A well-crafted story with plenty to appreciate. The pacing, characters, and plot twists kept me interested throughout. I'm looking forward to seeing how readers respond once it's released!

This was another read I was super excited to get started with, but was left severely disappointed. I think my main issue was that I just didn’t like Piglet at all. I know you don’t always have to like the main protagonist, but she actually alienated me from wanting to read it. I found her very cold and whiny, and I just couldn’t even muster up any empathy for her as she was so unlikeable. Her actions annoyed me and I really didn’t understand her motivation at times. I just found her obnoxious in her search for an over-privileged life where she gets to shop at Waitrose and has a blatant disregard for her family and anyone else who may disrupt this perfect image. I also don’t like her treatment of other people, especially Sasha, who seems much too good a friend for her anyway. To be honest, there were very few characters that were likeable, and they weren’t enough to save this for me.

I actually read another review who called the novel cringy, and I actually think it sums it up rather well, it’s actually how it feels when reading it.

Personally, I think it was one of those novels that is trying too hard to be stylised and modern, and it just didn’t work for me. I think there was a lack of character development, when added to the lack of plot, made it dull as dishwater, and in all honesty, I found all the food talk really boring and it made the book drag.

Something else that was infuriating is that the author never actually revealed the 'big reveal'! This wouldn’t have been so bad if they hadn’t gone on about it constantly, and tortured the readers by letting all the characters find out but don't tell us. I didn’t understand the reasoning behind this at all.

Sticking with the food metaphor, maybe it is like marmite, either you love it or you hate it. I know where I stand. It was definitely a struggle to read it.

This is such an interesting and hunger inducing read! It will leaving craving all sorts of foods. I wonder if the author has considered writing for M&S adverts?

We follow a woman who is getting ready for her wedding day, we know that there is something going on making her doubt whether to go ahead with it or not and this is such a captivating read!

The descriptions of food are scrumptious and my heart really goes out to the main character who is bullied by her family for her eating habits and unfairly nickname her Piglet. I felt that the mental health element was really well handled and written as someone who works in mental health I thought this was written really well and very relatable.

Would highly recommend

3*, maybe 3.5? I cannot figure out why this book drew me in so much when it also just really, really annoyed me. I hated Piglet, and her family, and Kit, and his family. The descriptions of her overeating made me feel enormous and uncomfortable. How does she have a lovely friend like Margot?? Was she a completely different person before the events of this book?
If her name is Piglet, just let it be, there was too many instances of characters pointing out it was a nickname. Make her like Fleabag, lean into it.
Admittedly I think what kept me reading was wanting to find out what Kits big reveal was. I thought, for such a weird book, it would surely be something more interesting than cheating but actually we just never find out?? Instead the only reveal at the end was her real name. Which I couldn't have cared less about.

The writing is excellent, so that helped.

A stunning slow burn of a debut, a tense character-study of a woman on the verge of a breakdown just before her wedding, Piglet is a compelling literary fiction story that would make a great book club. I revised this book - my blood fizzed with anger and empathy for Piglet.
Piglet is a food editor. Piglet is a name our FMC was given as a nickname by her working-class parents because of how much she ate and her size. Now an adult, Piglet is concerned greatly about appearances especially as she’s marrying a rich, wealthy man who comes from old money. But her happiness is upended when her husband reveals a secret. We the reader aren’t told what this secret is at all throughout the novel (which is an intriguing literary device that could polarise readers) but I think you can infer what it is - I’m assuming cheating of some kind. Anyhow regardless of what the secret, suffice it to know that the secret unleashes an internal rage in Piglet and she finds herself fighting her emotions and people around her the only way she knows - through feeding her appetite. She can’t get angry, that’s too low class and vulgar but she can eat. So eat she does.
We see Piglet unravelling and along the way discover her constant struggle with suppressing her appetite and her body images. This is such a topical book. It kind of stays with you long after you’ve finished.

I first heard of this book years ago from the authors Twitter account and I always knew I would love it. When I got approved to read it, I kept putting it off, to keep it as a reward for later.
And what a reward it was! This book is better than what I have hoped for.
I loved the depiction of friendship, and all the kind of loves that are in Piglet's life beside romantic.
The food writing parts are amazing and I enjoyed how food represented at different times different themes of Piglet's life.
At first I found it annoying that we never learn what Kit, the fiance, did, but by the end I was glad I didn't know, This way I had to trust Piglet's own reaction, and I couldn't even subconsciously try to reason with her,
There were points when the treatment Piglet were getting (and the fact that they are all calling her Piglet) got a bit too much for me and I had to take a break, but none of it was unreasonable within the story.

