3.5 rounded down

I really struggled with how to rate this. I read the first 50% relatively quickly, but then it took me a week to get to 75% and then another five days to finish the book. That’s not to say this was a bad book. The writing itself was lovely, the premise interesting, and the plot expertly unsettling. Piglet learns something about her fiancé less than two weeks before their wedding. The first part of the book follows her as the clock ticks down struggling to be okay with his betrayal and maintain this perfect image of her life that she’s tried to cultivate. Piglet is not necessarily a likable character but of her slow descent into derangement and loss of control make her sympathetic, if not frustrating due to her inability to communicate. The descriptions of food and the tension built up in them were really really well done.

But then I got to the second part of the book, and if you suffer from second-hand anxiety like I do, it will be TOUGH to get through. I was so tense waiting for the shoe to drop. I would read a page then put the book down for a day or so until I just forced myself to finish. I mean that’s probably a sign of great writing, to evoke that kind of response. I didn’t enjoy it necessarily, but it was great writing and I NEEDED to see how it played out. The very ending of the book was easy to get through, hopeful and a little sad.

So after going through all that, I’m left wondering how to rate it. It was not a relaxing reading experience, but it was a solid debut with very talented writing. Besides all the tension, there did seem to be something missing in the exploration of Piglet’s backstory that made me not connect with her fully. And after two weeks of reading it I’m struggling to really recall details of the first half and how I felt about it, so that’s a sign that it didn’t stick with me enough to give it four stars.

Piglet (a childhood nickname she doesn’t seem to mind) is consumed by her relationship and upcoming wedding to Kit, her handsome, affluent boyfriend who has just divulged his regretful(?) behavior that lasted years. In the weeks leading up to her wedding, Piglet makes head-scratching and uncomfortable decisions. The shame is palpable, behaviors embarrassing, and every bit is realistic.

We start 98 days before the big wedding. Piglet, the bride-to-be is shopping for the perfect meal to serve with her perfect fiance in their perfect new house to their perfect friends. Sense a theme?

Piglet, Pig, P, Piggy - the nickname of our protagonist is troublesome for many reasons, the least of which being that her world revolves around food. Planning, preparing, plating, eating...and she's a cookbook editor. The food writing, with every egg cracked and sauce deglazed, with every pepper cracked and salt sprinkled, is divine. It builds and builds as we get closer to the wedding day.

However...two weeks before the big day, perfect fiance drops a bombshell that changes everything. Will they go through with the wedding? More food, more wallowing as Piglet's perfect life starts to unravel.

This is a weird book. It's horror (the wedding dress scenes alone are nightmare inducing), it's humor, it's got rom-com vibes, it's commentary on class differences (fiance's parents are posh, Piglet's are not). Whatever it was, I couldn't put it down. I devoured it in one sitting and it left me wanting more.

My thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC.

How much of our life is lived just for the people watching?

Piglet was a uniquely clever read that I flew through. The food imagery and metaphors were sublime. It broadens a women’s definition of appetite and redefines hunger in a way that will stick with you.

What does it mean to be satisfied?
Why do we settle for a portion that doesn’t suit us?

It’s messy, character-driven and you can almost smell the garlic seeping off the pages.

I will need to compose my thoughts before I can adequately write a review of this but I annihilated this book.

2.5 stars. I have come to realize this year that books in which none of the characters are likeable and relatable are not for me . . .

I thought I would enjoy this book based on the blurb about the female MC, who has the awful childhood nickname "Piglet." Despite this, her life is on track with a posh fiance (Kit) and good job, until her plans are derailed a fortnight before her wedding when Kit discloses an unforgivable act of discretion. Piglet begins to struggle with her mental health, and turns to binge eating as a negative coping mechanism, while she wrestles with whether to blow up her life by cancelling her wedding vs. attempt to forgive, forget, and forge ahead.

