Atmospheric and enchanting in equal measure, with a touch of darkness, a portrayal of the destructive relationship of two brothers, caused by jealousy and misunderstanding. Lots to enjoy.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was such a lovely story. Cathy Wray finds herself 16 and pregnant in 1906 and instead of going to 'one of those homes' she runs away to Papa Jack's Emporium to become a shop hand. She is enchanted by all the magical toys that are created in the Emporium and this really is the magic of this book.
However, I got halfway through and just felt that it was taking too long to get to the point. There were too many story lines running through the book and each one was so elaborated described and told it just seemed to drag on. The magic was slowly wearing off I'm afraid. I did really want to finish and enjoy this story. The descriptions of the magical toys were so good and enough to capture anyone's imagination, young or old, but I felt I needed more action or disaster to keep me reading.

This book immediately grabbed my attention. The storyline was different and for the most part well thought out and developed. The characters all flawed but also forceful; to some extent self-serving. It would turn into a seriously good film . I did struggle with the ending - felt almost as if the final section should just have been left out or maybe serve as the opening to a second book in a series.

I expected a light-hearted magical read but this was a darker than that. I enjoyed the descriptions of the toys, it really brought them to life.
I struggled to ever get into this though. The characters didn't interest me. I was left confused at times as well. Possibly down to my reading slump.

This is a magical book and a really interesting escapism. It is really descriptive. However, I thought it was overlong and tried to cover too much ground, jumping from one decade to another in the same chapter. The end, when it eventually came, was a surprise. Although the whole book was fanciful, I was disappointed at how it got tied up very end. Great idea,but too long and over complicated.

Oh my word. Where to begin. This book is simply enchanting. As I read it I kept thinking 'is this for children' but then realising that no, it is too sophisticated, the messages too deep for a child's mind.
I didn't want this book to end so caught up was I in the world of the Emporium. I hope someone turns this into a film one day.

'Are you a child at heart?'

It's going to be really ironic if the first book I read in 2018 turns out to be my favourite for the entire year but The Toymakers is utterly, utterly brilliant and I absolutely loved it.

The story starts in 1906 with Cathy Wray running away to London to avoid having to give her baby up for adoption. She finds work at a very unusual toy shop called The Emporium, run by Jekabs Godman (Papa Jack) and his two sons, Kaspar and Emil, who are not much older than her. Kasper is the charmer, flirting with all the shop-girls and effortlessly creating the most magical toys, whereas Emil is more serious and specialises in designing the toy soldiers the brothers use to play their 'Long War'.

I loved The Toymakers for its sheer inventive brilliance. Imagine the toy shop equivalent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Like Doctor Who's TARDIS, The Emporium is bigger on the inside and the aisles are 'alive' with steam trains, toy soldiers, and patchwork animals. The shop opens with the first frost of winter and closes when the first snowdrop flowers on the terrace. The Godmans spend the rest of the year creating their wonderful toys and we get to know a bit more about their lives. I particularly loved the 'instant' trees, which grow into a real forest as soon as their roots touch the ground, and Sirius the patchwork dog. And I definitely fell more than a little bit in love with Kaspar.

The Toymakers deserves to become one of those Christmas classics, enjoyed year after year, although it's not strictly a children's book, more a fairy tale for adults. Along with the magic and romance there are darker, bleaker moments too. We learn of Papa Jack's past as a prisoner in Siberia; the First World War and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder are also touched on. The only thing about the story I didn't like was that it ended in 1953; I'd have preferred the timeline to have been shorter.

I always find the books I love the most the hardest to write reviews for. I expect it's because I want you to love them as much as I do. So I'll just add that I thoroughly recommend The Toymakers, especially to those who are still a child at heart.



I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of The Toymakers, which will be published on 8th February 2018.

Thank you to Robert Dinsdale, Ebury, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I was invited to read this book by the publishers (via NetGalley) a while ago but saved it to read over the Christmas holiday because it sounded so magical. And it certainly is.

