Plath’s writing is beautiful, chaotic and confusing. I think I could read this countless times and come away each time with a different reading, a different favourite and a different vibe.

This was my first taste of Plath and I really enjoyed it. A quick read and a wonderful mixture of poems here. Will definitely be reading more of her work.

This was such a beautiful book. Elizabeth Acevedo is cemented as one of my favourite writers - I’ll definitely be reading more of her work.

I think stories told in prose are so magical, they suck you in and force you to engage with the plot in a different way. It also allows for more of the metaphorical and emotional exploration. And I just love poetry!

This book made me cry. It’s incredibly powerful. The story is about love and loss, family and lies. It explores grief and what happens when you discover the person you lost lied to you for years.

This is such a brilliant book.

The tone is equally honest and insistent, we’re gently guided through the ways racism is ingrained in society and forced to confront facts and statistics that are truly appalling.

This is such a necessary book and one I’m thankful to have got to. I’ll definitely be recommending this one to more people - I think it’s a must read.

I really did enjoy this one and it had a beautifully perfect ending.

It loses a star because I felt the time with Seryu came to an end so abruptly. It was as if sections had been cut out, leaving it a little jumpy and incomplete.

I do love that this was a duology. But again, there were parts I felt could have been explored more deeply and actions that felt out of place without more context.

All in all, a really great ending to a series I love.

Merged review:

I really did enjoy this one and it had a beautifully perfect ending.

It loses a star because I felt the time with Seryu came to an end so abruptly. It was as if sections had been cut out, leaving it a little jumpy and incomplete.

I do love that this was a duology. But again, there were parts I felt could have been explored more deeply and actions that felt out of place without more context.

All in all, a really great ending to a series I love.

I am so thankful that the book club I joined chose this as their book for the month; I would never have picked this one up otherwise. It is 100% nothing I look for in a book: historical fiction, romance and the Victorian period *shudder*. And yet, I couldn't put it down.

The Doll Factory was devoured in one day. Each time I put it down, my fingers itched to pick it up again. Despite me approaching it negatively, it won me over in the first two chapters. This historical fiction/romance set in the Victorian era had so many interesting layers to it. There was a very interesting feminist discourse throughout with the roles of women (and their expectations) explored and compared to that of the males in Victorian society. There was the scientific, industrial and technological developments occurring. And a dark and twisted criminal element.

Perhaps the most interesting part, for me, was not the strange Silas Reed but the art world that Iris finds herself within. During my university course I studied a module on Victorian Art and Literature, which involved us looking at the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood and Ruskin - both of whom feature in the novel. I found this engaging and my prior knowledge made me feel involved in their story.

I could sing The Doll Factory's praises for days. It was a book I never wanted to finish. Leaving Iris and Louis behind was difficult for me and I wanted desperately to return to their story and read on. Macneal carefully crafted characters that were funny, rude, misunderstood, tragic, loved and disliked. Even characters who appear only in the background. mere supporting roles, seem fully fleshed out and real.

No matter what genre you find yourself drawn to usually or the genres/tropes you tend to avoid, The Doll Factory is one you need to pick up. Regardless of you attitude, it will win you over and pull you into a love story unlike any other I've read. Macneal has done the unthinkable - she's coaxed me into giving three of my least favourite genres a 5 star read. Even worse, I want to go back to that world again.

I loved the first book, but this one was just completely different.

I was really enjoying this until the ending, I think it just undermined the whole story. I hate books that feel the need to add twist after twist in the final few pages.

It was fairly surprising, but mainly because it passed into the realm of unbelievable.

A fun-ish story, but lacked the ability to really solve it for yourself which is what I loved so much about the first one.