Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC for this book.

I really don’t know where to start with reviewing this novel. It is deeply complex with layers of intrigue and skilful writing constructing this spiral of destruction. In a way this was not an ‘enjoyable’ read; a sense of dread permeates the narrative from the first page till it’s last, it feels like losing control and having nothing solid to reach out to. Horrific events unfold with such brutality; with even the novels most extreme moment feeling tied to reality, it’s not difficult to imagine this really happening, your eyes glued to something disturbing but you must find out how it can get worse.

Darwent refuses to give us characters to root for, their intricacies and complexities making them more real and harder to bear. This is a fantastic work of character focused horror, with unending and uncomfortable tension, permeated with an awfully realistic view into class divides and sexism. Despite some moments where the pacing felt uneven - breaking for seemingly tangental anecdotes or character information - I felt a perfect dread with each reveal, and would recommend this to anyone looking to be challenged with a dark novel full of discomforting threads that leave you thinking about what you’ve just read, once it’s all over.

Clare was looking for a quiet, fresh start when she arrived at uni - but the one she got was something entirely different. Soon, the stunning Tabitha befriends her and sweeps her up into a whirlwind of cocktails, travel, luxury and friends. It's almost too good to be true - and it is. Soon, Tabitha asks her friend for her help with something - and she can't say no, because they know the reason she's looking for a fresh start.

A devilishly dark story about the dangers of toxic friendship and obsession - compulsive and tense with richly vivid characters. Part thriller, part cautionary tale - this story is full of blackmail and betrayal and will leave you looking over your shoulder.

A dark story of revenge and secrets with a largely unlikeable cast of characters, which didn’t quite blow me away.

We follow Clare, off to uni in Edinburgh, as she meets rich student Tabitha and her friends, and there begins a twisted and wholly unhealthy relationship between the students.

We know Clare had a dark past, though we’re unsure what exactly happened previously, and we know something is going to happen. The book leads up to this, at times jumping backwards and forwards in time, slowly feeding us more information. Similarly, I jumped between being quite intrigued and wanting to know more, to feeling a little bored of these spoilt, horrible students and their antics. The plot didn’t wow me enough and the climax of the present day storyline fell a little flat for me - it didn’t quite make sense to me.

Despite the issues I had with the plot, I really liked Heather Derwent’s writing so I would definitely read more by her in the future.

I had heard lots of good things about this book so was looking forward to getting stuck in!

Sadly it did not live up to my expectations and I really struggled to get into it.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the idea of it, but I didn't like any of the characters. It was far too toxic for me, and because I didn't take to the characters I didn't really care what happened to any of them. Not a good read for me, I am disappointed that I didn't like it more, maybe I am not in the right age range .

A book that explores characters that are drawn to each other, and the secrets they may, or may not, share.

Clare is starting a new chapter of her life In Edinburgh. She is about to start university. Become a fresher.
Tabitha and Isobel already friends are also studying the same Art History course. Also freshers.
Clare is drawn to Tabitha, her her beauty, her energy.
Will they all become friends?

I felt reading this book like I was being guided through Clare’s mind at times.
It is based on characters that are drawn to each other, irrespective of whether that is a good or bad thing. Toxic and dysfunctional pasts that collide.
It is dark in places, a bit creepy, and creepy how some people’s minds work. Or maybe how their life may develop from upbringing?
I was intrigued by the book, it held my interest.
I cannot divulge any more about the book as I do not want to give any spoilers away about the storyline, but this was a different type of book for me to read, and consider. Interesting in a bizarre way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publishers for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions of the book are entirely my own.

A really intriguing read about secrets and friendships. Clare has moved from Paris to live with her grandmother. She has been accepted into the University of Edinburgh. She is a loner but is desperate to fit in and make friends. When Clare meets Tabitha in her history art class she is drawn into Tabitha’s world and friendship group. It is a world far from her own, they have wealth, confidence and so Clare feels herself being immersed and overwhelmed. When Tabitha proposes a money making project secrets are drawn out and Clare realises she has be manipulated and used.
This is a great read which is scary, toxic and sinister. Highly recommended.

