Its time for another Netgalley review, this time its The Lock In by Phoebe Luckhurst which is out tomorrow (22nd July)

The Lock In is mostly set over one day, or to be exact one consecutive period of time when a group of housemates (and one of the housemate's date) becomes locked in the attic after the door handle breaks off. Did I mention that the house is also flooding due to a leaking pipe in the kitchen? With no signal and no access to WiFi the group try to come up with creative ways of getting help. However, in between their planning drama occurs and secrets are revealed which threaten to tear friendships apart.

The group of housemates, Jack, and best friends Alexa and Ellen make for a fascinating trio. You have the socially awkward but loveable, Jack. Then you have the best friends from uni, a friendship which has lasted many arguments and boyfriends, cities and university, but can it survive this next challenge? As the book progressed you learn more about each of the housemates from how Jack came to be living there to Ellen's previous relationships. The more you read the more you start to relate to at least one of the characters as each one has their own unique traits.

I really enjoyed this novel, it was a wonderful, funny story and a perfect summer read. From the strict, rule setting landlord to the mysterious date, Ben who may have a secret or two to reveal we get to know these additional characters as the housemates reminisce and look back on past events.

As the majority of the book is set in an attic there isn't much in the way of world creation but we are painted a picture of this small space from the boxes of wires to the corpse of a dead mouse which sets the scene for the dramas that follow.

Every chapter will either make your cringe with embarrassment for the characters, laugh (either at them or with them) or scream with frustration. However the laughter will definitely trump all else as this is a highly humorous tale of what happens when you trap a group of people in a small space for a long time.


⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a laugh a minute rom filled with drama, secrets, comedy and a bit of romance thrown in. I highly recommend this if you are into your romantic comedies.

3.5 rounded to 4
An easy to read, fun story with engaging characters and lots of humour. I liked the multi point of view telling and felt that the 4 characters were interesting enough to keep the story alive and moving along with just the attic setting.

A light hearted rom-com read that started with lots of promise but I was slightly disappointed. I really liked the idea of the book and thought it was a pretty original concept. However I felt the story didn’t completely live up to these expectations and wasn’t that believable in parts. I would recommend if you’re looking for a nice summer beach read.

I really enjoyed this story. I can imagine it being quite a difficult job to keep a story interesting whilst the characters are stuck in one place for most of the book, however I feel like the author did this really well.
I really felt how uncomfortable the characters were and the awkwardness between them all.
I would read more books by this author in future.
Thanks to Netgalley for accepting my ARC request.

I really enjoyed this story. I can imagine it being quite a difficult job to keep a story interesting whilst the characters are stuck in one place for most of the book, however I feel like the author did this really well.
I really felt how uncomfortable the characters were and the awkwardness between them all.
I would read more books by this author in future.

The Lock In was a fun and pleasant read. It didn’t blow me away but I thought the characters and the plot worked well with some funny sections. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and the author for the chance to review.

If you want a funny romcom then this is the book for you. A nice easy read with good characters and all in all a very good book. 5 stars, enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ATC

Two things I look for in a book within the first few chapters is characters I like the sound of and ideally too a storyline that will intrigue me to read on... sadly this book had neither and so I've had to give up reading.

This was a very light enjoyable read.

Plenty of laugh loud moments in the attic, overall enjoyable with enjoyable characters.

The Lock in grabbed my attention from the start. It’s entertaining and funny and I really enjoyed the whole concept of the story. I can relate to the unusual situation the flatmates found themselves in and I believe this could happen in reality, however I found it extremely frustrating they weren’t making more of an attempt to break out. Personally I would have been frantically searching the attic for any manner to tool to help me break down the door, especially knowing the kitchen was filling with water.

Written in the multiple points of view of the main characters, some background history and flashbacks are incorporated into each narrative and this additional information fleshed the characters out. The characters are interesting and likeable, I loved their different personalities and quirkiness . I particularly liked Jack, he’s adorable, comical and I found his social awkwardness completely endearing and his Twitter texting hilarious. The MSN chat messaging back and forth between Ellen and Ben was a wonderful addition and it took me back in time and triggered memories I had completely forgotten about.

