I have been going back and forth between a 3-star review and a 5-star review for this book. It's quite a range: I found a lot of it "enjoyable" (as enjoyable as a book with child kidnapping and abuse is), but I found aspects of it to be too far from what I could believe as acceptable.

14-year old twins, Angel and Bud, have been kidnapped and brought to a basement known as the dollhouse. Alfred, their captor, wants to take pictures of them based on picture of his own childhood. By recreating his memories, he hopes that these new memories with his 'dolls' will help him to overcome the pain he experienced in his past.

This book did a good job of tying together a whole story, and I was surprised to read at the end of the book that there will be a sequel. I am ready to leave the world of the dollhouse and its characters behind- obviously, I haven't read the sequel, but I feel that a book 2 would diminish the events in this story.

I have SO many questions about things that JUST DON'T MAKE SENSE. At one point of writing this review, I had about 4 paragraphs of complaints, but then realized that even with these complaints, I enjoyed the craziness of this story. I recommend this book for horror and suspense fans- some of the stuff in this book was truly horrible, but based on the plot description, it should be expected.

Thank you Netgalley and Sara Ennis (are you self-publishing?! How neat!) for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for a review. Although I'm not interested in the sequel, I look forward to reading another book by Sara Ennis in the future.

WOW!! What did I just read?!?! This was such a disturbingly intense dark thriller that I almost feel bad for loving it!! Almost. Suspense to the highest power! The characters were great, the story line chilling, creepy and not for the faint of heart. Literally had WTF moments where I had to reread what I had just read to make sure I read it correctly!! I am a new fan of Sara Ennis!

This book is the definition of a psychological thriller. It was twisty, shocking, heart pounding, and there was some seriously messed up stuff happening. And did I mention that it was shocking? I never wanted to put it down because it felt like something was always about to happen. There’s not much more I can say about this book because I feel like it would be easy to give something away without even realizing it. That’s because it’s just so twisty!
If you’re easily disturbed this is probably not the book for you. But if you’re a fan of gritty thrillers, I think you’ll like this one.

Trigger warning:
Ableist language, abuse, alcoholism, blood/gore, bullying, death, drugs, kidnapping, mental illness, mice, suicide

“She doesn’t look like a kidnapper”

This is not an easy one to review. I have a lot to say about this book, however, I will try and keep it short-ish. We are following Angel and her twin brother Bud as they are abducted by a stranger. They are put in a basement or “the Dollhouse” as the abductor refers to it and are forced to reenact moments of the abductor’s childhood.

Before I started this book I read previous reviews. They all talked about the cruelty of the story, which honestly just spiked my interest. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. I am a big fan of books that make you feel uncomfortable and Sara Ennis delivered. In addition to the horrific atmosphere, however, Ennis put a lot of thought into the characters and their development as well (I especially enjoyed the multiple points of view presented in this novel). As a result, we have a truly unsettling book that makes the reader question his or her own morals in a way.

I do agree with other reviewers that some of the decisions that were made seemed a little unrealistic, however, I try not to judge a character’s decisions just because I would have reacted differently. I had a little bit of a hard time at the beginning of the book, as I kept picturing the characters much younger than they actually were. This changed throughout the story and maybe this is another sign of character development that I just didn’t recognize as such at the time.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a very creepy and horrific read. Perfect for Halloween!

**Thank you to Sara Ennis and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for my early review copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I believe this book will be a huge bestseller.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. This book was difficult to read but so well written. A kidnapping scheme to recreate a childhood that was not to the liking of the kidnapper - a chance at a do over. Yet this kidnapping scheme involves multiple children. Was often difficult to read about children in duress however it was well written and put together! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Mind blown. Seriously, this is the best way to describe this book. I am still processing this book and all the twists, turns and just creepy things that happened. This book was such a quick read once I got into it and I didn’t want to put it down. It was absolutely thrilling from start to finish and the author did a great job with the characters, plot and all out disgusting, creepiness…and that’s a compliment!

Trigger warning - child abuse/torture

Angel and Bud are twins growing up with a distracted mother and father in prison. When their mother leaves them alone for the weekend they are kidnapped and brought to a place their captives call "The Dollhouse". While there they are forced to re-enact pictures from a photo album, along with another kidnapped girl. As they make their way through the photo album, and their captives start to become angrier and angrier, they start to wonder what will happen when the photos in the album turn out.

I'll admit to reading this one pretty blind. I saw it a lot on my Instagram page and thought I would give it a shot. I didn't realize the whole book would basically be about children being tortured - mentally and physically. This isn't my type of book. I like thrillers and it takes a lot to bother me, but animals and children are pretty much where I draw the line. If this type of thing doesn't bother you then you would enjoy this. I've seen comparisons to the movie Saw, which I agree with. I just felt like the author went a little far and it was too much for me. Adding in the student/school connection just felt like another way to add some more violence and shock value to the story and wasn't necessary.