Unfortunately, I did not connect with Piglet, and I was annoyed that it is never revealed to the reader what Kit's actual transgression was, making it harder to empathize with her. The mental health aspect was interesting, and I don't think I've ever read a book with a MC who has binge eating disorder, but the psychological elements of this behavior were never flushed out and only superficially explored in the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Henry Holt and Company for an e-book in exchange for my opinions.

I liked Piglet. I didn’t love it. The writing was gorgeous. The food descriptions were amazing. The story just feel a little flat for me. I wanted more.
I think many people will like this and I may go back and revisit it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Company, and Lottie Hazell for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings: disordered eating, body shaming

Honestly? It was the cover that drew me into Lottie Hazell's Piglet. The enormous burger on the cover is consistent with the food descriptions throughout Piglet - detailed and over-the-top.

This is a story of excess, a sort of horror story about a woman who wants it all.

But, Piglet left me unsatisfied. The descriptions of body shaming from Piglet's family and Piglet's binge eating may have been comments on the pressure society puts on women about food and their bodies, but the satire left me feeling disturbed and unsettled. I didn't find the characters particularly likable. And, frustratingly, the details of the mystery of the story were never revealed.

Piglet was fast-paced and sometimes bizarrely charming, but, overall, it's not a book I'd whole-heartedly recommend.

“”it’s just greed,” he said, his eyes averted to the ceiling. “what is it about you and more, more, more?””

2.5 stars, rounded down.

i’m not gonna lie, this one pissed me off. it had me in the beginning, and then right around the 30% mark is where it fell off for me. coming into piglet, i knew it would be a weird book but i’ve historically been a fan of a weird girl literary fiction so it seemed right up my alley.

we meet piglet before her wedding. everything revolves around food with her, she’s a cookbook editor and constantly cooking up absurdly mouthwatering feasts. everything is not as it seems though, she is so preoccupied with what everyone thinks and what she thinks her life should look like that she ignores (or rather doesn’t even know) her own feelings and trudges forward blindly. in the 2 weeks before her wedding, we learn of a huge betrayal from her fiance - well, learn is a strong word because Hazell never tells us what he did. what comes to follow is a binge-eating spiral where she alienates herself and becomes truly insufferable.

i wanted to love this. i really did. i understand how some people will, but it’s just not for me.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy through Netgalley.

This one may fall into the category "It's not you, it's me." I really think I'm burned out on the satirical stories...and while there were parts of Piglet that I appreciated, I honestly just didn't care. The author didn't hook me at all and I ended up skimming to the end - even skipped large chunks of the story - just to see how it all ended. Also, it irks me for an author to elude to some explosive issue, but never to actually name the issue. The whole book is built around a confession that we actually never learn...and I suppose that's really where my opinion soured regarding this book.

**Contains SPOILER**

This book is about cravings and appetites for dreams, good or “bad” food. It’s about how Piglet wants her life to be, and how that insatiable desire can be fulfilled, or reveal a hunger for more, and, how that hunger may can become all consuming.

Piglet has everything she’s ever wanted: a plum job as a cookbook editor, a delicious fiancé, a cozy home, and a talent for feeding others delicious meals, but a betrayal reveals that maybe she does not have what she really needs.

This was brilliantly written - every page made this reader hungry for more - and not just for the next meal I cook.

Piglet is a relatable MC, and I empathized with every emotion and situation she found herself in.

We never find out the secret, and this was my only complaint, but it added suspense and anxiety for the reader - we actually craved this information throughout the entire book. In my mind, this revealed the brilliance of the author. Piglet is a very successful and clever debut.

I look forward to reading more books by Lottie Hazell. Thank you @henryholtbooks for the opportunity to read this ARC from @netgalley and Happy Pub Day!
#newbooks #debutbooks #womenslit #bookreviews #bookstagram #piglet #currentlyreading #books #reading #bookstagrammer

This book is delicious. That was my first of many food references I will make in this review, so apologies in advance. But seriously, Piglet is an absolute masterpiece of book depicting a woman going through a crisis and the ways in which she chooses to comfort herself. Lottie Hazell sets up a simple yet endearing story so delectable that it leaves the reader craving more.

I wasn’t kidding about those food references. I don’t think anyone can read this book without feeling hungry or at least thinking about eating. Truly, Hazell's prose when she writes about food is amazing. Possibly some of the best food descriptions I’ve read in a book, especially in a fiction one. When Hazell describes food, it reads like a love letter, echoing its importance to our title character, Piglet. At the start of the book, Piglet is a cookbook editor engaged to the man of her dreams, Kit, and is counting down the days until their wedding. However, after Kit reveals a shattering betrayal, Piglet is left to pick up the pieces of her life and decide what she wants for her future. In terms of plot, not much happens in the story. But nonetheless Hazell finds a way to draw the reader in and make them care about the fate of Piglet’s relationships.

At times, I found myself relating to Piglet because of the way the other characters treated her. At other times, shouting at her, “What are you doing?!” That was when I realized I’m part of the problem too, because I could relate to those other characters as well. This book makes you take a look at yourself and the confront the way in which you make snap judgements about others. Those who get second hand embarrassment may have trouble reading parts of this book. At times, what Piglet experiences is gut-wrenching, painful and sadly relatable. The climax is served as dessert, a mouthwatering final course to a delectable feast that was this book. But not without a hint of bitterness. I would not call this a lighthearted read. It’s filling, hard to chew, yet oddly satisfying in the end.

I don’t think this book is going to be for everyone but it was most definitely for me.

I eat up unhinged girly lit fics and if you do too, I think this is right up your alley, but I am warning you now that if you are expecting unhinged good for her rage fiction this is not the read.

This is such a deep look at a main character just trying to figure out what they want and how to be satisfied with what they have

Hazell does this in such a unique way. A lot of the emotions and storytelling come from from food and unlike a lot of unhinged girly lit fic you don’t really get a look in the MCs mind most of the plot in this novel comes from dialogue

The characters relationship with food and how it moves the plot along is so reminiscent of Milk Fed by Melissa Broder in all the best ways. Imo.

Loved this 💗

Thanks NetGalley for the Arc

I am glad I got to read this thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Lottie Hazel. I found this novel both enthralling and at times disturbing. I read it quickly to see how it ended but will probably go back and re read parts again, This debut novel by Lotte Hazlitt is unique to say the least.

What a ride. I couldn’t put this book down. As a former chef, the in-depth cooking scenes were actually really enjoyable for me. This book made me thankful I never opted for a traditional wedding, although this is one I’d love to have attended. 😂

Extremely fast paced and addicting to read.

This was a stressful reading experience, rife with anxiety, but in a good way. I would compare it to the reading experience of "The Guest" by Emma Cline because both have this creeping feeling toward a date in the future for the main character and you as the reader don't know if they'll make it or how they'll get through it. The descriptions of food and cooking in the novel are unlike any other literary fiction I've read and I found them the most rich prose in the book. The description of Piglet's feelings almost paled in comparison to her experiences with food and cooking, but I think that may be on purpose! I would recommend this to readers of "sad girl lit fic" which is a category I belong in. It reminded me of a cross between "Sorrow and Bliss" by Meg Mason and "Fleabag" which to me is a compliment!

"Piglet" by Lottie Hazell is a Literary Fiction Debut Novel!

The main character, Piglet, has carefully recreated herself around her relationship with Kit, the man she will be marrying in 98 days.

She has a new home in one of the best areas, a wonderful job as a cookbook editor, and prepares great meals served at effortless dinner parties. Then, thirteen days before the perfectly planned wedding, her loving and caring fiancé, Kit, tells Piglet something that quietly devastates her...

"Piglet" is a story that won me over quickly and I swallowed it whole in one afternoon. Less than 300 pages and not quite 8 hours made this a perfect choice as an immersion read. The audiobook narrated by Rebecca Hinds was my preference, but either format will deliver a great experience.

