The Lock-In is funny and endearing from page one - zipping along with hilarious observations about the stress and drama of negotiating the awkward tension between being both friends and housemates. I loved it.

The average rating for this at time of my review writing is just over 3 stars so I don't think I'm alone in thinking what the hell did I just read.

Let me preface the remainder of this review saying I didn't hate this. It wasn't bad, it was just severely mis-sold.

For starters, this is not a rom-com. A rom com requires romance and comedy. Whilst there's the beginnings of a relationship, it is insanely secondary and marginally cringy.

It was not laugh-out-loud either. All the little blurbs on the cover is like this was funny, entertaining, etc. I had a brief chuckle occasionally, but it wasn't entertaining. It was arduous trying to get to the point.

One thing I will give it is that it did have a bit of nostalgia. I am of the MSN generation and I remember the heartpounding evenings spent wondering if he was going to message me. I did enjoy that part, to be fair.

I have a bone to pick with the author regarding our main character. Is Ellen supposed to be likeable? Like, are we rooting for her? I don't think we are only because there's not anything to root for, she doesn't have a journey in this story, really. But in any case, she comes off as so abrasive right from the get go in the first chapter and then carries on being very abrasive out of nowhere the remainder of the book. I don't think I really particularly was rooting for any of the 4 characters, though, to wish someone else's narration would have taken the lead instead.

This all feels rather scathing and I don't think it would have come off this way if the book hadn't been sold as a laugh out loud rom-com. It was more a slog for me in the end. Sorry.

This was good, but not as good as I was hoping! It was really fun but a bit slow at times which was sad

I didn't enjoy this book. The copy was so promising as was the cover but in the end, the conflict just wasn't interesting. I found it quite bland and couldn't relate to Ellen at all; why is she so hung up on a boy she spoke to years ago and never even met?! I enjoyed the Twitter virality aspect and Jack was the only light in this book and it felt like Alexa and Ellen were dismissive of him for the most part which just made me sad since he's written as a lovely character. I don't really have anything else to say about Alexa and I have literally nothing to note about Ben. A cast of predominantly uninteresting characters in an uninteresting scenario.

It was fine. I left this on my shelf a little longer than planned and so felt obligated to read it which is never the best attitude to have when starting a new book. It was ok, nothing groundbreaking but a nice enough story. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me early access

This was an easy-to-read romance that was cute and light-hearted. However, admittedly, I wasn't the biggest fan.

I was really looking forward to this one, but I just found it a bit slow to get into and when I did start to get into it more, I personally found some of the POVs a little boring.

I would say it's not quite on a light, cosy rom-com level, but not as serious as a heavy romance - somewhere in between.

I don't think it would be something I come back to and reread at all, but I would absolutely recommend it if you're looking for something unique and for a bit of a laugh. It was a good book, just not for me.

The morning after an office party, Ellen wakes up with the hangover from hell and a flooding kitchen to deal with. Panicking and unsure how to fix it, she rounds up her housemates Alexa and Jack (and Alexa’s Hinge date, Ben) and heads to the loft in a last-ditch attempt to stop the flood. But when Ben accidentally breaks the door handle, the group find themselves locked in. Over the course of the morning, Ellen starts to realise she knows Ben from somewhere, and that he might not be who Alexa thinks he is…

Phoebe Luckhurst’s debut is hilarious and relatable in equal measure, exploring the perils of house-shares, dealing with dodgy landlords and nursing hangovers. The narrative swaps between the group’s miserable morning imprisoned in the attic, and flashbacks that give us more of an insight into each of the characters. While Ellen is carefree and fun-loving, Alexa is mature and career driven, and the unlikely pair have been best friends since university.

Their housemate Jack, who has recently moved in, is an awkward but lovable character. In an attempt to impress his housemates, he begins secretly live-tweeting their attic disaster, hilariously disclosing awkward conversations and embarrassing encounters to his growing army of followers.

While the attic scenes provide moments of comedy, the flashbacks are where the novel really comes to life, and Luckhurst does a fantastic job of depicting the characters at different stages in their lives, from disastrous encounters on MSN in their teens to dating apps in their twenties. Perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary and Dolly Alderton, this fast-paced comedic debut is the perfect summer read.

This book was an enjoyable read, however the story was extremely slow moving and difficult to remain invested in each character's arc.

