Book cover of The Door in the Mountain

Book description

Ancient Crete: a place where a beautiful, bitter young princess named Ariadne schemes to imprison her godmarked half-brother deep in the heart of a mountain maze, where a boy named Icarus tries, and fails, to fly--and where a slave girl changes the paths of all their lives forever.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Door in the Mountain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Set against a beautiful, violent landscape, The Door in the Mountain is the story of Ariadne, a young princess navigating her culture’s customs and her personal responsibilities. In Ariadne’s world, the course of one’s life is determined by whether one has a “godmark” – a special gift or ability granted by the heavens. Ariadne desperately wants to be godmarked like her brother and parents. That desperation fuels a mean streak that, at times, turns to downright cruelty. Caitlin Sweet is a master of characterization, and as a reader, I can’t help but sympathize with Ariadne’s longing to fit in with…

From Charlene's list on with “difficult” protagonists.

If you love The Door in the Mountain...

Book cover of Touching the Surface

Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini,

When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she can't remember her past, is getting the cold shoulder from her best friend, and has no idea why she keeps repeating the same mistakes across her previous lives. Elliot just wants to move on, but first, she'll be forced to…

Want books like The Door in the Mountain?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Door in the Mountain.

Browse books like The Door in the Mountain

Book cover of Lolita
Book cover of A Christmas Carol
Book cover of Never Let Me Go

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,343

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like The Door in the Mountain, you might also like...

Book cover of An Heir of Realms

An Heir of Realms by Heather Ashle,

An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroines—a dragon rider and a portal jumper—who fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction. 

Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswen’s dream is to…

Book cover of Jurassic Girl: The Adventures of Mary Anning, Paleontologist and the First Female Fossil Hunter

Jurassic Girl by Michele C. Hollow,

Not too many people know about Mary Anning. In 1811, at age 12, Mary lived on the Jurassic Coast where she unearthed a 17-foot fossil.

Many of the men in the scientific community called her a fraud. They didn’t believe a girl from a poor family could make such a…

5 book lists we think you will like!