Piglet whose real name is Pippa, a fact we don't learn until the very end of this novel is what is commonly known as a 'foodie'.

She has always loved cooking, baking, (and eating to help hide her Sister's eating disorder) from a young age.

Kit is Piglet's perfect man. They have just moved in to their dream home together (with Piglet's dream kitchen) just weeks before their wedding.

Then Kit tells Piglet something so devastating that she doesn't know how to deal with it.

So she bakes, and eats, and cooks, and eats, and bakes, and eats, and cooks, and eats in a continuous cycle. until she can no longer fit into her wedding dress.

She goes along with the wedding regardless, a day that has always been fated to end in ruins. But she loves Kit, in spite of everything.

We never find out exactly what Kit did, though it can probably be assumed that he cheated?

But I quite like this air of mystery as we are focused and fully invested in Piglet herself, and rightly so!

This a brilliant, unique and quirky debut novel and I'm really excited to see what this author has up their sleeve next.

Thank you for my eARC of this book. I think I read this when I was in the right mood for it, had it been another time I might not have stuck with it, but I really enjoyed my time with this and would recommend it!

I found this book enjoyable, interesting and really uncomfortable.
I like that the characters aren't fully formed, and it really doesn't seem to matter.
We never know the actual reasons for the relationship breakdown, or what dress size Piglet is, but that's OK. We know enough, to use our personal experience to form our ideas and opinions.
I genuinely think that ever person will take something different away from this book.
It's the kind of book that I would hate to be made into a movie because the directors depiction will include their own personal experience/prejudices, which will be totally different to mine.

Piglet 🐷

Thank you to @doubledayukbooks and NetGalley for my copy!

In terms of 2024’s hyped books, Piglet has to be up there as the book I have seen people chatting about on bookstagram. Before and after release, I’ve seen it EVERYWHERE and honestly I think rightly so!

We meet Piglet as she’s in the approach to her wedding, just as she has learned something about her fiancé. If that sounds like a simple premise, it is. But it is done SO well.

There were so many scenes here that I have discussed with pals in all caps (WEDDING DRESS, as one example); so many moments where if I hadn’t been reading this on an iPad I would yeeted it across the room. Hazell’s writing is entirely engrossing; at no point did I feel like an outsider in the story or in Piglet’s life.

I would have loved for there to be slightly more in terms of food writing; the scenes that were focused on this, especially where Piglet was cooking or creating, were just exquisitely done. I think about croquembouche at least once a week now, and it would have been nice to see more of that.

We also never find out the central mystery at the heart of the novel, an unsatisfactory end to an otherwise wonderful novel. I’m excited to see what Hazell writes next!

Piglet is a fascinating debut novel from Lottie Hazell. It follows the life of a young woman who attempts to build a perfect life. She feels embarrassed by her working-class family and craves a better life. Piglet focuses on her career, learns to be a perfect hostess and finds an ideal fiancé. When his betrayal is revealed, the disenchantment hits hard. It appears that moving to a new city and starting a new life did not solve her problems. As her idealised future crumbles, she feels the need to fill the emptiness within her…

This novel examines the idea of a ‘perfect’ life and how easily it can be shattered. It’s filled with incredibly detailed descriptions of food, cooking, and baking. It was a captivating read, and I will definitely reach for the author’s next novel.

Quite a difficult and triggering read at times but really well written. I think Piglet will stay with me for a good while

Piglet immediately appealed to me; sure, being an ex-food blogger, how could I resist this food centric protagonist?

Piglet is superficially, at least, living the good life. A new home with her fiancé Kit in leafy Oxfordshire and their wedding imminently approaching. The chance of promotion at work. It’s all a far cry from her working-class and rather traumatic childhood in Derby.

But, our thirtysomething gourmand is living a lie; Kit drops a bombshell thirteen days before their wedding day, which threatens to shatter everything in Piglet’s much dreamed for fairy-tale existence. Will she let everything crumble, or will she follow the recipe and fight to keep everything sweet?

Piglet’s emotional crutch since childhood has been food, and her relationship with it is far from simple. As her emotional void grows, Piglet attempts to fill it with food, literally, but with binging comes a shame and distress that is palpable.

Irritatingly, we never find out precisely what Kit is after doing, and much as I loved Hazell’s use of food to reflect themes of disordered eating, body confidence (and lack thereof), friendships, family shame, social mobility and keeping up appearances, overall, the story left me hungry for more. 3.5⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley; this is always an honest review. Piglet is out now.

