This book had me interested from the first page. The author gave depth to the characters both past and present and the twists were in plain sight, yet were still surprising when they occurred. To know what I mean you will have to read it yourself and I recommend that you do.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This was a good book but I just had 2 gripes with it. It was a bit drawn out and kind of dragged in the middle. I also felt a little annoyed with Stella for being so trusting. This is fiction, however, and characters do not necessarily do things that we would do in reality.

It was an entertaining read with some twists and is definitely worth the read.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Dream House’ by Jess Ryder in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Stella and her partner Jack move into the now derelict Westhill House in Nevensey overlooking the sea and employ a builder to turn it into her dream home. One night there’s a banging on the front door and a woman who’s bruised and beaten says her name is Lori and she’s been given the address of Westhill House as a refuge for women seeking shelter. Stella lets Lori stay as she doesn’t feel she can turn her out onto the streets but some of the things she says just don’t add up!

‘The Dream House’ is a gripping and sinister thriller with a cleverly written plot full of menace and intrigue that at times made me feel uncomfortable and worried at what was going to happen to Stella who’s gullible but understandably so. I was hooked from the beginning and had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen, finishing it in a day. The characters were original, the twists and turns unexpected and the ending came as a surprise. Once again Jess Ryder has produced a highly entertaining and thoroughly readable novel that I can highly recommend.

I received this book originally titled ‘The Guest’ by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

This book has so much in it, Secrets, Betrayal, Murder, Mental Health & Domestic Violence, so many issues were raised in this book, but Jess does well to navigate them all.

Every chapter left you on a cliff hanger leaving you with more questions you needed answering and reading ahead to what happened next.

I tried to guess their connections to the house, and managed to get one right, but for the most part I was wrong.

Told from two narratives which switch back and forth until the story collides.

It started out slow, but the pace soon picked up and I was hooked.

There are so many subtle hints along the way and I did pick up on a few but missed a lot of them. The ending blew me away.


4⭐️

Stella buys a fixer-upper home, that she believes will be the place where her and her boyfriend, Jack, raise a family. One night, there is a knock on the door. A woman needs help, and their home used to be a refuge for women experiencing domestic violence. When Stella lets the woman in, things begin to change. To avoid spoilers, I will stop there.

The first 75% is 3 stars for me. A bit tedious and drawn out for my liking, but the remaining 25% is 5 stars for sure. The last 25% is a page turner, but to be fair, I rated this book 4 stars. The plot is fantastic, but moves at a snail's pace. I cannot pinpoint exactly why this was not a page turner for me from start to finish, but I would recommend this book to someone who has a day to read from cover to cover.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review reflects my opinion, and was not influenced in any other way.

Stella uses the inheritance money from her parents' unfortunate death to purchase a dilapidated house that was once a refuge for abused women. She moves in with her boyfriend, Jack, in hopes of fixing it up and turning it into her dream house. One night, an older woman named Lori bangs on the door, begging to be let in. She is battered, and seems to think the house is still a refuge. Stella, to Jack's dismay, lets Lori stay and hide from her abusive husband while they figure out how to find her a safe place to stay. As Stella learns more about Lori and her violent marriage, she also learns more about the house and history...and that something that happened in the past may catch up to Stella in the present.

This was a great read, and I had a hard time setting the book down. Jess Ryder writes an extremely atmospheric tale that blends two different timelines seamlessly. Certain aspects are downright haunting, and her writing makes you 100% invested in the characters and their stories.

The ARC I received was titled THE GUEST. Thank you to author Jess Ryder, Bookouture, and NetGalley.

Wow, this is an absolutely fantastic thriller! Not only is it highly addictive, but Jess Ryder also conveys some very serious topics such as domestic violence, brilliantly and sensitively into this story.

In The Dream House, Stella uses the inheritance from her parents, who both died in a traffic accident, to purchase the beautiful yet run-down Westhill House. Living there with her boyfriend whilst she arranges work on the large house, they are awoken in the night by a visitor - a woman who thinks the house is still a women's refuge. Refusing to send her away in the middle of the night, Stella allows Lori to stay, but soon it seems that she doesn't want to leave.

There's something about Westhill House and its new visitor that Stella finds unnerving, and soon she's looking to uncover what went on within those old walls.

This is brilliant book; gripping, character-driven, wonderfully written. I've been in a bit of a reading slump when it comes to thrillers lately, but this one really is a standout novel.

This book was slightly predictable for me because I read so many thrillers, but I loved this one and couldn’t wait to get to the end. I really enjoyed this overall. 4/5

This was a good read, the sense of tension and unease built and the ending was suitably gripping. The characters and story line were built up and I really wanted to get to the end! Enjoyable - thank you!

I'm a fan of this author and was excited to get a chance to read The Dream House! The story is clever, as I've come to expect from Ryder, and the characters are engaging and multi-dimensional. I don't want to give away anything of the plot, but there are plenty of twists and turns that kept me on my toes!

I didn’t know quite what to expect from The Dream House when I started it, but I really enjoyed it. One of the things that I most appreciated was that while I was able to guess some of the twists, looking back, those that I didn’t guess were still rooted in the story and I was able to see where they had come from (one of my biggest pet peeves is twists that don’t make sense). A good, solid thriller with believable characters.

It is a tough read in places but has been carefully constructed and responsibly approached to address the serious theme. The plot is perfectly paced crossing over from now and then, well timed, easy to follow and gripping. Well written characters with plenty of depth. A very enjoyable read. A thoroughly convincing and enthralling read. A psychological thriller that is unpredictable and will totally shock you when you least expect it.

