An absolutely brilliant debut novel. Not at all what I expected and has left me gripped and now sad it’s finished! Totally recommend this and cannot wait to see what is next for this talent.

I've never read from this author before, and thanks to Net Galley, I finally got the chance. I thought this book was smart and brutal at times and had that dark academia vibe that I always love. I found Claire interesting, and I wanted to learn more about her sordid past and her dendansy towards evil deeds. The setting was fun, and I really enjoyed this and finished it in a day. I didn't really connect with the other characters. I found them all wooden in comparison to Claire and how she was written. The ending I felt was a little flat for my taste, and I would have preferred something more direct. It was a good book, but I did find myself bored on more than once. This is a slow burn, and for me, the burn doesn't burn bright at the end. Still, I would recommend that if you are new to thrillers, you will love this.

Claire just wants to put her past behind her a past that is more colorful than most, and she finally gets that chance at Edinburgh College. A place to start fresh where no one knows her or what she's capable of. She wants to meet friends but only the right ones. The smart and talented and rich all go to school here, and soon she is intangled with Tabitha and her friends all rich, beautiful, and devious in their own ways. What starts as fun will end in blood and torment. Tabitha has a plan for all of them, and Claire is dead center in it, and what can she do she can't run because the secret Claire has been hiding, they know.. and they will use it if they have to. What would you do to have friends? How deadly would you play to keep them?.

Clare arrives at Edinburgh University determined to reinvent herself and make friends. She is surprised and delighted to be drawn into the world of charismatic Tabitha, who leads a glamorous, wealthy life in with interesting friends and holidays in France. I felt for Clare as she tries not to make any faux pas among people who move with the ease and lustre of the upper middle classes.

The reason for Tabitha's friendship becomes clear. She has identified Clare as someone who can help in her idea to wreak revenge on erring men.

An enjoyable page turner with a feminist slant.

I struggled with this, it took me much longer than a book usually does. The premise was good and the suspense was there but somehow it was all a bit forgettable. Maybe some of it was too unbelievable. Would students really have acted in this way. I must admit I was curious all though as to what had happened to Tabitha - was she in jail? hospital? I wasn't sure. And of course the why of what we read in the prologue. It did heat up towards the end and I read this a lot quicker to find out what happened. Strange book, and I'm not sure what I really think. #netgalley #thethingswedotoourfriends

Clare is determined to use her time at university as an opportunity to reinvent herself as the type of person she always knew she could be. Tabitha and her social circle are just the type of friends Clare needs to help her on her way. The trouble is, they're all hiding secrets they'd sooner forget.

I didn't like any of the characters in this book - not one - and I don't think that's a bad thing. The story is dark and unsettling. I felt unnerved and uneasy the whole way through and there are some particularly unpleasant scenes.It is testament to the authors skills that I had such a reaction.

I could have done with a bit more of the book being given over to the ending though, as we did take some time to get there.

Thanks to the author, Penguin General UK and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

A tale of toxic friendship and crossing of boundaries between female friends at university, An enjoyable thriller, but not quite up my street

-"Being with them made me feel like I was part of something. craved them when I wasn't there with them.
When I saw them look towards each other and share secret glances, I was desperate to be involved.
When I heard someone talking about them, I felt almost drunk on the sense of superiority that came with being who we were. We were so special."

I really enjoyed this story, flying through the first 60% in a day! The friend group was intriguing and I wanted to get to know each of them so much more. I personally love pretentious, rich, unlikeable characters and it did not disappoint.

The main character Clare is an unreliable, very unstable character and the things going through her head were shocking and amazing to read! The plot was great and the slow demise of ‘the shiver’ (what they called the group, stands for a group of sharks) made for a great to read.

It was immersive and had me turning the pages, I would recommend this for lovers of unhinged, toxic obsessive friendships. Dark academia style.

The only reason it wasn’t a 5 star read for me is I wish the author chose to show us the unhinged side to Tabitha rather than us just hear it from Ava at the end. I wanted her to propose a really dark act to Clare in her singsong voice to see for myself how twisted she supposedly was.
Or…maybe she wasn’t the twisted one…maybe Ava and Clare are the unhinged couple

A great read. Really enjoyed some of the underlying themes in this book. A great illustration of how childhood experiences shape how a person interacts with the world and the nature relationships they form. Some dark and suspense filled moments interwoven throughout as well as a few shock moments. The author writes well and keeps you wanting to read just a little bit more!

A story filled with twists and turns. We follow Clare, a History of Art student at the University of Edinburgh, who is slightly awkward and just eager to make some new friends. She meets Tabitha, a force to be reckoned with who takes her under her wing, but not everything is as it seems. The mean girl we all love to hate! Filled with drama and twists, the book had me hooked! It had surprising turns, and left me wanting more. Great read if you want some drama and suspense.

The Things We Do to Our Friends is a dark academia/toxic relationship-type story. I won’t mess around and get straight to it – this story did not work for me. It felt too long and convoluted, it could have actually been about 100 pages shorter and would have gotten to the meat of the story far quicker. None of the characters were remotely likable, which I think was entirely the point, but I personally need that connection point when reading a novel, something that connects me with the heart of the story, it didn’t have that for me.

Clare has moved to Edinburgh to study Art at Edinburgh University. It’s a fresh start for her after leaving her granny in Hull to make the leap of faith. She previously lived in France with her parents but an incident referred to by Clare as the episode resulted in her being estranged from her parents. She’s determined to make a go of things, make new friends, and not appear too outlandish. She soon discovers how expensive university is so the first thing on her list is to find a job.

She gets a job in a bar in the Haymarket, she has no cocktail-making experience, but she professes to be a quick learner. Finn, the manager takes her on but makes it clear that she can’t disappear back home at Christmas time as it’s one of their busiest periods. He seems to show an evident disdain for students but all the same, he seems like the most real character. He doesn’t pretend to be someone he isn’t. He’s gritty and struck true to Scottish men in general, truth be told I thought he was too good for Clare, and she should’ve counted herself lucky.

Clare has always wanted to be a part of a tight-knit friendship group. She hungers to be noticed by The Shiver as Finn calls them. Tabitha the ringleader, she’s stunningly beautiful and Clare needs to find some way of catching her eye. The group consists of Tabitha, Imogen, Ava, and Samuel. They are the biggest bunch of arseholes, that you would have the displeasure of meeting. Real mean girls/boy vibe. On the surface of it, they appear to have their lives in order and have everything but deep down they are deeply flawed.

Tabitha has the perfect business plan in mind that she reveals to Clare on a trip to France. She essentially imagines a honey-trapping business model. After some deliberation, Clare decides that she’s in. It proves to be a plan that is fuelled by Tabitha’s hatred for her father who is cutting her off financially after University and her LOVE for money. The whole thing is hugely toxic as is the relationship Clare finds herself a part of.

Ultimately I found myself more in love with the story setting. I love Edinburgh, its rich history and its quaint little alleyways that almost transport you to another world. The story, however, failed to leave any impression even with the impressively beautiful writing.

"Secretly, I quite liked it – the idea of us as witches. Something to bind us, something wicked."

Toxic friendships, feminist revenge, all set against the dark and bewitching backdrop of Edinburgh's windy streets. Clare has moved here to study Art History, but also to start over, and become someone new. She falls in with the appropriately named Shiver - a group of beautiful, rich and fascinating fellow students. Though she doesn't know it yet, The Shiver have big plans for Clare - but they don't realise that she is hiding secrets of her own.

The Things We Do To Our Friends hhas a wonderful premise, but unforunately, the execution fell flat for me. There's a lot to like here - the setting and vibes are great, but where the novel flails is its characters. Clare is, on paper, fascinating - we know she's got a dark history and I wish this had been played up more. She's not enigmatic, or scary, or unhinged... she's just flat, and prone to fits of rage. This made it very hard to connect with her as a character and dragged the book down for me.

The plot, as I mentioned, is rich, inventive, and doesn't force the read to suspend their disbelief like many novels of this genre do. The project put forward by The Shiver is one I could easily see other rich girls pulling together, and it provides Darwent a space to mine questions of gender, agency and class - each to varying degrees of success. But it, unfortunately, failed to fully captivate me in its execution and I felt like getting through the story was a bit of a slog.

Well written, with plenty of promise, but lacking a spark for me - though I'd still seek out future books written by the author.

I made it about 20% into this book and I found myself simply not caring. Clare was a dull protagonist to follow and I didn't care that she was trying and failing to make friends and joining a potentially toxic friendship group. The setting of Edinburgh is normally one that I love (it's my favourite city in the world), but this book felt like it could have been set anywhere. It was very generic. I couldn't bring myself to continue because I knew I wasn't going to like it.

I wasn't a big fan of this book. The characters were all pretty unlikeable and the final pay off in the plot wasn't worth the investment.

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.

This is a thrilling read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

There is a lot in this book that keeps you reading, wanting to know what the main character has done in her past to result in the present situation she finds herself in. You can't help but continue, trying to piece together the parts you know and the parts that have yet to be revealed.

Will I ever learn that comparisons to The Secret History never stack up. This is definitely more thriller than literary. A good concept but not executed brilliantly. Plot points came and went very quickly meaning I never quite believed anyones actions.

I had fun reading this but think it will be quickly forgotten.

The things we do to our friends is a Psychological thriller set in an atmospheric Edinburgh. You follow Clare through the struggles of fitting into university life and moving on from a dark past. The book opens with Clare’s dark secret and keeps you guessing from that point. It took me a little while to realise what was happening this book kept me guessing at every turn!
Darkly delicious and perfect for the long winter nights!

Description 🔖

Clare is looking for a blank slate and the opportunity for a fresh start and so she enrols at Edinburgh University where she knows nobody.

Then she meets the charming and filthy rich, Tabitha. Clare is quickly taken under her wing and is swept along into the world of summers in France, champagne on rooftops and amounts of money she’s unable to fathom.

Clare is confident that she has found her group of friends and her new life has begun. But then Tabitha reveals the project she’s working on; which can’t go ahead without Clare. Clare doesn’t want to go along with the project, but she has no choice. Tabitha knows her secret.

General Thoughts 🤔

Firstly, I’ll forewarn that this is likely to be a pretty short review. Me and this book did not click and I found reading it a struggle. It felt like I read an entire book of nothing and then there was a reveal at the end that was predictable and not really that exciting.

The book was supposed to be dark but it wasn’t that that I disliked about it because that’s my jam, it’s what I’m into. However I don’t think that there was much that was particularly dark in the story.

Characters 👫👭👬

Clare was the main character and it was obvious that she was very troubled, but the reason for this was dragged on and on and I don’t feel like I truly understand her now, having finished the book. She was made out to have anger problems and be violent, however she actually came across as quite weak I found. It may have been because that’s what she wanted to appear to be to Tabitha and the rest of the group, but if that was the case, it wasn’t obvious enough for me to draw that conclusion.

Finn was really the only character that I could have liked in the story, but he was very much on the outskirts of the plot. I’m all for unlikeable characters, in fact I quite like them. But I didn’t enjoy disliking these characters. They were all superficial, lacked depth and were dare I say it; a bit boring.

Writing Style ✍️

I really don’t like to use the “B” word for a book, but this book did genuinely feel quite boring. I didn’t think that much happened overall and so progressing through each chapter was like waiting for something that never ended up materialising.

I would have liked to have found out about or at least had more information about Clare’s past earlier on and more often throughout the story. I think it would have helped with having some feeling (positive or negative) about her character and her actions.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

It’s sad that this book and I were not meant to be. Unfortunately we did not connect and I struggled through about 70% of the story. I didn’t have anything in common with the characters and couldn’t draw on my own experiences to relate to them which probably influenced how I felt about them and their stories. I do think that there are a lot of readers that will like the tone and style of this debut author and it’s 100% personal preference that it wasn’t to my taste. I hope that this book finds its people and it has lots of success.

Creepy, intense, dark and a completely unpredictable debut thriller offered by Heather Darwent!

Clare heads to University in Edinburgh, a chance to reinvent herself in a new place and new city . Originally from Paris, then Hull, she works to adapt to her new life and lifestyle, she quietly attends her lectures and classes, dulling her accent so she can disappear into the surroundings of her new home; getting a job in the local bar, perfecting her cocktail making abilities and befriending the owner. Secretly she loathes her roommates for their boring originality which she fears will lull her own personality, she craves excitement from her company, choosing her friends carefully, a spark that can fan the flames of her new life; and soon enough, she meets Tabitha.

Tabitha and her clique including sidekick Imogen, oligarch Ava and mysterious Samuel bring a bubble of excitement to Clare's life but at what cost? Tabitha's eccentric project for Clare brings back memories of her dark past, that she has tried so hard to escape. This time, to her horror, she realises her new found friends have no intention of letting her go.

The first chapter had my heart in my mouth, talk about setting a scene! I think that alone will make you realise if you're going to enjoy the book or not. It was a slow burn in the first half with the build up and I was not completely invested until 45% of the way in, I wasn't sure where we were heading with the plot (not a negative because I was intrigued and the writing is strong) but the last third of the book was especially gripping and I read it within a day!

None of the characters are likeable, and I think that worked here; they are all so disturbing you want to know who is more undone than the other in their eccentricity and it keeps you interested to find out what happens next.

It was a unique concept, unconventional and mysterious and I did enjoy it. Strong debut!

Thank you to @netgalley @RandomHousePublishingGroup @Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Get your copy on 12th January!

Three stars for the quality of the writing, which was really good. I liked the synopsis but the execution didn't do it for me.