There are many pieces and parts to Piglet's story. We learn about her past growing up, the life she carefully constructs with Kit, and her present state as she begins to consume Kit's shocking news. Piglet's pain is palpable as she envisions her dream fading away.

The descriptions of the many delicious dishes add flavor to a story that draws unique comparisons between living life and following recipes. This story has an engaging writing style, a diverse selection of likable and not-so-likable characters, and storytelling that's creative, original, and different. It's the type of story you keep thinking about long after finishing it.

If you enjoy a great character study with interesting wordplay, "Piglet" is a satisfying option I highly recommend!

5⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co., Macmillan Audio, and Lottie Hazell for a DRC and an ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been a pleasure to give my honest and voluntary review.

Piglet is a very interesting debut that will be very divisive, imo. It's written largely in dialogue and extremely descriptive cooking sequences. It’s got that awkward everyone-is-unlikable British flavor that I've come to love over the past couple of years - but again rubs some readers the wrong way. Putting all of this together and still creating a propulsive read is a heavy lift, esp for a debut author, but Hazell does that. The chapters are short, the tension is extremely high, everything is a countdown sequence and as the book hits the third act the crescendo is not unlike the horrible train wrecks on an episode of the Great British Bake Off.

From the jacket - "when Kit confesses a horrible betrayal two weeks before they’re set to be married, Piglet finds herself suddenly…hungry. The couple decides to move forward with the wedding as planned, but as it nears, and Piglet balances family expectations, pressure at work, and her quest to make the perfect cake, she finds herself increasingly unsettled, behaving in ways even she can’t explain."

I think the biggest strength/weakness of Piglet is that Hazell doesn't hold your hand or spell anything out for you. We get big reveal type information in shockingly light and unimportant feeling passages, but more often we get no reveal at all. I happen to really enjoy an open-ended narrative but a large number of the 1 and 2 star reviews are disappointed with the lack of clarity and lack of revelatory information. Know thyself reader. The second caveat is the food and cooking descriptions - when I tell you that the entire novel is the food and the dialogue, I mean it. the descriptions of cooking are as detailed as you will find and are plentiful throughout the book and go on for pages, so if that's something that would be an issue, again reader know thyself. I will say that I was prepared to be troubled by disordered eating, and while I wouldn't pass this book on to a person with a history with ED, I also was surprised to find that it was much less a factor than I anticipated.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was a strong debut from Lottie Hazell, and I look forward to her future works! That said, I did have some issues with this book. Let's start off with the great parts of it - it was fast paced, had some of the best descriptions of cooking + food I've ever read, and did a good job building tension. However, the writing at times felt clunky, almost? It didn't flow well, and I feel like we spent too much time on certain aspects of the story, and not enough on others. I needed more on Piglet's past with Kit and her own family. By the end of the book, I felt incomplete and wanting more. If you enjoy reading books about food and the female rage, you might enjoy this book more than me and I'd recommend giving it a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for letting me read this title!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this debut novel by Lottie Hazell, with the audio perfectly narrated by Rebekah Hinds - 4.5 stars!

The clock is ticking down towards Piglet's marriage to Kit. She's happy with her life (besides maybe that childhood nickname!) - she's a cookbook editor, has great friends including Margot, her best friend since childhood, and Kit is more than she could have dreamed for. Until he makes a confession 2 weeks before their wedding date. Suddenly, Piglet is ravenous as she tries to navigate her new reality.

This was a darkly funny, yet poignant character study of someone trying desperately to fit into the expected molds, but at what cost? I loved Piglet's relationship with her sister and the backstory behind their nicknames - totally endeared her to me. Both sets of parents leave much to be desired and you can feel Piglet's angst and understand her desire to fill those empty spots. I loved the way the story played out - the author didn't present things in black and white, but left the reader to fill in the blanks. And all those food descriptions - amazing! I can't wait to read more from this author!