"Piglet" captivated my senses with its mouthwatering food descriptions, transporting me into a culinary journey. The exploration of post-betrayal uncertainty in relationships felt raw and authentic, resonating deeply. The author's adept writing skillfully wove these elements together, creating a rich and engaging narrative. A solid 4-star read that left me craving both more words and delicious dishes.

Piglet is a fantastic novel, and I kept finding myself shocked that this is a debut novel -- it is incredibly well-crafted and the characters and storylines just feel so real. The characters are flawed and at times unlikeable, which I think made them feel like real people that I could know.

The descriptions of food were definitely the standout of this book; there would be paragraphs upon paragraphs describing the food that Piglet is making, but even though it was really long and really detailed, it never felt like too much; it was gorgeously written and still captured my attention.

I really enjoyed this book -- what other book has the build up to a wedding kind of feel like a horror movie? -- but all in all, it really left me wanting more. More in depth about Piglet's childhood, more details surrounding her relationships with her coworkers and her friends, just more of everything.

The writing in this novel was stellar, but the characters were so wholly unlikable and irredeemable that I had trouble connecting to the story. It felt very modern and yet also outdated in the anti-feminist tropes that were all over the place. I really did love the writing, the descriptions of food and cooking were excellent, but it was difficult to enjoy overall, given the way Piglet was treated by her family, her fiance, and most of all, herself.

Sometimes there’s a hole inside of us so big that no amount of food will fill it.

Piglet (an unfortunate childhood nickname) is a cookbook editor and an avid cook and baker. When the story opens, she is three months away from her wedding to Kit, an event that will jettison her into the upper class and allow her to reinvent herself from her middle-class upbringing.

Everything in Piglet’s new life illustrates how far she has come in building a golden life for herself: her beautiful house, her posh in-laws, her wonderful fiancée, and the gorgeous meals she cooks. Kit is so loving towards her, as evidenced by the way he cringes and jumps to her defense when her family regales them with stories of how Piglet earned her nickname as a child

When Kit drops a bombshell on Piglet two weeks before the wedding (which is never expressly mentioned but is understood to be infidelity), Piglet can no longer pretend that she has the perfect life. Unable to push down her feelings of inadequacy, tension builds and she slowly unravels.

Food plays a big role in this book and is a huge part of Piglet’s identity. There are mouthwatering descriptions of the dishes Piglet prepares and serves, and it’s evident that food is both a way for her to prove her considerable skill (she even plans to make her own wedding cake to impress people!), but also something destructive that she turns to when she feels that she’s losing control.

Piglet is not an especially likable character, but she is also deeply flawed, and I was touched by her fragility and deep pain. By the end of the book, I just wanted to give her a big hug and help make it all better.

This darkly funny work of literary fiction won’t be for everyone, but I’m impressed by Lottie Hazel’s debut and enjoyed it a great deal.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @HenryHoltBooks for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Piglet, a childhood nickname that has stuck, is getting married. She lives in Oxford with her fiancé, Kit. She is a passionate cook, who puts a bit of herself into whatever she makes. At the start of the novel, Piglet has made an intricate meal for her pregnant best friend Margot, who only wants to eat bread, a hint of changes to come in their relationship. When Kit reveals something that he’s done thirteen days before their wedding, Piglet is sent into a tailspin. The book moves forward, counting down the days until the impending nuptials; each chapter ends with foreboding italicized lines. The book explores Piglet’s relationship with her parents which is both familiar and fraught, as well as her complicated relationship with her sister involving a secret they’ve been harboring. This all makes for a rich novel about family dynamics, loyalty, memory, coping mechanism we each have and employ in order to survive life’s trials and tribulations. And of course, it’s a book about food. The writing is fresh, funny and full of life’s wide range of emotions. Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and to Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

“piglet” is lottie hazell’s debut novel, which invites readers to watch how our narrator, piglet, navigates her life leading up to her wedding day, after her soon-to-be husband confesses a betrayal to her.

i’ve seen people refer to this novel as a nod to women’s appetites, which, i can see and agree with to a point. as someone whose fav genre has to do with woman and eating and agency, i didn’t find the claim of appetites to be compelling. yes, at times, “piglet” ate as much as she could and discussed her appetite for more and more, but we didn’t see as much consumption as i thought we’d see.

overall, it was a pretty fun read. i’ve been looking forward to reading this since last year! i’m curious to see what else hazell has written or will write.

I think this is 3.5 stars for me. There are some excellent lines in here; lines unlike any I've read before. "She felt shame fill her like soup," was a favourite.

