An emotional sucker-punch of a suspense read. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc.
I was immediately hooked by the opening chapters. This is in first person, past tense. It follows 25-year old Kate, who has moved to London from Cambridge. She received a tip-off that her sister who vanished years ago has been spotted. Kate has set to London to find her. She manages to make ends meet with a job in a cafe, waitressing. Then one day she meets Della, an inspiring life coach. But there’s something off about her. Slowly, slowly she encourages Kate to start nannying and one day she invites her to go to France with them for a holiday. But what does Della want??...
This was a compelling read. I found Kate incredibly engaging. However I did find that plotwise the middle half become predictable and the reveals could’ve been better executed. I also found the antagonists’ actions unexplainable, her motivations could’ve been better fleshed. I think a second POV would’ve been helpful, and the ending fell flat for me. Nonetheless this was a gripping read, albeit not a perfect one, and I did binge-read this in a day, so there was something about the writing that kept me going.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into The House Guest. At first the story appears to head in one direction, then it completely changes track.
This follows Kate, a 25-year old, who has moved to London after a tip-off from an old friend that her older sister, who disappeared fifteen years ago was spotted in Camden. Kate takes up a job in a cafe, while living in a house-share, whose rent she can just about afford to pay. She’s miserable and struggling to make ends meet. Enter Della, a life coach, who spots Kate in the cafe and offers her free lessons for her group life coaching sessions. At first Kate is unsure, but then gradually Della starts to take interest in Kate, and even offers her nannying jobs until one summer when she offers Kate the chance to come to their Montpellier villa with them, where things irrevocably change.
This was a tense read. Very emotional, and heartbreaking. I read this in one day. I found Kate to be a moving character. She evolves so much, and Della is such a manipulative love-to-hate antagonist with shades of grey. Claustrophobic, heart-wrenching, an absolute suspenseful read.

Well, a heck of a lot happened in this book!

I admire the fact that the author has managed to pack so many twists and turns into the story without losing the reader or believability. There were times when I was sure what was going to happen next... until the plot took an unexpected turn and suddenly things weren't quite what they had seemed.

The end of most of the chapters had explicit indications that things would change, or something would happen, or life would never the same and, in my opinion, this wasn't necessary. I felt the story and other foreshadowing did the job perfectly well of building the tension. :-)

I also would like to have seen more closure with regards to Jasmine and Claire - although the main threads of the story were tied up satisfactorily, I do wonder about these two characters.

I enjoyed reading The House Guest - it is well written, clever, and certainly a rollercoaster of a ride.

Thank you for the ARC.

I have absolutely no doubt that this book will be making an appearance on my Best Books of 2020 list! I already have my hardback copy preordered and I highly recommend you do the same! The House Guest is MY KIND OF READ so if you love Louise Candlish, Sarah Vaughan, Sabine Durrant and similar authors then you’re going to love this.

This is one of those books that works better for you as a reader if you have very little idea of the plot and beyond what’s mentioned in the blurb above, I really don’t want to talk about the storyline as I’m so worried about giving any spoilers! I just want to tell you that this book kept me on the edge of my seat, desperately turning the pages as I followed Kates journey. I found Kate a frustrating character though, naive and rather immature at times but understood why she was portrayed this way. Della-well, I found her a very closed book and I never trust people like that either in fiction or in real life! I do love a toxic friendship though and these two women certainly had one of those but it’s not until the shocking conclusion that I realised just how distorted this relationship had become.

This is definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year and it’s one of my Hot Picks for May. Gripping, claustrophobic and shocking-I loved it!

The House Guest felt like a very typical thriller to start off with. There’s a girl down on her luck, a creepy self-help group run by a mysterious woman and plenty of intrigue and confusion along the way. It’s only told from one perspective and in one timeline which is quite against the grain from the usual thriller books being published at the moment. It’s quite a slow build to start with – the action doesn’t really get going until well over halfway and I couldn’t actually guess where it was going until this point either which was a refreshing change! I didn’t like the fact that most of the chapters finished with an ominous foreshadowing though (eg: ‘if only I knew then what I knew now’ etc). Although this can really help to keep a reader hooked into reading more, it felt very overdone here and it got tiring very quickly.

The twist reveal as to what was happening was shocking and took the book in a very different direction. I couldn’t help thinking how many mistakes Kate made along the way though and I’m not sure this made her completely realistic. One or two bad decisions is fair enough but I don’t think she made a single good decision after she went to France. I also really struggled with Della’s motivations, although the author tries to spell them out towards the end. It just didn’t feel real and I struggled to understand why she did what she did to get something she didn’t really want in the first place (apologies for being vague – I’m trying to remain spoiler free!)

