**The Lock In was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House for having me on the tour.**

Summary

Ellen and Alexa have survived hangovers, dodgy landlords, and most of their twenties together.

But can they survive this?

One Saturday morning, while nursing The Hangover from Hell, a flooded kitchen leads best mates Ellen and Alexa, and hapless housemate Jack, into their attic to turn off the water supply.

But when Ben – Alexa’s date from the night before – walks in, the door slams, the handle breaks, and all four of them are trapped.

Cue The Worst morning-after-the-night before.

As the hour’s tick by, Ellen nurses her sore head and watches as her best friend falls for this handsome stranger.

Only for a horrifying realisation to hit. She is sure she knows Ben from somewhere.

Frantically searching her memories, Ellen tries to piece together exactly how they’ve met before.

When a distant memory finally comes to her, she desperately wonders: could Ben really be who she thinks he is . . .

And more importantly, what on earth is she going to do about it . . .

Review

The Lock In is a fun, light-hearted read that follows the story of three housemates and one date as they find themselves stuck together in an attic with no way to get out. It’s a good job they have interesting stories to share…

Alexa, Ellen, Jack, and Ben (Alex’s date) find themselves shoved together into this attic space with limited means for entertainment. As the morning drags on, they start to confide in each other to pass the time by. Past secrets are revealed that have the potential to damage Alexa and Ellen’s very close friendship. I loved that the characters had to find solace in each other’s company. Even if it became tricky to do so at times! All of their point of views are explored in the book which was really enjoyable as you get to see how they all feel about the situation they’ve found themselves in. A very unusual one, I must say!

Alexa’s and Ben’s budding romance was really sweet and I actually enjoyed finding out about how they came to be. All the characters are so different and I felt that was inevitably why they all worked so well together. Much like Ellen, I imagine I’d become quickly fed up stuck in an attic with lovebirds and a socially awkward roommate. Although, Jack’s love for social media clout was as sly as it was funny. The guy offered very limited resources in ways of helping them get out of the situation.

I loved when their conversations became more intense as we all got to reminisce about our days using MSN. We’ve all secretly missed it since it was taken from us. Oh to be young and free, and only have to worry about what our latest MSN crush was up to. Apparently, poor Ellen had worried about that more than most. I found her retelling of this sorry MSN-love affair to be really funny. She certainly has a flare for dramatics!

Whilst I really enjoyed reading this book, I did find the quick giving up on finding a way out of the attic a little unbelievable. They all expressed how there were boxes of junk everywhere, but never thought to check if any of them would include a method of escape. Plus, Ben and Ellen being from the same town, borderline the same schools, and going to the same clubs but having never met seemed a tad unlikely to me.

Overall, The Lock In was a fun and easy read that was somewhat predictable. For that reason, I rate it 3/5 stars.