4.5 stars. This book is unsettling, raw, ugly...and completely compelling. It is the very epitome of a car crash that you just can't tear your eyes away from. I wanted to crawl into the pages and scream at the characters to stop before everything went too far, but obviously I couldn't do that and so go too far they indeed did. Both Anna and Caden are such deeply troubled people that disaster was inevitable when they got into each others orbit, it was almost like folie à deux and I had a real sense that the events that unfolded may not have happened if they had each found other partners. They would still have had their individual issues but the way they provoked each others soft spots was torturous. The backdrops of Covid emerging and the first lockdown, and a completely different, bleak Cambridge university experience than the one we are usually shown ramped up the feeling of claustrophobia and the world crushing down on these people relentlessly. In a strange way, I found Anna relatable - I feel that I have teetered on the precipice of her obsession and delusion at times in less than healthy relationships. It was almost a glimpse into what could have been if I had been predisposed to giving in to those feelings. The story is rambling and messy and often the actions of the characters don't make sense, but Bea Setton handles this brilliantly in her writing, meaning that it still flows and keep you invested. This is definitely a book I won't forget for a long time.

I loved the dark undertones of the human psyche, which was delivered in this relatively short and fast paced novel from Bea Setton. Whilst the author says herself this is not a campus novel, or a covid novel, both of these do make a great backdrop for the exploration of the dangers of obsession, jealously, and isolation and validation. The controversially bleak Cambridge setting (as opposed to the idyllic university town) is very atmospheric in tone to the eerie landscape of the narrators mind. The twists and turns of the plot and the narrators mental state has me on edge and I’m a big fan of absolutely WILD ending!! I was compelled to read this is one and a half sittings. This was a big anticipated release for me this year and now I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy when it’s published.

Set in Cambridge, Anna is studying for her PhD, looking at how diabetes in a pregnancy can affect the child. (TW: descriptive scientific testing on animals) I felt Anna’s anxiety through the pages. The fear of letting those around her down, following instructions she disagreed with to keep others happy. The Anna Show; performing to be her best most lovable and interesting self even when she really did not feel like it. Not understanding why her own perception of herself didn’t match what everyone else said about her. Plaything is a novel about obsession. About the lengths you will go to please a partner when you don’t feel good enough for them, the pressure to hold on tight, even when rationally you are aware you’re making excuses for their behaviour and they’re not good for you. The Covid lockdowns added an extra layer to this novel but it was no means the focus. Once I got into this book I could not put it down, there was underlying air of suspense that everything was going to fall apart and I was just desperate to find out what was going to happen to Anna and Caden. Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy! I will continue to want to read everything Bea Setton writes in the future.

Plaything by Bea Setton is set in a Cambridge university, but is not a campus novel, Its events take place against the backdrop of Covid, but it is not a Covid novel. Anna, our narrator, tells us this at the outset, immediately causing the reader to question what this and where it might go. It is an effective opening which leads to a narrative of a young woman becoming involved with a withdrawn man, Caden, whose ex-girlfriend Anna is still around. This is not a love triangle novel either. What this novel is, is a thrilling examination of love, loss, jealousy, and obsession. It drips with that hazy ooze of youthful passion. There are twists, and moments of violence, all held together by a narrator whom you will love and loathe in equal measure and for different reasons. I have not read Setton's first novel, Berlin, but based on the strength of this one I shall be tracking it down. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

‘Hinc lucem et pocula sacra’ From here [we derive] light and sacred draughts. Cambridge University motto. Anna is very clever, way smarter than you or me,most probably. She’s currently on her way from Dorset to Newnham College, Cambridge, having been awarded a scholarship for a PhD in Science. Her life is full of the richness of promise, though the drive to the university is dramatic, in a close shave kind of way, perhaps a harbinger of doom. She’s mysteriously fearful, maybe that’s to do with the research she’s about to undertake or perhaps to do it to do with the handsome physiotherapist Caden who she will fall for. Whatever it is, there’s menace lurking beneath those Gothic arches and gargoyles as she treads the aspirational cobbles. This is a novel of the balance of power, of obsession and tangled lives against the backdrop of academia. Will Anna’s Cambridge dream become a nightmare, not least as Wuhan is coming, and though this is not a Covid novel, it does play its part. There is a discordant chime at the very beginning of the novel, but meeting fellow students Ji-Woo and Vicky sets the storytelling off in a positive way, that is until enter Caden. This is a character driven novel and the characterisation is excellent, especially of Anna‘s portrayal, though it’s very hard at times to get a handle on her. I can’t say she’s especially likeable, she’s definitely smarter than the average bear, and she’s certainly ambitious, which is clearly not a bad thing. She can be arrogant yet at the same time she can be humble, she puts on a show (the Anna show) to cover moments of discomfort, and then I warm to her, especially her clumsy attempts. However, you can also feel sorry for her too, her uncomfortable family dynamics have given us so many hangups, it’s a wonder she can get up in the mornings as she can be so insecure. Caden is a conundrum too, and there are clear warning signs and off notes, especially with regard to his ex Giselle, and so your concern for Anna grows. The most likeable character is Ji-Woo , who it would be very hard to dislike. Cambridge is a terrific backdrop to this messy story, there are some very atmospheric settings and scenes that are so well described, they’re easy to visualise. You definitely get a flavour of what life must be like in one of the best universities in the world. Although there are some funny moments as a consequence of awkwardness or clumsiness, this is an uneasy, painful and messy story, it’s dark in tone, at times it’s disturbing, the atmosphere can be very tense, because the ingredients include jealousy, manipulation, loss, cruelty, in addition to obsession. As the novel reaches its brutal, revengeful climax, there is a very good unexpected twist. There’s a circularity to it, and a chilling ultimate end. However, it does have its moments where it’s a slow moving as the River Cam and it feels a bit like you’re waiting in SloMo for the car to crash. It’s drawn out and it might even be more effective as a short story. Overall though, it’s a fascinating character study, especially of flawed Anna, and a turbulent love story which is rich atmosphere. The cover is brilliant. Trigger warnings - Anna’s university research involves animal euthanasia, also suicide warnings.