2.5 ⭐️‘s
The first chapter in this book drew me in, but it quickly became quite slow. Clare has moved to Edinburgh in hopes of recreating herself. She quickly becomes enamored but a group of friends she’s named the shiver of sharks. She desperately wants to be in their group and hangs out on the sidelines for ever so long when finally she’s in the center of everything. When she’s invited on a vacation to France with the group it’s not just a vacation there are strings attached. Tabitha has a project in mind, one that Clare isn’t sure she wants to participate in … but Tabitha knows about Clare’s past, a past she’d do anything to keep hidden. It’s a bumpy ride that often makes no sense, filled with characters that are unbelievable as well as unlikeable. Marketed as a thriller, this book held no thrills and is very much drama filled. Not what I was expecting and one I didn’t enjoy! Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I read this one rather quickly. The synopsis sounded so good. Sadly I just wanted to get to the end to find out why they were so nice to her. It all seemed fishy from the get go. It was more interesting as I got further into it.

The Thing We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent

Published: January 10, 2023
Bantam
Pages: 335
Genre: Suspense Thrillers
KKECReads Rating: 3/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Heather Darwent was raised in Yorkshire and moved to Scotland to study at the University of Edinburgh. The Things We Do to Our Friends is her debut novel.

“This is not that story.”

Clare is excited to be going away to university. She is ready for a fresh start. New friends. And distance. When she finds a group of friends, she thinks things will be better. She expects to be happy and secure until the secrets become a topic of conversation. Secrets that should have stayed in the dark.

This was a different book. It’s more on the literary side, with some thriller elements. But overall, it wasn’t exciting.

The character development was pretty decent. I was intrigued by all of the characters, individually and together. The dynamic was well-played, and the elements came together nicely.

It took me longer than usual to finish this book, and I kept waiting for the big twist to be revealed. There were some twists along the way, but this was not a typical thriller.

Claire has come to Scotland to be a new person her real name isn’t even Claire and what she did prior to moving to Scotland was so agree just her parents want nothing else to do with her. While going to school working at the bar and minding her business one night these fabulous girls sweep into her life and seem to not want to leave and although she starts to hang out with them and go to dinner parties these girls do not seem warm and welcoming but selfish and cult like with Tabatha being the leader. Before Claire knows that she is swept up into their life and the other when she learns the secret they been keeping and the project they want her help with she’s too far gone to get out in against her better judgment and all she promised not to do again against her better judgment she persist and Bing friends with these girls but trust me when I say you don’t. There were something I didn’t like about this book and it wasn’t just the things the girls did it was something else I found off putting and although I finish the book I must be honest and say I barely finished it . I kept wanting to put the book down and almost didn’t care how it ended. I felt like while I was reading the book something was being screamed at me to stop but not loud enough that I can hear it but loud enough that I just wanted to put the book down walk away and not come back I feel like I need a bath after reading this book and I can’t say why. I’ve never been affected by a book like this before and as far as books go it’s no more egregious than any other thriller and yet they were something way worse about this book. I’m sorry to the author but I want to give an honest review and that is my honest opinion. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The Things We Do For Our Friends is one of my favorite kind of novels. It was atmospheric, set in Scotland and tinged with dark academia. I really enjoyed reading this book and did not see some of the twists coming. All the characters are awful, but that’s why you can’t stop reading.

I was really excited to read this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything for me. It was slow and really hard for me to get into. I felt like I was just reading it to read it and not enjoying it as I went along for the ride. Sometimes you read a book that really doesn’t jive with you, I think that this book was that for me.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for me honest opinion.

This is dark, twisted, uncomfortable, and unexpected but not in the best of ways. Don't get me wrong I love a dark and twisty tale but this one rubbed me the wrong way most of the time. Instead of being on the edge of my seat, I was repulsed at times. I can't quite put my finger on why. The plot moved quickly and was really unique and interesting. The cast of characters was fresh and fairly well-developed. I really wanted to like it but something just didn't click for me.

The author is a wonderfully descriptive writer but the way she developed elements pushed me away instead of drawing me in. For example, the way she describes food. There is a lot of food in this book and it's portrayed in the most unappetizing way, almost to the point of making my stomach turn a bit. I just felt uncomfortable a lot of the time and not in a good way that you would want in a good dark thriller.

I also feel like the plot had holes. I would have loved for the main character's past to be revealed a little earlier as I was a bit confused over halfway as to what the first (very strange) chapter had to do with anything. The whole story line borders on bizarre for me. I found myself asking "why" a lot of the time, I just didn't see the point. Other than the two main characters, or maybe 3, were clearly psychopaths.

I think it's a good debut and it might hit better for some. It's worth a read if you like dark and twisty gossip girl vibes. I was bummed it didn't connect for me!

Thank you, Net Galley and Bantam for a e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

We spend this novel following Clare, a university student who is trying to reinvent herself, while also trying to feel included in her chosen friend group. She and her friends get involved in something that gets slightly out of hand and everything starts to fall apart.

This was okay. It was written in an interesting way that had me feeling the atmosphere, as well as letting me know that there was definitely something off about the main character/narrator. However, there were also times that I was completely confused as to how things were playing out and why.

Let me go ahead and state that Thrillers have not been my thing lately and I think that was reflected in my enjoyment here. While, I was fairly intrigued to see where the story went, I don't know that I was all that involved or cared much. It was an odd experience as a reader. I very much so felt on the fence about everything that happened.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, it had a Caroline Kepnes feel to it. I just couldn’t get myself into the story, it jumped around from her past to the friends she’s making in college and hinting at a crime she committed. It read like a monologue with occasional conversations. To not finish a book makes me feel like a terrible reviewer. However, I couldn’t do it at 40%. I just couldn’t spend any more time on the story. It has the potential to be an exciting psychological thriller, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the main character. My curiosity just wasn’t enough to finish the story. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my early review copy.

The Things We Do to Our Friends was really hard to engage in and really want to read. It is a thriller with an interesting narrator's perspective from Clare's with twists and turns throughout the book..overall it would be difficult for me to recommend as I didnt find the characters to be engaging or interesting enough to really keep my attention. A hard read through but maybe just not my cup of tea.

I tried to read this one but I couldn’t get into it. I felt like the scenery was too descriptive but I couldn’t get anything from the actual plot

Thank you for Random House for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This did not work for me. I found the narrative structure clunky and voice passive, so the story really slogged. I kept going because I was intrigued to find out what happened in the first chapter, but the action of the main story was so spaced out that it felt uneventful. And when things finally start happening, they are so weird. I’m all for messed up characters but these ones didn’t make sense. And after all that, I wished I hadn’t trudged through to get the backstory because what even was that. I wasn’t a fan, but lots of other reviewers seemed to like it, so maybe it’s just me

The blurb lead me to believe this would be a rich and emotional dark academia type thriller, but it fell short for me in both aspects. Though the descriptions of what we get of the university are amazing and beautiful, we don’t spend much time there. This book leans more into interpersonal relationships and the weight we put on friendships when we lack actual family support. The main character is understandably traumatized and desperate for a “found family.” Therefore, despite all instinct to run away, she dedicates herself to a toxic friend group. I definitely felt sorry for the main character, but because she so obviously ignored her instincts as a plot device, I had no sympathy for her. This book had a fair amount of grotesque situations, including dead animals and sexual assault against children. I would give it a 5 for its ability to make me uncomfortable. It was more ick for me than thriller. However, I don’t read horror and might be a ninny! All in all, I think the lack of a strong plot made this book just okay. I didn’t love it nor hate it. Ultimately a bit forgettable.

Excellent debut by this author who will be one to watch! Very dark and twisted psychological thriller that moves ever so slowly in the best way to keep you engaged and reading more to find out what happened (and what’s coming!) the narrator is sent to a new school in London to escape something in her past. Desperately wanting to belong, she is taken in by the popular clique and is enthralled and enraptured by their mystery and seductiveness. She soon comes to find out that her past is not truly in the past and that she has been chosen by this group for a special project. I won’t reveal more because that will ruin the twists and turns that come. get through the foreboding 1/3 of the book which is a lot of set up and carrots dropping and I promise the pay offs are worth it. There is a final twist at the end that perfectly wraps up the novel and the expert journey we have been on with these characters. While these themes have been explored before-dark academia , female obsession, etc-I can’t recall them being done so well and so fully. Excellent read and I can’t wait to see what this author does next! Pick it up when you are able or add it to your tbr! You won’t regret it.
Arc provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Edinburgh, Scotland, the perfect place for Clare to reinvent herself and find the life that she has always dreamed of. When she meets Tabitha, she knows that they were meant to be friends and jumps at the chance to become part of Tabitha's group. When Tabitha tells Clare that she has a project that she needs help with, Clare decides to help. When Clare realizes the truth of the project, she realizes that she is in too deep and wonders what will happen now?

3.75 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


I have really mixed feelings about this book. In many ways it’s a psychological suspense novel. In many ways it’s a story about friendship. In all ways, it is a twisted tale of psychopathy and the need to belong.

We are introduced to the novel by a prologue. A horrible rendition of seducing and then attacking a man by three unknown women. We don’t know who the women are, or the outcome of the man. We just know it is a savage and nasty incident.

Clare is attending St. Andrews in Edinburgh. She’s fled her grandmother’s home in Hull to start afresh. New image, new outlook. Anything to escape her past. But she still craves the belonging to group. She finds herself a part time job in a bar where she encounters Tabitha, Imogen and two brazen young men. Clare is immediately taken with the women and desires to be their friend. When both turn up in one of her lectures, she gravitates toward them until they start including her in their group.

Over time, Clare becomes one of their circle, though never on the complete inner side. She, like the others, completely craves Tabitha’s attention. So much so, that all of them are willing to do nearly anything to be in Tabitha’s good graces. When Tabitha concocts this business idea for the group, Clare goes along, tentatively at first, but later with gusto. After all, nothing is more important than Tabitha’s approval.

Until it all goes wrong.

It’s definitely a dark novel. Psychopathy and sociopathy abounds, but it is also a page turner, making you want to know where the story is headed. Which is why the mixed feelings. Part of me didn’t want to be entranced by this story of the darkness inside people and the lengths we might go to for revenge or satisfaction. However, it is well written and keeps you engaged with the friendship and the horrors of that friendship.

Again, not quite sure how I feel about it. But it was a good read.

The Things We Do to Our Friends was a great thriller with wonderful dark academia vibes. I liked reading from Clare's perspective, and the twists and turns throughout the book were very fun!

4-4.5 Stars. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is The Secret History meets Bunny with some freaky twists and turns. It’s in the Dark Academia genre but a little more psychological thriller. It made me feel icky at times, but it was so interesting!

It lost a half-star because at times the plot felt slightly disjointed and not as polished as some others, but this is a fantastic debut novel and the ending had my gripping my kindle for dear life.

Grab this when it’s published next week on January 10th!

This book was hard for me to get through. It was such a slow build, the characters were not likeable, and the plot was confusing and disorienting. Sorry, I can't recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for an advanced reader copy.

Trouble pasts and new endevours. Making new friends or enemies. Came across as very YA and I found myself having a hard time getting into any of the characters or storyline.
Put down, picked up, put down. I tried but just couldn't finish. Half way through I gave up
Hope you all enjoy it

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.