This is a brilliant read! Thought-provoking, and took me right back to my first Edinburgh Fringe. The author skewers the festival in precise prose, and I found Sophie - the colleague of Alex Lyons - very relatable, including her struggles post-maternity leave. The social media snippets are also pitch-perfect, I feel like I could’ve read any of them in real life in response to the latest scandal. I’m so glad I requested this!

This was an intense read, telling the story of two journalists covering the Edinburgh festival. One acts in a disgraceful way but is then held to account and experiences a public shaming, extreme in its nature. The other watches on, at times supportive, at others disapproving. The book becomes an exploration of her feelings as she watches on as her colleague sees his career flounder. The book explored themes of patriarchy, the power of the press and the changing nature of journalism in a social media world as well as the nature and dynamic of personal relationships. One thing should be clear, it is a hard hearted person who is unaffected by a sexual relationship, and to be such diminishes you as a person. Thoughtful material indeed

This was a very sharp, funny novel - taking an issue(s) of our times and telling it in a humorous but also very smart and funny way.

Alex Lyons is a theatre critic, currently at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is well known for his cutting reviews. After seeing Hayley's feminist play (the climate emergenc-she) he delivers a devastating one-star review. However, later he sees Hayley in the bar (with Hayley oblivious to who he is and what he has just written) and the two hit it off and spend the night together.

However, when Hayley finally reads the review, her stage show changes placing Alex, and his behaviour (past and present), in the spotlight of her one-woman show. Suddenly, more and more stories about Alex come out....

This was a really clever book, taking issues over power, misogyny, cancel culture but looking at them in a humorous way, whilst never seeking to minimise them.

This is definitely not a one-star book

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | The Borough Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

4.5

Alex Lyons writes a one star review for a performance by Hayley Sinclair at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He doesn’t hesitate and really goes for it, annihilating her act, adding a picture for good measure, after all, she’s a pretty girl. As he walks through the city, he checks dating apps as they always explode during the festival and heads to a bar. A few feet away from him is Hayley, oblivious that he has all but eviscerated her, that is, until she wakes the following morning after, yes, you guessed it, spending the night with Alex. Oh dear, big oops and such betrayal. What is Alex thinking???What well known critic Alex doesn’t know (yet) is that she will turn the tables and how. Whose career will go up in flames, I wonder? Beware a woman scorned as it won’t be pretty and there’s a day of reckoning coming. The novel is narrated by Sophie, also a journalist at the same paper and with whom Alex shares a flat in Edinburgh.

First of all, the setting in Edinburgh during the Fringe is excellent and the variety of performing arts that takes place here gives the author masses of creative scope in which her wit and humour really shines. I love the premise of the novel as it allows for much drama, reading both sides of the dual between the central protagonists. Hayley clearly expresses how it feels to have a one star review and how you pick yourself up from that which makes me ponder my own reviews! Are they a fair reflection or are they an opportunity to be savage if the mood takes you? As for Alex, he does make good points especially about luke warm three star reviews (damned with faint praise) but he really is a piece of work leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. I like the way that the author uses Sophie to present his character in a balanced way as it stops the tendency for it to perhaps become a rant. Sophie is caught in the middle, she has sympathy for Hayley because who wouldn’t, but also for Alex and she’s very conflicted.

I’m glad the author chooses to tell the story via Sophie as it works really well but I’m not convinced we needed the side story of her feelings for her partner Josh and although it’s sweet, her love for her son Arlo, although he sure is cute.

The characterisation is exemplary, all can be imagined with ease and the pages are very lively when Alex‘s mother a renowned acting Dame, is present. What a luvvie! It also allows the author to look at privilege and nepotism (Alex) versus Hayley who has clawed her way up. There’s a lot going on but it’s woven together seamlessly and makes powerful points. I like the ending which feels just right

Overall, this is a very good literary character driven novel of revenge, arts and culture, of how people in positions of power treat others. It’s a creative and funny tour de force.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Harper Collins, HarperFiction : The Borough Press for a much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

Bring the House Down is a sharply observed and darkly funny exploration of power, performance, and public scrutiny. Set against the electric backdrop of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Charlotte Runcie’s debut captures the messiness of creative ambition, ego, and the brutal consequences of criticism.

The story opens with Alex Lyons, a smug, self-assured theatre critic who doesn’t deal in nuance. His reviews are either glowing or damning, and when he pens a blistering one-star review of actress Hayley Sinclair—just after a one-night stand with her—he sets off a chain of events neither could have predicted. Hayley’s reaction is explosive and brilliant. She transforms her failure into a scathing satire of Alex himself, and her show becomes a viral sensation.

