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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Things that worked well in the novel: Clare. I did not see what was coming until about halfway through the book. Either I'm naive, or this author has nailed it in her debut novel.
Things that did not work so well: the "dark academia" format seems to be a cut-and-paste template that has been worked and reworked, and it doesn't seem to be an appropriate place to shelf this book. Clare wants to be friends with the rich and attractive clique at the University of Edinburgh. That's as far as the "academia" extends, really. The group of friends seem to be bound together out of fear of each others' secrets, but as readers we don't get a glimpse of that. We are just as in the dark as Clare. I never had a chance to feel sympathy or empathy for Clare, but maybe that was the point. Everyone is just unlikeable. Except for maybe Finn.
The novel takes on an almost entirely different tone in the last half. It felt like it decided to become a type of thriller/revenge story. I really had to power through the first 30 pages or so before the story started picking up.
The Things We Do to Our Friends is a great first novel--I'll be interested to find out if Darwent hammers out a better outline for her next novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for providing an advance reader's copy in exchange for honest feedback.
Things that did not work so well: the "dark academia" format seems to be a cut-and-paste template that has been worked and reworked, and it doesn't seem to be an appropriate place to shelf this book. Clare wants to be friends with the rich and attractive clique at the University of Edinburgh. That's as far as the "academia" extends, really. The group of friends seem to be bound together out of fear of each others' secrets, but as readers we don't get a glimpse of that. We are just as in the dark as Clare. I never had a chance to feel sympathy or empathy for Clare, but maybe that was the point. Everyone is just unlikeable. Except for maybe Finn.
The novel takes on an almost entirely different tone in the last half. It felt like it decided to become a type of thriller/revenge story. I really had to power through the first 30 pages or so before the story started picking up.
The Things We Do to Our Friends is a great first novel--I'll be interested to find out if Darwent hammers out a better outline for her next novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for providing an advance reader's copy in exchange for honest feedback.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was enjoyable and the plot was very well done but I felt the central characters ie Clare and Tabitha weren’t very deep, I didn’t feel like I really got the hype around Tabitha and I wish there was something a bit more to Clare.
dark
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:
Complicated
I could not connect with this book. It was disjointed, bizarre, and boring all at the same time. Did not finish.
*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.
*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.
this was …. Incredibly disturbing and now I need to read something happy, something with a more cohesive plot, too.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Struggled through this book. Nothing really pulled me in and was bored halfway through. I liked the unlikable characters and their toxic relationships but I feel like the plot was lacking and the ending was not shocking.
This was a tough book - disturbing in a lot of ways with very unlikeable characters. I struggled to connect with any of them and didn't understand their motivations. The story was all over the place - I wish it would have gone more in depth on any one of the characters. Clare was the most developed character but I was still left with questions about her. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
this book was a pretty slow burn, I enjoyed it once I was halfway through but found the writing style a little too descriptive and unnecessary.