How would you cope being trapped in a room with no means of escape and no obvious means to alert outsiders to your predicament? Would you panic (yes!) or would you calmly accept the situation and patiently await rescue? How resourceful would you be in raising the alarm and how would you choose to pass the time until help came knocking? I guess that all depends on the space in which you are confined but it’s a scenario in which Phoebe Luckhurst’s characters, imprisoned in an attic full of junk ( and a dead mouse!) are all too well aware of! For three housemates and a date this is a Saturday full of disaster that begins with hangovers from hell, a flooded kitchen and a dodgy attic door handle! Original and funny, this is a romcom not suitable for the claustrophobics amongst us!

So, how best to describe these four characters locked in the attic, three of whom are severely suffering from the after effects of a big night out? First up there’s Ellen, best friends with fellow housemate Alexa whom she met whilst at university. Employed at Flowdown, a CBD tampon company, she’s your typical single twenty something year old, cash strapped and floating rather aimlessly through life. Next, there’s unofficial leader of the group, Alexa, a young woman and junior civil servant who appears to have mastered the idea of being grown up in a way housemates Ellen and Jack haven’t. Her hinge date Ben who is to blame for their current calamity is the most intriguing character trapped in this claustrophobic nightmare; beneath the well defined pecs is a romeo with a surprising past! Jack is the third housemate, socially awkward and only a shadowy presence within life at 49 Rokeby Close, a man child character more used to remaining in the background, at least until the events of this disastrous Saturday morning push him into the limelight. The final character to add to the mix is tyrannical landlord Elias who conjures up visions of a one eyed Cyclops determined to make his tenants lives hell but at least he’s not been apprised (yet!) of their situation. If these residents find freedom anytime soon, will they be traumatised by the experience or will they all be changed individuals and how much will it cost to repair the damage?!?

Are these characters I can in any way relate to? Probably not, given that I retain only a vague recollection of what it feels like to be young, single and negotiating the minefield of dating plus I’ve never house shared! I’m guessing many of these scenarios will resonate fully with a younger readership who recognise two of life’s major pitfalls; dating in an internet age together with the disadvantage of renting (and affording!) a suitable property owned by Elias type landlords who seemingly only want to fleece them of their hard earned income whilst refusing to maintain accommodation to a decent standard. Although neither are applicable to me, my advancing years never usually puts me off enjoying a modern day romcom; it’s the fusion of humour and either quirky or lovable characters that normally makes up for any lack of relevance to my own circumstances. Anyway, these scenarios don’t need to be rooted in reality; after all this is escapist fiction, the by products of which should be amusement, laughter and maybe butterflies-in-the-stomach type feelings if the romantic lead is your type ‘on paper!’. With no end of possibilities at the author’s disposal for turning this farcical situation into pure comedy magic where conversations to pass the time and alleviate the boredom could prove unexpectedly illuminating, I imagined I had found a novel to bring a smile to my face, possibly shaving years off my age, reminding me what it is to be young and relatively carefree.

Why then did the humour element feel so juvenile in places, leaving me feeling every one of my 50+ years, unable to laugh out loud at their unfortunate predicament? I suppose it’s because some aspects of this enforced entrapment are more cringe worthy than anything else; being a fly on the wall watching how one individual has to endure excruciating embarrassment thanks to bodily functions taking priority is (literally) toilet humour that only small children would find funny. Having said that, on the whole the premise is mildly amusing with the inclusion of the MSN element and to some extent the Twitter thread the piece de resistance. The way in which social media plays such a pivotal role turns this romcom into one that is bang up to date, where friendships can be divided and loyalties torn over the presence of a handsome stranger. I loved the flashbacks, particularly in Ellen’s case, which flesh out the storyline allowing attic conversations to tie everything nicely together. Without these backstories there would be very little happening! I think maybe some of the characters deserved further development to make them easier to engage with but probably my age prevented me from fully tuning into their wavelengths. Never before have I read a novel placing Gillingham, Kent on the map so having originally hailed from near this part of the world, I couldn’t help but find the role this unassuming and down at heel town plays in the proceedings hilarious.

