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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
dixiecarroll's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4-4.5 Stars. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is The Secret History meets Bunny with some freaky twists and turns. It’s in the Dark Academia genre but a little more psychological thriller. It made me feel icky at times, but it was so interesting!
It lost a half-star because at times the plot felt slightly disjointed and not as polished as some others, but this is a fantastic debut novel and the ending had my gripping my kindle for dear life.
Grab this when it’s published next week on January 10th!
It lost a half-star because at times the plot felt slightly disjointed and not as polished as some others, but this is a fantastic debut novel and the ending had my gripping my kindle for dear life.
Grab this when it’s published next week on January 10th!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Murder
jos_haunted_library's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When I saw this book I wanted to read it immediately: a toxic friendship with a touch of feminism and set in Edinburgh. What’s not to like?
The book for me was a slow burner for sure but it allowed to understand how Clare always had the need to re-invent herself and it increases how intoxicating it is as you read it. As she meets a new group of friends she tries to find her way to fit in despite the clear differences in lifestyles, and secrets…
The book is well written, I love how to gives the dark and gloomy ambience typical to Edinburgh. The characters are well written and the plot is nice and intense. An excellent debut!
I would definitely recommend checking for trigger warnings before hand as it has some heavy themes such as SA, m*rder and su*cide.
If you like the toxic friendship trope meets thriller I really recommend this book. Although if you don’t like slow paced books you might struggle a bit.
Thanks NetGalley and the author for this eARC.
The book for me was a slow burner for sure but it allowed to understand how Clare always had the need to re-invent herself and it increases how intoxicating it is as you read it. As she meets a new group of friends she tries to find her way to fit in despite the clear differences in lifestyles, and secrets…
The book is well written, I love how to gives the dark and gloomy ambience typical to Edinburgh. The characters are well written and the plot is nice and intense. An excellent debut!
I would definitely recommend checking for trigger warnings before hand as it has some heavy themes such as SA, m*rder and su*cide.
If you like the toxic friendship trope meets thriller I really recommend this book. Although if you don’t like slow paced books you might struggle a bit.
Thanks NetGalley and the author for this eARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A swift, hypnotically intense and atmospheric read that, although disturbing at times had me utterly intrigued and unable to look away.
It follows Clare, in her first year at university in Edinburgh and on a mission to reinvent herself and stumbles into an unlikely friendship with a group of wealthy students she has almost nothing in common with. What started out as an exciting opportunity to become popular and interesting soon becomes an obsessively toxic friendship that takes a rather nasty turn (we’re talking stalking, blackmail and tons of narcissistic behaviour) when Clare gets pulled into their increasingly (devious?) schemes—culminating in that shocking ending.
I was honestly surprised by how dark that opening chapter was and how strangely invested I became in finding out what exactly happened (and why.) In fact, a lot of the plot revolves around the mystery surrounding not only Clare’s backstory but the backstories of all her new friends. Particularly queen bee,Tabitha—whose saccharine sweet demeanour masks her chaotic and quite often self destructive tendencies—and an upbringing far from the glamorously breezy lifestyle Clare imagines.
It’s told exclusively from Clare’s perspective and navigates dual timelines as we jump between a present day Claire and the memories of her days at Edinburgh university in the mid-2000s.
With every page dripping in suspense, the slow-burn build up was torturously good and the tension that Heather Darwent manages to cultivate definitely had me on edge. And the themes explored (class and privilege, obsession, toxic friendships and revenge) only add to the dark, seedy underbelly we catch glimpses of—behind the veneer of wealth and privilege that Tabitha, Ava, Imogen and Samuel wield.
Clare (our protagonist) was an intriguing character, though her appeal has far less to to with charisma or any endearing qualities (which she doesn’t really have) but with the intensity of her need to find the perfect friend group—one worthy of her time. but no matter how obsessive, callous or disconnected she became to the people around her, I genuinely liked her—in all her scheming unreliable narrator glory.
And the focus of Clare’s obsession, the glamorous and ruthlessly charismatic Tabitha was just as obsessively scheme-y and chaotic as our protagonist. Her saccharine sweetness towards Clare’s held a sinisterly, menacing undertone that I genuinely couldn’t look a what from no matter how much of a car crash I knew the implosion between them was going to be.
The group itself revolves primarily on the hierarchy that Tabitha dictates but, the drama and uncertainty that excites (and entices) Clare is what truly seems to make them all thrive and it’s this energy that inspires their unorthodox business which becomes the catalyst of all their problems.
