Welcome to Litsy!

Read for library book group: at last, something I could get my teeth into!

Set in the Victorian London shark-tank (that the Tories are intent on dragging us back to), artist's model and aspiring painter Iris seeks to live on her own terms, within the cultural corsetry that is the male gaze.
Personally, I could have done without the romance, but then we'd not have seen how similar Louis's attentions were to Silas's (just a difference of degree?)

Loved loved loved this book! Brilliant, lovely prose and really pulls you in to the world without too much fluff or exposition. I loved the twists and relationships from each characters point of view. Read it in one day, couldn't put it down.

My Easter Sunday reading. This has been on my list for a while. Loving it so far!

A very creepy Victorian thriller! I haven‘t found too many stories from that time period that actually have me on the edge of my seat, but this one did. Highly recommended!

A creepy gothic tale about obsession, good but not great. Wasn‘t too keen on the writing style and it seemed rushed in places
3 star

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 145
#BooksToRead #TBRPile #TBRMountain

Good. Even though at times the writing was a bit disjointed and rushed I felt immersed in Victorian London and that made the story so interesting.

#Picador
#PanMacmillan

This was okay. I didn't love it as much as I thought I would though.

I'm going to read this one instead.

Great setting, gothic read that was suspenseful and reminded me of Sweeney Todd at times. Read for a book club. 3 🌟

Next up and hoping this is as engrossing as my last read 📖

#currentlyreading

This is just a tiny bit creepy. Iris is an aspiring artist. Silas is a curiosity collector (what we would call a taxidermist). When Silas becomes obsessed with Iris, the feeling isn't mutual. She barely notices him. This is really about obsession.

#BookSpinBingo square 5
@TheAromaofBooks

I love popping into random secondhand shops while on holiday and searching for new books! I got these for 50p each! It‘s been a raining down down in the New Forest so these defo cheered me up! 😁 📚 #bookhaul

Time to get lost in the 1850s with Elizabeth Macneal beautiful book The dolls Factory.

Who else has read this one? 😊😊

Increasingly #nefarious activity from one of the characters in this dark Victorian historical novel. #beautifulwords

Nope. Too dark.

This is probably the first book I have wanted to read while also needing to have my eyes shut to some of the scenes being described. iris has a huge strength of character throughout the book and grasped what she wanted from life without conforming to the expected. The characters come alive and you live some and hate some in equal measure. Definitely worth the read and opens up discussion

Art, beauty, obsession, and cruelty. Those are the main themes of this disturbing mystery. There were elements is the story I thought were really good - a strong MC with a heartbreaking back story and an antagonist with an unhealthy, but understandable, preoccupation with all things unusual. The interaction between the characters was compelling, but left me feeling very uncomfortable. Overall an interesting read that gives you food for thought.

Book: (The) Doll Factory
Author: Deborah Heiligman
Movie or show: District 9
Singer or band: Dar Williams
Song: Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins

#manicmonday #letterd @JoScho

Morbid and dark yet also alluring, this novel feels like a twisted fairy tale; It is written with so much colour and life even in inanimate objects, and though some elements are disturbing (*cough* Silas *cough*) I really did enjoy this book.

World Book Day Finds from the beautiful city of York 😍📖 Happy World Book Day, bookworms! #WorldBookDay #VisitingYork #BookAndAPint #MyBoyfriendJudgedMeForTakingThisPhoto

Creepy, atmospheric and not entirely my sort of book but very well written. I found the juxtaposition between the two threads annoying more than anything else and I wanted a more definite resolution but that‘s fairly common with me. I was much more interested in one side of the story than the other and that influenced my reading experience

Here‘s my top 9 for 2019!

Okay, I have a confession to make. This was supposed to be a top 10 stack. I have no idea what went wrong but apparently I can‘t count. 😂 But narrowing down the best reads of 2019 was a huge challenge for me so I feel like this means I need to do 10 more books in a separate stack so it will essentially be my top 19 of 2019. That works for me!

What were your top favorite reads of 2019? Have you read any of these?

Such gorgeous end papers in one of my new books this week. #prettybooks #butterflies #tbr #mountTBR

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think that The Doll Factory will appeal more to those who like slow gothic horrors with strong development and depth. But this is more than just a horror. It‘s beautifully crafted love story, a poignant look at what the artist sees, and an exploration of human emotion and strength.

Full review: https://www.facebook.com/262384764521804/posts/348247869268826?sfns=mo

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I love the front cover of this book so I was really hoping the reviews were good when I saw it at the book shop :-P It is very well written and the historical fiction aspect was excellent, it just got a bit too creepy at times for me. Overall ⭐⭐⭐ Just a personal taste/genre thing. Some very memorable characters!

