His Doll: A Therapist/Patient Romance

I've loved Isabella's books since the first one I've read and she delivers again in His Doll. We meet Alice who is a young woman not getting the attention she craves and needs from her mother. Then there's Mr. Hawke, her therapist. He's been helping her for years & can see she's just vying for attention...from anyone. The scenes between them are relaxed and at times filled with tension as they are drawn to each other knowing it can't be. You can't help but root for them & want the best since they seem to fit so well together. When together & fighting their attraction it's electrifying & you feel as if you're being singed too. The intimate scenes between them go from sweet to intense on top of burning you from the inside out....making you crave even just a tiny bit of it. Once again a gripping read from Isabella & can't wait to see what else she comes up with. Hot & intense so have ice & a fan ready while you hold on tight & enjoy the ride.

This was a hot, steamy, and just a little taboo. There was a great story within the pages of this book. Isabella did a great job on the character building, however I kind of wish there was a bit more back story (there may be, this is the first book I read from her and I have failed to do my research, I just jumped right in). Mr. Hawkins has known Alice for a few years now, as she is his pt. Things happen along the way that lets her open up to him in a more personal level. They both get to let out a little bit of their history. The feelings Isabella elicits is so great, makes you feel like they are looking you in the eye telling you their stories! I was compelled to hope and wish for the best, but we all have a villain that wished just a little that someone is going to find out and make the whole thing different than what really want to happen. That the secret is going to be uncovered by the wrong people. That doesn't happen here, however. Maybe next time. I will be reading more by Isabella, and also doing more research with the series.

I'm really quite torn about this book. There are things I like, things that make me scratch my head in confusion, and things that I really don't care for. Starting with the positive, I like that there is a happily every after ending, even if it left me confused. I wish that there had been more development between the final chapter and the epilogue, but Starling didn't bother to include it. I like that Alice makes peace with her mother, even if Starling didn't tell us how that happened. I also like that Alice comes into her own, even if Starling didn't show us how she overcame her demons. Okay, so I guess the positive is mixed in with a lot of the confusing elements, but it is what it is. The biggest thing that confused me was the guardianship that Alice's mother arranged with Jacob. If Alice was of age, then it wouldn't have mattered. And if she wasn't of age, then this book should have been labeled as a taboo genre book. It was a bit dubious, which made me incredibly uncomfortable because I tend to view underage sexual encounters the same way I do dubcon and that isn't with any kind of favor. I really did not care for the fact that there were no consequences for Jacob taking advantage of his patient. And yes, he did take advantage of her. He sure didn't fight himself for very long or with any kind of resolve. He was her therapist, and it doesn't matter that she may have been of age. He was in a position over her as a caregiver and her guardian, possibly of a minor. Realistic consequences, such as actually being caught by school officials and losing his license, would have painted this tale with more realistic brush. The final thing that really made it hard for me to actually like this book was that Alice's obvious mental health issues were completely brushed under the rug. The behavior she displayed wasn't just disaffected adolescence with peer issues. That may have been the author's intent, but it wasn't what came out on the page. I really think that Isabella Starling bit off a little more than she could chew with this one. There were opportunities in this book to include some realism that would have elevated the story, create interesting conflicts, and enhanced the plot. It had the potential to be something good. Instead, it was just okay. Starling's writing abilities were obviously not up to par for the subject she chose. I realize that not everyone can be Tiffany Reisz, but that's what editors are for, and it was kind of obvious that Starling didn't use a very good one, if she chose to employ one at all.

Isabella Starling is a powerful writer - purely evident in her books - His Doll is no exception. This is not for the weak of heart or those looking for a classical romance read. This is an all out raw and gritty read delving into several hard/touchy topics. Isabella's main characters Jacob and Alice are astoundingly BEYOND well written. They are tragic but something about them is so, so right. I've read each of Isabella's books she's written/published to date and have never been disappointed, but blown away by her ability and the stories she gives the reader. His Doll is an "Oh My Goodness, did I really just read that? What can possibly come next?" book. Hands down mind-blowing, unbelievably good!!

This was a 3-1/2 star read for me. It had elements that I really enjoyed and some that I was kind of confused in. Jacob is a therapist helping a teenage patient named Alice work through her issues. He is obviously attracted to Alice. Alice comes across some what broken and doesn't have the best relationship with her mom. Alice tends to bottle things up. Jacob wants to get to the bottom of what makes Alice the way she is. One day Alice's mom decides to leave Alice in her therapist's care so she can chase her dreams. Of course there is a lot of sexual tension between Alice and Jacob. What happens when Alice and Jacob give in to temptation? I really enjoyed the whole patient and doctor taboo, and the whole he's older she's younger romance. What I didn't enjoy was the bdsm element to it. Not that I don't enjoy that subject, it just kind of came out of no where in this story. Overall, this story had a little bit of everything: it was taboo, with forbidden temptation, it was intriguing with lots of drama rolled in to one. Also this book has some really hot and steamy sexy scenes. I look forward to reading more from this author. **received an arc in exchange for an honest review**

I do wish we could have gotten to know a little more about Jacob, I won’t lie. Seems to me he could have had a bit more background story. There was a mention of something but then there was a distraction and it was never fully addressed. There was a bit in there where the Ex was concerned but he could have used a bit more. I also would have liked to have known a bit more about Alice. There was a scene that could have used a bit better explanation in the sense that I want to know what happened to cause that episode. With that said, even without those elements, this was a great story. I kept waiting for something that I thought would happen but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t happen because it was too predictable if it’s would have gone down that way.

Alice and Jacob are not your normal everyday characters. Alice is a troubled 18 year old high school senior. She is in therapy because she actually needs it. She has mental issues that overtake her life sometimes. Jacob is her therapist and has been falling in love with her for a while. Jacob likes to think of himself as the big bad dominant sexual master, but he is actually very sweet. Through no fault of their own, these two end up living together, and falling into a relationship. I enjoyed this story. It was not as dark as some. But not a light-hearted romp, either. No violence, explicit sexual contact. Minor bdsm scenes. Fully fleshed out three dimensional characters. Good story.

I'm torn about how I feel about this book. The synopsis was intriguing but I found the actual story to just be okay. The book had lots of drama, angst, steamy sex, and a touch of romance but there wasn't much conflict to drive the story and that was disappointing. Jacob and Alice had good chemistry but her juvenile behavior made their pairing quite unbelievable to me. It would have been more realistic if she acted older than her 18 years instead of much younger. I'm not saying it's a bad book but it could have been better.

This is the first book I have read by Isabella Starling, but most definitely the first of many I hope! I absolutely loved it! It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me catch my breath and it was H-O-T!! Splish splash!! 💦 💦

An awesome read though I would say I finished it really fast even though it was not that short a book. So I absolutely loved Jacob and Alice. This was a beautiful, enthralling, Sweet read. I read it up on my weekend and it was just perfect. Loved it 💖

A taboo read that gets pretty hot in places. A therapist and his patient, the connection is pretty clear between the two characters. She is a young woman in desperate need of being loved and belonging, he is a therapist who desperately wants to love and be loved. Two lost souls who come together out of need for acceptance. The story was pretty good, kind of went off a bit towards the end, but overall an enjoyable read.

Firstly, I have to say I'm not a prude! However, the number of times the characters used the 'F' word became extremely irritating. It got so bad at one stage, that I was looking out for the curses, rather than concentrating on the plot. In addition, as another reviewer has mentioned, I thought the plot was confused in places: why was Doll (Alice) seeing Mr Hawke,in the first place? Why did she self harm? Would a mother really leave her daughter in the care of her therapist? And why did Trina, Mrs Arnold, and the other students dislike Alice so much? Perhaps the answers to these questions were somewhere in the narrative but I didn't spot them, so they need clarification if they are there. I've read and enjoyed other books by Ms Starling, but felt that the manuscript of this novel needed a thorough line-edit, before it was published, hence the 3 stars.

First I need to warn you, this book contains extreme adult content and it is not fit for the weakest of hearts . He is a councillor who has been counselling his young patient in probably guessing at her teen years, she turns 18 and he has naughty thoughts about this troubled child, yes I say child. He is only a few years younger then the girl mother! This is what some people consider a Paedophile. With this said, it was raunchy with him wanting her to be his submissive. Things get heated up and quite honestly iris about as bad as your thinking here. So readers beware not your cup of tea? Certainly was not mine. I was hopeful he would have been charged with something but not happened. No I don't recommend this book for all, only the people who have no morals.