When I first requested this book on NetGalley I honestly wasn’t sure what I would think as this isn’t my “usual” kind of book. Now that I’ve finished it I cannot express how glad I am that I took a chance!

The Toymakers is probably going to stay on my list of favourite reads for a long time to come. Without giving too much away, it has quite the mix of genres that all seamlessly work together. It is a coming of age story set against a backdrop of family drama and war. It is a fantastical tale of childhood dreams and wonder, and a tale of heartbreak and loss.

After finishing the last page I was emotionally broken, I was elated and it has been a long time since any book has affected me so.

If you are considering pre-ordering a copy of The Toymakers, don’t hesitate. Do it today.

Many thanks to NetGalley UK and to Ebury Publishing for providing me with an ebook copy of The Toymakers.

I read this novel over Christmas, and it was the last book I read last year. It was the perfect finish to my 2017 reading; not quite what I expected, but something even better.

The cover and blurb for The Toymakers alludes to it being a heart-warming, whimsical Christmas tale. I expected something light-hearted, and I got that in places but a lot more as well. Don’t be fooled by the cute, festive cover – this book has hidden depths.

“Are you lost? Are you afraid? Are you a child at heart? So are we.”

Teenager Cathy is pregnant and scared. She wants to escape the control of her parents and, when she sees this advert in the newspaper, she sees an opportunity to do so. She embarks on a journey to London, to Papa Jack’s Emporium.

In turn-of-the-century London, the Emporium opens at first frost every winter. It’s a magical place of times gone by where anything can happen; the toys could even come to life.

Dinsdale captures the city and era wonderfully, but the star of the story here is the Emporium itself; a toyshop with magic inside its walls, where it seems anything is possible. As Cathy arrives, the shop is in its glory days, loved by all who visit, but the story follows this special place to its inevitable demise.

As I said at the beginning, this book has hidden depths. It opens with a beautiful prologue which promises a cosy Victorian fairytale, but it isn’t just a tale of magic and toys, it’s also a story of war. We follow Cathy, the shop’s owner Papa Jack and his two sons, Kaspar and Emil as WWII hits England.

Kaspar and Emil have always been in a battle for the Emporium, played out with their toy soldiers which bring customers flocking to their doors each season, but when a bigger war rages at their door, they must step up, even if it means leaving the comfort of the Emporium they’ve grown up in behind them.

The Toy Makers is reminiscent of one of my favourite books, The Night Circus in the magical, enchanting prose and the evocative descriptions which bring the magic to life. It also carries that same underlying feeling of darkness, and an ongoing battle – in this case the sibling rivalry between Kaspar and Emil – which underlies the story. Everything ties together beautifully, from the toy soldiers to the real battlefield and the magical realism weaved throughout the novel. The characters are well-drawn and the atmosphere is pitch perfect. Robert Dinsdale casts an an enchanting spell with the Toy Makers, and it’s a magic which everyone should experience.

This is a richly developed yet simple story that revolves around a family of toymakers and the fantastical worlds that they create. Its focus is on character development and how personality and circumstance contrive to stunt or blossom creativity. The book covers an extended period from pre-1st World War through to 1950's. It does this through extensive scenes and rapid transitions. The strength of this is that the reader can observe the key points at which change occurs and then jump forward to see the consequence of this. The downside is that there are gaps in knowledge that can impair the reading experience.

Characterisation is very strong and the characters each have a balanced personality that either has a positive or negative impact on the other characters as well as the plot. Context is important to the story and the magic, both real and impressionistic, of a toy store and the sense of wonder it offers the young is extremely well handled. That true magic occurs and is recognised but not exploited by all who visit the store is an expression of the love felt and cherished by the young visitors. This emotional connection is held through the years and the shop becomes a glowing memory for all. Where characters try to control and capitalise on the magic it slips through their fingers.

Although largely removed from the scenes of trauma, the section of the book that deals with the 1st World War and its impact on the lives it devastated is central to the plot. It explores how movement away from the magical world of the shop to the horrors of war result in enlightenment and personal growth but destroy the illusion.

Ultimately the magic is an expression of the individual characters and reflects their acceptance of all that is possible. That this is not possible for everyone is an inherent part of the story. There is sorry and death in the tale but a great deal of affection.

Highly recommended for those who are old in spirit but young at heart.

This book grabbed me immediately and I was utterly enchanted for the first half. The characters are full and flawed, which makes them likeable and real. The Emporium with all its toys is totally and completely wonderful, I wanted this to be real so I could visit and be a child again. However half way through the story seems to peter out and loses its way. Having said this the ending is good if a little rushed and I enjoyed all of the book for the most part. In my opinion could have been shorter which would have been far more enjoyable.

