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

I mostly enjoyed this book, but I think it could have gone further with what it was trying to do. It felt like it was building up to a big moment throughout the whole thing, but by the end there still wasn’t really anything?

The writing was very beautiful, and I think this book definitely has a good idea to it, but I just would have liked to have seen more exploration of the characters and their actions.

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han936's review against another edition

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dark tense

4.0

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_tabby_'s review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I havent been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished it. The ending is the most gripping, surprising and unexpected twist that this book holds (and there are a number of twists). The book itself is worth reading simply just to get the full force and shock of the ending.
The theme of deception is vitally important to both the personalities of the characters and the authors writing style. Not only does Darwent use this method to create interesting and surprisingly dark characters but also to give the reader the impression that we're also being deceived from a narration pov. The biased/ unreliable narrator is a very clever technique that this book was perfect for.
However, I couldn't rate it 5☆ simply because the beginning was slow and lacked traction.
Loved this book and I dont think the final plot twist will ever not be on my mind.

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veelaughtland's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.5

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loubraryoftheforest's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A dark and unexpected novel, that made me question everything about what friendship means, and how far you would go to forge and keep those bonds.

Clare has decided to reinvent herself, as many of us do as we start university, to throw away the parts of her that people dislike, and be the person others want her to be, bright, engaging, to fit in. It’s her chance to begin again

She has goals, and ticks them off one by one.

She thinks she has found what she craves in Tabitha, a girl who isn’t afraid to be her true self, who shines a little brighter than most, and gathers a circle of friends around her who seem to trust each other implicitly, who know each others secrets, and look out for each other.

Surprisingly they invite her in, and Clare bathes in this warm glow of attention. They look after each other, almost crave each other, and when they begin to plan an enterprise together, honing each other’s best talents, and satisfying a part of her that she thought had been buried deep, it feels like all she hoped for has come to pass.

But as things take a dark and shocking turn, can Clare keep up the charade of who she pretends to be, or will her true self resurface in ways too horrible to contemplate. Are her friends as wonderful as she hoped, or does something flitter under the surface, threading them together in a beautiful lie.

This was a shocking read, brutal at times, and comes with a lot of triggers. But it was well crafted, with hints of Clare’s past littered throughout, keeping me wanting to know the whole story, even though the first page sets out in horrifying detail what you think you know happened, it’s so much more than that, Clare is so much more than that.

It would make a good book group read as there is a lot to digest and discuss, and I would relish others thoughts on it, especially Clare’s character. Only 3.5 stars for me, but a good read nonetheless.

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ashlislibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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