Runcie plays cleverly with perspective, especially through Sophie, a fellow critic who listens to Alex’s side of the story. This layered approach prevents the book from becoming a simple revenge tale. Instead, it invites readers to wrestle with uncomfortable questions: about truth, power dynamics, cancel culture, and what fairness really looks like in art and life.

Hayley’s fierce response is satisfying, but the story doesn’t let any character off easily. The ending, refreshingly, refuses a neat resolution. Runcie’s writing is witty, thoughtful and alive with insider knowledge of the arts scene. The commentary on theatre, reviewing, and the subjectivity of taste is incisive and compelling.

This is a feminist firecracker of a book—smart, searing and endlessly discussable. It would be a brilliant pick for book clubs or anyone interested in the fraught intersection of art and accountability.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

This is a sharp, darkly funny novel about revenge, power, and the chaos of cancel culture. Where one bad review sets off a chain reaction of humiliation, viral fame, and shifting control.

I loved reading this. I found it nuanced in its portrayal of the subject matter and hugely insightful. The fact that the narrator is not at the centre of what unfolds (or not exactly) meant you got an additional level of perspective. I was compulsively reading this and will be recommending it!

Having survived a good few Edinburgh fringes myself as a poet and compere, with a couple of forays into stand-up, and both two- and five-star reviews under my own belt, I binged this book without putting it down. This is the story of critic Alex Lyons, and perfomer Hayley - who he unfortunately sleeps with and files a one-star review of her show the same night (oops).

In an interesting twist, the tale is told not by Alex or Hayley but the unremarkable-seeming Sophie Rigden, a journalist and mum in her mid-thirties who's enjoying a taste of freedom in Edinburgh and also sort-of-enjoying being the designated driver and minder of Alex's chaos, as well as dealing with some complex feelings about him and realising she's not recovered from her own unrelated grief over the death of her mother. So, not much going on at all, then!

A chunky, significant look at whose job it is to tell stories, whose job it is to judge them, whether criticism is inherently class-marked or misognystic, what theatre does or is supposed to do, how power corrupts and how far simplicity and cancel culture can go in today's hounding-focused society, Bring the House Down doesn't promise any easy answers but it does promise a rollicking ride through Princes Street and beyond.

Five stars - well deserved, and I'm not sure what the author might do if I gave her any less. Just don't go near any naked flames.

It seems ironic to be reviewing a book that is about the consequences of reviewing! As an Edinburgh resident, I do enjoy the festival and all the exciting things that happen in August but I also hate the way the city is so busy, public transport gets delayed and it’s so difficult to get anywhere in the centre of town. Like many people, I do read the reviews and sometimes they can be vicious. I often wonder what it must be like to be on the receiving end of a very negative review and this book goes some way to address that.

Alex Lyons is known as a hard-nosed theatre critic. He doesn’t mince his words and generally gives either five stars (rarely) or one star. When he goes to see Hayley’s one woman show, he’s not impressed and writes a scathing review even before he leaves the theatre. In the theatre bar, having already filed his piece, he meets up with Hayley and they go home together without him revealing who he is. When she sees the review the next morning and realises who he is, she is devastated. However, she certainly gets her revenge when she rebrands her show The Alex Lyons Experience and invites women to share their experiences of being badly treated by men.

Rather unusually, the book is told from the first person perspective of neither of who I would term the main characters. For much of the book, critic Sophie is providing a commentary on what happens to Hayley and Alex and we only get glimpses into her own life. She is a mum to baby Arlo and has left him with her partner while she heads to Edinburgh for the three weeks of the festival. She is also grieving the loss of her mother. I’m not entirely convinced that it was necessary to have her as narrator. I felt the story could have been equally well told from the perspectives of Alex and Hayley. However, having Sophie as narrator enabled the author to give us a slightly more impartial view of what was happening.

Being honest, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I expected to. The opening chapters really captured the excitement and business of Edinburgh at festival time but then I felt it got a bit repetitive hearing about all the bad things Alex and other men had done. I’m certainly not defending Alex’s behaviour but I’m not sure he deserved quite the social media pile-on that followed.

Although I don’t usually include star ratings in my reviews, with the focus in the book being on star ratings, it seems appropriate to do that here. I would give this book 3 stars out of 5. I didn’t love it but it is very sharply written and I was keen to keep reading to find out what would happen.

i swallowed this book down in a day, and loved every moment. i have some Personal Experience with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival so the setting was very vibrant and evocative for me. i liked the journey we went on, i found alex really repugnant for most of the book but i quite liked the happy ending of it all.