Atmospheric and enchanting in equal measure, with a touch of darkness, a portrayal of the destructive relationship of two brothers, caused by jealousy and misunderstanding. Lots to enjoy.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was such a lovely story. Cathy Wray finds herself 16 and pregnant in 1906 and instead of going to 'one of those homes' she runs away to Papa Jack's Emporium to become a shop hand. She is enchanted by all the magical toys that are created in the Emporium and this really is the magic of this book.
However, I got halfway through and just felt that it was taking too long to get to the point. There were too many story lines running through the book and each one was so elaborated described and told it just seemed to drag on. The magic was slowly wearing off I'm afraid. I did really want to finish and enjoy this story. The descriptions of the magical toys were so good and enough to capture anyone's imagination, young or old, but I felt I needed more action or disaster to keep me reading.

This book immediately grabbed my attention. The storyline was different and for the most part well thought out and developed. The characters all flawed but also forceful; to some extent self-serving. It would turn into a seriously good film . I did struggle with the ending - felt almost as if the final section should just have been left out or maybe serve as the opening to a second book in a series.

I expected a light-hearted magical read but this was a darker than that. I enjoyed the descriptions of the toys, it really brought them to life.
I struggled to ever get into this though. The characters didn't interest me. I was left confused at times as well. Possibly down to my reading slump.

This is a magical book and a really interesting escapism. It is really descriptive. However, I thought it was overlong and tried to cover too much ground, jumping from one decade to another in the same chapter. The end, when it eventually came, was a surprise. Although the whole book was fanciful, I was disappointed at how it got tied up very end. Great idea,but too long and over complicated.

Oh my word. Where to begin. This book is simply enchanting. As I read it I kept thinking 'is this for children' but then realising that no, it is too sophisticated, the messages too deep for a child's mind.
I didn't want this book to end so caught up was I in the world of the Emporium. I hope someone turns this into a film one day.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a wonderful read, imaginative and very magical . Cathy is young and pregnant, her parents want her to sell her baby once its born but Cathy doesn't want this . She doesn't know what to do but one day her sister gives her a mysterious job advertisement and it seems like a way out of her troubles so she runs away to inquire about the job . She arrives at The Emporium where her life changes forever ...
Set just before, during and after the first world war this is a very emotional read in parts, I had teary eyes during some paragraphs it was very moving . The magical realism is written extremely well I really loved it ,

'Are you a child at heart?'

It's going to be really ironic if the first book I read in 2018 turns out to be my favourite for the entire year but The Toymakers is utterly, utterly brilliant and I absolutely loved it.

The story starts in 1906 with Cathy Wray running away to London to avoid having to give her baby up for adoption. She finds work at a very unusual toy shop called The Emporium, run by Jekabs Godman (Papa Jack) and his two sons, Kaspar and Emil, who are not much older than her. Kasper is the charmer, flirting with all the shop-girls and effortlessly creating the most magical toys, whereas Emil is more serious and specialises in designing the toy soldiers the brothers use to play their 'Long War'.

I loved The Toymakers for its sheer inventive brilliance. Imagine the toy shop equivalent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Like Doctor Who's TARDIS, The Emporium is bigger on the inside and the aisles are 'alive' with steam trains, toy soldiers, and patchwork animals. The shop opens with the first frost of winter and closes when the first snowdrop flowers on the terrace. The Godmans spend the rest of the year creating their wonderful toys and we get to know a bit more about their lives. I particularly loved the 'instant' trees, which grow into a real forest as soon as their roots touch the ground, and Sirius the patchwork dog. And I definitely fell more than a little bit in love with Kaspar.

The Toymakers deserves to become one of those Christmas classics, enjoyed year after year, although it's not strictly a children's book, more a fairy tale for adults. Along with the magic and romance there are darker, bleaker moments too. We learn of Papa Jack's past as a prisoner in Siberia; the First World War and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder are also touched on. The only thing about the story I didn't like was that it ended in 1953; I'd have preferred the timeline to have been shorter.

I always find the books I love the most the hardest to write reviews for. I expect it's because I want you to love them as much as I do. So I'll just add that I thoroughly recommend The Toymakers, especially to those who are still a child at heart.



I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of The Toymakers, which will be published on 8th February 2018.

Thank you to Robert Dinsdale, Ebury, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I was invited to read this book by the publishers (via NetGalley) a while ago but saved it to read over the Christmas holiday because it sounded so magical. And it certainly is.

This is the story of a man and his two young sons who move to London from a foreign land and open the most magical toy Emporium ever seen. But while there is the magic and joy of the Emporium there is also the reality and devastation of war and family rivalry, which ultimately brings a very sombre tone to the story. The story is so dark and sad at times that it almost became too difficult for me to continue reading after such a wondrous beginning.

A fantastic story full of magical realism, and I particularly loved Sirius, the patchwork dog.

1917 and Cathy is in a tricky situation, pregnant, underage and on course to be sent to a home for unmarried mothers when a curious advert catches her eye. So begins her journey from Kent into the magical world of The Emporium, the home of clockwork patchwork dogs, paper trees, wooden soldiers marching to do battle in a long war and most importantly the brothers Emil and Kaspar. The brothers' rivallry and jealousy does not end when one goes to war and eventually develops into an unexpected wholly darker form. This is a story which twists and turns as much as the branches of the strange paper trees in The Emporium.

What an absolutely stunning, beautiful story this is. I know the year has only just begun but I think I will be hard pushed to find a book to rival this one this year. I want to say it is the best book and the MUST Read of 2018 but being that it is only the 6th January it wouldn’t do it justice, and as clichéd as it is – This really is, no matter the age, a MUST read for anyone and everyone! I can’t stress to you how blindingly good this book truly is.

This book conjures up the grand opulence of movies such as The Greatest Showman and the wonder and magic of books such as Caraval or The Night Circus and then takes them to a whole new level. The Toymakers is in a league of its own and shines even brighter than any star ever seen.

Another over used cliché but none the less true – I literally couldn’t put it down, the kids had to fend for themselves and I even had them fetching me cups of tea! I started reading 9pm Thursday evening and I was still reading 8am Friday morning, sleep didn’t even occur to me I was that engrossed. Suffice to say no housework got done at all Friday as I HAD to finish the book.

I can already see this book being a spectacular big budget movie, it would look amazing up on the big screen and I know this household would pay to watch it!

It begins in London 1917 and follows the lives of Papa Jack and his two sons, Kaspar and Emil in their wonderful Emporium and a young runaway girl, Cathy, who comes to the Emporium looking for work and a place of safety, all the way through to 1953.

Full of magic and wonder Papa Jack’s Toy Emporium is a place to behold, you can feel the enthusiasm of the children and adults alike and is a place you never want to leave. But as is with everything in life, real life can’t be ignored, bringing the war to the establishment, forever changing the lives within.

The ending wasn’t what I was expecting, not that I knew what to expect and there as a twist in the tale that had me wanting to shout out loud – Noooooo and shaking my head in disbelief!

Blending historical fiction and magical realism together to create a magical world full of passion, inspiration, imagination, love, secrets, loss and fear that will always stay with you long after the last page has been read.

I was first drawn to this book due to the cover art, I thought it really intriguing and expected to find a great adventure between its pages. It was just approaching winter and it reminded me of the big toystores you see in cities, preparing for the Christmas rush.

Our story begins with Cathy and her mother speaking to the owner of a large house – where unmarried women go to have their children. The children are taken away – I assume to be fostered, and the mother can return to her family and continue her life. When presented with a newspaper she stumbles upon the advertisement of a place at Papa Jack’s Toy Emporium in London. Cathy herself is from Leigh, a small seaside town in rural Essex, so running away to London, whilst pregnant, shows she really felt so alone back home, and thought this the only way to help her unborn child and have any chance of helping her.

The initial 50% of the story is a fantasy; a toystore that opens on the first frost of the year, all the way through until the thaw. For the rest of the year Papa Jack, his sons, and a few carefully selected craftsmen work diligently to prepare the store with enough toys for the next First Frost. Cathy is taken into the Emporium family in an instant, though as Christmas approaches, and then passes, Cathy is terrified of the day she must leave the Emporium as it closes.

The world building is magical, there are fantastic toys on the shelves making for wonderful adventures in the store itself for children and adults alike; instant paper trees, a wendy house that’s larger on the inside than on the out, clockwork patchwork animals who have souls and personalities (I want one of these), and of course toy soldiers, who do battle and seem to be able to strategize.

Soon enough, the “Great War” comes to London, and many of the men at the toystore are called off overseas to fight, this is where the story takes a much darker turn, and begins to explore the horrors of war, how they change a woman/man, and the impact on families. Coming home from war isn’t as simple as it sounds, and there can be lasting effects.

I felt like of all characters, Cathy was who we got to know in the greatest detail; it is told from her point of view, so we do not so much see interactions between the brothers Kaspar, and Emil, nor do we see much of other people in the story. However in some ways this probably avoided overcomplicating the novel; with the mixture of fantasy, and historical fiction, it’s a delicate balance – too much fantasy may take away from the more serious war angle, and too much of this would take away from the magic.

In terms of writing style, I thought it was perfect, holding a certain formality suitable to the era in which its set, but not making it difficult for the modern-day reader who is used to a different language structure.

This wasn’t really what I expected of the book, though that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it in the end. It was much more serious than I anticipated though I would recommend this to those who enjoy both fantasy and historical fiction genres, as this proves to be a great combination of the two.

Overall I’m awarding this book a 4*/5. It was an enjoyable and magical read, with rich descriptions and artistic world building. I would’ve liked to know Kaspar and Emil, maybe Papa Jack more, but it isn’t a limiting factor of the book. The writing was easy to follow, and it was a delightfully enchanting story, capable of bringing out the child in all of us.

Do you remember when you believed in magic?

I loved this book, it had such a magical feel to it even though it explored the damage caused to soldiers by war. The characters were strong and cleverly drawn.and added to the colourful feel of the book.. I loved the imagination of the author who managed to bring the toys to life in such a delightful way I felt as though I was part of the magic. I think it would make a wonderful film,

Wow, this is truly such a rich, evocative book it is almost impossible to sum it up in to a review that can do it justice; it will be a book that stays with me for a long time and one I can see myself returning to read again and again, which I rarely ever do.

It is a Toy Story for grown ups, encapsulating all the magic emotion and wonder of childhood when toys were more than just toys; dolls, teddy bears, soldiers, were our friends, sometimes the only things that could comfort us and that we would confide in. There are reminders throughout the book that even in isolating loneliness we are never completely alone if we choose to look for the magic. To be able to evoke that depth of enchantment and charm within the pages of this book, yet simultaneously the dark despair and destruction that war brings is quite a talent that Dinsdale absolutely nails.

You are witnessing the events over many years as an observer, invited to see the quite unbelievable sights of the emporium and the way the characters evolve. It all begins with a young girl, Cathy, in an impossible situation she makes a life changing choice and ends up in London, taken in by the Emporium on the opening night of the season. The owner is the mysterious Papa Jack, and his sons Emil and Kaspar. The clockwork dog Sirius was such an endearing character to me, as was the courageous Kapitan. The world of the Emporium is mysterious with a secluded, secretive air not only from the outside world but also inside it's own realm, where there are many hiding places, secrets, and closed doors. Jealousy, misunderstanding, and bitterness breeds in the face of much sacrifice, and when unexpected events change everything it becomes a true battle to find a peace within the emporium walls or risk losing everything.

There is so much I want to say about the ending that I can't without using spoilers, but it is monumental and profoundly astute. I absolutely loved every page of it.

I found the fragile sanctuary of the Toy Emporium and the battles of the main characters an allegory of how in life we grow old and lose our innocence and magic of childhood; we suffer tragedies, loss, illness, some become consumed by materialism, pride, greed, or control; but if we choose to do what's right, to be benevolent, to hold on to what is precious and be brave enough to protect innocence, love and freedom then a little bit of magic can always survive and reincarnate.

This is an enchanting, well written novel set against the backdrop of WW1. Papa Jack's Toyshop gives refuge to Cathy, a pregnant young woman at odds with her own family because of her pregnancy. The story centres around Cathy, and her relationship with the two brothers, Emil and Kasper, the sons of the owner. At times the story is heartbreaking - and at other times it's uplifting - and I loved it.

Firstly I want to thank Net Gallery for an arc of this book. Release Date: 8th February 2018

Turning the last page of this book was like closing down the lid of my toy box for the last time. I believe we all as children had that one toy that brought our imagination to life, that lifted our spirits with magic and took us away from the cold harsh reality we live in.

The Toymakers marks my first book read of 2018, and it was a poignant one. We open with Cathy, a 16 year old girl who finds herself in an unfortunate situation of being pregnant out of wedlock and being set in the 1800s this is obviously unheard of. Her family mean to keep her locked in the house, and the baby when born given away, however Cathy finds her escape through the means of an advert for shop hands at the Emporium.

This book spans a lifetime filled with magic, tragedy and bittersweet notes of an ending. Travelling through two wars, the Emporium stood the test of time, and really speaks true of what we've lost over the years to change and development. I feel a pang of nostalgia for playing with my toys, setting up adventures around my room which turned into a whole world to trek over to reach safety, meeting foes and friends alike on the way.
The writing is incredibly descriptive reminiscent of Harry Potter, The Night Circus and Enid Blyton. I really enjoyed the pacing and the time skips, however my favourite scenes have to be when the toys come to life down the aisles for all those girls and boys- they were scenes of magic that were written so beautifully I cannot fault them.

I was surprised by this book. Pleasantly so. It reminds me of being a child, it reminds me of the harsh reality of growing up to face the real world. But it also brings a message that we shouldn't forget those toys from our younger years, they are what made us, and they will always be there - in our most vulnerable moments, to make us feel at home.