THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY
Margarita Montimore
Ivy wanted nothing more than to be chosen to attend THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY. A school for aspiring entertainers. At THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY they are trained in many aspects of entertainment and are molded to become the next big stars. They learn what to eat, what to say, how to look, how to behave, what they can do, what they should do, and what they must never do.
Ivy thought that once she attended the academy her life would be set, her aspirations acquired and fame would be like her new best friend. What she didn’t know is what the academy would require of her, would demand of her and she didn’t know she would hardly recognize herself once it was all over.
Ivy is looking back at her time in THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY and reevaluating it’s impact on her life, on her career, and on her future. Some of her memories are wonderful and inspiring while others are downright horrific.
We follow Ivy through diary entries. And get to experience what it feels like behind the stage curtains at THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY.
This is a situation where a friend tells you…”I read this book and it was so dark. It scared me to death.” And you pick up the book and realize it’s nothing compared to the darkness that you usually consume. In fact it’s closer to rainbows and sunshine than dark clouds and rain.
I think the author was trying to portray the dark side of Hollywood. It came across as diet fatigue and cult heads similar to cheerleading squad captains. THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY just wasn’t dark enough, wasn’t scary enough, just wasn’t enough.
There are more than a handful of winning titles coming out in the early part of the year that I would persuade you to put this one on the backburner or skip it altogether.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy! I’m sorry this one didn’t work for me!
THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY…⭐️⭐️⭐️
WE DO NOT PART
Han Kang
“Can I tell you a story?”
She asked.
“It is a story I have been telling my whole life. It is the only one I know. I don’t need you to change the story, I don’t need you to change the characters, or change the ending…I just need you to listen.”
Poetic and devastating haunting and unforgettable. For me to say less, is to leave you with more. So please pardon the brief summary.
A friend has an obscene request. To which the only answer is yes. She sets off on her way not knowing what the journey may hold. Not knowing what it would require of her. Only knowing she must walk the road.
There is a subtle shift in reality. One that might go unnoticed if not for the light changing. The sun set at a different point in the sky. The novel is given just as you are at the point of surrendering to the plot. To what it might have been.
Like an offering, the story is given at the cost of the giver.
The plot points from this novel are ripped from your nightmare, which the body remembers but your tongue is unable to articulate. A loss so big it encompasses not only you but every person who has come before you and every person who shall come after. It takes you, the dreams you haven’t dreamed yet, and all the dreams you have for your children. It is a black hole and everyone you know is falling in.
It is nothing but death and destruction and they are denying its existence.
“Pull me out from inside.”
Colorblind
The Counting Crows
I am always a different person at the end than at the beginning of a Kang novel. They take a little bit of the reader in the reading. They consume in the consuming. This one swallowed me whole.
I have often slept through history class. Bored with the dates, uninspired by royalty, and rulers of faraway lands. Unassuaged by its very cyclical nature. Not knowing how precious the idea of history was.
The very idea of things already being done, lives already lived. Lives already lost. Experiences already had. Hard times trodden through presumably so that there is no necessity of them being endured again.
But the only way to tell a new story is to know the one that came before. The only way to ensure a lesson is learned is to learn it. If not, history will repeat itself. It is in its nature to do so.
WE DO NOT PART is not a breezeway, or a flyover. It is solid and immovable. It is a hard story. A battleground where blood was shed and lives were lost. It is important and I am so thankful that out of the many, this is one.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Random House | Hogarth for the advanced copy! It was truly a pleasure.
WE DO NOT PART…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BEAUTIFUL UGLY
Alice Feeney
I love Alice Feeney and she is an auto-buy, auto-request author for me. BEAUTIFUL UGLY is a solid thriller in the long line of great thrillers Feeney has crafted for us over the years.
BEAUTIFUL UGLY is set on a Scottish island, pardon me if I didn’t believe in its existence at first. We are following author Grady Green who a year ago had what the publishers are describing as “his worst best day of his life.”
He received some exciting news and when he calls to share the news with his wife the call ends with her silent on the other end, the line going dead. He never sees or hears from her again. She goes missing, not dead, not alive, somewhere in the ether.
This year, on the Scottish island, Grady is plagued with survivors’ guilt, is having trouble writing his next novel, and is having trouble moving on. He is there to write but oftentimes finds himself without words, without a good story, without the closure he so desperately needs.
The atmosphere is thick. The misdirection is the only thing thicker. The lies roll off of characters’ tongues so smoothly that you’re never really sure whom to trust, or who is telling the truth, which is at times even hidden from them.
If you’ve read Feeney before, BEAUTIFUL UGLY may remind you of ROCK PAPER SCISSORS. It similarly explores marital dynamics and asks the question of who is telling the truth. In this case, as was with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, you won’t truly know where everyone stands until the very end.
I enjoyed my time reading it and I am happy to recommend it. It is perfectly set to be released in mid-January. And is a perfect fit for the coldness of winter and the aridness of the season.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!
BEAUTIFUL UGLY…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Missing You Series (2025) Netflix
The Coffee that gets me through each book:
Tarrazzu Costa Rican Blend
If you liked this review…you might like:
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney
