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Hard Place
Not yet published
Expected 4 Jun 26A sharp, contemporary debut about survival and selling out, for fans of Oisín McKenna and Torrey Peters
For years, Billy’s decisions have been made for her by long-term girlfriend Rose, leaving her free not to think for – or about – herself. But when they break up and Billy is left without anywhere to live, she’s forced to take up an unappealing but affordable Spareroom ad. Her new flatmates, Sid and Rhoda, are the kinds of people who talk very seriously about taking accountability, adhering to the flat’s community guidelines and holding space for one another. Meals are communal by force, polyamory is assumed, and whatever the problem, capitalism’s usually to blame. Yes, Rhoda’s parents own the flat, but that doesn’t they’re unapologetically political and loudly queer, and slowly Billy becomes enmeshed in their radical, vulnerable world. But as Billy’s past starts to catch up with her, and all of their boundaries begin to crumble, each of them must reckon with what they truly stand for — and what they’ll sacrifice to hold onto it.
For years, Billy’s decisions have been made for her by long-term girlfriend Rose, leaving her free not to think for – or about – herself. But when they break up and Billy is left without anywhere to live, she’s forced to take up an unappealing but affordable Spareroom ad. Her new flatmates, Sid and Rhoda, are the kinds of people who talk very seriously about taking accountability, adhering to the flat’s community guidelines and holding space for one another. Meals are communal by force, polyamory is assumed, and whatever the problem, capitalism’s usually to blame. Yes, Rhoda’s parents own the flat, but that doesn’t they’re unapologetically political and loudly queer, and slowly Billy becomes enmeshed in their radical, vulnerable world. But as Billy’s past starts to catch up with her, and all of their boundaries begin to crumble, each of them must reckon with what they truly stand for — and what they’ll sacrifice to hold onto it.
- GenresFictionContemporary
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 9, 2025
(2 stars)
TLDR: This book didn’t work for me but I hope there will be others readers who enjoy it. I personally found the characters flat and this book didn’t have the discussion about performative activism I had hoped for given its blurb. It was a quick read and I liked the first quarter well enough but disliked, and was very disappointed by, the direction it went in the end.
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I was very excited at the start of this book. The characters seemed very exaggerated in a satirical way and, based on this and the blurb of the book, I was looking forward to the critique this book would make of these characters. The blurb also gave me the impression that the critique would come from a place of compassion and focused on finding the humanity behind the caricatures that the characters felt like at the start. Unfortunately, this never happened. For example, I wanted to hear more about how Rhoda felt about having rich parents and effectively being a landlord while protesting against privilege in other people. Although we get some passive-aggressive comments between the characters about this, these ideas are never fully discussed or developed further. The blurb made it seem that all of these characters would have some sort of reckoning with each other and themselves that causes them all to be more authentic with one another, but this did not happen, in my opinion. I felt like these characters all started and ended the book almost exactly the same. I do think being able to discuss feelings and boundaries etc. with your friends in an open and honest way is very important, but every sentence these characters said felt fake, rehearsed, and taken straight from an Instagram therapy advice. And despite all this supposed “open-ness” I felt the characters were constantly lying and manipulating one another. Again, I was very on board with this at the start when I thought this book was trying to interrogate how people can feel increasingly pressured to say the correct thing to friends, but this interrogation never came.
By the end, and as the book ran out of pages to have the nuanced discussion I was hoping for, I was expecting a big fall out between the flat mates that would result in them going their separate ways and realising that their performances for each other throughout the book were harming everyone involved. I felt like all of the characters were painfully fake to one another and the book presented their relationships at the end as extremely positive?
I understand that Billy, the main character, had many abusive relationships in her past and I wished for her to find people where she could be herself, finally have opinions, and feel secure, but I definitely do not think that Rhoda and Sid are people who give her this in any way (nor do I think she could give them the kindness or friendship they deserve either! Billy is constantly thinking about how annoying Rhoda and Sid are. I don’t think these characters living together is good for any of them).
Because the blurb of this book makes the comparison with ‘Evenings and Weekends’ by Oisin McEna, I would like to compare the two briefly (for context, I really enjoyed ‘Evenings and Weekends’). I see the similarities, but where ‘Evenings and Weekends’ offers a nuanced and interesting dive into many characters which are not necessarily “likeable”, ‘Hard Place’ just took the idea of unlikeable characters to the extreme and didn’t feel at all nuanced in their portrayal.
I don’t know. Maybe I missed something here. I hope that is the case and that other people will find and enjoy this book as I am always pleased to see books with queer rep being published and read.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
TLDR: This book didn’t work for me but I hope there will be others readers who enjoy it. I personally found the characters flat and this book didn’t have the discussion about performative activism I had hoped for given its blurb. It was a quick read and I liked the first quarter well enough but disliked, and was very disappointed by, the direction it went in the end.
--
I was very excited at the start of this book. The characters seemed very exaggerated in a satirical way and, based on this and the blurb of the book, I was looking forward to the critique this book would make of these characters. The blurb also gave me the impression that the critique would come from a place of compassion and focused on finding the humanity behind the caricatures that the characters felt like at the start. Unfortunately, this never happened. For example, I wanted to hear more about how Rhoda felt about having rich parents and effectively being a landlord while protesting against privilege in other people. Although we get some passive-aggressive comments between the characters about this, these ideas are never fully discussed or developed further. The blurb made it seem that all of these characters would have some sort of reckoning with each other and themselves that causes them all to be more authentic with one another, but this did not happen, in my opinion. I felt like these characters all started and ended the book almost exactly the same. I do think being able to discuss feelings and boundaries etc. with your friends in an open and honest way is very important, but every sentence these characters said felt fake, rehearsed, and taken straight from an Instagram therapy advice. And despite all this supposed “open-ness” I felt the characters were constantly lying and manipulating one another. Again, I was very on board with this at the start when I thought this book was trying to interrogate how people can feel increasingly pressured to say the correct thing to friends, but this interrogation never came.
By the end, and as the book ran out of pages to have the nuanced discussion I was hoping for, I was expecting a big fall out between the flat mates that would result in them going their separate ways and realising that their performances for each other throughout the book were harming everyone involved. I felt like all of the characters were painfully fake to one another and the book presented their relationships at the end as extremely positive?
I understand that Billy, the main character, had many abusive relationships in her past and I wished for her to find people where she could be herself, finally have opinions, and feel secure, but I definitely do not think that Rhoda and Sid are people who give her this in any way (nor do I think she could give them the kindness or friendship they deserve either! Billy is constantly thinking about how annoying Rhoda and Sid are. I don’t think these characters living together is good for any of them).
Because the blurb of this book makes the comparison with ‘Evenings and Weekends’ by Oisin McEna, I would like to compare the two briefly (for context, I really enjoyed ‘Evenings and Weekends’). I see the similarities, but where ‘Evenings and Weekends’ offers a nuanced and interesting dive into many characters which are not necessarily “likeable”, ‘Hard Place’ just took the idea of unlikeable characters to the extreme and didn’t feel at all nuanced in their portrayal.
I don’t know. Maybe I missed something here. I hope that is the case and that other people will find and enjoy this book as I am always pleased to see books with queer rep being published and read.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Hard Place is a novel about queer community, trauma, and hypocrisy, as a woman joins a new house share. Billy was used to everything being decided by her controlling girlfriend, Rose, but when they break up, she finds herself in a new type of situation: a queer house share. Rhoda and Sid have community guidelines for the house, a book group of friends that Billy can't help but judge, and want everything to be communal and discussed. But whilst Billy mocks them in her head, she also starts to realise that she does need to explore her own boundaries and her past.
This is a layered book that both satirises a certain kind of queer roommate situation and also is a sometimes surprisingly dark look at one person's traumatic past and how that might cause them to be a messy person who makes bad choices. Hard Place is one of those books where you initially can't work out exactly where the lines between satire and sincerity will lie, and even as the book goes on, it feels like Torr doesn't quite want you to know that. Instead, there's a lot of details that feel biting, but also it does seem like Billy does sometimes benefit from the sincere-to-the-point-of-ridiculous care from her housemates.
