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The Lock In
The Lock In
Nov 30, 2025 2:01 PM

Author:Phoebe Luckhurst

The Lock In

SHORTLISTED for the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction

SHORTLISTED for the Comedy Women in Print Prize

AN OLD LOVE. A STUCK DOOR. AND THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE . . .

THE FUNNIEST ROM COM OF THE YEAR!

COSMOPOLITAN'SBEST NEW GOOD BOOK TO READ

'Joyful' STYLIST

'Hilarious' WOMAN

'The year's most original romcom' ELLE

'Proper laugh-out-loud stuff' FABULOUS MAGAZINE

'Stuffed full of belly laughs and nostalgia' RED

'A dream read' i

_______

They'd like to be going out.

Instead they're stuck in . . .

Best friends Ellen and Alexa have always been close.

Until one fateful morning when they get locked in their attic with hapless housemate Jack and Alexa's date from the night before, Ben.

With no way out, hangovers and the hours crawling by, it seems best friends can get too close for comfort.

Especially when Ellen realises she already knows Ben - perhaps rather better than Alexa does . . .

Fans of Dolly Alderton, Beth O'Leary and Mhairi McFarlane will LOVE this oh-so relatable tale of love, landlords and what can happen behind locked doors

_______

AS SEEN IN GRAZIA

SEE WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT THE LOCK IN:

'This will have you both cringing and crying with laughter' WOMAN'S WEEKLY

'A funny, joyful hug of a book! ' Cressida McLaughlin

'An immaculately plotted romcom' i

'A hilarious debut' EVENING STANDARD

'I LOVED this book . . . I highly recommend The Lock In' CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER

'Funny and compelling from page one' LUCY VINE, author of Hot Mess

'Beautifully written, warm and fun' Laura Kay, author of The Split

'I cannot recommend this book enough!' 5***** READER REVIEW

'Made me smile, laugh, cringe and inwardly cheer' 5***** READER REVIEW

Reviews

Entertaining, endearing, and truly unique. Found myself wincing and laughing with familiarity

—— Emma Gannon, bestselling author of Olive

The year's most original romcom

—— ELLE

Hilarious

—— Evening Standard, 'Best New Books in 2021'

David Nicholls for millennials . . . The Lock In is a dream read: an immaculately plotted romcom which vividly captures both late teenagehood and twentysomething houseshares

—— i

A high-concept romcom that's stuffed full of belly laughs and nostalgia

—— Red

Such a fun, clever, original and massively entertaining read . . . I love it, you'll love it

—— Lindsey Kelk

I LOVED this book . . . I highly recommend The Lock In if you fancy a fun summer time read

—— Carrie Hope Fletcher

Beautifully written, warm and fun with a dose of early noughties nostalgia, The Lock In is a perfect summer read

—— Laura Kay, author of The Split

I loved this book. Brilliantly written and so perceptive on the trials and tribulations of Generation Rent, it's also screamingly funny, deliciously nostalgic and really just a very fun time. I almost wish they'd stayed locked in for longer

—— Lauren Bravo

An immensely readable, witty and well-crafted debut . . . a very millennial tale of love, loneliness and friendship

—— i

This will have you both cringing and crying with laughter

—— Woman's Weekly

On one hand a feel-good, laugh out loud funny escapist read, and on another a blistering critique of twentysomethings' experience of renting in the capital

—— Evening Standard

This hilarious debut will give you all the lols you need this summer. A highly relatable comedy about flatmates, hangovers and terrible landlords

—— Evening Standard

Funny and compelling from page one and so well written. Such a brilliant premise and really well executed. Officially a huge fan of Phoebe Luckhurst!

—— Lucy Vine, bestselling author of Hot Mess

A funny, joyful hug of a book! A nostalgic, pitch perfect ode to the awkwardness and hilarity of yearning teenage years and house sharing in your twenties

—— Cressida McLaughlin

Loved the concept and characters. . . it's very funny

—— Sarra Manning

Proper laugh-out-loud stuff

—— Fabulous Magazine

'Best new good book to read'

—— Cosmopolitan

Irresistible premise . . . addictive

—— i

One to watch

—— The Bookseller

Blissfully funny

—— i

Joyful

—— Stylist

This top-rank tale of beating the odds is full of heart and breezy charm

—— Metro

Altogether, it makes for a gripping and engaging read about a woman persevering against all odds, recognising your limits and knowing when to push back. As well as a complex and nuanced character study, Carrie Soto is Back offers its readers a warm-hearted story of the love between a father and a daughter, as well a tender journey of learning how to love yourself and open up to others too. Between the action-packed tennis matches, Carrie's emotional reckoning and the wider commentary of women having to continuously fight for recognition in male-dominated fields, Taylor Jenkins Reid has crafted another compelling novel that effortlessly draws in readers and will no doubt keep them thinking about Carrie Soto long after they turn the final page

—— Culturefly

At times, her prose is so engaging that you feel as though you are waiting on the baseline while Soto gets ready to serve an unstoppable ace

—— Independent (Ireland)

In Carrie Soto is Back, as at Flushing Meadows this and next month, there are great rivalries, millions of dollars and legacies on the line. Letting go cuts deep. But, boy, there is glamour

—— Tatler

The author has created another heroine we can't quite work out whether we like, but we're rooting for her anyway because she's fabulous

—— Woman's Weekly

Another delectable slice of escapism drama

—— Living North

Pacy, propulsive and utterly immersive, you're going to want to read this

—— Elle

Taylor has done it again . . . a brilliant and dynamic book about what it means to be an ambitious woman- for better or for worse

—— Woman

With a wonderfully complex character, a world you can't help being seduced by, and an important message about it never being too late, TJR has served up another ace

—— Heat

Frank, funny and emotional

—— Marie Claire

A fascinatingly realistic look into the world of elite sports where driven and flawed characters' private lives are just as intriguing and controversial as they are on the court

—— Business Post

This is a well-researched, exciting and genuinely tender book

—— RTÉ
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