Historical fiction. A girl who works painting dolls meets an artist who is taken with her. Another man, more sinister, also takes notice of her.

Not a whole lot of doll production. At times this book can get pretty gross. You‘ll want to shower on finishing.

Slowly builds into suspense, well written. Worth the time.

This is one of my creepy read picks for October!

To be honest, I have a huge stack that I‘m not likely to get through. 😂

But I definitely going to make sure I get to this one. I was so disappointed that I wasn‘t able to read it in August when I had borrowed it from the library, especially since I couldn‘t renew it because there were other holds on it. I‘m so glad my daughter bought me a copy so I will finally have a chance to read it!

Such an odd book that goes along pleasantly then suddenly the author flips out to a disconcerting scene. I‘m enjoying this writing style as there isn‘t the usual buildup of tension at the end of the chapter to keep you turning pages just interesting writing.

An old fashion gothic thriller set in Victorian England. An aspiring painter becomes an artist model and becomes the obsession of a creepy taxidermist. A great piece of historical fiction that incorporates themes of women's suffrage and the industrial revolution.

This is great!! The characters are so well put together, Silas is super creepy, Iris is such a strong young woman and Albie, oh I could have cried! I felt like I could see, hear and smell everything that was happening as the story unfolded. I often think I‘m not the biggest fan of historical novels, but this has definitely convinced me otherwise!

Currently reading ... 📖

This one is next on the list... really excited to get started!!

It was not what I had anticipated but thoroughly enjoyed this grim tale.

My latest library haul! 📚❤️🤓

I love a good historical fiction and this totally fit the bill. It had layered characters and set a beautiful yet grimy scene in Victorian London. Each character had their own narrative style which I really liked. I definitely had trouble putting this down, although I did stumble a bit at the end and got distracted.

I STILL haven‘t gotten to read these yet, even though I am soooo excited about them. This summer brought us so many great new book publications! What new releases are at the top of your TBR? If you haven‘t checked it out yet, you can see my top ten in my latest video! https://youtu.be/PDvf16jCb2A

#booktuber #summerreading #bookstoread #TBRpile

What a brilliant book! Gritty, mesmerising, dark, touching, disturbing, fascinating, feminist. I can‘t wait to see what she writes next.

Just finished the Doll Factory and Silas will haunt my dreama for many a night! #Victorian #creepy

The Doll Factory, by Elizabeth Macneal

Surviving in the Victorian Age. The hypocrisy of men and womens‘ perceived place in the world. Discoveries in art and science. Being allowed to love. Warped perceptions. The fine line between obsession and reality; science and craziness; passion and duty. Iris and her twin Rose, must find their way.

Vivid and surprising. Definitely recommended!

I‘m rubbish at keeping up on here - it‘s been busy 🤷🏼‍♀️. Still found time to read though! Anyway, here‘s what I read in June - they‘re all 4/5 and 5/5, but my favourites were: Underland - Robert Macfarlane (non-fic, journeys in underground spaces), The Doll Factory - Elizabeth Macneal (a woman trying to find her freedom in Victorian England), and The Brief - Simon Michael (criminal lawyer in 1960s). I promise to do better in July!

As I was walking around the bookshop, my eyes kept wondering over to this book. Although I didn't pick it up that day, I went back a week later and saw the book lying there and something about it drew me in, I knew I had to buy it. Seems like it could be a tough one to read and its different to what I usually ready but here goes...

3/3 of my #bookfair #arc #bookhaul

Passed this by at first, but after sitting with our S&S rep, I knew I needed it. Sounds like a delightfully creepy answer to Sarah Waters. I was interested to see that our S&S reps had ARCs with two different covers. The bell jar featured on both, but I liked this cover enough that I dug into the pile for it.

(I hope to get to all three of these soon. Many thanks to our S&S rep for making them available.)

Its here!!!! 😍 @Wonderwoman89 Im so excited!! Thank you so much! This cover is gorgeous!! #summerreadingswap

It‘s Day 2 of the @bookriot #Riotgrams Challenge! Today‘s prompt: books and socks! One of the side effects of being raised by wolves is that I detest having things on my feet, especially socks. But I can‘t say no to a bookish photo challenge!📚🧦📚

Just started reading #thedollfactory by #elizabethmacneal and I am already hooked. ⁣
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Who else loves creepy gothic books? I would love some recommendations. ⁣