Book Info
Dollhouse by Kyla FayeSeries: Down We Go #1
Rating:
Book ratings explainedGenres: Dark Romance
Pages: 334
ASIN: B09BQ5LVVK
Published: 27/11/2021
Available on
Purchase at: Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU
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All I’ve ever wanted is freedom...
Freedom to do what I want.
Freedom to be who I want.
I’ve been controlled since the day I was born, forced to put on a smile and pretend my
life was perfect. From the outside looking in, it was. Little did anyone know, I’d been
living in hell.
Broken, beaten, and scared, I escaped my tormentor and ran to the one place I vowed
never to return. I’ve been hiding in the city that holds all my secrets and was beginning
to make a life for myself.
Until they come for me.
Eli, King, and Rowen.
They’re vicious, brutal, ruthless, and used to getting whatever they want, when they
want it. Only this time, there’s something standing in their way.
They want me out of their city and will stop at nothing to get what they want.
They say the ultimate cost of freedom is death... I should’ve been careful
what I wished for.
NOTE: This book is an 18+ Reverse Harem Dark Romance. This book contains scenes that some readers may find triggering.
Woah! There is so much going on in this book it’s hard to know where to begin, so perhaps we should start with the prologue.
Was this my fate all along? To Die at the hands of someone I loved?
It’s an intriguing discourse detailing Lee’s obsession with death, and the events of her own death before the story has really begun. In the ensuing chapters, you start to forget about the darkness within Lee as she endures endless abuse at the hands of our husband. Surely these two women can’t be one and the same?
After a brief pause, we meet Tate. She seems familiar; you know you’ve seen her before but there’s so much about her that’s different to the person you once knew. Then there’s them; three masked men, each completely captivating in their own way.
They set my soul on fire, then left me alone to burn in the flames
As we are introduced to King, Rowen and Eli hints of secrets begin to surface. Something connects Rowen and Tate but, at this point, he doesn’t admit what it is. He recognises her and questions how she could forget him? I agree with him. Failing to recognise somebody who had such an impact on your formative teenage years suggests a serious case of denial (and it becomes apparent that denial is not the issue here). Some may say that 13 years of growth and physical changes contribute; I’d say that’s a justification to accommodate this particular sticking point in the story. After all, it wouldn’t do for Tate to recognise one of her captors so early on.
He has the body of a bodybuilder, fucks like a porn star, and is blessed with a magnificent cock. Can cocks even be magnificent?
Because yes, these three muscular, dominating, and intimidating men kidnap and imprison Tate. How else would they become her harem? I felt that Tate relaxed into being a captive far too easily. For a character that has a lot of fight and fire inside her, she was remarkably compliant when it came to accepting her fate and staying put. A point in her favour, at least she recognises this and has her reasons for staying with the guys (even if those reasons are mostly driven by her lady parts).
Every single emotion I’ve ever felt is being exiled
Tate is a complex character and, despite sharing none of her experiences, I found myself connecting with her thoughts and emotions. She is the girl who doesn’t know how to be loved, who refuses to quench the fire even when her heart is broken into pieces. She is naturally suspicious of the guys’ motives but desperately wants to trust them, even though they initially proved she couldn’t.
The pace and grip of Dollhouse is an enigma to me. The initial chapters are slow but drew me in so thoroughly that I couldn’t put the book down. How does that even work? The story moves more quickly once Tate is introduced, but it’s not a fast pace by any means. In fact, the real urgency in the storyline is only introduced around 80% of the way in. By this point, you feel like a fighter who’s had an easy time of it but has tired from keeping on her feet. The rapid punches that follow are enough to send you crashing to the floor with little hope of getting up again. It’s a cruel tactic from Faye but I absolutely love it. I’m just not sure how she’s going to write herself out of the cliffhanger she left us with.
Why you should read Dollhouse
- Killer secrets to be revealed (and some that leave you hanging)
- The book contains some kinky shit… and I love it!
- Deals incredibly well with some very sensitive and difficult subjects
