I really wanted to like this one. It has every element that normally makes a good book for me - takes place in the UK, college setting, wealthy characters, and forming friendships, however this one was just a bit too dark and twisty for me. The book was entirely too unorganized for me to follow and just TOO dark - which is saying a lot as someone who generally gravitates towards thriller and horror novels. I wanted to like this one so bad but I just couldn't keep up. Put me in kind of a reading funk! Probably won't be recommending this one.

I put this one aside several times and I’m finally admitting to myself I will not finish this one. Sorry. Just not for me, Thanks for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

It didn’t keep my attention enough. The cover is amazing and I was expecting more. It started off great but definitely dropped towards the middle and end for me. It was good just not love

I will admit to the fact that I was first interested in this book solely off the cover art and title. I am going to give this book 3 stars. Not because it was bad though! I did enjoy it but it felt slow-paced to me. I love thrillers and while this book had some thrill I felt it fell a little bit short in some character development. I didn’t find a lot of the characters likable. For example, Clare feels very attached to people who were treating her poorly. Overall, the main plot of the book is a great idea.

This book started out with a lot of promise, and it's hard for me to put my finger on where it fell a bit flat for me. I suspect it's a case of "it's not the book, it's me" - a combination of having read too many psychological thrillers recently, and my mood when I read it. I usually enjoy a well-written dark and twisty book. Also, I might have reached the point where I've "aged out" of reading books that center on young adults who are in or just out of college. I suspect it's a bit of "all of the above" in this instance - because I'm sure a few years ago I'd have loved it. It's well-written, it is indeed dark & twisty, it has an unreliable narrator. There aren't many likeable characters, but that's not a requirement for me. So while it ended up being a 3-star read for me, I strongly suspect it's a 4- or 5-star read for lots of other readers. I'd definitely recommend anyone who likes those things to give it a try.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Clare is looking for a new life when she meets Tabitha in her history class. Only things are not what they seem. I struggled to connect with this book. It's set in a university and I'm well past that time in my life. The story also just took too long to get going for my taste. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with a slow burn this is for you. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Terrific suspense debut by author Heather Darwent. Well written, excellent settings, character development is off the chart and an overall enjoyable read. Definitely takes a hard look at covering whah others have and friendship!
Highly recommend!

LOVE this book. It was incredibly fast paced and kept me guessing from the beginning. It was extremely well written and a great quick read.

The Things We Do to Our Friends is about Clare, a young woman who is new to university in Scotland. She makes a friend named Tabitha in one of her classes. Soon she is sucked into the world with Tabitha and her group of wealthy friends. This all takes a dark turn in many ways.
I found the book to be a little bit slow, but I enjoyed the overall story. The way the author writes is very descriptive and beautiful. I can definitely picture all of the settings that she writes about. I say it’s worth it to give this book a chance, and I will more than likely read more books by this author. Thank you NetGalleyand the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions on my own.

This was not the psychological thriller I was expecting. Dark academia yes, but too slow paced and repetitious for me. I had a hard time relating to the characters and the back and forth timelines was disjointed in places making it hard to follow.
The writing was good & the storyline line compellingly but overall not my cup of tea.

Thank you #TheThingsWeDotoOurFriends, #NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, & Heather Darwent for the ARC. My review is strictly voluntary.

Clare is desperate to reinvent herself and hide from a dark secret that she is trying to keep. When she arrives at school in Scotland, she quickly falls in with a posse of exclusive friends so different from her past life. But things are not as they seem with the group, especially after Tabitha asks for Clare's help on a project that threatens everything that Clare has tried to move past. This was a dark, twisty, psychological story. I loved the setting and greatly appreciated the way that Clare's history intersected with this new group of enigmatic friends.

The cover was beautiful and I love dark academia and a good thriller, but this just fell flat for me. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish it.

A thriller with a dual timeline will always have a place in my heart. I appreciated how twisty this book is and the concept of how these women were trying to bring down men was very intriguing.

The cover and title intrigued me but I just couldn't get attached to the story enough to finish the book. I was expecting Sally Rooney characters with thriller energy--and maybe I would have gotten there--but I couldn't engage enough with the early pages to get to that point. A better-paced beginning might have helped me buy in sooner.

Not every book about psychopaths at a university needs to be compared to The Secret History!!!!!!!

This was a bad book and I did not get past 50%.

Thank you so much for the early read! THE THINGS WE DO TO OUR FRIENDS was an enjoyable thriller. I love anything with dark academia undertones and liked how the reveals of MC’s mysterious past played out.

Thanks to Ballantine & NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was just kind of ... meh. We have Clare, a university student looking to reinvent herself after a sordid secret from her high school past leaves her disowned by her parents. She sees this friend group, endlessly referred to as a "shiver of sharks," from afar and sort of hangs around their edges until they accept her. They're all pretty gross but beautiful, and she gets way too caught up with them, especially their de facto leader, Tabitha. Tabitha gets them all involved in a scheme that seems way too mature and complicated for students that age. No one does any schoolwork.

This was basically a CKOne commercial brought to life. If you like reading about pretty people doing shitty things, this one is for you!

The cover for this is absolutely beautiful and it drew me in, but unfortunately the story fell flat for me. I ended up DNFing this at 77% because I didn't care where the story was going or what was going on with the characters. I will give the author props for writing such a dark debut, but the main character felt like a classic "I'm an awkward and ugly weirdo, but everyone loves me for no reason" YA trope. I would absolutely check out what this author writes in the future, even if it is similar to this.

If you enjoy dark academia settings, this is for you. Honestly confusing to follow despite being repetitive and just seemed dark and vulgar for the sake of it.

I did not end up reading this novel. The rating is not a reflection of the story itself, but rather an indication that other books/stories dominated my interest and reading time. Which I think is an important factor when selecting your next read.