This was scarily relatable, more so than I'd expected. I don't think I've ever read a book that portrays toxic female friendships quite like this did. It was tense, disturbing and so addictive to read.

I thought this was written well, there were only a few parts that were on the verge of being repetitive halfway through but overall the writing kept me gripped from start to end. Clara has to be one of the worst characters in a book I've met, she was unhinged! But that also made the plot what it is & she had me so intrigued. Vale had her own flaws too, it was interesting reading how her & Clara's friendship began as kids in Rome; I thought the flashback chapters were well paced & gave a great insight into them as individuals & the friendship as a whole. I feel like I could resonate with certain parts of Vale's personality, with how she clung on to the friendship for so long because of her own insecurities— this made me empathise with her while also wanting to shout at her to get out.

I also love fictions that include library settings & book loving characters, I thought this was a great backdrop to the general story; I only felt the scenes of Vale getting her book published could be deemed a little far fetched but this was easily glossed over by me & didn't put me off the story as a whole.

The last chapter felt slightly rushed for me & because of this, the end seemed more abrupt than I'd have liked; I wish there had been more to it after all the suspense throughout the rest of the book. However, this was still a great read overall & one that'll play on my mind for a while.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for my free eARC!

Pig is an introspective and immersive novel that follows Vale, an autistic-coded woman with a special interest in pigs, as she searches for purpose and identity while trapped in a toxic, codependent friendship. I loved Pratesi’s character work - Vale is compelling and likeable, the side characters are layered, and the relationships feel deeply considered. The plot is simple but meaningful, exploring big themes like abuse, neurodiversity, identity, and belonging - all handled with care and emotional depth.

Watching the manipulation play out is both heartbreaking and frustrating. It captures how coercive control can erode your sense of self, and how much we’re shaped by the people we surround ourselves with - for better or worse.

Overall, a great read I’d definitely recommend, especially to those drawn to identity-driven fiction and introspective character voices. 4.5 stars!

Toxic relationship and pig facts, what’s not to love?! lol 🐷

What I loved most about this, apart from the pig facts, is that even Vale is flawed. She might not be “toxic” but she does have her own idiosyncrasies with an obsessive personality. But Clara is clever and is able to manipulate Vale’s neurodivergence to her will. Slowly allowing her poison to seep in and destroy Vale. It’s sinister and unsettling in a very subtle way.

Like Vale, I loved her time at the Bookshop.
Over time, and with the help of some beautiful work colleagues/friends, Vale starts feeling comfortable being her true authentic self. However, I can’t even begin to explain the frustration I felt. I even wanted to throw my tablet, at one point because just when you think Vale is starting to understand and see the truth, she talks herself out of it and explains/justifies Clara’s behaviour. Not gonna lie, it was maddening but that’s what I loved about it. I was fully invested and needed to know how this twisted tale would end.

And the ending? I loved and hated it in equal measure. lol I wanted more but also felt that was the best way to end it. (Read it and you’ll understand, I hope lol).

Thank you so much, Little, Brown Group UK (Corsair), for the arc of this amazing book. I can’t wait to get myself a physical copy.

Pig is one of those unsettling, quietly powerful novels that lingers. It follows Valentina — or Vale — who finds comfort in listing pig breeds, a ritual that calms her anxiety and brings a fragile sense of order to her world. Living under the control of her flatmate Clara, Vale relies on her for everything, from what to wear to what to eat. But when an unexpected opportunity arises at the bookshop where she works, things begin to shift.

I was drawn in by the premise — toxic female friendship, obsessive control, and the quiet tension of a protagonist learning to step into her own life. It’s been described as disturbing, and I can see why. The dynamic between Vale and Clara sounds like it will leave readers feeling uneasy in the best possible way.

The pig facts, the mental health undertones, and the bookshop setting all point to something that’s literary, layered, and darkly original. With its shortlist for the Caledonia Novel Award and a compelling endorsement from Alice Slater, Pig looks set to be one of 2025’s boldest debuts.

#Pig #NetGalley

Pig is a dark, uncomfortable, but addictively gripping novel of a toxic female friendship. Vale works in a bookshop. She’s somewhere on the spectrum, and her safe place is pigs. Sometimes she will recite the breeds over and over to herself until she feels calm once again.

Vale lives with Clara. Yet none of her workmates or family really know what transpires in this “roommate” situation. Clara has a total manipulative hold and control over every aspect of Vale’s life, from what she wears to what she eats.

Waiting is a tense game, and that is what the author does to the reader. We wait and wait for Vale to understand what is happening to her. It’s frustrating and, like I said, gripping. I was glued to this book until the end. Which came a bit too abruptly for me, as I had grown fond of Vale and wanted to know what happens next.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful read with an interesting plot that showed an intense and manipulative relationship that was very intense and had me shocked at points.

Thanks to NetGalley and Matilde Pratesi for this review copy!

This was SUCH an interesting take on toxic entanglements. One that didn’t have romance to hide behind. This could be a really uncomfortable story at times but I liked how Pratesi marched on headfirst through that. It had a very similar tone and level of threat as Lucy Rose’s The Lamb, but with less of a focus on the gothic.

The subject matter of this book makes it an uncomfortable and difficult read at times, however joy and optimism manages to shine throughout.

The book dissects a friendship that was once potentially genuine and happy but has now become something much more toxic and abusive.

I really enjoyed the juxtaposition between Valentina’s life at the bookshop with people who are actually her friends but who she’s been manipulated into believing are not her friends and then her home life with her abuser, who she believes is her one true friend.

I thought the LGBTQ and neurodiverse representation in this book felt really natural and authentic and was done really well.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the middle portion of this book. It felt like a big context dump and I believe these chapters set in the past would’ve been better placed interspersed with the present day chapters. I believe having a big context dump in the middle of the book really pulled the pacing down.

However, the final third of the book was really strong, the tension was built really well and I enjoyed the ending of this book .

I would rate this book 3 1/2 stars and would love to read more books by this author.

A really beautiful story about friendship and self-worth. It was fascinating to see the friendship and unrequited desire unfold in this novel, until Clara becomes such a menacing figure that I could hardly stand to read about her. At times, the pace was a little uneven (and I found the flashbacks less compelling than the present day), but with such a charming narrator, I flew through this. Really lovely and much less 'weird' than I expected.

this was both a hopeful and uncomfortable read. but in all the best and important ways. i thought it was brilliant to see the abusive and coercive side that can come with friendships. which in this case seemed to crossover to a sort of relationship line too. there was clearly jealousy and behavior that spans the spectrum of just what people do to abuse and manipulate their victim.
by the end i was shouting inside and so angry for what was happening to our little pig expert. but so much more than that is the need for her to finally be ok. and in doing so she had to finally see she was ok. this was the key to her freedom and like so many others under the control of someone its like opening a door to the light or turning over a mirror and finally seeing yourself with pride and strength and acceptance of just who they are. then and with the support of others can they be free. but of course its still not as simple as that and thought this book covered that push and pull really well. not only that but it depicted that moments when the one in control feels like they are losing it perfectly. for that is when they ramp it up.
dont be confused by the title. its does have its place and i thought it was a very clever usage.
its also got that added plot point of the victim being on a spectrum. and this is known to be a spectrum which makes the person vulnerable to all sorts especially those wanting power over them. this was handled sensitively and i never felt it was tick box.

This is one of the most original books I have read in a very long time.

I loved the juxtaposition of Vale’s friendship with her work mates compared to her “friendship” with Clara. I would have liked to have seen more of Ollie and Kai.

The abrupt ending killed me after being so hooked on this story. I was really rooting for Vale and the story ending on a cliff hanger had my heart in my mouth. I was screaming “DONT DO THIS TO ME”. Having sat and thought about this ending, in hindsight I loved it. I don’t think there could be any other way to end it.

The writing style was easy to read and the characters were engaging.

I think I this story is one that will stay with me for a long time and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thank you

4.5

I was really looking forward to reading this. The topic of toxic and controlling relationships are usually represented as romantic ones so I was thoroughly looking forward to this being explored in a different way.

The book started with good promise and drew me in. To me it seemed that the main character was written as someone on the ASD spectrum and this intrigued me further.

Unfortunately my interest waned as the book progressed as there was so much repetition with both dialogue and circumstances. I continued reading under the hope that the plot would get darker and sinister as it really had the potential to do so, however this never transpired.

The premise of this book had fantastic potential to be a very engaging read, unfortunately it fell very short of what it could have been.

The first person and neurodivergent protagonist Vale(entina) of this novel which is largely set in the 10 months before lockdown (April 2019 to February 2020) is also “fondly” nicknamed “Monk” by Clara, in whose house she lives in what we (but not Vale) immediately recognise as a controlling (unconsummated) queer relationship in the London to which both have moved, having first known each other as sixteen years old in Rome.

Flashbacks to the period 2010-11 when they first met fill in the backstory: Vale having moved to Rome from her beloved countryside with her father’s job – retains an obsessive interest in pigs which dates from her earlier childhood and time she spent helping on a smallholding. In Rome she is very much an outcast at school for her eccentricities until she is unexpectedly befriended by the much cooler Clara – only for her heart to be broken when Clara unexpectedly goes to University in Milan to follow Clara’s boyfriend Edo. Vale adrift gets a job in London via a family friend and moves there as a reset, but later when Clara and Edo also end up in London, she moves in with them – only to be left alone with Clara when Edo and she split up (we quickly realise due to Clara’s control and abuse in their relationship).

In 2019, Vale is working in a bookshop – something of a haven for her during the day – and as the book begins is starting to be befriended by her fellow worker Ollie (who is gay) and then the non-binary Kai (who joins when the owner of the shop adds a coffee shop to the premises). But at 630 each night she rushes back to bathe, feed and indulge Clara – whose initial tips on how to dress and behave to blend in better at school have metamorphosised over time into written notes each morning telling Vale what to wear and what to buy and eat for lunch. And even deviation from the carefully prescribed routine that Clara has set out for her leads to a diatribe, which leads Vale spiralling into anxiety and desperate to try and make amends with Clara.

The dynamic in the book comes from a chance encounter with a bookshop visitor looking for a book on the New Agriculture (typically young people and typically from the City moving to the countryside to start typically ethical smallholdings including livestock) – and Vale’s pig obsession leads to him suggesting to her that she writes something for the firm he works for Almastra – a small nature/animals/poetry publisher keen to take advantage of this movement.

Encouraged by Ollie and Kai, and given the chance to indulge her lifelong passion, Vale writes in secret from Clara and gains a publishing contract. The published book ends up titled as “Rearing Pigs the Ethical Way: Why It Matters and How to Do It” and at the launch event she describes how in it

‘I set out to share the knowledge that I have gained since childhood about raising these noble animals in the good and ethical way they deserve. My knowledge does not come from degrees or traditional education, but from direct experience, autodidactic learning and a lifelong passion that has led me to source material from a multitude of places. This is the result of all these years of borderline obsession–as others have called it–or “healthy interest in a fascinating subject”, which is how I prefer to refer to it.’

But of course inevitably controlling Clara discovers the deception and her bullying behaviour grows in intensity – her illness forcing at first Vale to break contact with her publisher and fellow workers, but then increasingly to start to contrast Clara’s condemnation of her with the assertions and respect of others, and to piece together remarks made to her by her family, Clara’s family, Edo, medical professionals, an ex-colleague who had a row with Clara at a work party – and to finally realise the truth of her relationship.

In terms of criticism. The book for me lacked any real sense of jeopardy – and I would contrast it strongly with the visceral tension induced by Roisin O’Donnell’s Women’s Prize longlisted “Nesting”. And, I think related to this, the pacing felt a little too slow – the novel is full of seemingly extraneous details (not as an aside those about pigs but just as one example – when the owner of the bookshop gets her fingers caught in the till, entirely I think metaphorically) which seems to detract from the novel’s narrative arc.

But overall this was a interesting debut novel taking a quirkily different approach to the topic of controlling relationships and with a protagonist whose stuttering journey of discovery of her own intrinsic self-worth will I think draw as many quiet admirers as her own non-fictional treatise.

I really enjoyed this book! such an interesting literary fiction book exploring a toxic female friendship, something completely new to me in terms of lit fic. The main protagonist, Vale, held such a soft spot in my heart and I was rooting for her success the whole time.
This book made really light work of complex and intricate characters. Additionally I found the neurodiverse rep in this book really comforting, and I now know a lot more about pigs!

Title: Pig
Author: Matilde Pratesi
Pages: 336
Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded down to 3 where applicable)
Spice/Romance level: 🩷 (talks of crushes and dating)



After recently reading Bunny, I had to read this. Especially as the blurb talks about toxic female friendships. We see a lot about relationships but friendships whether it be breakups or manipulation, grief etc is rarely talked about.

This was so intense and frustrating for the MC Vale. I felt I could relate to the comfort and safety within books.

"These walls calm me down; not being able to be among the books, cradled by this low ceiling, would change everything."

And her wholesome thoughts and innocent perspective of life. Which I'm pretty sure I'll be following too.

