Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Loved this book so much. The European vibes were spot on and the drama was amazing. The writing was so lyrical but I got so much story from it as well, although the book was primarily character based. Obsessed with this.

This book was so strange! The first 70% were just boring and the last 29.9% were better but the end -that 0.1%......THE END!!!!!!! What? I got goosebumps!!!!!
I need to stop using exclamation points.....

i would re read this book again simply for the nostalgia and amazing atmosphere of Berlin in the background.

It starts of slow which most literary type of thrillers do but soon you are drawn in and it becomes a real page turner and that ending !

it's a book which has a lot of energy, it's fun and vibrant, parties, sex and drugs , pop culture from the era, it would make a great film / series . A thriller of sorts with toxic friendship at the heart of the story . Unlikeable characters but ones you become obsessed with , I loved it .

A thriller that fails to deliver on the promise of its concept. I loved the idea of a writer landlord using her tenants' lives as inspiration for a novel, but in practice too much space is devoted to fashionable 2000s nostalgia and the atmosphere failed to spark my enthusiasm.

Really unexpectedly good; the mystery unfolds with tension, and there are some surprising reveals. And the characters are absorbing, offset by the intriguing and sometimes threatening setting of Berlin.

Two American students studying abroad in Berlin rent an apartment from a well-known thriller writer. They then realise that her next book appears to be based on their lives.

This was a dark and gritty with a fantastic atmosphere. The dreary weather in Berlin adds to the growing unease of the story. It’s also set in the late 2000’s and was full of nostalgic nods.

The book has a slow start and seems more like literary fiction to start before the thriller aspect kicks in. I loved this as I love an early 20’s female trying to figure her life out type story! However, some readers probably won’t as it is marketed more as a thriller.

The twists were well written and I was gripped throughout the novel. Definitely a recommended read from me!

AD - This copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Other People’s Clothes is set between America and Berlin, we follow Zoe and Hailey, two art students who move to Berlin and live together. They’re absorbed by the party scene in Berlin and start throwing wild and legendary parties in the flat that they are renting off of Beatrice, a famous author. I went into this book thinking it was about drugs, partying, the Berlin club scene and a sort of coming of age type of messy book but it all of a sudden got very dark, very quickly.

Zoe is trying to escape the grief of her best friend’s murder and Hailey pretty much a narcissist. Both characters aren’t that reliable or likeable but the events that take place after the first half of the book had me gripped and turning pages desperate to find out what was happening to Zoe and Beth. I don’t want to give any spoilers but it got very weird, in places rather ridiculous and extremely dark - it was rather intoxicating.

At first I was really into it, then my interest dipped, then I got super invested, then my interest dipped again and then towards the end my mind was blown. It was a whirlwind of a book. I feel that maybe it was a little long and some storylines could have been explored a little further but overall was a completely unexpected read that had my hungry for more.

I think this book could be better enjoyed by someone that is maybe younger or older than me. It felt at times like the author was shoe horning 2000's pop culture in to an inappropriate degree. It made it impossible to enjoy.

This sounded great but the execution left something to be desired. It’s not as much about the sinister situation of a writer using the main characters as inspiration as I thought it would be; it’s more about the main characters partying and falling out with each other. It also felt too heavy on the “Y2K” nostalgia to me, up to the point that it seemed contrived, but this will probably work well for some readers in the target audience.

Zoe was the mysterious art student in her high school, but her arrival to New York revealed she was just one of many who thought, looked, and acted just like her. Hailey is the anomaly in their class. She foregoes a sullen expression for bright pink, lipstick smiles and swaps the usual art student's uniform of Docs and paint-splattered overalls for low-rise jeans and velour tracksuits.

The two could not be more dissimilar but they are forced to find common ground when they find themselves both travelling to Berlin for a year of studies. They become roommates in the once-grand apartment of a semi-successful novelist and their year of alcohol binges, drug-fuelled all-nighters, and doing everything to success begins.

I loved the early focus on learning to understand these two females. They were both lost in entirely different ways and clung to their previous shared experiences in New York as a way to stay afloat in this strange, new city. Both had a variety of likable and unlikable traits, just as both had a horde of strengths and vulnerabilities. They slowly shared these, with each other and the reader, as their close confines increasingly forced them into a strange, toxic, and all-consuming friendship.

This tackled numerous darker topics that had my heart breaking for these suffering characters. It was as bleak as it was edgy, but it was also a story that became more and more bizarre, and I did not anticipate the direction it would eventually take. It was a novel as sad as it was unsettling and it revealed all that lay beyond the false glitz and glamour of the student ex-pat lifestyle.

This is a vividly descriptive novel that encapsulates the strange friendship between two art students in Berlin. Zoe, whose best friend was recently murdered in her hometown, is living with Hailey. Its set in 2009, with lots of pop culture references thrown in. It doesn’t take long for strange things to start happening, whilst this novel remains grounded, they are suddenly enthralled in their landlords new novel, and soon become entwined in their own games, outplaying each other in a story that soon becomes stranger than fiction.

Whilst this novel is exuberant and treads in murky waters as the others try to out do one another, the book finest points are not in its actions but the movements and description in the writing. Zoë’s observations of Hayley are exquisite and really bring the bond between the two of them closer. Hayley’s observations throughout, be it of people she meets in bars or at uni are masterful and create vivid scenes throughout the novel. It was a novel that truly captured age, the use of language and actions. The impact that plays on the consequences and us it can have.

Whilst towards the later stages of the book, I began to loose interest in the story, I stayed for the prose and the writing style, which remained strong throughout and made it a debut novel worth reading.

I read this straight after a thriller about female obsession set in Japan, so it was interesting to see similar themes play out in a different environment. Hailey and Zoe live in an apartment in Berlin belonging to crime writer Beatrice Becks. In a very post-modern thriller narrative, the two girls are convinced that their eccentric landlady is writing a book based on their life. This leads to an exploration of the power dynamics between the women, because if someone’s watching, why not put on a show? The women go from lounging in their pyjamas and watching reruns of Law and Order while snacking, to performing their own lives. Of course their lives become wilder and the author’s descriptions of their parties are vivid and full of life.

The women have brilliant, distinct, personalities. Hailey is slightly manic in places, and like a whirlwind rushing through leaving a mess in her wake. She’s one of those people you can’t stop watching, even though you know it’s going to end in tears. I was constantly on edge, waiting for something to go wrong. Berlin felt gritty and raw and full of arty references. I enjoyed the sense that I was watching performance art, voyeuristically viewing the interior space of the flat. It took me a little while to settle into the book, but once I did and the girls antics became wilder I was hooked until the end.

Other People’s Clothes follows Zoe and Hailey. New York art students who arrive in Berlin in 2009 hoping that it will solve their problems. Zoe’s best friend from high school as been murdered months before. Together the pair rent a beautiful apartment from a well renowned crime writer, Beatrice Becks. They start to suspect that Beatrice is watching them and using them as the plot for her newest novel, the girls try to play Beatrice at her own game.

The premise really intrigued me and at first, I was into the novel. I liked looking at the friend dynamic between Zoe and Hailey, looking at obsession in friendships and how desperate they are to be part of the party scene. However, then my interest dramatically dipped as the novel got super slow and drawn out. I did feel like this novel was too long and I just got bored by all the party scenes in the middle of the book. It picked up again near the end and I was more gripped, but ultimately, I guessed both twists at the end.

Overall, a fun concept and a female centred novel, even though it did become a bit too slow for my liking.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was an okay read, I found it picked up in the second half. Without giving too much away, it mainly centres around friendships and relationships, particularly that of two American students in their twenties carving out a life for themselves in Berlin whilst on an exchange programme, with a lot of dramas ensuing throughout. They’re both really complicated, and although there’s some dark humour throughout, I struggled to warm to the characters.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I was really drawn in by the premise, and felt that that aspect was very strong when reading. However, this central premise doesn't appear until at least halfway through the book. The first half was a bit of a struggle to get through, as I didn't particularly care for any of the protagonists, but the second half was a solid thriller full of atmosphere and great aesthetic imagery.

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)