Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

This novel had so much potential but it fell flat for me. The book covers tough issues that I can somewhat relate to but I could not connect to the characters even though parts could be relatable. The story was very slow and hard to stay engaged.

This was an okay read really didn't like the characters & was way to slow, couldn't feel the tension the prose sounded interesting but it just did nothing for me. TRIGGER WARNING!! There is abuse issues in this novel which didn't sit well for me, this is my first read by this author & will try again wasn't a complete waste of time.

What We Did is the tale of ultimate retribution when a woman, Bridget, comes into contact with the man who sexually assaulted her as a child. Bridget has spent her life trying to forgot and making sure no one else finds out the horrible secret that she carries with her. Events spiral downward after Bridget confronts her attacker and she must make some very difficult decisions that may alter both her life and the lives of her loved ones.

Christobel Kent is excellent and creating suspenseful, well-paced tension with the ambiguous actions of very real and relatable characters. This was both disturbing and satisfying.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Crichton Books and Christobel Kent for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

*Many thanks to Christobel Kent, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley forarc in exchange for my honest review.*
It seemed to me that I might have found a perfect read, however, I admit I was disappointed by the pace of it, and the characters to whom I was unable to relate to. I was drawn to this novel by its summary, but somehow the book did not resonate with me.

Bridget owns a lovely dress shop in Rose Hill. She is married to a caring, patient, competent man and they have a loving teenage son who, as is typical, spends a great deal of time online. One day Bridget sees a man enter her store with a young girl who is seeking a dress for a recital. He is not the girl's father. But Bridget knows him and she is horrified and terrified and very, very angry. When the man returns to her shop alone, Bridget and he reconnect in a way which will once again alter Bridget's life and make her aware that there are still some missing pieces to be addressed.

A very well written and engrossing read. Not wanting to spoil it for anyone, I very strongly recommend.

I couldn’t finish this book. I have a standard to my reading and this book didn’t come up to that standard. And that’s a shame because it could have been a great book to help women through a horrifying time in their life. And it still might in some, but It’s not for me. I’m sorry if this offends some, but I have to live by my standards but first and foremost, by God’s standard and I just feel this book doesn’t live up to that. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers of #WhatWeDid for opportunity to read and review in my honest opinion.

Thankyo uto NetGalley, the publishers and the author, Christobel Kent. for the opportunity to read a digital copy of What We Did in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I was excited to receive a copy of this book to review. Unfortunately, I don't think it lived up to expectations. I just did not enjoy it at all.
I thought the story itself was very drawn out. I could not find any sort of connection with the characters.
Just not a book for me.

What We Did by Christobel Kent was the first book that I have read by this author that I have heard so much about. I was really looking forward to reading this one but unfortunately for me it did not live up to expectations. I found it to be very slow paced and long with characters that I just could not relate to. The story was good, although it covers some tough issues.

Bridget has been hiding a secret from everybody in her life, including her husband. She has moved on with her life until one day her past comes back to haunt her. Her childhood music teacher walks into her small dress shop with a young girl on his arm and she is transported back to her youth and the things that he put her through. He will not leave her alone, continuing to taunt her, until one day he pushes too far and she snaps. Her life is then changed again forever and she is holding onto more secrets. A twisted story of secrets and childhood abuse, which at times is hard to read.

Bridget is happy. She has her own little dress shop in Rose Hill, England, a teen son, Finn, who she adores, and a gentle, kind husband in Matt, who handles IT for the nearby university. It’s a happiness, that as a child, she never thought she’d have. When an older man comes in the shop with a young girl, Bridget thinks it’s an odd pairing. He doesn’t seem to be her father or grandfather, but it’s really none of her business, right? She just gets a strange feeling about the pair. Turns out Bridget’s instincts are pretty good because as soon as she hears his voice, she’s transported back all those years ago when she was a young girl learning violin. Anthony Carmichael, her childhood violin teacher, is in town teaching at the university, and that was definitely not his daughter or his granddaughter. Bridget is near panic. He didn’t seem to recognize her, but she definitely recognized him.

Bridget felt as thought she could hardly breathe, then she began to feel something else, something she couldn’t control: it wound its way up inside her, a tapeworm; a viper; a dragon. He was putting his credit card away when abruptly he looked at her in the eye, and she had to hold his gaze.



Older, hair thinner, turkey neck. Sandy eyebrows. He smiled. He smiled at her.

Bridget goes back to her life in a bit of a panic, and desperately trying to contain it. It’s like a seismic shift has happened. Just his existence, somewhere nearby, is enough to throw her into a tailspin. As soon as poor Bridget starts to relax a bit, Carmichael returns to the shop, and she happens to be there alone, without the company of her assistant, Laura.

Turns out he did recognize Bridget, and he can’t resist getting close to her. Threatening her.

He began to talk in a way she remembered, with horror. And although she tried to blot the words out, the tone was so familiar, the memory bringing sickness up inside her, up from her gut: he was very reasoned, smiling all the time, although his eyes were different. She remembered that, too: his eyes dead and flat and cold while his voice was smooth and warm.

Bridget is terrified, transported back to a time in her life that she’s worked so hard to keep inside, to forget.

Bridget felt so abruptly sick she put a hand to the doorframe to steady herself. She remembered him talking this way while doing things to her body. Images flashed into her head, blinding her. The shock, the horror of it, the first time it happened: the violence of a hand pushing her down, wool choking her. She backed away from him, into the kitchen, the room so small the stepladder clattered as she bumped into it.

Thoughts of the girl he came in with fill her head, and it’s not long until Bridget has had enough. She takes matters into her own hands. Soon after, her troubled sister Carrie shows up, having had a fight with her girlfriend. Carrie needs to stay for a few days, which just throws one more complication at Bridget. And Bridget has a lot on her plate.

Meanwhile, reporter Gillian “Gill” Lawson has suspected Carmichael of sex crimes for years, and when she sees that he’s turned up in Rose Hill, she grabs the opportunity to do her best to take him down. As Carmichael’s disappearance inevitably gains attention, Bridget becomes increasingly paranoid and desperate to keep her life intact, but, of course, it’s not that easy. Things never are.

Fair warning: If you’re looking for a fast-paced read, this is not that read. Although certainly suspenseful, it’s a very psychologically astute slow burner, and Kent does a great job exploring the aftermath of sexual abuse and of the tendency for women and girls to internalize sexual trauma. Bridget has never shared Carmichael’s abuse with Matt, and the thought of him looking at her with something like pity is something she can barely stand to imagine. Kent’s lyrical, conversational writing style belies the undercurrent of menace that thrums below the surface, and Carmichael rises from the page like a crocodile emerging from a stagnant swamp. His vileness is palpable to Bridget and to readers, but to everyone else, he’s a star in the classical music world. Bridget can’t imagine even attempting to go against someone like that. There is a bit of a twist at the end, but this is ultimately the story of Bridget coming to terms with her horrifying ideal and taking control of her life, with a little help from the people that love her, especially the females in her life. Things do get dark, but Kent’s conclusion is satisfying, and most importantly, hopeful. This one will resonate.

3 1/2 ⭐️‘s

Bridgett is hiding from her unsettling past. When someone from that past reenters her life she is instantly thrown into utter chaos. When an encounter turns deadly, Bridgett must decide exactly just how she’s going to deal with the tragic circumstances and ultimately how she’s going to deal with her past. A tense story that takes it’s time dishing out just enough information to keep the reader turning pages. Kent tackles the disturbing subject of child abuse and the effects that linger later in life. A slow burn of a story that is a bit difficult to follow at times, but does all come together well at the end.

Thank you to Sarah Crichton Books for my advanced digital copy of this book!

What We Did is a hauntingly heartbreaking tale of a woman whose devastating past is catching up with her. Bridget has a secret she keeps from everyone, including her husband. But when her old music teacher walks into her shop, that secret threatens to overtake her. Bridget hope to never see Carmichael again, but he will not leave her alone. Eventually she snaps, and the consequences may do her in.

This book does not move like a thriller, although there is plenty of action to keep the reader in suspense. But rather, it is a look at the ways our pasts can influence our future, and also how we can move beyond them. Bridget carries so much shame and grief with her, and the weight of her experience sat heavy on my shoulders. Prepare for this novel to wreck you, but to still be transported by the beautiful writing. One thing I will say is that I did not feel like I got to know Bridget very well even though the book follows her. However, it made sense to me because she is so guarded that she even keeps her feelings from herself.

