Tom Quinn's Reviews > The Portable Door

Holt sure loves his similes. You'll run into as many as three a page. Everything, everyone, and everyplace is as like as something else. It makes the book read like a work of middle school fan fiction. But it's fun and charming in its levity. It's almost Harry Potter-ish, whimsical but a bit more grown-up. It's Harry Potter meets The Office.

The cover summary sounds very promising, but the book doesn't deliver. It's just a little too long, the romantic comedy subplot gets a bit labored, and the proper story doesn't really get rolling until just before the halfway point. Plus there's a lot of contrived action that's hard to believe, even in a fantasy setting with disbelief suspended enough to allow for goblins and magic. Still, it's light entertainment good for whiling away drizzly gray afternoons.

2.5 stars out of 5, and I'll round it down to 2 since it's not something I'd re-read.