Wow! Dark horrific story of three children kidnapped and held in the basement of an unhinged man. When Bud and Angel are drugged, kidnapped and suddenly awaken trapped in a basement with another young woman, the siblings are desperate to escape. As the abuse and torture of the three children escalate, they are determined to escape as they find out the madman who took them are planning to add another child to their “dollhouse.” Truly scary story that doesn’t let up after the first page. Highly recommend.

The Dollhouse by Sara Ennis is a psychological thriller. The main protagonist is Angel, a 14-year girl who has been kidnapped along with her twin brother, Bud. They are brought to the “Dollhouse” where they are trapped alongside another girl, Olivia. In the dollhouse, they are forced to be living dolls and recreate scenes from our villain, Alfred’s, childhood. It becomes clear that Alfred hates his family, particularly his sister, and the recreations are a way for him to in his mind, “fix” what happened to him as a child. Alfred has a temper and when something doesn’t go exactly as he has planned he takes it out of the “dolls.” The resulting story is a dark, twisted tale of the children trying to survive while also trying to escape.

First off, this is not going to be a book for everyone. It gets pretty dark and the main trigger warnings are child abuse and torture, but there is also some intense language. I really enjoyed this book. So much so that I finished it in two days. I found the pace to be nice and quick, and I did not want to stop turning the page or put the book down.

I loved the main twist of the book and did not see it coming at all. I even went back and re-read that part to make sure I had it right. I also liked that the author was not afraid to kill people off. I feel like a lot of times an author will want that neat little bow with a happy ending and will be hesitant to get rid of a character so I like that this story didn’t do that. I did find that sometimes the dialogue and the kid’s response to some of the torture inflicted on them was a bit unrealistic. I would have expected them to be a lot more traumatized than they are portrayed to be in the book. That being said it does not take away from the story.

I was kind of surprised when the end was the end. I wanted just a little bit more of what happened to the villain and more of what unfolded in the aftermath for the victims. I could see that the author was setting up for a sequel by not revealing too much. I will be very interested to see what happens to Angel in the sequel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it. The story reminded me of something I would watch on Criminal Minds and if you’re a fan of crime shows or even just a well-told story then this book is something you will probably enjoy.

Mind-blowing physiological suspense thriller that draws the reader in from the start !! We follow 14-year-old Angel and her twin brother Bud who were abducted by a total stranger. They are held captive in the basement or later referred to as the Dollhouse by their kidnapper. Bud and Angel together with Olivia another captive teenager are forced to reenact memories in the abductor's childhood.

This truly dark, uncomfortable, and creepy read is not for the faint heart, full of twists and turns, this book will keep you on your toes throughout.

The characters feel so real and I felt I could connect with them. Sara Ennis has a great way of making them real and making their emotions and reactions something you can relate to easily.

Highly recommended for lovers of psychological suspense thrillers.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sara Ennis for this opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A very dark, twisted and sickening story that had my attention at every page. It is more of a difficult read with the abuse and everything the main characters(kids) had to go through. That being said, I thought the author did a great job with the story and character development. You develop an emotional bond with the kids and are rooting for them to the very end!!

💭 Overall Thoughts: I could not put this book down! Every page was some new twist or turn. It held my attention and kept me guessing every minute! The twists were very unexpected! Definitely a great page turner!

What I Liked:
👍🏻 I enjoy books where I am able to guess some parts. I shouted “I KNEW IT” and then was subsequently shocked with the next big reveal
👍🏻 The chapters are short and quick to get through, leaving you wanting to read just one more
👍🏻 I had to reread some parts because I was thinking “HOLY CRAP WHAT JUST HAPPENED”

What I Didn’t Like:
👎🏻 There was one part that was a little graphic for my taste where Alfred explains one of the photos of his sister

“The Dollhouse” was a wonderful story that had me watching my back. The different perspectives were all thought out and offered different levels of thrill. You never know how the story is going to progress and I truly appreciated the feeling of being on my toes. I couldn’t put it down

The Dollhouse by Sara Ennis was an interesting psychological thriller. I did almost give up 50% through because the child abuse was getting to be a bit much. I am not a parent but this book could cause parents nightmares if they thought too hard about how horrible some people are in this world. If you are looking for a book that will make you uncomfortable, this book is for you. If you are easily triggered, you may want to read something else.

This is not easy to review because I do not want to give anything away. Angel and Bud are abducted by a stranger and place in a basement that the abductor referred to as "The Dollhouse" They are forced to reenact pictures from the abductors childhood. Some parts of the book were a bit unrealistic.

