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The Dolls #1
The Dolls
From Book 1:
Pretty Little Liars meets Beautiful Creatures in this steamy southern suspense novel about a group of powerful teen voodoo queens who will do anything to get what they want.
Eveny Cheval has just moved back to Carrefour, Louisiana—a town she left fourteen years ago in the wake of her mother's suicide. An outsider at first, Eveny quickly finds herself embroiled in a web of intrigue, betrayal, and lies. Enter Peregrine Marceau, Chloe St. Pierre, and their group of rich, sexy friends collectively known as the Dolls. They want to bring Eveny into their circle and share their darkest truths with her.
Eveny is wary of these girls, but after murder strikes and she discovers that everything she believes about herself, her family, and her life is a lie, she's forced to turn to the Dolls for answers. Something's wrong in paradise, and it's up to Eveny, Chloe, and Peregrine to save Carrefour and make it right.
384 pages, Paperback
Published September 2, 2014
34 people are currently reading
3193 people want to read
About the author
Kiki Sullivan
8 books73 followersKiki Sullivan is the author of The Dolls series. Like the main character Eveny Cheval, Kiki used to live in New York and now calls the American South home. Unlike Eveny, she finds it impossible to keep her rose garden alive and has been singlehandedly responsible for the unfortunate demise of countless herbs. She may or may not have hung out with queens of the dark arts, strolled through creepy New Orleans cemeteries at night, or written the first book of this series with a red-headed Louisiana voodoo doll beside her computer. Visit her at www.KikiSullivan.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
June 27, 2014
This is one of the most shallow, insipid YA paranormal books I have ever read. It is filled with descriptions of clothes, descriptions of beautiful, wealthy people, meaning-filled loving gazes, and not much more than that.
I might get more complexity from the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine.
This book is as whitewashed as voodoo gets. It's an insult to the original religion.
It has:
1. A special, different main character
2. Insta-love
3. A love triangle between a mysterious (and light-skinned black boy!) and a nice, sweet boy-next-door type (shocking!)
4. The most flavorless Southern atmosphere I have ever encountered within a book. This is the South, but don't worry, there's nothing that resembles it in our town, because it's a fucking magical town that looks like a picturesque New England town, y'all
5. Voodoo that has been sanitized within an inch of its life. It's closer to a bastardized version of chanting underneath the moonlight Wicca than anything remotely like the original African/West Indies religion.
6. More clothes than magic. More brand-dropping than paranormal. Chanel. Bling. Furs. Bring on the wealth.
Don't bother.
The Summary:
We are the Queen Bees of Pointe Laveau high school. We are the descendants of Voodoo practitioners, our families rule the town, and we do anything we please.
We wear the most stunning clothes, and we hope you like seeing clothing descriptions because they are on practically every page. But we're worth it, our clothes are all designer, and they deserve to be shown off.
Fuck classes. Fuck the drinking age. Alcohol in school? Why the eff not.
I hate characters who have no merit. I hate characters who inherit everything by the basis of luck. Eveny is wealthy because of who she is. Eveny is powerful because of her bloodline. She never fucking has to earn anything. She never works hard for anything. I have zero respect for her. She knows The Dolls are shallow, and yet she feels a connection to them anyway, she slums with the poor kids, she can similarly chill with the rich kids. She dangles a guy along while lusting after another. Eveny is a character without character.
The Setting:
You want hot weather? Swamps? Fuck you. The privileged gated community of Carrefour in which Eveny lives is magically climate-controlled. There are flowers and temperate climates year-round. There are McMansions everywhere. Designer boutiques. French bakeries. It's like fucking Beverly Hills. There is no local flavor, unless our precious precious fucking Eveny decides to slum it out and go into the slump for a crawfish boil. And even then, the crawfish is frozen. What kind of self-respecting Louisianan eats frozen crawfish?
There is almost nothing of the Southern atmosphere that I love so much. The gated community of Carrefour might as well be anywhere, and indeed, it is described as looking like an "Atlantic seaside resort." Fuck that, seriously. The town is so tremendously wealthy, and the wealthy areas, not the actual, realistic South, is where we spend most of the time. There was no fucking point to this book being in the South, besides the fact that the setting is used as an excuse for the fuck-up sanitized version of "Voodoo" within this book.
And speaking of "voodoo."
Voo-what?:
Oh, and the love triangle. That fucking love triangle. Between the light-skinned black guy Caleb whom every girl in town lusts after, and nice guy Drew, whom she just can't bring herself to care about, despite the fact that he's obviously in insta-love with her.
All quotes were taken from an uncorrected review copy subject to change in the final edition.
I might get more complexity from the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine.
He looks up as we pass, and for an instant, our eyes meet, and it feels like the world slows on its axis.Most voodoo books I've read have been, well, doodoo. This book totally sucked, too, but here's the difference. It's still a steaming pile of poo, but it's shit that doesn't stink. It's shit that has no personality. Instead of a fresh, steaming pile of crap, this is fecal matter that's been dried, dunked in bleach, and then encased in plastic because all the character (however stinky) that made the poo interesting in the first place has been completely removed from it.
This book is as whitewashed as voodoo gets. It's an insult to the original religion.
It has:
1. A special, different main character
2. Insta-love
3. A love triangle between a mysterious (and light-skinned black boy!) and a nice, sweet boy-next-door type (shocking!)
4. The most flavorless Southern atmosphere I have ever encountered within a book. This is the South, but don't worry, there's nothing that resembles it in our town, because it's a fucking magical town that looks like a picturesque New England town, y'all
5. Voodoo that has been sanitized within an inch of its life. It's closer to a bastardized version of chanting underneath the moonlight Wicca than anything remotely like the original African/West Indies religion.
6. More clothes than magic. More brand-dropping than paranormal. Chanel. Bling. Furs. Bring on the wealth.
Don't bother.
The Summary:
“Look, I’m all for the idea of bringing a bunch of hot college guys to town, but are you sure we should be opening the gates if a bunch of magic-haters are out to kill us?”We're the Dolls and we are. Fab. U. Lous.
We are the Queen Bees of Pointe Laveau high school. We are the descendants of Voodoo practitioners, our families rule the town, and we do anything we please.
We can have anything we want. Good grades. Fabulous clothes. Immunity from teachers’ punishments. Control over everything. Lust and love from whatever boys we choose. It’s all ours. Doesn’t that interest you?”We are stunningly beautiful, all of us.
Across the group of mourners, two impossibly beautiful girls are staring right at me. One is a beautiful honey blonde with perfectly tanned skin. The other, who’s even more stunning, has glistening cocoa skin, a perfect model’s body, and mounds of wildly gorgeous ebony curls.We rule the school. Pointe Laveau is within Carrefour, Louisiana, a town for the ultra-rich. Even among the wealthy, we are the elites.
They’re surrounded by three guys and two other girls, all of whom are also gorgeous
We wear the most stunning clothes, and we hope you like seeing clothing descriptions because they are on practically every page. But we're worth it, our clothes are all designer, and they deserve to be shown off.
She’s paired her oxford with a set of Chanel pearls featuring a diamond-encrusted, interlocking double C. Her high-heeled Mary Janes are studded with what look like diamonds, and her hair is artfully mussed.The school has a dress code? Oh, you don't say. Guess what, we don't give a flying fuck.
Fuck classes. Fuck the drinking age. Alcohol in school? Why the eff not.
“Gin and tonic?” Arelia asks eagerly as she smoothes a corner of the blanket. It’s cashmere, I notice. “Or would you prefer champagne today?”Our lunches are catered. We don't eat in the cafeteria like the bourgeoisie. Everywhere we go, we are trailed by an adoring crowd of admirers.
Not only are they undoubtedly the most gorgeous girls in school, but they’re being trailed by a crowd of adoring-looking guys as they sweep into the cafeteria in a cloud of expensive perfume.Our version of Voodoo involving dancing around a circle to open the protective gates of our community in order to meet boys.
“Dandelion and mojo beans, sandalwood and lemon balm, we draw your power. Spirits, open the gates of Carrefour on Saturday night.”Eveny, we welcome you to our circle. First on the itinerary to become a voodoo queen: a makeover.
"We’re getting you a haircut and a makeover on Thursday after school. We’ve already scheduled an appointment for you at Cristof’s Salon.”Eveny:
The thing is, I’ve always felt a half step different from everyone else.Meet your main character, Eveny. About to turn 17, she is your typical special, different main character with immensely powerful power who doesn't do jack shit to earn it. A descendant of a powerful Voodoo Queen, Eveny holds tremendous powers...powers of which she doesn't have a fucking clue. Powers that she has never learned. Power that she has never earned. Powers that comes through her only through the lucky accident of her birth. Give me a break.
I hate characters who have no merit. I hate characters who inherit everything by the basis of luck. Eveny is wealthy because of who she is. Eveny is powerful because of her bloodline. She never fucking has to earn anything. She never works hard for anything. I have zero respect for her. She knows The Dolls are shallow, and yet she feels a connection to them anyway, she slums with the poor kids, she can similarly chill with the rich kids. She dangles a guy along while lusting after another. Eveny is a character without character.
The Setting:
“It’s like one big country club,” I say.Expecting an authentic, drowsy, languid, atmospheric Louisiana setting? You're shit out of luck.
A half-dozen shops that look like they belong in an Atlantic seaside resort town—not middle-of-nowhere Louisiana—extend down the left side of the street.
You want hot weather? Swamps? Fuck you. The privileged gated community of Carrefour in which Eveny lives is magically climate-controlled. There are flowers and temperate climates year-round. There are McMansions everywhere. Designer boutiques. French bakeries. It's like fucking Beverly Hills. There is no local flavor, unless our precious precious fucking Eveny decides to slum it out and go into the slump for a crawfish boil. And even then, the crawfish is frozen. What kind of self-respecting Louisianan eats frozen crawfish?
There is almost nothing of the Southern atmosphere that I love so much. The gated community of Carrefour might as well be anywhere, and indeed, it is described as looking like an "Atlantic seaside resort." Fuck that, seriously. The town is so tremendously wealthy, and the wealthy areas, not the actual, realistic South, is where we spend most of the time. There was no fucking point to this book being in the South, besides the fact that the setting is used as an excuse for the fuck-up sanitized version of "Voodoo" within this book.
And speaking of "voodoo."
Voo-what?:
"At one time our ancestors were very powerful practitioners of voodoo. But in 1863, they, along with Peregrine’s and Chloe’s ancestors, struck their own deal with the fates because they felt voodoo was getting too commercialized."This is what passes for voodoo in this book. It's practically Wicca in its cleanliness. It's herbs, dancing, a few cute little voodoo dolls. Now, I know that voodoo isn't the bloody sport that it's portrayed as in the media. I know that it's not all animal sacrifice. I know it's a peaceful religion, I don't expect gore and magic and screaming. I, however, expect more than....
...some sort of sorority ritual.And more than...
“There are a few things to know: First, all charms have to start with asking Eloi Oke to open the gate so that we can talk to the spirits. Second, they all have to involve herbs or flowers, because we channel our power from them. Third, they always have to be specific. Like you can’t say, ‘Make all the boys fall in love with me.’ Instead you’d have to ask for your own beauty enhancements, or ask for the love of a specific guy. Or both.”The Romance: There is insta-love. There is a love triangle. Eveny falls into insta-love with a...
“But I mean the one with the blue eyes,” I mumble.Are you kidding me? Can't you just make the love interest, you know completely black? Why does he have to be light-skinned? Why does a black guy have to have blue eyes? Oh, I get it, it's striking, but I can't help but feel so severely disappointed that what feels like copping-out on the issue of a person-of-color love interest.
“The light-skinned black dude?” Drew asks.
Oh, and the love triangle. That fucking love triangle. Between the light-skinned black guy Caleb whom every girl in town lusts after, and nice guy Drew, whom she just can't bring herself to care about, despite the fact that he's obviously in insta-love with her.
I wish I weren’t thinking about Caleb. I wish I hadn’t spent the last twenty-four hours daydreaming about being pressed up against the solid chest I’d collided with outside the library.As if I didn't make it quite clear: so not recommended.
All quotes were taken from an uncorrected review copy subject to change in the final edition.
November 26, 2014
Long story short: this book is awful.
I don't even know why I read it in the first place. I was searching through my books on my Kindle, bored out of my skull, when I decided to just fuck it and click a title randomly. I think the Fates hate me because it had to be this book. I've never been so frustrated and annoyed and wrathful as I have been with this novel. Throughout reading it, I couldn't help but stop every few pages to rage about something. I think the last time I went on such Hulk-like rampage was when I was reading Amanda Sun's Ink. I'm not sure what to feel, seeing as Ink finally has its own contender. I don't like reading books that enrage me, and more than that, I don't like friends and family suffering through the same experience.
With that said, I'll give you a guys a pretty good dissection what I found awful about this book, by going back in time and showing you my status updates. They will say it best.
Beware, there WILL be some spoilers, so if you plan to read this book in the future, I recommend leaving now.
Also, this is a long-ish review.
FINAL VERDICT: DISAPPOINTED.
I don't even know why I read it in the first place. I was searching through my books on my Kindle, bored out of my skull, when I decided to just fuck it and click a title randomly. I think the Fates hate me because it had to be this book. I've never been so frustrated and annoyed and wrathful as I have been with this novel. Throughout reading it, I couldn't help but stop every few pages to rage about something. I think the last time I went on such Hulk-like rampage was when I was reading Amanda Sun's Ink. I'm not sure what to feel, seeing as Ink finally has its own contender. I don't like reading books that enrage me, and more than that, I don't like friends and family suffering through the same experience.
With that said, I'll give you a guys a pretty good dissection what I found awful about this book, by going back in time and showing you my status updates. They will say it best.
Beware, there WILL be some spoilers, so if you plan to read this book in the future, I recommend leaving now.
Also, this is a long-ish review.
FINAL VERDICT: DISAPPOINTED.
November 22, 2014
4.5 !
Super fun and interesting!
Really easy and quick to read and I loved the way the story grew!
Only down point was that I guessed a big part of the book!
but still loved it!
Super fun and interesting!
Really easy and quick to read and I loved the way the story grew!
Only down point was that I guessed a big part of the book!
but still loved it!
October 19, 2017
Murder, Magic and Mayhem are the three words that I would use to describe The Dolls in a nutshell. I chose to read this for the Spookathon because it involved magic and also having borrowed from my library a while back, it definitely needed to be read soon. My thoughts on The Dolls overall are conflicting, the start was slow and some of the backstory long but when the second half of the story took off, it started to get more interesting.
The main character Eveny arrives in a small town from New York where in this town, her mother mysteriously died. After her arrival, a string of murders throws her world upside down and in a bid to solve them and restore order, the girls known as The Dolls introduce themselves to her. Peregrine and Chloe who have hidden secrets of their own. The story length was long and at times, the romance with Eveny and Celeb bothered me, one minute wanting to be with each other and the next, not. The ending however did make me want to read the other book in The Dolls duology Midnight Dolls which I preferred more. I liked the magical elements but it did take a while to understand just exactly what was going on. The mentions of voodoo dolls were interesting to read since I personally haven't read many books with them featured in.
The main character Eveny arrives in a small town from New York where in this town, her mother mysteriously died. After her arrival, a string of murders throws her world upside down and in a bid to solve them and restore order, the girls known as The Dolls introduce themselves to her. Peregrine and Chloe who have hidden secrets of their own. The story length was long and at times, the romance with Eveny and Celeb bothered me, one minute wanting to be with each other and the next, not. The ending however did make me want to read the other book in The Dolls duology Midnight Dolls which I preferred more. I liked the magical elements but it did take a while to understand just exactly what was going on. The mentions of voodoo dolls were interesting to read since I personally haven't read many books with them featured in.
June 22, 2015
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
----W.B. Yeats, an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature
Kiki Sullivan, an American author, has penned a thrilling as well as an enchanting YA tale of magic, friendships, love and lots of herbs and sexy dolls, The Dolls which happens to be the first book in The Dolls series, where a group of friends with strange magical powers (harnessed from various weird kind of herbs) try to protect their town from external attacks like soldiers trying to drive a sharp knife through the hearts of those girls, that's the bottom line of this book.
Synopsis:
Eveny Cheval just moved back to Louisiana after spending her childhood in New York with her aunt Bea. Eveny hasn’t seen her hometown since her mother’s suicide fourteen years ago, and her memories couldn’t have prepared her for what she encounters. Because pristine, perfectly manicured Carrefour has a dark side full of intrigue, betrayal, and lies—and Eveny quickly finds herself at the center of it all.
Enter Peregrine Marceau, Chloe St. Pierre, and their group of rich, sexy friends known as the Dolls. From sipping champagne at lunch to hooking up with the hottest boys, Peregrine and Chloe have everything—including an explanation for what’s going on in Carrefour. And Eveny doesn’t trust them one bit.
But after murder strikes and Eveny discovers that everything she believes about herself, her family, and her life is a lie, she must turn to the Dolls for answers. Something’s wrong in paradise, and it’s up to Eveny, Chloe, and Peregrine to save Carrefour and make it right.
Eveny and her Aunt Bea moves back to their old town, Carrefour in Louisiana from New York, right before Eveny's seventeenth birthday. This is the town where Eveny's mother committed suicide when she was three years old. Left abandoned by her own father, Aunt Bea tool her in and raised her like her own. As soon as they reach they weird, dark town, Eveny started to get these strange nightmares where she regularly saw an old cemetery with lots of blood. Soon she becomes a part of two perfectly and impossibly gorgeous and manipulative bitches of her new private school which smells like money. Next thing we know is that Eveny is saying weird charms and putting on some strange lip gloss to find a killer whereas the whole objective was to protect the town and to find the soldier who was tracking Eveny.
Well, from the synopsis, the book sounds like something very cool and enticing to read about, unfortunately once you're into the story, you feel like how sooner you can pull yourself away from it. Although, I kept on reading because of the author's narrative style and writing style which are both quite articulate and evocative as well as engaging enough to make me turn the pages of the book till the very end.
Well, I understand and I agree with other reviewers that the story building is not at all the strongest aspect in the book, moreover there's no logic to the occurrence of events in and around Eveny's life, and mostly it felt, like the author is in a rush to pour in one mishap and un-fateful event after another into Eveny's life, without any question or strong validation.
The character graphing is also not the strongest feature in the book, since the characters felt very unreal and vague with their demeanor. A pretty girl using charms to wrap all the boys around her, a dark-haired girl using charms to make her legs look longer or boobs looking bigger, a kind girl who impulsively and without any curiosity falls into the pattern of the new life. It was really hard to believe that a teenager moving cross country with her aunt to a new town is not subjected to any kind of problems or issues on the first day of her school, she easily got blend in, although she lived there ages ago with most of the memories wiped out by spells and charms, strange
Then there is a guy who wants to protect Eveny from all evils but is trying hard to run away from responsibility and he gets back his wish, still he wants that responsibility back even though he is quite loud about expressing his distaste about this responsibility. Anyhow, the characters lacked depth although I liked Eveny quite a bit because of her selfless heart.
The town that the author tried to feature is awesome and thoroughly evil, dark and gothic. She has included every kind of elements to make the setting of the book scarier and eerie with intricate descriptions about the background that the author have vividly captured with her prose. Yes, that's one strong quality of this book which kept me moving forward till the very end. There is in fact a quite a lot of mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat and the way she have unraveled the mystery with some brain twisting events and turns made me anticipate till the very end.
Anyhow, if you want to experience, sex and the city with a gothic version, then go for this book.
Verdict: Not that promising yet intriguing enough to go on till the very last page, and since the book doesn't end with a major cliffhanger, I'm not too enthusiastic about the next book in this series.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Kiki Sullivan, for giving me an opportunity to read this book, in return for an honest review.
----W.B. Yeats, an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature
Kiki Sullivan, an American author, has penned a thrilling as well as an enchanting YA tale of magic, friendships, love and lots of herbs and sexy dolls, The Dolls which happens to be the first book in The Dolls series, where a group of friends with strange magical powers (harnessed from various weird kind of herbs) try to protect their town from external attacks like soldiers trying to drive a sharp knife through the hearts of those girls, that's the bottom line of this book.
Synopsis:
Eveny Cheval just moved back to Louisiana after spending her childhood in New York with her aunt Bea. Eveny hasn’t seen her hometown since her mother’s suicide fourteen years ago, and her memories couldn’t have prepared her for what she encounters. Because pristine, perfectly manicured Carrefour has a dark side full of intrigue, betrayal, and lies—and Eveny quickly finds herself at the center of it all.
Enter Peregrine Marceau, Chloe St. Pierre, and their group of rich, sexy friends known as the Dolls. From sipping champagne at lunch to hooking up with the hottest boys, Peregrine and Chloe have everything—including an explanation for what’s going on in Carrefour. And Eveny doesn’t trust them one bit.
But after murder strikes and Eveny discovers that everything she believes about herself, her family, and her life is a lie, she must turn to the Dolls for answers. Something’s wrong in paradise, and it’s up to Eveny, Chloe, and Peregrine to save Carrefour and make it right.
