This book was so beautiful and the storyline was so wonderfully written. This book was a bit of a slow start as the author built this unique, special world for readers, but as the different points of view and timelines revealed more, the story pulled me in and didn’t let go. I loved Myra’s blog entries about the mansion, she wrote about the house with such detail and love, it was clear it was so much more than a hobby to her. Her relationships with Trixie and Lou were so special and I loved when the storyline gave us glimpses into their time together. Willa’s storyline was so heartbreaking but her strength was such an admirable quality about her. I loved her connection to the house and her ability to love others in such a kind and thoughtful way. Alex was wonderful and such a likable love interest in this story. The way that Alex and Myra connected through the blog and the mansion was really special.

The way the storyline was able to cross between different genres really worked for this novel. The magic of the mansion was uniquely interwoven with the topics of grief, loss, love, and healing. This book provided so much comfort and I really loved the ending. If you loved In The Shadow Garden, this may be a book you enjoy as well.

Thank you @berkleypub for the #gifted finished copy of this novel. It was such a magnificent reading experience.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone is an enchantingly unique and irresistible story that rises above conventional genre confines and tells a story of love and loss, friendship, resilience, and the enduring power of memories.

Myra Malone lives the life of a recluse, tending to her miniature mansion daily. It's her world and allows her to avoid all of the bad that exists in the outside world. Her only links to the world outside are her friend Gwen and her wildly popular blog about her miniature house. But this isn't just any miniature house; it's a magical house that connects people and memories in some of the most authentic and fantastical ways imaginable.
Actual Reading Experience:
Myra Malone's story differs from my typical read, but it drew me in before I even opened it to the first page. I could feel that magic of the story as sure as I could feel the coolness of the cover and the texture of the pages. Myra engaged me with the opening line, "Once upon a time, there was a house," and led me into her story with the promise of the fairy tale. But would it be one with a happy ending, and what would that happy ending look like?

The story has a few different romances, as it covers three generations of people whose lives included the miniature mansion. My favorite may have been Lou and Trixie, who experienced an instant love that lasted the rest of their lives. There was something so pure and genuine about their feelings, the kind of relationship a young Myra would want to aspire to whether she realized it or not.

Myra and Alex have a long-developing relationship that begins via email after a couple comes to Alex for help recreating a room from Myra's miniature mansion. The tiny room is precisely like Alex's actual bedroom and to say that he was gobsmacked is an understatement. Alex's acceptance of Myra's disfigurement and fantastical notions is heartwarming and life-affirming. I couldn't help but wonder if the hand of fate and Willa hadn't worked to see this come to fruition.

Friendship is a significant theme throughout the story and is seen most prominently in Gwen and Myra. Friends since childhood, Gwen would do anything for Myra and does. She's the one that makes Myra's blog a reality and she's the one that comes up with a way for Myra to save her childhood home. Gwen provides Myra with a link to the outside world, making everything that happens to Myra possible. She does it simply because she loves Myra as a friend and perhaps as a sister. They are forever linked, and nothing is more vital than that.
Characters:
The characters are unique and authentic, and I loved each one. I also loved the humor in their exchanges with each other and their genuine regard. They are all very different, but most are also lovable and noteworthy.

Myra Malone is the main character. After a disfiguring accident when she was very young, her mother kept her home for fear of something more happening to her. This reclusive life became the norm for Myra, and when the reader meets her at 34, she is still happily restricted to that house. She does not live in fear, though. I found her reluctantly brave and, in her way, full of life and possibility. She has potential and never loses it.
Narration & Pacing:
The narration is in the third person, and the POV was mostly through Myra, though the earlier timeline is through Willa. This narration gives the story a medium pace that stays consistent throughout.

Setting:
There are a few different settings that run over three different timelines. Myra's recent experiences are the main timeline. Still, she takes the reader back through Willa's life and significant parts of her childhood. The switches between time and place could get very confusing in any other book, but not in this one. I had no trouble following along at every juncture. I found Willa's story particularly interesting due to the magic surrounding her. I'm a sucker for a story with magic, and it always grabs my attention.

