This is a story about a secretive entertainment behemoth that has trained and produced some of the most popular stars of stage and screen through their famous Dollhouse Academy. Ramona and Grace are desperate to be accepted, despite the rumors and NDAs that must be signed. The story is told by Grace, who slowly realizes that not all is kosher at the Dollhouse Academy and through diary entries of Ivy Gordan, the biggest superstar that the Dollhouse Academy has ever produced. As Grace's star rises, Ramona is desperate to keep up. But finding out the truth becomes even more important than becoming famous.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this digital audio e-arc.*

The Dollhouse was a captivating story about two best friends who are invited to attend the elite school, The Dollhouse. The girls have grown up watching the highly rated show that is filmed from inside the gates of The Dollhouse. Right before they are to leave, a mysterious letter has been mailed to just one of the girls. The letter is a warning not to go. The contents of the letter have her thinking, but the excitement to go and live out their childhood dream of living and working with their idols can not be passed up. As they navigate the days,weeks,months through the school letters keep coming warning to get out while you can.
The book will take you on wild ride as to what can happen inside the gates of one of the most coveted schools to produce top talent.

I really enjoyed this! If you're looking for a fresh, unique, pop culture themed suspense novel - here you go! This book is so much fun with the way it cleverly weaves this fictional world of The Dollhouse Academy and it's performers in with real life events during the 90's and today. (Not someone knocking ...Baby One More Time off the charts!) Super unique story, good pacing, and a few great cliffhanger chapters to keep you flying through.

The audio is absolutely brilliant - Xe Sands and Brittany Pressley are basically audiobook royalty in my book. And there's a reason for that, their voice acting, the emotion they project, it becomes so immersive, especially when Brittany gives us a lil sample of her singing voice!

Pick this up if you like:
- Pop culture and the dark sides of fame
- The TV show Fringe
- Stories that insert fictional moments into reality
- Best friend stories
- Soap operas

A huge thank you to Macmillan Audio + NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Audio Review: This is narrated by two of my favorites so I knew the audio would be good. I highly recommended it.

Review: Wow, this book was even better than I expected. One of my favorite things about Dollhouse Academy is that it's a slow decent into madness. The author slowly reveals things to you but the story still feels fast paced somehow (in the best way possible). I found that very impressive. We get dual timelines which converge onto each other, this adds a lot of suspense as well as helps us understand more and more about what's happening. Even with knowing the ending, this is a book I would certainly read again. There is a very real and deep sense of darkness and dread throughout creating a rich environment for the story. It's the kind of book where you want to hold your hands over your eyes and just peak through because you know bad things are going to happen to characters you like.

The author also does a great job of showing and not telling, leaving you space to think on your own, ponder and wonder. I really hope this book gets the attention that it deserves, I will be talking about it all year long! As of right now I am giving it 5 stars but over the course of the year, I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up in my favorites of the year.

this is my favorite book of the year so far! it had me captivated from beginning to end. 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝, 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮, 𝙞 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙙. every time i think about this book, i’m blown away by how brilliant it is. i highly recommend it!

While not a new concept, this story of stolen identity and lost innocence does give a new setting to an otherwise familiar story. I enjoyed the twisty reveals and the subtle sci-fi backdrop.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Margarita Montimore is an underrated author. I loved Oona Out of Order but I think The Dollhouse Academy may be even better.

3.5 stars - rounded down to 3 stars

What lengths would you go to and what sacrifices would you make to be famous? This book takes the reader on a journey into the pressures and manipulations the Hollywood machine puts on it's stars and would be stars. Grace and Ramona get into the highly acclaimed Dollhouse Academy both with ambitions to be the next big star. Once there though, one of them rockets to the top and both of them are coerced into doing things that are shady at best. When they find out the truth about the creepy Dollhouse ways they have a choice to stay or to try to escape before it's too late.

This was an easy listen with great narration, the overall story was good it just moved a little slow for me. If you were a Disney Clubhouse fan in the 80s and 90s, I think you'll love this book. It made me think of the Brittany Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera child/teen stars and made me wonder how close to reality this story might actually be.