Eveny and her Aunt Bea moves back to their old town, Carrefour in Louisiana from New York, right before Eveny's seventeenth birthday. This is the town where Eveny's mother committed suicide when she was three years old. Left abandoned by her own father, Aunt Bea tool her in and raised her like her own. As soon as they reach they weird, dark town, Eveny started to get these strange nightmares where she regularly saw an old cemetery with lots of blood. Soon she becomes a part of two perfectly and impossibly gorgeous and manipulative bitches of her new private school which smells like money. Next thing we know is that Eveny is saying weird charms and putting on some strange lip gloss to find a killer whereas the whole objective was to protect the town and to find the soldier who was tracking Eveny.
Well, from the synopsis, the book sounds like something very cool and enticing to read about, unfortunately once you're into the story, you feel like how sooner you can pull yourself away from it. Although, I kept on reading because of the author's narrative style and writing style which are both quite articulate and evocative as well as engaging enough to make me turn the pages of the book till the very end.
Well, I understand and I agree with other reviewers that the story building is not at all the strongest aspect in the book, moreover there's no logic to the occurrence of events in and around Eveny's life, and mostly it felt, like the author is in a rush to pour in one mishap and un-fateful event after another into Eveny's life, without any question or strong validation.
The character graphing is also not the strongest feature in the book, since the characters felt very unreal and vague with their demeanor. A pretty girl using charms to wrap all the boys around her, a dark-haired girl using charms to make her legs look longer or boobs looking bigger, a kind girl who impulsively and without any curiosity falls into the pattern of the new life. It was really hard to believe that a teenager moving cross country with her aunt to a new town is not subjected to any kind of problems or issues on the first day of her school, she easily got blend in, although she lived there ages ago with most of the memories wiped out by spells and charms, strange
Then there is a guy who wants to protect Eveny from all evils but is trying hard to run away from responsibility and he gets back his wish, still he wants that responsibility back even though he is quite loud about expressing his distaste about this responsibility. Anyhow, the characters lacked depth although I liked Eveny quite a bit because of her selfless heart.
The town that the author tried to feature is awesome and thoroughly evil, dark and gothic. She has included every kind of elements to make the setting of the book scarier and eerie with intricate descriptions about the background that the author have vividly captured with her prose. Yes, that's one strong quality of this book which kept me moving forward till the very end. There is in fact a quite a lot of mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat and the way she have unraveled the mystery with some brain twisting events and turns made me anticipate till the very end.
Anyhow, if you want to experience, sex and the city with a gothic version, then go for this book.
Verdict: Not that promising yet intriguing enough to go on till the very last page, and since the book doesn't end with a major cliffhanger, I'm not too enthusiastic about the next book in this series.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Kiki Sullivan, for giving me an opportunity to read this book, in return for an honest review.
February 12, 2015
This isn't out until March in the UK, so I don't want to give too much away, but I do need to give some general thoughts because I can see the ratings for this one are really varied.
Dolls is basically Mean Girls with magic. Shallow, privileged girls you love to hate (or just hate) who happen to be queens of their particular kind of magic. It's a bit a cheesy, a bit silly, but a whole lot of fun and I read it in two sittings.
I'm marking it down a little because I guessed the twists.
This is a book that you just have to accept for what it is, and have fun!
Dolls is basically Mean Girls with magic. Shallow, privileged girls you love to hate (or just hate) who happen to be queens of their particular kind of magic. It's a bit a cheesy, a bit silly, but a whole lot of fun and I read it in two sittings.
I'm marking it down a little because I guessed the twists.
This is a book that you just have to accept for what it is, and have fun!
August 18, 2014
I read a few chapters and that's enough for me!
But for those of you who may want more information, I'll make a list!
1. The main character is really boring. I know, I know I didn't give her a chance but holy crap, I could sense the Bella Swan in her right away.
2. The Dolls are fucking ridiculous. I couldn't get past them.
3. There's just so much high school crap that doesn't really have a lot to do with the story. It needs to be toned down.
I'm sure there's many more, especially from the reviews my fellow bloggers have complained about.
But for those of you who may want more information, I'll make a list!
1. The main character is really boring. I know, I know I didn't give her a chance but holy crap, I could sense the Bella Swan in her right away.
2. The Dolls are fucking ridiculous. I couldn't get past them.
3. There's just so much high school crap that doesn't really have a lot to do with the story. It needs to be toned down.
I'm sure there's many more, especially from the reviews my fellow bloggers have complained about.
September 3, 2014
This book had a promising start, then it rapidly descended into a slog of a read.
A few days shy of her 17th birthday, Eveny Cheval is whisked away from her life in Brooklyn, NY and taken to the walled and gated town of Carrefour, Louisiana. The town is odd - those in the periphery live an impoverished life while those in the center of town live a life of luxury. Eveny is surprised to find out that she is the owner of a large mansion in the town.
Enter The Dolls. The Dolls are a vapid, materialistic, shallow twosome named Peregrine and Chloe and together they use Zandara to conjure up their wealth and the good things in life. They are the most popular girls at school and have their minions providing them with blinis, caviar, champagne and other drinks for their school lunches daily. Turns out that Eveny is supposed to be one of them.
Here's my problem with this book: It had a good start and an intriguing gothic atmosphere. Then, it just got ridiculous. First of all, Aunt Bea moves Eveny in the middle of the year to a new town, new school, new everything - then becomes an absentee parent figure. Next, we have a love interest, but he avoids Eveny because as her protector, he is not allowed to have a relationship with her. Then we have some mysterious group called the Main de Lumiere who send an operative to kill Eveny - and that was way too easy to figure out who it was. So much time was spent on clothes, hair, cars, and other materialistic things and these were the girls who were to keep the town protected? Also when Eveny's estranged father shows up, she just accepts that he was there for her even though she had not ever met him.
Not sure if I can recommend this. It is a quick read so that's a plus.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer and Bray for a review copy of this book.
A few days shy of her 17th birthday, Eveny Cheval is whisked away from her life in Brooklyn, NY and taken to the walled and gated town of Carrefour, Louisiana. The town is odd - those in the periphery live an impoverished life while those in the center of town live a life of luxury. Eveny is surprised to find out that she is the owner of a large mansion in the town.
Enter The Dolls. The Dolls are a vapid, materialistic, shallow twosome named Peregrine and Chloe and together they use Zandara to conjure up their wealth and the good things in life. They are the most popular girls at school and have their minions providing them with blinis, caviar, champagne and other drinks for their school lunches daily. Turns out that Eveny is supposed to be one of them.
Here's my problem with this book: It had a good start and an intriguing gothic atmosphere. Then, it just got ridiculous. First of all, Aunt Bea moves Eveny in the middle of the year to a new town, new school, new everything - then becomes an absentee parent figure. Next, we have a love interest, but he avoids Eveny because as her protector, he is not allowed to have a relationship with her. Then we have some mysterious group called the Main de Lumiere who send an operative to kill Eveny - and that was way too easy to figure out who it was. So much time was spent on clothes, hair, cars, and other materialistic things and these were the girls who were to keep the town protected? Also when Eveny's estranged father shows up, she just accepts that he was there for her even though she had not ever met him.
Not sure if I can recommend this. It is a quick read so that's a plus.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer and Bray for a review copy of this book.
August 2, 2017
Okay so this was a really hard one to rate. It's not a great book, in fact there's a lot of things I really didn't like about it but despite that, I really really enjoyed reading it. It was a fun, mindless story and a very easy read. Even though it was super predictable, I couldn't wait to get to the end. So it gets 4 stars for sheer enjoyability.
So onto the things I didn't like:
1. This book was crazy predictable. a few pages in I realised these girls were essentially witches. It wasn't subtle and not a surprise. Every 'reveal' about Eveny's life/past/destiny/blahblahblah was obvious and I saw it all coming. From her mysterious dad to the betrayal from her friend. Nothing surprised me at all, yet for some reason, I wasn't bored. Weird.
2. The characters were ridiculously one dimensional and there was no character growth at all. You had Eveny, the goody goody, the mean popular frienemy, the nice friend, the douche bag boy, the mysterious broody love interest and the boy 'friend'. They all stayed in their nice little moulds and were very predictable.
3. The writing had issues. My biggest bug bear was the way the characters were portrayed, carboard cutout personalities aside. It was very cringe worthy to watch these characters interact with each other and the dialogue hurt me. This came across as a classic case of someone who has no idea how 17 year old act or talk, writing about 17 year olds. These guys were supposedly young adults but they were written as whiny children with zero impulse control. 17 year olds don't talk and act as if they're 12, it's not normal. Also the fact that the author has these people that talked like young children getting drunk every day at lunch was weird and didn't fit.
Okay so I may have just made this sound like the worst book in the world. don't get my wrong, it was pretty terrible but for some reason I genuinely really liked reading it. I looked forward to picking it up on my breaks from work and delving into the story. I can't explain it. It's like trash TV, you know it's bad but 3 hours later you're still sitting there and can't seem to turn it off. This book is like reality TV...
I borrowed this book for free from the library. While I wouldn't recommend you spend money on it, if your local library has it, you should give it a go. It's a nice mindless way to spend a few hours.
So onto the things I didn't like:
1. This book was crazy predictable. a few pages in I realised these girls were essentially witches. It wasn't subtle and not a surprise. Every 'reveal' about Eveny's life/past/destiny/blahblahblah was obvious and I saw it all coming. From her mysterious dad to the betrayal from her friend. Nothing surprised me at all, yet for some reason, I wasn't bored. Weird.
2. The characters were ridiculously one dimensional and there was no character growth at all. You had Eveny, the goody goody, the mean popular frienemy, the nice friend, the douche bag boy, the mysterious broody love interest and the boy 'friend'. They all stayed in their nice little moulds and were very predictable.
3. The writing had issues. My biggest bug bear was the way the characters were portrayed, carboard cutout personalities aside. It was very cringe worthy to watch these characters interact with each other and the dialogue hurt me. This came across as a classic case of someone who has no idea how 17 year old act or talk, writing about 17 year olds. These guys were supposedly young adults but they were written as whiny children with zero impulse control. 17 year olds don't talk and act as if they're 12, it's not normal. Also the fact that the author has these people that talked like young children getting drunk every day at lunch was weird and didn't fit.
Okay so I may have just made this sound like the worst book in the world. don't get my wrong, it was pretty terrible but for some reason I genuinely really liked reading it. I looked forward to picking it up on my breaks from work and delving into the story. I can't explain it. It's like trash TV, you know it's bad but 3 hours later you're still sitting there and can't seem to turn it off. This book is like reality TV...
I borrowed this book for free from the library. While I wouldn't recommend you spend money on it, if your local library has it, you should give it a go. It's a nice mindless way to spend a few hours.