This is the story of a man and his two young sons who move to London from a foreign land and open the most magical toy Emporium ever seen. But while there is the magic and joy of the Emporium there is also the reality and devastation of war and family rivalry, which ultimately brings a very sombre tone to the story. The story is so dark and sad at times that it almost became too difficult for me to continue reading after such a wondrous beginning.

A fantastic story full of magical realism, and I particularly loved Sirius, the patchwork dog.

1917 and Cathy is in a tricky situation, pregnant, underage and on course to be sent to a home for unmarried mothers when a curious advert catches her eye. So begins her journey from Kent into the magical world of The Emporium, the home of clockwork patchwork dogs, paper trees, wooden soldiers marching to do battle in a long war and most importantly the brothers Emil and Kaspar. The brothers' rivallry and jealousy does not end when one goes to war and eventually develops into an unexpected wholly darker form. This is a story which twists and turns as much as the branches of the strange paper trees in The Emporium.

What an absolutely stunning, beautiful story this is. I know the year has only just begun but I think I will be hard pushed to find a book to rival this one this year. I want to say it is the best book and the MUST Read of 2018 but being that it is only the 6th January it wouldn’t do it justice, and as clichéd as it is – This really is, no matter the age, a MUST read for anyone and everyone! I can’t stress to you how blindingly good this book truly is.

This book conjures up the grand opulence of movies such as The Greatest Showman and the wonder and magic of books such as Caraval or The Night Circus and then takes them to a whole new level. The Toymakers is in a league of its own and shines even brighter than any star ever seen.

Another over used cliché but none the less true – I literally couldn’t put it down, the kids had to fend for themselves and I even had them fetching me cups of tea! I started reading 9pm Thursday evening and I was still reading 8am Friday morning, sleep didn’t even occur to me I was that engrossed. Suffice to say no housework got done at all Friday as I HAD to finish the book.

I can already see this book being a spectacular big budget movie, it would look amazing up on the big screen and I know this household would pay to watch it!

It begins in London 1917 and follows the lives of Papa Jack and his two sons, Kaspar and Emil in their wonderful Emporium and a young runaway girl, Cathy, who comes to the Emporium looking for work and a place of safety, all the way through to 1953.

Full of magic and wonder Papa Jack’s Toy Emporium is a place to behold, you can feel the enthusiasm of the children and adults alike and is a place you never want to leave. But as is with everything in life, real life can’t be ignored, bringing the war to the establishment, forever changing the lives within.

The ending wasn’t what I was expecting, not that I knew what to expect and there as a twist in the tale that had me wanting to shout out loud – Noooooo and shaking my head in disbelief!

Blending historical fiction and magical realism together to create a magical world full of passion, inspiration, imagination, love, secrets, loss and fear that will always stay with you long after the last page has been read.

I was first drawn to this book due to the cover art, I thought it really intriguing and expected to find a great adventure between its pages. It was just approaching winter and it reminded me of the big toystores you see in cities, preparing for the Christmas rush.

Our story begins with Cathy and her mother speaking to the owner of a large house – where unmarried women go to have their children. The children are taken away – I assume to be fostered, and the mother can return to her family and continue her life. When presented with a newspaper she stumbles upon the advertisement of a place at Papa Jack’s Toy Emporium in London. Cathy herself is from Leigh, a small seaside town in rural Essex, so running away to London, whilst pregnant, shows she really felt so alone back home, and thought this the only way to help her unborn child and have any chance of helping her.

The initial 50% of the story is a fantasy; a toystore that opens on the first frost of the year, all the way through until the thaw. For the rest of the year Papa Jack, his sons, and a few carefully selected craftsmen work diligently to prepare the store with enough toys for the next First Frost. Cathy is taken into the Emporium family in an instant, though as Christmas approaches, and then passes, Cathy is terrified of the day she must leave the Emporium as it closes.

The world building is magical, there are fantastic toys on the shelves making for wonderful adventures in the store itself for children and adults alike; instant paper trees, a wendy house that’s larger on the inside than on the out, clockwork patchwork animals who have souls and personalities (I want one of these), and of course toy soldiers, who do battle and seem to be able to strategize.

Soon enough, the “Great War” comes to London, and many of the men at the toystore are called off overseas to fight, this is where the story takes a much darker turn, and begins to explore the horrors of war, how they change a woman/man, and the impact on families. Coming home from war isn’t as simple as it sounds, and there can be lasting effects.

I felt like of all characters, Cathy was who we got to know in the greatest detail; it is told from her point of view, so we do not so much see interactions between the brothers Kaspar, and Emil, nor do we see much of other people in the story. However in some ways this probably avoided overcomplicating the novel; with the mixture of fantasy, and historical fiction, it’s a delicate balance – too much fantasy may take away from the more serious war angle, and too much of this would take away from the magic.

In terms of writing style, I thought it was perfect, holding a certain formality suitable to the era in which its set, but not making it difficult for the modern-day reader who is used to a different language structure.

This wasn’t really what I expected of the book, though that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it in the end. It was much more serious than I anticipated though I would recommend this to those who enjoy both fantasy and historical fiction genres, as this proves to be a great combination of the two.

Overall I’m awarding this book a 4*/5. It was an enjoyable and magical read, with rich descriptions and artistic world building. I would’ve liked to know Kaspar and Emil, maybe Papa Jack more, but it isn’t a limiting factor of the book. The writing was easy to follow, and it was a delightfully enchanting story, capable of bringing out the child in all of us.

Do you remember when you believed in magic?

I loved this book, it had such a magical feel to it even though it explored the damage caused to soldiers by war. The characters were strong and cleverly drawn.and added to the colourful feel of the book.. I loved the imagination of the author who managed to bring the toys to life in such a delightful way I felt as though I was part of the magic. I think it would make a wonderful film,

Wow, this is truly such a rich, evocative book it is almost impossible to sum it up in to a review that can do it justice; it will be a book that stays with me for a long time and one I can see myself returning to read again and again, which I rarely ever do.

It is a Toy Story for grown ups, encapsulating all the magic emotion and wonder of childhood when toys were more than just toys; dolls, teddy bears, soldiers, were our friends, sometimes the only things that could comfort us and that we would confide in. There are reminders throughout the book that even in isolating loneliness we are never completely alone if we choose to look for the magic. To be able to evoke that depth of enchantment and charm within the pages of this book, yet simultaneously the dark despair and destruction that war brings is quite a talent that Dinsdale absolutely nails.

You are witnessing the events over many years as an observer, invited to see the quite unbelievable sights of the emporium and the way the characters evolve. It all begins with a young girl, Cathy, in an impossible situation she makes a life changing choice and ends up in London, taken in by the Emporium on the opening night of the season. The owner is the mysterious Papa Jack, and his sons Emil and Kaspar. The clockwork dog Sirius was such an endearing character to me, as was the courageous Kapitan. The world of the Emporium is mysterious with a secluded, secretive air not only from the outside world but also inside it's own realm, where there are many hiding places, secrets, and closed doors. Jealousy, misunderstanding, and bitterness breeds in the face of much sacrifice, and when unexpected events change everything it becomes a true battle to find a peace within the emporium walls or risk losing everything.

There is so much I want to say about the ending that I can't without using spoilers, but it is monumental and profoundly astute. I absolutely loved every page of it.

I found the fragile sanctuary of the Toy Emporium and the battles of the main characters an allegory of how in life we grow old and lose our innocence and magic of childhood; we suffer tragedies, loss, illness, some become consumed by materialism, pride, greed, or control; but if we choose to do what's right, to be benevolent, to hold on to what is precious and be brave enough to protect innocence, love and freedom then a little bit of magic can always survive and reincarnate.

This is an enchanting, well written novel set against the backdrop of WW1. Papa Jack's Toyshop gives refuge to Cathy, a pregnant young woman at odds with her own family because of her pregnancy. The story centres around Cathy, and her relationship with the two brothers, Emil and Kasper, the sons of the owner. At times the story is heartbreaking - and at other times it's uplifting - and I loved it.

A wonderful, magical tale set in Papa Jack's emporium, telling his story and that of of his family. brilliantly written, taking the reader to a wonderful land of make believe.