Read if you like:
• Magical realism
• Engaging writing that stays with you
• Stories about friendship and love

Did you ever have a dollhouse? Or as Myra seems to prefer it, a miniature mansion? I did. My dad built it himself, no kits for him, my grandfather built tiny furniture, my grandmother sewed pillows, rugs, bed spreads, etc. and my mom painted furniture and paintings for the wall. It had some of the best of talents of those I loved. I spent endless hours with that house.
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The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges was such a unique read. I admire writers like Burges who’s imagination creates a world within a world. Myra’s world has been this miniature dollhouse that her grandfather gave her when she was little for most of her life. She has quite a tan following of her blog posts about the mansion and it’s everchanging rooms.
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When fans show pictures of Myra’s mansion to Alex, he is shocked to recognize scenes from his own life replicated in detail in the mansions tiny rooms. He seeks out Myra and together they piece together the puzzle of the mansion’s past and their own.
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Obviously, suspend belief because this is magical realism done well. This story goes back and forth in time and between the two main characters. It is a bit slow going, giving time to develop the story full of love, loss, and family.
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Myra blogs about a tiny mansion that she inherited from her step-grandmother. She has captivated readers around the world with her writing, furniture making and designs. Myra is a recluse, who hasn’t left her house in years and spends all of her time with the mysterious mansion where rooms appear and disappear and other unexplainable things happen.

Alex lives across the country and is shocked when he sees Myra blog and her tiny mansion, the same exact mansion with the same décor of the house that he lives in. A house that has been in his family for years. Searching for answers Alex contacts Myra. They both become enamored with each other’s stories. The Mansion brings them close together.

This was a charming story with sprinkles of magic realism. At times the story was sad and filled with grief but the ending was heartwarming. It was told via past and present with multiple timeline lines, POV’s and flashbacks which at times I felt that it made the story disjointed. I did love the vivid descriptions of the tiny mansion and all the characters. It was such an unique read with magic and a little bit of a romance.

I would recomend this one to those that enjoy cozy, whimiscal stories.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had no idea what to expect when I requested this book for review. All I knew was that the blurb sounded intriguing and maybe a bit weird, and I liked the cover. But if anyone can tell by my reading choices last year, I’m all in on weird, intriguing PNR/Fantasy reads.

Blurb:

"A woman learns to expand the boundaries of her small world and let love inside it in this sparkling and unforgettable novel by Audrey Burges.

From her attic in the Arizona mountains, thirty-four-year-old Myra Malone blogs about a dollhouse mansion that captivates thousands of readers worldwide. Myra’s stories have created legions of fans who breathlessly await every blog post, trade photographs of Mansion-modeled rooms, and swap theories about the enigmatic and reclusive author. Myra herself is tethered to the Mansion by mysteries she can’t understand—rooms that appear and disappear overnight, music that plays in its corridors.

Across the country, Alex Rakes, the scion of a custom furniture business, encounters two Mansion fans trying to recreate a room. The pair show him the Minuscule Mansion, and Alex is shocked to recognize a reflection of his own life mirrored back to him in minute scale. The room is his own bedroom, and the Mansion is his family’s home, handed down from the grandmother who disappeared mysteriously when Alex was a child. Searching for answers, Alex begins corresponding with Myra. Together, the two unwind the lonely paths of their twin worlds—big and small—and trace the stories that entwine them, setting the stage for a meeting rooted in loss, but defined by love."


This book started out slow for me. The first few chapters are all in Myra’s POV, as she inherits the mansion as a small child, quickly moving to her in the present day as she realizes that the cabin she’s lived in her whole life may be taken away from her and her mother due to nonpayment. Myra doesn’t leave her house at all, spending most of her life in the attic where the mansion resides. The Minuscule Mansion is her whole life, but she needs money to keep her cabin, so her BFF suggests that she hold a contest on her blog to raise the funds.

When Alex is introduced the story starts to pick up. Especially when he realizes that his family house, the one he currently lives in, is a replica of this minuscule mansion of Myra’s across the country. What does this mean? How can this be? He enters the contest with the intention of reaching out to Myra and finding out.

