First, a big thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for the ARC of Elise Hooper’s novel “The Library of Lost Dollhouses" – “When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.”

New Englander, Head Curator, Dollhouses, I feel like this book is begging me to read it. I love that this novel appeals to fans of art, architecture, miniatures, and women’s history. I love how Hooper weaves the lives of two women through a dual timeline - and it is well done!

In 2024, Tildy works as a librarian at a library in San Francisco, enjoying her quiet life until she finds two old dollhouses in a hidden room behind a closet wall, an odd spot for an archival collection. While researching what she found, she discovers an opportunity to save her beloved library and highlight the women of the past into the future. As a librarian and someone very interested in archival work and digitization, this is wildly exciting to me.

While the plot is complex the pacing is great. I think that it is extremely well written, while the story is complex with many characters this book engages its readers. I love the idea of this being a book club pick similar to groups who liked “The Last Garden in England,” “The Lost Apothecary,” and “The Library Book.” I really enjoyed this book a lot and could not put it down. I feel like this title really appeals to the librarian, archivist, and women’s history enthusiast.

Thank you William Morrow Paperbacks for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Harper Collin’s and Net Galley for a review copy of this book.

I haven’t read any of Elise Hooper’s other titles, but I will definitely be adding them to my TBR immediately.

A mix of historical fiction and a modern day love story of mixed media libraries, the reader is immediately drawn into a world of art, love, and secrets. Cora Hale in the early 1900’s is a miniature artist, creating dollhouses as portraitures for those wanting to tell their stories - but their secrets are hidden within the tiny rooms and their furnishings.

In 2024, Tildy works as a librarian at a library in San Francisco, enjoying her quiet life until she stumbles upon two old dollhouses in a hidden room behind a closet wall. Researching what she has found brings an opportunity to save her old library and bring these women’s pasts to the future. (As a librarian - I would kill for this to happen!)

Extremely well written. While the story is complex and there are many characters, it really pulls the reader in quickly. I felt like I was in Paris and London with Cora (definitely the stronger of the two time lines) and I think I fell a little in love with her myself.

Hoping Elise Hooper will be making a tour next year when this comes out - Reading with Robin and An Unlikely Story, I’m looking at you!

An interesting story of finding dollhouses in a secret room in the library, and the search for the meanings behind the dollhouses leads to finding more dollhouses.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this arc! I’m a sucker for anything library and dollhouses, this was a beautiful book.

I’m always excited when I see a book with the word library in its title. This one was doubly exciting since it also had dollhouse. During Covid I build my grandchildren a wood dollhouse and through that project I read a lot about miniatures. Mine had to be constructed for toddlers but I enjoyed learning about miniatures like the ones in this book.

This was an entertaining tale. It was creative, fun and had a bit of intrigue. I really liked the main character and would love to see a sequel starring her.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses is such a fun read that pulls you into the lives of two incredible women from different times, all while uncovering some intriguing secrets. The characters are super engaging, and the story flows so well that you won’t want to put it down!

This novel will appeal to many historical fiction readers—especially fans of art, architecture, miniatures, or women’s history. Author Elise Hooper interweaves the lives of two female protagonists in a dual timeline. Tildy is a modern-day curator at a museum in San Francisco who makes a serendipitous and intriguing discovery. Cora Hale is a miniaturist who designs and builds bespoke dollhouses for grown women. Both women experience tragedy within their families, keep secrets from those around them, and are transformed by the choices they make.

Readers will be quickly drawn into Tildy’s and Cora’s stories. Although the plot is somewhat complex the pace moves at a good clip.

This book could be a great introductory pick for a book club that subsequently reads historical fiction based on other notable women in history who were inspirations for characters in Library of Dollhouses.

Reading this book was entertaining and thought-provoking. No tears were shed and while there were intimate scenes they were not graphic nor gratuitous.

Thank you HarperCollins for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is one incredibly beautiful historical fiction novel! The characters, the plot, the history....all were written so beautifully and turned this book into a page turner!

What a beautiful page turner! The Library of Lost Dollhouses was such a phenomenal book! Don’t skip this one!

This was a beautifully done historical fiction novel, it has a great overall concept and enjoyed getting to read this. The characters were everything that I wanted and had that page-turner element that I was looking for. I was engaged with what Elise Hooper wrote and thought everything flowed together.