The Things We Do To Our Friends is about Clare, a first year university student. She arrives in Edinburgh looking to reinvent herself. She befriends a rich clique and dark antics ensue.

While overall I enjoyed myself, I found this story patchy and a bit repetitive. The witchy, dark academia vibes will definitely resonate strongly with some, so if that is your things I would still check this one out!

Pick up this book if: you’re looking for a dark story that is Gone Girl meets Pretty Little Liars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When Clare arrives in Edinburgh to study art history, her real goal is to reinvent herself. She only needs to find a suitable group of people to help her carry out the task. Clare meets charismatic Tabitha in her class and immediately understands what her new self would look like. Impressed by her new friend, she spends more time with her circle and learns about their dangerously easy plans for the future...

I need to admit that I found this book quite disappointing. I read somewhere that it's a dark academia novel, but it has nothing I learned to expect from the genre. There is no dark academic atmosphere or students obsessed with their subject. It seems more like some college drama about a group of depraved young people and their toxic dynamics. The fact that they meet at university is irrelevant to the bigger picture. The only genuinely fascinating trait is the main character's wish to rebuild her life and identity, but the way she executes it is questionable. In many elements of the plot, the author intended to shock the reader, but this effected in a series of unnecessarily intense scenes divided by monotony.

Although I did not enjoy this book as much as I believed I would, I think it could resonate with younger readers who have just entered their adult life like the characters of this novel. It is more similar to YA fiction than dark academia novels.

When I saw this book I wanted to read it immediately: a toxic friendship with a touch of feminism and set in Edinburgh. What’s not to like?

The book for me was a slow burner for sure but it allowed to understand how Clare always had the need to re-invent herself and it increases how intoxicating it is as you read it. As she meets a new group of friends she tries to find her way to fit in despite the clear differences in lifestyles, and secrets…

The book is well written, I love how to gives the dark and gloomy ambience typical to Edinburgh. The characters are well written and the plot is nice and intense. An excellent debut!

I would definitely recommend checking for trigger warnings before hand as it has some heavy themes such as SA, m*rder and su*cide.

If you like the toxic friendship trope meets thriller I really recommend this book. Although if you don’t like slow paced books you might struggle a bit.

Thanks NetGalley and the author for this eARC.

This was such a fun festive read - a speedy page turner, and it even reminded me of some of Bret Easton Ellis's novels where it's heavily focused on rich kids and their antics. This was deliciously toxis and so much fun - perfect for anyone wanting some proper entertainment!

This book was so good, it was dark and underlying there was something bad about the chatacters and yet you can't tell where it is all leading. Really kept me wanting more and more and I really enjoyed the book.

I feel like this debut has been hugely hyped already as the next big dark academia novel but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The academia side of it fell off really quickly, leaving the Edinburgh Uni setting feeling a bit under researched, and I just found it so unlikely that a strange person like the mysterious protagonist Clare would end up pursued by the equally strange group led by Tabitha.

This is a richly layered thriller with an intriguing narrator and a darkly alluring cast of characters. The imagery is really unsettling and bold, and there's a sense of impending dread - and morbid curiosity - that keeps you hooked. I did find it was one of those book where I was so eager to find out what was happening that I probably read it a bit too fast, but that's not a complaint! Fans of Bunny by Mona Awad will enjoy the academic setting and toxic female friendships here.

Sometimes you read a book and just know you are not the target audience, Things We Do To Our Friends was definitely one of those for me. I’m sure it will be loved by late teens/early 20s and be hailed on BookTok.
Clare has moved to Edinburgh to study Art History at university, she is awkward and finds it difficult to make friends. She also has a “dark secret”. She is taken up by Tabitha and her group of privileged ex boarding school friends and soon enjoys their gilded lifestyle. However, soon Tabitha is asking her to get involved in a dubious project and makes Clare aware that she knows her “dark secret”.
The book ticks every dark academia box with added Secret History type vibes. The characters are lightly written and all highly dislikable. Anyone over the age of early 20s is pathetic or vile. The writing is fine, the descriptions of Edinburgh are particularly strong. However, the story dragged and I really didn’t care what happened at all by the end.
As I said at the beginning, this book is absolutely not aimed at me and I’m totally prepared to be proved wrong when it’s a huge hit. With thanks to #netgalley and #vikingbooksuk for my ARC

As a newcomer to the University of Edinburgh, misfit and lonely outsider Clare is being fake-befriended by a clique of posh students who slowly groom her in order to use her as their main bait in their lucrative honey trap agency. When eventually one of the targets gets terribly violent, things start to escalate towards a gruesome end… Even though the plot is fairly clever and twisty, the rather uneventful and monotonous narrative about the totally unlikeable toxic protagonists did not make this an enjoyable read for me. I was kindly allowed to read an ARC in return for my honest opinion.

