I felt let down by the ending and wanted more after making it to the end. Alex's user behavior got old fast to me and it's hard to feel any sympathy without any backstory or reasoning as to why she acted the way she did.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

At first I thought this was going to turn into a pulpy page turner without a lot of depth. The turning point was in how the author steered clear of tropes and pity. I never felt sick of this character who keeps making bad decisions. Great, fun read.

This book swept me away with its focus and almost hypnotic character and setting. The impending sense of self-destruction amidst the glittering Hamptons resulted in a feverish and stylish read I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Alex is 22 and getting by on beauty and acting ability - as in, who she can pretend to be. She knows how to find someone to take care of her, and she knows when things aren't working and she needs to leave. With nothing and no one to fall back on, Alex is at a loss when her "boyfriend" kicks her out. She only has $400 to her name, so she's gotta win him back... she can figure it out, right?

This book is all character and atmosphere with no plot, and I didn't think I had strong negative feelings about that kind of book, but after reading this... maybe I do. I only pushed through this book because I knew it was less than 200 pages, but I wasn't really interested in what happened to the main character. The ending didn't make sense either. Basically, I wouldn't recommend it. The only reason it isn't zero stars is because I liked a couple side characters.

CW: mental illness, drug and alcohol use

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Cline and Random House for allowing me early access to The Guest.

Mixed feelings about this book. Like many people, I loved The Girls and was really excited about this one, which probably contributed to my vague feeling of disappointment. I do, however, feel like this is a worthwhile book and would absolutely purchase it for a library. I think it's also one of those books that would deepen with a reread; the action is so slippery, almost dreamlike at times, that it almost seems to disappear behind you. Overall, glad to have read it and think it would make for a great book club discussion.

this was a disturbing book, but in a good way. This is one of those books that you keep thinking about after you put it down which in my opinion is the best kind of book. I am giving it four stars because the ending wasn’t my favorite. But I highly recommend this book this
I am giving it four stars because the ending wasn’t my favorite. But I highly recommend this thought-provoking book. The writing was phenomenal.

thank you, net galley and random house publishing for a digital copy of this book for my honest review

"The Guest" follows Alex, a girl that's trying to solve (or not) her problems after things get complicated with the guy she was staying.
It hard for me to pinpoint exactly what I disliked about this. There was this something missing that I can't make up, ever since you start the book until you finish it, it's the same thing, nothing changes the slow pace and there's nothing to explore aside the things the main character does and I don't think that's a bad thing at all, this could serve as a character study type of book but it just didn't do it for me. The slow burn was fitting, this happened in just one week and the writing was very good, something that will for sure make me read more from this author, it definitely makes you want to keep reading and there's something intriguing about it but, overall it just was okay and I feel like it's going to be a very forgettable story for me.

Emma Cline is an author that never disappoints. Each novel of hers is captivating and gripping as the next.
There is a nuance, a complex nature to her narrators that leaves myself pondering on how relatable some of her characters are. And The Guest is no different.
If you liked The Girls, then you will like The Guest. There is a sense of suspense that lingers throughout the novel while also questioning the unreliability of the novel’s narrator, Alex.
It is a fantastic novel and one that I think is better than her previous novel. My only criticism is the ending. While I was enthralled at beginning and middle, the ending loses its strength.
Nonetheless, The Guest is another great novel by Emma Cline, and is not to be missed.


Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange of my honest opinions.

Sharp and vivid writing, an off kilter narrative, and a fascinating character at the heart of this novel. Cline's writing is always so fascinating as is her grasp of the representation of women's lives.

Just as brilliant as “the Girls”, Emma Cline is back again with all the moody relationships she writes so well. This will be a best seller!

This isn’t the type of book I usually find myself enjoying, but I could not put THE GUEST down! It was such an interesting character study and I loved being inside the head of such an unreliable and strange woman. Her spiral was fascinating to read and I had to keep going to see what would happen to her next. This book felt like a dream, uneasy and tense, and I loved it.

Alex is a young woman with a drug problem (and a seemingly troubling obsession with pools/water). When she finds herself penniless and alone, she concocts an elaborate plan of deception to keep her afloat.

I'm feeling generous, so I'll give this three stars instead of two. The first fourth of this book is extremely slow paced and the very limited information about Alex and her past did not help. I never really cared for Alex because I felt like I knew nothing about her. Other than that she was in and out of apartments for the last two years because of her tendency to pop pills and steal money. As Alex's life continue to fall apart, her situation became a little bit more interesting (albeit not in any sort of enjoyable or entertaining way, more like a car crash you can't look away from). And the conclusion to this novel is not much of a conclusion it all, which was frustrating to say the least. This was an okay read in the end, but Cline's <u>The Girls</u>is far more superior in my opinion.