Definitely an interesting read exploring themes of cancel culture and social media. But I found it kind of dragged at times and wasn’t very fast paced, didn’t always keep my attention. It was okay

Bring the House Down describes what happens when a theatre critic (Alex) pens a one-star review of a one-woman Edinburgh show then sleeps with that woman (Hayley) immediately after the show (but before the review is made public). The woman then makes the show all about the critic and all his failings.

I was immediately intrigued when I realised the narrator is neither Alex or the Hayley but a another writer (Sophie) watching this happen to her colleague at a remove. It almost seems kind of voyeuristic watching it through Sophie's eyes.

Sophie herself is feeling lost as a new mother, trying to gather her identity after a year adrift on maternity leave and still grieving for her own late mother. I could certainly relate to this feeling of not knowing who you were supposed to be now and I can understand some of the choices she makes.

Indeed, the whole story is identity in so many ways: the way we appear to others, can we change, should we change? It was an interesting read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Smart, fun and very binge-able. Asks so many interesting questions about power dynamics, the role of the critic, revenge and cancel culture - it has that perfect blend of juicy gossip and big ideas, perfect for a book club read. The book does a great job with its two main characters, Alex and Hayley, portraying each with enough nuance that there's no perfect hero or villain. Genuinely can't wait to recommend this one during Edinburgh's festival season. A treat from start to finish

The author has employed a clever narrative tactic by having us hear of this whole debacle from a bystander, but I think the premise becomes it's own enemy after a point.

Nevertheless, an intriguing look at cancel and harsh review culture with nuance and worth a try. Full review to come

At the Edinburgh festival, Alex, a theatre critic, watches a one-woman show, writes a one-star review of it, and then sleeps with said actress, omitting his identity. After finding out, Hayley turns her show into ‘The Alex Lyons Experience’, a one-star review of Alex’s entire life. The show is an immediate success, and it turns Alex's life upside down, and Sophie, long time colleague and now roommate as they both cover the festival, has a front-row seat to it all.

While this wasn't exactly what I expected it to be from the blurb, I truly do feel like it's impossible to do the premise of this justice; it's such a simple concept, yet it's so masterfully executed, and it definitely is one of those books that can open such interesting conversations about arts, power dynamics, criticism, and so many more aspects of our culture. It's such a nuanced concept, and I think it was handled really well

The story is told from Sophie's POV, which I found really interesting, as she is, just like everyone reading, on the outside of what happened, but has a more privileged position in being in such close quarters with Alex, and having opportunities to talk to Hayley as well. There's no denying Alex's actions are bad, and the more you find out the worst it gets; the author does such a great job making you understand how he got to where he is, without it excusing any of his actions.

Overall, it really is such an entertaining, quick, easy to read book. There is something addictive about it, and it is so easy to digest, while still being thought-provoking, which makes it incredibly bingeable.

Bring the House Down is a layered, original novel that offers a really clever take on how easily public perception is shaped (and reshaped) by the media. I love that it’s not told from the obvious perspective, but from someone caught in the middle, which adds nuance and opens up more space to explore themes like morality, feminism, power, revenge, and the consequences of public pile-ons.

The writing is sharp and witty, the characters are morally grey but compelling, and the plot is clever and well thought-out. The high-pressure worlds of theatre and journalism are captured so well, and the Edinburgh setting is beautifully done. A brilliant read!

A fascinating dissection of the duties and responsibilities of those who set themselves up to critique others - and this goes for both Alex and Hayley, I would say, although I did feel it was rather too heavily weighted against the male antagonist, and for that I felt it rather too cliched and not even-handed enough. But well-written and funny and vicious by turns, this was highly readable and thought-provoking.

Wild and compelling from start to finish! Asks a lot of important questions about the culture of today and the society we live in. Fast-paced and bingeable, this would be a great beach/holiday read!

This is one of those books that sounded sort of interesting, so I picked it up with the intention to sample, get a feel for it, and then put it aside for later. And I was doing that, honestly, but then, somehow, the pages kept turning and I finished the whole book. I guess I really couldn't put it down.

I don't want to sell this as a thriller, because it's not. Bring the House Down is a literary character and culture study, and a thought-provoking exploration of the responsibility critics have to both their subjects and their audience.

But if that sounds dry, I'm doing it a disservice. Because it's seriously compelling and juicy.

We dive right into what the blurb promises from the very first chapter: cutthroat theatre critic Alex Lyons sees a show at the Edinburgh Fringe and completely decimates it in a review. Immediately afterwards, he goes to a bar and runs into the show's creator and sole performer, Hayley, and the pair sleep together.