I chose this book on the cover initially and then read the blurb. I found some elements very nostalgic like MSN being mentioned and the dodgy landlords took me back to my university days. The characters could be quite irritating and quite self absorbed at times. Having said that, this was a light read and very entertaining.

I'm actually really sad that I didn't enjoy this more.

Don't get me wrong there was definitely some funny moments and I did like the 'going viral' part of the plot but other than that, there didn't really feel like there was any plot.

The scandal that was supposed to cause tension just didn't feel dramatic at all. In fact, if it was in real life you'd probably all just laugh it off as a silly coincidence. The characters all felt a little one dimensional and I thought the plot twist at the end was also pretty obvious.

This is a lighthearted read but unfortunately, this one wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with a copy to read.

This was a great read, so easy to read and intriguing. Really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more from this author!

A kitchen flooded with water. Four people locked in an attic. Sounds intriguing. And it was an enjoyable enough read. But when the whole plot is based on what happens between the characters locked in, it needs to be something special. And sadly, I felt it fell short. I didn't laugh out loud once. I didn't feel any deep connection to any of the characters and didn't really care if they got out or not. A good idea. But executed not so well.

A fun, easy read about three housemates who one disastrous Sunday morning find themselves stuck in the attic whilst their kitchen floods beneath them. Couple with that, they are joined by Ben, the owner of the MSN handle whom Ellen believes ghosted her years earlier. A pleasant read but not a laugh out louder for me I'm afraid.

I couldn’t get into this book and didn’t relate to the characters. I found it boring and slow paced, and I struggled to finish it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

Who’d have thought it was possible to compile an entire book based around a group of friends being stuck in an attic room but that’s exactly what has been done here. Good story, inventive and well worth whiling away an afternoon with.

This book was quite disappointed as i did not feel it delivered on its promise. I did not find it funny and the writing wasn't that great either in my opinion. The premise was interesting, but it was wasted with the lack of plot as not much of substance happens or some great character growth. Talking about characters, they are soooo poorly developed I could not get emotionally invested in any of them.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable comedy, that took me a bit down memory lane, when MSN was still a thing.
Helping me relate with the story and the. characters is also the setting. Ah! To live in a house share in London, to have a shady landlord, and to go for after work drinks! (at least that was the experience for me at some point, so I could identify with some of the characters.

In this story, we follow a group of "friends" (here 3. housemates and 1 special guest), as they accidentally lock themselves in an attic while their kitchen is slowly being flooded.

If this was a TV show, this. would be considered a bottle episode, and in all bottle episodes, arguments and "drama" can arise.

All in all, I enjoyed reading about it, it was a nice and easy read.

This book has a very strong start and I was really enjoying it but then it seemed to slow down and I just couldn’t muster the interest to pick it up again after I had put it down at about 46%

A light hearted read about 3 housemates plus one new boyfriend all accidentally getting locked in the attic while the kitchen is flooding! Add to the mix that one of them realises she holds a grudge from teenagehood against one of the others and you get the idea. This was an enjoyable read, which isn’t deep or meaningful, but fun and made me laugh.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sin Rating:❌

A cute, fun and modern comedy for the nostalgic 90s kids looking for a light summer read.

On an early (and hungover) Saturday morning, best mates Ellen and Alexa accidentally lock themselves in the attic with their flatmate Jack and Alexa’s date Ben. As the hours tick by and the urge to pee becomes increasingly menacing, hidden secrets and cabin fever threaten to ruin this peaceful morning and destroy more than just a weekend...

It is worth mentioning that this story felt really oddly personal. The main character has a name that’s very similar to mine (different spelling), she lives in the same area I do (I actually used to live pretty much exactly in that place), goes out to the same places, works in the same place... For this reason, I was oddly mesmerised by the story!

The characters are lovable and the situations relatable. However, the plot is quite simple and expected, so don’t expect something breathtaking. I think flatsharing londonners will probably have an extra layer of appreciation for this story because we can all relate to flatsharing horror stories. ️

Nevertheless, I was slightly thrown off by some illogical elements : our little group is scared to damage the door to escape the attic, yet when rescue comes to free them, the door is kicked down and no one bats an eye…!

Overall, I would definitely recommend it to millenials looking for a nostalgic trip down memory lane (MSN and BBM FTW, am I right?).