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A review by ellereadsbookslike
The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
~Short Synopsis~
The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls since the early 1800s. But they aren't like your regular dolls, these dolls are magic; they have the power to invoke a feeling to whoever touches them. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop. Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and become a doll maker. But when the family's most expensive doll is stolen, every thing changes.
~Review~
This book started off really strong and intriguing. I liked Persephone and was invested in her story and also finding out who stole the doll. But as the story progressed, I found myself losing interest.
I found it difficult to pinpoint when this book is set. It seems like it would be set in the past as it centres around (non-plastic) doll making and the business is also incredibly misogynistic. But they also have mobile phones and they do mention barbies at one point. I looked it up to find that it is in fact set in modern day and I found this quite jarring.
There is a relationship that started off really strong but it sort of fizzled out and it was unclear how the characters actually felt about each other. There is also some fairly graphic sex scenes which I was really not expecting when I started this book about doll making.
It wasn't that I didn't enjoy this book but I just didn't give what I expected from it.
The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls since the early 1800s. But they aren't like your regular dolls, these dolls are magic; they have the power to invoke a feeling to whoever touches them. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop. Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and become a doll maker. But when the family's most expensive doll is stolen, every thing changes.
~Review~
This book started off really strong and intriguing. I liked Persephone and was invested in her story and also finding out who stole the doll. But as the story progressed, I found myself losing interest.
I found it difficult to pinpoint when this book is set. It seems like it would be set in the past as it centres around (non-plastic) doll making and the business is also incredibly misogynistic. But they also have mobile phones and they do mention barbies at one point. I looked it up to find that it is in fact set in modern day and I found this quite jarring.
There is a relationship that started off really strong but it sort of fizzled out and it was unclear how the characters actually felt about each other. There is also some fairly graphic sex scenes which I was really not expecting when I started this book about doll making.
It wasn't that I didn't enjoy this book but I just didn't give what I expected from it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse