I really wanted to love What a Shame. I love the cover. There was lots of hype around it and as a young professional living in London I felt I would be able to relate to it.

Sadly, it just didn’t quite work for me. It read like a white over privileged Queenie (I really loved Queenie however) and I just found it a bit ODD.

The characters weren’t likeable. The situations they found themselves in were a-bit bizarre and the story was a little predictable.

What a shame eh? From reading the reviews this book seems to be a bit of a marmite book - some readers loved it, others not so much and sadly I’m in this category.

It did however encourage me to apply to volunteer with a elderly person befriending scheme so guess it can’t be all that bad.

This one was a bit of a rollercoaster. I had suspicions about what the twist would be but, even so, I thought the topics were handled well and I couldn't help but have sympathy for the characters and what they had been through. I found the depiction of female friendship particularly interesting, especially around some of the bigger issues that Mathilda faces. I am not sure if this is one that I would read again but it was definitely thought provoking and I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Felt that the tone didn’t match up with the events of the book, and it made for quite a confusing reading experience.

A warning this book covers serious topics that may trigger some. Self harm, sexual assault and abuse, grief. Be sure you are as comfortable as you can be reading about these topics. That said its a well written and engaging read, you may need some breaks but it's a story that pulls hard at you. #triggerwarning

Content warning - Death, Abuse, Break-ups, heartbreak.

What a Shame follows Mathilda who after losing her father and breaking up with her boyfriend in short succession of each other has become somewhat stuck in a rut. Her friends are convinced she’s cursed and to help her move on they introduce her to a world of unorthodox methods to overcome her grief.

This is a very raw, coming-of-age book that makes you think back to the times in your twenties, when life seems hard, every heartbreak is the worst you have ever experienced, and life is only excitable due to those friends you have around. The content warning does make it seem as though it is quite a deep and difficult book, but the author has made each chapter have a sense of light-hearted warmth to it.

Overall, the book is edgy and contemporary but filled with some light-hearted humour.

Tender, unflinching and blisteringly funny, What a Shame glitters with rage and heartbreak, perfect for fans of Emma Jane Unsworth, Dolly Alderton and Holly Bourne

I found the story a little hard to follow, there are quite a lot of different characters, particularly friends, and when switching between timelines it did get rather confusing.
I liked the main character and could relate but also sympathise with her feelings and experiences.
The book explores many different aspects of relationships: romantic, friendship and family.
I would have liked the story to have been a bit more serious, as I felt it was a bit silly in parts, particularly when dealing with sensitive subjects.

Mathilda’s life isn’t going well - reeling from a break up, she lets her flatmates get involved in remedies for her woes. But can she come to terms with the traumas she’s suffered, and find a way through them?

What a Shame is an entertaining enough story. Mathilda is a complex character, and at times isn’t the easiest to empathise with, but overall she’s someone you want to succeed.

Overall, an enjoyable read.

This was a strange novel. Mathilda has lost her father and her relationship and, understandably, falls into a depression. Her friends, recommend all sorts of alternative ‘therapies’ to help help her out.

So far, so weird.

What I really liked about the book wa sMathilda’s relationship with Constance, a strong willed and strong minded elderly woman who saved the novel from being a 2⭐️

The novel was okay, but I feel it lost it’s way, or didn’t really know what it wanted to be.

It’s okay, but I wouldn’t rush to read it.

I really enjoyed this one. It all started with the wonderful cover art, then I found myself right in the middle of my former East London life, again living in a house share and visiting places I used to go to. Interesting concept and the author has a great way of painting a picture of a young adult woman, living in East London.

I was gripped from start to finish.

Great characterisation, funny dialogue, and a brilliant premise. This is going to be a huge hit.

I’m afraid I struggled with this one, so it was a DNF from me.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Sorry, but I have struggled to get through this book and had to keep coming back to it.

I'm afraid that the death parts were just too close to home at the moment, and the blackness of it was hard to read.

The writing was fine and flowed OK, I just wasn't taken with the characters.

An absolutely astonishing debut. Abigail Bergstrom's writing is so touching and hilarious while also having the rare talent of feeling slightly too close to the bone. I just adored Mathilda, and recognised so much of life in your twenties and thirties through her eyes. She's one of those characters that will stick with me for a long time.

This was an unusual book and I did struggle a bit to keep going with it, lots of different threads that confused me. However I did persevere and it picked up pace.

Unfortunately this book just didn't flow and seemed to jump all over the place so couldn't get into it at all. Stopped reading a quarter of the way through

Mathilda is still reeling from the death of her father and her boyfriend walking out on her all within a matter of weeks. She has moved in with three of her girlfriends who all do their best to help her recover - but something about Mathilda isn't right. She's stuck and can't move on, replaying moments from her childhood or memories with her boyfriend over and over in her mind. Eventually, her friends start to push her towards more unorthodox methods of recovery in the search for closure and recovery - could Mathilda be cursed?

I really liked the character of Mathilda. She is a person who is in so many ways deeply aware of herself and yet in others she has no idea what is going on emotionally. I really felt with Mathilda the rage and heartbreak following her break up (as someone who has also been on the receiving end of a cowardly boyfriend it resonated!) and her deep desire to make sense of her troubled relationship with her father. This is a novel about grief and the different forms it can take and not always about grieving someone who has died - you can grieve the loss of a friendship or a lover who has moved on too. Despite this key theme, I never felt like the book was maudlin or sad - there are actually plenty of laugh out loud moments with some dark comedy thrown in too.

I recommend this book to readers who like Dolly Alderton (Ghosts), Daisy Buchanan (Insatiable) or for fans of Fleabag.

A super read, zeitgeist, witty and moving. It will appeal to fans of Fleabag, I May Destroy You and Promising Young Women. Delicately and deftly written.

I loved the cover and the people around me do too, to the extent that some of them have bought it purely on that basis. It is a lovely package! Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. In the first chapters, there were several weird misuses of 'ten-dollar' words (some of my favourite writers sometimes do this too, such as Lisa Jewell and Jennifer Weiner, but I don't mind that because their characters are lovable and their books have momentum) and spelling mistakes/typos. I couldn't connect with Tilda or her beautiful flatmates and it took too long to get going for me. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for providing an ARC for an honest review.

Such an unusual read, even though in many ways it's characters and subject matter are not new. There was something really honest and real about the characters and the simplicity of the narrative, whilst covering some really contemporary and deep issues. Would be really interested to see what's next from this author.