While the writing talent is clear in this author and there were some important themes, I felt the pace of the narrative and the act of moving the story forward really let the book down. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it as I just lost interest halfway through. There were a lot of flashbacks as well which dragged the story - I think it would have worked better as dialogue between the two main characters. I would read more by this author as I thought she had a lovely turn of phrase but for me the pace and the storytelling needed more work.

Definitely a new author on my ‘one to watch’ list, Laure Van Rensburg has crafted a fantastic thriller packed with such tension and anticipation you won’t want to put it down.

Nobody But Us is about couple Steven and Ellie. Steven is a respected university professor, confident and arrogant in equal measure. Ellie, an adoring student, hangs off his words. Together they leave for a romantic weekend away in an isolated cabin in the snowy woods, hoping to enjoy each other away from prying eyes. Only, neither of them are who they say they are…

This story is very easy to get lost in. Rensburg has crafted the perfect setting for this claustrophobic tale. The cabin is isolated in a dark, unforgiving forest, the trees closing in on all sides to detach Ellie and Steven from the real world.

The wilderness is reflected in Stevens character, who, without giving too much away, becomes more comfortable defying societal norms and expectations the further he is away from civilisation; he will do whatever he needs to and gives in to his base emotions.

The snowy weather also casts an ominous feeling of foreboding over the story, foreshadowing the events to come…

The story is told from both Ellie and Steven’s perspectives, making it easy to understand the motivations and actions of both. There is also the addition of dated letters, and we are left guessing throughout who the author of these letters might be and how they impact events.

A great story. Both characters are morally grey, and it’s hard to say much more without giving away too much of the story, but it’s one you don’t want to miss!

I will say that I thought the ending could’ve come earlier. I thought it had reached a perfect, if slightly ambiguous conclusion, and then it carried on to make a more clear and obvious finale. Some readers may prefer it, so no real criticism here!

I will give a content warning for violence, violence against women and underage sex.

4 Stars from me

Goodness me, what a read this is! This one sure takes craycray to a whole new level.

What appears to be the perfect romantic weekend away soon takes a dark turn that you won't be expecting and a whole heap of history unravels along with Ellie's mind!

This book had me on the edge of my seat as I genuinely never quite knew what to expect next! It was gripping and interesting - I didn't particularly warm to either character but in some ways that made it better as they were both somewhat deplorable, albeit for different reasons.

Great book - perfect distracting.

Nobody But Us is a powerful novel that will hook you in from the very first page. I won't go into plot details as I feel that the less you know going into this book, the better. I will say though that the themes in this book are tremendously important.
With stunning prose, fascinating characters and potentially unreliable narrators, this novel will keep you on edge until the very last page. Highly recommend.

Wow. This was a powerful and emotive read.

Ellie and Steven go to a secluded cottage to celebrate their sixth month anniversary. The fact that she calls him ‘professor’ suggests that he is older than her and perhaps, her teacher. The story is told from each of their perspectives and that of an unknown character. The book is very well plotted with the twists and reveals perfectly paced.

The author’s vivid descriptions had me fully immersed in the book and feeling the character’s fear, especially in the final chapters- wondering who would survive.

It is a difficult subject to tackle and good to see the author has added support group information at the end.

Thanks indeed to NetGalley and the publisher.

This was sent to me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really struggled to finish this book, in reality I wouldn’t have got past the free sample on Amazon if I was choosing normally.
Firstly I think the English teacher / student theme has been done to death and I find it unimaginative and a bit lazy to have 2 characters sparring over literature opinions. Can’t it for once be a different area of academia at least?

Secondly I felt the writing was far too heavy on scene description at the expense of character development. There are only so many ways to describe snow and a forest, I need to feel characters come alive or spike interest in me to stay engaged. These 2 felt flat and one dimensional.

The outline of the plot sounded ok which is of course why I requested the book, in reality the delivery of it felt completely unconvincing, I ended up skimming over many paragraphs towards the end. I never felt anything in the way of tension or suspense, mostly just irritated at what felt like a desperate attempt to piggy back a social movement.

I enjoyed this book,and read it in two sittings... but very little in it surprised me.
From early on I had s good idea where it was going.
At times it felt quite wordy (something I do myself) and could have been simpler.
From the beginning you know there's a show down coming,and I was just speeding to see exactly what form it took.
I'll definitely look out for this author in the future.

A bit <i>Hard Candy</i>, a bit <i>Promising Young Woman</i>, a dash of campus novel - there's a lot to like here, and it's very timely.

Unfortunately it's rather overwritten (the prose is practically purple at times), and the constant use of passive voice is grating (and I say that as someone who quite likes passive voice!). The plot feels tired, although I can't think of any examples to support that feeling. There's also not enough plot for the length of the book - it could have used a heavy edit.

This will work best for readers who are less focused on the writing, and more interested in the atmosphere and suspense of a thriller.

My thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC.

Nobody But Us
Laure Van Rensburg
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I went into this book completely blind and so glad I did! I probably wouldn’t have chosen this but this story most certainly has to be heard!

Ellie and Steven arw both lovers of literature and are becoming a perfect couple. Ellie idolizes Steven and has planned a romantic weekend getaway together in a remote house surrounded by the sea, the forest and a snow blizzard. How romantic! Or so you think…… perhaps one of them hides a secret or two? All will be revealed in this absolute page turner.

