Laura has broken away from small town life for a new start in New York City, but it is not quite working out as planned. She has three jobs, which leave her exhausted, a small, sublet apartment in an insalubrious area, and constant money worries. She planned on being a writer, but now she is often slumped on trains, shuttling between her shifts as a barista, or tutoring jobs. When she is home, she spends her time hurrying past scary men on street corners; her key ready in her hand, heart hammering, guard up…
She meets the glamorous, wealthy and confident Lavinia, when she is asked to tutor her sister, Cordelia. Lavinia is having the life that Laura had yearned for – meeting the rich and influential at constant parties, attending the opera and art galleries; knowing publishers, getting gloriously drunk and never thinking of what she is spending. From the moment we meet Lavinia, we know that getting involved with her is a bad idea, but, of course, Laura is like a moth, confronted with a flame. She is unable to resist the bright glow, the lights, glitter and glamour. Of course, beneath the glitz and glamour, things get dark, ugly and downright dangerous. Before long, Laura is leaving behind the life she wants to escape from, but it is all on someone else’s terms.
It is hard to write a review of this book, without spoilers, so I will have to contain myself by simply saying that this novel has a lot to recommend it. It is well written, with characters that, although not particularly likeable, do come alive on the page. Lavinia seems larger than life, but that is, of course, what attracts Laura to her. Meanwhile, as Laura wants more of what Lavinia seems to have without even trying, you wonder quite how far she will go to get it.
I really raced through this and found it both disturbing and yet plausible. It addresses some interesting questions – for example, the unfairness of the talented, hard-working Laura, who struggles so much, while Lavinia, and her circle, seem to get everything through their network of old school friends. This is a novel of entitlement, of toxic relationships, the modern obsession with social media and of what people will do to obtain wealth and status, but how little it can mean, once tasted. This would be a good choice for a reading group, as it has so much to discuss. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

The Talented Ms Ripley

"Nobody gives a f£&@ about you. You're a complete nonentity."

Shake together: Highsmith, Waugh, Fitzgerald (theres even a direct mention of Gatsby in the book, in case you had any doubts), add a dash of Amor Towles, with more than a touch of Gossip Girl and Maestra and you've got the idea of the kind of writing and subject matter you're in for. It's important to say here that I don't think Burton is setting out to play in the same field as those authors, she is paying homage to them, with admittedly a less complex and nuanced story but a success nevertheless for its target demographic.

How do we measure our success and our achievements? Beauty? Wealth? The number of friends we have (literally or on social media)? Through the apparent superficiality of the characters in this novel, there are some pretty essential questions posed. The characters themselves are unlikeable and yet that's the bit we enjoy.

This novel is a guilty pleasure - it is immensely readable and I found I sped through it in a day. Burton does a great job of building the suspense and the impending dread. We know from the get-go that this is not going to end well - this is not going to be a simple Makeover Story.

The city of New York is ever-present as a character and the glamour, money and lights cover the trappings of a much darker underside.

Read it when you can give yourself time to consume it all in one go.

I raced through this book in just over a day. The comparisons with The Talented Mr Ripley, The Great Gatsby and Gossip Girl are well-placed. I found it gripping: one of those books that you just have to keep reading without breaks. In that way I would call it an ‘easy-read’. That’s not to say it’s a light and breezy story; in fact some parts are graphically violent and chilling.

Set in New-York, 29-year old Louise meets 23-year old socialite Lavinia. Louise is in awe of this seemingly magical, otherworldly goddess of a woman. She craves Lavinia’s lavish lifestyle – so different from her own quiet, mundane life. Like all good ‘makeover’ stories, Lavinia takes Louise under her wing and transforms her into a ‘mini-me’ version of herself: same hair colour, same clothes, same perfume, makeup…What Lavinia doesn’t expect or intend to share with Louise is her childhood sweetheart; her one and only love – Rex.