The Lock In is light-hearted and enjoyable read with some great characters. It is funny, well paced and engaging with a well executed plot. I was a little disappointed nothing ground breaking happened while they were all locked in together, I feel more could have been made of the actual lock in. However, I loved reading it, it’s a lot of fun and a perfect summer read.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC and proof for review.

The title, The Lock In, really pulled me to request this book, and though it wasn't about a lock in , in its truest sense, the story was a cringy gigglefest from start to finish!
Imagine it, being hungover, in a house that has a huge leak, and locked in the attic with three other people.
Ellen, one of the fated housemates, is suffering from a rather wild night before, and after discovering a leak, tries her hardest to find the off switch (!!) in the attic. So something I would do, pre being a homeowner.
After no success, she has to wake her fellow housemates, to alert them to said leak, and request their assistance in turning off the water.
Jack, the most recent addition to the house, is clueless, but Alexa, Ellen's friend from university, and final housemate is savvier, however, doesn't have the brute strength to actually turn the stopcock (that was under the sink, in case you needed to know!) off. They all find themselves up in the attic, questioning Ellen's presence there, when the fourth in the adventure arrives, Ben, who was actually Alexa's date.
Now, his brute strength is another matter, and he ends up locking them in the attic, and breaking the door handle!
The hilarity that ensues from being stuck with almost no phone (I won't go into that, too much!), no toilet, food or water, along with old stories being recalled, oh, and the memories of an old romance that turned sour popping its head up, it's an entertaining book.
The visit back to 2009 with MSN Messenger, drunken nights and the first digital cameras took me back to my own youth!
I found all the characters likeable in their own way and ended up with a soft spot for Jack, who is socially clueless but ends up in the limelight in a way he never thought possible.

Many thanks to NetGalley, and Penguin Mochale Joseph UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

A witty, fun, quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed! There were places I wanted a little bit more to be going on, but looking back on it, I really did love the story just the way it is. The characters felt real and believable, the conflicts made sense, and the resolution at the end was clean, without feeling artificial.

Honestly, I'd highly recommend this for anyone looking for a nice light beach read this Summer!

I'll start out by saying that I didn't enjoy this book and I do not recommend it. The only teeny tiny moment I enjoyed was the flash of nostalgia I felt when the characters spoke about MSN - and that is it.
The plot for this novel was basically nonexistent. The set up had potential and because it was described as a rom-com I was expecting some sexual tension and good fun but that is not what I got. Almost nothing of interest happened in this book and any semblance of conflict never amounted to anything.
Not only was the plot boring but it was also nonsensical. I genuinely felt like I was reading about the most inept characters and they truly made the stupidest decisions which just baffled me and made me roll my eyes constantly. Even in flashback parts when characters were 18, they acted like I did when I was about 12.
I wish I could say the book was well-written but unfortunately that isn't the case. This book was so overly detailed that it was actually a chore to read and 75% of the book felt completely unnecessary. Even during text message conversations the author included pointless texts like "haha x" "yeah lol". I definitely think this book would've worked so much better as a short story without so much waffle.

Thank you for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting premise - poorly executed. I did not enjoy this book and probably would have put it down after about 10% had it not been an ARC. The plot was dull, the story not believable, and the characters acted very strangely and were not necessarily likeable. The writing included a lot of "fluff" and unnecessary information that detracted from the actual plot. A lot of pointless dialogue that read like something from a school-level essay was included, seemingly to "bulk out" the book and give the characters more depth, but both still fell flat.

A unique and interesting premise - Romantic Comedy plots usually feel too throwaway for me - that started off well but then slowed down considerably. Still well written with characters who are definitely relatable, wryly amusing rather than laugh out loud funny.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.

