I was intrigued by this beautiful cover and the synopsis - a Gothic tale in 1850s London? Count me in.
Iris, who works in a doll factory with her sister, dreams of bigger and better things - namely, painting. So when a dashing painter named Louis offers her a way out of the drudgery, she accepts. However, lurking in the shadows is a taxidermist whose obsession with Iris goes beyond delusion. He plots and, unnoticed by Iris, watches and waits like a spider to make his move.
While I liked this novel, it also seemed to fall short in terms of character development. I never got a good sense of Louis, and Silas (the villain taxidermist) seemed a bit one dimensional, overwhelmingly stereotypically evil.

I liked it! A slow start but it builds to a (somewhat predictable) creepy crescendo. I enjoyed the insight into the PRB and female artists of the time/place.

Read this one in 24 hours. It was so creepy and spellbinding. I was totally hooked from beginning to end. I wish it was a movie!

I don't really know what this book was about. I mean, the plot was basic but was lost in all the descriptions and the.... weird. The point of this book could have been told in about 50 pages and the rest was just not great.

Fully of my own fault, this novel was not what I had expected. I am not sure why but I had thought this was meant to be gothic 'horror' esque. Though it was not the book I had intended I can appreciate it for what it was. The book was well written and the characters were well developed! I believe if this is a genre that you enjoy, this books would be perfect for you!

This was a great book. The descriptions and historical details were realistic and believable. The revelations as the book goes on of the depths of Silas’ madness was very well done. Overall, a nice piece of atmospheric Gothic work, set in the world of Pre-Raphaelite art and featuring, among other things: artists' models; estranged twins; an endearing urchin; domestic tragedy; a deranged collector, plus various pieces of Romantic art, bad Victorian taxidermy, stained silk and bodily fluids. Well-written and evocative. Worth the read.

The Doll Factory is an interesting gothic novel. Was a little too gruesome for me, yet I appreciated the authentic details of that era. Thank you NetGalley for the copy, all opinions are my own.

This was almost a DNF for me. It's extremely slow with graphic descriptions that turn your stomach and don't add to the plot. The prose while ominous and rich has a weak cast of characters. Woven with familial responsibility, coming-of-age, art, friendship, desire, obsession, loss, and the roles of women in Victorian England this may be for you if you can stomach it.

This simply wasn’t the story for me. I didn’t dislike it, but it was VERY different than what I was anticipating.

As someone who has walls filled with John William Waterhouse, Edward Burne-Jones and Millais’ Ophelia, this was a treat to read! Even though I’m not a scary book fan, this has just enough creep to make it thrilling but not too much where I put it down. Great characters and great premise.

I wanted to read this book because it was described as a page-turning psychological thriller. This one turned out to be unnecessarily dark and disturbing. The boy that collected money by bringing carcasses of dead animals to a taxidermist in order to buy false teeth for himself reminded me of the movie “Human Centipede”. The mutilation of animals for entertainment was just too morbid for my taste.

I would not recommend this book.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

Victorian England, gothic, a little creepy, rich, unique characters, this story was fantastic! I found myself rooting for the protagonist and booing the villain. Part love story and part true crime, this book has everything. A page turner I was sad to see come to an end.

Set in Victorian London in 1850, Elizabeth MacNeal's debut novel, The Doll Factory’ revolves around Iris, who together with her sister Rose, paint dolls for a living. All Iris wants to do is to paint and become an artist. She meets Louis Frost (artist) who asks her to model for him. She accepts with the condition that he will teach her how to paint. During an event she meets Silas, a taxidermist who becomes obsessed with her and has gone mad when Iris rejects his advances. Although it was a slow read, I enjoyed the creepiness and the depictions of Victorian London.
Thanks to the Publisher, Author and NetGalley for the eARC.

This Victorian novel starts out good, but somewhere it lost me a little bit, not enough that I didn't finish it. The character of Albion kept me going. He's about twelve and he and his sister live a very hard scrabble life. Very Hard! There are many moments in the book where you can't help but laugh at his escapades. There are some things with animals in this book that might upset people (just a little warning).
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.
All opinions are my own.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!

I had a difficult time finishing this novel and really didn't enjoy it much. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!*

DNF - I didn't realize this was set in the past, and typically those aren't my favorites. I gave it a shot, but only made it through the first quarter before deciding to move on.

*Three stars because forced to rate!*

I was given an advanced copy of this book but also read along with the audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook was a great choice for the read. I loved the setting and time period of the book. This was my first book that covered The Great Exhibition. Iris was a strong female character which kept things interesting.

The story of Iris and Louis seems doomed from the start. He is not truly free and she is being stalked by a dangerous and possibly deadly 'collector'. However, they are drawn to each other despite the many hurdles their affection must overcome. I loved the time and place setting of the book; Victorian England during the exciting time of the Great Exhibition. The exhibition actually lends an underlying theme to the plot.
The stealthy sense of danger that escalated to an edgy climax completed my enjoyment of this novel. It had a bit of everything---danger, historical romance and cultural mores. I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to Elizabeth Macneal for her fluid and captivating writing; the publisher, Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and put forth an honest review.

This is definitely a creepy, Victorian era book-- it gets all that right on the money! I guess my only issue with this one was that it felt split between two story lines: that of Iris's newfound freedom and Silas's obsessive, narcissistic ways. Overall, I was captivated; I kept on waiting for more to happen. The ending just felt flat for me. 3.5 stars!