I was gifted this eARC in exchange for an honest review, so thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for this read!

With undertones of dark academia, this is a mystery story that revolves around Clare, a young woman who embarks on her undergraduate degree at the university of Edinburgh. She has a dark past that is constantly alluded to throughout, but not entirely revealed until the end; a secret that has left her practically emancipated from her parents, and fairly alone in the world. Her life gets more complicated when she finds herself befriended by a strange but glamorous group of friends, with wealth, prestige, and a lot of secrets themselves.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. It was well written and very accessible to most readers. The pacing was mostly good, though there were some parts that felt a little too slow, and a little too long. I enjoyed the fact that we were fed bits and pieces of Clare's history, rather than being introduced to the truth of it from the very beginning. The prologue was particularly strong, and really engaged me as a reader; it left me wondering and wanting to discover more.

The whole concept was interesting, and I think Edinburgh was absolutely the perfect setting for this kind of tale. The dynamics of the group were fascinating, and the underlying ominous tone that was a constant throughout the novel was compelling.

Though parts of this were very good, the ending felt a little rushed and underwhelming to me. Clare at times felt too naive, too easily drawn in, when we do consider her past. Her absolute need to be liked and to make friends was at odds with the disinterest she had in anyone that wasn't a part of this glittering group, in some ways. More than that, although I found the characters interesting enough, I didn't particularly like any of them. I also felt some of their motives were not fleshed out enough; namely with Tabitha. So much of what she did was incredibly unhinged, but I also couldn't understand where she was coming from with her actions a lot of the time. What drove her? I truly don't really know.

I would give this one a 3.5 out of 5, all things considered. An enjoyable read, and I would recommend it for those who like this genre. One other note - I really liked the cover (with the snake), but having seen the other cover (the girl, the flowers) I wish they'd stuck with that one! It's gorgeous.

Kept me on my toes the entire time! Great for any thriller lover- or someone who is just getting into the genre!

Brilliant twisty thriller that had me hooked from the get go. I was guessing throughout and loved the way it threw me and made me doubt what I was thinking! Feminist and thrilling, absolutely iconic read. Cannot recommend it enough!

This book pulled me in from the very beginning and I was soon lost in a world of toxic friendships and secrets, all set in the dark corners of Edinburgh's grandiose New Town. Darwent writes young women so well, and captures the heart of Edinburgh as her gothic backdrop.

opens with a banger of a prologue, and this sets the mood and the tone for the rest of the novel. the serpentine excavation into the past to shed light into the mechanics of the present is something i adore, and it works well here, with enough teasing to keep a reader hooked till the denounement. grim, dark, tense. the ending however does feel a little lackluster with no real resolution, a silent fade when i expected screams, confetti and blood. certain plot threads being nothing more than aesthetics.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for supplying me with an early reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

Clare wants a new start when she starts university in Edinburgh where nobody knows her and the constraints of her past will not affect who she can be. To be self-efficient and feel like you belong surely isn’t too much to ask for? Then she finds a group that provide excitement, escape from mundanity, and that enigmatic dynamic that makes you want to be accepted and they do so want her. How intoxicating. But all friendships have unique dynamics, some more complicated than others. I guess a lot of friendships are based on how much that works for us.

Do we really know our strengths and our true selves? Fighting against who we naturally are is exhausting. Fighting against who we are told we are is confusingly soul destroying. A chilling novel that explores many levels of nature versus nurture. An addictive read that could easily produce a sequel!

Compelling read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

Twisty, dark, harrowing and compelling. Complete thrilling. I loved it. Despite everything that happened in the book, it made me want to go to Edinburgh 😂

This book is described as The Secret History meets Promising Young Woman which grabbed my interest. I found it to be a great page-turner. The main character, Claire, is taken under the wing of a group of Edinburgh university students she calls The Shiver. Tabitha is the Shiver's queen and Claire is in awe of her. She's pulled into a plan by Tabitha and her friends which quickly turns dark. And Claire is hiding her own dark past. Is anyone who they seem?

There are plenty of twists and the plot is well executed. The only thing I found annoying was how long it took to get to the reveal of what Tabitha wanted from Claire. A solid read otherwise.

Oh wow! I was so so excited to read this book, and I was thrilled when my request was accepted.

I was certainly not disappointed, I read this thriller in one day, it should have a warning attached to it, please note, will distract you from going about your day!

The things we do to our friends is a good debut novel from Heather Darwent. A slow paced dark academia story focusing on toxic friendships and the twisted things people will do to fit in with their peers. Can you ever really escape your past or hide from your secrets?
Atmospheric and character driven this was sinister and darkly entertaining.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The perfect dark academia read for autumn! Finally a book set in a Scottish university and with such a strange but intriguing group of "friends". It follows them over their time studying at uni and their extracurricular activities with a possibly darker nature. I love how it is told from the point of view of older Clare so you have hints at the events throughout and the references to her childhood that is only revealed at the end. Amazing story and characters!

[Proof copy provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review]

If you like dark academia (think 'The Secret History', or 'We Were Villians) this will probably be right up your street. It's quite a slow burner, heavy on the characterisations and descriptions up until the 30% mark, where the plot really gets going. It's set in Edinburgh and follows a group of rich English girls, who are "studying" art theory but have big plans for what they want to do after university, including scamming men, to prove (or otherwise) their fidelity to their rich wives.

