🔹 My take: 4.25/5

🔸 Naomi and her family have found a beautiful & bigger house to settle and looking towards finalising sale deal of their existing house. At last moment, the deal is cancelled and their dreams shatter. Enters Summer, a single mother who expresses interest to get the house. Naomi being in desperate need; the deal goes through quickly. Summer is very sweet and beautiful. But Naomi starts noticing that Summer has taken admission of her daughter in same school as Naomi’s daughter, she starts dressing same like Naomi and the group of friends which were once Naomi’s, start mingling more with Summer. Once when Naomi visits Summer’s home, she finds a doll house which is an exact replica of her new house. Naomi knows something is off with Summer but neither her husband nor any of her friends believe it. Until one day when Naomi is doing the rounds of the neighbourhood and finds something unbelievable.

💖 Wows - A very well written thriller, this kept me on edge the whole time. There are multiple scenes where thrill and suspense quotient is high and it keeps you guessing what will happen ahead. I finished reading this in 2 days since the mystery was killing me. One of the few books where I loved all the characters like even the antagonist (at least until the climax) 😀. The book has multiple layers and relationships are covered sensitively - mother-daughter, husband-wife, teacher-guardian and especially friendships.

💔 Ows - The characters at some point might become unbearable or seen as insecured. They will make sense only at the end. So I do see if reader is not patient enough, they could end up not finishing this. But, I did fly through it and loved it 😍

💫 This is a good creepy thriller with mystery elements. I am sure thriller lovers will love it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks to @theboldbookclub @tashy_boydell and @netgalley for sharing the DRC in exchange for honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Having previously toured with The Perfect Home, I had an idea of what to expect from Boydell's writing style, but I wasn't expecting THAT!

The Doll's House takes us on a fast paced, crazy ride through the lives of Naomi and Summer, two women unknowingly connected by a doll's house in ways they couldn't even begin to imagine.

It had me hooked from the opening chapters and I'm ashamed to say I devoured the book in one sitting, it's that good!

Great characters, a twisted plot and buckets of suspense.

I read this in 2-3 days because I couldn't put it down and didn't want to (obvs I had to hence why the 2-3 days). It gripped me from the start.

Throughout the book I had no idea how we were going to go from where we were to where it was shown in the prologue that we'd end up. There was a moment when I thought "ahhh this is how we get there" but nope.

Natasha wrote a perfectly twisty psychological thriller and has a new fan of her work.

Her portrayal of bullying was spot on, the memories of it happening to her as a child also were relatable. Also, the main characters thought process especially when she was "overthinking" "stressed" and "anxious" again was a very accurate portrayal.

If you love twisty psychological thrillers, are fans of JP Delaney,or BA Paris then you should definitely read this. If not, still read this. It won't disappoint.

I was immediately intrigued by the title, The Doll's House, and then the description caught my attention. This thriller held my attention to see what happened with Naomi and Summer. i am looking forward to reading more by Natasha Boydell

This psychological thriller was a really fun read! Well written with great twists; a perfect length with a satisfying ending. I will definitely be looking for other books by this author.

This book was an incredible rollercoaster of emotions!
Absolutely love Natasha’s writing, I felt fully immersed into the main character and actually found myself so angry for her and was rooting for her from start to finish!
Fantastic book & would highly recommend this read to everyone!!!

great book and I loved the action and the romance . I loved seeing the friends and family. I loved that they were able to figure things out. Overall a great book .

This was a great read! I don't think I have ever hated a character so much as Summer and it made me love the book more that the author could do that. I was not expecting all the twists at the end and I think this was played out so well.

This book twists and distorts at a mater’s level. At times I questioned my sanity much less Naomi’s.
I thought Naomi’s anxieties were transplanted onto Freya.
I kept going back and forth about who I believed and then who I didn’t.
I couldn’t believe Naomi’s okaying Oliver to take some of the actions he did.
And as far as Naomi’s so called friends??? Pffft, they were all fickle and although they helped Naomi in the end, it would have too little to late as far as I was concerned.
Who can you really trust?

This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Naomi has the great husband, 2 beautiful girls, and a great group of friends, but all of that balances on a knifes edge once they sell their flat to Summer and move into a new home. What seemed like a great move now has Naomi questioning everything.
This book was gripping, I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Gripping and full of suspense, this story kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t wait to turn the page and see what happened next!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

This was my second book by Natasha Boydell, and it absolutely didn’t disappoint! The story is fast-paced and deliciously twisty - just when I thought I had it all figured out, another twist would pull me in deeper. Boydell masterfully builds tension, keeping you on edge as the unsettling dynamics between Naomi and Summer unfold. It’s a gripping, unputdownable thriller that left me guessing until the very end. If you love suspense with a psychological edge, this is a must-read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

*Review was posted (Instagram, Goodreads, bookishlytara blog, Storygraph) on December 29, 2025. An additional post (with a reposted review) will be/was posted on Instagram on the publication day as well as an Amazon Canada review. (links below)

Absolutely loved this book! One of my first by this author and will definitely be looking out for more.
Thank you!

This was such a treat to read. I was hooked from the start and couldn't put it down. It's one of those books that makes the hairs on your arms stand on end and you find youself completely captivated. Amazing twists and turns, the tension is built perfectly and I just loved every second

4.5*

Such venom behind the words of the prologue narrator. Is this voice I’ll be hearing from chapter one or is this someone else kicking off the story before I encounter a hopefully less bitter storyteller?

I get school playground politics. I’ve been there, done that in two different retrospects. Both times from the periphery of the in-crowds. Your position on the playground can change just like that depending on who is the queen bee so I really felt for Noemi as her status changed so quickly. I felt helpless for her as I watched her become the pariah at the once friendly welcoming school run.

Noemi’s unnerviness (new word yes) is totally justified. I felt it. I was unnerved, I didn’t like her circle of friends. I didn’t feel supported. I really didn’t know who to trust around Noemi.

I flew through The Doll’s House, gripped to my kindle addicted to the events happening around Naomi. I needed to know whether she was the venomous voice I’d met at the start, a woman scorned by the actions of another. This is my first taster of Boydell’s writing but it won’t be the last! Cracking psych-thriller!

Thanks so much for the ARC Boldwood Books and NetGalley! This book had me on the edge of my seat! The twists! The turns! I didn't see a lot of it coming, and I love when a book catches me off guard (in a good way!). This was a great suspense, thriller book that has all the components of a good read.

Quote: "And with it, she had destroyed me."

The Doll's House by Natasha Boydell is intriguing to say the least. And that TWIST!!

Naomi and her husband Oliver sell their house to buy their dream house. They did not think this was going to be possible because a potential buyer had backed out. However, a woman named Summer came through with an offer and the house sold. Summer has a daughter in the same class as one of Naomi's daughters. Naomi starts noticing changes in Summer that others just pass off as nothing. No one else seems to notice that Summer has become fixated on Naomi's life...even to the point of cutting her hair in the same style as Naomi. Naomi's friends start to alienate her in support of Summer. How can her friends not believe her? Will anyone ever see what Naomi sees? Who is Summer really? Where did this woman come from? Why is she trying to take everything for Naomi?

The Doll's House is full of twists, turns, suspense, lies and cover ups. Will Naomi's friends and husband ever believe her? It is obviously right in front of their faces, isn't it?

You will be gripped from the begging. The twist if fantastic! This is a thriller, so naturally I will not say too much. You need to read and experience the ride for yourself.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review The Doll's House by Natasha Boydell.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

This is a gripping psychological thriller. At the start, we meet Naomi, who is hoping to sell her flat and move into a new house with her husband and two children. Naomi meets a woman named Summer, who is interested in her flat. Shortly after the two meet, Naomi finds that Summer's behaviour makes her feel uneasy.

At the beginning, I found that I was interested in the characters, and they felt relatable, as though they could easily have been friends of mine, or people that I knew. I felt a connection with Naomi as she narrated, and identified with her in some ways.

A few chapters in, I found there was a feeling of uncertainty that had me turning the pages quickly. I felt the author did a great job of building suspense, and I found that as the book progressed, the story became more unpredictable and played with my head. I wasn't sure what to think, or who to trust, and I needed to know what happened next. If you enjoy thrillers, this is a nail-biting read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

"She was my inspiration and I was ready to be her muse. I repainted the doll’s house to match her house and imagined the dolls inside as the two of us, the best of friends. Sisters, even. But she didn’t want me either."
"Who needed a doll’s house when I could have the real thing?"


Someone is getting way too involved in Naomi's life and it's pretty creepy.
This mysterious woman named Summer purchased their flat and from there, she started to worm her way into Naomi's life. From purchasing their flat, copying her hairstyle and the way she dresses, inviting all Naomi's friends for cosy drinks and parties without her and using her daughter Luna to spread malicious lies about Naomi's daughter Freya. Ever since Summer and Luna arrived, things had been going wrong for her family.
She needs to stop the lying, manipulative fraud from further ruining her life before it's too late.
This one is a good, crazy and gripping mystery/thriller. You can feel the exasperation and tension oozing from the pages and I hated Summer's gall for sure throughout the story.
Thanks to Boldwood books for the arc 🖤

This was quite a wild book! I enjoyed that it was an easy read, and the initial premise really intrigued me. However, I must say that the pacing was a bit off. It started off fast, really slowed down in the middle, and then was a bit of an info dump at the end. I wish that the middle would have had a bit more forward movement. Also, I found every character except the MCs father to be despicable, especially her "friends".

With that said, it was still an enjoyable psychological thriller with a fun twist at the end. Would recommend to fans of unreliable narrators, suburban family dynamics, and some wildly unlikeable characters.

Thanks to Netgalley, publishers and author for an ARC of The Doll's House.

Relatively slow start with and anxiety ridden main character meant I wasn't sure about this book. However it really picked up, to the point I couldn't put it down.
4.5 stars.