Baby Doll

My rating: * * *

Goodreads Description

You've been held captive in one room, mentally and physically abused every day, since you were sixteen years old. Then, one night, you realize your captor has left the door to your cell unlocked. For the first time in eight years, you're free. This is about what happens next ... Lily knows that she must bring the man who nearly ruined her life - her good-looking high-school teacher - to justice. But she never imagined that reconnecting with her family would be just as difficult. Reclaiming her relationship with her twin sister, her mother, and her high school sweetheart who is in love with her sister may be Lily's greatest challenge. After all they've been through, can Lily and her family find their way back after this life-altering trauma?

My Review

I realize that I'm a little late to the party with this one as most people read and raved about this book a year or two ago when it was first published, but better late than never, right?

Frankly, I feel a little bit let down by this one. I remember hearing and reading such glowing reviews about this book at the time of its publication, and I was convinced that I was in for a riveting read, but instead I got something that I found to be only so-so.

Firstly, let me mention that this story isn't about Lily's time spent in captivity, or her daily life and experiences at the hands of a cruel kidnapper, but rather this story focuses on her life afterwards. It's a story about how Lily copes once she finds freedom, about how she readjusts to life back with her family, about how they've all changed in her absence, about how she plans on moving forward, and about whether it's possible to move forward after having had an experience like the one she's had.

My experience of this book is that is lacked action, suspense and drama. It's a book that was compared to "Gone Girl" by the publishers, a comparison which I find to be totally misleading. This book is nothing at all like Gone Girl in that it lacks the thrilling aspects of that novel, the scenes that kept you on the edge of your seat. Does that make this a bad book? No it doesn't, it just means that I was expecting something other than what I got. If you've expecting a thrilling, suspenseful novel then you're going to be let down by this one, but if you understand this book for what it is - a tale of a young woman's struggle after a traumatic experience - then you may really enjoy it.

And for those of you that love twists and turns, you won't find any in this book, although let me say this - there was a scene where something happened that was totally unexpected, and that I loved. The book had been so "normal" up until that point that even this small, yet unexpected event got my heart racing.

In conclusion, I found this one a little bit too pedestrian for my liking. It was okay, and I don't regret reading it, but I won't be shouting it's praises from the rooftops. If you come across it and you feel like a fairly fast and easy read, then give it a try.

My Rating: * * *

Publication Date: 2016 (South Africa)

Genre: Mystery / Crime Fiction

Format: Paperback

Source: My own purchased copy.