"always pet a dog that looks like it would like to be petted; never run after birds, because it scares them; never feed pigs food that you wouldn’t feed a human; touch any book cover that has raised lettering"

She finds safety in pigs. They calm her mind and it makes her happy. But people find her weird because of it. Except for one person. Her best friend. We flip between their past and present and read their past history which helps us empathise as to why Vale stays in this coercive relationship. We read through the snippets of her life at the bookshop and her colleagues and see the contrast of her personality between the two.

This book is intense. Upsetting. Frustrating, rage, and anxiety inducing. There are some wonderful thoughtful quotes. Despite all the nastiness in the world there are still those who want the best for each other.

The ending was pretty abrupt. But it holds hope for the reader.

You'll love this book if you like
- books about toxic friendships
- female literature
- friendships
- books with bookshops

Many thanks to Little Brown, Book Group and Netgalley for the chance to read this e-arc.

Pig is an unsettling story about the repercussions of toxic female friendships. Vale, our protagonist, is an endearing character who has a special interest in pigs. Pigs are her safe space, whenever she finds herself feeling anxious, pigs ground her and help her through her hardships. Vale was such a fascinating character to read about and many times I could not help but relate to her. It was heartbreaking to see how much effort she put in pleasing Clara, only to be devastatingly treated by her so called best friend.

I love that the book didn't focus on exploring explicitly romantic relationships, though the friendship between Vale and Clara is nuanced. While the book deals with a lot of hard topics, ultimately it is a book about finding the inner strength to break away from toxic, abusive relationships - no matter what form they take. Without realising Vale begins to build healthy friendships and make decisions where she puts her needs and wants first.

This is why I wished that we got more time with Kai and Ollie. The ending was very abrupt and it felt like it stopped when there should have been just a few more concluding chapters. The plot also felt predictable and slightly underwhelming at parts.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed Vale as a character. She has a unique, strong voice as a protagonist that made me really invested in the story. I'd definitely recommend this book to those looking for a read that explores toxic female friendships and queerness.

This was an OK read and I found the characters well drawn and the relationship between Clara and Vale carefully described but I did feel like I had read a lot of aspects of the book before (Eleanor oliphant, needlemouse for example) and not sure how long it will stay in my memory.
Thank you to netgalley and Little Brown books for an advance copy of this book

Thank you to Matilde Pratesi, Little, Brown Book Group UK | Corsair, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The premise hooked me but the pacing and structure fell a little flat. The huge context dump in part 2 didn’t work well - maybe it should have been interspersed throughout? I enjoyed the characterisation, especially of side characters like Ollie and Kai, and the narrative voice fit our protagonist very well. It could be very laborious to read though and definitely needed further restructuring and editing.

Kept me up late. Excellent sinister toxic female friendship story.

I had to keep going! I just had to see Vale's story end. And I was not disappointed, boy was this dark and tense.

From present to past, our narrator Valentina skips back and forth through her life, showing us an unhappy Italian childhood of not fitting in, of finding her passion for pigs but finding this also excludes her from humans. Then finding a friend in Clara, who accepts her eccentricities but for whom Valen feels she has to be a certain way around.

In the present, Valen is living in London, working in a bookshop, rushing home every day to cook for and to bathe Clara, who seems unwell but also... not quite right. Valen cuts off friendships and social engagements for her best friend, grateful for her company and favour, but always on the cusp of a meltdown.

Readers watch a picture build of their controlling relationship, of what has led to it, of how it is affecting Valen's life and future.

It is only when Valentina is offered the chance to use her knowledge of her beloved pigs (and there's a metaphor in there about herself) that she strains to work around her limited life and might possibly make something more of herself.

Clara is a frightening creation, it's wonderful and terrifying to see their interactions. Valen is so naive and sweet, not spotting advances by both professionals and potential crushes, seeing the best in people, ignoring red flags galore and desperately wanting to be loved and needed.

There are some lovely side characters in Valen's workplace, very realistic ones, I enjoyed the foray into Valen's Pig Passion, and the plot moved at just the right pace for me to really feel desperately keen to keep reading while giving enough backstory to fully understand the two leads.

This would be wonderful to film, incredible roles for some actors here, dramatic and psychological.

Loved this.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

This was a slow burn for me but I really got into it towards the end of Part One.
The backstory provided in Part Two was really helpful to understanding Vale (and, to a certain extent, Clara) a bit more, although I found myself eager to get back to the "main" story.
In the last quarter of the story I felt a bit frustrated by the way Vale seemed to repeatedly go back and forth on how she felt about her relationship with Clara. I suppose that's quite realistic though.

I will definitely be looking out for Matilde Pratesi's future works! Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.