Wow what a brilliant read, I absolutely loved it.

Right from the get go I was drawn into the story and continued to be captivated throughout. As I got to know each of the characters and how they were linked to each other and the outcome would be for them all, I kept trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together but all to no avail.

This story had me turning the pages so quickly as I spent most of it sitting on the edge of my seat in eager anticipation of what would happen next. 

As everything started to come together,  I eagerly awaited the ending and boy what an ending it was, so wasn't expecting it to end like it did. I had to read it twice just to ensure I'd taken it in correctly.

Absolutely brilliant and can't wait for Phoebe's next book.

The Doll House was an average debut novel. I found the story to be more of a contemporary family drama and less than a thriller. I enjoyed the characters and the twist on revenge, however, the ending just didn’t do it for me.

The book predominately featured infertility, which is a topic that is not shown in fiction enough. The author addressed the issues surrounding trying to conceive in a respectful and insightful manner. Whether or not the author was writing from her own experience, she perfectly captured the emotional uncertainty of infertility in her main character.

As a whole, this book lacked suspense. The narrative started out quite slow, reading more like a contemporary than a thriller. The plot revolved around family drama and marital issues, which largely overshadowed the creepier aspects of the story, like the doll house. Personally, I did not like the ending which affected my overall impression of the book. While the twist was not obvious, it left me quite underwhelmed.

Even though I had issues with the thriller aspects of this book, I did still appreciate other aspects of this story. I would recommend this book to fans of The Breakdown by B.A. Paris, which had a similar narrative, but a different twist.

I requested this book from the publisher via Netgalley.

Really enjoyed this story! Loved how each characters story line was intertwined. Flowed easily

I really enjoyed this book, but felt the main character of Corinne was much too needy and weak. The character of her sister Ashley was a much stronger person. I thought I knew who the villain was but I was wrong and those are the kinds of books I enjoy the most. The ones that keep you guessing.. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It is appreciated.

Lately it is taking me ages to get through books. Normally I am a speed reader but since our move to Sweden I’ve had very little time or energy to get through these books as I am trying to settle and find a job so I must apologise for the lack of blogs. I do have some good books coming up for review! I just need to get them finished (See Goodreads for any of the books coming up :D)

About the book

The Doll House is told through four different points of view.

Corinne. A young woman who is going through IVF. It has been unsuccessful several times and she is praying that it is third time lucky. She grows envious and annoyed at other people with children and cannot understand why she is having such trouble. Corinne is the first to start finding pieces of her and her sister’s doll house at her apartment. At first, she thinks nothing of it but soon things start to turn sinister and Corinne’s life starts to shatter around her.
Ashley. Ashley is Corinne’s sister. She is a frazzled mother of three who seems to be having marital problems. She starts receiving weird phone calls and when things start happening to her family, she realises that Corinne is not the only one being targeted.
Dominic. Corinne’s partner and a journalist at the local paper. He is supportive of Corinne and tries to understand what she is going through but little does he know, he is closer to the issue than he thinks.
Mystery character. A mystery character who seems to have a thing for stalking people. Nobody knows the person’s agenda or what they have to do with this until the very end.
It is coming up to the anniversary of their father’s death and Ashley and Corinne are struggling but little do they know, the struggle will reveal all kinds of truths about them and their families.

The Review

Man, the premise of this book is creepy. If somebody started leaving tiny doll house pieces on my front porch, I’d have moved out and burned that house down. Freaky! I think the idea of this book is brilliant and quite unique. I have not read anything with this kind of idea in a long time and due to this, I really really wanted to like it but eh, something seemed off to me.

The characters were not very likable. I always find this is a thing with thrillers. I normally do not like the characters and I normally cannot identify with them. The women, especially Corinne, seemed like they could not do anything for themselves and were always running to their partners or other people to help. Some of Corinne’s outbursts were far too dragged out and I found myself having to put the book down in the middle of the chapters, which I try to not do.

Alongside this, I thought the ‘villain’ was unpredictable – I was guessing all the way through but when we did find out who it was, I was actually really disappointed. I recently read and reviewed ‘Copycat’ by Alex Lake and I was so surprised at the ‘villain’ in that but we had not seen enough of the villain in this book to even realise they were a contender. It made me pretty annoyed. I also found that the reason behind all of the sinister, vengeful stuff was a little tame. If you read this too and think the same, please let me know. I honestly did not think the reasoning behind his/her thirst for blood was enough to want blood… Eh, it was a disappointment.