Hayley has no idea Alex has just written a career-ending review of her show, but when she finds out, she decides on the perfect revenge: revamping her show into a vicious critique of Alex and his whole life. Soon, others are speaking up about their negative experiences with Alex, both through his reviews and in his private life.

Runcie has written a thoughtful meditation on several different aspects of our culture here, and it is compelling because it is relevant, the stakes are high, and there are no easy answers.

When does criticism cross a line? If you give a harsh criticism then add the disclaimer “I’m just being honest,” does that make it okay? Is it always right to be honest or, at some point, are you-- as Madeline the Person puts it --"just being mean"? Or, conversely, is it better to be dishonest, as Sophie often is? To slap five stars against a production because you feel you should, out of a sense of duty to the creators? Does it matter less if your platform is smaller? Do you only have to temper your honesty if you know your voice is influential?

In Alex's case, he grew such a powerful reputation from being brutally honest. The readers loved his reviews because, if he thought it was shit, he said so. Nobody wanted the milquetoast three-star reviews. So is the problem even Alex, or the culture that built him?

The book also looks at the aftermath of a "cancelling" with nuance. Alex is an asshole, no doubt, but as he becomes ever more hated, as more and more people gleefully gather round to judge him on social media, one has to wonder how much punishment he actually deserves. The book is stronger, in my opinion, because Runcie refuses to fully condemn or redeem him.

I am intrigued to see how other readers feel about the choice of narration. The story is told in first person-- not by Alex or Hayley, but by Alex's colleague, Sophie. In some ways, it's genius: Sophie is adjacent to the book's main events, close enough to witness them firsthand but far enough removed to offer a more balanced perspective. However, the book's biggest weakness, I feel, is that we also get a subplot delving into Sophie's life with her partner Josh and new baby, which I found to be the slowest and least interesting parts of the story.

But, overall, I really enjoyed it and found the moral ambiguity really compelling. Recommended for anyone who enjoys asking complex questions about the culture we live in.

A sharp, smart, and unexpectedly tender take on revenge, criticism, and the weight of public opinion, Bring the House Down is one of those books that sneaks up on you with big questions hidden under fast-paced prose and biting wit.

The plot kicks off with Alex Lyons, a notorious and womanizing theatre critic, delivering one of his trademark one-star reviews to a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe — only to sleep with the performer, Hayley, without letting her know what he’s done. When Hayley, in a fog of rage, reworks her show into a damning portrait of Alex’s personal and professional life, her act becomes a viral sensation — and Alex finds himself at the center of an escalating cultural reckoning. What follows is not just a tale of revenge, but a slow unraveling of identity, perception, and the very structure of who gets to hold power in the world of art.

Rather than being told through Alex or Hayley, the story is filtered through Sophie — a critic and Alex’s colleague, on the fringes of the drama (and the festival), whose own unraveling mirrors the public chaos unfolding around her. This narrative choice works beautifully, forcing us to question our own reactions to the spectacle. Are we rooting for justice, or just addicted to takedowns?

Sophie’s own storyline — defined by emotional absence, performative calm, and an inner disconnection she can’t quite face — reflects a subtler commentary on self-delusion and the roles we perform in everyday life. Everyone in this book is clinging to their version of the truth, and Runcie expertly uses this to examine what happens when those truths collide in public.

I especially appreciated how the novel doesn’t let any character — or the reader — off the hook. Hayley’s actions are bold and cathartic, especially in the early chapters, but as the narrative progresses, it also challenges the thrill of public revenge. Runcie doesn't offer easy heroes or villains, and the book is stronger for it.

Runcie’s prose is another highlight — stylish yet digestible, moving at a clip without sacrificing insight. I flew through the novel in two sittings, drawn in by both the drama and the sharp observations. That said, there were moments I wished the book had dug deeper. The festival setting is fertile ground, and I would’ve loved more of the messy, behind-the-scenes energy that an environment like the Fringe undoubtedly brings. Similarly, while Alex is drawn with clear (and deserved) critique, I was curious to see more of what drives people like Sophie — those who sit in judgment but rarely center themselves in the story.

While the pacing lingers in places — perhaps due to the third-party perspective — it ultimately builds to a satisfying (if slightly rushed) resolution. Still, the novel succeeds in asking the right questions: Who gets to be heard? What happens when we confuse accountability with entertainment? And what, exactly, do we lose in the process?

If you're into messy moral questions, razor-sharp cultural commentary, and emotionally complex takedowns, this one's worth grabbing a front-row seat for.