In a very Bret Easton-Ellis fashion, the characters are fixated on superficial issues: how much weight they’ve lost, what parties they go to, who they hang out with etc, so I didn’t expect to like them as much as I did. Lavinia’s over-the-top and exuberant personality was infectious and entertaining, whilst Louise’s growing self-loathing and lack of assertiveness and self-control was disturbing yet compelling. Both characters are self-absorbed and yet consumed with each other; an obsessive whirlwind of a relationship, built on dependency and indulgence which can obviously never last and – the reader suspects – will not end well.

I was swept up in their hedonistic and extravagant world of endless money, drink, drugs and all-nighters. The descriptions of Lavinia’s sumptuous collection of beautiful dresses definitely appealed to my own “dressing-up” girly side.

This is a riveting, addictive thriller packed with debauchery and scandal.

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for my ARC

Because this book has been hyped as the next "The Talented Mr Ripley" I started reading already knowing what was likely to happen, so expected the book to be quite character driven if it was to hold my attention. However, whilst there were tantalising glimpses into why Louise might have behaved the way that she did, these were never fully explored and I didn't like her enough to sympathise or care. The lure of the glamourous lifestyle lived by Lavinia felt overly contrived and pretentious, although I did like the (superficial) exploration of how the internet and social media fed into the lifestyle.

Perhaps I'm the wrong target audience for the book, but it wasn't really for me. However, my thanks go to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Reading Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton left me rather surprised. It was quite different to the more traditional gothic horror titles in the Bloomsbury Raven series, but very much confirmed for me that the gothic can be written in the modern day and in a city environment. The narrative is well-told with intriguing, self-absorbed characters who’s worlds you just cannot help getting sucked into. This novel has all of the glitz and glamour of Gossip Girl tinged with a dark, eerie loneliness/friendship of The Roommate (2011 movie). Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton will be published on 14 June by Doubleday Books.

The Story
Set in Manhattan, New York, Social Creature follows the lives and friendship of two young women, Louise and Lavinia. Louise is juggling multiple jobs just to keep up with her low rental costs when she meets Lavinia through tutoring her younger sister, Cordelia. Lavinia and Louise go to multiple ostentatious parties, drinking too much and having lots of fun; they become the best of friends. People keep warning Louise, however, that Lavinia doesn’t hold on to friends for very long and that they all eventually fulfil their purpose or upset her. As Louise desperately tries to keep her friend and her new, lavish lifestyle, she embarks on a downward journey which can only end one way. One of the themes in this book is reality and fakery, as Louise often contemplates how long she can maintain her facade with all these people; who can be deceived and for how long.

What I liked
Honestly, the characters in Social Creature are vapid and self-absorbed and never have worries outside of their own wealthy existences. This is one thing I liked about it. Burton writes characters who we only think we will ever see caricatures of and if we met them in real life, we would actually discover their soft, non-privileged side and be able to connect. I loved that there was no side to these characters that wasn’t completely in it for themselves with little care for others unless they are helping them progress socially. I liked that Louise was fighting so hard in the beginning for her basic, overworked lifestyle, but that she relaxed as we all do when we are offered the opportunity. Lavinia is the embodiment of the crazy, slightly unstable party girl who will cling to friends like they are life rafts, and I liked that Burton did not skirt around this. These are not characters that everyone likes to read about, but if you do read this and don’t like them, appreciation should at least be given for their creation.
The story itself is quite captivating. From about 35% in, I started to enjoy the writing style, which can take a while to get used to, the conversational elements which make up a large section of the book, and the plot started to intensify. Once the plot intensified, there was no tearing me away from this novel. I really enjoyed the delivery of the key elements of the novel; Lavinia’s death happens in a good part of the book for the story to really begin to unravel. We see how Louise copes with it and what she does with her social status following her death. It is something that can’t be made up. You will question who these insane people are you are reading about.

What I didn’t like
So, I was reading an advance copy, which meant that there were a few parts in which it was not clear who was speaking in conversations, which pulled me out of their ostentatious world. Aside from that, I will say that it would be easy to give up on this book in the first few chapters. Many people will not be able to relate to these characters, so will probably not be the biggest fan. I believe that this could have been improved with more mentions of Cordelia, who actually cares for her sister and has other worries outside of her own personal problems. I would tell people to try and stick past the 50% mark if possible, as this is where the real entertainment begins.

