I just can't keep going. I have been trying to read this for months. Every time I pick it up I end up getting pissed off within a chapter or two and putting it down again.

There are so many things that I didn't care for, and nothing that was really keeping my interest. So why waste time on a book that just isn't for me.

One of my biggest problems is how immature the lead character is. She runs around talking about how in love she is and slut/fat shaming everyone else. Even as she starts to figure out what is going on she still acts like the people around her have a choice in their clothing or behavior. Utterly annoying.

Frankly, I just don't care what happens. I don't care about the characters. There was no connection for me...so I am moving on.

I didn’t know what to expect from The dollhouse asylum by author Mary Gray. I knew that it was supposed to be good but apart from that I only vaguely knew what the novel was about and was very eager to jump into the story. I have to admit that what I found in The Dollhouse Asylum was nothing like what I expected. It was insane. Fast-paced until the very last sentence. Totally awesome.

The Dollhouse Asylum takes place after a pandemic brings the world close to its edge. Eighteen year old Cheyenne isn’t sure what will become of her in this world where the infected become ravenous with a hunger for living, human flesh. Then she finds herself in Elysian Fields—a strange area that is untouched by the virus but comes with a price to live in it. It’s there that she is reunited with her lover, an older man, Teo Richardson.

But Theo isn’t what he seems.

Teo has created Elysian Fields and is keeping seven other couples in Elysian Fields with the promise of giving them the cure to the virus if they manage to pass his tests. At first everything seems fine, perfect even. Cheyenne has Teo again and they can finally be together again. Everything changes when Cheyenne is renamed Persephone and witnesses Teo murder two innocent people for his own amusement, quickly discovering that he has a far darker agenda in mind. To pass Teo’s tests is to gain the cure, to fail them is to be killed.

The Dollhouse Asylum was non-stop until the very end. Honestly I managed to read the book in one whole sitting, it was nothing but action scene after action scene after unexpected plot twist after murder after murder. It was just crazy. Honestly with every chapter I had higher and higher expectations for what would happen next and content wise my expectations were definitely met. The Dollhouse Asylum has a description that promises something that will keep your head spinning and it definitely delivers.

Apart from being intrigued by the plot I was also really interested in the protagonist Persephone/Cheyenne and Teo. Cheyenne was your typical girl, blinded by love and her wanting to please the boy she loves—but Teo was everything a villain should be. He was evil, remorseless and completely obsessed with Cheyenne. His obsession with Cheyenne was creepy and the way it was written just made everything seem way more intense. However I did have a few issues with the novel.

I did feel that a lot of the romance between Teo and Cheyenne or Cheyenne and another character who will go unnamed for spoiler purposes was very forced. There wasn’t a lot of growth between characters which made the story feel very wooden and unnatural. As for the expected deus ex machina—well let’s just say it wasn’t what I expected. Apart from all these things they didn’t distract me too much from the novel and the way the plot turned out.

I would recommend The Dollhouse Asylum to readers who are looking for a novel with a lot of obsession, a dystopia that is unlike any other and readers who are looking for a novel that they can get through in one sitting. Definitely worth checking out if you want a romantic, thrilling and scary dystopic read.

A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched by its destruction. But when Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields--a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus--she is thrilled to have a chance at survival.

At first, Elysian Fields,with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns, is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole Cheyenne's heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world.

The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now "Persephone," and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Everyone is fighting to pass the test, to remain in Elysian Fields. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along.

If they play it right, then they'll be safe.

But if they play it wrong, they'll die.

 

 

The Dollhouse Asylum was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I genuinelly couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Right from the moment I saw that creepy-ass cover I was dying to read it. The Dollhouse Asylum was so much more than I could have ever imagines. It was so much more creepy and it is possibly the most unique book I have ever read.

When Cheyenne wakes up in a strange place she doesn't know what has happened. Told that a virus has wiped out the world and she is in a safety asylum Cheyenne is in shock. The love of her life Teo has taken her and seven other couples into his safety world but all is not right. Renamed to reflect seven of the most famous couples from tragedies they must learn to act as their namesakes would or their life could be in danger. As Teo becomes more and more eccentric and dangerous Cheyenne, now Persephone, must decide whether to follow the man she always believed she loved or helping her friends to escape from his madness. Will everyone survive or are the destined to end up like the original tragic couples?

Mary Gray... I bow down to you. The Dollhouse Asylum was such an addictive, mysterious and creep-tastic book. I really enjoyed it. Mary's writing style was just fantastic. It drew me in right from the start. I was hooked and intrigued by her incredibly unique and mysterious story line. I just had to know what was going to happen and keep reading. I was just completely taken with the storyline and the characters.

I adored that Mary adopted from tragic stories within the book. As soon as I saw the list of names I couldn't read on as I just had to stop and try and figure out which tragedies they were. So many of the stories within this story are some of my favourites and so I really loved that aspect of the story. The Dollhouse Asylum is so creeptastic and incredible. Mary Gray is seriously fantastic to have come up with that concept.

Teo... okay I freaking hate him. He is such a psychopath. Right from the start I hated him and was coming up with some ways that I would like him to die... preferably by me jumping inside the book and doing it myself. I wanted to strap him in an electric chair... or behead him. He was awful and I just kept hating and hating him more and more the further I got through the book.

Cheyenne... oh Cheyenne. This is the only problem that I had with this book. Cheyenne really annoyed me. Right from the moment she was still loving Teo even though he was crazy evil and it made me want to reach into the book and knock some sense into her. She got better as we got through the book but she was still quite dependent other people and I just wanted her to get up and kick some ass by herself but it never came.

The Dollhouse Asylum is a great, creepy book and is the perfect book for halloween... I know too late telling you right since it's now November. I really enjoyed the book and think it was possibly the most unique story I have ever read. I loved how different it was from anything else I have ever read. The Dollhouse Asylum is definitely worth buying. It was a great read. I really enjoyed it.

"Just because you love someone doesn't mean you should."

 

There is an astounding amount of stupid within the pages of this book. I can say with absolute confidence that this is the worst book I've read this year.

You could call the main character of this book innocent, sheltered. I could be nice to her, give her the benefit of the doubt, and call her naive.

But no. Nope. I've had it. I've read way too many books lately about stupid girls and their stupid actions and I'm just absolutely fucking fed up with the incomprehensible idiocy of our narrator, Cheyenne. I'm going to call her naive, but I'm going to redefine the word naive to fit my opinion of Cheyenne's absurdity.

Naive: nä-'ēv, adjective 1. so fucking dumb it makes my teeth hurt

So her best friend Brooks finally confronts Eureka with all her bullshit.

 

“You keep Cat around because she doesn’t notice when you tune her out. You can’t stand anyone in your family.” He flung his hand in the direction of the den downstairs, where Rhoda and Dad had been watching the news but were now surely tuning in to the argument above. “You’re certain every therapist you go to is an idiot. You’ve pushed away all of Evangeline because there’s no way anyone could ever understand what you’ve been through.” He stopped pacing and looked straight at her. “Then there’s me.”

Eureka’s chest ached as if he’d punched her in the heart. “What about you?”

“You use me.”

“No.”

“I’m not your friend. I’m a sounding board for your anxiety and depression.”

I want to hug him. Someone had to say it to her.

 

This heroine needs to die ASAP. She is the dumbest piece of shit I've ever encountered in YA literature. I mean, really, really, seriously stupid. I can say that with complete confidence, and I've encountered lots of stupidity in my day. Here's why: Right off the bat, she's just been kidnapped:

I don’t know this place. I was walking to my bathroom when someone grabbed me from behind and forced a sour-smelling cloth over my face and—someone grapples with my hair, and I flinch.

 

The kidnapper is her gorgeous math teacher (with whom she's been having a highly secretive affair). Instead of freaking out, instead of running away, instead of questioning why, instead of wondering and constantly questioning WHERE THE FUCK SHE IS, this dumb excuse for a human being thinks it's all good, because the kidnapper is Prince Charming Statutory Rapist (AKA Math Teacher).

Choking back a strangled laugh—no one’s here to hurt me—I reach out for the love of my life, too tongue-tied to say anything.

 

Where are the other students? Or maybe it’s more than I could ever hope: it’s really just the two—three—of us, and he is finally unveiling his feelings.

 

AAH. NO. NO. YOU FUCKING MORON. STAHHHHHHP. AND THIS IS WITHIN THE FIRST 2 PAGES. 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT.