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kers_tin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
this felt like it was really trying to be an edgy modern british version of the secret history but absolutely fell flat. was expecting more 🥲
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault
zxphyrean's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It starts off quite slow-paced but gathers speed as the book goes on. None of the characters are likeable, in fact they're detestable but the kind where you just have to keep reading to find out how it's going to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Classism, and Toxic relationship
atsundarsingh's review
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.*
*Thanks NetGalley for a copy in exchange for review* This novel is due out 10 Jan 2023.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Torture, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide
callikat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Part creepy girl gang, a hint of dark academia, and a lot of rich people doing bad things. "The Things We Do to Our Friends" is about a girl named Clare, who is attending university in Edinburgh and is immediately enamored by her fellow art history student Tabitha. She is welcomed into Tabitha's group (dubbed the Shiver - like a group of sharks) and it just gets more interesting from there. The group itself is very cryptic and mysterious, and Clare never exactly knows what's going on, even when she's introduced to their secret "project."
I will say, I was hoping for a more dramatic "project." I won't give any spoilers because it's still interesting, but the characters are so interesting and I was expecting the secret project to be really wild (like The Secret History, for example). I think another cool element would have been more connections to art history. I was so excited to see that they were all art history majors -- and while there are some connections to art/instances where the characters discuss art, it is only a few times. I would have loved it to be just fully baked into the plot. I sometimes forgot they were even students, so I think more balance would have been nice. Related, the setting also feels kind of disjointed - they are either at Tabitha's flat, Clare's bar, or some random location, and it's hard to picture what it all looks like.
It's definitely worth the read - it is intriguing throughout, and the foreshadowing is not too heavy-handed. I love how you can't even trust Clare, as you can tell something is wrong with her right from the beginning. She has a lot of secrets, and her mannerisms and thought patterns are just straight up weird (practicing smiling in the mirror, always trying to think of the right thing to say, her obsessive drive to belong). I think each of the other characters are also really well-written; you can hear each one's unique voice. Finally, the prose is extremely well done - you can really sense how Clare is feeling throughout the novel (which is excellent foreshadowing in itself). If you enjoy books where you never really know what's going to happen next, I definitely recommend!
Thank-you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I will say, I was hoping for a more dramatic "project." I won't give any spoilers because it's still interesting, but the characters are so interesting and I was expecting the secret project to be really wild (like The Secret History, for example). I think another cool element would have been more connections to art history. I was so excited to see that they were all art history majors -- and while there are some connections to art/instances where the characters discuss art, it is only a few times. I would have loved it to be just fully baked into the plot. I sometimes forgot they were even students, so I think more balance would have been nice. Related, the setting also feels kind of disjointed - they are either at Tabitha's flat, Clare's bar, or some random location, and it's hard to picture what it all looks like.
It's definitely worth the read - it is intriguing throughout, and the foreshadowing is not too heavy-handed. I love how you can't even trust Clare, as you can tell something is wrong with her right from the beginning. She has a lot of secrets, and her mannerisms and thought patterns are just straight up weird (practicing smiling in the mirror, always trying to think of the right thing to say, her obsessive drive to belong). I think each of the other characters are also really well-written; you can hear each one's unique voice. Finally, the prose is extremely well done - you can really sense how Clare is feeling throughout the novel (which is excellent foreshadowing in itself). If you enjoy books where you never really know what's going to happen next, I definitely recommend!
Thank-you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
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