Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - The Things We Do to Our Friends

Such an incredibly dark and twisted tale, so perfectly crafted that you don’t want to look away for an instant even though the characters and their actions are downright despicable. A horrific story told horrifyingly well.

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iemilia's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

There were parts of this book I enjoyed and it was a nice fast paced read, however I expected so much more. The characters were bland and lacked depth - I didn’t really understand why Clare was so obsessed with Tabitha.
It had an interesting premise and I was going into it thinking it would potentially by a 5 star read but unfortunately it didn’t wow me and all in all fell a bit flat

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vanillanightmare's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A well-plotted story set in dark and labyrinthine Edinburgh. With tension from the outset, it is wickedly gruesome and unhinged, with obsession, codependency, and toxic female friendships. The ending felt a little rushed in places and there were a few characters I’d have loved to learn more about but it all came together! An incredible debut.

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atsundarsingh's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Look, this wasn't my favourite thing I've read, but it had me hooked. I needed to know what the climax would be, I wanted to know what was holding this group together, I needed to have that creepy prologue explained, and by the end, I needed to know exactly how unreliable the narrator was. I do think that the plot was winding itself along nicely and then gets weirdly fast in a way that's not in keeping with the rest of the novel about about 65-70% of the way through, but it's a debut. Not sure I'd say this is dark academia, but of course it is for about 40% of the book, a campus novel, so I guess it qualifies. Not sure I'll be recommending it, but I'll be talking about this debut, and will be curious to see what Darwent does next.

*Thanks NetGalley for a copy in exchange for review* This novel is due out 10 Jan 2023.*

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oracle_of_madness's review

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4.25

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!!

Shocked silence. Give me a moment. This was brilliant! From the prologue to the epilogue, this was fascinating. Just the constant feeling that something is off, that something is rotting, keeping me in an almost constant state of curiosity mixed with an unexplainable unease.

The prologue opens the story with a few snippets of a scene that was left unexplained for quite a while in the book but was never far from my mind due to its disturbing nature.

Claire is the MC, telling the story from her point of view. It begins with her starting University at Edinburgh and having a desire to meet not just any friends, but a certain type. This felt unhinged to me, the way her thought process around this worked. Of course, when she zeroes in on her targets she seems to effortlessly slip into their lives. Quickly she became a favorite of the groups ringleader, Tabitha, and Claire felt a new sense of self as she basked in the rays of Tabitha's attention.

This all, of course, gets weird fast. Claire can't figure out what is really going on. And, she seems to be keeping secrets of her own. But as the plot is revealed, everything seems to happen like a wave... a major high and a huge crash.

This was really intense for me. I felt surprised with where this went and the amount this book was able to disturb me. (Is it weird that I enjoyed being disturbed? I guess that's a whole other topic, lol)

Definitely recommend this for fans of thrillers!

Out January 10, 2023!

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_bookishbella's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Since it’s been pitched to fans of The Secret History, but with a feminist twist, I was really hoping for a deliciously dark and intoxicating thrill ride from The Things We Do To Our Friends. I’m happy to report that I did enjoy this dark and twisted tale of a pretty toxic friendship gone all kinds of wrong.

The Things We Do To Our Friends has all the right elements:
🤔an unhinged and not-quite-unreliable-but-definitely-untrustworthy main character
😈a seemingly impenetrable group of mysterious and complex rich kids who will stop at literally nothing to get what they want
🏰a luxuriously dark and gothic Edinburgh setting
🌪a whirlwind of a plot with twists and turns for days
☠️sharp and almost venomous writing style with a toxic undercurrent that hints at the horrible and is completely compelling

I was obsessed from page one. It’s been ages since I’ve read the first 100 pages of a book in one sitting and so that was a real joy. I, like Clare, found myself completely hanging on to every word of Tabitha and her friends, and even though the foreboding sense of a car crash waiting to happen was always in the back of my mind, I couldn’t seem to look away. Clare is unlikeable and her actions and thought processes hint at a shameful past, but it’s not til the end that you get a true glimpse into who she really is, despite being in her head for the entirety of the novel. I was repeatedly surprised and sometimes disgusted at the secrets revealed, and while I do think it loses its way slightly towards the end, for the most part I couldn’t put it down. It’s one that’s best to head into blind, so I won’t say much more, but it’s definitely one to mark in your calendars for a dark, wintry afternoon in January, when it’s released. You won’t want to miss it!

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daisywilkes's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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