This book is a deep, satisfying look at relationships, familial and romantic. I just get the feeling that the author wanted to push some boundaries towards the end, but she didn't. Nothing was a surprise, ultimately, and I think I wanted to be pushed or surprised a little bit more by any of the story, the characters, or the choices.

The food descriptions, as others have said, were perfection, and this book is responsible for me taking my laptop out to a burger place to continue reading there.

If the choice not to reveal the betrayal was so that we could imprint some of our own experiences onto it, I don't think that worked. The book would have benefited, in my opinion, from a fly on the wall scene showing every gruesome detail of whatever was confessed. (I'm trying really hard not to make an "I wanted more to chew on" pun, so be glad I resisted.) Something about the narrative voice kept us at arm's length away from the action and the emotion at all times. A purposeful choice, but one I think I question.

I think at its heart, this is a book about a woman ashamed to want more, more, more, when really all she ever wants is "enough." To be satisfied, to be seen, to have what she deserves. As a food lover, I wanted to feel the pain of the shame, and the eyes of judgement, but I just don't think I did. (I'm not going to say that I was left still feeling hungry. I'm not going to.)

Really enjoyed this book. Feels a bit like a fever dream, but with really beautiful descriptions. The character of Piglet was super relatable and the story felt quite unique.

Caution: woman on the BRINK. I picked Piglet up and I devoured it in practically one sitting. It's a relevant and incisive meditation on passion, marriage, hunger, and choosing between true happiness and the veneer of it. Subtle and oh so hungry, I loved the food descriptions and the countdown that sets the stage for some sort of show down or break down.

I would recommend Piglet if you love written depictions of food. I think the author does an amazing job with this throughout the book. However, I wish the book delved more into these characters and the background that got them there, specifically Piglet. I think the reader would benefit from this information, as it would offer more insights into the behavior of the characters and their motivation. Since this is lacking, I had a hard time connecting with and caring about anyone in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

There was so much to like about this book but I found myself wanting for well, more!
The food descriptions were scrumptious but I would have loved to seen that much attention shown to the details of (what I assume to be) the affair. There was a lot of build up with little pay off. The jump from being all in with the wedding to ousting her husband at the reception felt less unhinged than simply underdeveloped.

Ah, what a wild ride Piglet was to read; I felt like I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!

Piglet’s life seems to have all fallen into place: her career is taking off, her friends are sweet and loyal, and she is about to get married to lovely fiancé, Kit. But Kit reveals a secret just weeks before their wedding, which may derail everything Piglet knows.

This is such an unusual little book. While written almost entirely in dialogue and food descriptions, it works in a way I didn’t expect. Many of the characters are unlikeable yet somehow compelling. They are intensely human and undeniably chaotic in their decisions, especially Piglet, the central character in the story. The character study of Piglet is interesting to follow, even if you don’t quite like her. And the food descriptions !!! I never would have thought that making a croquembouche would bring such tension to a story. My only criticism is how Kit’s secret was woven throughout the story - I understand why Hazell may have written it this way, but it left me wanting more (“hungry” for more if I can put it that way hahaha).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and it was definitely like nothing I’ve ever read before. I hope you pick it up upon its release on February 27, 2024 🥰

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for allowing me to read a copy of this book in advance of its release!

Really enjoyed this one - couldn't put it down and inhaled it in two days. Seems like a typical story about a woman (nicknamed Piglet by her family) - a cookbook editor! - who is due to marry in 98 days - but so much more depth. Two weeks before the wedding, she finds out he betrayed her and this makes her very hungry and have a lot of feelings. There was a foreboding tone to the book that I really enjoyed which kept me racing ahead to see what would happen next. If more had been revealed about the betrayal, I would have given this 5 stars - I don't like having unanswered questions at the end - but I think the point was her reaction to the betrayal rather than the betrayal details. Grateful the publisher and to NetGalley for an advance copy.

Piglet was such a strong start to my 2024 reading! I absolutely adored this weird little slice of life. The food descriptions were gorgeous, the characters so dimensional in such a short period of time, and the dialogue so sharp. It's so impressive how much Hazell could get done in a two-week (essentially) span of narrative time. I fell in love with Piglet and her growing desire to figure out if she is who she is already supposed to be or if there is room to consume more. I cannot wait to recommend this to every person I meet!

days leading up to a wedding that reads like a horror movie...

thanks to netgalley and henry holt & co. for the arc!

this book had me seriously so stressed out. piglet is moving on up in the world - she's gotten out of her small town, escaped lower middle class with her fiancé and his well-off family, is successful at her job as a cookbook editor, throws lavish dinner parties for her closest friends.

then she is betrayed.

