I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Beautiful cover. A great Christian novel. Highly recommend

I don’t know what the title has to do with the story. There is a daughter but no dollmaker, unless I missed something?

Set in America a couple hundred years ago it tells the story of Simon and Amity who just had to have a real talk and all of what happened wouldn’t have happened.
He is a „forgetful scientist“ because he forgot ONE BALL. ONE. She was so mad that she didn’t want to marry him anymore.

I don’t know if pages were missing but this book feels incomplete.

I feel like this story could of been a little bit clearer with the editing. I did enjoy the setting and history.

Simon and his quest to find out the ancient stone that he believes brought luck when got near to the woman whom he loved since then. Discovering about this certain stone though put him in danger because some were willing to do everything just to have it.

Accompanying Amity who wants to be a travel writer must be a good diversion and adventure. With a sweet and supportive aunt on the side, this journey might lead to a happy one... Unless Simon would make a move to win Amity's heart again.

I actually enjoyed the story however I was not into the title. It didn't make sense at all particularly it didn't said that Amity was even a Dollmaker's Daughter. Quite confusing. 🤷

Thank you to White Rose Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC!

This is a well written book that holds your attention from the first page until the last. It's a sweet clean romance with just the right amount of drama to keep you turning the pages. It was a very enjoyable read. Thank you Pelican Book Group via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

A moving story that captured my attention with real life experiences. The subtle reminder and reference to trusting God is encouraging.

“The Dollmaker’s Daughter” is a first time read by Izzy James, new author to this reader. This was a no hands down quick read for me and somewhat the typical contemporary romance. This is a story of a magical stone that is held by Simon Morgan. The stone creates a lot of intrigue that kept me interested because it is believed that the inscription on the stone is the Name of God.

Then there is Amity Archer whose dull life leads her to wanting adventure and wants to capture this adventure in writing. When she happens upon a war widow, she wants to write her story as well. When Simon is asked by her father to accompany her and her aunt on a trip, thus starts the beginning of their relationship. There were parts of this story that had some ambiguity for me…for one that the father somewhat knew that Simon would compromise his daughter. This was a bit confusing as I would not know of any father asking any man not to do that. The other was me trying to figure out who was the dollmaker and what did that have to do with the story. A bit puzzling.

This story as I mentioned above was a typical romance story where a man meets a woman and fall in love…things happen, they break up and meet again. Overall, I think the story was a bit underdeveloped in plot and characters. The love story was sweet and clean, but too short.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pelican Book Group for this ARC and my fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Dollmaker's Daughter
by Izzy James
Back of the Book: “Forgetful scientist Simon Morgan lost his chance with Amity Archer ten years ago. He knows there is no hope...until a sea captain trades a meal for an ancient stone reputed to have the power to give him his heart's desire. Immediately after pocketing the stone, Simon runs into Amity. Did the ancient artifact cause this chance encounter or was it mere coincidence?
Like her favorite travel writer Mrs. Peabody, Amity Archer yearns for adventure, but she's horrified when her father asks Simon Morgan to escort her on her first real adventure.
With Amity's Aunt Clementine as a buffer between them, will Simon be able to prove that his love for Amity is real? Can Amity show Simon that her love for him has nothing to do with a so-called magical rock?”
Impressions: This is a new author for me. This book is the second in a series however I was unaware that there was a previous book and read it as a stand-alone novel. I would recommend reading this as it was challenging to get into this story as a stand-alone novel.
Rated: Slavery, racial abuse, kisses
Liked: The topic of this book was unique to me however it was also a bit strange how the drama unfolded.
Disliked: I did not care for this book. It took me a good bit to figure out the characters' roles and plot but it was not smooth reading even once things started to piece together. I wasn’t aware when picking this book that it was the second in a series so perhaps reading the first book would have made this one more enjoyable for me.
Quotes: “Happiness does not come from outside yourself. It comes from inside as you learn to be thankful for what you have.”
“Like it or not, women are not the same as men. We are different. Not less.”
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

First things first, I never found out who the dollmaker was or what significance he/she had. Other than that, it was a typical light romance where boy meets girl, boy gets girl (loosely), boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. In the meantime, there is a rock that holds "magical powers" that everyone wants. Some believe is it the Umim of the Old Testament and a couple of Jewish men read the inscription on the stone and tell Simon Morgan, the one who holds the stone at the time, that they are not able to pronounce the name on the stone, but that it is God's name. This stone creates some intrigue within the book to keep the reader interested.

Amity Archer not only wants adventure, she wants to write about it and capture it in words for her brothers and sisters. When she runs into Mary, a Revolutionary War widow who follows the camp as a laundress/cook, she wants to write Mary's story as well. When Amity finds that her Aunt Clementine wants to go visit friends in Williamsburg, she decides to go along. Amity's father asks Simon Morgan to accompany them on the trek over the mountains. Her father's instructions to Simon are almost indecent. He tells Simon that if Amity is compromised, she will do the right thing and marry him. Then he asks if Simon understood what he is saying. That alone gave me pause because I cannot imagine a father asking someone to compromise his daughter so that she will marry. No father in my acquaintance would have ever done that.

While this stone, sometimes called the Horeb Stone, is supposed to be powerful, it is not magic, though wielded in the wrong hands could give that impression. Many people want the stone for their own purposes and one of those people is the widow, Mrs. Blackstone. Her son is dying and she believes the stone will heal him. She go to extreme lengths to get the stone and try its magic, including compromising Simon.

Overall, this book is an easy read that doesn't take too long. There are parts that are more compelling than others, but the reader does stay engaged with the story. I've not read anything by Izzy James before, but her style is pretty formulaic. That's neither a positive nor a negative, it is just the way she writes. I'd give this book 3.5 stars, but I'll round up to 4.

Pelican Book Group and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

The Dollmaker's Daughter is a delightful and very clean story of Amity Archer as she travels with her great aunt and her neighbor, who happens to be her ex boyfriend, Simon Morgan. She has always loved Simon, but she gave up on him years ago. Now they are basically thrown together through this journey. He has always loved her as well, and has no idea what happened between them so many years ago. He obtains a stone from a mysterious man, that could possibly give him everything he ever wanted. As soon as he gets it, he begins spending more time with Amity. which makes him very happy. The stone is quite mysterious as well, and there are other people that want it for their own reasons. Whether the stone had anything to do with the two coming together or not is questionable, but it is an entertaining story I enjoyed.

I'm a little confused by this story, actually. Let's start with the title, "The Dollmaker's Daughter". Not once in the book are the words "dollmaker" or even "doll" used. Who is the dollmaker's daughter? I presume it's supposed to be the main female character, Amity Archer, but her father is only mentioned as being a plantation owner and maybe involved in the army? How does the title relate in any way to the story? So far as I can tell, it doesn't. Did I miss something somewhere?

Now, the actual story premise was okay - absent-minded scientist boy and independent aspiring author girl who missed getting together years ago get a second chance at love when boy comes into possession of a mysterious stone, all set amidst the USA's war for independence. The characters were likeable enough, despite being kind of flat. Overall, I feel like the story was too short to really develop the characters or to avoid having some decisions/events come across as sudden, overly impulsive, or too quickly resolved. More time could also have been spent developing/explaining the mysterious stone and its powers.

All in all, I didn't dislike this story, but I also didn't love it, and I came away feeling like I must have missed something along the way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Backlit PR for the e-ARC of this book.

The second book of Izzy James' Revolutionary War series (although I don't believe it is billed as such), "The Dollmaker's Daughter" features Amity Archer, sister of Field Archer, the hero of the previous work, "The Shopkeeper's Widow". This stand-alone novel has quite an unusual premise. The "Horeb Stone", reputed to be magic, is wanted by many but the charming and honorable protagonist Simon Morgan has it.

This unique story is interesting on many levels. The war is not front and center, although it is certainly present. Early experiments with electricity are related, as well. Amity's friendship with Lucy, who was purchased for her, is as unthinkable to most persons of that era, as owning slaves today would be for people now.

Due to the nature of the "magical" stone, this book by necessity has a strong religious undertone. I read a lot of Christian fiction and while I am not overly religious, I was raised Catholic and each student carried a personal New Testament. This book emphasizes the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible. Therefore, I did further research to enhance my understanding.

The love story is sweet and clean. While generally well-written, additional commas would have helped me. I plan to read " The Shopkeeper's Widow".

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel.