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denaiir's review against another edition
2.0
First of all, the blurb "For fans of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, Baby Doll is the most tense thriller you will read this year" is completely wrong. There is no tension in this book, no mystery to solve (we know who did it from Chapter 1) and no twists; it has absolutely nothing to do with those 2 other books plot-wise. However, I want ot mention that I only read the blurb AFTER I read the book, so this is not the reason why I gave it a bad rating, I was not misled.
The book is about a girl who was abducted and kept in a dark room for 8 years. Chapter 1, she escapes, and the book deals with what happens next to her, her family, and everyone involved.
The first thing I want to mention is that the main character's reaction was absolutely not believable. After 8 years of captivity, there is no way she would react the way she does, it was so overdone! There's no issue with her, no struggles, nothing (ok she's afraid of the dark, wow)... The storyline from Sky's point of view (the daughter she had while captive) was also completely unrealistic: they only decide to start therapy with her after months, which I hope would never happen in real life!
And don't get me started on the other characters. Her twin sister is horrible, I hated her, she is hot-headed and never thinks before she acts, her reactions are never logical, and she keeps getting in the way of the investigation (I laughed when the investigators let her stay during her sister's interrogation and she lost it and asked them to stop questioning the victim, very mature and I'm sure they wouldn't agree to any of this in real life). The ex-boyfriend is the most bland character ever, his storyline is as cheesy as it can get. The mother is as 2-dimensional as can be, a missed opportunity to explore many subjects. Actually all the storylines felt like missed opportunities, but also felt completely unrealistic.
The process also felt undocumented and I don't think the author did much reasearch into the way such an investigation would unfold. Read Karin Slaughter, Mo Hayder, watch The Sinner: they feel realistic. This didn't.
This felt like a direct-to-DVD movie.
The book is about a girl who was abducted and kept in a dark room for 8 years. Chapter 1, she escapes, and the book deals with what happens next to her, her family, and everyone involved.
The first thing I want to mention is that the main character's reaction was absolutely not believable. After 8 years of captivity, there is no way she would react the way she does, it was so overdone! There's no issue with her, no struggles, nothing (ok she's afraid of the dark, wow)... The storyline from Sky's point of view (the daughter she had while captive) was also completely unrealistic: they only decide to start therapy with her after months, which I hope would never happen in real life!
And don't get me started on the other characters. Her twin sister is horrible, I hated her, she is hot-headed and never thinks before she acts, her reactions are never logical, and she keeps getting in the way of the investigation (I laughed when the investigators let her stay during her sister's interrogation and she lost it and asked them to stop questioning the victim, very mature and I'm sure they wouldn't agree to any of this in real life). The ex-boyfriend is the most bland character ever, his storyline is as cheesy as it can get. The mother is as 2-dimensional as can be, a missed opportunity to explore many subjects. Actually all the storylines felt like missed opportunities, but also felt completely unrealistic.
The process also felt undocumented and I don't think the author did much reasearch into the way such an investigation would unfold. Read Karin Slaughter, Mo Hayder, watch The Sinner: they feel realistic. This didn't.
This felt like a direct-to-DVD movie.
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
3.0
Read for Review (BEA16 Publisher)
Overall Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 3.25
First Thought when Finished: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton was a great premise but it suffered a bit from uneven storytelling.
Quick Thoughts: There were parts of this book that were really well done. The beginning 1/3 really had my hooked. I really liked hitting the ground running and the immediate fall out. The problem is I think there were too many POVs and that made all the characters a little one deminsional. I wanted more depth to the characters and the story in general. This book really should have been a tad bit longer. I understand why the author chose to go the multi-POV route but it just took me out of the story in the middle. There were just story points I did not care about: The Mom's love life, Abby's drama. I think this all lead to the end being a little rushed. Overall though I did enjoy the book. It was an easy and quick read that did a great job of not pulling punches in responses to the situation. That was really compelling because we all could only guess how we would react in the same situation.
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It DONE Reviews
Overall Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 3.25
First Thought when Finished: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton was a great premise but it suffered a bit from uneven storytelling.
Quick Thoughts: There were parts of this book that were really well done. The beginning 1/3 really had my hooked. I really liked hitting the ground running and the immediate fall out. The problem is I think there were too many POVs and that made all the characters a little one deminsional. I wanted more depth to the characters and the story in general. This book really should have been a tad bit longer. I understand why the author chose to go the multi-POV route but it just took me out of the story in the middle. There were just story points I did not care about: The Mom's love life, Abby's drama. I think this all lead to the end being a little rushed. Overall though I did enjoy the book. It was an easy and quick read that did a great job of not pulling punches in responses to the situation. That was really compelling because we all could only guess how we would react in the same situation.
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It DONE Reviews
kateivysaur's review against another edition
3.0
I loved how fast-paced this book was and you'll surely won't get bored at it. However, I think the writer is too biased towards the main character. The villain never even got the chance to accomplish anything with his plans and that's not much of a thriller isn't it? I certainly enjoyed the book but I was hoping for more action and thrill.
limara03's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marissax22's review against another edition
2.0
I just don't know about this book. Maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea. The idea is great... but the delivery lacked for me. It started out extremely promising and I really loved the character of Rick (for awhile anyway). I think I had an issue with the Abby/Lily relationship. I know they are teenagers but the drama was just ridiculous. All this.. going back and forth about who's going to date this ex-jock type character. Then they made Rick to out to be so smart and cunning yet he was able to let Lily "trick" him into just spilling where the other girls were so easily? I mean, you would think he would just send them on a wild goose chase or something. That's what I would expect from a character of his type. Then his wife, just randomly changing her story (okay not randomly but basically)... and all the sudden Abby is stabbing Rick? Like... where did THAT come from? So many questions... I feel like I'm back in high school and should go drink some schnapps and listen to who let the dogs out.
P.S- I always feel bad writing these reviews if I wasn't overly impressed with the read. Everyone has different tastes and this is just my opinion.
P.S- I always feel bad writing these reviews if I wasn't overly impressed with the read. Everyone has different tastes and this is just my opinion.
myaf12097's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ashlit's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best stories i've ever read. It's suspenseful, with romance and surprises. All characters are relatable and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. I read this in 3 days, literally could not put it down.
hannahparadise's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0