The ending is a fascinating choice, one that almost makes you wince but also wonder what it means for the characters, especially as they don't really go through the kind of character development that the blurb suggested. There's perhaps not as deep a biting commentary as the book goes on, and elements like Rhoda's parents actually owning the house they live in are a horribly true representation of many people in London, but none of the characters really delve into what it means (though the ending feels like it does comment on it on a reader level).
Hard Place is a fascinating novel to me, as a literary fiction take on often exaggerated queer drama and very real trauma that skirts between satire and sincerity.
This is a layered book that both satirises a certain kind of queer roommate situation and also is a sometimes surprisingly dark look at one person's traumatic past and how that might cause them to be a messy person who makes bad choices. Hard Place is one of those books where you initially can't work out exactly where the lines between satire and sincerity will lie, and even as the book goes on, it feels like Torr doesn't quite want you to know that. Instead, there's a lot of details that feel biting, but also it does seem like Billy does sometimes benefit from the sincere-to-the-point-of-ridiculous care from her housemates.
The ending is a fascinating choice, one that almost makes you wince but also wonder what it means for the characters, especially as they don't really go through the kind of character development that the blurb suggested. There's perhaps not as deep a biting commentary as the book goes on, and elements like Rhoda's parents actually owning the house they live in are a horribly true representation of many people in London, but none of the characters really delve into what it means (though the ending feels like it does comment on it on a reader level).
Hard Place is a fascinating novel to me, as a literary fiction take on often exaggerated queer drama and very real trauma that skirts between satire and sincerity.
May 8, 2026
I was lucky enough to get an ARC for this one.
I have been a little conflicted about how to rate this one, but it sits at a solid 3.5, rounded down.
On one hand, I enjoyed the writing style and it intrigued me pretty early on.
On the other hand, I missed the story really flowing. I found that a lot of the situations ended quickly and quite abruptly, and it threw me out of really sinking into the story, and having the characters really fleshed out.
I got used to this writing style, then it altered towards the end where full situations were fleshed out, which I enjoyed, but found the change a bit confusing at such a late stage in the book.
It's quite possible that this was intentional, and a reflection of the mental state of the characters, but I think I needed more clarity if this was the case.
I thought the talk of how she was effected by her mental state (and her choices to drink) to be pretty accurate and vivid, but the vast number of sex scenes to be a little tiring.
An important part of the story, but not personally my jam, especially when it's emotionally and physically detached sex.
The ending felt unstable and uncomfortable.
I can see where it finished off to be very volatile for all involved (which is the point I'm sure), but it left me almost wishing that that was the story and where it started, so that the characters could all finish at a more stable place.
It also wholly glossed over that the council and other powers at be were trying to have the place pulled down. I figured at some point they would get tougher.
All in all, plenty of promise, but probably not quite my jam. Didn't hate it, but probably won't keep it either.
I have been a little conflicted about how to rate this one, but it sits at a solid 3.5, rounded down.
On one hand, I enjoyed the writing style and it intrigued me pretty early on.
On the other hand, I missed the story really flowing. I found that a lot of the situations ended quickly and quite abruptly, and it threw me out of really sinking into the story, and having the characters really fleshed out.
I got used to this writing style, then it altered towards the end where full situations were fleshed out, which I enjoyed, but found the change a bit confusing at such a late stage in the book.
It's quite possible that this was intentional, and a reflection of the mental state of the characters, but I think I needed more clarity if this was the case.
I thought the talk of how she was effected by her mental state (and her choices to drink) to be pretty accurate and vivid, but the vast number of sex scenes to be a little tiring.
An important part of the story, but not personally my jam, especially when it's emotionally and physically detached sex.
The ending felt unstable and uncomfortable.
I can see where it finished off to be very volatile for all involved (which is the point I'm sure), but it left me almost wishing that that was the story and where it started, so that the characters could all finish at a more stable place.
It also wholly glossed over that the council and other powers at be were trying to have the place pulled down. I figured at some point they would get tougher.
All in all, plenty of promise, but probably not quite my jam. Didn't hate it, but probably won't keep it either.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Sometimes queer people are annoying and that's okay.