Overall, I thought that Burton’s novel, Social Creature offered great insight into and critique of society’s elite and those wanting to join their world. It almost reads as a love letter to Lavinia, and the Lavinias of this world who are just trying to find themselves in the crazy world into which they are born and a great big, red warning to those who may want to venture in. There are a lot of links to worlds including Gossip Girl, Private, Sex and the City, Dynasty and many more elite society dramas. I would recommend this book for anybody looking for a darker take on the typical stories of over privileged youth, or anybody looking to read outside their comfort zone and pull them out of a reading slump.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Raven for my advance reader e-copy in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this - think Gossip Girl meets The Secret History. Managed almost entirely to describe a life lived through social media without falling into the usual cliches. I'd worry that this book might age badly because of that but for now it's definitely a good, snappy, dark summer read.

I'm not sure what I expected when I started this book, but it wasn't quite this. The blurb promises this is a must for fans of Donna Tartt and Gillian Flynn. It sort of is and it isn't. It has some of the dark glamour of the troubled elite and the entry into high social circles of someone who doesn't quite belong there, so I can sort of see the Tartt link. And the unreliable narrator (hell, all the characters are unreliable) certainly justifies the shout out to Flynn. But at the same time, that doesn't quite cover what's going on here.

Our narrator is Louise. a tutor and aspiring writer struggling to get by in New York. She meets the chaotic and charming Lavinia, and within a few pages is whirled into Lavinia's rich and decadent world, with wild parties, casual law breaking, and a whole cast of high society characters. The book sits firmly in the modern age, with the result that all this Gatsby-esque glamour is captured on Instagram and Facebook. Conversations about art and poetry are interrupted by demands to take selfies. It really grated on me, but I'm pretty sure it was supposed to. As the plot twists and turns, you realise that the 2-D nature of some of the characters is a clever and deliberate ploy, and the constant social media references add to the smoke and mirrors. The delusions and chaos build to a dramatic and unexpected series of events that lead Louise down a dark and sinister path. Along the way, you learn that Lavinia isn't the only one with secrets.

Although at times I found myself struggling to engage with the characters and the abrupt twists, this is a dark and compulsive read.

I stayed up until gone midnight to finish Social Creature. I had to know how Louise’s involvement in Lavinia’s life was going to pan out.

Lavinia is a girl who has everything money can buy: a beautiful apartment in the Upper East Side of New York; social connections; an unflinching desire to live life to the max; a large bank account; perfect hair; social ease; a skinny, perfect body; a knowledge of make-up; a perfume made especially for her; a sense of entitlement… the list goes on. Despite all of this, Lavinia is lonely. Lavinia longs for authentic connection, longs for a sense of feeling alive.

Louise has nothing. Despite her ambitions to become a writer, she works as a tutor and in a coffee shop, lives in a rent controlled dump she can barely afford and has a social life that revolves around Netflix.

When Lavinia asks her to help her sister study and then doesn’t reappear to pay her until the following morning, Louise finds herself swept into Lavinia’s life. Her career, her appearance, her social life, all soars into a place Louise had never imagined would be accessible to her. As long as she keeps playing the game right, she hopes she can stay there. But as the days and weeks wear on, she gets less and less sleep and her game face starts to slip…

At first, the idea of a woman like Louise, someone constantly hoping they won’t mess up opportunities life throws their way, is very compelling. She is so relatable. We take her outsider’s journey into this social elite. It’s a little like reading a literary ‘Gossip Girl’. Beneath all the glamour there is always a scandal waiting to be uncovered.

Obviously, I found the novel compelling and there is a lot of social commentary that brings novels like The Great Gatsby and American Psycho to mind, but there is also a sense of nagging disappointment that is shared by Louise and some of the other characters, notably Lavinia’s ex-boyfriend’s best friend, Hal: is this really it? Is this the best life has to offer? Jobs based on social standing and impressive Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds? Is any of it really worth it? What should we truly value in life?

Social Creature doesn’t offer any answers. It offers romance, glamour, intensity, desire and rips it all away to the bare lying bones because ultimately all there is is pretending, lying, to make people like you, to cover over the teeth and claws snapping beneath the lipstick. This is a novel that doesn’t believe in the selfless, that doesn’t believe in charity or kindness; it’s all about survival.

I’m still not sure if I really liked this novel but I did leave it feeling a little sick with myself and the world and perhaps that’s no bad thing.

Characters
Louise at first is a likeable character who is in over her head. Who wouldn't embrace the new life she is offered? However, as the narrative unfolds I find myself fearing her and scared of the lengths she will go to keep her place in the social circle that she has become so comfortable.
Lavinia is the embodiment of people I really do not like; privileged, spoiled and, worst of all, lacking any sort of independence. I found her incredibly realistic to the point of hatred for her.
Rex, Hall and Mimi are bystanders of the whole unravelling and its interesting to see how they fit and how Louise's thoughts about them change over time. 
Plot
It's hard to say anything about the plot without giving away some of the books best parts. What I will say is that when you think you have it all set in your head how it will end, you will have the rug pulled violently from under you. You will, from that point, settle again. You'll be on edge, heart in mouth and unable to do anything but consume the story.
Writing
The writing was something I've never come across before. It threw me off at first, the almost conversational tone that was present in the moment, but also had an insight into what was to come. Won't lie, it also brought a sinister tone to the book; I was scared for quite a lot of it.

'Social Creature' is the story of meek, shy, poor Louise, who makes friends with the vibrant and rich Lavinia - a New York socialite with endless money and glamour. Louise doesn't understand why Lavinia wants to be friends with her, but she clings to the friendship as hard as she can because girls like Lavinia don't come along every day. Lavinia pulls Louise along in her wake, through wild parties, heady all-night adventures and indulgence like Louise has never seen before.

But things as magical as Louise's new life can't last, can they? Soon everything starts to crumble and unravel for Louise, but she'll cling and cling and do anything - absolutely ANYTHING - to keep hold of this new life.

'Social Creature' is engaging and easy to read, and is like a combination of Gossip Girl and the Talented Mr Ripley. I would have liked a little more depth, but it was fun as it was too.

Social Creature is an outrageous, biting novel that takes elements of Bret Easton Ellis and The Secret History and other detailed literary thriller-type books and gives them a modern twist. Louise lives in New York City in a shabby apartment in a sketchy location, working multiple jobs and barely even claiming to be a writer any more. In a twist of fate, she meets Lavinia: rich, fun, breathtaking, with a beautiful home and a social life to die for. Somehow, Lavinia pulls Louise into her world, sharing her clothes and paying for their Ubers as they party their way through the wannabe literati of NYC. However, this charmed life surely cannot last forever, and Louise might have to take drastic action if she wants to keep living like her new best friend.

Burton's writing is fast and precise, using detail in a variety of ways to be both satiric and further the narrative. Instead of business cards and restaurant reservations, this is social media likes and ridiculous tea flavours. Online opinion writing is the big thing, selfies capture moments that barely even happen, and as long as someone keeps up an internet presence, no one will worry. This is an excessive world, parodic at times, but also the life that Louise wants is clearly one that could be real, if someone believed every article and photo they saw online and thought they too could have that.

The narrative is clever in its simplicity: not full of twists and turns, but a situation that continues beyond belief. Small moment of a fourth-wall breaking narrative voice may seem incongruous, but they give fleeting hints that they and the reader know the genre, the inevitability of this story. As with other similar books, it isn't really a thriller, but also it has the pace of one in many ways, as well as the darkness. It addresses the homoerotic tension usually present in these kind of stories, as well as seeming to explore how a female friendship at the heart of the narrative might be different to tales of all-consuming male friendships.

Social Creature isn't doing something new, but twisting a kind of book usually written or set in the nineties into a kind of millenial hell. There's pretentious literary quotes and classical scholars, the desperation of trying to become part of a rich world you can't afford to be in, an all-consuming new friend with an overpowering personality, but there's also Instagram, secret hipster speakeasy bars, and opinion websites called Misandry!.

I had very high hopes for Social Creature after seeing it described as the missing link between one of my favourite writers (Bret Easton Ellis) and one of my favourite books (The Secret History). I also think that's a lot of pressure for a debut novel to live up to - and it didn't quite make it to that level. But, I did thoroughly enjoy it and couldn't put it down. I think a better description would be Heathers + Talented Mr Ripley, set in the noughties.

From a brilliant opening we are plunged into Lavinia (Vinny)'s opulent world of excess and how it contrasts with Louise's spartan life, boyfriendless, in a tiny apartment, working three jobs to get by despite much promise as a writer. Lavinia takes Louise under her wing, but Lavinia is unreliable, mercurial and self absorbed, unable to see out of her world of privilege to the life Louise is really living.

Slowly but surely Louise allows Lavinia to in essence "adopt" her as her BFF and becomes part of the world she'd always admired from the outside. Like a magpie she works her way into parties, writing gigs and finally into the arms of a man she really shouldn't have. From there, things go very very wrong for Lavinia and Louise.

I very much enjoyed the setting of this novel, I felt fully immersed in their world and Lavinia and Louise and their various acolytes sprang to life from the page. Although the twist was somewhat predictable, I enjoyed seeing Louise reveal a darker side to her character - and in fact I wished the author had gone further with this. In fact my favourite part of the book was the last few pages, I felt the writing was masterful and I was utterly satisfied with the ending. My only slight criticism is that I felt the book took awhile to really get going, despite it being apparent what was going to happen. Nevertheless I enjoyed the author's style very much and would definitely be keen to read another novel by her.

I read Social Creature using the literary equivalent of watching a horror movie with a cushion over your face, peering out over the top of it. I was compelled ever onwards but almost didn’t want to look…

It starts off quietly enough – Louise has nothing and she meets Lavinia who has everything. Louise wants what Lavinia has and Lavinia is more than happy to give it to her. At first. Of course surface sparkle hides inner darkness and you can never really know the truth of someone else’s existence. As both girls spiral, the story goes down a sinister, utterly compelling, shiver inducing road that leaves you, when it is done, feeling disconcerted and off kilter.

This is a clever novel because it tells you everything and nothing. Louise is a stunningly nuanced character, through whose eyes most everything is filtered- when teamed up with the seemingly rich, spoiled, entitled Lavinia sparks fly and a whirlwind of social interaction, parties, drinking, drugs, all the things begins – this lifestyle is seemingly glamorous and expensively cheap, but Louise wants it and wants it for good. So when the cracks begin to show, there’s no telling what she will do to maintain it.

This novel is smart and manipulative in both character and plot, it explores many things and is written with an edgy, modern narrative style that really appealed to me. The occasional birds eye view, away from the fast paced lifestyle and slowly disintegrating state of this friendship,gives you a feeling of really seeing it play out, like a car crash you can’t take your eyes away from. Tara Isabella Burton paints an authentically scary portrait of how we can treat each other, both male and female, whilst the focus is on these two women, Social Creature is also a multiple character drama, with an incredibly realistic sense of the true invasion of social media and drawing the lines between the rich and the poor in a cleverly insightful way.

Overall I loved this one because of how incredibly uneasy it made me, how it didn’t pull any punches, how it built from a whisper to a crescendo then left you with that ending – it is quirky, cool and utterly terrifying really, I hated everyone in it but I loved them too.

Ignore the Ripley comparison and the Gone Girl comparison, Social Creature is a Social Creature – it will creep into your reading life and take it over, at least for a day. It certainly took over mine and I doubt that Louise or Lavinia will leave my head any time soon. This is one of those stories that will nag at me and nag at me, these are the ones I love.

Absolutely Highly Recommended.