Trigger Warnings: Physical torture, psychological torture, emotional torture, kidnapping, rape (mentioned, happens off-screen), murder, death of an animal (mentioned, happens off-screen), suicide

Everyone has moments from their childhood they would like to do over. Moments where if we had only done one thing differently then maybe everything could have changed. Moments we often think about later in life, replaying them over and over again in our minds.

How far would you go to truly replay those memories?

The Dollhouse by Sara Ennis is a book that explores this idea – albeit in a very creepy and disturbing way.

There are times when writing a review can be very difficult. When I find myself struggling to come up with the words to convey how a particular book made me feel. Whether it be because I did or did not enjoy the book, or like in this case how troubling the subject matter is.

The Dollhouse is a disturbing book. It is creepy and strange and dark. It is not a happy book and even though the ending could be considered a “good” one, it really isn’t. There are scenes of physical torture as well as psychological torture. The kids in the book are put through a LOT.

Normally, when I review a book I say whether I would recommend it to my readers or not. Whether I think it would be enjoyable to a specific group or for everyone in general. The Dollhouse is one of those that I hesitantly recommend. Is it a good book? Yes, I thought so. But it is also a deeply triggering book. Some readers could have a very difficult time with it.

So while I do recommend The Dollhouse, I also urge anyone looking to read it to pay attention to the trigger warnings.

This book was creepy in the best way possible. Definitely one to recommend to fellow readers. I don't have full notes because I read it a while back.

Arc from NETGALLEY

DNF at 15%
I just could not get into this book. I didn’t like the main character.

This was a pretty good reading. Very dark. Reminded me of The Butterfly Garden. I read another review that said the same thing and that's not a bad thing. Would be interested in more from this writer.

Finished this late last night. To me it was okay. A set of twins are kidnapped and kept in the Dollhouse. There's already one doll there, Olivia, who was kidnapped a year ago.

It kept my attention, but wasn't a book I couldn't put down. I was fine with putting it down and doing other stuff. It was just like other books about kidnapped kids.

There were a couple of twists. One I saw, but the other surprised me. I also didn't care for the ending. I was hoping for something different, but that may happen in the next book, as in the author note, she talked about a second book. I guess we shall see.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a title that really sounded good at one point but my tastes changed and now I’m no longer interested.

The Dollhouse, by Sara Ennis
Published: NOW
Rating: 5/5
‘Alfred needs Dolls. Blonde, blue-eyed human dolls that will help him rewrite his past and change his future.’
This dark psychological thriller will leave you reeling. Alfred sets out to create his own dollhouse with human dolls, and picks vulnerable children to play them. Bud and Angel are snatched from outside their mother’s trailer, and forced into a nightmarish world where they must perform for Alfred or receive violent punishments. Their tormentor has a real ‘Silence of the Lambs’ feel to him, and Ennis writes him brilliantly. She really captures his twisted mind, whilst keeping us guessing. Bud and Angel must become clever and strong to endure his games, but are constantly faced with new challenges. They are not the only dolls in the house, and they will not be the last either. Their time is running out, and they must do everything in their power to survive.
This thriller is absolutely gripping, and I devoured it in a matter of days. I did not see the ‘Jennifer’ twist coming at all, and I loved it. Brilliant writing!

I received an ARC of The Dollhouse from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Dollhouse is the first title in the Duality series. It's a very disturbing and dark read. After reading the book I'm not sure I really enjoyed it.

Wow, what a gripping and emotional story! This book is very dark and disturbing and deals with difficult subjects such as kidnapping and physical and mental child abuse. While there were parts that were definitely tough to read, the need to know how it ended kept me turning the pages. Tears were shed and some parts were so tough to read I thought about not finishing, but I'm glad I stuck with it. There was a very unexpected twist which blew my mind! This was one of the most twisted books I've ever read.
This is the first book in a trilogy.

I chose to read the book because
- Ibsen's title
- the blurb got to me, I love dark psychological thrillers

If you're looking for horrifying dark psychological thriller book, this is just the book to read.

It reminded me of Dot Hutchison's Butterfly Garden ...

I was very intrigued when I read the description for me. There need to be strong trigger warnings for abuse (physical, sexual, child specific), kidnapping, and torture. While this book was at times graphic, that didn’t really bother me. I found myself unable to buy into the story somehow. The characters felt flat to me and I felt like the book would have benefited from much more editing. I found myself picking other books up instead of finishing this one first despite the intriguing story line. I do hope the author’s next book will be better, but I’m not sure how I feel about there being a sequel to this book that I would pick up. I also believe the twist could have been done in a different way for a little more authenticity. Overall I think I was disappointed, but there was potential and I would likely try another one by this author if the opportunity presented itself.

This book was the perfect level of creepy and thrilling. I could not wait for the second book! Sara Ennis, colour me a huge fan!

Without giving anything away, the amount of twists this book contained had me feeling like I was on one of those rides at the fair that scare everyone stupid.

The vivid images and descriptions of each character will be engrained in both my mind and my dreams.

10/10 recommend!

I really thought I would like this book going in. I generally like dark and disturbing stories. I am not at all easily triggered (though this book warrants trigger warnings). The graphic scenes did not bother me but I just could not get into the story. The characters were one-dimensional, the overall tone was flat and emotionless, and many of the circumstances/actions were unbelievable. There are a lot of high ratings for this book so maybe I'm in the minority but I just didn't care for it. **Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced copy.

I was persuaded by bookstagram to read this one, and I am so happy I caved!!! This book is so spooky and I am here for it! Psychological thrillers are my absolute favorite! This book is packed with suspense, action and some super dark times! I enjoyed the multiple POVs and could empathize with the characters!! Definitely recommend and can’t wait to read more from her!!

I am giving this one 4 stars. It was extremely disturbing (I kind of like disturbing though) and I was cringing throughout it, but it picked up right from the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down.

Thank you Netgalley and Sara Ennis for the arc of this book.

This is a seriously dark story about abducted children being kept in a 'dollhouse' by two sadistic kidnappers.
Angel and Bud, siblings, find themselves in the dollhouse with another kidnapped teen, Olivia, who has been there for about a year. What follows is a horrific story filled with twisted games, abuse and torture as they fulfill their roles as dolls.

I don't want to give too much more away but I will say look up trigger warnings as there are many.

I can't say I enjoyed the story but the book was so well written and I was definitely invested. The author made you wish with your whole heart for a happy ending for the teens and retribution for the kidnappers.
The plot has been done before but I felt the premise was new and unique.
I was definitely intrigued enough to buy the second book in this series.
I enjoyed the multiple POV's, fast pace and short chapters.

I had to read a romance after this 😂

4 stars

I loved this book! It moved quickly and was kept interesting the whole time. It made me actually feel for the characters. I can’t wait to read the sequel!

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Quite a graphic book that had me cheering for the Dolls. Will definitely look for further books by this author.

After Olivia Baden was kidnapped nearly a year ago, her father, Peter Baden offered his resources—knowledge, connections, and money—to help families of missing children. Recently, there's information linked to the abduction that make him cross the country.

I think this is a kind of weird abduction that I've been read. What if you've been trapped in the dollhouse with a silly doll game that is meant to fix the past? To escape from the crazy world someone's life is at stake.

TW : mental and physical abuse, PTSD, mental disorder

My personal rating 4 ⭐

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for giving an earc inexchange of an honest review.

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#donereading #TheDollhouse #SaraEnnis #igreads #ebookstagram #goodreads #emabaca #malaysiamembaca #earc #psychologicalthriller

I thought this was a very disturbing topic, but a well-written and edited book that was hard to put down and harder to forget...I would definitely read more of this author's work.