I liked this for the majority of the book although I found it a slow start. I also love Edinburgh (so whilst it IS true about the entitled rich English population who go to UofE, i found some of the scathing remarks about the architecture and streets a little sad; Edinburgh is beautiful!). That said, I don't think any of the characters were meant to be likeable so, maybe it's not bad I disagree.

I think the crime aspect and especially the "reveal", could have been a bit more dramatic, personally, because by that point I just wanted to get to the end of the book and nothing surprised me anymore. Overall I enjoyed it, but it's not one I would rush to pick up again, although it has made me more interested in the dark academia genre as a whole.

An intriguing premise with an atmospheric and alluring description of stunning Edinburgh, which forms the background of the academia setting. Our working class protagonist gets caught in a wealthy group of students’ clique, but their interest comes at a price. They’re setting up a honey-trap service for cheating husbands and our protagonist is the perfect bait for this service. It’s all funs and games until a husband goes too far and the lines between honey-trapping and escorting blur.
I’ll be honest here. I didn’t like this 😬 Pretty, white privileged young women making money off other peoples’ misery. The protagonist is super judgemental and thinks she’s above everyone else including her average flatmates, however she’s not exactly a charismatic anti-hero. Instead she reads like a heroine and as if the author meant us to sympathise with her but it doesn’t quite work. Instead her blind spots are obvious and she takes no responsibility for her actions. In the now narrative she hints and tries to intrigue with “and then things went worse than expected”, but it doesn’t quite work. A very meh debut with a stunning cover.

The Things We Do To Our Friends toys with you from start to finish, setting up your expectations before whirling you around and sending you, off balance, in another direction. It's a spell-binding debut that artfully balances the fearful state of being young and fitting in with the fear of darker, weirder impulses. Things that not every teenager feels, perhaps.

Our protagonist Clare arrives at Edinburgh University trying to literally and figuratively make herself, and soon falls in with the impossibly glamorous Tabitha and her small clique of rich friends. It's a world that's dangerous for Clare in the unwritten rules she has to navigate, but also the dangerous honeytrap scheme they start running together, Darwent seems to ratchet the tension up almost effortlessly, and you're never quite sure whether Clare wants to be Tabitha or wants to be with Tabitha - or what Tabitha wants either. What We Do To Our Friends is sticky, dark, and needle-sharp - like pretty little teeth cracking a creme brûlée.

A darkly atmospheric read, 'The Things We Do To Our Friends' mixes a group of students at Edinburgh University and creates a toxic stew. Heather Darwent does a beautiful job of maintaining taut tension and a sense of unease throughout. It's an enthralling read and I look forward to whatever Darwent does next.

2.5 stars

i wanted to love this book, with the promise of a thrilling dark academia themed story. however i didn’t quite get the same feeling as other books i’ve enjoyed in either genre. the setting of edinburgh was dark and atmospheric, but the characters weren’t compelling and the plot wasn’t all that exciting to me. the first half of the book was a slog to get through. there wasn’t much interaction between characters either and it was definitely plot rather than character driven despite its slow pace. the last half was more exciting with a few interesting twists, but the ending felt anticlimactic and i ended the book not caring much about the story or characters at all. i’m sure lots of people will enjoy it but it wasn’t for me.

I enjoyed this complex tale of toxic friendships and revenge set in Scotland. I liked how the characters had autonomy and agency and weren't your usual cliched posh students. I definitely was kept guessing by the plot and intrigued but I felt the ending fizzled out somewhat.

Nevertheless an enjoyable read, thank you for the eARC.

"The things we do to our friends" is darkly refreshing. It tells the story of Clare, a young student that arrives in Edinburgh to start University, but most importantly to reinvent herself. With a fresh slate, she gets the chance to be whoever she wants to be and to make friends with whomever she chooses, and her choices are interesting ones.

I loved the pace of this book, goes backwards and forwards, is full of tension and also full of fun relaxed times. Heather Darwent's writing is great at pulling you in and keeping you engaged.

Characters are not lovable, that is never the point. The main perspective of this book is about being honest about events and feelings that most people fight hard to hide. About toxic friendships and love/hate relationships. About trying to run from your past just to find yourself in the exact same place as before.

I called it darkly refreshing because of its honesty. Clare is angry and full of rage, but she pretends that everything is fine (also to herself). And the way that anger escapes when it can no longer be contained... is not pretty, it never is. This book is a feminist story not because of male-hating. This book is a feminist story because society expects that women are always happy and agreeable, and human nature is neither, not even for women.

Content warning of abuse, rape, violence, torture and suicide. But please note that the focus of this story is not on these events, you will not read chapters and hundreds of pages on these topics in detail. The focus is on how different characters deal with horrible and tragic incidents.

Overall I would absolutely recommend this book, it is dark, honest and completely captivating.

Thank you NetGalley, Heather Darwent, and Penguin General UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Things We Do To Our Friends will be published in January 2023.

Astronomical. I had the highest of hopes for this book and it delivered on every count. Heather Darwent's writing is as strong as they come, picking out minor details that no ordinary person would notice. Yet every detail layers on top of one another to create the richest of settings, the darkest of characters, and the most fantastic of plots.