In some ways this book is like a car wreck on the side of the road, you don't want to look but you do anyway. There is going to be at least a second book with Angel as a character and I am guess some of the others will also play a part. As sick as I thought this book was, I am interested in reading more about Angel. The story was well written and really does grab your attention. I think I will remember this book for a good long while.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Holy HELL! That was a dark & creepy book! This one isn't an easy review with it's disturbing content but I rated it 4⭐high because I couldn't put it down. A psycho who kidnaps young teens who are blonde with blue eyes so that he can reenact his past.

I really enjoyed this book, it was creepy and twisty, with just the right pacing. I thought the characters were well done too.

"But no ice cream"
This was really good, but maybe a bit misguided. I felt a little bit like it couldn't quite figure out what it wanted to be. It seemed to want to be a bit of a true crime mystery type thing- but that was not this book's strong suit. The investigative parts felt lackluster. But the more horror, the bits more reminiscent of Room -- those were the stronger areas of this book. For example -- the kidnapped child not wanting to eat because she was self conscious about using the restroom in front of others -- SOO STRONG, FELT IN MY SOUL. This book could be GREAT, just needs to figure out where to focus itself.

Thank you NetGalley and Sara Ennis for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#saraennisthedollhouse #NetGalley

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Fans of “Room” and “You” will fall in love with Sara Ennis’ newest work, “The Dollhouse”.
One year ago, Peter Baden’s teenage daughter, Olivia, disappeared. In order to cope with her loss, Peter uses his wealth to establish a foundation, through which he helps other parents who have had children taken from them. When he hears about a mother whose young twins were taken from their home, Peter can’t help but see the similarities between the twins and Olivia- all are similar in appearance, age, and size, and both had been featured on TV months before their abduction. Peter knows that he must do whatever it takes to determine if there’s a connection, and to try and bring his daughter home alive.
“The Dollhouse” is a horrifying stalker/kidnapper novel that seeps into your bones and will keep you up at night. To think this is only Ennis’ second novel is astounding, as her writing talent in “Dollhouse” seems far more worthy of a much more published author.
The novel is told from the perspectives of the kidnapped children, especially Angel, the kidnapper and Peter, and from different time periods within a year from when the children were taken to present day. Each very short and compulsively readable chapter is easily labeled with the date, making the plot easy to follow. The plot itself was unique and creative, and Ennis added a few of her own original details to the “kidnapped child” storyline that pulled me right in.
Albert was terrifying as the character of the abductor (no spoilers here, the kidnapper is revealed right from the beginning) and his twisted family background was heartbreaking, leaving its mark in such an indelible way. When the twist came around, it was not a new or novel twist, and has been done in several novels of its type before, but it was certainly unexpected! The twist came out of thin air, and I completely wasn’t expecting it, but it tightened all the loose ends remaining and brought the ‘psychological suspense’ of the novel to the forefront.
This novel may not be for everyone (what novel is) but it was definitely my kind of read. Captivating, heartbreaking and entertaining, “The Dollhouse” is one of those novels that will completely take you by surprise- in the best possible way.

Thank you Sara Ennis, NG and Publisher for this advanced ebook copy!

The Dollhouse by Sara was everything I could have hoped for!
This tense, taut thriller will pull you along with it right to the last page.
Creepy, tense and pacy enough to get your heart racing. But have you turning the pages quickly.
Sara test the characters, and take the readers on a roller coaster ride that will leave them on the edge of their seats.
A cleverly crafted and structured novel that leads the reader in one direction only to suddenly change course with the introduction of new information!
I freaking enjoyed the heck outta this book!

I can't thank y'all enough for this outstanding novel!

This was a quick dark and TWISTED read! It really pushed me as I tend to lean a little bit more to thriller than horror but wanted to give it a try and it was a very creative and unique plot. I tend to prefer books with shorter chapters when they are heavier so this hit the mark well for pacing for me. I could not wait to see what happened and how far he would take them in his twisted world! While I won't recommend it to everyone because it's chilling-I already have a few friends in mind especially those who enjoy the Saw movies and a good scare that will love to get their hands on this fast paced ride!

Thank you Netgalley for the copy of Sara Ennius' debut novel.

Read this one if you...
⭐️Love a creepy, dark and twisty read!
⭐️Are looking for a can't-put-down, emotional psychological thriller.
⭐️Want something that will give you ALL of the feels - Terrified, angry, sad, happy.