What are the outcomes of this eventful Saturday morning, if any? Perhaps to know where the stopcock is in case of future emergencies and to ensure door handles are in proper working order are the most obvious ones! I’d like to think this storyline does actually lead somewhere with members of this household united in a way that wouldn’t necessarily have happened were they not forced into such close proximity with one another. Clearly one individual benefits from their fifteen minutes of fame whilst there’s closure too for another attic escapee. As for the romance element all I can say is hopefully there’s another date on the horizon after the first one has ended so disastrously. The Lock In is an easy, lighthearted read that is more entertaining in places than others but due to enlightening revelations from Ellen’s teenage years has earned itself 4 ⭐️ from this book lover. I’m happy to recommend this as a good summer read, one that is best enjoyed if you go with the flow and don’t take too seriously.

My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

Granted this only had four characters and one setting - its about four housemates getting locked in the attic - but even so I did expect slightly more action and definitely more humour. In fact that's why I was drawn to this with its promise of hilarity and recommendation for fans of Beth O'Leary and Mhairi McFarlane (two of my favourite authors). With such a fun and unique premise I was expecting lots of situational based humour and craziness. But, sadly the author didn't really make use of the lock-in and focused instead on a backstory that had no real baring on the plot or characters now. I usually like narration that switches between characters, because I love the way two people can view the same thing in a completely different way, but again I don't think the author made the most of this style. It was an easy, light-hearted read that's worth a try but it just wasn't the story I was expecting.

Whilst being locked in somewhere with no clear indication of how to get out is one of my fears, this forms the premise of Phoebe Luckhurst’s debut novel The Lock In.

As if things aren’t already bad for Ellen — she’s hungover after all —- things take a turn when she, along with her two flat mates and one of their dates, is stuck in the attic.

This book was an absolute joy. There were little funny bits in amongst the anxiety induced by being locked in and I loved the idea of live tweets going viral (we’d all like to think we’re practical in situations like this but I know for certain I’d be in the corner live Tweeting, too!).

I also really liked the sub-plot. I had a feeling there’d be a bit of drama mixed in but I had no idea that it’d focus on a mishap involving MSN. I did predict what the scenario would be, but I think it added to my enjoyment of this story regardless.

This is by no means a groundbreaking romance as I assumed it would be. Instead, it’s a funny story about people coming together, reliving teenage crushes and dealing with rubbish landlords — something for everyone 😂.

What a fun a book. All based around a few hours stuck in a loft where you find out more about the people you live and sleep with. With flashes back into the past and a brief time after the time trapped in the loft is over you find out such a lot about our 4 chums. Quite sad at times but mainly packed with silly humour and desperate times leading to weeing in a box, a good romp through friendship and relationships and getting to know people.

This book took me to places I was not expecting - and I really enjoyed it!! With the events of the last year, I have felt very lucky not to be in lockdown with flatmates I barely know, and it was super interesting to read a perspective from all of the characters experiencing a sort of short-term lockdown.

The most original rom-com story I've ever read. Phoebe perfectly evokes what it is like to live and work in London as a 20-something. This book is hilarious and fun. I related to the main characters a lot due to having lived in London, so I question if you'd enjoy it as much if you haven't. Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for the digital ARC copy.

DNF at 10%. This premise sounded fun and promising, but it lacked for me in a lot of ways. The characters were flat, and felt much younger than their ages. I felt like they were written to be "quirky" and distinctive but they were very unmemorable and uninteresting. The writing was clunky and I noticed a few inconsistencies (though I know it's an arc). Overall, there are much better romcoms out there.

This one just wasn't for me I'm afraid. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and thought it could have been a short story rather than a full book. I think you would have to be a very particular demographic, i.e. in your 20s and renting in London to enjoy it. It just fell a bit flat for me

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The Lock In is three housemates and a Hinge date, a flooded kitchen, and a broken door handle resulting in the four people locked in an attic. Sounds intriguing right? Could have the potential for a lot of humour and some in-depth character study.

