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queernhere's review against another edition
not mentally stable enough rn will come back to
btpbookclub's review against another edition
5.0
I voluntarily reviewed an advance readers copy of this story thanks to Netgalley. I must start by saying this is the thriller of 2016 you NEED to read. Its brilliant. Fans of Gone Girl and Girl On A Train this is perfect for you. I was hooked from the first page and I finished the book in two days. It would not leave my mind, I never wanted to put it down. An amazing five star read from me. I've not been this excited over a story for a while. I cannot recommend or praise this book enough. Perfect characters, perfect family and the perfect ending. Beautifully written, easy to read and contains short chapters from each of the individual characters. I really hated Rick (the bad guy) so much which makes a book great. WOW. If you haven't already you need to buy this story. I'm not spoiling it for you, but I promise you will love it and not regret it. Amazing.
Baby Doll is perfect for readers who love an outstanding thriller, suspense and drama packed story. Enjoy, I loved it.
Baby Doll is perfect for readers who love an outstanding thriller, suspense and drama packed story. Enjoy, I loved it.
emjay24's review against another edition
2.0
Baby Doll seems like it might be like Room, but it’s not. Lily was captured as a teenager and held for 8 years, during which time she even had a child, Sky. Now she has escaped and realized she was just a few miles from home this whole time. The book shows her accusing the person who did it to her, and trying to bring him to justice, while staying safe, ducking the media, and dealing with issues with her twin sister from the past. It’s ok. Everything happens too easily and it ends up being a bit of a filler book. Not bad, but not good.
vkdarling's review against another edition
3.0
This book isn't life changing but it is a good story and keeps you "turning pages"!
camb0wles's review against another edition
2.0
This book was ok. It is no gone girl, like the blurb suggests. The story is predictable and lacks something but there are redeeming qualities that make this book worth reading. This is more a story about sisters than it is about a kidnapping and that relationship is written beautifully.
nannyf's review against another edition
3.0
I went into this book with no expectations. I don't tend to read reviews of a book until after I have read it, and in this case I am extremely glad I didn't on this occasion either. This is a definite love it or loath it book which has divided the readers right down the middle.
The start of the book reminded me a lot of Room, a book I read previously and really enjoyed. The similarities did remain with me for quite some time, but I also began to see differences coming through.
Lily is the main female character in the story, and although a strong character at times I felt she was somewhat indifferent to the whole situation. I would have expected someone who had been kidnapped and held captive for so many years, suffering horrific physical abuse throughout, to be more affected by it all.
The secondary characters do bring different strands to the story, but I almost felt that they were simply padding at times as their parts didn't appear to bring as much to the overall story as I assumed they would.
This was a well written story, but for me it doesn't quite reach its full potential.
I received a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The start of the book reminded me a lot of Room, a book I read previously and really enjoyed. The similarities did remain with me for quite some time, but I also began to see differences coming through.
Lily is the main female character in the story, and although a strong character at times I felt she was somewhat indifferent to the whole situation. I would have expected someone who had been kidnapped and held captive for so many years, suffering horrific physical abuse throughout, to be more affected by it all.
The secondary characters do bring different strands to the story, but I almost felt that they were simply padding at times as their parts didn't appear to bring as much to the overall story as I assumed they would.
This was a well written story, but for me it doesn't quite reach its full potential.
I received a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
voracious_reader_j's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jessicacarlysinclair's review against another edition
2.0
This book is predictable and unrealistic.
Very little research went into understanding human psychology before writing this book. The main character, and those closest to her, are mostly untraumatized. The main character's daughter, who has only ever met her mother and captor (and presumably never left her captor's property), is bizarrely well-socialized and well-adjusted.
The book features first-person chapters where we get to look inside the mind of the evil captor... but there's nothing there. No valid justification for why he is the way he is, no humanizing qualities to make him believable, no morality or character development, no believable inner dialogue in response to events that occur - just plain, cliche evilness.
Also, the author either struggles from serious body image issues, or just generally hates fat people. The amount of times this book attacks fatness/fat women is absurd. Like let it go, lady. Love yourself.