The best part about loving this novel is that the next book in this SERIES is set to release later this year - I can't wait to read it!

This is a new-to-me author, and when I read the synopsis I thought it sounded unique and very intriguing. The story took some time to really get started, but once it did the pages just flew by. While there wasn't any real character development, they were interesting enough - especially Peter Baden. I will say that I found one of the 'Dolls' - Angel - to be very inconsistent, to the point of being almost unlikable.

Alfred, the main 'villain', was mostly what you would expect, and I would have liked a bit more of his background to fully understand why he needed the Dolls so badly. There were some glimpses, but I felt like the author could have gone further into his story.

Regardless, I did enjoy the story and it would make a great 'beach read'.

A good read. Definitely a brilliant psychological thriller. It was so dark, disturbing yet still engaging and overflowing with twists. It was such a page turner as well because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. I'm glad I was able to add this in my library. If you want to know what a psychological thriller is, grab this book and give it a read - you'll be flipping through the pages in no time. Thank you #NetGalley, #SaraEnnis for a digital advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for a genuine review.

Thank you Netgalley and Author Sara Ennis for this ARC.

This book surprised me in many ways. I'm not a fan of detective books, but this book did not focus on that aspect. Instead, it focused on the crime itself--a disturbed man with tumultuous past kidnapping young, blonde girls and making them into living dolls. Yes, he's psychotic, wicked, depraved--a damn well written villain. I wanted--no, needed him dead. Because the story focused on Alfred and his victims, aside from my hatred for him, I built an emotional bond with the kids: Olivia, Bud, and Angel. Their ordeal was twisted and sickening. I so wanted them to get out, get away, and move on.

Superb writing. Marvelous characters. Electrifying story.

Trigger warning: child abuse and torture

This was a very disturbing, dark book. I found it very hard to read. Some of the torture scenes were very graphic.

I found the twist toward the end was predictable. And I didn't care for the ending.

I will say the author did a fine job writing it. I felt like I was there the entire time. I cringed, got angry and cried at times. Because of that I give this book a 3 star.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Dollhouse by Sara Ennis is a dark thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoyed The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson or the movie Room starring Brie Larson. The story revolves around 14 year-old twins Angel and Bud who are kidnapped by a woman named Jennifer and brought to a creepy place called "The Dollhouse." Jennifer has kidnapped them for a man named Alfred, who wants human Dolls to reenact photos in his collection. But these aren't just ordinary photos. Alfred has horrible memories associated with each photo, and the reenactments are getting worse and worse. Will the twins be able to survive the Dollhouse?

Here is a chilling excerpt from Chapter 10, which occurs after Angel and Bud have been abducted:

“Olivia already knows this so it doesn’t matter that she’s not here. I’ve put together a study guide for each of you. Each school day you will complete the tasks I assign. If you don’t there will be consequences. There are always consequences, that’s something you should learn sooner rather than later.” Jennifer raised her eyebrows to emphasize the importance of what she was saying.
“You’ll stay in the Closet during the day, which is why breakfast is important. Also, don’t drink too much at breakfast as you won’t have access to the bathroom until I come down later.” Jennifer explained calmly. She went to the bookcase and pulled out a stack of books and supplies and handed them to Angel. She pulled another pile for Bud. “You’ll be cuffed, but of course the light will be on.”
...
“All right, Dolls. We will see each other again in a few hours. Get to know one another. But don’t get any ideas... there is no way out, and as Olivia can tell you, every action has consequences. If that’s the only thing you learn today, learn it well: Consequences can be painful.”

Overall, The Dollhouse is a captivating thriller that you won't be able to put down. There is a lot of action and terror in the book that starts on the very first page and never lets up. Also, there is even a twist at the end that I did not see coming. It will appeal to fans of Karin Slaughter or the movie Room. Just like those movies, I found the subject matter to be very dark and too horrifying for my taste. I thought I knew what I was going to read based on the synopsis, but the torture and the abuse depicted was too much for me. I took off 1 star, because I did not enjoy the book for the reasons above. I understand though that there are many readers who will enjoy this type of book though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of dark thrillers, you can check out this book, which is available now!

This book was so good! It was fast paced and you just wanted to know what was going to happen next! The young kids were so brave and you had such empathy for them no they were characters that made you proud. I knew in the story that Alfred had psychological issues, but i did not expect him to be all of those personalities!! It blew my mind. I’m so glad the kids were found and I’m psyched for the sequel to this book and hear more about Angel’s road to self discovery and recovery!