I loved the conclusion of this novel and I though Kent was a wizard with his writing. There are plenty of trigger warnings throughout, largely focusing on sexual abuse, so keep that in mind before you begin the book.

What we did is an oppressive narrative about Bridget, who at the start of the book seems an ordinary, happy wife and mother.
One day when she is working in her own shop (evening clothes) with her young, very pregnant assistant an older man visits her shop with a young girl. Bridget recognises the man as her former violin teacher who as it turns out abused her when she was a young woman, like the one he is buying a party dress for at her shop....

This is the start of a series of gripping and chilling developments.

I think the author succeeded in painting a really believable picture of the constant terror abuse victims experience and the problems they have talking about what happens. At various points in the book I could feel Bridget's angst for her former abuser.
The book also paints a vivid picture of the fear of discovery people who commit a crime go through.

I enjoyed reading this book en would recommend it.

I want to thanks NetGalley and Sara Crichton Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

rating: 3,5-4 stars

CAUTION: if you are a survivor of sexual assault and/or domestic violence, this book will most likely be a difficult read for you.

What We Did is a darkly disturbing novel about Bridget who was sexually assaulted as a child by her music teacher. She discovers he has taken a position at the university in the town where she lives when he brings a young teenager into her clothing boutique looking for a dress. Bridget recognizes the man and immediately senses he is grooming the young girl, which sets off all sorts of painful flashbacks for her. When the man later returns to her shop alone, brashly cornering her, touching her, and making it known he wants to continue “their relationship”, she reacts instinctively to protect herself.

Kent writes unflinchingly about pedophiles, sexual abusers, domestic violence, the impacts on the survivors., the secrets we keep, and the lengths to which we go to protect those we love.

This book is well written with strong, believable characters. Though I question the need for such a dark voyeuristic book, it is up to each reader to decide whether to read it. I rate this 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sara Crichton Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

The pacing of this book is s 0 s l o w!! The characters were well-defined and it was a difficult subject to handle so the author did well on those points; but it just seemed so sluggish to me. It took forever to get to anything approaching 'thriller'. I seem to be running into a lot of books lately that bill themselves as 'psychological thrillers' but are really just character studies or general fiction. I think they do themselves a disservice to put themselves into a category where they don't belong. Readers are bound to be disappointed. Just my viewpoint.

I almost didn't finish What We Did, but since it had a satisfying ending, I'm grateful I plowed through it. I expected it to read like an episode of How to Get Away With Murder, but that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, the pacing in this novel isn't consistent; the beginning progresses extremely slowly and the action is condensed within the last fifty pages or so. Kent did include a couple of plot twists I didn't foresee, but also included backstory of reporter Gillian that didn't seem necessary, nor did it add anything to the story. If your TBR pile is enormous, feel free to skip this one.

This covered a difficult subject, and while I am normally a big fan of her work, it was not one of my favorites. Overall I thought the subject was handled well, however, I think there was more that could be done here to make this a little more suspenseful like her novels usually are. I found the fact that Bridget's spouse knew nothing of her past a bit unbelievable, however, if she was going to have this secret, then I did not think their marriage would have been this strong. I did like the fact that her past caught up with her, but it was resolved, if you will, too early on in the novel and I would have liked to have seen that played out a bit more. Trigger warnings for child sexual abuse and domestic abuse throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley for an electronic ARC to review. All opinions above are my own. Pub date is 2/5/19.

Awesome and we'll written. It will pull you in from the very first page until the end. Absolutely worth picking up and looking yourself in this gem of a book. Happy reading!

Anthony Carmichael could have ruined Bridget's life but he didn't. She married, had a child, and moved on but she never told what he did to her- not even her husband knows. Then he turns up again and she's not willing to let him do it to any other child. Except, and here's the problem, he starts to stalk her. What does Bridget do now? No spoilers but it might not surprise you. I've been a fan of Kent, who has a way with psychological thrillers, but this felt more personal than her earlier novels. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.