So we're immediately plummeted in a weird situation with a man and some nymph like girls without a clear understanding of what is happening. Fast forward to Clare starting uni in Edinburgh with a game plan to bag the 'right' friends. Delving into a world of rich kid uni life with a dark twist.

I was really sucked into the story and intrigued about what Clare was hiding. I liked the premise and found the characters interesting. I felt it lost it a little when it came to the climax / turning point (no spoilers!!) and I found myself a little confused. The ending was a little predictable, but I didn't mind. Good solid read!

Unfortunately this book was a big miss for me. While Darwent clearly has a talent for atmosphere building and description, the story itself felt incredibly flat. I can appreciate "unlikable characters," but in the case of this book I genuinely didn't care what happened to any of the main characters, which made the thriller aspect of the novel lose all its potency. Similarly, I'm not sure I would describe this book as "dark academia" - it's just set at a University, and the author actually seems to make a point to highlight how irrelevant academia is to some of her main characters, but that's more an issue with marketing than anything else. If anything, I'd describe it as a financial thriller, since money really is the one constant theme throughout the text. I couldn't get behind the time jumps, nor the bits of narration that showed the main character looking back on the past from some unspecified point in the future, it all felt very clumsy and heavy-handed. I've seen some comparisons to "Bunny," but while I found "Bunny" to be campy, intriguing and fun this book felt catty, immature and voiceless - Clare is merely wandering through the story as opposed to driving any real action. Regardless, I really hope this author continues to write stories set in Edinburgh in the future, it's a setting I love reading about, so I'll keep an eye on her work going forward.

This is a hard book to review as I don't really have any strong feelings about it one way or the other.
Going in I was expecting, as the blurb says, it to be a literary suspense and it was most definitely that. Also, as shallow as it sounds, that cover really drew me in and made me want to pick up the book in the first page, just stunning!
However I found that like most literary books, not a lot happens. I was however drawn in for most of the story and I found it to be an easy read that I did fly through quickly.
I found the main character of Clare very difficult to get a hold of. She is very cold, unlikable, distant and stoic which makes it hard to connect or care about her.
By the final third I had lost a little interest as it felt that by then the plot was going round in circles and I did find it a bit dull throughout.
This is one of those books where it's not bad, but it's not anything special.

I am a sucker for Dark Acedemia books. I can never resist them. This book hits all the criteria. Clare is the awkward outsider when she arrives in Edinburgh to study there. She needs a job to support herself so she starts working in a bar. She is looking for a new start and of course she hopes to find new friends. Clare is not a naïve character. But we soon see that she has a dark side and a big mysterious secret she doesn’t want anyone to know about. She becomes friends with the of course beautiful, rich and mesmerizing Tabitha and her small circle of admirers. She is flattered that this illusive circle of people chooses her as a friend. But they may have had their reasons to approach her.

To be honest, I found that the story took ages to come to the point. For half the book not much is going on and I had no idea what this was all about. I liked the dark atmosphere but I was also bored for most of the time. Towards the end finally something happens but I found it all a very unrealistic. The book did not fulfill my hopes of a good psychological thriller. The characters are flat and unappealing. The story drags and lacks depth and substance. On the plus side I can say that it does try to be a bit different to other books of this genre. The students are not drinking or taking drugs or having sex all the time. They are not bullying Clare because she is not the kind of girl who gets bullied. They are doing not much at all, actually. But that it not enough to make it an entertaining read. If you are into dark stories told in a slow pace, a bit of Dark Academia and a bunch of deeply disturbed individual you may like this book. Or you just can read “The Secret History” (again) instead.