So, with all that
being said it pains me to say that not much changed after I got back into the
book. I’m a little on the fence with this
story for a few reasons. Let me see if I
can explain what I mean. I find dolls to
be very intriguing and I had plenty of them as a little girl. Hell, I still own dolls. I love ‘em.
I totally get why Maria, who was the star of this novel, enjoyed her “Angela.” Angela was her best friend and great confidante. Whatever Maria was feeling, it was Angela she
sought to talk to. Her mother didn’t
have an issue with her daughter relying heavily on Angela to get her through,
this was a normal occurrence for an only child, but when Maria was starting
school, Angela was a deterrent and her mom didn’t want her to take Angela to
school.
Fast forward to present
day where a film television crew head out to the infamous Isla de Las Munecas
(translation: Island of the Dolls), to make
a documentary about the alleged ghost that inhabits the island going around
murdering anyone who happens upon it.
Hmm, sort of makes you wonder why on earth you’d want to make a documentary
knowing this going in, but at any rate, they had a guide take them to the island. The second clue something was wrong was the
guide advised he’d pick them up the next day and would not be back to get them
today. Hmm?
After spending a
few hours on the island looking at all the dolls that were literally in every crack
and crevice, the island gave them the creeps, but they still forged ahead. A terrible storm was brewing and eventually
flowed onto them so they had to quickly take shelter. It was at that time they found an old dilapidated
house and inside it was a little girl hiding under the bed. They soon learned that Rosa came to the
island with her brother, Miguel, and his girlfriend, Lucinda. Rosa seemed wise beyond her years to be only
eight-years-old, but she told them a story of how the ghost did something to
her brother. As the film crew began
searching for Rosa’s brother, they discovered he had been brutally
murdered. Not only murdered, but
mutilated. His eyeballs were
missing. Yuk! And that, readers, is where the story forges
on.
What I just wrote
sounds pretty spooky and engaging at the same time, but the problem was it most
definitely wasn’t as exciting as I just made it appear. Where was the horror in this story line? I was so disappointed with this. I love a good horror story. My readers know this. I can read horror all day and never get
tired, so when this book came to me in my newsfeed this past winter, I couldn’t
wait to give it a try. Damn! Just wasn’t my cup of tea. In fact, the story got dumber as it went on,
if that makes any kind of sense? I
clearly could see the parallels between Maria’s past and the film crews’
present, but for all the build up I’d heard about this story, it was a complete
letdown. I really wanted this story to scare
me half to death and it didn’t come even close.
I wanted Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby type of hair-raising, and all I
got was ho-hum! There were moments where
I was like well all right, now we’re getting somewhere, and no sooner as I got
my eyes ready to delve into the gore, it was a dream or someone imagined
something and it wasn’t what I was hoping it would be. What the hell?
I don’t know readers. I suppose I was expecting a whole lot more than what I got and unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be for me. I also found the story to be entirely too long and even when the author brought you to the meat and potatoes, it was as if the food sat on the plate cold. I’m just pissed it wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I so wanted this story to be as good as the premise and the title, but fell short.
The Sexy Nerd gives
The Island of the Dolls three winkin’,
blinkin’ and nods’ at this wannabe horror story. There was so much hope and promise had this
story been handled differently, but not all stories are meant for
everyone. Until next time, Nerds, open a
book and get completely mind blown!
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