https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239680494-the-caf-of-infinite-doors
book blurb:
In a mythical Scotland of long ago, a goddess’s mortal surrogate dies in childbirth and leaves behind a vindictive firstborn daughter who seethes in the shadow of her new divine sister, leading to a violent clash that leaves both sisters imprisoned in separate worlds.
Millennia later in San Francisco, sheltered, isolated twenty-three-year-old Marceline is desperate for a job, longing for a temporary escape from her controlling, toxic husband, Baxter. One evening, a magical café appears after Baxter strands Marceline on a desolate street after a nasty fight. Run by a quirky, mysteriously feathered woman named Lucretia, her partner, Kilda, and a gentle Tahitian man named Sylvan, the café holds the safety, comfort, and companionship Marceline has craved. Upon learning that the café’s door is a protected portal that opens to those in need, she joins the cafe’s staff behind Baxter's back.
Several months after Marceline has found her safe haven, the portals to the café begin closing one by one and the cafe’s sourceless light goes from warm and honeyed to dim and shadowy. Evil is looming that will endanger not only the café but the world at large; if Marceline is to protect herself and her newfound family, she must choose herself for good and escape her marriage once and for all ... or say goodbye to her hard-fought freedom forever.
*Good Vs. Evil *magical realm *portals *Goddess *Toxic relationship *Marriage in trouble *gaslighting
*true villains *netgalley ALC 4/12 *State Challenge California (Repeat) *found family *multiple POV
*multiple Time lines *sapphic relationship *trigger warnings (abortion, abusive relationship, violence)
Thoughts:
I requested this ALC from Netgalley based on the blurb it sounded really interesting and I wanted to see what would happen in this magical cafe. The story itself while it grew on me after awhile it took me till almost the end to warm up to the book and I almost DNF a few times.
To start with we have two seperate story lines going on: an unknown amount of years ago (long time in Scotland) a mortal woman passes away in childbirth while carrying the goddesses child. Left behind is an older child who is now forced into the villages orphanage to live a life of hard labor and general hardship while her younger sister is segregated and treated like the goddess she will grow to be all the while the older sister becomes more bitter and enraged with each passing year until making a decision that will change both of their lives and shatter everything they currently know... now living in their own seperate prisons for an unknown period of time.
Story 2 is about Marceline she is living in modern day San Francisco trapped in an abusive relationship with Baxter who is truly toxic on their anniversary he leaves her in an unknown to her part of the city where she stumbles into a unique cafe. The Cafe takes in those in need of comfort and support and welcomes anyone who needs help and Marceline is happy to get out of the rain while she worries about if her husband will come back for her.
Marceline eventually returns to the street and Baxter does eventually return for her but Marceline has had a sense of freedom and she wants to feel it again but with no money how will she get back to the cafe? She finds enough money for a bus ride and is able to return to the cafe where she starts a friendship with Lucretia (an obvious magical woman) her partner Kilda (a map maker) and Sylvan a Tahitian man who is truly kind and she hasn't had a lot of kindness in her life... especially lately.
While at the Cafe she finds that the cafe doesn't operate on regular time she could be there for hours in the real world but only a few hours will have passed while in the cafe, everyone who comes in to find shelter has the ability to speak with each other without language barriers and Lucretia even though she never leaves the cafe she learns about the outside world from the cafe's guests and the birds that come in and out of the cafe. Marceline then has to sneak out of the house to get to the cafe and hope that Baxter won't catch her in the process leading to some more tense moments.
I had a really hard time listening to this book due to how cowed Marceline is her relationship with Baxter it is really tough to watch as he continues to belittle her make her feel like she would never make it without him, he's kept her isolated to the point where she no longer has any friends and is not even able to have access to anything outside their home since he believes that she shouldn't have access to the internet and since her father and grandmother have both passed away she has no family left because "I should be all the family you need." The author did a good job making these situations truly uncomfortable and tense I physically felt afraid for Marceline while listening. I was really upset with Baxter the whole book and struggled with Marceline who was by this point in the relationship gaslighting herself into making up excuses for this jerk, I know that her situation was really tough but I wish it didn't take up so much of the book.
I kind of liked the back and forth between modern day and "Long Long ago" but wish that the stories blended together sooner so it wouldn't feel like so many different things happening every other chapter. I think that the story would have benefited from more modern day relationships with Marceline and the cafe's characters and building her self confidence and learning real life skills to prepare her for being able to leave her relationship. I did enjoy the relationships that Marceline made with those that came into the cafe and you could see over time how she realized that she was being treated badly and deserved better at home.
I could see what the book was heading towards fairly early on in the book but the ending all seemed to spiral a bit out of control and wrap things up fairly quickly for the tense build up that we were waiting for and I definately don't feel that Baxter had the type of ending that he deserved (maybe I'm still harboring my own anger and resentment towards this man).
I did start to enjoy this book more towards the end but it just took too long for me to get there.
I thank Netgalley and the author for this early listen copy!
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