I'm sure this kind of writing style has a niche somewhere.
Unfortunately, as interesting as the premise for the book was, I could not get on with the writing style. That means I was not the intended audience for this book, though I sincerely hope it finds it's audience and readers.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley. More of a slow burn and less of a thriller. The build-up did not match the ending at all. The cover is more intriguing than the story.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This book reminded me of The Sex Lives of College Girls mixed with Heathers and the Secret. History. Darwent is an author to watch. This book will top many best of 2023 lists. Highly recommended.

The Things We Do to Our Friends is a pyschological thriller/dark academia book set mostly in Edinburgh, Scotland. Clare is a college student who gets mixed up with a dangerous crowd. I can't say much else about the plot because there are a lot of twists and turns. It definitely kept me on my toes the whole way. The characters were interesting and surprising.

This is an unusual book. It's quite good, but not really for me. It's certainly what I'd characterize as a slow burn and a character study. Clare is a student in Edinburgh and looking to shed her past and reinvent herself. It's unclear why this is for a long while, only that she's desperate to fit in and maybe not the best judge of character.

She falls in with a new group led by Tabitha who has a 'project' she wants the group to work on. Once that plan is revealed the story takes off but things also start to get quite odd. For me, I never really knew if Clare was troubled or naive -- until the very end -- which made it hard for me to know how if I should empathize with her or not.

I'd say the story is about reinvention and revenge and exerting power over other people. It was an engaging read and I think many will find it engrossing, but it wasn't quite for me.

This book was very interesting. I went back and forth on this book. I did not like any of the characters except for Finn who was pretty minor. These characters are horrible but I believe that is the point. We aren’t supposed to like them. The author did a great job trying to get us to like the main character but you always know something was off about her and the friends she made, so you never really do. Even Finn understood that on some level.

There weren’t too many twists in this book. I knew I wasn’t getting all the information and I kept waiting for the big twist or the big reveal but once it came it was a little anticlimactic for me. I had already figured most of it out.

All in all this books was well written and the uncomfortableness you got from the characters was great. I thought the this was a good debut (I think this was a debut novel) and I would read this author again.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow this was super dark and creepy. Well written game of intrigue and manipulation. Great characters that kept me hooked.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

The Things We Do To Our Friends is labelled a psychological thriller compared to Dark Circles by Caite Dolan-Leach’s Dark Circles. I did not see much of a comparison to this book, nor did I really get any dark psychological vibes from it. I had higher hopes for it and while I did keep reading, I unfortunately did not find myself wanting to pick the book up again after putting it down. Clare is an outsider trying to find her way after living through a scandal and being disowned by her parents. Ultimately, this is a peculiar tale of toxic friendships and the lengths one can go to hold onto them.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam/Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

Clare has had a difficult childhood and is harboring a deep secret, but now she is set to reinvent herself as she starts college in Edinburgh. Working in a local pub, she becomes fascinated with some other students she meets there who, in her view, seem to have it all. Desperate to be accepted, she clings to them, even going along with an unsavory “project” they propose. To what extents will she go to be part of the group?



This debut novel is dark, touching upon obsession, toxic dependency, the effects of poor parenting, and what I would view as mental illness. The language is evocative, especially when describing scenes such as Edinburg in January. It is well plotted, but I just didn’t take to any of the unlikable characters or their stories. I read the book quickly just to get through it. By the end, I felt like, “so what?

This was just an ok read to me. The storyline was an interesting one but it just fell flat. I think it could've been at least 25% shorter, some parts just dragged on and I was ready to call it quits a few times. The characters are all despicable which maybe is the point? But there are characters that are written that you love to hate and none of these are those. They were just miserable characters. Unfortunately this just didn't do it for me.

Well-written and different from other books I’ve read in this genre. I really enjoyed the atmospheric setting and the cast of characters you love to hate. Great debut!

The Things We Do to Our Friends had an interesting premise, a captivating first chapter and a cast of characters. The main character, Tabitha, reminded me of Blaire from Gossip Girl. However; there were some slow parts for me and the pacing felt drawn out. I'd definitely try another one of Heather Darwents books, as she is a debut author.

I really wanted to love this book, but it wasn't for me. The plot was far-fetched, and so many of the characters' decisions didn't make sense. I was intrigued by the dark academia atmosphere, but there was barely any talk of anything school-related. Plus, for a story marked as a thriller, I was expecting more action. Cool idea, but a little clunky.

Expected publication: 1/10/23
The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent was a very disturbing yet captivating read with a jolt in the final pages that really made me gasp! It’s a thriller set at university in Edinburgh (I googled so many images while reading) and reminded me vaguely of The Secret History, a favorite of mine!
The story is told in protagonist Clare’s voice and this type of narration is my favorite delivery of a tale. Heather Darwent is an amazing writer with a very twisted mind! Loved it and looking forward to the author’s next book!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Heather Darwent for the opportunity to read this ARC!

“ Reimagining the classic themes of obsession and ambition with an original and sinister edge, The Things We Do to Our Friends is a seductive thriller about the toxic battle between those who have and those who covet—between the desire to truly belong and the danger of being truly known.” While this very well written, it is not a thriller or a mystery and that disappointed me somewhat. This is a story about unhinged women and the lengths they go to to accomplish their agendas. It wasn’t really my kind of story but I know others will probably find it appealing. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Ultimately this is a literary fiction book disguised as a thriller and I wish I'd known that going in. We follow Clare as she attempts to ingratiate herself with a popular clique in Edinburgh, only she quickly gets in too deep. Clare herself is a bit of an unreliable narrator throughout, both in what we find out about her past and in her minor descent into madness. I'm still not entirely sure what was real and what was imagined. Fans of The Secret History will likely enjoy this book, that just wasn't me.

*Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This is an excellent, and sometimes feminist even, addition to the growing dark academia genre. I was hooked on the story from the prologue and despite the slower chapters of the book where I think pacing could have been better, I raced to the finish to find out what happens in the end. This is a book about the brutality of female friendships, but also simply violence for violence’s sake. Clare’s head was interesting to be inside of throughout the story as you couldn’t quite tell whether she was the hero, the villain, or something in between. Ultimately, nothing is black and white and nothing is as it seems.
This was an excellent debut that, while at times was slowed down with sections that took me out of the story at times, I would recommend it to fans of The Secret History. I definitely want to see more feminist dark academia books in the future.

TTWDTOF is less of a thriller and more like the slow unraveling of unhinged women. Don't get me wrong- I enjoyed the book. But thriller fans may find this book to be too slow for their tastes.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed the lazy exploration of Clare's life before and after Tabitha. This book rolls out in phases and each phase gives you a bit more about who these people are.

The writing was lovely and the characters were interesting- their dynamic made me think of Cruel Intentions a bit.

With that being said, there was just *something* missing that I cannot quite put my finger on and for that I can't in good faith give out a five star rating- so we're sticking with four stars.

Claire is excited to start a new chapter of her life at a University in Scotland. She’s a bit of a fish out of water and doesn’t really relate to anyone until she spots the elliets of the school. Tabitha is the queen bee and used to things going her way. The include Claire on their nefarious activities.

I thought this book dragged a lot in places and it was boring. I didn’t like the characters, their actions were bizarre.

The Things We Do to Our Friends is available January 10,2023.


Thank you netgalley and randomhouse for this arc in exchange for my honest review.