Eh...this thriller was a bit of a letdown. There were twists and attempts at the literary equivalent of a jump scare but they fell a bit flat. I didn't care for the characters or the setting, it could have been Kansas for all Edinburgh was featured. Okay, maybe PNW for the rain. Anyway, this review reads like this debut and I am still confused by the ending. Could use some leaning out for repetition and plot. It did remind me a little of Cruel Intentions but ultimately did not deliver.

Wowzas. This one is dark and disturbing. Clare meets a clique of friends at school. Tabitha seems to be the ring leader of their underground business, but Clare’s past comes back to haunt her.

This was a wild ride but I felt something lacking from Clare’s character development and ultimately the ending seemed contradictory to me because of that. Overall, it was entertaining if you like a touch of the bizarre.

Pick this up for a psychological macabre thrill.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The Things We Do To Our Friends .... was an interesting read. The cover art really did catch my eye.
This was the first time I've heard of this author, so overall, I went into this pretty blindly.

The writing style ... was okay, but I have to admit, I was quite bored at times with this book. The blurb really did catch my eye, but while reading this book, it kind of felt like there wasn't as much of a storyline as the blurb makes you think.

The character building in this book wasn't great either. I found that I really did NOT like any of the characters, which makes it really difficult to get through a book. You want to be able to enjoy at least one character when you're reading a book.

The one positive thing I can say about this book was that I did enjoy the shorter chapters.

I was looking for a twisty, dark, psychological thriller and this was almost there.

It’s the story of Clare. Who has does something bad in her past, so bad her parents have pretty much disowned her. She heads off to school in Edinburgh, Scotland to start her life fresh.

She gets a job and then is recruited into a group of people that she calls the Shiver. There is charismatic Tabitha who apparently runs the group and then a few stragglers with varying degrees of responsibility.

It’s all very cliquish, dark over the top. They eventually get involved in a crazy scheme to make money, tied awfully close to the dark secret from Clare’s past and she is afraid they know of her past.

The most successful part of the book to me was trying to figure out each character’s motivation. Why were these people so dependent on each other and why did let Tabitha basically lead their lives for them?

It was atmospheric and twisty, and I enjoyed it, but I feel like it could have been more. I received an ARC of the book.

Dark Academia thrillers are right up my alley and I was very excited to read this one as the premise sounded fantastic. However, this one fell a bit flat for me for a couple of reasons. It was very slow paced, which normally I don’t mind but in this case it just took way too long for it to get going. We also jumped from current day to Clare’s past and listening to this via audio it was a bit confusing to keep up with which period we were in. Second, Clare is trying to fit in wit Tabitha and her friend group at university, they tow the line on being bad girls, but never really go as far as they could have and made the story just a wee bit better. The things they do to ‘punish bad boys’ is just not quite where it could be and if my characters are going to be bad then I want them to be bad. I will read this author again, as I think there was enough potential here for a solid thriller, there just need to be a couple of tweaks to get it to the next level.

The audio was good, and I wished I could have sped it up a little faster to help the narrator out a bit.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC and to NetGalley and Random House for the digital galley to review.

This was not nearly as engaging or thriller-ish as I'd hoped. From the fairly dissonant narrative voice of the main character to the obviously telegraphed plot points and character reveals, this book just didn't really work for me.

The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent is a story following a young woman named Clare who wants to start a new life and reinvent herself in Paris. She takes on a new identity, changes her accent, gets a job as a cocktail mixer, attends school, and builds a new circle of friends. However, her newfound happiness comes at a cost when she meets Tabitha and her eccentric friend group, including Ava, Imogen, and Samuel. When Tabitha offers her a project that requires her to use her past skills, Clare realizes she's trapped as her new friends may know more about her real identity and could use it for their benefit.

The first chapter of the book is dark, intriguing, and disturbing, with a slow burn that may be hard to get into at first. The characters are dislikable and Clare struggles with her new life. However, the pace picks up as the story progresses and the project becomes more heated.

The writing style was not my favorite. The author at times relied on telling rather than showing. The book was incredibly atmospheric, but I think focusing on building more natural dialogue between the characters would help the novel. Overall this is an entertaining novel and I am curious to see what the author writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for providing a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The description makes it clear this book will be a dark thriller, but the story is more twisted than I expected. It opens with three young ladies torturing a man, likely to death. The identities of the three young ladies will not be revealed until much later and might not be who the reader expects. The reasons for their actions are surprising and disturbing. The implication in the prologue is that the man is a predator, but whether that is true is called into question once the reader learns the full history of the young lady who orchestrated the events that open the book.

After the brief prologue set in France, the story switches to Edinburgh and a new college student, Clare, who does not really fit in, and has never really fit in. When she was younger, she was too loud and intense. She is trying to reinvent herself and so she has reigned in her behavior and changed how she acts and interacts, but this can result in social interactions being somewhat stilted. She is also determined to find friends who will help her become the person she wants to be. She believes she has found that in fellow art student, Tabitha, and her coterie. Tabitha takes her in, but her personality is such that Clare and others are constantly off-balance around her. Clare finds herself enmeshed in Tabitha's schemes, which are somewhat inappropriate and potentially dangerous, and which will ultimately have life-altering consequences for Tabitha, Clare, and the others in the group (Imogen, Ava, and Sam).

I honestly don’t know how I feel about The Things We Do to Our Friends. I loved the dark academia, the Edinburgh setting, and the storytelling. Until the end. It felt TOO wrapped up, I wanted more from Clare, especially since she’s the narrator and we’re in her thoughts. I wish I could put my finger on what left me wanting at the end. I had no trouble tearing through the book, it just felt as though something was missing at the end. I do look forward to reading more from Heather Darwent in the future! Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was so interesting me. I was initially drawn to the gorgeous cover and I adore dark academia books so I jumped at the chance to read this one.

I read about 40% and stopped reading it, because I didn’t really like how it was written. I did like the idea of it though so I switched to audio and ended up really enjoying it! If you are curious about this one definitely choose audio over reading it. The audio narrator did an amazing job of really performing this story.

As a vegetarian some of the parts in this book really had me cringing, some of the parts get very graphic so if you are vegetarian/vegan for ethical reasons there are some things in here you might not want to read about.

I’m not sure why I haven’t seen this one around more, but if you are curious about this one definitely pick it up on audio!

Thank you @prhaudio and @penguinrandomhouse for my audio and digital copies!

This is definitely a dark book, with plenty of scheming, lying, betrayal, and maybe a murder and I was excited to jump into it. The beginning is gripping, a macabre scene plays out and I needed to know more. Then we meet Clare, our strange and unreliable narrator and see the lengths she'll go to to be in the "right" group of friends and start her life anew.

The pacing is all over the place, up and down with a bit of action and craziness, then slowing down to the point that you almost feel like you're slogging through. The ending was a bit abrupt and the epilogue was odd and not my favorite.

Clare and the other characters aren't really likeable, so I didn't care that much if they all ended up in jail for their scheme. I do wish they had some redeemable quality so I could root for them, but it was mostly just wanting to know how this would eventually crash and burn.

There are some good parts I liked and the dark scenes are intense. It's not a bad debut and I hope we get more thrillers from Darwent.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for the copy.

Literary suspense/psychological thriller with an Edinburgh, Scotland setting and toxic relationships? I was immediately intrigued.

I don’t think I’ve come across so many unlikeable characters in one book before – and I read a lot. Clare is an outsider and is desperate to find a way into wealthy Tabitha’s exclusive circle of friends. Why? I have no earthly idea. Not even Tabitha’s friends seem to like her much. With the exception of Finn, the bar manager where Clare works, none of these characters has any redeeming qualities. Finn is the voice of reason and tries to steer her away from them, but Clare is still drawn to their circle. An invitation is extended, and she’s soon hanging with this crowd.