Hard Place follows Billy, arguably the most traumatised person you've ever met. Billy, recently dumped and homeless, moves in with Sid and Rhoda off a Spareroom ad. I would say Sid and Rhoda are queer where Billy is gay. Despite being in a lesbian relationship, Billy has kept herself isolated from the ideas, tastes, and politics of queerness. At first Billy is cynical of Sid and Rhoda's overreliance on therapy speak, their constant demand for vulnerability, their "boundary setting" and "class consciousness," but soon she begins to feel inadequate in the face of their projected goodness. She decides she wants to be like them, with their lofty ideals and their "found family". But the reality of living to Sid and Rhoda's high expectations and community guidelines becomes too much for Billy to handle.
Everyone in this book is deeply flawed and makes terrible, terrible decisions. There's reasons to love and hate Billy, Sid, and Rhoda in equal measure. It does a great job of poking gentle fun at the ways we can fail to integrate progressive political views into our actual real life relationships. As well as the way the realities of class and finance can challenge our ideals. After all, who amongst us wouldn't consider selling out a little for half priced rent?
Well written, quickly-paced and exciting, Hard Place is a satire of modern queer life told with clear intelligence and care.
Hard Place follows Billy, arguably the most traumatised person you've ever met. Billy, recently dumped and homeless, moves in with Sid and Rhoda off a Spareroom ad. I would say Sid and Rhoda are queer where Billy is gay. Despite being in a lesbian relationship, Billy has kept herself isolated from the ideas, tastes, and politics of queerness. At first Billy is cynical of Sid and Rhoda's overreliance on therapy speak, their constant demand for vulnerability, their "boundary setting" and "class consciousness," but soon she begins to feel inadequate in the face of their projected goodness. She decides she wants to be like them, with their lofty ideals and their "found family". But the reality of living to Sid and Rhoda's high expectations and community guidelines becomes too much for Billy to handle.
Everyone in this book is deeply flawed and makes terrible, terrible decisions. There's reasons to love and hate Billy, Sid, and Rhoda in equal measure. It does a great job of poking gentle fun at the ways we can fail to integrate progressive political views into our actual real life relationships. As well as the way the realities of class and finance can challenge our ideals. After all, who amongst us wouldn't consider selling out a little for half priced rent?
Well written, quickly-paced and exciting, Hard Place is a satire of modern queer life told with clear intelligence and care.
Read
November 26, 2025DNF at chapter 8, 33%. I tried this from 19/11/25 to 25/11/25. This isn’t a bad book at all but it’s just not really working for me. This would probably be a 3 star read for me if I finished it but as it’s getting to the end of the year I really want to prioritise what books I read. Part of me does want to finish this but I’m finding it hard to get lost in the story. Plus Billy is kind of an annoying character and there is something about the way this is written that feels a little patronising particularly around the queer representation which is a shame because I love queer stories.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Love the lesbian, nonbinary, and polyamory rep in this book. Billy is a really interesting character, her decisions are questionable but also understandable given her background. She’s been through a lot with her abusive family and controlling lesbian relationship and is experiencing a kind of delayed coming of age when she moves into her new shared house and begins to interact more with the queer community.
It explores how therapy speak can be weaponised but also it does really help Billy to feel safe talking about her feelings and asking for what she needs. The characters did occasionally feel like caricatures and I found it hard to tell their age but overall I did really warm to them as I read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
It explores how therapy speak can be weaponised but also it does really help Billy to feel safe talking about her feelings and asking for what she needs. The characters did occasionally feel like caricatures and I found it hard to tell their age but overall I did really warm to them as I read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
there's a lot i liked about this book, the writing was engaging and i felt invested in the characters and plot throughout, but i guess it just ended up feeling a little empty? felt like it didn't really examine a lot of the themes it touched on (class, performative activism, toxic positivity, etc) in any real depth, which would have been more interesting. i liked the ending though, even if it felt more like a regression than growth. sometimes life is like that.
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc
November 27, 2025
This was right up my street as someone who loves weird books about traumatised queer people who are also arseholes. Expect friendly fire at the ideas of community, boundaries, and failed attempts to weave progressive politics into personal lives and relationships (and don’t expect warm fuzzy feelings or redemption arcs). I found this super sharp, bleak but also fun, brutal but also tender, and well-written without being overdone. Grateful for the advance copy!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews