Wooden Dolls Game by Ivonne A. Hoyos follows twins Mary Jane (“MJ”) and Antonia, with a bedroom assignment dispute catalyzing a lifelong rivalry. MJ receives a wooden doll set that each child paints. Later, Antonia also paints MJ’s pink room black. Over time, MJ succeeds in relationships, academics, and love, while Antonia dives into reckless behavior, art, and risky relationships that increasingly isolate her. Events escalate to violent confrontations, family crises, and tragedy. When MJ discovers a method to revisit pivotal childhood moments using the wooden dolls, she repeatedly tries to alter the past to impact present outcomes in her own life and her sister’s choices. A confrontation explodes into further tragedy, and a discovery that could shatter the course set by MJ's prior temporal interventions and her unborn child.

Ivonne A. Hoyos’s Wooden Doll Game is a novel where the supernatural collides with significant personal cost. MJ’s use of the wooden dolls to revisit her childhood room choice shows her willingness to alter reality, but these changes come at great personal sacrifice, as she sees her adult life permanently affected while attempting to protect those around her. The consequences of Antonia’s decisions, like a disastrous older boyfriend and the disabling of a friend, reveal the trauma MJ bears silently. Hoyos handles the supernatural elements elegantly. The ripple effect MJ causes inevitably introduces unpredictable distortions in her life, and moments where MJ witnesses altered interactions that no longer match memory all contribute to the expert storytelling in an exceptional tale that ends brilliantly while still flirting with the potential to expand. Very highly recommended.

Jamie Michele

★★★★★

★★★★★

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

What begins as a tender domestic tale—a family moving into a new home, twin sisters finding their first sense of individuality—slowly evolves into something darker, stranger, and impossible to forget. Wooden Dolls Game is a haunting psychological thriller about childhood envy, love, identity, and the kind of family wounds that don’t fully heal, even when everyone pretends they have.

Hoyos captures the fragile tension between innocence and obsession through Mary Jane and Antonia Crowell, twin sisters whose bond fractures over something as simple—and as symbolic—as the color of a bedroom. The early chapters feel deceptively calm, filled with family rituals, cardboard boxes, and small joys, until the wooden dolls enter the story and turn playtime into prophecy.

This is a novel that thrives on atmosphere. There’s an eerie domestic stillness beneath every scene: a family dinner, a fairground, a painted wall. Hoyos writes with cinematic precision; you can feel the weight of the paintbrush in Antonia’s hand, the splinters of the wooden dolls, the tension building between sisters who love and resent each other in equal measure.

While the dialogue at times leans simple—true to its child narrators—the psychological undercurrent is chillingly mature. The novel’s real horror is not in the supernatural, but in how jealousy and love can coexist in the same heartbeat. The “game” isn’t just about dolls; it’s about control, inheritance, and the ways trauma rewinds time in our minds, forcing us to relive what we can’t forgive.

Readers who enjoyed Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn will find echoes here: the fragile domestic world turning on itself, sisterhood as both salvation and curse. This book lingers—not because of what it shows you, but because of what it makes you remember.

Alex Norton

★★★★★

Wooden Dolls Game by Ivonne Hoyos is a heart-touching and magical story about family, rivalry, and the mystery of fate. The novel follows Mary Jane and her twin sister Antonia, who grow up under the same roof but with opposite personalities. What begins as a simple fight over a bedroom choice slowly turns into a deep rift filled with jealousy, rebellion, and pain 💔. Through Mary Jane’s journey, we see how sibling bonds can both heal and destroy.💫

📝🪆 The mystical wooden dolls add a fascinating twist — magical objects that allow Mary Jane to travel through time and attempt to fix the broken past. Each time she rewinds moments, she hopes to restore peace, but fate reminds her that some things can’t be undone. The dolls symbolize hope, fear, and the human desire to control destiny. Ivonne Hoyos beautifully blends fantasy with emotional realism, making the reader question whether we can truly rewrite our lives or if destiny always has the final say. ⏳

🌈🌌 This book is not just about magic — it’s about acceptance, forgiveness, and the painful truth that some outcomes are beyond our control. The author delivers a powerful message: we can’t change others’ choices, but we can choose how to face them. Wooden Dolls Game is a gripping mix of family drama, time travel, and life lessons that will leave you reflecting long after the last page. A must-read for those who love stories that are both emotional and thought-provoking.

Diya

★★★★★

When I picked up WOODEN DOLLS GAME by Ivonne Hoyos, I didn’t expect it to be such a deep and emotional journey. From the very first page, I was pulled into the world of two sisters whose bond is tested by jealousy, choices, and fate. This book made me reflect on how even small moments can change the entire direction of our lives. 💭📖

🪆 The story follows Mary Jane and Antonia, twin sisters whose relationship begins to crack from something as simple as choosing a bedroom. What starts small grows into a lifelong rivalry, and I could really feel the emotions behind it. The introduction of the magical wooden dolls adds a fascinating twist, giving the story an element of time travel and second chances. It kept me turning the pages eagerly! ⏳✨

👩‍💻 Ivonne Hoyos has written the story in such a heartfelt way that it feels both magical and real at the same time. The way she weaves emotions with fantasy makes the book relatable yet unique. I truly appreciated her ability to show the complexity of family bonds while adding a touch of mystery and magic. 🌟

💔 What touched me the most was how the book shows the weight of choices, regrets, and the desire to rewrite the past. It makes you think—if given the chance, would we go back and change something in our lives, or should we accept destiny as it is? This theme really stayed with me long after finishing the book. 🌌

🌷 Overall, WOODEN DOLLS GAME is a beautiful mix of family drama, magical realism, and emotional depth. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves stories about sisters, time, and the fragile thread that connects relationships. This book is one that will make you feel, think, and cherish the bonds in your own life. 💕📚

Komal