Whew this book!
When I began I plowed through wanting to know all the secrets that this book held. While some I guessed and others I slowly pieced together, I was still surprised at the ending. I love how Jess Ryder gives subtle hints along the way. This is my first Jess Ryder book and I will be looking at her previous novels to read next!
Thanks #Netgalley for the ARC!
#TheGuest

After her parents are tragically killed in a hit and run, Stella uses her inheritance to buy a house with her boyfriend, Jack, by the sea. In the midst of the renovations a woman, Lori, bangs on her door seeking refuge from her abusive husband. Stella lets her and gets pulled into a downward spiral of lies and secrets that will change her life forever.

I think this may be one of the best physiological thrillers I’ve read in a long, long time. I was hooked! Every time I thought I knew where the plot was going something else would happened and I’d be asking more questions. The twists and turns were gripping and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Seriously get yourself a copy when this book hits shelves on June 21st, you won’t regret it!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This book kept me guessing and hooked right from the beginning. A really good 4 star read

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been in a bit of a book slump of late. I have read some books that turned out to be good, but they weren't books that really kept me turning pages or books that I couldn't wait to get back to. Finally, with this book, I was hooked right away and wanted to read it every chance I got.

Stella spends the inheritance from her parents on a large fixer upper outside of London. She and her boyfriend are living in the house while the hired carpenter, Alan, works on the house. One night an apparent battered woman named Lori knocks on the door. She is running from her abusive husband. Stella's boyfriend opposes letting the woman stay, but of course Stella doesn't listen, lets her move in and things get weird. Meanwhile, there are flashbacks to a woman named Kay in the 70's and eventually the stories intertwine.

I felt like the pacing of this book was great and it kept me turning the pages to find out what would come next. I saw some of the twists and turns coming before they were actually revealed but it didn't detract from my enjoyment, and there were enough things I didn't figure out to still make it a satisfying read. I loved the Ex-Wife and really liked this one, so I will definitely be reading the next one from Jess Ryder.

When Stella’s parents die and leave her a large inheritance she buys a large new home with dreams of renovating it. She thinks this is the start of a new life for her and live in boyfriend Jack. One night a battered and bruised woman turns up on their doorstep thinking that the place is still a refuge. Jack is immediately suspicious but Stella wants to help.

The story is told in two timelines present day Stella’s story and Kay’s story from the past. The two stories come together in the end. I really did not see the twist. I thought that it was going to turn out to e something a bit more obvious. There are triggers for domestic abuse

I'm not sure the title is the right one for the book. It had also been called The Guest and that's not really appropriate either. There was nothing about this house that made it a dream house and the story wasn't about it's guest really either. It's about battered women. The storyline was interesting though and kept me reading more.

The Dream House (originally titled The Guest) follows Stella and her partner Jack who have recently bought a house with Stella’s inheritance. Her parents were both killed in a hit and run accident and she is still grieving for her loss.
Moving from London to the seaside is having an impact on Stella and Jack’s relationship. Not only are they far away from their friends, they are coping with major building works disrupting their lives. Just when they think things can’t get any worse, a woman bangs on their front door in the middle of the night, covered in blood and bruises and begging for them to take her in. Stella can’t turn her away but Jack thinks there is more to their guest than meets the eye.

I really enjoyed this book. So much so I’m about to go buy the rest of Jess Ryder’s book as soon as I’m done with this review.

This book built up tension in a fantastic way. I love how it flitted between present day Stella and past day Kay. I didn’t really know what was going on in the book - I felt uneasy throughout and really wasn’t sure how Kay fitted in to Stella’s story. I was surprised by little twists and turns and saw others coming. But the main thing for me was the way that the abused woman stories were handled. I liked Kay’s character a lot and thought she was represented with a lot of honesty. I understand why Lori and other characters were shown the way they were, although I wasn’t a fan of their attitudes. Stella did some really dumb stuff but still she was a positive character mostly.

Great for fans of The Woman in the Window.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my opinions of this book.

A very good book dealing with some difficult issues, including mental health and domestic violence. Jess Ryder manages to write these topics in a believable yet highly sensitive and responsible way and I was hooked, devouring this book in a few short sittings.
Stella and Jack are a young couple in a fledgling relationship refurbishing their new house. Once a refuge for battered women, one night they find themselves answering the door to a bruised and bloody Lori who thought it still was. Stella is trying to make amends for mistakes of the past and do something that would make her recently deceased parents, who were foster carers for innumerable young people, proud of her and invites Lori to stay. The longer Lori occupies an attic bedroom, the more suspicious Jack becomes and the young couple come to blows over Stella's refusal to ask Lori to leave.
In the opposite narrative, we learn of a young woman's struggle against domestic abuse at the hands of her new husband and her brave decision to flee with her daughter to the women's refuge as it was forty years ago.
All the way through, the reader knows that the stories will collide but it is near on impossible to work out how or why, even when, as the tension builds. Then the twist comes, the revelations spill over and it becomes a gripping and taut psychological thriller. I hate a book that tries to be so clever that it can't tie up its loose ends and this book isn't one of those. Everything is handled expertly without letting the reader down with clichés or cop outs. I can't quite give this book 5-stars as that is a rating I reserve for books with more explosive plots but it's definitely worthy of a 4-4.5 star rating and I would highly recommend this book.