Title: Prickly Company
Author: Kitty Johnson
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
First published: May 28th 2024
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Finished reading: April 28th 2024
Pages: 312

“Some people might find the freedom of being able to do what you wanted when you wanted slightly challenging, but Frances generally enjoyed making her life up as she went along.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

REVIEW

WARNING: it’s another unpopular opinion!!

I have a weak spot for contemporaries that include animals as well as stories with a community vibe, so I was immediately intrigued by Prickly Company. I loved the sound of Hilltop Place with its neighbors as well as the focus on the hedgehogs… Can we all agree just how cute those little creatures are?! Anyhow, I’ve been looking forward to tackle this story, as I’ve been in the mood for an uplifting and fun contemporary. Sadly, Prickly Company doesn’t fit that description at all for me though, and I can’t say I was a fan of what I found instead.

First what I did work for me in Prickly Company. I love a good animal POV, and as a result I did truly enjoy the chapters written from the POV of the hedgehogs living at Hilltop Place. It was interesting to learn a little more about them through the facts mentioned, and I liked how they played a role in the plot in general. I kind of wish the story would have spent more time with them, because it was without doubt the part of the story I enjoyed most. The rest… Well, let’s just say that the book and me didn’t get along.

Part of the issue probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was expecting a fun, feel-good and uplifting contemporary, and this story is anything but. Instead, we get drama stacking up on more drama, and there isn’t much relief to be found along the way. Ever tried cooking pasta with a bunch of friends, only to discover that every single one had salted the water and the result was inedible? Well, that is what felt like happened in Prickly Company; so much drama thrown in that the result was truly unpalatable.

Every single character has their issues and negativity, and just when you think you have reached the limit, yet another bombshell is revealed. Seriously, my eyebrows worked overtime while reading this story, as it just wasn’t credible anymore to have that much drama going on on the same street. To make things worse, you get full drama during 70-80% of the book, and then the plot does a full 180 and suddenly it’s happily ever afters for everyone. Apart from the fact that it’s just not credible or realistic, it almost felt like I was reading the ending of a completely different story instead. Disjointed indeed!

The plot uses a multiple POV structure, and we switch between the different neighbors of Hilltop Place. In a way this structure helped a little, because it ment spending less time with each character at a time. The thing is… The majority of the characters in play are considerably unlikeable, and it felt like a chore having to spend time with them. There was so much negativity going on (including the dreaded cheating/love triangle trope), and I think that the only reason that I kept reading was because I was curious to see just how much of a trainwreck it was going to be for me. Newsflash: without doubt fatal.

All in all, there is no doubt that Prickly Company wasn’t the book for me, and definitely don’t expect a fun and uplifting story if you decide to read it. If you don’t mind an overdose of drama and mainly unlikeable characters, you will probably enjoy it a lot better though! Most people seem to do so, so it might just be my fickle reading mood acting up again.

You can also find me at Goodreads. StoryGraph. Twitter. Instagram. Bloglovin’.