Clare’s past is something she desperately wants to keep hidden. She had severe anger management issues and was responsible for a death, but she now seems like a completely different person (there’s been no therapy and seemingly no remorse). She’s easily manipulated by Tabitha and is persuaded to join Tabitha’s bizarre project – which leads to heaps of problems for everyone.

This novel is described as literary suspense but, other than the setting, school doesn’t play into the plot. It’s very dark and atmospheric, something I really enjoy, and the short chapters make it easy to keep reading. But because of pacing and my inabililty to connect with the characters, the book didn’t work for me. Reviews are split on Goodreads, so if you’re a psychological thriller fan this novel may be your cup of tea.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was drawn into The Things We Do to Our Friends with the beautiful cover. This is a dark, academia novel about a group of friends referred to in the book as "a shiver of sharks." Actually, the university did not play a big role in this book other than that is where Clare ends up when she wants to reinvent herself and distance herself from the past. The friends are not likeable people that have lives that revolve around the leader of the pack named Tabitha. Clare did not always make sense to me. She has the feeling in her gut that she is getting involved with a group that are not the best for her, but she goes for it anyway. She has other roommates and a boyfriend, but she wants to be with the cool kids that ultimately lead to bad decisions.

This book was a bit disjointed in my opinion. I really did not have a great attachment to the characters, so it was kind of a slog to get through. This is a debut novel for Heather Darwent. She does have a vivid imagination and I hope she continues writing thrillers.

#NetGalley #TheThingsWeDotoOurFriends #Heather Darwent

This book was not for me. The characters were unlikable, the plot was disjointed and I felt like there was really no focus to the story. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never really did. Even though this wasn't for me, I'm sure there will be others who enjoy it.

Dark, deep, and convoluted with an entangled plot.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

An interesting premise but the pace is slow and the characters, while interesting in a despicable way, seem a bit too cardboardy. Instead of the page-turning breathlessness usually found in a thriller, this one goes flat for pages on end and then there's a shocker followed by more flat. I would definitely read another book by the same author because I think she has talent, but this novel needs a few more rewrites.

#netgalley

I think this cover is gorgeous - and will absolutely admit that it’s the cover that first drew me to this story! I also love a college setting and found myself intrigued in the early parts of the story. Unfortunately, for me that fizzled out and I ultimately decided to DNF at 76%. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

The Things We Do to Our Friends
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 1/10/23
Author: Heather Darwent
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Pages: 336
GR: 3.40

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Random House Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Edinburgh, Scotland: a moody city of labyrinthine alleyways, oppressive fog, and buried history; the ultimate destination for someone with something to hide. Perfect for Clare, then, who arrives utterly alone and yearning to reinvent herself. And what better place to conceal the dark secrets in her past than at the university in the heart of the fabled, cobblestoned Old Town? When Clare meets Tabitha, a charismatic, beautiful, and intimidatingly rich girl from her art history class, she knows she's destined to be friends with her and her exclusive circle: raffish Samuel; shrewd Ava; and pragmatic Imogen. Clare is immediately drawn into their libertine world of sophisticated dinner parties and summers in France. The new life she always envisioned for herself has seemingly begun. And then Tabitha reveals a little project she's been working on, one that she needs Clare's help with. Even though it goes against everything Clare has tried to repent for. Even though their intimacy begins to darken into codependence. But as Clare starts to realize just what her friends are capable of, it's already too late. Because they've taken the plunge. They're so close to attaining the things they want. And there's no going back.

My Thoughts: The cover is what drew me to this book initially. The book opens up with a dark and disturbing scene in Paris, but then the first 30% thereafter is a slow burn. Once the ‘project’ is revealed, things start to heat up and the pace was better and twisted the story into a dark, disturbing read. Clare wants to reinvent herself, including her name. She lands into this friend group that is complex, complicated, and questioning. Clare is forced to work with these friends in this project or lose everything she has worked for.

The story is narrated in first person by Clare, in her POV, however, she is an unreliable narrator. The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, and creative, while being unlikeable. The author’s writing style was complex, dark, twisty, and had a creative premise. The atmosphere was very chaotic and intense. The plot is layered in twists but also had some strangeness and weirdness aspects to it. There is some repetitiveness throughout the story. This story was more character driven than plot driven.

This is a debut novel for this author, while it had some strong parts, there were some equal weak parts. Overall a good debut novel and I would be interested in reading other books from this author. I would recommend this book to those who love a dark, disturbing slow burn thriller.

2.5 stars rounded upwards.

The Things We Do To Our Friends is a debut thriller by newbie Heather Darwent. Our protagonist is Clare, a young woman who’s studying art history at a university in Edinboro. She’s new and knows no one, but is soon swept up in a small, elite group of students she meets in one of her classes. Before she knows it, they are her main curriculum, and her classes become secondary.

My thanks go to Net Galley and Random House Ballantine for the invitation to review. This book is for sale now.

At the outset it’s easy to relate to Clare, who tells us her story using the first person limited. She has never lived here before, and she doesn’t have a lot of resources. She gets a job at a nearby bar, and the everyman proprietor, Finn, punctuates the story now and then with an objective take on Clare’s life and her new friends. She is soon invited to join a clique of students that are flashier, louder, and more confident than most of her classmates, and she wants desperately to become one of them. Tabitha is the ringleader, and it is she that Clare most wants to please.

The opening chapters here make me wonder if we are about to rehash Ruth Ware’s most recent mystery, The It Girl. The elements are certainly there. But there’s an undertone that builds here, teasingly referencing Clare’s unfortunate past. We don’t know much except that she’s estranged from her parents, who don’t want to hear from her.

That can’t be good.

The clique goes to Tabitha’s family home in France over the winter break, and Clare is thrilled to be included. But while they are there, she is pressured to join with them on a moneymaking venture that isn’t entirely legal. They let her know they are aware of her past, so she’d better cooperate.

Here is where the book starts to lose me. Clare is essentially being extorted, and yet her emotional attachment to the group only intensifies. At one point, she tells us that she sometimes forgets whose skin is whose, so tightly bonded are they, and in particular, she and Tabitha. But this makes no sense. Tabitha has threatened to harm her, as have the others. Why does she love them all the more for it?

More and more tidbits from Clare’s past are revealed, and yet Clare herself isn’t developed much. Neither is anybody else. We are told a lot, but shown only a little. I love books that are about character, and if there’s not much plot, I’m fine with that, but these characters are all static. At the 50 percent mark, I become impatient and skip to 62 percent; from there, I read to 72 percent, which is where things should begin to feel urgent, but they don’t. I skip again to 90 percent and read the ending. I seldom skip anything when reading, and on the occasions when I have done so, I sometimes find things when I skim the last half that convince me to go back and read it completely. That didn’t happen here. There are loose threads dangling, and plot elements that appear to have no purpose. Worst of all—and to be fair, this is probably not the author’s doing, but it rankles, nevertheless—is that this weak tale of warped humanity is billed as a “feminist page-turner,” which is what drew my interest initially, and as a lifelong, card-carrying feminist, I can assure you that this is absolutely not that.

I cannot recommend this book to you.

If you love twisted friendships and morally grey characters, there’s a chance this book will be for you.
The Things We Do to Our Friends is a very unique book. Clare tries to make a new life after a traumatic incident back in France when she meets Tabitha and the rest of her friends. Instantly, a toxic codependent relationship forms between the new friends and Clare’s past threatens to ruin her fresh start.
I agree with a few reviews that I have seen which point out that at times the novel feels somewhat disjointed. Although I think the disassociated prose was actually a strength of the novel, the book feels like it was written by 2 different authors.
If you want a slower paced novel about twisted girls and the friendships they make and break along the way, I would still recommend this novel. Although I enjoyed it I will rate it a 2.5/5 stars.