The ending confused me further. There’s a sub-plot running through the book about Kate’s lost sister and we get a bit of a tenuous link and things explained in the climax along with a shock reveal about who Della might be. However, this didn’t really explain anything, in fact it sort of left the book open to a sequel to explain things further. I’m not really sure if this is what the author intended and I don’t really think I’d be too interested in reading another book with the same characters – I just wished more had been explained in this book to make a satisfying ending.

Overall, The House Guest is a creepy thriller but with unrealistic characters and a unsatisfying ending, I was left a little disappointed. Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK – HarperFiction for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an edge of my seat read! Full of secrets and lies and how much power one person can have over someone.
I couldn’t put this down I was compelled to finish it. You will not be disappointed by this book. It is a must read.

The House Guest for me was predictable. It’s set around a dysfunctional family which was due to a loss of a teenage child may years ago. This leaves behind a broken mother, a terminally ill father, and the younger sister - who is the main character in the book. She gets dragged into a self help group run by a minor tv celebrity self-help ‘guru’ who befriends her and takes her in as a nanny. I won’t say more, as you may work it out!

I saw the middle and end coming a mile away, and I’m not the sort to sit and ponder and try to work out a book as I’m reading. It is split into three parts. The first part was a drag and I struggled to be bothered with it and it’s annoying term ‘The Janes’ (for the rest of the self help group as they look and behave similarly), but, the second and third parts picked up and made the book better to read for longer. Apart from the predictability of it, ultimately I did enjoy it and it’s an easy read. I’m not sure I would recommend it to a friend however.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis:
After her sister Scarlett went missing when she was just a child, Kate and her parents have never really recovered. Now in her twenties, Kate has left Cambridge behind and moved to London after a tip off that Scarlett might be working there. While working her cafe job and still with no leads on the whereabouts of Scarlett, Kate happens on a chance encounter with motivational life coach Della who she feels immediately drawn to...

Review:
The House Guest is a good psychological thriller - jam-packed full of tense moments and dark secrets which kept me interested throughout. The characters are strong from uncertain, naive Kate to authoritative, dazzling Della and her charming husband Mark - each of them have layers which are peeled back as the story progresses and therefore my opinions of all of them changed frequently.

There are some really tragic events that unfold and although I wanted to shake Kate at times for the crazy decisions she was making, I also couldn’t help but sympathise with the claustrophobic situation she finds herself in. What I liked about this book is the plot is really well-paced and is narrated over the course of a few years - I’m not a fan of a story that feels rushed with too much happening in a short space of time which was not the case here, the timeline felt natural.

I couldn’t give this book 5 stars as the ending, although a good one, left me with a lot of unanswered questions that slightly infuriated me so I’m hoping there will be a second instalment of this book. Otherwise, it’s an entertaining and well-written read that I enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kate meets Della purely by chance, and is immediately drawn to her. Kate is lost - recently arrived in London and determined to find her sister, who ran away when she was just a teenager. Della, in contrast, is successful, respected, and impeccably put together with the perfect family and a beautiful house. When she invites Kates to her life coaching sessions, Kate is flattered, although she has come reservations - why is Della so keen to include her in the sessions, even going so far as waiving the fees? Why are the women in the group forbidden from meeting or discussing the group outside of Della's supervision? As Kate is drawn deeper into Della's family, she starts to question if what she knows of Della is everything there is to know, or if Della is hiding secrets of her own...

I really enjoyed reading this book - it's well-written, well-paced and consistent. Kate in particular was a well drawn character, and although at times she was so naive that I wanted to shake her, I did sympathise with her too. I did take off a star because the last section felt rushed - after the well-developed and in depth chapters the rest of the way through the book, the sudden brevity jarred a little, and I felt a bit cheated. But on the whole, the book was great, with an original premise, complex characters and lots of twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kate has moved to London primarily to look for her sister Stella and is in real need of a friend. She’s barely making enough money to pay her rent, let alone eat or have any semblance of a life. So when she meets Della in a café, a life coach who seems to have all the answers and a beautiful, perfect life, she thinks it’s a powerful step in the right direction. But while Della is welcoming to all the group – the women who Kate calls ‘the Janes’, she is particularly interested in Kate, and it’s not too long before Kate is more involved in Della’s life than she ever could have anticipated. What are the reasons that Della is so interested in Kate, and what it is really that Kate needs from her new friend? The plot takes a darker twist as the ‘friends’ depend more and more on each other.