A scrumptious, delicious debut novel full of passion, obsession and delightful food writing.

Piglet, a nickname from her childhood, has the perfect life not only is she on the verge of a promotion in her cookery publishing job, has recently moved into a new build with fantastic furniture with her fiance, and is only weeks away from getting married. Tensions are building as she holds her working class family at arms length, the process for baking her own wedding cake is turning into a big operation and her future mother in law is poking holes in every decision.

Less than 2 weeks before the big day, Kit, her fiance, confesses to the ultimate betrayal.

Numb and confused, dread starts to build in Piglet and her life starts to unravel around her, descending into rage as she tries to unpick the details. Bingeing on food with an appetite she cannot fill, she knows that she does not want to tell anyone and the pressure to maintain the blushing bride is about to erupt. Her perfect life is on the brink, and only she can make the decision on where her life will go. Lizzie Hazell really builds up the tension and the pressure within the character, and at times the claustrophobic felt by the character was felt by me. Brilliant writing!

This is a bold book about food obsession, class and the pressures put on women to have it all, and to maintain decorum at all costs. I really enjoyed reading Piglet, and I am looking forward to seeing more from Lottie Hazell.

Thank you @netgalley for the ebook copy of the book!

What a wonderful journey of self discovery afterwards huge betrayal! I loved the descriptions of meals and food as a means of obsession! I didn’t overly like Piglet as a character, especially at the start, but I was compelled by her journey!

Exploration of the female experience through food seems to be a trope that is hot right now and Piglet (which is all over social media) is another book with much hype and deservedly so.
This is a story following Piglet (her actual name is not disclosed and the reason for her nickname is explained approximately 22% through) from a modest, humble background who is engaged to an affluent man from Oxford. They’re happy. Until her fiancé reveals a secret thirteen days before the wedding and Piglet’s world collapses…if her husband can indulge in his appetite, why can’t she…
This was an interesting read. Parts of the story was vague (her husband’s secret is never revealed but you can tell what it is in nature), and as the story is in third-person narrative there is a distance between the character of Piglet and the reader, which can make this a tricky read. I know a lot of readers weren’t happy about the fact the secret isn’t revealed but I didn’t mind and felt it added to the story, as we’re focused on Piglet and her reaction. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and was completely engrossed but there parts when there too much telling and the descriptions of the food didn’t add to the story. There were sections that moved me emotionally (when she goes to the Indian restaurant and the burger scene were 🤌 - so emotionally devastating) but that tension just wasn’t sustained and there were times, such as Piglet’s lack of empathy for why her pregnant friend who has just given birth, can’t fulfil her bridesmaids duties. Despite these flaws, this was a solid reading experience, a confidently written debut. I will definitely be looking forward to what Lottie Hazel writes next.

I find this slightly triggering and nauseating in places through the way piglet was treated. I think this was an interesting story and i liked what this did. It certainly was provocative and presented some challenging ideas. I thought the side characters were well developed and they helped sell the rest of the story well. I found this interesting overall and would read more by this author.

Piglet is a gripping story and the gorgeous food descriptions had me drooling. Piglet, our protagonist, is days away from her wedding when her fiance reveals a devastating truth, throwing her life completely off course. She finds comfort from her turmoil in food, and devolves into confusion and rage as she battles with her self confidence. This is a fantastic novel, exploring the reality of being a woman in todays society and struggling with your relationship with food and the pressures and expectations of those around you. I highly recommend this, especially if you're a fan of foodie books and dramatic plotlines.

It's a bold move by a writer to have a character reveal a devastating lie, but never let the reader know what the lie is.

Piglet is on the surface, living a good life. A new home with her fiancé Kit. The chance of promotion at work and a wedding imminent. But thirteen days before the wedding Kit confesses to something that makes Piglet reconsider her whole life.

The tension builds exquisitely as Piglet begins to unravel and the croqembouche scene made me feel so anxious. Right up until the last second I wasn't sure if she was going to go through with the ceremony, and this did keep me reading.

But my natural curiosity needed to know what Kit had done and it was exasperating never to know. I also found it to be quite a bleak read and Piglet to be a desperately unhappy character that made me feel really sad.

I think Piglet is one of those books that you don't love, and yet, you can't stop reading and thinking about it. Brilliantly written no doubt, and one that would be great for a book group discussion.

Great, lightweight fun. I might be interested in more from this writer once they have matured a bit?