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a_novel_idea11 's review for:
The Things We Do to Our Friends
by Heather Darwent
There was a lot I loved about this book - a dark and twisted plot, mysterious and quirky characters, an academia setting (sort of), and a sense of foreboding.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. But it took me a bit to get there. Some of the novel felt a little drawn out and often I felt like the author was telling me things more than showing them. For example, Tabitha was this charismatic, beautiful girl that everyone was instantly drawn to, however, I never actually felt drawn to her. Tabitha wasn't built enough as an individual to help me connect to her, rather, I just heard from Clare how wonderful Tabitha was.
I always love a good sense of foreboding and this novel definitely built the suspense. There were allusions to Clare's seedy past that were well placed and that storyline really held my interest.
The storyline with Perfect Pieces and the crew's business was also really fascinating and I could have used more of that. It was dark and unique and I was very intrigued.
Like Tabitha, not all of the characters were very well developed. I really never felt a connection to Clare and we never really got to know her, although some of that may have been intentional on the part of the author. The other individuals in Tabitha's crew were similarly one dimensional and all really only seemed to exist to support Tabitha.
This was a good read and an impressive debut. I'll definitely pick up another book by this author!
Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for the copy.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. But it took me a bit to get there. Some of the novel felt a little drawn out and often I felt like the author was telling me things more than showing them. For example, Tabitha was this charismatic, beautiful girl that everyone was instantly drawn to, however, I never actually felt drawn to her. Tabitha wasn't built enough as an individual to help me connect to her, rather, I just heard from Clare how wonderful Tabitha was.
I always love a good sense of foreboding and this novel definitely built the suspense. There were allusions to Clare's seedy past that were well placed and that storyline really held my interest.
The storyline with Perfect Pieces and the crew's business was also really fascinating and I could have used more of that. It was dark and unique and I was very intrigued.
Like Tabitha, not all of the characters were very well developed. I really never felt a connection to Clare and we never really got to know her, although some of that may have been intentional on the part of the author. The other individuals in Tabitha's crew were similarly one dimensional and all really only seemed to exist to support Tabitha.
This was a good read and an impressive debut. I'll definitely pick up another book by this author!
Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for the copy.