Reviews - Welcome to Dorley Hall

208 reviews for:

Welcome to Dorley Hall

Alyson Greaves

4.27 AVERAGE

anniered13's review against another edition

2.25

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

alaiab's review

5.0

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lunatic_jg's review against another edition

3.5

I will admit this is a weird one for me.

I think the concept on its own is fascinating and I'm curious where this story will lead. I'm not sure I'm curious enough to continue reading... Maybe?

I think parts of this book are heartbreakingly beautiful in how they describe trans experience. Both, before the transition, including the struggle of accepting oneself and dealing with body dysmorphia; as well as after the transition, with pointing out the femininity standards trans women have to adhere to that cis women don't have to deal with anymore (mostly) and the continues fear of being trans in a society that isn't trans friendly.

What I will say I struggled with is, at least in my reading of this story, treating womanhood like a cure to every issue in your life. It might be that the rest of the series puts a different spin on this part of the story but i think at this stage I just struggled with seeing how this whole... Process worked so seemlessly.

It feels like a chunky book, but it's a very quick read. It does very much feel like just a setup for the rest of the story though, and I'm still not sure if it pulled me in enough to want more.

srobertson's review

4.0

dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

feochadan's review against another edition

3.25

tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was promised forcefem horror. It's suggestionfem suspense at best.

centralia's review

4.0

This! Was! Fascinating!
A closeted trans woman, Stephan, infiltrates a university hall's secret basement where she suspects a close friend was turned into a woman. Unknown to Stephan, Dorley Hall doesn't cater its services to trans women but rather intends to correct men who have done harm by forcibly turning them into women.
To all the readers that are on the fence about this book because force feminization is wrong, it would never work, it would just torture and traumatize them, and that's not how transition works et cetera: you are correct! I was uncertain if I wanted to read this book because of these ideas. However, what I found so interesting while I was reading was that it doesn't shy away from how horrible the reality of Dorley is. The main characters, even those who are in the program and want to be, have doubts about its morality, and they grapple with the issue throughout the book in really compelling moments. What really won me over is realizing that in this book, Dorley does work. This is speculative fiction, and this is the crucial point where you have to suspend your disbelief. This book doesn't suggest that force fem basements are a legitimate way to address toxic masculinity but instead asks what if they did? What an idea!
I thought the book handled this idea really well and was just plain well-written. Even though within the story there's a distinction between Dorley's women and transgender women, to the reader the women of Dorley are representative of trans women, their lives and their bonds. We actually follow Christine, a more senior member of Dorley, perhaps more than we follow Stephen and her experiences and inner conflicts read like she's a trans woman. The sisterhood within Dorley feels reflective of trans women too. This book was sweet at times, funny at times, and thoughtful at times. To my own surprise, I enjoyed it!

fo_mo_ro's review against another edition

I’m really bummed to DNF this as the premise is so intriguing, and the characters are likable, and I have mad fomo from so many amazing ratings …. But I’m just finding the writing so boring 😢 I’m forcing myself to pick it up and I’ve decided to DNF this year instead of force myself to finish. I’m so glad others love this and wish I could have!