February 29, 2016
Okay short & simple
The Dolls was a good read. I enjoyed the magic elements and the mystery. The author also did a really good job describing the setting. Very detailed , which made building the world in my head so much easier.
The characters were okay. I didn't like Peregrine obviously. Chloe wasn't that bad. And Eveny, idk, I have mixed feelings about her. She was strong one minute and the next she would let the dolls push her over. Kind of annoying tbh.
Also so disappointed in Drew.
I must say though that the last couple of chapters are where all the crazy shit starts.
I'm giving it 3 stars because it did drag at times (unnecessary fluff imo) and I pretty much figured out who 'the bad guy was' before it was revealed.
Would I recommend this? Yeah, I mean it wasn't that bad but it was great either. It was just a good read.I , however, would've want more mystery/action and less 'fluff'
The Dolls was a good read. I enjoyed the magic elements and the mystery. The author also did a really good job describing the setting. Very detailed , which made building the world in my head so much easier.
The characters were okay. I didn't like Peregrine obviously. Chloe wasn't that bad. And Eveny, idk, I have mixed feelings about her. She was strong one minute and the next she would let the dolls push her over. Kind of annoying tbh.
Also so disappointed in Drew.
I must say though that the last couple of chapters are where all the crazy shit starts.
I'm giving it 3 stars because it did drag at times (unnecessary fluff imo) and I pretty much figured out who 'the bad guy was' before it was revealed.
Would I recommend this? Yeah, I mean it wasn't that bad but it was great either. It was just a good read.I , however, would've want more mystery/action and less 'fluff'
July 19, 2014
My thanks to Balzer + Bray & Edelweiss
Actual Rating: 2.5
Point of View: Single (Eveny Cheval)
Writing Style: First Person | Present Tense
Setting: Louisiana
Genre: Young Adult | Paranormal/Magic
One word... Meh
So you might wonder what the heck are "the Dolls". Imagine a group of insanely beautiful, extremely rich, super popular, wickedly shallow people. Then add the ability to perform dark magic and communicate with spirits. Now you get the idea.
To be honest I liked this book a lot at the beginning. The suspense added extreme excitement to the story on top of the weird dark magic things going on. Then it was a little too dull when all they were talking about was their looks, and boys. The mystery which I hoped to be mind blowing was kind of predicable and bland. So bland.
The romance was almost unbearable in my opinion. Caleb and Eveny barely talked, in fact Caleb was almost never in the scene until the last, like 5 chapters, and they talked about being madly in love. I think it moved way too quickly. There was no connection, no chemistry. Nothing. I'm still not convinced they were in love.
The characters were okay, I guess. I liked Eveny for being true to herself (to some extent), but most of the time she was too annoying. There were some characters that I don't think were necessary to the story, like they were there just for the sake of being there.
The writing was, again, okay. The pace was nice at times, and was off most of the time. The dragging part of the story which was in the middle part was a total letdown.
It's pretty obvious that there will be a book 2. The question is whether I will read it. Probably yes, because I'm a little curious how things are going to be. Or maybe not.
I'd recommend this book to those who do mind reading a book about a group of a bit shallow people.
December 4, 2014
I don't know what to say. I thought this book was about a group of snotty rich girls who are mean to the new girl. But I was wrong. This is actually about shallow witches and murder. Not as exciting as it sounds. Plus, the romance was frustrating and I kind of guessed the bad guy early so...
But I found the MC charming, and she did gain insight into her identity and power, so that was good.
Unfortunately, this book is part of a series. I'm not sure if I will continue it but I would recommend it to anyone who might be interested in Mean Girls / The Secret Circle plot lines.
But I found the MC charming, and she did gain insight into her identity and power, so that was good.
Unfortunately, this book is part of a series. I'm not sure if I will continue it but I would recommend it to anyone who might be interested in Mean Girls / The Secret Circle plot lines.
August 6, 2015
Depois de mudar a classificação umas dez vezes, lá me decidi. Não é nada de inovador, mas estive sempre bastante entretida a lê-lo. Há que dar-lhe crédito por isso.
November 13, 2014
Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
I've been dying to read The Dolls ever since I first saw it on Tea Time (Hosted by Epic Reads, A.K.A HarperTeen) during their Fall 2014 #ARCParty. The second Margot and Aubry began discussing it, I was major grabby hands! First of all, it has a GORGEOUS cover! Then, Margot described it as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Craft" and called it a "southern gothic boarding school cattiness" book. Sooo... Yeah, I was completely and totally hooked. I DESPERATELY wanted to get my hands on it! Well, the Book Gods smiled down on me because it was already on Edelweiss (An online site for reviewers and bloggers)! So I went and downloaded it right after #ARCParty was over! Sadly, I wasn't able to read it right away - which I seriously regret now, knowing how much I loved it!! I wish I had read it sooner!!
First of all, I loved the characters in this book! All of them! Even the ones I wasn't supposed to like. Sullivan did an amazing job creating these multi-dimensional characters. For almost every character, there was more to them than the face they showed the world. While they would say one thing to friends, they'd be feeling the complete opposite on the inside. Or, in some cases, they had mixed feelings/emotions, but didn't want to be made fun of or ostracized for those feelings - something I think almost everyone can relate to.
Eveny was a fun protagonist. Like many YA characters, she has a tragic back-story, but it's a bit more complex than it seems at first glance. She was cautious when she had to be, yet she seemed to trust too easily. I liked that she was hesitant to believe the stories she was told; it made it seem more realistic. Because really, if you were told all the things Eveny was told, you'd be skeptical at first, too... Unless you read a ton of YA, then you'd probably be totally on board! But anyway.. I felt there was a nice balance of her being skeptical and her doing what had to be done in order to protect those she loved. She was kind of like the moral compass of the story.
Peregrine reminded me a LOT of Noelle from Kate Brian's Private series. She enjoyed the privilege and wealth afforded her and she reveled in the power she had. But she had moments where she was very vulnerable, too. Even when she was being horrible to Eveny, I had a hard time getting upset with her because I could tell there was more to her than that. I'm curious if we'll get to see more of her vulnerable side in the sequel. Chloe was a bit of a cliche. She was the eager side-kick who wanted to do everything she could to please Peregrine. But she definitely had a mind of her own and, when necessary, expressed her opinions and feelings. She stepped up when she had to.
Arelia and Margaux really annoyed me in the beginning. They were the mean, snobby girls who assumed hanging with the "cool" people would entitle them to everything the "cool" people were entitled to. They were horrible to Eveny, too. But near the middle/end of the book, there's a HUGE revelation with Arelia that completely changed my opinion about her.
Now for the guys! Let's start with Drew! He was the awesome sweet-talker and had the boy-next-door feel in the beginning. He had moments where he was very judgmental, though, and a bit high and mighty about certain things. But that was explained at the end and whoa... *Clears throat* And Caleb!! I expected Caleb to be that "hot jock" who falls for the "average girl" and tells her she's "so different from other girls..." Which would have been completely cliche and annoying. But I'm pretty sure Caleb ended up being the most interesting, complex character in the whole book. His backstory and the explanation of everything.. It just blew my mind.
I loved that the adults were kind of/sort of/at times involved and helping. You don't see that often in YA. I liked Aunt Bea, though she totally loses brownie points for all the lies and deception. She had her reasons, I get that, but still! She could have saved everyone a LOT of trouble if she'd just been honest. Mrs. Marceau and Mrs. St. Pierre were interesting characters, though, and I'd love to learn more of the background on them and Eveny's mother in the sequel. Also, Eveny's dad... Which.... *Zips lips* I can't because spoilers but OMG!!! Also, I loved Boniface! Not really sure how to describe him without spoilers, so just read the book and see for yourself!
The overall tone/feel of this book was CREEPY and EPIC. The first thing we learn about Carrefour is that it's locked behind a giant fence/gate with a magical key handed down from generation to generation. No one can enter the town if they don't have a key. Basically, everything that could possibly be creepy about a town, is creepy about this town.
The funny thing is, as I was reading, I had forgotten that Margot (Epic Reads) had described the book as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Craft." I remembered hearing it was like a Southern version of Pretty Little Liars with magic, though. Then, about 20% into the eARC, I wrote a Goodreads status saying that "So far, this has a Pretty Little Liars meets The Craft feel to it." Which means that Margot was dead-on with her description! It also reminded me a little bit of Beautiful Creatures, just for the southern gothic part of it.
The ending was insane and twisty and creepy and not at all what I expected. So many things happened, I felt like my head was spinning. I actually got to the end and couldn't believe it was over - I was convinced there had to be AT LEAST one more chapter and I was SO SAD when I realized there wasn't! I hadn't heard if there was going to be a sequel, either, so that didn't help my feels! But then I stalked Sullivan's Twitter account and found out that there IS, indeed, going to be a sequel! And now I'm all excited!!! It's not coming out until 2015, though, which is really far away.. I just hope we don't have to wait until next September for the sequel! I seriously don't think I can wait that long!!
So, overall (if you couldn't tell from my review), I absolutely loved The Dolls. It was a creepy, gothic, magical read that I think will appeal to fans of Pretty Little Liars, The Craft and Beautiful Creatures. Also, I think fans of House of Ivy and Sorrow by Natalie Whipple will love it, too! In both books, magic has consequences. You can't just cast spells and charms and get off scot-free - every action has a reaction and every action has a consequence. I can guarantee that Kiki Sullivan is now and forever more on my "Auto-Buy Author List" and I'll read anything she writes. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stalk Goodreads, Kiki's website and the Epic Reads website for a release date for the sequel...
You can also find more from me on my blog: Pandora's Books
I've been dying to read The Dolls ever since I first saw it on Tea Time (Hosted by Epic Reads, A.K.A HarperTeen) during their Fall 2014 #ARCParty. The second Margot and Aubry began discussing it, I was major grabby hands! First of all, it has a GORGEOUS cover! Then, Margot described it as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Craft" and called it a "southern gothic boarding school cattiness" book. Sooo... Yeah, I was completely and totally hooked. I DESPERATELY wanted to get my hands on it! Well, the Book Gods smiled down on me because it was already on Edelweiss (An online site for reviewers and bloggers)! So I went and downloaded it right after #ARCParty was over! Sadly, I wasn't able to read it right away - which I seriously regret now, knowing how much I loved it!! I wish I had read it sooner!!
First of all, I loved the characters in this book! All of them! Even the ones I wasn't supposed to like. Sullivan did an amazing job creating these multi-dimensional characters. For almost every character, there was more to them than the face they showed the world. While they would say one thing to friends, they'd be feeling the complete opposite on the inside. Or, in some cases, they had mixed feelings/emotions, but didn't want to be made fun of or ostracized for those feelings - something I think almost everyone can relate to.
