**World Building: A Portal Fantasy with a Family Saga Twist**

As I began to read "The 10,000 Doors of January", I had certain expectations for this portal fantasy novel. With its title, I was expecting a story that would take me on an adventurous journey through multiple worlds, exploring new lands and encountering magical creatures along the way. While I did enjoy the world-building aspects of this book, it didn't quite live up to my initial expectations. The story takes place in the early 19th century, and our protagonist, January, discovers a magical door that leads her to different worlds. However, instead of delving deep into these new worlds and exploring their intricacies, we are given brief descriptions and hints about their existence.

This was a bit of a letdown for me, as I had envisioned a more immersive experience, with a deeper exploration of the various worlds and their magical properties. While I did appreciate the brevity of this approach, it didn't quite meet my expectations, and I found myself wondering what could have been if the author had chosen to spend more time in each world. Nevertheless, I recognized that this was a deliberate choice on the part of the author, and I made an effort to adjust my perspective.

The story is, in fact, a blend of portal fantasy and family saga, with January's journey serving as the primary focus. While I did enjoy the character development and the themes that were woven throughout the narrative, my initial expectations had set me up for disappointment regarding the world-building aspect. It was only after becoming more familiar with the story that I began to appreciate its unique approach to this genre.

**Characters: A Relatable Protagonist**

One of the aspects that truly resonated with me was January's character. She is a complex and relatable protagonist, whose experiences and emotions are deeply rooted in her personal struggles. Throughout the story, she faces numerous challenges and setbacks, which made it difficult for me to not become emotionally invested in her journey. The author has done an excellent job of crafting a narrative that is both poignant and thought-provoking.

As I read through January's story, I found myself becoming increasingly attached to her. Her experiences were so vividly described that I felt as though I was walking alongside her, navigating the twists and turns of her journey. The author has managed to convey the emotional depth of January's character without resorting to melodrama or clichés. Instead, she presents a nuanced and realistic portrayal of human experience.

**Themes: Independence, Power, and Family Dynamics**

One aspect that I truly appreciated about this book was its exploration of various themes. The story delves into complex issues such as independence, power, and family dynamics, examining how these concepts shape individual lives and relationships. These themes are woven throughout the narrative, adding depth and complexity to the story.

The author's handling of these themes is noteworthy, as they are presented in a way that is both accessible and thought-provoking. The exploration of power, for instance, highlights the importance of recognizing who holds it and why. This theme is especially relevant in today's world, where discussions around privilege and systemic inequality are increasingly prominent.

The author also explores the concept of family dynamics in a nuanced manner, examining how relationships can change over time due to factors such as distance, trauma, or shifting social norms. These themes add richness to the narrative, making it more than just a straightforward story about a protagonist navigating magical worlds.

**Magical Elements: A Lacking Presence**

While I did enjoy many aspects of this book, I couldn't help but feel that some of the magical elements could have been fleshed out further. The author presents various magical concepts, such as portals and enchanted objects, but sometimes these elements feel a bit underdeveloped.

In particular, I felt that some of the magical properties were glossed over or not fully explained. This lack of clarity made it difficult for me to fully engage with the world-building aspects of the story. Nevertheless, I recognized that this was likely a deliberate choice by the author, aimed at creating a more subtle and mysterious atmosphere.

**A Compelling Story with a Vague Ending**

One aspect that truly resonated with me about "The 10,000 Doors of January" is its ending. The book concludes on a somewhat ambiguous note, leaving the reader to ponder the future of January's journey and the world she has entered. While this could have been seen as frustrating or unsatisfying by some readers, I found it to be both compelling and thought-provoking.

The author has skillfully crafted an ending that raises more questions than it answers, inviting the reader to fill in the gaps and speculate about what lies ahead. This is a testament to the book's ability to leave a lasting impression, even after finishing the story.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys it's Sam and this is my spoiler for your review of the 10,000 doors of January by Alex a hero this was last month's patreon book pick so every month my patreon supporters get to vote in a couple of different polls but one of them being the book off of my TBR that I will read and review so if you want to participate in a poll like that I will link my patreon on the screen so this is an adult standalone fantasy then this follows our main character of January she's a biracial girl that is being raised by her father's wealthy white boss and he kind of collects curious things so her father works for him in collecting these kinds of like artifacts and rumored to be magical objects and this takes place in the early 19th century when she's growing up she does discover a magical door ends up going through it and discovers that there are different worlds and this kind of leads her on a different path and everything kind of goes from there so first off we'll talk about the world building with this story and this being a portal fantasy meaning that there are portals between worlds that you can go through I was expecting this to have more of an adventurous tone to it and for us to see more worlds and we really didn't get that we got some mentions of worlds and some brief descriptions but I was really expecting there to be more worlds and worlds that we were exploring and I would have liked that so it took me a little bit to kind of adjust to the fact that this wasn't that kind of story and that was my own preconceived notions and expectations that I was bringing into this story and wasn't really fair to judge the story on that but I did with portal fantasies in general I always want there to be like so many worlds and we spend so much time in them and obviously for a shorter book like that that probably wasn't going to happen but it was what I was expecting this is much more of a family saga mixed with a portal fantasy that I was expecting and I do really enjoy family saga so it just took some time for my brain to adjust to a different kind of foundation for this story next to talk about our characters our main character of January is great and I really grew to love her throughout the story I was so attached to her and a lot of really bad things happen to her throughout the story so I was constantly in a point of stress I also wasn't super motivated to read in the last half of the month of August that just kind of happens in August for me I've discovered so I also was like I don't want to read this because I don't want to be stressed out because I was really attached to her and the characters surrounding her there are some romantic elements with story but they're very very minor honestly so if you aren't somebody who's looking for a story without a major romantic subplot I would definitely tell you to check this out there is a very very small romantic subplot but it is not the main part of the story and I think if you are really annoyed by fantasy books with romantic subplots because you feel like it takes away from the story in some way I don't think you'll feel this way with this story there's a lot of focus on independence and character's own journeys but also how those journeys weave with other people's journeys that I really enjoyed and there's just a lot of themes that as explorers that I really enjoyed there are themes of family and family dynamics and power and who has power and why they have power whether that's because of their race or because of their gender because of their wealth and just how dynamics change and also how some people really fear change and this feeling of being abandoned because a lot of times January does feel like she's been abandoned by her family because she's this word of this man and things like that so there's a lot of themes throughout here that are really beautifully explored even though this is a fairly short book and the writing style I really enjoy as well for exploring those themes so with the themes and the plot as far as some of the magical elements of the plot I do feel like those could have been fleshed out a bit more I do feel like they were sort of a little bit unfinished at times I feel like I wanted more out of some of the magical parts of this not so much the travelling between worlds apart but like there's some other magical elements in here that I feel like I wanted a little bit more knowledge of or there to be more present here I also feel like the beginning of the story is a tad slow but I do think it does pick up I do think it's slightly more of a slower read again there's a lot of things happening but it doesn't feel like that more fast paced action it's definitely that fantasy with a family saga type element to it overall I really enjoy this story I loved that it was a compact standalone I do feel like this world could be built upon and there could be more books in this series but overall I love that this was an ending that left me wanting more but in a good way in a kind of vague ending where you can build on it yourself as the reader I do tend to really like those kinds of stories I have given this book 4 out of 5 stars so comment below let me know what you thought of the 10,000 doors of January thank you all for watching and I'll see all of you guys soon youhey guys it's Sam and this is my spoiler for your review of the 10,000 doors of January by Alex a hero this was last month's patreon book pick so every month my patreon supporters get to vote in a couple of different polls but one of them being the book off of my TBR that I will read and review so if you want to participate in a poll like that I will link my patreon on the screen so this is an adult standalone fantasy then this follows our main character of January she's a biracial girl that is being raised by her father's wealthy white boss and he kind of collects curious things so her father works for him in collecting these kinds of like artifacts and rumored to be magical objects and this takes place in the early 19th century when she's growing up she does discover a magical door ends up going through it and discovers that there are different worlds and this kind of leads her on a different path and everything kind of goes from there so first off we'll talk about the world building with this story and this being a portal fantasy meaning that there are portals between worlds that you can go through I was expecting this to have more of an adventurous tone to it and for us to see more worlds and we really didn't get that we got some mentions of worlds and some brief descriptions but I was really expecting there to be more worlds and worlds that we were exploring and I would have liked that so it took me a little bit to kind of adjust to the fact that this wasn't that kind of story and that was my own preconceived notions and expectations that I was bringing into this story and wasn't really fair to judge the story on that but I did with portal fantasies in general I always want there to be like so many worlds and we spend so much time in them and obviously for a shorter book like that that probably wasn't going to happen but it was what I was expecting this is much more of a family saga mixed with a portal fantasy that I was expecting and I do really enjoy family saga so it just took some time for my brain to adjust to a different kind of foundation for this story next to talk about our characters our main character of January is great and I really grew to love her throughout the story I was so attached to her and a lot of really bad things happen to her throughout the story so I was constantly in a point of stress I also wasn't super motivated to read in the last half of the month of August that just kind of happens in August for me I've discovered so I also was like I don't want to read this because I don't want to be stressed out because I was really attached to her and the characters surrounding her there are some romantic elements with story but they're very very minor honestly so if you aren't somebody who's looking for a story without a major romantic subplot I would definitely tell you to check this out there is a very very small romantic subplot but it is not the main part of the story and I think if you are really annoyed by fantasy books with romantic subplots because you feel like it takes away from the story in some way I don't think you'll feel this way with this story there's a lot of focus on independence and character's own journeys but also how those journeys weave with other people's journeys that I really enjoyed and there's just a lot of themes that as explorers that I really enjoyed there are themes of family and family dynamics and power and who has power and why they have power whether that's because of their race or because of their gender because of their wealth and just how dynamics change and also how some people really fear change and this feeling of being abandoned because a lot of times January does feel like she's been abandoned by her family because she's this word of this man and things like that so there's a lot of themes throughout here that are really beautifully explored even though this is a fairly short book and the writing style I really enjoy as well for exploring those themes so with the themes and the plot as far as some of the magical elements of the plot I do feel like those could have been fleshed out a bit more I do feel like they were sort of a little bit unfinished at times I feel like I wanted more out of some of the magical parts of this not so much the travelling between worlds apart but like there's some other magical elements in here that I feel like I wanted a little bit more knowledge of or there to be more present here I also feel like the beginning of the story is a tad slow but I do think it does pick up I do think it's slightly more of a slower read again there's a lot of things happening but it doesn't feel like that more fast paced action it's definitely that fantasy with a family saga type element to it overall I really enjoy this story I loved that it was a compact standalone I do feel like this world could be built upon and there could be more books in this series but overall I love that this was an ending that left me wanting more but in a good way in a kind of vague ending where you can build on it yourself as the reader I do tend to really like those kinds of stories I have given this book 4 out of 5 stars so comment below let me know what you thought of the 10,000 doors of January thank you all for watching and I'll see all of you guys soon you\n"