This is my first book by author Emma Cline and I’m sure it won’t be my last. This book was unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Most of the characters you meet within this story aren’t very likable. Our protagonist is Alex is a grifter. In the beginning of the book she’s staying with Simon and things are going great for her spending her days laying out by the pool or going to the beach until one day Simon decides to send her back to the city. Alex is unable to go back to the city because of some unknown personal reasons so she drifts around leeching off of whoever she can. I was intrigued by this story and didn’t want to put it down because I needed to know what happened. I’m a little disappointed at some of the loose ends within this story and how the book ended. But overall I enjoyed this book! Releasing May 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book was a very good read. I kept wondering where the story would go next and what the main character, Alex, would do to survive. However, I was quite annoyed and dissatisfied at the end of the book because it kind of just stopped when it felt like it should have kept going. It was a book that ended ambiguously and I didn’t really like that. I wish I had gotten to read what happened after Simon saw Alex at his Labor Day party.

This was very fun and interesting but it got a little old by the middle. It doesn’t feel like there is a climax and it’s pretty predictable. It wasn’t completely unenjoyable though. The ending was alright even though we see it coming from the beginning and it’s intriguing to see how our narrator gets through the week. I know this author has a big following from her other books so maybe I just don’t get it.

Didn’t hate it tho!

Also I feel like I was too stupid to understand the very end or I’m just making it more complicated than it needs to be.

If you want just a simple book this would be great. I actually read this through my work day (shhhhh) and it was nice having a simple story with nothing crazy happening to read.

This is the first Emma cline novel I’ve read and I have to say I’ll be looking for more of her books. Engrossing from the start! The main character is scheming to get what she wants out of people who are either clearly aware of her schemes or just taken for a ride. Such a well crafted story and as aggravatingly entitled as the main character is, you feel empathy for her because of how richly drawn she is.

Review: The Guest by Emma Cline
Publishing 5/16/23.

Rating: 4/5

The Guest follows a young grifter named Alex who is dating an older, wealthier man named Simon. They’ve spent the better part of the summer together at his Long Island home when a sudden misstep causes him to dismiss her back to the city just as quickly as she’d arrived.

With nowhere to go and no one to call (and a waterlogged phone to boot), Alex spends the week leading up to Labor Day on the move, setting off a series of scams that always seem to backfire.

Alex is difficult to root for. She lacks any sense of morality or remorse, but that’s precisely what makes her so interesting to read. She is driven by her own instinct to survive, a desperation that she is convinced she conceals well, but that everyone else can spot immediately.

That particular dissonance is something I love about this book. Alex’s perception of self is so often disconnected from the way others view her, and I think this showcases just how intent she is on believing her own lies. What she wants more than anything is to belong, to assimilate into a lifestyle of wealth and security.

I find this book interesting in that nothing happens, and yet it’s gripping from start to finish. Emma Cline creates a mounting tension that lingers long after the book ends, and I enjoyed it as a slice of life narrative. I’d recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading unlikeable female characters, specifically those committing crimes for the sake of it.

I liked The Girls by Emma Cline a lot, so I was eager to read this one as soon as possible.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the digital ARC!

I loved Cline's The Girls but have found none of her other books have quite lived up to that for me. This one came pretty close. I loved reading about the tricks and scams, but the tone felt pretty removed.

A perfect follow up for fans of THE GIRLS. Like THE GIRLS, Cline digs into the weirdness of fast-formed relationships, this time with a shyster heroine used to stealing her way from one place to another. There's a perfect ticking clock of tension in this book: deadlines in the background of deals gone wrong and parties that she plans to crash, and while each chapter reads like a short story in the falling-apart life of a young woman, together they make a narrative that is a perfect storm of tension. If you're looking for a beach read (about beach life) that's not at all your typical beach read, this is it. This is the one.

I'm not really sure what to think of this book. The main character is pretty unlikeable, which doesn't usually turn me off as long as there is some backstory and subtle psychological analysis to help explain why the character is the way she is. There was none of that here. It just seems like Alex is a narcissistic leech, moving from one person to the next to get her needs met. I found her escapades interesting/appalling enough to keep reading. I wanted to know what was going to happen with the Simon reunion. The book ended very abruptly so what I was waiting for didn't really materialize in a satisfying way. Cline is, no doubt, an excellent writer. I wish there was more meat to this one.