I found The Library of Lost Dollhouses to be a lovely historical fiction story. Told in duel timelines, we follow modern day Tildy as she discovers a number of lost dollhouses and past Cora as she builds the dollhouses and the stories that shape them. I was invested in each storyline and loved the historical aspect (not always my favorite part).

Some reviews mention this being a romance. While that is a piece of it, I wouldn't classify this as a romance, so don't let that scare you away.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #WilliamMorrow for a free copy of #TheLibraryOfLostDollhouses by Elise Hooper. All opinions are my own.

This was a very good book. I loved how intricate the details of the dollhouses were. Very well written and a great read set in two time lines. It was part romance, part mystery, where we follow the main character trying to find out more about the dollhouses history.
I will recommend this book to the ladies of my library book club.

I actually was able to read the finished physical copy of the book and so glad I did, this book is everything I wanted when I saw the title. Loved this historical fiction and really makes me want to find an old dollhouse!

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The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper is a novel about a librarian who discovers a secret room with extremely detailed dollhouses that hold many secrets. Ms. Hooper is a published author and writer.

Tildy Barrows is the Head Curator for an archival library in San Francisco created by a very wealthy woman. While doing inventory, she stumbles on a secret room with exquisite, detailed dollhouses.

Tildy realizes these could be the saving grace for the library’s funding and gets the board and local news involved. She stumbles onto an amazing story of Cora Hale, a forgotten artist and her contribution to the English efforts during World War II.

This was a strange book that moved from being very interesting to mundane. Nevertheless, it was easy to read and enjoyable.

Right off the bat, I want to say that the lesbian relationships seemed forced, as if the author wanted to just include them for the sake of inclusion. And while I am a big supporter of representation, this one simply seemed forced and not organic, It’s not a major part of the story; it’s just… annoyingly there.

I enjoyed books in a similar vein previously and can say I tremendously enjoyed the parts taking place during the war. The rest, to me, were just place fillers.

After a strong start, the pace of The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper slowed down. The strong, unorthodox women in the historical settings of both World Wars and the Great Depression were fascinating and well-researched.

The book switches points of view between that of the Head Curator and Cora, the artist who created the dollhouses. As I mentioned before, Cora’s story is really interesting, Tildy’s story is less so and is just used to move Cora’s story forward, but I felt the book could have been tighter and more enjoyable skipping that whole part.

Tildy is a librarian who discovers a secret room in the San Francisco library she works at, inspiring her to discover the provenance of two lost dollhouses stored there. The dollhouses are quite detailed, and as Tilly does her research, she discovers the creator was a woman named Cora. Cora had her own secrets and challenges, but was a talented artist. I should have loved this book but the story just didn’t resonate with me. There were too many forced coincidences. Although I appreciated the effort to show how these dollhouses revealed aspects of women’s lives and history, they were glossed over too quickly. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved the idea behind the dollhouses, and the present-day search for the full story kept me engaged until I finished.

Upon discovering a secret room in the library she works at Tildy discovers something more, intricate dollhouses. In one of the dollhouses is a miniature portrait for her late mother thus sparking a 3 month journey to find out who made the houses and what her mother had to do with anything. Told over a century by the artist (along with Tildy in 2024) herself we see significant history from the Great War to World War Two and even see Walt Disney himself. Tildy makes some questionable choices through the course of her research for sure but redeemed herself in the end. It wrapped up quickly in a neat little bow though I would have loved an epilogue. The authors note was fabulous with references to the women who inspired the women in this book.

A sweet story centered around the discovery of a lost dollhouse, and a story that I wish had actually been more about dollhouses.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses is sort of an invented piece of history, meaning that this is largely not based on real persons or events, but people and events that *could* be real.

At first I wondered if this book needed—at the very least—a central protagonist who was an historical figure, but it’s more that I think the book was missing some critical historical detail pertaining to the dollhouses which were, y’know, the thing that this was supposed to be about.

I found it frustrating how little we heard about how the dollhouses were constructed, or much detail of what’s inside them beyond one token anecdotal detail for each that serves the characters’ narrative arc.

The characters themselves are just okay. They’re sort of generically likable without demonstrating anything we haven’t seen dozens of times in historical-adjacent fiction, and I think the book may have been overly ambitious in terms of the time span it attempted to cross, mostly because the POVs come only from the beginning and end, leaving what actually links them as a fuzzy, half-realized thing that has to be explained in an info dump toward the end of the novel.

The author's passion shines through in this book. It's a lovely premise of healing and finding yourself. However, I didn’t connect with it or the characters like I wanted to. That's a reflection of me as a reader and not the book! It has great potential to appeal to other readers and I encourage others to try it out! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

Immerse yourself in a world where dollhouses solve mysteries, where art saves the day. A world where dollhouses contain clues about their previous owners’ life. What would happen if a collection of mysterious dollhouses was found hidden inside a library? And what would happen if these dollhouses, which had been owned by notable women of the early 1900s, revealed unknown aspects of their lives and rewrote history? From those questions, populated by characters inspired by real-life women, Elise Hooper’s The Library of Lost Dollhouses takes shape.

Each dollhouse contains an extraordinary universe of tiny things. There’s actually a psychological rationale to explain our affinity for small things: dollhouses offer us a sense of control and imagination. They can provide a feeling of agency. Miniatures allow us to create the world as we’d like to see it.

Dollhouses remind us how easy it is to disappear, but this exhibit is about claiming one’s place in the world, not disappearing. They revealed stories of ordinary women who’d kept extraordinary secrets about themselves in their dollhouses. Hidden careers and relationships, family secrets—the dollhouses told many important truths. Artist Cora Hale sets about helping her clients hide important truths about themselves.

For most women, the home is their stage. What if she produced a portrait of a woman, not by creating a likeness of her, but by showing the stage that defined her role in life? Cora had always hoped to produce portraits that hinted at the interiority of my subjects—what would happen if she took a very literal approach to such a piece?

A secret room, a series of dollhouses, a mother’s past, and the questions of identity dredged up through a trail of miniatures. Elise Hooper’s The Library of Lost Dollhouses will encourage everyone to approach others with bigger hearts, more understanding and compassion. Pairs well with a Coratini!

Tildy Barrows curates the vast archival library in San Francisco in the contemporary timeline of this novel, while Cora Hale creates miniature worlds in dollhouses in the World War I years. The stories of the two women in separate timelines call to each other: Cora’s obsessive miniature re-creation of her present is instrumental to Tildy’s project to save the library’s funding. It’s a joy to read, especially if you’re an art history nerd. (Recommendation will be sent to subscribers of WordSmarts email newsletter)

The Library of Lost Dollhouses tells the story of multiple people, most notably Cora and Tildy. Tildy works at the Bel, a library established by Belva Curtis LeFarge to showcase some of her favorite things. One day, Tildy stumbles across a secret room and finds two dollhouses - masterpieces really. In one, she finds a link to her late mother. At the same time, she finds that the Bel is in serious financial trouble. As she starts to research the mystery behind the dollhouses, she gets sucked into the life of Cora Hart, the creator of these works of art, and finds there is more than meets the eye to both Cora and the miniatures she has created.

Overall, I enjoyed the two timeline story that delved into the Belle Époque and Great War over in Europe. I preferred Cora’s story to Tildy’s. For me, once I got into this book I really got into it, but it took a bit for that to happen. If you’re a bit more of a history buff, you may enjoy it more than I did. I would still recommend! I've rounded up from 3.75 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy of this book!

This is a two narrator POV different time POV novel about history, secrets, and character. I did not relate well to the characters.

An impactful and absolutely sparkling read.

I love reading historical fiction, but only a few have really stuck with me. THE LIBRARY OF LOST DOLLHOUSES is one of them. This layered, emotional story of love, family, art, and books has captivating depth and is truly resonant storytelling.

I love how the author's interests and research shine through this story, and it's organized in layered timelines that maximize the impact of the revelations. It keeps you eager -- nay, desperate -- to keep reading.

This is a book I will be recommending abundantly to historical fiction lovers and book lovers alike.

A huge thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. THE LIBRARY OF LOST DOLLHOUSES is a story that will stick with me for a long time.

I had an immersive reading experience with this ARC because I did digital + audio, and I have to say I much preferred the audio. There were two main perspectives - Tildy's third person POV and Cora's first person POV. I favored Tildy's POV because Cora's was very heavy on French history, and it admittedly went over my head. I loved the descriptions of the dollhouse crafting and assembly.

In the library where she works, Tildy finds a hidden room with two dollhouses. She finds a personal connection within one of the dollhouses, prompting her to seek out information on the artist.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a sweet and fun read, even if it tries to pack a little too much into the story. With all of the storylines it introduces, it feels clumsy at times and some elements feel unfinished. Still, it's engaging and sweet.

This is a solid 3.5 star book so I'm rounding up.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper

Often the stories of how women have impacted history get lost. Sometimes this is due to their contributions being secret or attributed to the men around them. This book is a reflection of just that and based on real women in history.

Tildy works at the Belva Curtis LeFarge Library, the Bel, as the head curator. One day after a school bus of children breaks down and their curiosity leads them to roam the library Tildy finds a hidden room is dollhouses. Both are unique and expertly crafted. One even contains a portrait of her late mother. Tildy then goes on an adventure to find out more about her mother and the meaning behind the mysterious dollhouses.

This is a dual POV as it is told from the point of view of Tildy as she discovers the secrets of the past and of Cora Hale who is interconnected to each of the dollhouses. This books is a beautiful reflection of the contributions that women have achieved throughout history and the little ways that they have made their lasting mark. This story is told from the retrospective of Cora Hale as present day Tildy dives into the history.

I would recommend this one to fans of historical fiction and those who are lightly dabbling in the genre as well. There are nods to real people and there is a sense of adventure and storytelling as everything unfolds.

Tildy, a librarian and historian for a struggling museum uncovers a room of dollhouses that takes her on a journey to discover the origins of the impressive minatures and along the way finds herself.

I really enjoyed this book; enough to take the afternoon off work to finish reading it! The Library of Lost Dollhouses proved itself to be a unique story with a woven dual timeline and cast of characters that complimented each other perfectly. A little bit of romance and unique bits of lesser known history made reading it even more enjoyable.

I'm going to go make a Coratini now (IYKYK) and you should all go read this book!

This was such a fantastic historical fiction novel! The Library of Lost Dollhouses tells the story of a collection of hidden dollhouses and the artist who designed them! Elise Hooper masterfully waved the past and present storylines together to make an intriguing book! It has a little romance, mystery and a ton of history. ⁣
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⁣I recommend this one to fans of historical fiction! Four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Library of Lost Dollhouses. This one is available now!

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elisa Hooper was a good story set in two time periods. Hooper always does an excellent job when writing about historical fiction, finding an interesting way to transport the reader through the story. I love the power of the miniatures and how they bring people together throughout each section of the story. I also love a good art story and this has that too along with love, tragedy and mystery. There were times I got a little lost because part of the story is written in a letter format but it pulls together in the end for a great conclusion. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.