The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore reminded me of a mix between Stepford Wives and the stories we've all heard about how horribly Hollywood studios treated their stars during the golden age of Hollywood.
The novel opens with Ivy Gordon, the world's biggest star, recounting the terrible things she's faced as the cost of her fame. Her diary entries are disturbing and eerie, leaving me feeling haunted. I also enjoyed the narrator for Ivy's part in the audiobook version; it added to the desperation and anxiety of her character.
The main action takes place in the mid-nineties and follows Ramona and Grace as they are accepted into the talent training school, Dollhouse Academy. The best friends are huge fans of Ivy Gordon and are excited to follow her legacy. They know it will be a challenge, but it tests and challenges everything about them and their friendship. The schedule is grueling, and Ramona starts to struggle while Grace's career takes off. Ramona also receives threatening anonymous notes that put her on edge. There's something odd about all the doctors and the strange supplements everyone seems to be taking.
As the story unfolds, Ramona's anxiety increases as she notices things that aren't right happening around her, which left me on the edge of my seat.
I appreciated that the strongest relationship in this story isn't romantic but between the best friends. The Dollhouse tries to break the girls' friendship and even succeeds for a time, but their care for each other eventually prevails. These girls are not perfect, though; at times, they are not the most likable. Ramona often gives in to her jealousy and insecurity, and it takes her a while to overcome it. However, I think it makes her feel more human.
I'm giving this book five stars because I can't stop thinking about it.
Thank you to Net Galley and Flatiron Books for this advanced reader copy. All opinions and views expressed are my own.

The dollhouse academy shows the dark side of Hollywood. Romona and Grace are eager for their big break and will do anything to get it. The academy has an allure and they find themselves enchanted by their opportunity, even if it has them going up against one another. All things aren’t sweet and rosie as they appear.

This book is perfect for anyone who likes dark academia, psychological drama and for anyone who’s ever wondered about the price of fame.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy for an honest review.

Read by my favorite Narrator Brittany Pressley. I listened to this bizarre tale The Dollhouse Academy.
In a reformed school for girls The Dollhouse Academy is set in a Town far away from Hollywood. Grooming these aspiring Actors and Actresses to become… someone else?? The super secret underground project is something out of a sci-fi movie.
Great world building, characters are well thought out and relatable. This is a great book for the psychological thriller reader and fiction.
No one is safe at The Dollhouse Academy. Especially its biggest Stars.

The Dollhouse Academy is a prestigious incubator of talent for mysterious entertainment giant, Genevieve Spalding. When best friends Ramona and Grace are plucked out of relative obscurity to join the Dollhouse Academy, they think their all of their dreams have come through. But things at the Dollhouse Academy soon begin to feel more sinister by the day. Ramona struggles while Grace is shot to stardom first through a roll in the signature In The Dollhouse Show, and then through her own spin-off as a revamped, angsty version of herself, "Gracie". Their story is woven with Ivy, the star of Into The Dollhouse, who. through bits and pieces, reveals the much darker side of Spalding's world. The life Ramona always thought she wanted, and the stark reality of the Academy begin to blur in unsettling ways and Montimore is able to craft this story with emotional depth that elevates the novel far beyond any dark academia that I have ever read.

AUDIOBOOK:
I was so excited to be approved for the audiobook of The Dollhouse Academy. Brittany Pressley is one of my all time favorite narrators and I had just finished listening to Xe Sands narrate Welcome Home, Stranger, which I really enjoyed. My only critique is that I felt like Sands tried to age her voice a little bit --even though her character, Ivy, is only 34!

Four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to listen to an early copy of this book! I really thought I would love this one more than I did. I've been interested in reading from this author and when I saw she had a new release I was excited to try it. I loved the setting and the premise of the plot but failed to really connect with the main character or her struggles. I loved Ivy's chapters though and wanted to hear more from her. It was also a little too slow-burn and it seemed too obvious where it was going. I also felt that it didn't add anything super fresh or new to the commentary or genre either. It was just okay for me. I can definitely see it being right for a certain niche of readers, though I don't really feel that dark academia is necessarily the right description.

I’ve found a new favorite author in Margarita Montimore! This novel, inspired by the Avril Lavigne conspiracy theory, combines a wild premise with spectacular writing and a thrilling blend of genres. Following stars whose lives (and even existence) are controlled by a powerful company, it’s a captivating, impossible-to-put-down story. Montimore’s talent shines as she delivers a unique plot with masterful execution, making this one of my favorite reads of the year. I’m thrilled to have read the ARC and can’t wait to revisit it when it officially releases—this book is destined to be a hit!

If there's one thing Margarita Montimore does well, it's pull on my heartstrings!

This is the third book by this author that I have read, and second that I've had the privilege to enjoy as an arc from MacMillan Audio. Her stories are fantastic, and are genuinely perfect for audio format. The pacing, writing style, and character dialogue work so well with the narrators and their talents. Brittany Pressley and Xe Sands did an outstanding job bringing Ramona and Ivy to life, and I felt that no matter my pace of choice (averaging a comfortable 1.5x) they conveyed great emotion and distinction for the plot and dialogue without disruption from speed choice.

I tested out various speeds, and I believe readers can easily enjoy this audiobook from a range 0f 1x - 2.5x if preferred.

Montimore has such a way with words, bringing to focus the complex emotions and relationships we face throughout our lives, especially those we experience in girlhood and as a woman. Friendships are complicated and sometimes full of rifts- ones that we may or may not be able to come back from - and she captures those dynamics and situations so well with Grace and Ramona. I could identify myself with both of them at different times, having so often finding myself in each of their shoes over the course of my life.

As Ramona grapples with the struggles and failures at the Dollhouse Academy, I felt so seen through her internal monologue and emotional conflicts. The rationalizations she makes for her behaviors, the guilt of feeling jealous suddenly turning to feeling justified for it, and even her embarrassment - all emotions I'm familiar with and I'm sure many readers can identify with and have experienced at some point in their lives.

Montimore's work is an excellent example of inclusion and diversity, including characters of different backgrounds and sexual orientations, providing a refreshing and no nonsense approach at including such characters without fuss, celebrating the beauty of their identities in such a gorgeous and heartwarming way.

An enjoyable albeit dark story that follows two women and their experiences at the Dollhouse Academy, an exclusive boarding school that helps talented stars find and maintain fame.

Ivy is 34 and is reflecting on her many experiences at the Academy over the course of several years. Ramona is 22 and is only beginning her journey at the Dollhouse Academy with her best friend Grace.

I loved the dual perspectives and performances. The narrators knocked it out of the park! I was invested in Ramona’s and Ivy’s storylines and was captivated by the dark twists and turns their journeys took. The exploration of fame and the lengths actors may take to achieve and maintain it was interesting and kept my attention from beginning to end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

This book takes you inside the ambition of fame. Set in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it centers around the hit show “In the Dollhouse” and the producer-turned talent scout and builder who creates a place to bring in and hone young talent to support the show, called the Dollhouse Academy.

Ramona and Grace are two young talents who get their dreams fulfilled when they are given spots at the Dollhouse Academy under the guidance of its producer Genevieve. But then the truth starts to take a dark turn and not everything is right or on the up-and-up at the Dollhouse Academy, and the question begins to stir of whether or not they can break free.

This book has mind games playing everywhere, and as the reader even you begin to question what is real and what isn’t, and is the price of fame worth it?

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Be careful what you wish for. Be very careful. Ramona and Grace, best friends in their early twenties aspire to be show biz stars. Nothing seems to spark their careers until by an unexpected stroke of luck, they are both accepted for a trial period into the Dollhouse Academy. It feels like a dream come true and despite some doubt from the uncles that raised Ramona and her dear friend, the young women pack up to move to the Dollhouse residence where life will be restricted to career goals and contact with the outside world limited. They will now be controlled by others in an environment resembling prison as much as school.

Ivy Gordon, famous star of the hit tv Dollhouse series, has been living within the confines of Dollhouse rules and management. She is a third voice in the telling of this story, and a constant reminder that something sinister and dark is afoot. Exactly what that aura of darkness consists of is revealed piecemeal as the characters move forward to stardom at great personal cost. Is Ivy the one sending warning notes to Ramona?

What an interesting read! Who among us has never thought about the reality of life for people whose fame defines them? What would they actually agree to in order to remain as idols to the viewing public? Would they give up freedom? Would they turn on their friends? Would they submit to physical and mental readjustment of their minds and bodies ?

I found this book both disturbing yet enjoyable, with much food for thought. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more books by Margarita Montimore. An audio ARC was provided to me by NetGalley and Macmillan audio in exchange for my honest review. Listening for long periods of time, I raced to the end very immersed in each well depicted and narrated character. Four bright stars for a book that I expect my friends will like. It will be available on February 11, 2025. Reserve your copy now.

4-Star Review

This book grabbed my attention from start to finish and did a fantastic job revealing the ugly, cutthroat side of show business. It highlights the lengths people go to for success and how they change themselves to meet others’ expectations.

The dual storylines of Ivy’s haunting past and Ramona’s present struggles were gripping, and the Dollhouse Academy was both glamorous and deeply unsettling. The themes of ambition, rivalry, and exploitation were explored with sharp insight, making it hard to put down.

While the ending wrapped things up, I was hoping for something more impactful given the intense buildup. Still, it’s a thought-provoking, dark, and compelling read for fans of character-driven stories with mystery.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

The Dollhouse Academy is a riveting story about two best friends who get their lucky break to join a pop-star training academy, and the ways that this ends up tearing them apart. The Dollhouse Academy echoed a bit of KPop training programs, which also made the story feel relevant and fresh. I absolutely loved this audiobook, and find that the pacing was wonderful. I liked that the book jumps between the early 00s perspective of Ramona and the diary of the Dollhouse's biggest star, Ivy.