Cover Image: The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse

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Member Reviews

Unfortunately I didn't care for this one. I can't give it a true star reading as I did not finish reading it. I know alot people enjoyed it but the story just wasn't for me

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Psychological thriller is the perfect description for this book. The games Alfred played were cruel and I couldn't see how the children were going to find their way out, especially when it didn't seem the author had a propensity for giving characters happy/successful outcomes to most situations.

There was an element to this story that I didn't pick up on until it was literally spelled out in front of me and then I wondered how I could have missed it, there were so many signs!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and you will too if you love a twist you don't see coming

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Oh my gosh! Talk about a dark and twisted story that hooks its daggers into you from the very beginning, and when I say “dark” I mean DARK. If you are looking for a fast and bingeable book you have got to grab The Dollhouse.

I can’t say too much about this addicting story, or I will give too much away. This is a disturbing kidnapping story like none other. It’s the type of thriller that will have you turning the pages as fast as you can. I was both holding my breath and cheering for the characters in this story as I read. Literally, I was talking out loud to them as I read. It’s that kind of twisted thrill ride.

This is a must read for all thriller fans, and I’m now off to read the second book in this series!

Thank you NetGalley for the gifted ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.

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This is such a triggering read. So dark and haunting. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. So many twists tho. I did feel like some phrases were overused tho. But overall, a good read.

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Totally addictive!!! Compulsive and gripping! A gritty, intense, fast-paced, riveting, artful melding of stunning psychological thrills and nail-biting suspense. An edgy mystery full of dark secrets, shocking plot twists and pulse-pounding, palpable tension. After the first few pages, I knew this was a book I wasn’t going to be able to put down, until I got to The End. Will keep you swiping the pages furiously. If you like absolutely unpredictable, twisted suspense as much as I do, you can't go wrong with this book! A MUST for fans who thrive on superbly-written, unputdownable thrillers!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

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This took me less than a day to read, I was entirely captivated from the beginning and could not put it down.

Angel and Bud were abducted by a good-cop/bad-cop duo, and find themselves in the "Dollhouse" with another kidnapped teenager, Olivia. In this time, they are treated as "dolls" in their kidnappers' twisted games, and fight for survival both physically and mentally.

Sara Ennis did an amazing job bringing the reader into the mind of both the kidnappers as well as the abducted children, and made us feel along with the characters the brutality of the situation. Her writing was enthralling, and in the end I found myself connected to the characters as well. I am pleased that there is a second book in this duology to continue Angel's story, and will definitely be picking that one up as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

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If you like books that are dark and disturbing this one is for you. This is a plot that has been done numerous times (young kids kidnapped and held hostage) however I didn’t get the impression that I’ve read a similar book before. It had just enough uniqueness to it that made it its own. I did feel like it was pretty drawn out while at the same time did not include enough information about Alfred’s past. There were parts that just seemed too unbelievable for my liking, and I would also classify this more as a YA thriller. My final rating is 3.5 stars rounded up.

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Overall I liked this book. The writing was a good pace and the premise pretty unique. I figured out half of the twist early but was still in for surprises. There were a few continuity issues concerning dates but other than that, I enjoyed the book

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If you like a very dark, disturbing, creepy and suspenseful book - then this one is right up your alley.

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I picked this book to read off of NetGalley. Well, I do know - I saw great reviews of it and people were talking about it so I was interested. This is off the beaten path for me. I enjoy thrillers, but this level of abuse and trauma was a lot for me. I still was engaged throughout - I just had a stomach ache throughout too.

Blonde kids are getting stolen and brought to a "dollhouse" so that a very disturbed individual can reenact childhood memories and in the process, try to change the narrative, and feel like he is getting revenge. Unfortunately he came from a background of bullying and childhood trauma that has formed him into a multiple-personality mess. His story is definitely tragic, but I wish there was just a little more about his backstory. Told in different POVs, we glance at his childhood, but the details are never really shared.

I always enjoy when the author gets me to love some of the characters, and hate others. I found that in this book. Overall I thought this book was suspenseful, twisty and surprising. I thought the ending succeeded in making the reader interested in picking up the second book to see more of that character and his or her trajectory.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sara Ennis for the copy to read and review.

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Fast-paced introduction to the characters, doesn’t waste time on dull moments, and jumps right into the action.

When the character Peter is introduced, I feel like my interest really dipped, his background is a little info-dumpy and his “red jeep” connection making seemed kind of on the nose.

But when the chapters start flipping between Angel and Peter, it becomes a lot smoother.

Some of the sentence structures are a little awkward. Such as:

“One day a boy would want her, and she’d send him packing, singing and dancing to send him away.”

And sentence tags like “he said, she said, Name did this,” are a little stilted and overused, but it’s nothing that a second edition polish can’t fix and it doesn’t impact the story in a bad way.

Overall, it does feel like it could do with another round of editing but it’s an interesting and thrilling novel.

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“𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔.”

This book is told in 3rd person from the POV of several characters such as Angel, Jennifer, Peter and Edward. It takes place between August 2006 and September 2007. 👉🏻This book was a wiiiiild fucking ride!!! It is definitely not for the faint hearted. I don’t want to give away too much but Sara Ennis absolutely killed it with this book. I didn’t see the twist coming at all 🤯 it was absolutely amazing and mind blowing. I’m sooo curious to see where book 2 will take us 😍

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

2.5 stars.

I really like the premise, but it just didn't hold for me. I thought it was going to be something else. I thought maybe it would be more horror than thriller and that's what I was looking for.

I did enjoy having different points a view, always a favourite of mine. I also really enjoy shorter chapters. It really makes you want to keep turning the pages.

