her past, present, and future?
One of the strong landmarks of this novel are doors which are guarded by the Door Keepers... the different lands, the places realistically subjected to wars and times of peace. With a rightful queen returned to Caelum's throne, will the life and peace be brought to usual rhythm?
The ways of treason, imprisonment, and more secrets weaved into Eden's life, threatening to destroy all she knew and cherished.
Will fear factor ruin the legacy?
I love that the story ended on the sweet mystery. Gabby, Eden's daughter, went from ten to almost eighteen years-old. But when her mom disappeared again, only Gabby holds the key to the rescue. Will she believe the wild story her uncle told her, and with the mother's journals will she be fast enough to use her gift to unlock the place of her mom's disappearance just in time?
February 17, 2017
Fantasy is probably my least favorite genre. I can't really tell you why but all I can say is blame Harry Potter and the hoopla with it.
That's why I am as surprised as you are that I finished this book in one day. One day, people. This book follows Eden Saunders who lives an ordinary life as a widowed mother to ten year old Gabby, until she notices a door in the trees near her house. This leads to her finding out that she though she was adopted, there is a lot that her adopted parents knew about her birth mother. Once her first visit to Italy, where she was born, Eden finds out that she's not at all who she thought she was but instead a greater destiny awaits her: her lineage as a door keeper.
I hope there is a sequel to this book in the works because the book itself ended in a bit of a cliff hanger. All in all, don't open this book hoping to read it and forget it because Eden's adventure will open the door to a fantastical world of romance, adventure, and butterfairies.
That's why I am as surprised as you are that I finished this book in one day. One day, people. This book follows Eden Saunders who lives an ordinary life as a widowed mother to ten year old Gabby, until she notices a door in the trees near her house. This leads to her finding out that she though she was adopted, there is a lot that her adopted parents knew about her birth mother. Once her first visit to Italy, where she was born, Eden finds out that she's not at all who she thought she was but instead a greater destiny awaits her: her lineage as a door keeper.
I hope there is a sequel to this book in the works because the book itself ended in a bit of a cliff hanger. All in all, don't open this book hoping to read it and forget it because Eden's adventure will open the door to a fantastical world of romance, adventure, and butterfairies.
February 15, 2017
Enter a world within a world within a world. Eden is thrown into an unknown alternate world on her quest to find her roots and family. A chance encounter with a friend of her mother leaves her in possession of an old key and she ends up as Door Keeper, explaining not only her origins but her knowledge of many things never seen by normal mortal eyes.
Caught between her life, art and devotion to her young daughter and the ever expanding involvement in exploring the alternate realities through the door, Eden is forced to embrace who she is and who she wants to be moving forward.
An entertaining read that will pull you right into the different worlds and peoples. Eden, different from a young age without realizing why, James, who is pulling doors closed after the death of her husband open and Gabby, her precious daughter and bright soul carrying the remnants of Eden’s heritage.
Caught between her life, art and devotion to her young daughter and the ever expanding involvement in exploring the alternate realities through the door, Eden is forced to embrace who she is and who she wants to be moving forward.
An entertaining read that will pull you right into the different worlds and peoples. Eden, different from a young age without realizing why, James, who is pulling doors closed after the death of her husband open and Gabby, her precious daughter and bright soul carrying the remnants of Eden’s heritage.
February 14, 2017
I received an advanced reader copy of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait for the rest of the series!
My unbiased review of it will be posted as of 2/16/17 because I am participating in the publisher's blog tour. You can find the review after that date here - https://darcylewisdesign.wordpress.com/
My unbiased review of it will be posted as of 2/16/17 because I am participating in the publisher's blog tour. You can find the review after that date here - https://darcylewisdesign.wordpress.com/
February 13, 2017
The Door Keeper is an excellent debut book. It’s a fun read, and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the next book in the trilogy. Read my full review here.
February 5, 2017
I received an advanced copy of The Door Keeper and I loved it! I immediately felt connected to the main character Eden, because unlike most teenage protagonists, Eden is an almost middle aged mother. Her relationship with her daughter Gabby rang true for me and I could completely relate to her emotions. I was swept away in the vivid pictures of these other worlds. The creativity and artistic descriptions really made me feel like I was "watching" a movie. This is a unique story and fun to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel.
January 17, 2017
Read an advance copy of this book and was blown away. You'll get lost imagining yourself in all the worlds Steen creates and immerses you in, ours included! And I mean that in a good way :)
January 16, 2019
The beautiful cover of this book drew me to it, and the story kept me there. When Eden begins to dream of the death of her birth mother, it sets her on a path where she discovers that she is a Door Keeper, a person capable of traveling to other words. It's through this journey that she discovers new love, her own strength as a mother, the family she never knew, and the world that should have been hers. While the first half of the book is spent getting to know Eden, her life, earth family, and exploring two other worlds, it's in the last half of the book where the story really takes off. That is when Eden finally visits the world where she should have been raised, discovers the events that led to her mother's death, and the repercussions of Eden's arrival and what her presence in the world means for its inhabitants. This is the first book in a trilogy, so naturally, it ends with an event to kick of the second story, one that starts with a time jump and genius switch in the protagonist. It's not hard to believe in the worlds created by Steen Jones through her artful prose or to root for the characters who have survived the highs and lows of life. I'm looking forward to the next installment, and recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of stories featuring fanciful worlds, strong characters, and truth-revealing dreams.
February 4, 2017
I really shouldn't be reviewing this book, considering I wrote it. But what I will say about it is that I wrote a book I would want to read. One that takes me on a magical, fantastic journey, but the tensions and issues the protagonist face are those I can relate to. Being a working Mom; juggling being a parent and also making your mark on the world. (Or in Eden's case, worlds plural.)
So, the only thing I can say truthfully and unbiasedly is that this is a book I would love to read, so much so, that I wrote it. Hope you all love it too.
So, the only thing I can say truthfully and unbiasedly is that this is a book I would love to read, so much so, that I wrote it. Hope you all love it too.
October 4, 2017
As a debut fantasy novel, Steen Jones, really catapults the reader into beautiful new worlds and realms in which the imagination soars to new heights. I really enjoyed the concept and struggle of a mother wanting to put her child first, but also crave adventure and destiny. I loved Eden's discovery into her inheritance and family lineage as well as seeing her bravely encounter what is behind each new door.
Definitely excited about the sequel coming out soon entitled, "The Lost Door."
Definitely excited about the sequel coming out soon entitled, "The Lost Door."
March 26, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Steen Jones combined a touching generational tale, clever fantasy, and a heartwarming romance to craft a lovely, entertaining novel. She also does a wonderful job of balancing telling a complete story and setting up the sequel. Definitely worth the read!
September 28, 2017
An ambitiously optimistic novel with a fascinating world to explore.
My full review to post on my blog in time.
My full review to post on my blog in time.
October 29, 2024
When Eden sees a door in the middle of a field, her life changes forever. A really good read. But all I know is that if I see a door somewhere that doesn't belong, I aint going in.
July 12, 2017
An interesting read with a romantic twist about other worlds that are guarded by Door Keepers who protect. Sadly, the book is in serious need of a good editor.
February 20, 2017
This was such a fun read! It was a wonderful blend of fantasy and reality. Steen Jones does an amazing job of painting the visuals for the reader with the universe she has created. Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys fantasy novels.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews