Couldn’t get into this book. I struggled staying interested and connecting with the characters. I loved the cover art for this book.

This was a fun creative story that I enjoyed! The mystery was really enticing and I had fun with this! I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Elise Hooper, William Morrow and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

The reader is drawn into a series of amazing twentieth century events and the secret lives of women within them. All this is tied together by a San Francisco private library and some handmade dollhouses. Who created the artifacts and how they are tied together are question at the heart of this gripping novel.

Who doesn’t love a dollhouse, especially one with secrets? This story is dual timelines, with one timeline following Tildy Barrows in the present day who has just discovered two dollhouses hidden in the house museum library she works in in San Francisco. The other is Cora Hale, a woman fleeing her past to Paris right before the start of WWI. We then follow Cora up through closer to Tildy’s timeline as we learn more about the history of the dollhouses.

I loved the historical fiction setting and the tie-in with dollhouses. Hooper mentioned she got inspired to write this book as she was restoring her family’s fifth generation dollhouse. I also have a dollhouse that my grandfather built for me, which has now been passed on to my daughter. There is just something special about miniature houses. I thought Hooper did a great job of researching the history behind why these dollhouses might have been created, and what it was like to live through these times. The slight mystery about Tildy’s mother and her relationship to the museum where Tildy works was also interesting.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper was a novel of strong and unconventional women. Interestingly, many of the characters were based on actual historical figures.

Two main characters were featured, Tildy Barrows and Cora Hale. This book mostly follows the story of Cora Hale, who was an art prodigy with tremendous talent and a monumental secret. As a consequence of her past, Cora mostly lives in obscurity, remaining at the edges while the famous women she worked for take the spot light. Cora's story takes us through several historic events like World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. The book isn't about those events, but they do add context. The historical aspects and the descriptions of building miniatures were the most enjoyable part of this story.

Tildy's role is basically to unfurl Cora's story for us, while Cora reveals the secrets, mysteries, and tragedies of all these nonconformist women. Tildy and Cora both lost their mothers at a young age, which was a defining plot point. By the end of the book, the real connection between Tildy and Cora is revealed.

This story features several romantic relationships, and I feel like they were more of a distraction than an enhancement to the tale of Cora's and Tildy's lives, and I found them more confusing than anything. There were multiple F-F romances, and while it's not something that would detract from my rating, it's also not something I connect with personally.

3/5 stars. While this book had a fast-paced start, and I loved the strong female characters in this book and the historical setting, by the end it was a bit of slog to get through. The pacing felt like it slowed down quite a bit by the last couple hours of reading. I also didn't care for what felt like frequent switching of romantic partners (years may have gone by in the storyline, but only pages went by in the book), too much yo-yo-ing for me. Recommended for those who enjoy stories about unorthodox women in historical contexts.

This was a decent book. Not a bad length and the story was cool. Would recommend to anyone looking for their next read

This novel struck a familiar chord by reminding me of Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen. Both books step into carefully constructed dollhouses and dioramas where every detail holds significance. The connection between these novels deepens when considering their shared inspiration were the masterpieces of Frances Lee Glessner.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses captivates with its use of spiral storytelling and its exploration of themes such as overlooked history, the resilience of women, and the search for identity and connection across generations. Centering on Tildy Barrows, a librarian working in San Francisco, whose world shifts when she stumbles upon two beautifully crafted dollhouses hidden within her library. These creations are more than simple miniatures. The houses hold secrets and clues that span over a century, linking ambitious women in Belle Époque Paris, World War I veterans in England, and the world of Walt Disney’s studio in the mid-20th century. As Tildy investigates the origins of the dollhouses, she uncovers women who challenged societal norms and expectations while unraveling surprising truths about her own family.

Art, obsession, and the importance of preserving forgotten stories emerge as key elements. The dollhouses serve as powerful symbols of enduring legacies and the idea of hidden rooms, both literal and metaphorical, which reflect the spaces where secrets, creativity, and untold stories come to life.

The interconnected timelines create a distinct storytelling rhythm, drawing readers into the lives of those who owned the dollhouses. It celebrates the beauty of curiosity and courage, reminding us of the transformative power of uncovering what lies beneath the surface. This novel is a tale of connection, strength, and creativity, offering an unforgettable journey through history and imagination.

Enjoyable read. Though have to question why so many of the secrets were pretty much the same thing. Tildy was a good main character and nice to read about. The Cora bits were overly wordy at times and then in other areas not detailed enough, kind of strange vibe from that.

Overall though a relaxing read with low investment and high payout.

This one starts slowly, setting up all the characters and their timelines, but once it got going about a third of the way in, I was hooked. The main character Tildy, Head Curator of a San Francisco library, discovers a secret room that holds two elaborately constructed dollhouses - what she finds in the dollhouses sends her on a search for answers to her own past, which leads to further mysteries coming to light. The historical timeline takes place during World War I, and features some colorful characters whose connections to Tildy are revealed bit by bit, lending a bit of suspense to the second half of the book. A very unique story, and the details about the dollhouses and the world of miniatures was really interesting, and the dollhouse descriptions very evocative.

Have you ever baked something, followed the directions with fidelity, and it still didn’t turn out as expected? This is what I had with The Library of Lost Dollhouses. It has all the right ingredients, the plot moved at a great pace, but somehow at the end, I was feeling a little meh. I love character driven novels, and I just didn’t connect to the historical character very well and not to the modern character at all.

Tildy Barrows, head curator, at “The Bel” in San Francisco stumbles upon a hidden room in the beaux arts building with two dollhouses inside. These aren’t any ordinary dollhouses. The level of artistry and detail is like nothing she’s ever seen. When she discovers a maker’s mark and a miniature portrait of her own mother, she is determined to figure out the provenance of the two remarkable pieces. Why on earth is her deceased mother in this historical piece of art?

Cora Hale is more than happy to put New York in her hindsight as she heads Paris to pursue her artistic dreams. Here she meets the heiress Belva Curtis LeFarge, who turns her world upside down and changes the trajectory of her life. Determined to make a name for herself, she creates intricate dollhouses commissioned by her wealthy patronesses, all of which hide secrets about their owners. But more than anything, Cora wishes for recognition of perhaps her greatest work made under duress when she was only seventeen years old, but she knows this can never happen.

Alternating between two timelines we learn Cora’s story through the lense of Tildy. These two remarkable women shed light on how women survived in a man’s world through more than one world war. I do believe the vast number of years covering Cora’s life was a little overly ambitious. Focusing on a shorter time period might have done her more justice. Also, what is not mentioned probably to prevent discrimination, is the sapphic relationships in this novel. Though I do not mind, I do know other readers would prefer the publisher to be more forthright.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and of course the author Elise Hooper for the advanced copy of the book. The Library of Lost Dollhouses is out on now. All opinions are my own.

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!