The Things We Do to Our Friends had an interesting premise, a captivating first chapter and a cast of characters. The main character, Tabitha, reminded me of Blaire from Gossip Girl. However; there were some slow parts for me and the pacing felt drawn out. I'd definitely try another one of Heather Darwents books, as she is a debut author.

I really wanted to love this book, but it wasn't for me. The plot was far-fetched, and so many of the characters' decisions didn't make sense. I was intrigued by the dark academia atmosphere, but there was barely any talk of anything school-related. Plus, for a story marked as a thriller, I was expecting more action. Cool idea, but a little clunky.

Expected publication: 1/10/23
The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent was a very disturbing yet captivating read with a jolt in the final pages that really made me gasp! It’s a thriller set at university in Edinburgh (I googled so many images while reading) and reminded me vaguely of The Secret History, a favorite of mine!
The story is told in protagonist Clare’s voice and this type of narration is my favorite delivery of a tale. Heather Darwent is an amazing writer with a very twisted mind! Loved it and looking forward to the author’s next book!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Heather Darwent for the opportunity to read this ARC!

“ Reimagining the classic themes of obsession and ambition with an original and sinister edge, The Things We Do to Our Friends is a seductive thriller about the toxic battle between those who have and those who covet—between the desire to truly belong and the danger of being truly known.” While this very well written, it is not a thriller or a mystery and that disappointed me somewhat. This is a story about unhinged women and the lengths they go to to accomplish their agendas. It wasn’t really my kind of story but I know others will probably find it appealing. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Ultimately this is a literary fiction book disguised as a thriller and I wish I'd known that going in. We follow Clare as she attempts to ingratiate herself with a popular clique in Edinburgh, only she quickly gets in too deep. Clare herself is a bit of an unreliable narrator throughout, both in what we find out about her past and in her minor descent into madness. I'm still not entirely sure what was real and what was imagined. Fans of The Secret History will likely enjoy this book, that just wasn't me.

*Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This is an excellent, and sometimes feminist even, addition to the growing dark academia genre. I was hooked on the story from the prologue and despite the slower chapters of the book where I think pacing could have been better, I raced to the finish to find out what happens in the end. This is a book about the brutality of female friendships, but also simply violence for violence’s sake. Clare’s head was interesting to be inside of throughout the story as you couldn’t quite tell whether she was the hero, the villain, or something in between. Ultimately, nothing is black and white and nothing is as it seems.
This was an excellent debut that, while at times was slowed down with sections that took me out of the story at times, I would recommend it to fans of The Secret History. I definitely want to see more feminist dark academia books in the future.

TTWDTOF is less of a thriller and more like the slow unraveling of unhinged women. Don't get me wrong- I enjoyed the book. But thriller fans may find this book to be too slow for their tastes.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed the lazy exploration of Clare's life before and after Tabitha. This book rolls out in phases and each phase gives you a bit more about who these people are.

The writing was lovely and the characters were interesting- their dynamic made me think of Cruel Intentions a bit.

With that being said, there was just *something* missing that I cannot quite put my finger on and for that I can't in good faith give out a five star rating- so we're sticking with four stars.

Claire is excited to start a new chapter of her life at a University in Scotland. She’s a bit of a fish out of water and doesn’t really relate to anyone until she spots the elliets of the school. Tabitha is the queen bee and used to things going her way. The include Claire on their nefarious activities.

I thought this book dragged a lot in places and it was boring. I didn’t like the characters, their actions were bizarre.

The Things We Do to Our Friends is available January 10,2023.


Thank you netgalley and randomhouse for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is extremely dark academia, with a lot of twists to keep the reader guessing. I wanted to see how it would all come together - a propulsive plot!

Initially I was super excited to pick this one up, as Edinburgh is my favorite city and the plot sounded intriguing, like The Secret History meets The World Cannot Give. The synopsis also reminded me quite a bit of the British TV show Clique, which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, this book was underwhelming to say the least.

First, the setting reads like Darwent looked up Edinburgh on Google Maps and wrote about the city based on that, for all the energy and ambiance it's imbued with. I was shocked to learn that she actually lives there! For a city with such old mystery and odd, dark soul, it doesn't carry over into the writing whatsoever. That was the first major disappointment for me.