But I just couldn't connect with the book. I wanted something more. I almost didn't finish it. And I don't think that I will pick up the next one. I'm not interested enough right now. Maybe at a later date.

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The Dollhouse
by Sara Ennis
Pub Date 01 Jun 2021
Sara Ennis
Mystery & Thrillers


I am reviewing a copy of The Dollhouse through Sara Ennis and Netgalley:



After Peter Baden’s daughter Olivia was abducted nearly a year ago, he left his career as a respected journalist to find her. Now he spends his days searching for Olivia, and helping other families of abducted children survive the emotionally and physically exhausting experience of finding a missing child.




Angel and Bud are twins who are used to making do. There dad is in prison, and mom won't win parenting awards. Bud thrives on neglect, but Angel isn't so strong.



Now they're captives in a place called the Dollhouse, and things have gotten far worse. The Dolls are forced to re-stage old photographs, but satisfying Alfred is not easy. He has a twisted sense of humor and a violent temper that explodes when things don't go his way and even when they do at Tim’s.




Alfred needs Dolls. Blonde, blue-eyed human dolls that will help him rewrite his past and change his future.




Angel knows that if she and the other Dolls are to survive this warped playtime, she can’t be needy and afraid. She must prove how strong she can be and. She must do so fast.



But there aren't many photos left ..



I give The Dollhouse five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

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Chilling and unforgettable. Bud andAngel are left alone for the weekend while Shine takes off for a girls weekend. What happens to them will have you glued to the pages unable to put the book down until the end. If you love Criminal Minds this book is right up your reading alley. Can’t wait to see what happens next with this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and Sara Ennis for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

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This was honestly one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. I had nightmares after reading this. Yet, I couldn't stop reading this.

Don't get me wrong, the plot was sickening and the things that happened in this book were just downright horrifying. The writing, however, was excellent and the story was put together very well.

The twists in this story were just SO GOOD. They had me biting my nails and sweating, honestly! I just could not put this book down once a specific plot point was revealed.

I most certainly would not recommend this book to just anyone; if you're faint of heart, stay far away from this one. If you are in a good place mentally, and are not as much of a scaredy cat as I am, this is A VERY good book that I would highly recommend.

Now, excuse me while I go watch puppy videos to brighten my mood after this extremely dark and disturbing read. 😂

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The Dollhouse in exchange for my honest review!

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This was an ok psychological thriller with a bit of a twist near the end. There were not many surprises or original ideas here, just a mishmash of themes from other thrillers. I finished reading it, by didn't find it interesting enough to read the next book.

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This book was truly a f***ed up psychological thriller. It kept me hooked, and turning pages to see what would happen. I enjoyed the short chapters. I also enjoyed that we jumped right into the plot. I do not like a slow burn, so this was very enjoyable to me. I enjoyed the multiple timelines, and multiple POVs.
I do wish the introduction to new characters, and different POV chapters were a bit more cohesive. It seemed very random to me, even after I finished the book.
Overall, this was an amazing psychological thriller that I would recommend to those who don't mind the trigger warnings.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

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📸 B O O K • R E V I E W 📸

Title: The Dollhouse
Author: Sara Ennis
Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Swipe for synopsis.

Everyone needs to stop what they are doing and pick up this book. Yo, I had an entirely different post today, I was set, but then I finished this last night and I had to rave about it.

This book was absolutely wild, disturbing, heartbreaking and downright scary. This was everything I didn’t know I needed to help me out of a major reading slump. I legitimately had goosebumps through about 90% of the book. It was unlike anything I have ever read before.

The characters were incredible, their resilience through such a traumatic experience; and even the captors, were written impeccably. I was left speechless through most of the book. Characters were thrown into the mix, that were so seemingly unimportant but then BOOM - a bomb is dropped and you understand their significance.

Lets talk about the twists, you know the ones that leave you with your jaw on the ground, shaking your head, saying “Oh my God..” Yeah this is one of those books, with those kinds of twists. They were so perfectly timed throughout the book to make you unable to put this one down. And that ending though, that ending was *chef’s kiss* absolute perfection. I loved it.

Everyone knows that I am a huge fan of dual timelines, and this, this has that in a very unique way, through descriptions of photographs and I was absolutely here for it. Every character, every storyline, every timeline merged so perfectly together that by the end your well aware just what is happening and your left with your mind absolutely blown.

I cannot rave about this book enough, if you haven’t read it you’re sleeping on it. @saraennis you are an absolute genius and you have officially given me exactly what I’ve been asking for - to be thoroughly creeped the hell out! I loved it!

Huge thank you to @netgalley for a copy of this in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

#humandolls #recreatingfamilyphotos #youneedtoreadthisbook #netgalleyunbiasedreview #fivestarreview #disturbingyetperfectread #thedollhouse #saraennis

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This book is creepy good! Children are being abducted and held hostage by Alfred and Jennifer who use photo-shoots to recreate scenes from family. But there is more to this story than meets the eye and we don't discover what until the end. I had to put it down several times to ruminate and recover as it's one of those novels that's hard to believe even as it draws you in! So be prepared to be mesmerized but maybe a little traumatized at the end as it borders on horror as well as being a thriller. I will certainly be reading more of Sara Ennis as her imagination is wild beyond belief!

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The Dollhouse by Sara Ennis

Wow. This book was one heck of a ride! I have to say that it gave me a y/a horror feel. I binged it within 24 hours. Though I couldn't stop turning the pages I also felt very weird about it. I don't have any triggers but as a mother, I was cringing so hard. It was a great book but I felt it could have been a bit shorter... 3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this!

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