Papa Jack owned the Emporium in London. It was opened on the first frosty day of every winter for the children to see the illuminated garlands in the store. It was like the magic kingdom, full of moving toys such as marching soldiers, roaming animals and moving trains – awing the young visitors.

Papa Jack had two sons, named Kasper and Emil, to whom he gave a set of soldiers who obeyed their commands.

Cathy gave birth to Martha out of wedlock. Her mother tried to give the new baby to the Orphan Home.

One day, Cathy saw an advertisement for an assistant to help Papa Jack at the emporium. So, she ran away from her home, while pregnant with Martha to work at the store where the magical adventure awaited.

This was a lovely story about the family who ran the store in London for nearly fifty years, through the two great wars and had shocking twists nearing the end of the story in the magical “kingdom” of toys. This should be the Christmas movie.

Caesar 13

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I'm actually a little taken aback by how much I really enjoyed this one. I'd heard of Robert Dinsdale's work, in fact, I'd been hankering to read 'Gingerbread' for some time. I was thrilled to be offered the chance to read this book, especially as it felt like such a festive read! Toy shops are certainly the most magical place during Christmas time and I wanted a book that would take me back to my childhood. This certainly did that!

The plot concept of this book was a really good one - set in the enchanting Papa Jack's Emporium, his two sons play a constant, childish game known as 'the long war' representative of their desperation to be the favourite. Cathy Wray's POV makes a lovely 'neutral' viewpoint, and what I loved most of all was that each son was credible in his own way. There's a clear 'good' and 'bad' guy, but at the same time, there sort of isn't. Kaspar IRRITATED me to begin with, and I felt sorry for the often forgotten and downtrodden Emil. As time went on, Kaspar became more sensible and grounded, while Emil grew childish and a little obsessive. Dinsdale did a great job at illustrating the effects that past events, trauma and new characters had on each character (and the Emporium itself, which is very much it's own character too).

I enjoyed everything about this book. The characters were well-constructed, events such as WWI were integrated in a believable way, and many of the twists and turns left me reeling. Especially at the end (I actually audibly gasped when it dawned on me what the toys were trying to tell Cathy, I did NOT see that coming), though I did feel that the way it ended was a little unsatisfying considering the story-long build-up. There are many gorgeous quotes and lessons to be learned about humanity here too, and I adored the toy soldier sub-plot towards the end. Dinsdale's gorgeous writing has very much made it's mark on me. I'll definitely be getting round to 'Gingerbread' a lot sooner!

The book was a surprise and a delight, resonating strongly with me. It had the feel of a late Victorian idyllic Christmas, as well as reminding both of Morgernstern's The Night Circus and that bizarre fairytale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. And yet it isn't really like any of those things, being very much its own book. It is a family sage looking at Kaspar and Emil's struggle for control of the toy Emporium, covering two world wars and beyond. A difficult book to describe, the Toymakers was both enchanting and heart rending. Simply wonderful.

It’s 1917 and pregnant teenager Cathy Wray seeks sanctuary at a London toy store. She soon discovers that these toys are unlike any she’s ever seen before. There’s a clockwork dog that’s devoted to his master, paper trees that grow from seed, and toy soldiers that wage battles on their own. Cathy learns to call The Emporium home, and the people who own it her family. But then the First World War breaks out, and nothing will ever be quite as magical again. Veering from childlike wonderment, to the bleakness of war, The Toymakers is a must for fans of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus.

I was looking forward to this book about a magical Christmas Emporium that opens at the first frost and closes at the first snowdrop, and sells all kinds of amazing toys.
Cathy, a pregnant teenage runaway comes to work there, and stays, living in a Wendy house that is bigger on the inside than the outside.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the toys, and loved Sirius the patchwork dog. Papa Jack, the owner had a tragic back story which was beautifully told, and explained his love of toys.

But, I just couldn’t believe in Cathy, and the brothers Emil and Kaspar, who were waging a toy soldier war against each other, and by the time I got halfway through, I had lost all interest, and didn’t even read ahead to the end.
A potentially good book, but not for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.