Ellen and Alexa are best friends who share a house along with their housemate Jack. While suffering a horrible hangover Ellen discovers that the kitchen is flooding, not being very practical she searches the attic for the stopcock. Jack and Alexa come up to help, but when Alexa's date Ben from the night before joins them the door slams shut and the handle falls off trapping them all in the attic.

They spend their time shouting for help from a window, Ellen worrying that she's done something the night before to get herself fired and having to pee in a box and worrying about the flood downstairs...and then they discover that this might not be the first time Ellen and Ben have met...except he's denying it. Meanwhile Jack is secretly live tweeting the whole incident with what little reception he has instead of calling for help.

I mostly liked it, none of the characters were particularly likeable but I didn't hate them either. The story was something different, light-hearted with some amusing (and cringey) moments. Each chapter was told from a different characters perspective which kept it interesting.

Overall I liked it, was an easy read, but I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't been part of the "MSN generation".

#netgalley #thelockin #phoebeluckhurst

Review also posted to Goodreads but unable to link to this account.

I received a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review thanks to NetGalley and Michael J Books.

This was a funny, lighthearted book. It’s got a Beth O’Leary vibe to it.

It follows the perspective of 4 characters: Ellen, Alexa, Jack and Ben. It was interesting seeing how each character was dealing with the situation they were in.

When the kitchen is flooding and housemates Ellen, Jack and Alexa are trying to sort it out, they get locked in the attic with Alexa’s date, Ben. With no phones with battery/signal to use, the 4 characters have to get creative. As with any locked room scenario, chaos happens with a dash of awkwardness.

I just loved Jack live-tweeting what was going on - i’d definitely be the one doing that!

This is a quick, fun read.

Not a bad book, but a bit unbelievable in places, like Jack's behaviour struck me as beyond daft and how did the carpet fitter get in if Elias didn't have a key?

Trapped in the loft with your best friend, her new boyfriend and your new housemate.
The frustrations, circumstances and history make it a fun read. Very much a here and now story that has nothing to do with Covid.
Enjoy, I did

Rating 3.5/5

It was definitely the cover that caught my attention with this book first and then when I read the tagline I was sure that this would be a book that would be perfect for my summer reading.

I think what I enjoyed the most about this book was that as well as the light-hearted fun that I was expecting I also got a lot of unexpected nostalgia, I had entirely forgotten about MSN until reading this and it just brought back so many funny memories. It also became a whole lot more relatable, I was right there with Ellen, I could completely understand her feelings about that whole scenario because I too was that teenager crushing on boys and trying to catch their attention with crazy song lyrics.

I will admit that until that point in the story I hadn’t quite yet been hooked, I feel like I was waiting for a certain kind of conflict that hadn’t quite materialised. I think because for me the expectation going into the book was that the characters being locked in the attic wasn’t where the excitement of the story was going to come from, so unfortunately for the first part of the book I was waiting for something more exciting to happen. However once Ellen and Ben discover that they have places in common and maybe know each other I felt a lot more involved in the story and was eager to find out how the situation between them would play out.

I felt a connection to Ellen straight away, I too would have (until very recently) not known what to do if I found my kitchen flooding, and could relate to her next day hangover fears. Alexa too was relatable, I liked that she was the de facto leader of the group and that she was the one that everyone else thought would know what to do, even though she was trying just as hard as everyone else to get by. I think the dynamic between Ellen and Alexa was great and I liked that they were a bit opposite to each other but knew how each other worked well enough to handle certain situations.

Jack was an interesting one, admittedly at the start I wasn’t so keen on him, he seemed a little awkward and unsure and I felt his sections drag a little. However then he does something that I thought was rather unexpected and adds another level of tension in the story and I was intrigued to find out what impact that would have on the rest of the group, especially when they made it out of the attic.

I think I had expected a little more tension between the characters when they made it out and whilst I loved how heartwarming the ending was and that it left me on that happy upbeat note, I feel like it would have been sweeter if the consequences of some things were explored a little further.

The Lock In was an enjoyable read, a light-hearted and creative take on a locked room mystery, and I loved the trip down memory lane that it took me on.