The Dollhouse Asylum

By: Mary Gray

Narrated by: Noelle Hensler

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

A novel about escaping psychological abuse.

When the world is breaking all someone wants is safety. A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched. But when 18-year-old 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 her 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. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along. Play it right, then they'll be safe. But play it wrong, they'll die.

©2013 Mary Gray (P)2017 Mary Gray

It could have been so much better.

I wanted to love this book, I really tried. I only finished because I HAVE to know how things end. It felt immature and unrealistic. I have never called anything unrealistic because I understand that stories can be as real or fake as the author wants. But this wasn't fantasy unrealistic. It definitely could have been better in a few ways. The narrator only changed her tone a few times. She went a little deeper with male characters but otherwise very monotone. There was so so so much repetition. It got old fast. A little disappointed in this.

Total Mind Warp!

The Story
The Dollhouse Asylum is a total mind warp. With undertones similar to Hitchcock and King, author Mary Gray has delivered a twisted, psychological, thriller. It is not for the faint of heart. The villain, Teo, is intelligent, dashing, and crazy all rolled into one. He kidnaps 14 students and deposits them into his Eden, which he calls Elysian Fields. Here he pairs the teenagers into "couples" in a twisted attempt at recreating Shakespearian tragic love stories. The final piece to his plan is Cheyenne; Teo's Persephone and MC of the story. Cheyenne is a naive introvert and at first, goes along with his perversion. But when Teo has the couples "proving their worth" and killing those who do not, Cheyenne wises up. I am not a fan of a weak female character but Cheyenne transformed from a fragile caged bird into a war eagle. This fast paced, white knuckle read left me holding my breath waiting for the next couple to fall.

The Narrator
To be honest, Noelle Hensler did not start off great as the narrator. The audio sounded as if she reading me a story. I will say that as the story progressed she did improve, however, I thought she could have put more emotion into the story. Thankfully it is a well-written story or I may have lost interest.

I recommend this book.

Brilliant, intense, captivating, romantic. Very fast-moving. Once you get started listening, you want to keep going. It is so imaginative and descriptive that you wonder what’s going to happen next. You can visualize the characters, and feel for them in what they’re going through.