[spoilers]

i really loved the way we never actually got to find out what her husband did. we get vague references, pathetic groveling, and a main character that is spinning out of control. the way the author withholds this information from me had my mind racing with what he possibly could have done - and it made us really focus on not what he did, but how it affects piglet.

and piglet was such a fascinating protagonist. I kinda couldn't help but to absolutely hate her, but also empathize with her as well. the way she treated her parents who were actually pretty shitty to her throughout the novel and especially the way they treated her body/appetite, but i thought it had such a double edged sword with the way she actively looked down on them for being poor. throughout the book i was cringing the way she thought about them and the way their class status spoke about who they were, but also as someone who grew up incredibly poor, i understand the inherent shame that you feel as you grow up realizing how different you lived from everyone else. and that shame often goes on to blame the people who raised you.

also she was kinda of the worst friend in the world. I absolutely loved margot (slightly biased bc lesbian representation) and piglet was spiraling so out of control that her own life in ruins was all she could think about and how margot's life was changing would affect her, instead of being happy for her friend's new chapter. but again, I completely understand that fear of your friends outgrowing you, especially as it feels like their lives are perfect and yours is now in shambles.

the only thing that i found negative about the book was the binge eating aspect I thought could have been expanded on. It just didn't go far enough into chaos for me. i do love the idea of female hunger being something we are all supposed to suppress and what happens when we just embrace it, but i think this book was muddled down a bit by references to ED and only one or two scenes that really show piglet devouring food. it could have went way more extreme. (the most i think effective use of this was when she was trying on her wedding dress the day of, I wanted way more of that - it was so hard to read)

Lottie Hazell's debut PIGLET is impressive, the United States cover and title notwithstanding. Doesn't the cover look like a picture you would see on an Applebee's menu? Food covers are not necessarily what I gravitate to in my books. However, this is a memorable title and cover, so there's that.

Piglet, the main character, is known by her childhood nickname...still....as an adult in this day and age. We do hear her real name in the last few pages. Piglet's sister Franny, nicknamed the much more appealing Banana (at least compared to Piglet), doesn't eat. It was interesting to see the dynamic between the two sisters, and then you meet their parents. And then you feel like they all need individual and family therapy.

Piglet is engaged to Kit, and she works as a food editor. There is so much food in this book! I know the author loves food, but it got to be overwhelming. Some say there are so many food descriptions, and I disagree. The descriptions aren't mouth-watering; it's just a copious amount of "food dropping," it feels as if there are at least 2,000 food mentions in this book. I'm not exaggerating. And it's not a long book.

The novel starts with 98 days to Kit and Piglet's wedding. I liked being there at their dinner party with friends, and I found the friends' banter like a more tolerable version of Sally Rooney. Margot caught my eye with the way she was a friend to Piglet.

Kit reveals a secret two weeks before they get married, and Piglet reaches for her coping mechanism: eating. As a reader, I was intrigued to see if these two would still get married and how the run-up to the wedding would go.

Very propulsive. The food dropping was a little tedious to me, but I saw that it was serving a certain purpose.

This was an interesting one for me! The story was well written, and the author did an amazing job of building tension. I read it very quickly, but ultimately I think I wanted a little more from this. Still absolutely worth a read, and I'll be keeping an eye out for the author's future books as well!

Thanks for the ARC NetGalley!

I think this books topic just hit a bit too close to home for me. I went in wanting to like it but I only made it about 1/3 before I out down:. I have tried revisiting a few times and just can’t get into it, so I how sort don’t the I will be finishing it.

* I think there should be a trigger warning for those suffering from and eating disorder or have a destructive relationship with food.

I really liked this book. It had so much meaning underneath the surface. There’s a lot to dive into. The writing was so unique from anything else I’ve ever read. The story was laced in between descriptions of food. It ensnared all the senses and I swear I could almost taste and smell the food being described. It had me both salivating and at times never wanting to eat again which is a great representation of the Piglet, the MFC. She’s complicated, unlikable, but you also feel so bad for the way she sees herself and assumptions of how others must see her.

I think this story is a great lesson in lusting after a life that isn’t meant for you. It’s ok to dream big but when you’re never happy or satisfied with what you have it’s destructive to ourselves and those we love. The more Piglet wanted the more she spun out of control.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book!

I got 11% into this book and realized it just wasn’t for me. I have been seeing it everywhere getting rave reviews so I know it’s a well received debut. Just because I couldn’t connect to this story and these characters doesn’t speak lowly of the author or the writing. It just isn’t for me.