Eveny was a fun protagonist. Like many YA characters, she has a tragic back-story, but it's a bit more complex than it seems at first glance. She was cautious when she had to be, yet she seemed to trust too easily. I liked that she was hesitant to believe the stories she was told; it made it seem more realistic. Because really, if you were told all the things Eveny was told, you'd be skeptical at first, too... Unless you read a ton of YA, then you'd probably be totally on board! But anyway.. I felt there was a nice balance of her being skeptical and her doing what had to be done in order to protect those she loved. She was kind of like the moral compass of the story.
Peregrine reminded me a LOT of Noelle from Kate Brian's Private series. She enjoyed the privilege and wealth afforded her and she reveled in the power she had. But she had moments where she was very vulnerable, too. Even when she was being horrible to Eveny, I had a hard time getting upset with her because I could tell there was more to her than that. I'm curious if we'll get to see more of her vulnerable side in the sequel. Chloe was a bit of a cliche. She was the eager side-kick who wanted to do everything she could to please Peregrine. But she definitely had a mind of her own and, when necessary, expressed her opinions and feelings. She stepped up when she had to.
Arelia and Margaux really annoyed me in the beginning. They were the mean, snobby girls who assumed hanging with the "cool" people would entitle them to everything the "cool" people were entitled to. They were horrible to Eveny, too. But near the middle/end of the book, there's a HUGE revelation with Arelia that completely changed my opinion about her.
Now for the guys! Let's start with Drew! He was the awesome sweet-talker and had the boy-next-door feel in the beginning. He had moments where he was very judgmental, though, and a bit high and mighty about certain things. But that was explained at the end and whoa... *Clears throat* And Caleb!! I expected Caleb to be that "hot jock" who falls for the "average girl" and tells her she's "so different from other girls..." Which would have been completely cliche and annoying. But I'm pretty sure Caleb ended up being the most interesting, complex character in the whole book. His backstory and the explanation of everything.. It just blew my mind.
I loved that the adults were kind of/sort of/at times involved and helping. You don't see that often in YA. I liked Aunt Bea, though she totally loses brownie points for all the lies and deception. She had her reasons, I get that, but still! She could have saved everyone a LOT of trouble if she'd just been honest. Mrs. Marceau and Mrs. St. Pierre were interesting characters, though, and I'd love to learn more of the background on them and Eveny's mother in the sequel. Also, Eveny's dad... Which.... *Zips lips* I can't because spoilers but OMG!!! Also, I loved Boniface! Not really sure how to describe him without spoilers, so just read the book and see for yourself!
The overall tone/feel of this book was CREEPY and EPIC. The first thing we learn about Carrefour is that it's locked behind a giant fence/gate with a magical key handed down from generation to generation. No one can enter the town if they don't have a key. Basically, everything that could possibly be creepy about a town, is creepy about this town.
The funny thing is, as I was reading, I had forgotten that Margot (Epic Reads) had described the book as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Craft." I remembered hearing it was like a Southern version of Pretty Little Liars with magic, though. Then, about 20% into the eARC, I wrote a Goodreads status saying that "So far, this has a Pretty Little Liars meets The Craft feel to it." Which means that Margot was dead-on with her description! It also reminded me a little bit of Beautiful Creatures, just for the southern gothic part of it.
The ending was insane and twisty and creepy and not at all what I expected. So many things happened, I felt like my head was spinning. I actually got to the end and couldn't believe it was over - I was convinced there had to be AT LEAST one more chapter and I was SO SAD when I realized there wasn't! I hadn't heard if there was going to be a sequel, either, so that didn't help my feels! But then I stalked Sullivan's Twitter account and found out that there IS, indeed, going to be a sequel! And now I'm all excited!!! It's not coming out until 2015, though, which is really far away.. I just hope we don't have to wait until next September for the sequel! I seriously don't think I can wait that long!!
So, overall (if you couldn't tell from my review), I absolutely loved The Dolls. It was a creepy, gothic, magical read that I think will appeal to fans of Pretty Little Liars, The Craft and Beautiful Creatures. Also, I think fans of House of Ivy and Sorrow by Natalie Whipple will love it, too! In both books, magic has consequences. You can't just cast spells and charms and get off scot-free - every action has a reaction and every action has a consequence. I can guarantee that Kiki Sullivan is now and forever more on my "Auto-Buy Author List" and I'll read anything she writes. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stalk Goodreads, Kiki's website and the Epic Reads website for a release date for the sequel...
You can also find more from me on my blog: Pandora's Books
February 16, 2020
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS
I was kind of iffy about this book at first. I was worried that this would just be a Mean Girls, only with voodoo. I did not love this book, but I actually ended up liking this book.
Eveny grew up in the small town of Carrefour, but moved to New York with her aunt when her mother committed suicide. Then, her aunt spontaneously decides to move back many years later. Carrefour is not the ordinary small town. The town is almost too perfect, while the outside portion of the town lives in poor conditions, others live in ultimate luxury. The town is even blocked within a wall. The popular hang out in a graveyard, one of them has committed suicide, and Eveny begins to wonder what is really going on in this town. And what really happened to her mother?
I actually didn't have that many issues with this book. My main issue is just the fact that I've read so many similar books, so this one didn't really wow me. I did like reading it though. The book did have some very mysterious elements. There are portions were Eveny has recurring nightmares and these nightmares made me very curious as to what was going on. I kept turning the pages to find out more. In fact, all of the oddness of this town made me curious. I also liked all the voodoo involved in this book! I found it very interesting!
Eveny is a great main character. Again, I don't have much to say about her because she's just like many other YA girls. As far as The Dolls, who are the popular girls, I did find them a bit ridiculous. They were portrayed like stereotypical popular girls.
IN CONCLUSION
I really don't have much to say about this book and I didn't really realize this until I tried writing this review. I liked this book, but it really didn't connect with me at all and it wasn't that memorable, since I can't even properly remember what I liked and disliked about it. To be perfectly honest, this is a Mean Girls with voodoo involved, in the beginning at least, but it turns into so much more.
MY THOUGHTS
I was kind of iffy about this book at first. I was worried that this would just be a Mean Girls, only with voodoo. I did not love this book, but I actually ended up liking this book.
Eveny grew up in the small town of Carrefour, but moved to New York with her aunt when her mother committed suicide. Then, her aunt spontaneously decides to move back many years later. Carrefour is not the ordinary small town. The town is almost too perfect, while the outside portion of the town lives in poor conditions, others live in ultimate luxury. The town is even blocked within a wall. The popular hang out in a graveyard, one of them has committed suicide, and Eveny begins to wonder what is really going on in this town. And what really happened to her mother?
I actually didn't have that many issues with this book. My main issue is just the fact that I've read so many similar books, so this one didn't really wow me. I did like reading it though. The book did have some very mysterious elements. There are portions were Eveny has recurring nightmares and these nightmares made me very curious as to what was going on. I kept turning the pages to find out more. In fact, all of the oddness of this town made me curious. I also liked all the voodoo involved in this book! I found it very interesting!
Eveny is a great main character. Again, I don't have much to say about her because she's just like many other YA girls. As far as The Dolls, who are the popular girls, I did find them a bit ridiculous. They were portrayed like stereotypical popular girls.
IN CONCLUSION
I really don't have much to say about this book and I didn't really realize this until I tried writing this review. I liked this book, but it really didn't connect with me at all and it wasn't that memorable, since I can't even properly remember what I liked and disliked about it. To be perfectly honest, this is a Mean Girls with voodoo involved, in the beginning at least, but it turns into so much more.
July 11, 2014
I’m usually not a huge reader of magic, voodoo or witches but when I saw this book and read the synopsis I knew that I had to give it a chance and I’m so glad that I did because it completely drew me in.
Eveny Cheval has just moved back to the small town of Carrefour, Louisiana with her Aunt Bea. Eveny hasn’t been back since her mother committed suicide fourteen years ago and she doesn’t remember much about the town. From the moment her Aunt has to pull out a key to gain access to the town, Eveny realizes that this place is extremely different from New York.
Eveny gets the impression that there’s something strange about the town from the very first moment she gets back but nothing could prepare her for what she was about to learn about the town and its residents.
“The Dolls” are the town celebrities, every boy drools over them and every girl wants to be them, and they’ve taking an interest to Eveny much to her dismay but it’s not long before she finds out that she is more like them than she knows and it will be up to “The Dolls” to save what’s left of Carrefour.
I really enjoyed Eveny as a character, though she seemed a little too naive at times. I had something pieced together way before it even crossed her mind. However, we both ended up being wrong so I guess it didn’t matter much. Peregrine and Chloe, the rest of “The Dolls” were a completely different story, I didn’t really care too much for them at all. They were selfish and shallow and they didn’t seem to care that they were hurting other people to get what they wanted.
I have to say that the mystery aspect was very well played out, I had very strong suspicions about one particular person but as it turns out, I was way off track.
Overall, The Dolls is a really unique and interesting read and I would definitely recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre.
Eveny Cheval has just moved back to the small town of Carrefour, Louisiana with her Aunt Bea. Eveny hasn’t been back since her mother committed suicide fourteen years ago and she doesn’t remember much about the town. From the moment her Aunt has to pull out a key to gain access to the town, Eveny realizes that this place is extremely different from New York.
Eveny gets the impression that there’s something strange about the town from the very first moment she gets back but nothing could prepare her for what she was about to learn about the town and its residents.
“The Dolls” are the town celebrities, every boy drools over them and every girl wants to be them, and they’ve taking an interest to Eveny much to her dismay but it’s not long before she finds out that she is more like them than she knows and it will be up to “The Dolls” to save what’s left of Carrefour.
I really enjoyed Eveny as a character, though she seemed a little too naive at times. I had something pieced together way before it even crossed her mind. However, we both ended up being wrong so I guess it didn’t matter much. Peregrine and Chloe, the rest of “The Dolls” were a completely different story, I didn’t really care too much for them at all. They were selfish and shallow and they didn’t seem to care that they were hurting other people to get what they wanted.
I have to say that the mystery aspect was very well played out, I had very strong suspicions about one particular person but as it turns out, I was way off track.
Overall, The Dolls is a really unique and interesting read and I would definitely recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre.
August 11, 2016
2.5 stars
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
17-year-old Eveny is moving back to her home town of Carrefour with her aunt, but she’s about to find out that Carrefour is not a normal town at all.
What is going on in Carrefour? And are the suicides that are happening really suicides?
This was an okay story, but it was painful to get through.
Eveny was an okay character, although she did seem a bit slow at times. On occasion someone would tell her something, and she wouldn’t understand what they were getting at until someone else told her in a more direct way. How she didn’t figure out some of the things that were going on was a little silly. I really did expect her to catch on to things a lot quicker than she did.
The storyline in this was okay, but I did find this book difficult to get through. So many things just made me cringe, or just felt unbelievable. Why would anyone want to go to the funeral of someone they’ve never even met, just because they’re bored? Who takes a snake with them to school every day? What kind of school serves gin and tonics to the students at lunch time? And these sort of questions just kept on coming.
There was an odd sort of romance in this, in that people were charmed to go out with other people.
The ending was a cliff-hanger, leading me to believe that this is the start of a series, I’m really not sure I can make it through another book of this though, it just wasn’t to my taste.
Overall; okay, but painful.
5 out of 10
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
17-year-old Eveny is moving back to her home town of Carrefour with her aunt, but she’s about to find out that Carrefour is not a normal town at all.
What is going on in Carrefour? And are the suicides that are happening really suicides?
This was an okay story, but it was painful to get through.
Eveny was an okay character, although she did seem a bit slow at times. On occasion someone would tell her something, and she wouldn’t understand what they were getting at until someone else told her in a more direct way. How she didn’t figure out some of the things that were going on was a little silly. I really did expect her to catch on to things a lot quicker than she did.
The storyline in this was okay, but I did find this book difficult to get through. So many things just made me cringe, or just felt unbelievable. Why would anyone want to go to the funeral of someone they’ve never even met, just because they’re bored? Who takes a snake with them to school every day? What kind of school serves gin and tonics to the students at lunch time? And these sort of questions just kept on coming.
There was an odd sort of romance in this, in that people were charmed to go out with other people.
The ending was a cliff-hanger, leading me to believe that this is the start of a series, I’m really not sure I can make it through another book of this though, it just wasn’t to my taste.
Overall; okay, but painful.
5 out of 10
February 5, 2017
This book was an interesting read; a bit of a murder mystery with a YA paranormal twist. It was pretty good although clearly aimed for the mid YA age group whereas I am end of YA age group so I didn't relate to the characters all that well. But I still enjoyed it and found myself gripped, I will also stick with the series as I hope to see the characters grow up a little.
The main character is Eveny; a girl who lives with her grandmother after the death of her mother who moves back home to the town she used to live in with her mother. In doing this she enters a place where the rich are ridiculous and the rest suffer in squalor. Eveny who starts out as a friend to both gets wrapped up with a group of girls labelled 'The Dolls' whose parents knew her mother.
The most noteworthy secondary characters for me include Chloe and Peregrine; the other 'Dolls'. Both seemingly selfish and uncaring to the others in the school, Chloe actually cares more than she lets on but Peregrine is just a awful person.
The storyline was original and well paced keeping readers interested throughout the book and building tension throughout as the characters find out who the murderer is and the risk of their success on someone else.
4 stars a decent read, a series I would like to follow
The main character is Eveny; a girl who lives with her grandmother after the death of her mother who moves back home to the town she used to live in with her mother. In doing this she enters a place where the rich are ridiculous and the rest suffer in squalor. Eveny who starts out as a friend to both gets wrapped up with a group of girls labelled 'The Dolls' whose parents knew her mother.
The most noteworthy secondary characters for me include Chloe and Peregrine; the other 'Dolls'. Both seemingly selfish and uncaring to the others in the school, Chloe actually cares more than she lets on but Peregrine is just a awful person.
The storyline was original and well paced keeping readers interested throughout the book and building tension throughout as the characters find out who the murderer is and the risk of their success on someone else.
4 stars a decent read, a series I would like to follow
April 7, 2015
I'm done already! I read it in less than a day because I couldn't put the book down. I LOVED it! I can't wait for the second book!!!! The Dolls is just a FUN FUN FUN read. From the beginning of the book I was intrigued and desperate for answers to questions. Like, why do you have to have a key to get into the town? Ok, but what REALLY happened to her mother? What kind of magic are they using? I just had to keep reading! I do have to say though I guessed the bad guy VERY early into the book. I think most people will guess the bad guy very early on as well. However, I don't feel like it spoiled the book any. There were still questions and interesting things happening that kept me entertained until the end. Overall the book has a great eerie atmosphere, fun characters, unique take on magic, and a fast paced plot. 5 stars!!
March 31, 2015
I thought I won't be making a "2015 DNF" shelf here in Goodreads. But now, I just did.
I tried, really. Right from the first page I knew it wasn't for me. I made it until page 144 but I have to pause and pick another book. When I picked it up again just now, the follow-up event in one page decided that I should leave it. My goal to no-DNF for 2015 was now officially broken.
P.S I don't like the main character, the insta-love, pathetic "gorgeous" girls, and well, this book. Cliche all the way. Plus, the main character takes a serious time describing ramp-worthy outfits. Not for me.
P.P.S Yes, this is the kind of book that make me roll my eyes.
(1 star is my standard rating for DNFs.)
I tried, really. Right from the first page I knew it wasn't for me. I made it until page 144 but I have to pause and pick another book. When I picked it up again just now, the follow-up event in one page decided that I should leave it. My goal to no-DNF for 2015 was now officially broken.
P.S I don't like the main character, the insta-love, pathetic "gorgeous" girls, and well, this book. Cliche all the way. Plus, the main character takes a serious time describing ramp-worthy outfits. Not for me.
P.P.S Yes, this is the kind of book that make me roll my eyes.
(1 star is my standard rating for DNFs.)
April 18, 2020
This book was so much better than what I expected. The setting is what really drew me in, I love all books that take place in Louisiana and anything that has to do with magic.
June 18, 2015
What a fun, mysterious, read! Loved every moment of this! Full review to come!
June 24, 2016
This is my first review this year. So, let's make it an angry one, shall we?
The Dolls is, without a doubt, one of the biggest wastes (of time, paper, money, etc.) I've read in my entire life. I'm trying to remember a more spectacularly insipid, preposterously vapid, profoundly shallow and endlessly frivolous novel and I simply can't. By the end of this self-imposed torture, I simply could not understand the why: why I have chosen to read this book or why had possessed me to pick it up and buy in the first place, and I, especially, could not understand why this book was even published in the first place.
Harsh, I know, but seriously, this is the type of idiotically pointless, flat and hollow and trivial crap that flooded shelves after Twilight. You know which type I'm talking about: super special, perfect, clueless girl is abruptly moved somewhere else where she meets a perfect stranger who seems to hate her for no reason, because it turns out she's strangely connected to some bizarre thing that only happens in this particular new, mysterious town, and there's some stuff going on in the background (usually an endless parade of murdered girls) and there's some paranormal crap that's supposed to be guiding the plot and some generic antagonist that threatens everyone's existence, but who cares because Makeover! Love triangle! Mean girls! Prom! Longing gazes! Stolen kisses! Taciturn, borderline bipolar love interest who is forbidden to love the main character for some half-assed reason that usually has to do with some selfish notion of honor or self-restraint!
The Dolls ticked every single item in that checklist. The paranormal aspect was nothing but a flimsy excuse to disguise, not even subtly, what is simply a "forbidden romance" cliche between one-dimensional perfect people who are remarkable in no way whatsoever and yet so, so special. Every single character in this novel was painfully forgettable, the plot dragged on and on, meandering with no clear direction in sight, the twist was entirely too predictable and, I kid you not, 75% of the entire novel was spent describing "fashionable" clothes. And it is so. freaking. boring. Repetitive to the point where I actually had to look at the page numbers several times because I actually thought I was going back and reading the same part over and over instead of moving forward.
Forgive me for thinking that YA had grown out of this stagnant, painful phase of vanity, shallowness and total meaninglessness. It's not that every book I've read since has been fantastic, but at least the criticism I leveled against them didn't go straight into the basics of simply being so utterly pointless and trivial and flimsy. This is outright generic, uninventive, and insufferably mediocre. The Gothic setting and atmosphere and theme are wasted, because nothing else matters in this story besides the contrived forbidden romance.
Another thing that bothered me immensely about this novel is the racial politics at play here. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this book is profound enough to deliberately present any sort of racial message, but, being the impressively dumb and senseless thing it is, this book actually does accidentally represent how racial politics still work in YA.
In this book, we have a New Orleans setting, a voodoo theme and a link to slavery, and not only is the main character extremely white, but she's also the leader "Queen" of a circle that deals in a branch of voodoo. And out of the three members of this circle of voodoo practicing "Queens," 2 of them are white, both described as having strictly white European characteristics. Only 1 (ONE!) of them is black. Think about that for a second and tell me it is not preposterous to even imagine a voodoo legacy story set in New Orleans where only 1 out of 3 characters is black, and where this single black character is not even the most powerful or central one. Look at this book and then dare to tell me this book doesn't perpetuate the terrible tradition of stealing culture from minorities and giving them to uninspiring white characters who are still better than every other colored character in the novel itself.
And there's the romance. It is particularly upsetting for me that interracial romances in YA are exceedingly rare, and it's even worse to think that most of them do not happen outside of "issue" novels where the races of those involved is crucial to the point of the novel itself. So, trust me when I say that interracial romances usually earn the novel I'm reading a lot of brownie points in my book. I know it was the intention of the author to showcase an interracial romance in this novel, but I personally didn't see it like that because of how whitewashed the love interest was. Do not give me a "black" guy with skin so light he passes as white with sky blue eyes, a guy people actually refer to in the novel as the "light-skinned black guy," and then pat yourself in the back for your progressiveness and openness. And this is not the first time I've encountered this type of love interest. Quite frankly, most of the times I've encountered a colored love interest, it was under the same description, because apparently, you cannot conceive the idea of your precious lily-white main character kicking it with anyone of color who is not an exception to the rule, who is special precisely because of how little he resembles his racial group and how much it resembles your own.
This book is so bad all by itself that its mediocrity almost overshadows the problematic elements it presents. Ultimately, there's little to no redeeming elements that make this novel worthwhile, much less that would make me even consider picking up whatever sequels this storyline can vomit into existence. It's one thing to offer a generic, mediocre story, but it's another entirely to present a product so unnecessary, so pointless and unremarkable, that is nothing short of a waste in basically every aspect possible.
The Dolls is, without a doubt, one of the biggest wastes (of time, paper, money, etc.) I've read in my entire life. I'm trying to remember a more spectacularly insipid, preposterously vapid, profoundly shallow and endlessly frivolous novel and I simply can't. By the end of this self-imposed torture, I simply could not understand the why: why I have chosen to read this book or why had possessed me to pick it up and buy in the first place, and I, especially, could not understand why this book was even published in the first place.
Harsh, I know, but seriously, this is the type of idiotically pointless, flat and hollow and trivial crap that flooded shelves after Twilight. You know which type I'm talking about: super special, perfect, clueless girl is abruptly moved somewhere else where she meets a perfect stranger who seems to hate her for no reason, because it turns out she's strangely connected to some bizarre thing that only happens in this particular new, mysterious town, and there's some stuff going on in the background (usually an endless parade of murdered girls) and there's some paranormal crap that's supposed to be guiding the plot and some generic antagonist that threatens everyone's existence, but who cares because Makeover! Love triangle! Mean girls! Prom! Longing gazes! Stolen kisses! Taciturn, borderline bipolar love interest who is forbidden to love the main character for some half-assed reason that usually has to do with some selfish notion of honor or self-restraint!
The Dolls ticked every single item in that checklist. The paranormal aspect was nothing but a flimsy excuse to disguise, not even subtly, what is simply a "forbidden romance" cliche between one-dimensional perfect people who are remarkable in no way whatsoever and yet so, so special. Every single character in this novel was painfully forgettable, the plot dragged on and on, meandering with no clear direction in sight, the twist was entirely too predictable and, I kid you not, 75% of the entire novel was spent describing "fashionable" clothes. And it is so. freaking. boring. Repetitive to the point where I actually had to look at the page numbers several times because I actually thought I was going back and reading the same part over and over instead of moving forward.
Forgive me for thinking that YA had grown out of this stagnant, painful phase of vanity, shallowness and total meaninglessness. It's not that every book I've read since has been fantastic, but at least the criticism I leveled against them didn't go straight into the basics of simply being so utterly pointless and trivial and flimsy. This is outright generic, uninventive, and insufferably mediocre. The Gothic setting and atmosphere and theme are wasted, because nothing else matters in this story besides the contrived forbidden romance.
Another thing that bothered me immensely about this novel is the racial politics at play here. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this book is profound enough to deliberately present any sort of racial message, but, being the impressively dumb and senseless thing it is, this book actually does accidentally represent how racial politics still work in YA.
In this book, we have a New Orleans setting, a voodoo theme and a link to slavery, and not only is the main character extremely white, but she's also the leader "Queen" of a circle that deals in a branch of voodoo. And out of the three members of this circle of voodoo practicing "Queens," 2 of them are white, both described as having strictly white European characteristics. Only 1 (ONE!) of them is black. Think about that for a second and tell me it is not preposterous to even imagine a voodoo legacy story set in New Orleans where only 1 out of 3 characters is black, and where this single black character is not even the most powerful or central one. Look at this book and then dare to tell me this book doesn't perpetuate the terrible tradition of stealing culture from minorities and giving them to uninspiring white characters who are still better than every other colored character in the novel itself.
And there's the romance. It is particularly upsetting for me that interracial romances in YA are exceedingly rare, and it's even worse to think that most of them do not happen outside of "issue" novels where the races of those involved is crucial to the point of the novel itself. So, trust me when I say that interracial romances usually earn the novel I'm reading a lot of brownie points in my book. I know it was the intention of the author to showcase an interracial romance in this novel, but I personally didn't see it like that because of how whitewashed the love interest was. Do not give me a "black" guy with skin so light he passes as white with sky blue eyes, a guy people actually refer to in the novel as the "light-skinned black guy," and then pat yourself in the back for your progressiveness and openness. And this is not the first time I've encountered this type of love interest. Quite frankly, most of the times I've encountered a colored love interest, it was under the same description, because apparently, you cannot conceive the idea of your precious lily-white main character kicking it with anyone of color who is not an exception to the rule, who is special precisely because of how little he resembles his racial group and how much it resembles your own.
This book is so bad all by itself that its mediocrity almost overshadows the problematic elements it presents. Ultimately, there's little to no redeeming elements that make this novel worthwhile, much less that would make me even consider picking up whatever sequels this storyline can vomit into existence. It's one thing to offer a generic, mediocre story, but it's another entirely to present a product so unnecessary, so pointless and unremarkable, that is nothing short of a waste in basically every aspect possible.
June 6, 2025
Made a fair fluffy summer schlock YA poolside read. Southern gothic, witchcraft, and boys oh my! I suspended my disbelief about 200 year old men and blood charms until they drove a vehicle deep into the French Quarter on Mardi Gras, with expediency, to some designated parking spot. Get real. Minus one star.
October 21, 2014
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: The Dolls started out a creepy, atmospheric read full of suspense. I loved the first half, but after that my interest dwindled and slowly faded.
Opening Sentence: When I open my eyes and blink into the milky morning sunlight, there’s no longer snow on the ground.
The Review:
Eveny just moved back into the town of her birth. But there are strange things going on, keys to the town that one needs to get inside, it’s off the radar way, the always climate controlled center of the town, and it all seems to center around the Dolls. They are a group of the most popular in town. Beautiful, rich, loved by all boys and envied by all girls. And Eveny is being drawn into their group.
At first the book was creepy and atmospheric, easy to lose oneself in. There were many questions I was eager for the answers too, and I couldn’t wait to discover the secrets of the twin that the main character moved into. Then, as the story moved on and the plot unraveled, my interest became less and less. There were some info-dumps that were hard to understand because the sheer amount of stuff the reader is swallowing. Slowly the strong sense of tone for the book wavered and my approval for the main character faded as well. My main problem was the love interest, and my favorite characters were the original dolls and the sometimes funny ways they used magic. Speaking of, the magic in this book was something akin to voodoo but different. I was intrigued by the way it was carried out. Yes, it used little dolls and pins. But there were differences as well, and the book was rich in the history aspect and world building of the place, which was dolled out less concentrated.
The setting of a the town is generally flavorless. Usually Southern towns in Lousiana have swamps, sweltering heat, the works, think Beautiful Creatures. However everything Southern seems to be missing. No swamps whatsoever. The heat, even, is climate controlled in the center of the town where the rich are by magic. I usually love imagining thick humidity and can smell the bayou when I read about Southern places, thanks to a few trips to New Orleans and around. I just wasn’t feeling it here though. Why put it in a Southern area if no ones going to be Southern? There might have been a few y’alls in there, I honestly can’t remember, but I don’t think there were many.
I didn’t like the love interest in this book at all, Caleb. Firstly, it was insta love. Barf. He seemed very uncaring and stoic most of the novel. Even when professing his love, I didn’t get a vibe from him that he was very invested. I didn’t feel attracted to him at all, either, and the tall blue-eyed book guys are the ones I usually fall for right along with the main character. It seemed more like an infatuation than a romance, to be honest. My favorite parts of novels is the love, most of the time, so this knocked the book down a star. Caleb needed work for me to really appreciate him, and emotions. I understand: he is supposed to be this strong, silent, protective force, and he isn’t supposed to be too excited or loving or whatever. But I need more glimses of caring. Another thing that annoyed me bunches was that Caleb was the love interest who, like many other books have done, is supposedly full of chemistry with the main character. Even though many of their conversations are always extremely awkward with pauses and silent stretches. I need to see them joking and laughing together to feel like they really belong as a couple, to feel any chemistry.
However much I complained above, though, I did enjoy this novel to a certain degree, even though I appreciated it more towards the beginning. There was a spark of something good there, but it wasn’t developed enough to become a flame. The characters were shallow and selfish, except the main character and her love interest, but altogether it didn’t bother me as much as some others on Goodreads. Many of their reviews get quite passionate. There were some twists, that’s for sure; twists that I saw coming. Sometimes I would think “Eveny! Come on! It’s right in front of you!” Things I did like were the magic aspect and the beginning of the book, when you’re still very drawn to the town as you so far don’t know what’s going on. I’d encourage lovers of witchcraft/voodoo to give this a try, but not if you want a great love story or amazing Southern atmosphere.
Notable Scene:
And that’s when I see them.
Across the group of mourners, two impossibly beautiful girls are staring right at me. One is a beautiful honey-blonde with perfectly tanned skin, ridiculously long legs, and huge blue eyes. The other, who’s even more stunning, has glistening cocoa skin, a perfect model’s body, and mounds of wildly gorgeous curls that surround her like a halo.
FTC Advisory: Balzar+Bray/HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Dolls. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: The Dolls started out a creepy, atmospheric read full of suspense. I loved the first half, but after that my interest dwindled and slowly faded.
Opening Sentence: When I open my eyes and blink into the milky morning sunlight, there’s no longer snow on the ground.
The Review:
Eveny just moved back into the town of her birth. But there are strange things going on, keys to the town that one needs to get inside, it’s off the radar way, the always climate controlled center of the town, and it all seems to center around the Dolls. They are a group of the most popular in town. Beautiful, rich, loved by all boys and envied by all girls. And Eveny is being drawn into their group.
At first the book was creepy and atmospheric, easy to lose oneself in. There were many questions I was eager for the answers too, and I couldn’t wait to discover the secrets of the twin that the main character moved into. Then, as the story moved on and the plot unraveled, my interest became less and less. There were some info-dumps that were hard to understand because the sheer amount of stuff the reader is swallowing. Slowly the strong sense of tone for the book wavered and my approval for the main character faded as well. My main problem was the love interest, and my favorite characters were the original dolls and the sometimes funny ways they used magic. Speaking of, the magic in this book was something akin to voodoo but different. I was intrigued by the way it was carried out. Yes, it used little dolls and pins. But there were differences as well, and the book was rich in the history aspect and world building of the place, which was dolled out less concentrated.
The setting of a the town is generally flavorless. Usually Southern towns in Lousiana have swamps, sweltering heat, the works, think Beautiful Creatures. However everything Southern seems to be missing. No swamps whatsoever. The heat, even, is climate controlled in the center of the town where the rich are by magic. I usually love imagining thick humidity and can smell the bayou when I read about Southern places, thanks to a few trips to New Orleans and around. I just wasn’t feeling it here though. Why put it in a Southern area if no ones going to be Southern? There might have been a few y’alls in there, I honestly can’t remember, but I don’t think there were many.
I didn’t like the love interest in this book at all, Caleb. Firstly, it was insta love. Barf. He seemed very uncaring and stoic most of the novel. Even when professing his love, I didn’t get a vibe from him that he was very invested. I didn’t feel attracted to him at all, either, and the tall blue-eyed book guys are the ones I usually fall for right along with the main character. It seemed more like an infatuation than a romance, to be honest. My favorite parts of novels is the love, most of the time, so this knocked the book down a star. Caleb needed work for me to really appreciate him, and emotions. I understand: he is supposed to be this strong, silent, protective force, and he isn’t supposed to be too excited or loving or whatever. But I need more glimses of caring. Another thing that annoyed me bunches was that Caleb was the love interest who, like many other books have done, is supposedly full of chemistry with the main character. Even though many of their conversations are always extremely awkward with pauses and silent stretches. I need to see them joking and laughing together to feel like they really belong as a couple, to feel any chemistry.
However much I complained above, though, I did enjoy this novel to a certain degree, even though I appreciated it more towards the beginning. There was a spark of something good there, but it wasn’t developed enough to become a flame. The characters were shallow and selfish, except the main character and her love interest, but altogether it didn’t bother me as much as some others on Goodreads. Many of their reviews get quite passionate. There were some twists, that’s for sure; twists that I saw coming. Sometimes I would think “Eveny! Come on! It’s right in front of you!” Things I did like were the magic aspect and the beginning of the book, when you’re still very drawn to the town as you so far don’t know what’s going on. I’d encourage lovers of witchcraft/voodoo to give this a try, but not if you want a great love story or amazing Southern atmosphere.
Notable Scene:
And that’s when I see them.
Across the group of mourners, two impossibly beautiful girls are staring right at me. One is a beautiful honey-blonde with perfectly tanned skin, ridiculously long legs, and huge blue eyes. The other, who’s even more stunning, has glistening cocoa skin, a perfect model’s body, and mounds of wildly gorgeous curls that surround her like a halo.
FTC Advisory: Balzar+Bray/HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Dolls. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
September 5, 2018
This book is a bit of a mess. There is sooo much wrong with it but like a lot of trashy books it's kind of addictive to read! One of the most annoying parts for me though was that literally instantly I guessed who the undercover solider was, it was so obvious! I don't know if I will read the rest in the series but who knows.
April 6, 2018
Please don't judge this book based on the cover! While I personally love the cover, it also is sorta cheesy and makes it seem like this book is more of a guilty pleasure read rather than something with substance. I absolutely loved it! I was flying though it faster than I thought I would. I loved Eveny and Caleb, they are absolutely adorable!!! Peregrine and Drew were not likeable whatsoever, but Peregrine grew on me after awhile. I definitely agree with the description that it is a mashup of PLL and Beautiful Creatures, but with more substance. I'd say it leans more towards Beautiful Creatures, so if you devoured that series like me, please give this book a chance!!! Try reading 2 or 3 chapters and see if you aren't totally hooked like I was.
June 21, 2015
Urgh. This was right up there with my most hated YA titles, books that made me feel physically ill like Twilight and Beautiful Creatures. Books that make even a seasoned book lover feel like throwing them in a fire when finished (I won't by the way, I'll either donate it to the Op Shop or sell it on the book buy swap and sell) This review will definitely have spoilers, so read on at your own risk!
Still. Really? I'd read reviews but once again because of the different cover I didn't immediately twig that this was the same book. I read far too many reviews to keep track of which ones to steer clear of, and even then who knows what I'll love and what I'll hate? But this wasn't even a neutral reaction, this was dramatic sighing and eye rolling, nausea, making up excuses to do anything but read. I should have just bitten the bullet and finished this days ago, instead I've been playing endless romps of Red Dead Redemption to get my money up. Hn, I might even play some more of that to wash the taste of this out.
I guess I've said plenty of times that I didn't like it, but I haven't explained why. I hated the wishy washy magic, the way it was used. The main character Eveny drove me mad as well, and her thought processes made me want to smack her out of frustration. Chloe and Peregrine are horrible, nasty girls with no idea of the impact they are having by stealing basically whatever they want and passing it off as magic. They treat everyone, even their supposed friends and lovers, as trash. They are constantly down on Eveny, from her looks, her friends, her dreams. You know what you call people like that? Your enemy! They aren't your friends, they aren't your sister queens, they are just two spoiled bitches who for once haven't gotten their way but have to make the best of it. Blah.
But I somehow lost track of Eveny herself last paragraph; how could I? Give me a main character just once that doesn't instantly believe she's the special with the ability to put a stop to the Kragle (Woo, Lego Movie reference!) Oh my mom was the leader and now I will be too? Oh Cool, must explain my dreams. A Makeover and Haircut? Well OK, but I'm still pretty hot even without that, but I'll just accept it anyway. Really? Why was that part needed? Couldn't Eveny defy them and just look how she wanted, a look she was entirely happy with, and one the 'love interest' liked? Speaking of, instalove. Yep, it happened again. -_- 'The light skinned black dude' Caleb- don't even get me started on that description.
Probably what started my weird factor with this book was one specific scene. Eveny is at home alone, and Drew, a boy she knew when she was three, comes knocking on her door just checking how she is and how the move went. She then invites herself to the funeral he's going to. 'Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, take me to a funeral maybe?' got stuck in my head and I started humming it here. It was just the strangest thing I'd ever read in YA fiction. Someone you barely know knocks at your door and you head off to a funeral with him, for someone you've never met. Seems legit.
The only good thing about this book is that it stoked my passion. Passionate hatred, but then any feeling from a book is one you wouldn't have had without the book itself. You've got to find a bad apple so you can covert the good ones. The shame is that is such a damn pretty book too, with pink pages on my edition. I love the look and not the book. I definitely won't be chasing down the second, one star.
Still. Really? I'd read reviews but once again because of the different cover I didn't immediately twig that this was the same book. I read far too many reviews to keep track of which ones to steer clear of, and even then who knows what I'll love and what I'll hate? But this wasn't even a neutral reaction, this was dramatic sighing and eye rolling, nausea, making up excuses to do anything but read. I should have just bitten the bullet and finished this days ago, instead I've been playing endless romps of Red Dead Redemption to get my money up. Hn, I might even play some more of that to wash the taste of this out.
I guess I've said plenty of times that I didn't like it, but I haven't explained why. I hated the wishy washy magic, the way it was used. The main character Eveny drove me mad as well, and her thought processes made me want to smack her out of frustration. Chloe and Peregrine are horrible, nasty girls with no idea of the impact they are having by stealing basically whatever they want and passing it off as magic. They treat everyone, even their supposed friends and lovers, as trash. They are constantly down on Eveny, from her looks, her friends, her dreams. You know what you call people like that? Your enemy! They aren't your friends, they aren't your sister queens, they are just two spoiled bitches who for once haven't gotten their way but have to make the best of it. Blah.
But I somehow lost track of Eveny herself last paragraph; how could I? Give me a main character just once that doesn't instantly believe she's the special with the ability to put a stop to the Kragle (Woo, Lego Movie reference!) Oh my mom was the leader and now I will be too? Oh Cool, must explain my dreams. A Makeover and Haircut? Well OK, but I'm still pretty hot even without that, but I'll just accept it anyway. Really? Why was that part needed? Couldn't Eveny defy them and just look how she wanted, a look she was entirely happy with, and one the 'love interest' liked? Speaking of, instalove. Yep, it happened again. -_- 'The light skinned black dude' Caleb- don't even get me started on that description.
Probably what started my weird factor with this book was one specific scene. Eveny is at home alone, and Drew, a boy she knew when she was three, comes knocking on her door just checking how she is and how the move went. She then invites herself to the funeral he's going to. 'Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, take me to a funeral maybe?' got stuck in my head and I started humming it here. It was just the strangest thing I'd ever read in YA fiction. Someone you barely know knocks at your door and you head off to a funeral with him, for someone you've never met. Seems legit.
The only good thing about this book is that it stoked my passion. Passionate hatred, but then any feeling from a book is one you wouldn't have had without the book itself. You've got to find a bad apple so you can covert the good ones. The shame is that is such a damn pretty book too, with pink pages on my edition. I love the look and not the book. I definitely won't be chasing down the second, one star.
April 7, 2015
This one started off pretty good, but the last few chapters were a let down. This comes under the heading of 'rich people problems'. Now, this is the sort of rich people problems though, I enjoy. A magical town with a history, the girl who was taken away, and brought back in.
Spoiled rich girls and witchcraft is never a good combination, though it does make for entertaining books. In this case, the mysterious town history is built amongst a type of voodoo lead by three girls who come into their powers at 17. Eveny, our heroine, has been living outside the town most of her life after the death of her mother and is brought back in.
Eveny, at least, was the most sensible character of the lot. Not swayed by her new uber-rich lifestyle or the queen bees who try to befriend her. She's kind of fascinated, but (good for her) prefer the regular kids on the "poor side" of town. There's a big divide of the rich side and the poor side in this, there's explanations worked in. But the more Eveny gets involved, the more she succumbs to the magic and power of the snooty girls, The Dolls.
The world building and the uses of voodoo, the town history was fairly interesting. There's a lot about using herbs and plants, calling on their power, but there's also lessons and warnings about balance as well. The Dolls don't give a fuck about the balance part, Eveny to be fair, starts to realise how wrong this is. Trying to persuade the idiotic Dolls about this however, when you have two hundred years of tradition working against you, tends not to work.
There's a sort of romance plot as well, and a plot involving a sect of hunters who are dead set on eradicating practitioners of the type of voodoo the Dolls play with. While it was very superficial and silly in parts (there's a lot of nonsense about who's wearing what, including voodoo for beauty enhancements) ceremonies for allowing to be possessed by certain spirits which come across as one big ass orgy (there are reasons for this, of course) but the end was a bit of a rush and it was all so fast and silly it kind of spoiled it.
Spoiled rich girls and witchcraft is never a good combination, though it does make for entertaining books. In this case, the mysterious town history is built amongst a type of voodoo lead by three girls who come into their powers at 17. Eveny, our heroine, has been living outside the town most of her life after the death of her mother and is brought back in.
Eveny, at least, was the most sensible character of the lot. Not swayed by her new uber-rich lifestyle or the queen bees who try to befriend her. She's kind of fascinated, but (good for her) prefer the regular kids on the "poor side" of town. There's a big divide of the rich side and the poor side in this, there's explanations worked in. But the more Eveny gets involved, the more she succumbs to the magic and power of the snooty girls, The Dolls.
The world building and the uses of voodoo, the town history was fairly interesting. There's a lot about using herbs and plants, calling on their power, but there's also lessons and warnings about balance as well. The Dolls don't give a fuck about the balance part, Eveny to be fair, starts to realise how wrong this is. Trying to persuade the idiotic Dolls about this however, when you have two hundred years of tradition working against you, tends not to work.
There's a sort of romance plot as well, and a plot involving a sect of hunters who are dead set on eradicating practitioners of the type of voodoo the Dolls play with. While it was very superficial and silly in parts (there's a lot of nonsense about who's wearing what, including voodoo for beauty enhancements) ceremonies for allowing to be possessed by certain spirits which come across as one big ass orgy (there are reasons for this, of course) but the end was a bit of a rush and it was all so fast and silly it kind of spoiled it.
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