Did I enjoy this book? A simple Yes! I really was caught up in the story line, captivated by Ellie and Steven along with a heart wrenching past. I thoroughly enjoyed this plot and the harsh reality of it. On a side note, the Romanticist in me loved the literature quotes through this book!

Anything I didn’t like? I guess the harsh reality of the plot was sometimes hard to read but absolutely HAS to be read!

I 100% recommend this book. Praise to the author for writing about such a hard storyline which must be talked about more openly.

This book was a little slow to start with but I was soon gripped. I liked the plot and I really enjoyed the relationship between Ellie and Wendy- It was quite nostalgic. It’s definitely a good book for the me too movement!

The book was great, interesting characters, fast changing and twisting plot- exactly what I love! I would recommend this book to my friends and family!

When Ellie and her professor boyfriend Stephen take a trip to a remote cabin it should be a weekend to remember, except neither are being truly honest about who they are, or their motivations for getting the other alone.

Well-paced, I loved how this story unfolded, and how their relationship shifted as the days played out. Hooked from start to finish!

Darkly Twisted, Compelling Narrative….
A well healed professor and a young student, an isolated cabin and the chance of a weekend together away from pressures of the outside world. Just the two of them. As the weekend progresses things begin to get very tense indeed. Well observed with a darkly twisted, compelling narrative, a slow build of mounting tension and a well constructed plot leading to finale that the reader may not see coming.

Nobody But Us - Laure Van Rensburg

A couple celebrating six months together are going on a secluded, romantic getaway.

Steven the well-respected professor and Ellie the wide-eyed young student.

One of these characters has ulterior motives for the weekend.

It's a rather original revenge thriller with one of the characters in fear of the other. I liked the setup, and the characterisation, particularly of Ellie is good.

The writing style is rather wordy, I felt it slowed things down a little. A lot of the story is told in memories, explaining the motivations, I would have liked more 'here and now'.

There is some threat and tension, but given the themes I would have liked and expected it to go deeper and darker.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK

Such a taught, slow-burning and unpredictable thriller. I loved the timeline it was set over, with hints and flashbacks to what led up to Ellie and Stephen's weekend away. So clever and thought-provoking, with a real heart-in-your-throat ending. The setting was brilliant too: I could feel the cold, and the dread in the isolated location. Very atmospheric.

In this contemporary re-working of the ‘locked room mystery’, we are presented with Ellie, a hardworking student at New York University, who takes her first romantic weekend break with her boyfriend Steven, a renowned professor at an elite institution in Manhattan. Confined by a snowstorm to their remote cabin, however, it is not long before their individual secrets start to emerge. Steven is not who he claims he is…but neither is Ellie. And as the increasingly brutal weekend unravels, there can only be one survivor…. The publishers described this thriller as ‘high concept’ and I found this to be true as the story line is tightly plotted and the thriller’s premise to entertain and shock the reader never wavers. An impressive debut from an author to watch. My thanks go to the publishers and to NetGalley for the ARC they provided me with in exchange for this honest review.

Really enjoyed this. Wasn't sure about it to begin with, and it felt a little confusing at first. But once you got further into the story, it started to become clear. Kept me interested right to the end.

This is an intense and twisty books - fans of thriller will not be disappointed!

The author sets the tone of this book from the very beginning. It's tense and gripping and you just know something big is going to come! The focus is on Steven and Ellie, who escape New York City for a weekend in Chesapeake Bay. But, like any good thriller, what should be a romantic time turns into a nightmare!

Rensburg builds the tension in such a way that you don't want to put it down - you really do want to finish it as quick as possible to find out what happens.

The book features issues of #MeToo - so trigger warning if this is something that could be upsetting or triggering. I do, however, think it is written in a sensitive way so it becomes a powerful and important read.

Would definitely recommend this for thriller fans - especially lovers of psychological thrillers!

Enjoyably twisty, Nobody But Us went places I didn’t necessarily expect and kept me guessing right until the end. The scene setting in the prologue chapter was especially effective, with police detectives examining the bloody scene. Recommended for fans of My Dark Vanessa and Promising Young Woman.

Firstly, this is an incredible debut novel from an author that I will definitely be keeping an eye on for their future work! There were so many positives to this book and I thought the overall storyline was a really interesting one, I've read a lot of comparisons to a particular film, but having not watched that I thought the storyline was pretty unique and gave an interesting twist on a hugely important topic. However, although I enjoyed certain aspects, there were a few negatives that meant I couldn't 'fall in love' with it.

I enjoyed the mystery of the diary entries and the constant unknown of who the narrators were and what there intentions were. However, the reveal came pretty early on for. a thriller (around 1/2 way through) and after that, I wasn't as invested. I personally prefer a book that lays more subtle clues and keeps me guessing until the end.

The characters themselves were insanely unlikeable and I did not like either of them. Usually this doesn't affect my reading experience, but when the scenes became intense it was hard to root for either of them! I ended up skimming those parts as I had gotten a little bored of the cat and mouse aspects and wanted a resolution sooner rather than later.

This book discussing the extremely important issue of consent in an interesting way and I enjoyed the way the author really delved into each characters psyche and how they justify their actions. This really felt like a realistic scenario, in the way that people are able to make personal justifications to make themselves feel better and although for me, neither characters were without some fault, I was glad for the outcome in the end.