There are some truths you can’t tell your friends.
There are some truths you can’t tell your family.
Truths, once spoken, have the power to strip you of a life
carefully constructed, smugly shared.
Truths, once spoken, have the power to return you to the life
you’ve determined to escape.

When the truth of Pippa (Piglet)’s fiance rends her heart and shreds her personhood like fallen confetti two weeks before their wedding date, she discovers the delicious life she had been savouring turned maggoty in her mouth. And yet, she could not disclose how her future husband, her house, her life were not so delicious after all.

Piglet compares the layers of him–fiance, confidant, liar–to the disintegrating croquembouche she makes on their wedding day: moisture-bored holes in the caramel, buns leaking custard, integrity gone. Her impending marriage is like the tower of pastry, choux affixed with caramel and glue, oozing cream across her fingers and onto the flabbily pale buns below.

Marriage is a commitment, but being in it together and being over it is like eating a birthday cake that isn’t yours. You begin with honourable, manageable intentions, but when things start to fall apart and spin out of control, you can't stop yourself. Instead of putting the fork down and wiping your hands, you keep going, consuming until nothing remains. You’ll deal with the consequences later, but the cake is all gone for now. At least you had ate away the problem until it eviscerated into nothing. Like croquembouche cake, Piglet has the urge to eviscerate the problem–their marriage–into nothing.

Her fiance’s betrayal compels Piglet to consider what she wants and the weight of her desires as long as she could choose. Instead of living happily ever after, Piglet ate until she was satisfied. Sugar, spice, and subordination: Lottie Hazell’s Piglet is like reading a recipe book turned novel. A gastronomic masterpiece.

Darkly funny, this moving story about a British woman who loves baking and gets caught up in trying to please everyone around her. She is constantly body shamed and forced to swallow her appetites until she isn't. When her fiance betrays her in the worst way, 'Piglet' stops trying to conform to expectations and embraces what makes her happy and what makes her happy is food. This one won't be for everyone but I quite enjoyed it (especially the epic wedding final scene) and would recommend for fans of books like Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

What a strange little book with two banger covers (US and UK are honestly equally good). Filled to the brim with mouth-watering food descriptions-- don't read this book while hungry. 3.5/5

I don't read a ton of literary fiction because it's just not my genre, but I'm always curious when an author gets a little experimental. And using the food metaphors, tying everything to her emotions and unravelling... all I can say is that it held my attention and I was incredibly impressed with the author's craft.

I felt her pain and her shame and her hunger in equal measure.

Audiobook Notes:
The narrator did an excellent job conveying the text. She was able to speed up her delivery to build a greater tension and spiraling lack of control, and even a hiccup of emotion at the right moments.

This is for the chaotic ladies who have had enough. Piglets life is perfect from the outside - great job, friends, family, fiancé, a wedding coming up. But deep down she is hungry for something better. It’s not until an unexpected betrayal that loosens her grip on this perfect life she has cultivate that sends her on a bit of a spiral does she realize how truly unsatisfied she is. It’s real, it’s funny tho I’m not sure it’s trying to be, it’s an entertaining story to watch unfold.

The one thing I didn’t like is that it felt a little impersonal and surface level. This is kind of more of a string of consciousness from the main character only so we don’t get deep into side characters or even the plot as a whole. You’ll know what I mean when you read that there is one thing in particular that is intentionally left vague that drove me a bit nuts, though I respect that the “what” wasn’t really the point. I like details!!

Overall enjoyed this read, maybe not a favorite or one I’d pick up again but I’d be interested in what this author does next.

This novel takes a relatively common story about a woman and a crisis leading up to her wedding but tells it through the lens of food: what we eat and why, how food makes us feel, etc. It looks at how body image and desires are tied to emotions and relationships and focuses on the appetites of women in a completely unapologetic way. All that plus great characters and beautiful prose… I can’t recommend this enough.

Piglet thought she was happy, she was about to get married, escaping her somewhat negative family and into a more posh lifestyle that she had grown up in, and she is an up and coming food/cookbook editor. But then her fiance Kit admits to a betrayal two weeks before their wedding. After that, Piglet becomes ravenously and insatiably hungry - the only thing that can fill her empty soul is food; and as the countdown to the wedding begins the reader follows Piglet through her food journey and nothing seems to satisfy her.

This one is weird, weird but good - but not for everyone. I love food so I really enjoyed all of the descriptions but not so much the ingestion of the vast amounts of food, but since I took them to be a metaphor it didn’t bother me as much as it otherwise might have. This novel explores classism, fatphobia, wedding culture, food culture and betrayal within relationships. I loved the audio and switched really seamlessly between the book and the audio. Personally, the novel spoke to me and I looked forward to coming home and reading it.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC to review

Piglet is a story that will not answer every question you may have. Many things are implied, but it’s not hard to figure out what likely happened. I love this way of storytelling as it makes the reader think and collaborate with the story.

There is a lot of salacious food talk here so take that as my trigger warning and do not read Piglet on an empty stomach. Piglet’s journey is unique and compelling. There is some dark humor and also some tense moments that keep you turning the pages. By the time Piglet got to her wedding, I think I was more nervous than she was! I love a good character study and this one is original and clever. The narration by Rebekah Hinds is excellent on the audio version. Thank you to @henryholtbooks @netgalley @Ldhazell for an advance digital copy and @macmillan.audio for the advance listening copy. I love the food art on both versions.

Thank you Henry Holt for the phyiscal arc and MacMillan for the audiobook of Piglet from Lottie Hazell.
Don't let the cover or plot summary fool you... this is a layered story that is not about food, it is about food and mental health and well-being and a strong and thoughtful protagonist. Yes, lots of food descriptions but once I got into this and heard that this was Lottie's voice, challenged as she was with a complex childhood and using food to show love but hide her feelings... this was elegant in the storytelling and creative, real. What unfolds is Piglet's story, how she handles an unexpected challenge to perhaps figure out who she is and what she has been and still is hungry for.
A win, an unexpectedly thoughtful story and so nicely and confidently narrated by Rebekah Hinds

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan audio for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is different, in a good way.

The title of the book is also the childhood nickname of the MC, which no one lets her forget. And it already tells you so much about her, the importance of food, the relationship she has to her body and her family.

This book is brilliant. It feels like 90 % of it is either food descriptions or dialogue, but still it gives you a perfect image of the characters and their world, their style and so on. I have no idea how but with so little exposition it also manages to convey so much hurt, so much tension, so many aspirations and broken dreams.

This book was beautiful

This was on my list for most anticipated books of the year and man did it not disappoint. I was so greedy for this book that I had already picked up a physical copy and NetGally was kind enough to let me listen to the audio book so I devoured this story really quickly. Iv read some reviews saying that they had issue with all the food description (I did not, I loved it) I would recommend you check out the audiobook, hearing it with her accent makes it’s so cozy. Something I really enjoyed was how focused on Piglets spiral to the alter and not the events of that conversation . It allows everyone’s reaction to the event more intense. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I predict that Piglet by Lottie Hazell will be a polarizing book. Some will absolutely love it and others will find it entirely frivolous. I fall into the camp of appreciating the symbolism dripping from every word.

Imagine growing into adulthood being called Piglet - a nickname given to you as a child. Is it any wonder that Piglet has a borderline obsession with food? Piglet is a successful cookbook author engaged to be married. She's an overachiever and a people pleaser; acquiescing to her family, her fiancée, her future mother-in-law, her employer, and her friends. Food plays a central role in her life. It's an essential part of her profession and it's how she expresses (and hides from) her emotions. Two weeks before her wedding, her soon-to-be husband drops a bombshell on her that makes Piglet question everything about her life. As her emotions and stress spiral, Piglet struggles to figure out who she is and what she wants from life.

The book is food-centric. Ms. Hazell excels at using language that will leave you salivating as she describes the culinary journey of Piglet's emotional awakening. Piglet is a powerful allegory for greed and examines the way our relationship with food can both harm and heal us. Come for the feast; stay for the story. This is a meaty and filling read. (Pun intended)

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt Books, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this ALR/ALC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Ahhhhhhhhh! I am so thankful to Henry Holt Books, Lottie Hazell, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for granting me advanced physical, digital, and audio access to this Good for Her tale before it hits shelves on February 27, 2024. Piglet loves food and has a good relationship with it, so much so that she's an editor at a cookbook publishing house to share her love for food and baked goods with the world.

The book starts with her cooking a meal for friends to celebrate her engagement with Kit, her brand new fiancé, and as we grow closer and closer to the wedding day, the preparations begin. Still, we ALSO find out that Kit, her ever-loving and devoted partner, has cheated on her, and Piglet goes into a disassociation period of sorts.

Convincing herself that everything is fine and knowing how much money Kit's parents have put into the wedding, she charges onward but with little to no interactions with her cheating soon-to-be spouse. How could he do her so wrong after she's done so much for him? That is what her good friend Margot thinks of the ordeal and begs her to rethink the next few days ahead of her.

The wedding day takes place, but at the reception, she pops off and exposes her fiancé for his wrongdoings to the entire crowd and flees away in her brother-in-law's getaway car to reevaluate her life and do better by HERSELF.

I honestly was rooting for Piglet the whole time. Her resilience in keeping other people happy and showing face was more substantial than I could ever be. When it comes down to it, her resolution focuses back on herself and her love for food which is a trauma response to the crock of shit she's been dealt throughout her entire life, and I'm here for it!

I can see how this novel could be a hit or miss with readers. You have to be able to understand the concept of "eating your feelings".

Piglet, such a horrible name to be given to you by your family as a child. Where they use it as a loving nickname, Piglet of course hates it. I'm so glad I read this book!

Many thanks to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This cover make no sense lol, But I guess the book did make me a little hungry with all of the dialouge about food. I got the audio version of this and was able to finish it up pretty quick. Piglet really does not have very good coping skills nor does she really stick up for herself for most of the book which was a little defeating. Overall this was a decent read but I think it could be a little more developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

What an incredible debut by Lottie! I adored the writing and smoothness of this story. I very much enjoyed the narrator as well.

Piglet's behavior did drive me slightly crazy at times, but I think it’s because I saw myself in her. I loved all the food talk and the themes it represented.

I would definitely read more from this author in the future!

Nicknames can be cruel and so can be family. Piglet feels voyeuristic yet heartbreakingly relatable as someone who has struggled with their relationship with food for most of their life.

I rooted for our main character and found joy in little moments only to have them smashed to pieces time and time again.

CW: disordered eating
While the narrator is excellent, listening to this on audio really stressed me out. For me, reading the text is much, much faster than listening, and I find difficult material harder to face when I consume it more slowly. Food, eating, cooking, binge-eating, not eating, judging other people's shopping or food preferences--all of this was non-stop in this novel. It's the point, though. The whole book is either dialogue or Piglet's internal monologue which always includes food/eating and Piglet's sense of control.

The plot is just a sketch: Piglet comes from a working class background but works in publishing and is about to marry into a well-off family. Then her fiance confesses a major betrayal and Piglet starts to unravel. But the plot isn't the point, and we don't even find out any details of Kit's betrayal. The point is how Piglet feels. I have to admit I kind of hated every character in the book with the exception of Piglet's best friend Margot and Piglet's sister. They were just all so awful to Piglet in their own ways, whether they meant to be or not. Yeah, this novel was stressful but extremely well done.

I wish I had Lemongrab to stand here and yell DISAPPOINTED for me. This was my 2nd most anticipated book of the year and it was just a let down. The whole time I was just wanting more. I understood Piglet's hunger cause I too just want more. I don't know what exactly this book was missing but it was missing something. The characters were just a little flat, the plot needed more, the emotions felt flat, everything was just flat.