From there, another POV is introduced, and this was my favorite part of this book. As the Lady who owns these mansions, both big and small, tells the story of her life and how that story intertwines with both Myra and Alex I was transfixed. This was the good stuff. The story flowed well, with Myra and Alex in present-day connecting on a fundamental level and communicating through emails and texts. Then back in time to the Lady’s life through the years. This kind of storytelling is my favorite, so it was easy for me to keep up, and keep turning pages as the story unfolded.

The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone is a mystical and enchanting tale of love, loss, heartbreak, and finding a connection. There are some heavy themes, but there are also lighter moments. While I was conscious that this was mainly a story about Alex and Myra getting to know each other in weird circumstances and ultimately falling in love, it felt bigger and deeper, the background of the Lady and what she means to both of the main protagonists really added a layer of depth to the story that I loved. This book kind of defies genre boundaries, I wouldn’t be surprised to see readers categorize it into multiple genres.

Ultimately I found this book quite charming, and really enjoyed the climax and resolution. Alex and Myra’s HEA fit them and the story and was satisfying. I look forward to this debut author’s sophomore effort.

The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone is an endearing cozy read. From the age of six, Myra has been in possession and the curator of a miniature mansion. She painstakingly cares for each room maintaining the furniture and even decorating for the holidays. Now in her 30s, Myra shares her writings about the tiny mansion online. This is a big step for Myra as she is a recluse who spends all her time on the mansion. Miles away Alex Rakes is asked to create one of the rooms by a customer at his family's furniture store. He quickly learns that the room in mansion that Myra curates in her attic is an exact duplicate of his own bedroom. Reaching out, they begin a correspondence. This leads them down a path of discovery in both each other and the mansion.

I really enjoyed this book. Generally I am on the fence when it comes to magical realism, but this was really heartwarming. There is whimsical lighthearted moments sprinkled between themes of loss, self discovery, and acceptance. Even in the sad moments, Bruges does a very thoughtful job of navigating the complexities of the moments. Inevitably there is a romance between Alex and Myra. This is no surprise, however, the narrative is about so much more. There are also themes of friendship, family, and hope.

Overall, this is a lovely engaging read. It's cozy and enchanting while tackling deeper themes in a wonderfully inspiring way. This is definitely one I will buy for our library and suggest to several of our patrons.

4 stars... very interesting premise for "Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone" about a reclusive "dollhouse" blogger (she says it's not a dollhouse, lol) and the man living in it's full-sized version. It's a love story, mystery, family dramady and fantasy all rolled into one, which might have just been doing too many things at once. Easy to read and very often enjoyable, highly recommend for magic realism fans. My sincere thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary advanced digital review copy - all opinions & ratings are my own.”

“That’s what sewing does. It gives us a way to warm and shelter the ones we love, even if we can’t be there to do it ourselves.”

As someone who used to collect miniature figurines as a kid and has lived in AZ my entire life, this book was perfect for me! I’m a huge fan of magical realism, too, so those aspects of the story were my favorite. There is a museum in Tucson dedicated to miniature houses/buildings and I kept thinking about it the entire time I read this book.

Rating:
4.75 stars

Read if you like:
Magical realism
Stories set in AZ (but not in the desert)
Miniature houses (please don’t call them dollhouses!)
Alternating timelines

my two favorite things in life are books and cute small things, so i was excited for this, but unfortunately it felt to me like it was doing way too much. there were multiple perspectives, timelines, and genres, and i felt i spent most of the book in a state of confusion that never really went away.

This is a quietly lovely book, but it just didn't achieve that great, memorable feeling like I was hoping it would. I love magical realism, but it took so long for this to get going and for the pieces to slot together.

Myra Malone possesses a magical mansion (don't call it a dollhouse) which she painstakingly decorates and cares for in the attic of her house. It was entrusted to her by her step-grandmother Trixie, and in the twenty-nine years since Trixie died, Myra has lovingly curated each room. She writes stories about the mansion on a blog, and it has gained a cult following of those who love to recreate the mansion aesthetic in their own homes. When one of these followers shows a photo to furniture seller Alex Rakes, he is astounded because he lives in his family's ancestral home--one that is the mirror image of Myra's mansion. What is the connection?

This has some sweet themes of loss, love, and family, but the telling is disjointed with the movement back and forth in time and between Alex's and Myra's pasts and presents, along with other members of their family. It's not told in a very straightforward way, so when it was all laid out I had already figured out most of what was going on and could predict what would happen.

I liked Alex as a character, but I didn't really warm to Myra for a long time. I thought her family coddled her and let her dwell on the past much, much longer than seemed realistic. Although the ending is satisfying and the story as a whole is good, it is lacking in the magical wistfulness I was hoping for in the story. It's also quite a slow burn, so if you're not in the mood for some meandering, save it for a time when you are.

This book was completely outside my reading scope but something when reading the blurb kind of clicked right, was it the magic vibe or something else.
Whatever, I am much happy to have strayed from my usual reads.
It feels like a fairytale from the old books, with the lives of the many protagonists unfolding in front of our eyes as time mingles and past and present collide.

Myra has been made the keeper of a magical world without being made aware of it. Yet as the outside is reminding itself to her, she is now looking for a way out of her present circumstances with the help of her only and persistent friend.
How thus she crosses path through her computer’s screen with Alex. Alex who lives in a one scale version of her own mini mansion, the one that has been sitting in her attic for close to three decades.
Myra over the years has jailed herself willingly in her parents’ house, leaving less and less the walls that contain all her insecurities, making of the mini mansion her whole world, the door to the outside realm. Her fears confined herself to set her horizon on this tiny universe. Yet she does not feel like she is missing much, the house whispering to her ears only secrets and magical tales.
So while Myra’s kingdom is enclosed in one house’s attic, Alex’s is the whole world as he never really had a home, apart from the very firsts months of his life. With a father who never was one, a ruled out mother, and no living other relatives, he never has a loving home outside the connection he feels toward his grandmother’s.
The same mansion which replica sits in Myra’s home.
From this connection, the author transports us through time, with glimpses of Myra, Trixie, Alex, Ruth’s stories at key moments

So this is a story about love and its failings, romantic, friendly and/or familial as it is all those reunited that make us whole. How a legacy can be shared outside blood ties when people have nothing in common or too much or how friendships have emerged from some twists of fate or sheer will and how on a deep level connections are made because they were in some way meant to be as without the friends that cemented some of the protagonists, they would not be where they stand now.

With Myra Malone and Alex’s mansion, we jump into a world made of magic, loss, refusal, dreams and hope, hope for something else, something more.
5 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 none

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

Myra suddenly finds that she's going to have to leave the home she hasn't left since she was five years old- not for school, not to shop, not for pretty much anything- because her mother hasn't paid the reverse mortgage. Her only hope to to save it is her long time BFF Gwen's plan to leverage off Myra's much beloved web site that describes and shows her work with a miniature mansion (not a dollhouse!) she inherited from her step grandmother Trixie. Alex, who has a fraught family life in Virginia, realizes that the mansion is the one he lives in! How is this possible? Myra steps outside her comfort zone to engage with Alex in emails and later phone calls. This moves back and forth in time starting with Willa in the 1930s, who is Alex's grandmother, to the present. To be honest, I was never clear on the full story with Willa (there'a a paranormal element here) but the rest of the characters in the novel- especially Myra-are engaging (well not Alex's father). Burges has captured the way fans can pick up on a web site and the fear of an agoraphobic. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

As a miniature house connoisseur (I’m obsessed with Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle and dozens of alt-dollhouse creators on social media), I was really excited to receive this ARC. It’s hard to describe what exactly this book is—there’s gothic elements of hermits and haunted families and creepy eldritch houses, but it’s more lighthearted than that implies. There’s so much whimsy and wry humor, but TMMOMM takes itself very seriously. The Mansion is full of magic, but it’s so casually dropped that if you blink (or read a paragraph too fast), you might miss it. But most of all, it’s a cozy and comforting story about leaving your comfort zone—even if it takes 34 years. Though I sometimes found myself wishing for a bit more subtlety in the revelation of the mystery, and though I guessed what was coming early on, I still found myself hanging on to every chapter. I would definitely pick up books from this author in the future!

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges is a sweet, slow-burn romance with just a bit of magical realism.

Story Recap:
Myra Malone lives in a cabin with her mother in the Arizona Mountains and she blogs about her extraordinary minuscule mansion, or dollhouse. But, don’t let Myra hear you call it a dollhouse! She has thousands of followers who hang on her every word about the mansion. She changes the decor in each room with hand-crafted furniture and accessory pieces. But, the mansion sometimes has its own ideas as rooms appear and disappear as do Myra’s decor choices. Myra is a recluse and doesn’t leave her mountain cabin ever. She relies on her mother and her best friend to bring her supplies and they are her only human contact.

Alex Rakes works in his family's custom furniture business, but he doesn’t enjoy the work. When a couple of customers mention The Minuscule Mansion’s blog, he is instantly intrigued. The mansion is an exact duplicate of his full-sized mansion, which he lives in alone. It was his mother’s home, and a home his father despised. So what is a woman, who lives in the Arizona mountains doing with an exact duplicate of his home?

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this sweet, unique story. I was intrigued by the dollhouse, and I could see its popularity with Myra’s blog followers. Myra is a recluse, and I wanted to know why she became that way. Her best friend Gwen is the powerhouse behind the blog and just a wonderful best friend for Myra.

This has a few timelines, but the current timeline was the most compelling for me. The book has flashbacks to Myra’s past and we get to learn more about why she is a recluse, and how she acquired the minuscule mansion. And there is another timeline that follows the history of the full-sized mansion that Alex lives in.

The pacing is a bit slow, especially in the middle, but it’s worth hanging on, as it’s such a unique story.

Recommendation:

I highly recommend The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I found the premise really intriguing. And while the concept of the miniature house was really unique and interesting, I didn't quite feel the relationship between the two main leads. I loved that both Myra and Alex were gentle people, despite their childhoods and pasts, but the chemistry fell a bit flat for me. It wasn't entirely credible.

With that said, I am confident this book will appeal to many readers. It just didn't work for me.

“And some people…some people make lonely seem like the best way to be.”

“Trixie laughed and told her that learning to avoid pain was less important than learning it would always be there, and that you often caused it yourself, so it was best to learn to live with it.”

A year after the death of her beloved step Grandmother Trixie, Myra is gifted Trixie’s prized possession. Her beloved mansion. No, it’s not a doll house, it’s just a miniature mansion. From then on, Myra is obsessed with the mansion and the mystery it brings. Rooms disappearing, reappearing, music playing, things destroyed just to name a few. When Alex comes across the minuscule mansion blog, he realizes that this mansion is his own home. The same furniture dots the rooms, and the strange occurrences happen to him as well. While Myra doesn’t usually speak to anyone besides Gwen, Alex is determined to get her to talk to him so they can figure out this mystery together.

Ok first of all, I want a minuscule mansion of my own. I loved the descriptions as Myra redid the rooms, built furniture, sewed outfits and linens, it was all just so fun and made me want to be able to do the same! I absolutely adored the Myra/Trixie relationship. It was just the absolute sweetest and so lovely and wholesome. I also really enjoyed the back and forth between time periods, as we learn where the mansion came from through it ended up in Myra’s hands. the relationship between Ruth and Willa, as well as the one between Rutherford and Alex, just broke my heart though. This story was so unique and quirky, and I truly enjoyed every minute.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique story and I loved the quirky characters. Myra shows so much growth and is so endearing you can't help but cheer her on and Alex is so patient and kind despite having a difficult childhood. The element of magic gives sparkle and a hint of mystery that will keep the pages turning and your imagination smiling the whole way through the book.

I received a gifted galley of THE MINISCULE MANSION OF MYRA MALONE by Audrey Burges for an honest review. Thank you to PRH Audio, Berkley Publishing Group, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

THE MINISCULE MANSION OF MYRA MALONE follows the titular character, a woman who inherited a miniature mansion (not a doll house). Her blog about this incredibly detailed little house has made a big impact in the blogging world and people from far and wide follow along as she discusses the house, sending her miniatures for inclusion.

Alex is a young man working in a furniture store who encounters a couple of Myra’s fans. When he begins to read more about the miniature mansion he is shocked to see that the house looks like Myra his miniaturized his own life. Alex reaches out to Myra to learn more and uncover how this came to be. In a second timeline we are also getting the life story of Alex’s grandmother as a young woman.

This is a hard book to pin down in terms of genre. In the end I would call this primarily a contemporary story with some romance, mystery, historical, and magical realism elements. Myra is an interesting character, one who is largely cut off from most of the world even as she puts a small (pun not intended) part of her life out for public consumption at the encouragement of her best (and only) friend. In the background we’re seeing some of the struggles of her family and her larger life. Contact with Alex begins to shake things up for her.

I found this a little bit slow to get started, but the writing was very well done and kept me interested in the story as things begin to start moving. This had me very interested to see how the story would play out. It hits on some serious subjects even as there are uplifting moments.

Magical realism can be a bit hit or miss for me and not everything here has answers where I might have wanted a few more concrete endings. In the end, I could have been drawn into the story a bit more, but ultimately it is beautifully written book! THE MINISCULE MANSION OF MYRA MALONE is out today!

“We can’t always choose the details of our burden, Myra. But we bear it just the same.”

This was a really charming and unique story. I went in blind to The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone and was so pleasantly surprised! The book is part fantasy, part contemporary romance with magical elements. There are tragic and heartbreaking moments, but it was balanced well with the overall whimsy of the story and world.

The mystery plot was pretty clear early on, but I still enjoyed seeing it all unfold. The story is told in multiple timelines and keeping things straight chapter to chapter was a challenge sometimes. The romance between Myra and Alex was sweet and I enjoyed the epistolary elements, but it felt a bit rushed and forced. It did make for a very heartwarming, full circle ending however.

The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone is a love story, but not just romantic love. It’s about the love of family, friends, and oneself. It’s about the sacrifices and choices we make in the name of love, for better or for worse.

I both read the ebook and listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed Christine Lakin’s narration. She performed all the different characters in unique and complimentary voices and I definitely recommend experiencing this one on audio!

Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 4 stars

CW: complicated/strained family relationships, death of loved one (past, car accident), trauma, scars, recluse, hoarding (secondary character), housing insecurity/foreclosure due to debt, food insecurity (secondary character, past), mentions of war and PTSD (past, secondary character), arson/fire, suicide (secondary character), long term illness, verbal/physical abuse (past)

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

"A woman learns to expand the boundaries of her small world and let love inside it in this sparkling and unforgettable novel by Audrey Burges.

From her attic in the Arizona mountains, thirty-four-year-old Myra Malone blogs about a dollhouse mansion that captivates thousands of readers worldwide. Myra's stories have created legions of fans who breathlessly await every blog post, trade photographs of Mansion-modeled rooms, and swap theories about the enigmatic and reclusive author. Myra herself is tethered to the Mansion by mysteries she can't understand - rooms that appear and disappear overnight, music that plays in its corridors.

Across the country, Alex Rakes, the scion of a custom furniture business, encounters two Mansion fans trying to recreate a room. The pair show him the Minuscule Mansion, and Alex is shocked to recognize a reflection of his own life mirrored back to him in minute scale. The room is his own bedroom, and the Mansion is his family's home, handed down from the grandmother who disappeared mysteriously when Alex was a child. Searching for answers, Alex begins corresponding with Myra. Together, the two unwind the lonely paths of their twin worlds - big and small - and trace the stories that entwine them, setting the stage for a meeting rooted in loss, but defined by love."

The perfect book for the dollhouse obsessed who spent their childhood marveling at the Thorne miniature rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago or Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle.