Plaything follows Anna, twenty-two year old 1st year PhD student of reproductive physiology at Cambridge. The novel is slow to start, quietly building Anna's character. She is a member of the rowing team and upon injuring her wrist, she goes to see a physio.

She invites Caden, her physio, out for a drink and the two develop a relationship. Anna's character is tough to get a grip on which I absolutely loved. You get a bit of depth to her with regards to her parents and childhood but I feel like you don't fully get to know her, this could be down to the fact that it is written in first person so Anna is essentially choosing what to share, even if a lot of it is candid.

Caden doesn't seem overly interested in Anna and is a very handsome man, whereas she is plain but very clever. Probably smarter than everyone else. She struggles to see why he wants to continue to see her.

The book does mention Covid and the two end up living together during lockdown. Anna quickly discovers a lot of Caden's ex-girlfriend Giselle's things in his house. This is a fantastic character study and there is a lot of jealousy and obsession throughout the book, more with how Anna feels about Giselle than Caden. Caden keeping Giselle's belongings plus the fact that Anna feels like he keeps mentioning her, builds the tension with how Anna feels about the situation.

There is a moment where Anna snaps and the jealousy reaches its peak with Anna going out for revenge. To me this was a really shocking moment with an even more shocking repercussion.

This is a fantastically written book that feels claustrophobic and tense.