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aniabooks's review against another edition
1.0
Terrible. Infantile, simplistic tale of American naivety. It is really frustrating how anyone would even dare to call this a thriller - the most thrilling moment was finally finishing this commercial idiotic product. I'd be embarrassed to write something this silly.
clairereviews's review against another edition
5.0
Review: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton Published by: Random House UK, Cornerstone (30th June 2-16)
ISBN: 9781780895062
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5*
Synopsis:
Lily has been abducted from outside her high-school gates.For eight long years she's been locked away from the outside world. During that time she's changed from a girl into a woman. She's had a baby.And now she has seized her chance and escaped.Running for her life, with her daughter in her arms, she returns to her family and the life she used to know - to her much-loved twin sister Abby, her mum, her high-school boyfriend - and her freedom.But is it possible to go back?Lily's perfect life as a teenager doesn't exist any more. Since she's been gone, her family's lives have changed too, in ways she never could have imagined.Her return, and the revelation of who took her, will send shockwaves through the whole community.
Review:
Lily's story, told from the perspective of the main characters, is absolutely horrific. Despite this, it is also utterly compelling. I can't get my head around the fact that crimes like this really happen, it's unthinkable.
Hollie Overton's gripping and intelligent writing is addictively good. I was desperate to find out who perpetrated this terrible crime, but instead of skimming (and quite unusually for me) I had to read every single word. I was scared of missing some vital clue that would lead me to the kidnapper's door. In spite of my close attention to detail, when the truth was revealed it was a complete surprise. My jaw must've hit the floor, it was such a shock!
Lily is a wonderful character. She's a survivor and incredibly strong. Her almost robotic air of calm when leading the authorities to her abductor is breathtaking. In contrast to this, the raw emotion she shows when reunited with her first love shows her humanity.
Abby is fantastic too. She's feisty and confrontational and a delight to read.
The abductor tells the story from their perspective too. To be inside the mind of such a character is at once both scary and thrilling and their story reads well alongside the other interpretations of events.
Special thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of Baby Doll in return for my unbiased review.
ISBN: 9781780895062
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5*
Synopsis:
Lily has been abducted from outside her high-school gates.For eight long years she's been locked away from the outside world. During that time she's changed from a girl into a woman. She's had a baby.And now she has seized her chance and escaped.Running for her life, with her daughter in her arms, she returns to her family and the life she used to know - to her much-loved twin sister Abby, her mum, her high-school boyfriend - and her freedom.But is it possible to go back?Lily's perfect life as a teenager doesn't exist any more. Since she's been gone, her family's lives have changed too, in ways she never could have imagined.Her return, and the revelation of who took her, will send shockwaves through the whole community.
Review:
Lily's story, told from the perspective of the main characters, is absolutely horrific. Despite this, it is also utterly compelling. I can't get my head around the fact that crimes like this really happen, it's unthinkable.
Hollie Overton's gripping and intelligent writing is addictively good. I was desperate to find out who perpetrated this terrible crime, but instead of skimming (and quite unusually for me) I had to read every single word. I was scared of missing some vital clue that would lead me to the kidnapper's door. In spite of my close attention to detail, when the truth was revealed it was a complete surprise. My jaw must've hit the floor, it was such a shock!
Lily is a wonderful character. She's a survivor and incredibly strong. Her almost robotic air of calm when leading the authorities to her abductor is breathtaking. In contrast to this, the raw emotion she shows when reunited with her first love shows her humanity.
Abby is fantastic too. She's feisty and confrontational and a delight to read.
The abductor tells the story from their perspective too. To be inside the mind of such a character is at once both scary and thrilling and their story reads well alongside the other interpretations of events.
Special thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of Baby Doll in return for my unbiased review.
jessietheelf_'s review against another edition
4.0
I didn't think I would enjoy reading the aftermath of a crime, rather than leading up to or as the crime is being committed but I have to admit it was an interesting read. I enjoyed following the aftermath of such a horrible Crime and seeing how not only the victim but everyone around them was effected by a terrible event and how they began to cope and move forward.
brooke_review's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Baby Doll was written so amateurishly, and was very cliche & stereotypical. I cringed reading some of these passages because I was just like, "Really?!" And that's not a "Really?!" in a good way. As I got toward the end, I just couldn't take it anymore. I skimmed through the rest of the novel, and saw that I didn't miss much. I also don't have much against cursing, but the way that these girls threw around the "F" around anyone and everyone was also off-putting. Uggggh, I'm just glad it's over. The only reason why it gets two stars is because at the beginning, the novel seemed like it was going somewhere.
xlitandliterary's review against another edition
4.0
Read more book reviews at Lit and Literary!
I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review a few years back, and it's only now that I've gotten around to reading it.
The beginning of the story made me feel like I was dropped in the middle of something important happening, so I was initially confused about everything. However, once the story progressed, everything quickly made sense, and I'm absorbed into the nightmare that Lily, the protagonist, had to go through.
Unlike most psychological thrillers, this one happens after the victim escapes the clutches of her abductor, and explores the grim effects of the victim's disappearance on the people around her, especially her family.
What I really like about this book is that it doesn't only tell the story from Lily's point of view, although she is the main protagonist. It also explores the grief and coping mechanisms (both good and bad) that her immediate family members resorted to in the aftermath of her disappearance.
There's Abby, Lily's twin sister, whose grief and guilt were so tangible that Lily's disappearance triggered damaging behavior. There's also Eve, their mother, who, despite appearing strong, stable and dependable, have her own share of questionable choices.
I feel like the actions of the characters in this story, besides Lily, were realistic in that they took solace in inter-personal relationships, although some of it were morally questionable. They were flawed characters that were put in very complicated situations. Throughout the story, the reader isn't only being an audience to Lily's search for justice against her captor and abuser, the reader likewise witnesses the struggle and moral dilemma's that the other characters experience.
The subtle chess-play between Lily and Rick were also such a treat to read. Lily was such a layered protagonist. She's gone through so much, and her mental fortitude is very laudable, but that doesn't make her a Mary Sue. In fact, she has shown time and again that she's just as human as everybody else. She made mistakes, and felt deep remorse for them, but still strive to make do with the situation that she's put into.
I particularly loved the part on Abby's redemption. In the beginning, I was irritated with Abby and how she's such an emotional and impulsive character. However, by the end of the story, she became self-aware that she has been engaging in destructive behavior, and that it will take some time for her to overcome that behavior. That was such a very profound character development that I found myself rooting for her recovery and happiness.
A third into the story, I was a bit worried that Lily wouldn't get her happy ending. Thank God she did. I would have been heartbroken if evil triumphed.
All in all, this was a very riveting and absorbing read. The story is a bit fast-paced, but the twists are evenly sprinkled throughout the story that it's not overwhelming. I highly enjoyed it!
I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review a few years back, and it's only now that I've gotten around to reading it.
The beginning of the story made me feel like I was dropped in the middle of something important happening, so I was initially confused about everything. However, once the story progressed, everything quickly made sense, and I'm absorbed into the nightmare that Lily, the protagonist, had to go through.
Unlike most psychological thrillers, this one happens after the victim escapes the clutches of her abductor, and explores the grim effects of the victim's disappearance on the people around her, especially her family.
What I really like about this book is that it doesn't only tell the story from Lily's point of view, although she is the main protagonist. It also explores the grief and coping mechanisms (both good and bad) that her immediate family members resorted to in the aftermath of her disappearance.
There's Abby, Lily's twin sister, whose grief and guilt were so tangible that Lily's disappearance triggered damaging behavior. There's also Eve, their mother, who, despite appearing strong, stable and dependable, have her own share of questionable choices.
I feel like the actions of the characters in this story, besides Lily, were realistic in that they took solace in inter-personal relationships, although some of it were morally questionable. They were flawed characters that were put in very complicated situations. Throughout the story, the reader isn't only being an audience to Lily's search for justice against her captor and abuser, the reader likewise witnesses the struggle and moral dilemma's that the other characters experience.
The subtle chess-play between Lily and Rick were also such a treat to read. Lily was such a layered protagonist. She's gone through so much, and her mental fortitude is very laudable, but that doesn't make her a Mary Sue. In fact, she has shown time and again that she's just as human as everybody else. She made mistakes, and felt deep remorse for them, but still strive to make do with the situation that she's put into.
I particularly loved the part on Abby's redemption. In the beginning, I was irritated with Abby and how she's such an emotional and impulsive character. However, by the end of the story, she became self-aware that she has been engaging in destructive behavior, and that it will take some time for her to overcome that behavior. That was such a very profound character development that I found myself rooting for her recovery and happiness.
A third into the story, I was a bit worried that Lily wouldn't get her happy ending. Thank God she did. I would have been heartbroken if evil triumphed.
All in all, this was a very riveting and absorbing read. The story is a bit fast-paced, but the twists are evenly sprinkled throughout the story that it's not overwhelming. I highly enjoyed it!
angie_stl's review against another edition
3.0
I was given a copy of this book by netgalley for an honest review.
Baby Doll opens with Lily escaping from the man that kidnapped her eight years before, when she was 16, and has held her captive in a basement along with her 6 year old daughter, Sky. The story continues on from there, telling how Lily, her mom Eve, her twin sister Abby and the man who held her captive Rick, spend the next few months adjusting to their new "normal". The book flips between the point of view of these four people through until the end, which can get a little confusing, but is helped by each chapter being titled with the narrator's name.
The story begins with Lily and Sky's escape from the basement Lily has spent the last eight years in, and Sky has lived her whole life in, but quickly progresses to Lily getting them to the house she grew up in, where her mom still lives. From that point, they get the police involved and Lily takes the sheriff to Rick. Even though this is still very early in the book, I don't want to spoil any of the surprises by saying how Rick and Lily knew each other before the abduction, or how things began to unfold from there. To me, who Rick was to Lily before he kidnapped her was probably the biggest surprise in the book. There were a couple others that followed somewhat closely on the shock scale, but Rick was the biggest shock of the book.
That being said, this book is marked as being in the mystery and thriller genres, but most of it seemed somewhat standard to me. I do read a lot of mysteries, so maybe that made it seem like the normal way things unfold in the genre, but most people that are going to grab a book because it's supposed to be a shocking thriller from beginning to end, are going to be avid mystery/thriller fans. I will say I was somewhat captivated by the book, but I think it was because I was waiting for more shocking events to take place or be revealed about Lily's time in the basement. That didn't really happen too much.
The timeline was a little hard to understand as well. You'd start a new chapter and a couple sentences in it would say "this had become the routine for the last few months" or weeks, or it would say it's been this long since Lily escaped the basement, but the chapter before that would have been 2 or 3 months before that. I'm sure it would have been tedious to have every detail of Lily and Sky adjusting to the world outside the basement, but sometimes important events were sort of mentioned rather than going into details, like when Lily starts seeing a therapist and how that progresses from the beginning.
I would recommend this to fans of crime novels, with the warning that the mystery isn't all that mysterious. I would also warn anyone with abuse triggers, physical or psychological, to be wary. Lily was held for eight years and "trained" for most of that time to become Rick's perfect "Baby Doll". That included punishment when she didn't act as he deemed appropriate, and so very much sexual abuse, though thankfully there was little to no details given for that. If you can get past those two warnings, then this may be the book for you. I hate to say that something of such a serious topic is entertaining, but it definitely held my attention and I loved the interactions between the twins. That, by itself, made it worth my time, the rest was just added bonus.
Baby Doll opens with Lily escaping from the man that kidnapped her eight years before, when she was 16, and has held her captive in a basement along with her 6 year old daughter, Sky. The story continues on from there, telling how Lily, her mom Eve, her twin sister Abby and the man who held her captive Rick, spend the next few months adjusting to their new "normal". The book flips between the point of view of these four people through until the end, which can get a little confusing, but is helped by each chapter being titled with the narrator's name.
The story begins with Lily and Sky's escape from the basement Lily has spent the last eight years in, and Sky has lived her whole life in, but quickly progresses to Lily getting them to the house she grew up in, where her mom still lives. From that point, they get the police involved and Lily takes the sheriff to Rick. Even though this is still very early in the book, I don't want to spoil any of the surprises by saying how Rick and Lily knew each other before the abduction, or how things began to unfold from there. To me, who Rick was to Lily before he kidnapped her was probably the biggest surprise in the book. There were a couple others that followed somewhat closely on the shock scale, but Rick was the biggest shock of the book.
That being said, this book is marked as being in the mystery and thriller genres, but most of it seemed somewhat standard to me. I do read a lot of mysteries, so maybe that made it seem like the normal way things unfold in the genre, but most people that are going to grab a book because it's supposed to be a shocking thriller from beginning to end, are going to be avid mystery/thriller fans. I will say I was somewhat captivated by the book, but I think it was because I was waiting for more shocking events to take place or be revealed about Lily's time in the basement. That didn't really happen too much.
The timeline was a little hard to understand as well. You'd start a new chapter and a couple sentences in it would say "this had become the routine for the last few months" or weeks, or it would say it's been this long since Lily escaped the basement, but the chapter before that would have been 2 or 3 months before that. I'm sure it would have been tedious to have every detail of Lily and Sky adjusting to the world outside the basement, but sometimes important events were sort of mentioned rather than going into details, like when Lily starts seeing a therapist and how that progresses from the beginning.
I would recommend this to fans of crime novels, with the warning that the mystery isn't all that mysterious. I would also warn anyone with abuse triggers, physical or psychological, to be wary. Lily was held for eight years and "trained" for most of that time to become Rick's perfect "Baby Doll". That included punishment when she didn't act as he deemed appropriate, and so very much sexual abuse, though thankfully there was little to no details given for that. If you can get past those two warnings, then this may be the book for you. I hate to say that something of such a serious topic is entertaining, but it definitely held my attention and I loved the interactions between the twins. That, by itself, made it worth my time, the rest was just added bonus.
imagdalena's review against another edition
2.0
Someone reviewed it as a Lifetime drama and that's the perfect way to describe it.
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.