THE DOLLHOUSE. Almost a year ago, Olivia Baden was abducted. Peter Baden, Olivia’s father, has quit his job and spends his days using his money and influence to search for Olivia and to help other families who have had children abducted. I’m his search, Peter finds out that a set of twins, Angel and Bud, have also been abducted. Little does he know that Angel and Bud have been taken to the Dollhouse, where they meet Olivia. The trio is forced to reenactment old photographs, but with some dangerous and gruesome added twists…
*THIS BOOK WAS WILD👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. But in the best way possible. I could not put it down and at one point found myself physically yelling at my kindle. This one will take you for a wild ride, buckle up folks.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All of the stars for this one.

This was such a great psychological thriller that pulled me in from the very first page! I love books that are dark and disturbing and this one really delivered. The author was great at describing everything, to the point that you often felt like you were right there to personally witness all that went on inside of the dollhouse. My heart broke for all that these kids were put through at the hand of a crazed psychopath, and I found myself rooting for them the entire time. The characters were all so well written and there were some great plot twists to keep you guessing!

Thank you @Netgalley and the author for the free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and provide my honest feedback.

I must say, wow. This is a very well written psychological thriller. I enjoyed the characters and felt connected to them, even if I wasn't a fan of them. This book reminds me of something that would be on the show Criminal Minds, but without the heavy police part and was more about the victims and perpetrator. This is a must read, and I'm definitely interested to read the next novel!

Kinda creeped me out I guess in a good way. Fantastic storytelling. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. I highky recommend.

OMG! If you're looking for a book to keep you up all night look no further. This book is Creepy. It's downright Scarey with the amounts of surprises within the pages. A Father looking for his daughter is one of the strongest storyline ever and this one blows it out of the water for me. Definitely one of my favourite books in 2021!

I didnt know what to make of this book to start with but then I got really into it and just needed to keep reading until the end.

I needed to know who the men were.

I want to say more about the book but so worried about spoilers, this is a very good book if this is your genre please read it.

I was given a copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Sunshine decided to do weekend trip by herself,  for a break after all the court drama of her ex husband robbed a bank and left her twins alone at their trailer.
That's when the twins, Bud and Angel, got abducted. Kept like prisoner in the Dollhouse, they met another girl, Olivia. Olivia has been in the Dollhouse for a year.
Their abductor, Alfred, is trying to remake his childhood photographs using those kids.
It's a psycho dark thriller with a few abusive scenes. Creepy is another word for this book.

If you love twisty dark psychological thriller, you'll love this one.
This book also will have a sequel coming.

The Dollhouse by Sarah Ennis is a force to be reckoned with. The intensity of the story propelled me forward and I read this book in half a day. Heartbreaking, jaw dropping and twisted are only a few ways to describe this book. I was captivated and The Dollhouse deserves every one of the five stars I’m giving it. I am so happy there will be another book in this series.
Angel and Bud are just trying to get by with a negligent mother and father in jail for life. When Bud sees Angel being abducted, he tries to save her but ends up being taken as well. They arrive at “the dollhouse” where evil lives. Alfred is using the 14 year olds to recreate photos from his past and when things don’t go as he planned, things can get very dangerous for the dolls. Can they escape before they are no longer needed?

This is a rather creepy psychological suspense thriller. The story is mostly told from the perspective of Angel, one of the fourteen year old abductees and this gives the scenes in the Dollhouse a more frightening edge. The rest of the story is told from the POV of the father of a girl who was abducted a year ago and whose mission is to help the parents of other abducted children.

The story and writing style are fast paced so it is a reasonably fast read and it kept me engrossed. There is a good twist and I enjoyed the ending which was a little different and unexpected.

Thank you to Sara Ennis and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story of children who are abducted and forced to live in a "dollhouse" in a basement and perform at the whims of a madman is not for the faint of heart. The Dollhouse reminds me of a screwed up version of Flowers in the Attic. The book was fast paced and disturbing which made for a quick, enjoyable read. There is a huge, whopper of a twist towards the end of the book that I did not see coming at all.

I've been struggling with what I think of the book since I finished. While the overall premise is interesting and unique, there are some problems that are just too hard for me to overlook.

1. There's a sequel in the works. Imo this should really be a stand alone book. If a real person went through the same thing as the MC they would behave completely differently warranting no need for a second book.
2. The book is too long and the editing really lets the book down.
3. Without spoiling anything, the twist makes aspects of the novel inaccurate. I don't want to spoil this, so I'll just say, it usually doesn't work this way.

I realize I'm most likely going to be in the minority here, but overall The Dollhouse just didn't work for me as much as I wanted it to. I just didn't click with it, although you may have better luck. Recommended for lovers of: psychological suspense/thrillers, mysteries, serial killers, general fiction, women's fiction, psychology.

This book contains a number of triggers including: abduction, kidnapping, torture, abuse, murder, and drugs.

This is definitely not a book for everyone. Disturbingly creepy, I'm still trying to process i. But it was so good! I could not put it down! A bit dark at times, and a bit graphic at others. Terrific writing and such a good story! Thank you!

Soo good! I truly enjoyed it! It's so dark - I love it! The Dollhouse by Sara Ennis was brilliant, and I really am excited to read more from her! I suggest not reading this before bedtime because it gave me the creeps, and I really didn't want to wake up from a nightmare, sweating. If you had to define what a psychological thriller is - this is it. It is mindf*cked.