Very little research went into understanding human psychology before writing this book. The main character, and those closest to her, are mostly untraumatized. The main character's daughter, who has only ever met her mother and captor (and presumably never left her captor's property), is bizarrely well-socialized and well-adjusted.
The book features first-person chapters where we get to look inside the mind of the evil captor... but there's nothing there. No valid justification for why he is the way he is, no humanizing qualities to make him believable, no morality or character development, no believable inner dialogue in response to events that occur - just plain, cliche evilness.
Also, the author either struggles from serious body image issues, or just generally hates fat people. The amount of times this book attacks fatness/fat women is absurd. Like let it go, lady. Love yourself.
keppyboone's review against another edition
3.0
MY RATING: 3.5/5
Lily spent eight years of her life as a prisoner, held captive in a basement by the person who kidnapped her when she was only 16 years old. During those eight years, she endured unbearable torture, punishment, and even a pregnancy - resulting in her much-loved daughter, Sky. One fateful day her captor left the door unlocked, and Lily was able to escape with Sky and find her way back to the house she grew up in.
Although her family welcomes her home with open arms, many things have changed in the lives of those she loves. Her twin sister is pregnant, her father has died, her mother is sleeping with a mystery man, and when the identity of her kidnapper is exposed, the whole community is shocked.
The ending has a few unexpected twists, which is one of my favorite things in a book, and I have to admit, I did NOT see that ending coming.
The writing style may not be anything spectacular, and this book may not leave a lifelong impression on the reader, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. It was simple, quick, and heartfelt. I loved reading the interactions of Lily and her twin sister, to me it seemed very believable, and they acted just like siblings do - fighting over clothes and boys, and all the other things sisters fight about, yet having the ability to turn around and be fiercely protective of one another as only siblings can be.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fiction, even though I wouldn't exactly categorize this as YA, since for the majority of the book Lily is an adult. It still reads and feels like YA, though. I also recommend this for readers of thrillers and mysteries.
POTENTIALLY DISTURBING CONTENT:
Sex: rape of a minor, consenting minors having sex, mildly graphic descriptions of her time spent as a prisoner
Violence: rape, kidnapping, physical and emotional abuse of a minor
Language: curse words are used throughout
I listened to this book as an audiobook narrated by Jenna Lamia (one of my very favorite narrators), MacLeod Andrews (another favorite), and Ellen Archer (who also has a very nice voice). All three narrators did a fantastic job!
Lily spent eight years of her life as a prisoner, held captive in a basement by the person who kidnapped her when she was only 16 years old. During those eight years, she endured unbearable torture, punishment, and even a pregnancy - resulting in her much-loved daughter, Sky. One fateful day her captor left the door unlocked, and Lily was able to escape with Sky and find her way back to the house she grew up in.
Although her family welcomes her home with open arms, many things have changed in the lives of those she loves. Her twin sister is pregnant, her father has died, her mother is sleeping with a mystery man, and when the identity of her kidnapper is exposed, the whole community is shocked.
The ending has a few unexpected twists, which is one of my favorite things in a book, and I have to admit, I did NOT see that ending coming.
The writing style may not be anything spectacular, and this book may not leave a lifelong impression on the reader, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. It was simple, quick, and heartfelt. I loved reading the interactions of Lily and her twin sister, to me it seemed very believable, and they acted just like siblings do - fighting over clothes and boys, and all the other things sisters fight about, yet having the ability to turn around and be fiercely protective of one another as only siblings can be.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fiction, even though I wouldn't exactly categorize this as YA, since for the majority of the book Lily is an adult. It still reads and feels like YA, though. I also recommend this for readers of thrillers and mysteries.
POTENTIALLY DISTURBING CONTENT:
Sex: rape of a minor, consenting minors having sex, mildly graphic descriptions of her time spent as a prisoner
Violence: rape, kidnapping, physical and emotional abuse of a minor
Language: curse words are used throughout
I listened to this book as an audiobook narrated by Jenna Lamia (one of my very favorite narrators), MacLeod Andrews (another favorite), and Ellen Archer (who also has a very nice voice). All three narrators did a fantastic job!