When I first read the blurb on this I was intrigued as to how a whole book could be based around 4 people being locked in a loft, so I just had to read it to find out! I certainly wasn't disappointed.

Ellen, Alexa and Jack are all housemates. Ellen discovers one morning (whilst nursing a hangover) that their kitchen is flooding, so endeavours to find the stop cock to turn off the water supply.

Along with Alexa's date Ben, the flatmates all end up stuck in the loft due to a small mishap and this is where the "fun" starts.

They have no phone signal (so 3 of them think) so they try to attract somebody's attention by hanging out of the window.

There is obviously a need for the use of a toilet along the way (which was hilarious, but necessary).

Jack was by far my favourite character. He managed to get a random phone signal every now and then, which meant he could start and update his Twitter feed. This for me was so believable as I feel in this day and age it is something which would be done in real life!

Throw in an old MSN "romance" and you basically have a story about 4 people discovering new friendships, testing old friendships, a bit of romance and lots of frustration!

A brilliant Romcom which would lighten any mood. I would love to see this as a movie.

Many thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author for an arc. Really pleased to have discovered a new author.

Publication date is 22nd July but I recommend you pre-order now!

I had really high hopes for this, I thought the premise sounded like so much fun but unfortunately it really missed the mark for me. There wasn’t really much of a story or any character development. Housemates Alexa, Ellen and Jack, along with Alexa’s Hinge date Ben from the night before, end up trapped in the attic as a water leak slowly floods their kitchen. With no signal to call for help, they find themselves with no way out. The book pretty much ended up revolving around Jack lying about reaching nearby WiFi and rather than calling for help, he starts live tweeting the situation, and Ellen discovering that Ben was an old MSN boyfriend from 2009 that broke her heart. I just found it all too silly, too over the top and pretty far fetched. None of the characters were likeable at all, and hadn’t changed at all by the end of the book. So unfortunately, I was underwhelmed.

But I appreciate the author, the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A very different kind of lock-in from what you would think but it’s a good, easy read for those lazy days.

I had high hopes for an easy cheesy easy read but unfortunately this was anything but. I was intrigued to see what happens when 3 housemates and one of their dates get locked in together but the short answer is not a lot.

I remember the msn era well so could relate to bits of the story but I just found it boring, lacking a decent storyline and with very unlikeable characters. The book is far too long considering the lack of plot and it was genuinely a struggle to finish it.

Sometimes a book surprises you. I don’t know what I was expecting when I requested this for review. But I really enjoyed it. The premise of locking 4 people in a loft – three housemates and a hook up I was expecting to be entertained and I fully was. I read it in one evening, switching from sofa to bath to bed with a glass of white wine.

The book felt original and fun and I enjoyed all the characters personalities as well as the dynamic between the four of them as the plot unfolded.

The plot was simple – but with enough flashbacks to keep you gripped and entertained.

The pacing is great, at no point was I bored or wanting to skip ahead to see how the book was going to progress.

Ellen, Alexa and Jack share a flat and are terrorised by their gangster landlord meaning that finding a massive water leak is a disaster on many levels. Finding themselves trapped in the attic with no way of communication leads to drama. I think I'm the wrong target age group for this book, it focuses on the media and self obsession and lack of confidence that is common these days. Its well written but I found it difficult to keep my attention on the story hence the rating.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, the description sounded different to others that I have read. There are many elements that are good and I enjoyed it but then there are others parts that I felt let it down a bit. There are 4 people that get trapped in an attic while there is a leak in the kitchen which is quickly flooding, The 4 people include 2 best friends, 1 house mate and a hinge date and they are all mainly hungover from the night before.
The book is written with each character having their own chapters which is good because you get the point of view/thoughts from each other characters, I did really like this structure. I felt some of the chapters were a little slow and I soon got bored of the plot. There are amusing elements which lightened the plot but I found I got a little frustrated with the characters even though they were likeable.
It's worth a read due to it being different to others that I have read and it is an easy read. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A really enjoyable read. The characters were really likeable and well written. A great idea for a setting that worked really well. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this clever funny and entertaining book. Well written, full of humour and cringe-worthy moments and you really feel for the characters. This is the story of three housemates and the new boyfriend of one of them who accidentally get locked in the attic of their rented house. We also learn the back stories of each character. They are likeable, relatable people and I did enjoy the book, although I did feel like ending was a little abrupt and was surprised there wasn't more.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This story is about 3 housemates, Alexa, Ellen, and Jack, who all managed to get locked in the attic with Alexa’s date she met on a dating app, Ben. Whilst they’re all locked in the attic, the kitchen downstairs is flooding. After a while of being locked in, the atmosphere takes a nosedive after certain revelations come out. The revelations threaten Alexa and Ellen’s friendship, and they’ve been best friends since their uni days. All this happens while quiet Jack watches from afar, and Ben is stunned. They also have have a nightmare landlord to deal with to boot.

This was a great and easy read. The characters were likeable, I especially liked Jack, who comes across as hapless, but his heart is completely in the the right place. Ellen comes across as quite highly strung, but it’s also clear how much her friendship means to her.
The writing flowed really well, and the ending was buttoned up and not left hanging. I would really like a follow up on this book, just to see where the characters are and what they’re up to, and if they’re still living in the same house. There was some laugh out loud moments, mixed with teenage memories filled with angst. A perfect summer beach read.

A fun and unique set up - they're stuck in the attic of a rapidly flooding flat, they're hungover and it's awkward. I did really enjoy this book, but I struggled with the pacing, because so much of it had to be memories to make it work. But I really loved the friendship with the two women, and how it all ended was wonderful.

Housemates Ellen, Jack, Alexa and her Hinge date, Ben are all hungover. What could possibly make their hangovers 100 times worse? Try waking up to discover the kitchen is flooded, and in attempt to turn off the water in the attic, they all end up getting locked in as the door handle breaks off.

This novel goes through all the motions of Ellen, Alexa, Jack and Ben’s attempt to escape the stuffy attic. With no signal or WiFi, how long do you think it will take them? And how will their hangxiety cope up in the attic? Will they spiral into sheer madness?

So, this book is an odd one as I absolutely loved it, yet the plot was rather simple. I think Phoebe Luckhurst wrote this amazingly, as the detail of the characters made the book fantastic. I thought the characters internal monologues were amazing as it really allowed the reader to get to know them all on a personal level. The reader also gets an insight of their hungover minds and all the wacky ideas they have in attempt to escape the attic.

Whilst the housemates and Ben are all stuck, the characters have flashbacks. I think this book would be perfect for 90’s babies, as Ellen jumps back in time to 2009..a time when she was obsessed with MSN and her Blackberry. It was far too relatable! Why did we change our status to dramatic lyrics to match our moods? Or sign in and out, in and out to get someone’s attention?

At the beginning of the novel, Jack is also portrayed as a bit of an outsider, but towards the end, the attic situation definitely brings the housemates together for the better.

This book really had some laugh out loud moments and I just really want everyone to read it. Definitely a 5 star read for me!

This didn't hold my interest to be honest - it just didn't seem to be going anywhere. A bit too predictable with little character development. I gave up without finishing it. If you like light-hearted feel-good type books, you might enjoy this but there seem to be so many at the moment and I personally am looking for something with a little more quirkiness or a little more depth.

I loved how this story was really believable, it’s something that could definitely happen to anyone and we need to be extra thankful it hasn’t!

The characters were likeable and funny and I found myself really relating to each of them in their own way.

I did find some parts of the book a bit unnecessary and I felt it was dragged out a little bit but still really enjoyable

The lock in tells the tale of Ellen and her housemates who manage to get themselves locked in the loft as the downstairs in their rented house continues to flood.

I felt like the story was lacking any real character development and the storyline was lacking until around 50% through when the MSN storyline was introduced. Whilst it was somewhat predictable it did give me super nostalgic vibes of being a teenager myself.

Overall an easy read but overall felt a little unsatisfying.

Thanks to Phoebe, Micheal Joseph and Net galley for this ARC copy

This story started off strong then it completely tailed off for me.
Thank you to publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

At 49 Rokeby Close in London, Ellen wakes up after a particularly heavy night to discover the kitchen is flooded. Screaming, she wakes up her housemate Jack who comes up to the attic with her to help her look for the mains supply to turn the water off (after all, the fuse box was up here, so why not the mains for the water?)! Panicking, Ellen goes back down the stairs to knock on her other housemate Alexa’s door and ask for her help. Alexa sensibly goes to the kitchen, finds the tap she needs to turn off but finds it’s stuck, so she goes back to the attic to enlist Ellen or Jack’s help. Wondering what all the commotion is about, Ben, Alexa’s date from the night before climbs up and into the attic too. But then a sudden gust of wind slams shut the skylight Ellen and Jack had opened to let in some air, causing the door to the attic to slam shut too. As Ben goes to open it to free them all, the handle falls off in his hand...and all four of them find themselves trapped in a dusty and cramped space filled with their awful landlord’s Elias’ belongings!

I absolutely loved The Lock In and found myself laughing and smiling so much as I was reading and wondering how on earth the group were going to get out of the attic! I really liked the alternating chapter perspectives of Ellen, Alexa and Jack in the third person and learning all about their lives and how they came to meet each other; Ellen and Alexa whilst at Uni, and Jack via an advert on a Spare Room website. I also enjoyed learning through Alexa’s chapters how she met Ben and how their date went the night before.

Each of the characters had such different personalities and their jobs are all so varied too; they were so great to read about. I thought Jack was so sweet and his secret live tweeting of their unusual situation was unexpected and hilarious (especially as he could only get patches of signal by hanging out of the skylight and was the only one who had his phone with him)! The group’s reminiscing and conversations whilst plotting to escape were brilliant and I really liked the flashback sections when Ellen realised she may finally be able to get the answers to something significant that happened in her teenage years before she went off to university. This added a really clever layer to the story and made an awkward situation even more awkward!

I honestly cannot recommend this book enough! With fantastic characters, brilliant pace and a unique plot that will keep you laughing right up until that final line, this is a must read debut!

There are some plots in this book that I loved and they had so much more potential, the MSN plot being one of them! Which is a plus to any 80s and 90s babies out there wanting to relive a bit of our youth! This was fun to read and definitely perked up the book.

One thing I did find a little frustrating was that there wasn’t really any character development and there wasn’t one character with defining good qualities, which put me off reading about their so called struggles. I found it a little repetitive hearing the same thing from 3 different perspectives and it had a slow pace to begin with.

All in all, it was a good quick read with a premise that held a lot of promise but just fell a little flat for me.

I enjoyed reading this book - it was good fun! When i started it I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it, but it gathered pace and I couldn’t put it down. I was just waiting for one more little twist at the end for some reason, but overall a good, entertaining, funny book!

The Lock In is an easy read with a fun, unusual premise that perfectly depicts living and working in London when you are in your 20s. The premise, however, was stretched far too thin in my opinion and the ‘revelation’ about Ellen’s teenage MSN romance was predictable and definitely not interesting enough to hang the final scenes on. This was an easy, but slightly unsatisfying, read for me.