The writing overall is okay. There were times I was thrilled and wanted to read more but this book sat on my shelf a little too long to have me believe it was truly thrilling. I thought it was okay (as I have said) but it didn’t pack as much of a punch.

It seems there may be a sequel as well but I don’t think I would pick it up. I’ve definitely read better thrillers this year.

I gave it 3 stars because it was an entertaining read at times but that’s all it was. There was no real depth and it did not keep me interested for longer then 10 minutes at a time.

Fantastic book that was suspenseful from beginning to end. It kept my attention and the characters were believable.

Loved this book. Grabs you at the beginning and does not let go. If you love psychological thrillers you will love this book.

This was a very enjoyable read overall. The story follows Corinne, her partner Dominic, and her sister Ashley. The characters were recognizable and realistic, although there were several times that I found them irritating, especially the main character Corinne, who was frequently an anxious, whiny mess even before things started going wrong. As a result it took me a while to feel invested in the characters. However the story makes up for this, it is fast paced with lots of twists and turns, and towards the end of the novel I couldn't put it down.

THE DOLL HOUSE WRITTEN BY PHOEBE MORGAN

The night is raining hard and the wind is blowing so hard it sounds like objects are flying into the sides and banging heavy on the roof. Such was the creepiness factor elevated as I read "The Doll House," by Phoebe Morgan. This author is really talented at writing clever, menacing character's. There is an unknown character living in poverty with a neglectful mother always watching. But who are they watching all of those years? Crawling through a whole in the fence and hiding in the shadows in the back yard in the garden.

The last 80 percent of the book ratchets up the tension as we learn but never guess who these creepy unknown character's are and why they are doing the gaslighting of Corinne and her sister Ashley. The two sister's are close and are grieving the death of their larger than life architect father. Ashley thinks her husband James is having an affair because he is always working. Ashley is getting prank phone calls where she can hear only breathing and someone laughing on both her home phone and her cell phone.

Is Corinne an unreliable narrator? Corinne and her boyfriend have undergone several failed IVF treatments and Corinne is finding pieces of her childhood doll house left for her at home and work. Who is able to easily slip these trinkets without being seen inside Corinne's house and workplace? Why are they being left? What connection do these pieces of Corinne's childhood doll house have to do with her? Corinne's boyfriend starts to tell her that he thinks she should see a psychiatrist. Until a sharp knife goes missing and Corinne finds her childhood doll cut open from the dress all the way into the doll's stomach.

What a phenomenal conclusion tying up all the loose ends and how all of these character's are connected. It starts as a planned memorial one year anniversary to Corinne and Ashley's father's death. Mathilde (Ashley and Corinne's mother), the two sisters and Corinne's boyfriend are all planning to meet at the cemetery first followed by a dinner to celebrate a beloved husband and father. This is highly addictive and very suspenseful storytelling with a unique premise utilizing a very creepy character's invasive plot to destroy one family. It also makes you leary of who to trust to babysit your children. I can't wait to read Phoebe Morgan's future work.

Thank you to Net Galley, Phoebe Morgan and HQ Digital for providing me with my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Corinne is fragile. Her father’s death hit her hard, and repeated attempts to get pregnant have trapped her in a cycle of tentative hope followed by crushing disappointment. Sometimes the world is all too much to cope with.

When strange things start happening, no one really takes her seriously. She’s just highly-strung, over-anxious. Little worrying signs that Corinne sees as part of a larger, menacing pattern seem like coincidence to everyone else.

Is Corinne being stalked by someone unknown and malevolent, or is her mind creating monsters out of nothing?

I’m not a huge fan of synopses that end in a question, but it’s the only thing that works here – The Doll House‘s central conflict is more about perception than anything else, and the driver of the first half of the novel is Corinne’s (and to a lesser extent, her sister Ashley’s) struggle with their fears and anxieties.

The Doll House doesn’t have a single focus. The first part of the novel is genre-less, focused on exploring emotions and perceptions rather than plot. Later, it shifts to become a psychological thriller, as the threats move from internal to external. At the end, The Doll House is an action thriller, with screeching sirens and races against time.

This lack of focus weakens the novel, giving it a mis-matched set-up and pay-off. If you’re bored by the slow, cautious start, then you won’t persevere until the more action-heavy ending; if you’re absorbed by the psychological shades-of-grey parts, then the ending falls flat. To my mind, the better sections are earlier on, with the portrayal of possible madness.

As an exploration of anxiety and paranoia, The Doll House is very good. Both Corinne and Ashley are filled with self-doubt and confusion, focusing and fixating on things that everyone is able to let go off. The early stages of the novel are sweet and sad, with convincing prose that makes the main characters easy to identify with. Anxiety is a difficult thing to portray in fiction – major emotional weight on externally minor things comes across as crass or overblown unless it’s very carefully handled. The Doll House pulls the trick off well.

The plot is overly complex, with layers and layers of subterfuge that don’t add as much as they need to justify themselves. It keeps you guessing right up to the big reveal, but a simpler plot would have served the themes just as well. Amongst the madness and the stalking, there’s a lot about architecture, journalism and other things that are relevant, but slow down the story and obscure the key emotions/ideas.

The Doll House is not a happy book, and it’s not exactly fun to read, but it deals with important ideas sensitively. The lack of focus does weaken the book, but the central idea, exploring fear and shifting perceptions, is one that I think should more of a topic in fiction, and it’s one that The Doll House deals with well.

This is an enjoyable thriller with a strong central plot and some intriguing ideas. In general it was well-paced, but there were times when, as the reader, you knew something was coming when the characters didn't, and it didn't always work. The central concept of the book is clever, and the main characters are well developed. I found it quite gripping and read it quickly, The author was good at using distraction and red herrings to keep you guessing.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was a good book, but I had it figured out pretty early on, which took away the thriller part of it for me. Some of the story lines seemed unnecessary for the overall plot of the book. The characters were fairly well written, but lacked real substance.

Overall, a decent read but not exactly a thriller for me.

Wow. is all i can say. Started this book and could not put it down it I flew through it. This book will certainly stay with me ,thanks to netgalley

I thought that this book was well thought out. It seemed as if the author went in with plot that was very well outlined because each event leads to another like a perfectly put together puzzle. My problem with the book was the plot. It felt like a paint by numbers thriller. There wasn't really anything new. It reminded me a bit of the movie Single White Female with the exception of attempting to take over someone else's life by looking and acting like the subject of obsession. I kept hoping that there would be something that I wouldn't be able to predict but everything was fairly obvious.

This book kept me up all night! One of those that you literally cannot put down. A must read for fans of this genre!

Wow. what can i say. I have not read one of Phoebe Morgan's books before and this will not be the last. Started this book then was away a few days so did not pick it up for a week which slowed me down at the start of the book but by the time I got into it I flew through it and could not put this down. This book will certainly stay with me after reading this book.

thanks to netgalley and HQ digital for allowing me to review this book honestly and voluntarily.

This is an enjoyable but also somewhat predictable read.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review.

Spooky and creepy, this book was a perfect pre-Halloween read, or anytime scary read, for that matter! Phoebe Morgan does a fine job at keeping the reader in the dark as to who is terrorizing sisters Corinne and Ashley. Corinne finds herself the recipient of pieces of her childhood dollhouse as the anniversary of her revered father’s death approaches. Corinne’s long time boyfriend makes light of the situation and makes her feel that she is unstable. Her mother is acting strangely. Sister, Ashley, finds her family falling apart. She fears her husband may be straying, her teenage daughter has become rebellious, and her toddler is exhibiting symptoms of possible illness. All of the strangeness comes to a head as the sisters meet in the cemetery to celebrate the one year anniversary of their father’s death. The reader will not be disappointed!

I loved it. I just wanted to put it out there before I continue with my review. This story is about two sisters - Corinne and Ashley. Corinne is trying to pregnant and has gone through many rounds of IVF with no success and is now preparing for her last chance to get pregnant. This has affected her psychologically and emotionally, so when she starts receiving pieces of the doll house that her late father had built for her and her sister, she's feeling more and more on edge, trying to find out what this means. Ashley is a mother of three who is going through the struggles of having a teenage daughter who is acting out, a baby who has started having night terrors and a husband who's suddenly working late and spending less and less time at home. It was a definite page turner for me. This book kept me guessing and so many times I thought I had something figured out, only to find that I'd gotten it completely wrong. I really enjoyed it with all its twists and plot developments.