Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

Hedgehogs, humor, and hope. What other ‘h’ words could you possibly want in a book?

Prickly Company was a delightful read with complex characters and a lovable setting in Hilltop Place. I didn’t think I would ever enjoy a book that began with hedgehogs, “pooey shoes”, and a dead cat, but Prickly Company was charming and well-done right off the bat. Not to mention, I learned the adorable fact that baby hedgehogs are called hoglets.

The story follows a mass of characters such as Jess and Michael Crawford with the ups and downs of adopting a toddler alongside their daughter Stella, struggling newly wheelchair-bound Ryan Tindall and his stern mother Irene, hedgehog loving Frances, and Tara and her wild daughter Hermie.

All the residents of Hilltop Place make this book a great jumble of interconnected stories. The characters are complex and relatable all at once. I did find that the middle of the book started to feel utterly hopeless and but some happy endings solved that ‘problem’. My biggest critique is that the plot got a little lost in between all the problems of all the different characters. Otherwise, it was generally an enjoyable read!

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed. I am looking forward to other books by this author.

A very pleasant, cozy read! While it took me a little bit to get into, I felt the pacing picked up about 1/3rd of the way through. The character subplots were unique yet relatable, and I really enjoyed how Kitty intertwined the stories of the neighbors, especially Jess and Ryan. Overall an easy ready to pick up every night, but not one that I was losing sleep to finish.

First, thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book focuses heavily on character development so that has to be your thing if you want to read this book. I do like that and that's why I enjoyed this book! The characters were all quite different and had their own stories and struggles to tell and get through. As another reviewer said, it feels a bit like you're watching your neighbours in the street. Overall, I thought this was well done and makes for a fun and easy read!

thankyou netgalley for the arc. all opinions are my own and are totally honest and unbiased!

OKAY THIS WAS SO SWEET AND GRIPPING AMD HEARTWARMING AND HILARIOUSLY FUNNY. Kitty Johnson nailed it!! you say it and this book has it!!🤭❤️😩

First of all, thanks to NetGalley for giving me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. :D
Now, this story focuses heavily on the growth of the characters, which I found super entertaining. I liked how each of them were super different and had unique subplots, this was exactly like watching drama unfold between neighbors on my street HAHA
However, I felt that the pacing was sometimes off in some sections, slow in some parts and too fast in others. Not to mention I found the actions of some characters questionable. 🤨 But that's really a me problem, since I'm able to see why they would have acted the way they did, I just wouldn't have done the same thing, does that make sense? lol.
Anyway, this was an overall light read, perfect for passing the time entertaining yourself. If you are interested in reading it, the book comes out on May 28, on Amazon.

A nice story about campaigning in a little British street, easy reading story. Relatable characters.

This was a compassionate story about love, friendship, complicated lives, set against the backdrop of campaigning and saving the environment... I enjoyed it and would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC!

Not my favorite--I felt like the plot was meandering and slow. However, I could see this being a big win for fans of The Joy Luck Club and family dramas.

Jess's and Tara's story arc were by far the most interesting!

thank u to netgalley for an arc of this super cute book! i really enjoyed the way it was written, with the hedgehogs serving as semi-narrators, and the driving force to bring this community together. i particularly loved jess's storyline and her development as a mother--how her relationship with toby grew and changed, and, in turn, she realised she was changing and needed to make adjustments with her life. i loved the way the book was written, it was dialogue-heavy and fast-paced, and really enjoyable. i also love how the author is personally involved with hedgehogs and provided a lot of information on them at the end! super cute.

Life can be prickly, and it certainly is in Kitty Johnson’s latest, PRICKLY COMPANY. Set in a small relatively prosperous UK neighborhood, Hilltop Place, the book chronicles residents’ lives falling apart, reconfiguring and reemerging into new and better forms. Miscarriages, adoptions, abandonments, both literal and figurative, careers lost and pursued, divorce, marriage, disfigurement: a cornucopia of human challenges befall the residents of this self-contained neighborhood. If resolutions to these various crises were the sum total of the book, I’d consider it an engaging story, a four star charming read. But the personal stories are framed by information about the waning hedgehog population and possible solutions. As the neighbors open their fences and yards to the hedgehogs and to each other, the neighborhood becomes a caring community.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it was something different than the usual read because it had the hedgehog theme throughout. Being a huge animal lover, I absolutely loved this aspect and the way it was wound throughout the chapters. It was a feel-good book that made me not want to put it down, and I would love to read a sequel!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to reading this ARC.

First I want to start by saying I appreciated Johnson's reliable storytelling and clear, uncomplicated writing style. The characters, such as Jess, Michael, Ryan, and Frances, are described as appealing, each dealing with their own struggles and complexities. The challenges and conflicts in the storyline, particularly the introduction of Toby into the Crawfords' lives, gave me mixed emotions.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet and charming nature of the story, highlighting its ability to address difficult and complex subject matter with a satisfying resolution. If you choose to read this amazing story, you are likely to learn something new about hedgehogs while following the characters' journeys. If you enjoy novels set in close-knit communities with a blend of heartwarming and bittersweet moments, this is a perfect read for you.

When I tell you my heart felt so full after reading this book, I mean it. For something as cute and little as a hedgehog to bring a neighborhood together was so great. I love that each chapter is a viewpoint of a different neighbor throughout. You quickly figure out which characters are great and which ones need to go away. It was a steady read, not at all overwhelming or flowery with words. And the ending??? Oh what a surprise! It is amazing what can bring and separate a community, family, marriage, so many relationships. This is a book to read outdoors while you see Mother Nature, or comfortably in bed when you are winding down. Absolutely, absolutely loved it. Thank you, NetGalley for the sneak peak, I can't wait to tell my friends to get this book!

Not gonna lie...I saw the hedgehogs and thought it was such a fun, unique premise that I had to open the pages to the book. It's a lovely, interesting and well-done plot. The characters are well done and you can imagine each of them.
Frances, a senior member of the neighborhood realizes that hedgehogs are facing danger each time they try to reach feeding holes and more. She starts a campaign for all of the neighbors to make their yards hedgehog friendly.
Another couple has recently adopted, and it is chaos. Ryan, a war reporter will never walk again, and he is dealing with that, his young son and trying to deal with his new status.
There are many other scenarios, and they play out in a way that kept me reading.
This book is not just about hedgehogs...it's about relationships, neighbors, changing with the hurdles that come our way, and deciding your future.
I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book already has so many good reviews but sadly for me this won't be a 5 star review. With all the amazing things I've read and heard about this book I was a bit disappointed. I did like the story overall and I understand why so many people loved this one. The characters are relatable, flawed and real, the writing was good and the hedgehogs were an added plus!! Love the little hedgehogs. I can't quite put my finger on why this one wasn't a true hit with me, but I know so many others will really resonate with this book.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Thank you NetGalley Lake Union Publishing and Kitty Johnson for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely little novel about hedgehogs (yes hedgehogs!). I wasn’t really sure what this would be about going into it but i really enjoyed it and read it very fast. The book hits on some important topics with each of the neighbours at Hilltop having their own stories and secrets but they all come together to help the hedgehogs! Overall it was a really lovely read and has made me want to go and build a hedgehog highway!

A book about hedgehogs? Well, yes, it is. This is the story of a group of neighbors, who barely know each other, coming together to ensure their gardens create an environment safe for hedgehogs. Kitty Johnson introduced us to these neighbors, all of whom had a story, and made each of these characters so likable. We discover that no one's life is just the surface part that can be glimpsed. I found myself cheering for the happiness of each of these people and look forward to reading the previous novel by the author.

Really good character-driven story of complicated lives in suburbia with hedgehogs (and hoglets) woven in as a path to finding purpose and community for broken and breaking lives. I was taken by all the characters and wished I lived there for a while and got to know them myself.

Good decisions, like adopting a child or getting a dog, or covering a war zone, can make life miserable and secrets can hollow out a person’s dreams, and love can move people around like pieces on a chessboard. Personal dramas are the center here and I kept turning the pages to find out how they ended!

Happy hedgehogs, the center of attention, play backdrop to painful situations in the neighborhood and I was intrigued by all I learned about them. This was a thoroughly good read—highly recommended!

And yes, the hashtag #hedgehoghighway is real!

Thank you Netgalley & Quercus for access to this title in exchange for an honest review. 🤍

Oh my goodness, this was such a surprising read. I didn’t really know what to expect when I started it but it amazed from beginning to end. This novel focuses on a community that live on the same street and their motivation to save hedgehogs whilst each household has a story of their own.

Each subplot was unique but had overlapping qualities. It was extremely well-written and thought provoking. I cried so much whilst reading this and I think that is a true testament to how well the characters were portrayed in order to feel an emotional connection to the story.

I was sad, I was happy, and I was shocked. This book has it all. You won’t regret reading this one. Out 28 May ⭐️