Second, the characters were just... odd, and I don't think that's intentional. Clare, the narrator, is supposed to be a psychopath yet she's easily manipulated and doesn't seem very clever. Early in the story, I thought she was meant to be autistic because of her difficulty with reading people and fitting in, as psychopaths are meant to be quite good at adapting. Clare was needy, awkward, and desperate. Halfway through the book we learn that she's very pretty, which seems like the only reason Tabitha was interested in her in the first place. Tabitha herself is, as a character, inconsistent - she acts like a drunk sorority girl half of the time, blatantly desperate for attention, yet we're told that she's 'elegant' and 'magnetic'. The roommates and the boyfriend are just cardboard cutouts - I'm not entirely sure why they exist, except as a foil to the Shiver, but as they have no personalities, histories, or anything remotely memorable about them they are not very good foils.

The plot was... okay. I think a more skilled/experienced writer could have handled it better. This reads very much like a debut novel and sadly falls into many of the pratfalls of one. I couldn't believe Darwent got a $600k advance for this! It'll be marketed to death, surely.

There's no dark academia to speak of because the characters don't go to class after the first few chapters. Any comparisons to The Secret History stop at 'gang of bored rich kids at university get up to nefarious shit' and even The World Cannot Give was more compelling. A lot of the storyline and characters seem ripped right out of Clique, so just watch that and save yourself the trouble, it's far more satisfying.

This novel might appeal to readers who enjoy novels where things are very unclear at the start and you have to work as a reader to figure out what is happening. For me, however, it did not work well. While I expect to have questions as a reader (especially in a thriller), this novel was frustrating in its level of confusion. The main character presents herself as under construction, working to become the person she wants to be, but I had no sense of who she was at any point in the story. I often found myself wondering if we had switched narrators, as the character shifted so much from one point to another. I also found the plot events difficult to understand on their own, or in the whole of the story.

Overall, this wanted to be a novel that explored toxic friendships, but for me was just a study of confusion.

Great debut. Dark twisty view of friendship. What is the price for fitting in? How much do you need to change yourself to make and maintain friendships? I love a twisted dark novel with a complicated protagonist. This is a fun, albeit slightly disturbing, read.

"Edinburgh, Scotland: a moody city of labyrinthine alleyways, oppressive fog, and buried history; the ultimate destination for someone with something to hide. Perfect for Clare, then, who arrives utterly alone and yearning to reinvent herself. And what better place to conceal the dark secrets in her past than at the university in the heart of the fabled, cobblestoned Old Town?

When Clare meets Tabitha, a charismatic, beautiful, and intimidatingly rich girl from her art history class, she knows she's destined to be friends with her and her exclusive circle: raffish Samuel; shrewd Ava; and pragmatic Imogen. Clare is immediately drawn into their libertine world of sophisticated dinner parties and summers in France. The new life she always envisioned for herself has seemingly begun.

And then Tabitha reveals a little project she's been working on, one that she needs Clare's help with. Even though it goes against everything Clare has tried to repent for. Even though their intimacy begins to darken into codependence. But as Clare starts to realize just what her friends are capable of, it's already too late. Because they've taken the plunge. They're so close to attaining the things they want. And there's no going back."

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Clare is an outsider that has arrived in Edinburgh for a change. Her name isn't her given name, but Clare is the name she has chosen to escape her past. A past that has left her parents to shut her out and act as if she never existed. As a teenager she had made a choice that could never be forgiven. A decision that made her and her two friends forced to change their names and move away. Damage was in the rubble of her destruction but all Clare wants now is a fresh start.

Clare is determined to start fresh and make a change for herself. She wants to be a better person and have friends and do right. Yet sometimes life just doesn't let that happen. The Things we do to Our Friends is proof of that as Clare is drawn into a group of friends she finds hard to resist. Especially Tabitha.

Clare's fascination with Tabitha is near borderline obsessive but not quite single white female thankfully. The rest of the group: Ava, Imogen, and Samuel in their own ways are as fascinating and unique. However, as the story continues Clare begins to realize all that polish and shine is just a rub off from the presence of Tabitha.

Tabitha is always planning and plotting. A lot of the time her plans and plotting do not include Clare until one day they do. As the friendship develops more so between the four, Clare is pulled deeper into Tabitha's near madness which she eagerly seems to go along with. Until it becomes too much.

A plan becomes too much for Clare and as a result she is attacked viciously by the person the group is after. The group had decided to take on the 'job' of helping wives that suspect their husbands have been cheating to reveal the betrayal. This time though is all too much for Clare and she decides she wants out.

When it comes to getting out for Clare though, it isn't so easy. Clare starts to spiral into near madness that she feels is inflicted by Tabitha. Clare decides she has to do whatever it takes to get away no matter what the end result.

The Things we do to our friends is a spiral twisting from the past where Clare's story and what she has done is revealed. From there we are brought in to the times in Edinburgh with the four and in between this all the reader gets random twists of the present where Clare is married now and reflecting on the past. The book itself in some parts was a difficult read as there never seemed to be a rhyme or reason to some of the actions of the characters. The reader is just left to assume that these characters are implied psychopaths and just leave it at that. In the end I am still not sure what I think of this book. It was not my favorite and not a book that lingers with me for any positive reason. However, for a debut it is certainly a unique jump into this world. Until next time, happy reading!

SO GOOD! Basically from the first page I couldn't put this down. Darwent is an incredibly talented writer and I was dying to know what happens on every page. This book is weird- the characters and the storyline are equally bizarre but I loved it nonetheless. I cannot wait to force this upon my customers in our little gay bookstore next year!

This book took A WHILE to really get going. I didn’t get really invested in the story until about 50% of the way through. I wasn’t necessarily bored in the first half, but I was antsy for something to happen. Once things started happening, it became a lot more intriguing and I started flying through the pages. There were some interesting twists and things I didn’t see coming, but there was no big shock for me. But even still, I liked where the story went. It made perfect sense to me. Character wise, Claire and Ava were the two standouts for me. I found them very interesting and complex. I did not feel the magnetic pull towards Tabitha that I think I was supposed to. I will say, I REALLY enjoyed the prologue and epilogue. They were a perfect set up and ending to this book. Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. I think it was a very unique story. I just think the pacing was a little slow at the beginning and I needed more from certain characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my! I couldn't put the book down. However, it was so alarming and bizarre that I don't know how to give it accurate feedback.. Definitely, it s well written; the characters come to life as does the story. I appreciated the opportunity to read it and I hope I don't have friends like those in the book AND I know I'm not like them.

The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent is a dark, atmospheric literary suspense novel. We meet Clare, who recently moved to Edinburgh, and clearly has some secrets from her past. She meets Tabitha, and the rest of the clique, and is suddenly admitted to the group. As they build their relationships everything goes off the rails.

This book is a slow slow burn with a lot of chaos. It was unique and enjoyable at parts but overall feels like more of a slog for me. The characters being so vicious and unlikable made it difficult to want to invest in them and their stories. The cover is fantastic though - very enticing and eye catching.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for three ARC - The Things we do to our Friends is out now!

The Things We Do to Our Friends was a dark, strange, twisted take on toxic, obsessive friendships and how far we’ll go for our friends. While I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller, there were some strange twists and turns that kept me reading. The story of Clare and the Shivers felt uneven, at times I couldn’t wait to keep reading and other times I found myself getting bored. There was not enough character development or background given for me to get invested in any of the characters and what happens to them. I’m still not sure how I feel about this book but if you like dark books set in the world of academia or stories of toxic friend groups, definitely give this book a read.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This book is, woah. Clare is looking to start over after a past that is only hinted at. She looks for an ideal group of friends and slowly falls in with charismatic Tabitha and her group of friends. Clare does everything she can to become part of the group and finally Tabitha brings her in on “the project.” While not exactly what Clare wants, she dives in and joins, and even thrives. Until she doesn’t. Then Clare’s past starts to pop back up and her life spirals. And then, one final twist at the end. This is a dark, twisty thriller that explores obsession, belonging and constantly striving for more. While the main part of the story is when the group is in college, it’s the “current” timeline that really brings the entire story together and kind of sends shivers down your back. I would definitely recommend this one.