Unfortunately what got a story based around a very small amount of plot about an MSN love story from the past and a Twitter thread going viral. It was a whole lot of nothing really.

The characters were supposed to be in their late twenties, but lived and acted like teenagers. By the end of the story there was very little character development or lessons learned from the situation they were in. I finished the book thinking what was the point of it all?

The Lock In has a surprisingly fun and original premise of a group of housemates being trapped in the attic with the added stress of a flooded kitchen. It’s less of a thriller of the race against time to get out of the attic before permanent damage to the downstairs area and more of a deep dive into the three housemate characters. The development of their back stories was very satisfying, but I did spend most of it wondering why they didn’t just bash the door down, until I told myself that it would have opened inwards so they wouldn’t have been able to. Other than that, a very enjoyable page turner with a great reveal at the end.

A super fun read, and especially relatable for those of us in our 20s and renting in London. There’s humour, romance, the perils of online dating, MSN throwbacks, and juggling work/life as a new adult. I think it will be a great summer read, especially on the beach.

I've just finished reading The Lock In by Phoebe Luckhurst and unfortunately it wasn't really for me. I found it too slow and it didn't keep my attention for long enough sadly.

Very quick reading and enjoyable escapist read. Totally unbelievable at times, but yet in a surreal way I could see it happening in real life. I was particularly amused by the live tweeting from the attic. The flashbacks were less of a high point for me, but I loved all the moments where I cringed because it was so realistic.

This was just not for me.

I found the characters to lack depth and the story line was filled out with back flashes.

There was very little comedy and what there was felt very immature.

A ridiculous story that I wouldn't recommend.

This was a fun, easy read which was enjoyable enough without really gripping me.

I found the premise really interesting and hoped for a lot more. The start of the story was promising but I found it fell away quite quickly.

With the premise of this book being that three roommates plus dates are stuck in the loft.

The idea felt original and managed to successfully encompass both the friendship and romantic aspects of the story, and whilst I didn’t care too much for the other characters, I absolutely loved Jack. He was so humourous. My problem was some chapters were fantastic, witty and laugh out loud and others were slow and just didn't work.

Overall a good read.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for approving me to read this book in return for an honest review. I’m afraid it didn’t quite hit the mark for me, it just didn’t keep me engaged. The characters were great though as was the concept and if you like light-hearted feel-good type books, you might enjoy this but it wasn’t for me unfortunately.

This was a fun read that that is perfect for a bit of escapism (no pun intended).

Unfortunately, I think it just slightly missed the mark for me and I had too high of an expectation for it going in to it. Whilst I really loved the premise, and still do, as well as the set up, my attention really waned after the first part. I think it missed some really great opportunities that could have been had for the directions it could've gone down while they were stuck in the attic, but instead it spent a lot of time looking at the past through flashbacks and snippets of memories. I would have preferred to have spent more time exploring the possibilities of the present. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the nostalgic feel to it, particularly the MSN conversations that remind me of my young teenage days when you would log out and log back in again over and over until someone noticed that you were online. Luckhurst really hit the nail on the head with those sections.

-- SPOILER -- I also felt that the ending fell a little flat as there wasn't much progression for the characters. It was like they got out of the attic and continued on with their lives as if nothing had happened. Nothing really changed for them (apart from Jack perhaps, he had some growth). What was it all for? What did they gain from it? I'm not really sure.

All in all, still a fun read which I would recommend to others looking for something to tide them over. I'd read other books by this author as I think this may be a debut.

Plus, STUNNING cover!

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how we saw things from different characters perspectives in different chapters and I enjoyed getting to know the three central characters. I also enjoyed how there was more to the story than the initial ‘lock in’. Overall a really fun summer read.

This was okay; I would recommend for a quick read if you've ever lived in a houseshare in london and aren't from london. I didn't find it very relatable, so wasn't invested in the characters, but it was an easy read. Would recommend to fans of Beth O'Leary.