This was a gripping read and I stayed up very late to finish it as I couldn’t put it down! Kate, whose sister Scarlett disappeared, meets life coach Della and her family from London who have a house in France. She is enchanted by their life and their lovely children but soon everything spirals out of control. It’s a well-written and interesting novel with plenty of twists towards the end. I felt sorry for Kate but sometimes infuriated with her as well! There are beautiful descriptions of the setting in France and I could picture it all so clearly. An entertaining book to get lost in. Five stars!

I was intrigued by the premise of this novel. The story follows Kate, who moves to London many years after the disappearance of her older sister. She joins a self-help group for young women which is run by the charismatic Della. Della is a well-known life coach who has published several self-help books and regularly appears on television.

Kate is instantly drawn in by Della’s beautiful house and her welcoming family. Della seems to take a special interest in Kate and treats her differently to the other women in the group. Over time, Kate begins to imagine herself living this privileged life and becomes a nanny to Della’s young children. But why is Della so interested in Kate? Does she want to help her or is there something more sinister going on?

The story started as an interesting slow-burn and the beginning raised a lot of questions. However, I found that the plot became quite far-fetched as it went on. Although Kate is a naïve, troubled character, it felt as though she was missing obvious clues and making bad decisions without thinking them through. Certain plot reveals felt a bit predictable and some of the minor characters could have been developed further, particularly Kate’s friends and Della’s husband. They seemed to be included to fulfil a role in the story without being fully rounded.

That said, the book is well-written and I enjoyed the author’s writing style. I thought the themes of obsession and loneliness were well-developed through Kate becoming more and more fixated on Della’s life. At one point, she watches the house from outside, feeling envious of the happy family scene she sees through the window. The feeling of isolation that comes with being alone in a new city is explored effectively through Kate’s thoughts. I also liked the description of the different settings in the book.

If you like domestic psychological thrillers, you will enjoy this book. It explores themes such as abandonment, loneliness, friendship, motherhood and obsession. An interesting slow-burner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't get on with this and found it difficult to get into BUT it definitely perfect for some people. I think it was just maybe a little more, chic lit then I was expecting.

Oh my word. If ever I am in need of a life coach who runs support groups for young women, then I'm going to avoid them from now on. If they turn out to be anything like the one in the novel!

Powerful and interesting stuff. Creepily clever. I'm not someone who reads many domestic thrillers but this one is good!

Absolutely devoured this book and loved it.

Hooks you right in and I didn’t know where it was going, had to keep turning pages and couldn’t put it down.

Read if you like twisty and psychological thrillers.

Loved this story about the toxic relationship between Kate, a young woman who has just moved to London, and life coach Della. The story gripped me and kept me reading on. Great psychological thriller.

I really enjoyed The House Guest.

Kate moves to London in search of her sister and she's in need of a friend.

And then Kate meets Della, a life coach who runs support groups for young women, dubbed by Kate as ‘the Janes.’

Della takes a particularly special interest in Kate, and Kate soon finds herself entangled in Della’s life – her house, her family, and her husband.

It’s only when she realises that she’s in too deep that Della’s veneer begins to crumble, and the warnings from ‘the Janes’ begin to come true.

Can Kate find her way back? How far will Kate be pushed? Why is Della so invested in Kate?

There's lots of dark moments in this book that show just how far people will go when they are desperate.

This is a twisty psychological thriller that makes you want to keep reading on to find out what will happen next.

When I started to read this I was instantly drawn in, and eager to find out where it was going. However, as I read further it got more and more far-fetched and the protagonist, Kate, was so stupid that I lost all sympathy with her. The clues were all there. Kate just ignored them, failed to follow leads, did not ask the right questions. and made bad choices. I also found it hard to believe that Della could be so devious and manipulative to follow this silly plan through. And why was Liam so devoted to Kate? She had dismissed him as just a flatmate and used him every time she needed help; his character had no life apart from Kate rescuer. Layla, who breezed into Kate's life occasionally, was also useless. Mark was another cardboard character - he was just the sperm bank. The key to all the questions lay with Kate's mother, and the major clue was finally revealed, with an unresolved final action. So in the end it lost all credibility for me and I was very disappointed. This author has a good writing style and the structure is good, but the plot needs to be more credible and the characters more rounded.

An intriguing story that really had me wondering where it was going. Various interesting side stories which all came together. Really enjoyed it.

This is a thoughtful and slow-burning insight into motherhood and memory that turns its focus to the psychology of the protagonists and the far-reaching impact of 'what happens after' in a manner similar Abigail Dean's Girl A.
In doing so, it subverts its genre, adding layers to what might otherwise seem more familiar territory. The result is hugely satisfying and enjoyable to read. Highly recommended.