Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Things We Do To Our Friends

I personally found the plot very far fetched, even predictable in its impact. The actual drama is glossed over and the focus is mainly the protagonists feelings and thoughts after the current and past events happen/ed. Though they are completely lacking in reflection or improvement in the end. It takes away from the actual climax of the book, which I found to be lacking. The characters are relatable as people you might meet in your life, but are generally unlikeable and and mostly very copy-paste. Nothing sets them apart much in character. There is little to no character development or reflection despite the focus on the protagonists inner world and we don't see consequence to any of their actions, they seem to just continue and they have little emotion to what transpired and what they have caused, which was made "plausible" by their previous agonizing, mostly self-inflicted though. The revelation and ending is unsatisfying and it actually irked me that the protagonist just continued on living a wealthy boring life.

Content Warnings

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75

Content Warnings

aileron's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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

3.0

Content Warnings

vanillanightmare's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

whatsemilyreadin's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

atsundarsingh's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.*

Content Warnings

_bookishbella's review against another edition

Go to review page

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!

Content Warnings

More...