It’s definitely a slow-burn type thriller, so if slower paced books aren’t your thing you make struggle with this one, but the build up is absolutely intoxicating and I really enjoyed the thrill of trying to guess what was gonna happen next.
Given some of the darker themes and subject material (such as violence,murder, suicide, sexual harassment & sexual assault) I’d definitely recommend looking into the TWs beforehand.
Overall a decadently dark and compulsively menacing mystery/thriller that will appeal to fans of the toxic friend trope or Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
Also a huge thank you to Viking Books UK for the proof.
It follows Clare, in her first year at university in Edinburgh and on a mission to reinvent herself and stumbles into an unlikely friendship with a group of wealthy students she has almost nothing in common with. What started out as an exciting opportunity to become popular and interesting soon becomes an obsessively toxic friendship that takes a rather nasty turn (we’re talking stalking, blackmail and tons of narcissistic behaviour) when Clare gets pulled into their increasingly (devious?) schemes—culminating in that shocking ending.
I was honestly surprised by how dark that opening chapter was and how strangely invested I became in finding out what exactly happened (and why.) In fact, a lot of the plot revolves around the mystery surrounding not only Clare’s backstory but the backstories of all her new friends. Particularly queen bee,Tabitha—whose saccharine sweet demeanour masks her chaotic and quite often self destructive tendencies—and an upbringing far from the glamorously breezy lifestyle Clare imagines.
It’s told exclusively from Clare’s perspective and navigates dual timelines as we jump between a present day Claire and the memories of her days at Edinburgh university in the mid-2000s.
With every page dripping in suspense, the slow-burn build up was torturously good and the tension that Heather Darwent manages to cultivate definitely had me on edge. And the themes explored (class and privilege, obsession, toxic friendships and revenge) only add to the dark, seedy underbelly we catch glimpses of—behind the veneer of wealth and privilege that Tabitha, Ava, Imogen and Samuel wield.
Clare (our protagonist) was an intriguing character, though her appeal has far less to to with charisma or any endearing qualities (which she doesn’t really have) but with the intensity of her need to find the perfect friend group—one worthy of her time. but no matter how obsessive, callous or disconnected she became to the people around her, I genuinely liked her—in all her scheming unreliable narrator glory.
And the focus of Clare’s obsession, the glamorous and ruthlessly charismatic Tabitha was just as obsessively scheme-y and chaotic as our protagonist. Her saccharine sweetness towards Clare’s held a sinisterly, menacing undertone that I genuinely couldn’t look a what from no matter how much of a car crash I knew the implosion between them was going to be.
The group itself revolves primarily on the hierarchy that Tabitha dictates but, the drama and uncertainty that excites (and entices) Clare is what truly seems to make them all thrive and it’s this energy that inspires their unorthodox business which becomes the catalyst of all their problems.
It’s definitely a slow-burn type thriller, so if slower paced books aren’t your thing you make struggle with this one, but the build up is absolutely intoxicating and I really enjoyed the thrill of trying to guess what was gonna happen next.
Given some of the darker themes and subject material (such as violence,murder, suicide, sexual harassment & sexual assault) I’d definitely recommend looking into the TWs beforehand.
Overall a decadently dark and compulsively menacing mystery/thriller that will appeal to fans of the toxic friend trope or Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
Also a huge thank you to Viking Books UK for the proof.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Stalking, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
oracle_of_madness's review
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
_bookishbella's review against another edition
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Vomit
vkitoria's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i have really mixed feelings. on one hand, the writing was brilliant, the characters were toxic just the way i like them, and the vibes were solid (very secret history). but the plot… was all over the place.
their “business” never made much sense. the highs and lows of the relationships switched up a little too quickly. and while i liked the narrator in concept, some of her motivations just didn’t click. i understand that she was basically just a ball of rage but sometimes she acted like she felt absolutely nothing, and it seemed contrary? idk!
i read an arc from netgalley.
their “business” never made much sense. the highs and lows of the relationships switched up a little too quickly. and while i liked the narrator in concept, some of her motivations just didn’t click. i understand that she was basically just a ball of rage but sometimes she acted like she felt absolutely nothing, and it seemed contrary? idk!
i read an arc from netgalley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Animal cruelty
daisywilkes's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Classism, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Violence, Torture, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Child abuse, and Alcoholism
elread0's review
dark
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Emotional abuse
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