First of all a big thank you to netgalley, the author and the publishers for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

When I read the synopsis of this book I was expecting drama and old flames and quarrels. However what I got was quite different. Instead this was about Ellen and her best friend Alexa who goes on a date with a guy called Ben who she just so happened to 'talk to' in school.

My favourite character by far was Jack and I am glad that this book was written in multiple POV so that Jack got his own chapters and we got to see his thoughts on the whole thing. I loved the twitter chain that he did and I also love how he reacted with everyone in the loft.

There were parts of this story that got a little boring and did drag for me a little. However all in all this was a fun, quick and entertaining read.

A pleasant enough read for a sunny day in the garden. Nothing ground breaking or overtly hilarious but some gentle comedy and heart warming scenes.

The jist is four individuals getting locked in the attic of a shared house and their quest to get out of the pickle. The experience subsequently leads to fall outs and then make ups and a stronger friendship ensues.

I liked the characters and I thought the plot ideas to be sound. The story development was a little lacking and the descriptions could have been more vivid in order to make the whole 'locked in' stuff funnier.

Would definitely read another book by this author, and will recommend this one as an easy breezy light romantic read.

This was a great easy read that had me laughing out loud.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and thought it was hilarious being locked in and the secrets that was coming out.

I would recommend this.

3.5 ⭐️ read. A fun page-turner.

SYNOPSIS:
"Best friends Ellen and Alexa have always been close.

Until one fateful morning when they get locked in their attic with hapless housemate Jack and Alexa's date from the night before, Ben.

With no way out, hangovers and the hours crawling by, it seems best friends can get too close for comfort.

Especially when Ellen realises she already knows Ben - perhaps rather better than Alexa does . . ."

WHAT I ENJOYED:

✔️ The literal 'locked room' plot arc. This was such a fun concept. And allowed this to be about the character's own stories.

✔️ Alexa and Ellen were my faves of the main characters (there were four of them in total) they both spurred off each other and had so oh so relatable traits - probably, even more, saw if you were a millennial.

✔️ The multiple viewpoints of each of the characters in this story.

✔️ The multi-media formats within the book e.g. text, MSN messenger, Tweets, emails.

✔️ The whole viral Twitter thread storyline.

✔️ The pace of this book and being broken into the different viewpoints made this a really digestible read.

A lovely combo of contemporary fiction and modern-day romance, which will feel really relatable to millennials.

An endearing story of a group of housemates getting to know more about each other - while stuck in the same room!

What an enjoyable book! This is such an easy read and escape from reality! The characters are relatable and likeable with a fantastic twist to the story. I was intrigued by what would happen and couldn’t put it down. There are some hilarious moments and also moments which tugged at my heart strings. A really good read and cannot wait for more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to this book.

This book is just fabulous. It is completely uplifting, really cringy, with multiple laugh out loud moments and something that you can really see that could happen. Wonderful.

A funny, loveable read about friendships. I enjoyed this book, it was an easy and fun book which will make you smile. The characters are relatable and with the summer fast approaching, it is a definite summer read!

This is a hilarious concept for a book- and you can see how it could happen in real life, which makes it toe curlingly awkward at times- particularly Jack! I thought all the characters were interesting and the msn messenger revelations were quite amusing. Probably because msn as a teenager is something I remember so clearly- even the signing in and out trick! Overall, a fun bit of nostalgia, a great storyline and an entertaining read.

From the blurb, I was really expecting to enjoy this read. It sounded like it was going to be a fun read but I just couldn't get into it. I found Ellen to be a really annoying character. She was so mean and I just couldn't see why Alexa would be friends with her.

There isn't much plot in this book which I was expecting but I just found that it dragged. The whole central conflict seemed far fetched and forced.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

I found this book really hard to get into and it was just not for me. Thankyou for giving me the opportunity to read it.

REVIEW: The Lock In by Phoebe Luckhurst

Best friends Ellen and Alexa met in university and have lived with each other ever since. One morning, they get locked in their attic with their housemate Jack and Alexa’s Hinge date from the night before, Ben.

This was a fun easy read which was a good palate cleanser type book for me. Parts of this book were funny, and it was interesting to see the dynamic between these 4 people. However, this book was too long. Parts of this novel dragged, but I think that’s because of the premise. There is only so much you can do when for majority of this book they are trapped in an attic.

The parts about MSN were nostalgic, but sometimes long winded. The story was predictable but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Overall, a fun easy read but rather average for me.

An easy read which I wanted to love this but I found the characters lacking depth & the plot rather absent? The characters seemingly move on with there lives unchanged but this encounter.

Can you think of anything worse than waking up with a raging hangover and discovering that your kitchen is flooding?
This is exactly what happens to Ellen. She soon wakes her flatmates, Alexa, Jack and the fella that Alexa bought home with her, Ben.

I've no idea why, but they have the bright idea that the tap for turning off the water is in the attic so off they all troop to the top of the house where they end up getting locked in.

As the day draws on, Ellen and Ben discover that they are both from the same home town but went to different schools. Ellen becomes convinced that she and Ben has a romance over MSN messenger and despite it being 10 years later, she's still bitter.

We get to know the 4 characters a bit more throughout the ordeal but honestly, I didn't gain anything from reading this.

This book is set over the course of several hours in one loft room. I think as a concept this is an interesting idea to play with and very much pushes the boundaries of what does and doesn't work in the temporal realm of fiction world-building. Many books are so immersive, relationships so well developed, that you can almost forget that it all took place in like one week....this, however, is not one of those books. This book dragged....it dragged a lot.

Basically, Ellen wakes up hungover to find the whole kitchen flooded. Thinking (for some strange reason) that the main tap is in the loft she enlists her other housemates Jack and Alexa to check it out with her. Whilst in the loft, Alexa's hinge date comes to find them and then accidentally breaks the handle off - trapping them inside. Until they can be rescued, they must all contend with each other and, in the process, secrets of love past come to the fore.

While each personality felt like a real housemate we've all lived with at some point or another, I didn't like reliving it. It felt confined - even to me - having to spend so many pages with them all. In fact, I think an editor could have been even more ruthless. Unfortunately, the constraints of being in one small space the whole way through the book, and only four characters to bounce off, means there's limitations to how far the narrative can go without it getting stale. It felt like much of the chapters were backstory in lieu of any real action happening -and, frankly, there is only so much backstory one can take. I found myself skipping entire pages because they contributed nothing to the actual plot....if you could consider 4 people (only 2 of which are actual friends) sitting - and weeing - in a room for 24 hours a plot. Anyway, the twist I'd been waiting patiently for (having read a blurb that indicates a love triangle) came 75% the way through the book and it fell flat, because quite honestly...I disliked everyone in the book at this point. Who cares what happens to them?

I enjoyed this to a certain point but it felt like there was something lacking. I knew the lock in would be the main plot of the story but the added extras felt unexplored or unneeded. The dialogue was good though and I did get through it quickly but it didn’t grip me in the way I wanted it to.

Unfortunately I found this book quite boring
Not a lot actually happened.
The premis if the book sounded fantastic but it didn't really deliver sadly.

It was well written so I give it 3 stars
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

A great read to put a smile on your face and while away the day - full of humour and interesting characters I was thoroughly entertained! A great holiday read. My thanks to netgalley an erc of this book in return for my honest opinion!

I thought I’d enjoy this book, centred around 2 friends, a new boyfriend and their slightly odd flat mate all getting locked in the attic together. There were moments of comedy and enough plot twists that it could have been an enjoyable read. Unfortunately the character and plot development were so heavy handed that I really struggled to read the book, and didn’t enjoy it.

I feel torn about this book. Most of the time I just couldn't follow the direction of the plot and a lot of the events felt a little pointless. However, I did enjoy seeing the events from each character's perspective, and their interactions with one another were sweet, and occasionally breathe-out-your-nose funny.
I didn't feel particularly satisfied at the end. It felt like the plot led to nowhere. Though, I do think I had a good time reading it, and once the msm drama was brought up about 40/50% of the way through I was pretty keen to find out where it was going, so I quickly powered through the rest of the book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.