WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE PERFECT GUESTS BY EMMA ROUS?
Who doesn’t like a good adult thriller or mystery? As I work to expand my palate with the genres I read, I find that I am pleasantly surprised by the different genres I pick up. The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous falls within the mystery-thriller genre. And honestly? I picked it up because the synopsis caught my attention. It sounded creepy and twisted and so, like the perfect audiobook to hold my attention through some upcoming busy times. When it came my time to borrow this audiobook via the library, I was genuinely so excited. Also, the positive reviews for The Au Pair convinced me I needed to try out something by Emma Rous.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
The Perfect Guests basically is about this place called Raven Hall. It’s central to the three narratives and timelines taking place within Emma Rous’ story. So, there is a dual timeline. One takes place in 1988 and features 14 year old Beth Soames, who is an orphan. Beth is dropped off at Raven Hall by her aunt to be a companion to one of the residents – a young girl named Nina. Beth gets along so well with Averell family and she’s starting to be happy again. Until the family asks her to do something shady, which she does to make them happy. However, she’s not feeling so good about it.

The other timeline is set in 2019 and narrated by Sophie Langton who is an actress. Sophie is invited to pretend to be a guest at a murder mystery party hosted at Raven Hall. She’s excited for the work and takes it. She gets a suitcase, instructions, and a dossier on her character. The other guests also begin to arrive and Sophie can tell that something is off at Raven Hall.

Then there’s a third timeline where we don’t find out who the narrator is until later in the book. This narrator’s timeline takes place before Beth’s and it is very apparent that this narrator has a connection to Raven Hall that runs deep.

HOW DID I LIKE THE PERFECT GUESTS?
Honestly, The Perfect Guests is the kind of thriller/mystery that I really like. Women are at the forefront. It feels a little bit gothic – particularly with Raven Hall. Actually, the setting is perfection. I felt like this was a really atmospheric read. There’s some well written obsession in this book. I loved how the two dual timelines connected and felt like it was really well done. It made sense and the pacing of the reveals was on point.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of The Perfect Guests has three narrators – Elizabeth Knowelden, Candice Moll, and Steve West. Steve West narrators the timeline where we aren’t too sure who the narrator is. I could not tell you which timeline Knowelden and Moll narrated. What I can tell you is this is a thoroughly enjoyable listen. This audiobook is easy to follow and stay engaged with. It’s a great listen for driving or data entry. I highly recommend if you do read The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous that you pick up the audiobook version.

I can't believe I let this book set so long on my TBR pile.  It's fantastic.  Once I got the timelines and the characters straight in my head I couldn't put it down.  The story starts in 1988 with14 year old Beth heading to Raven Hall to be a companion to Nina.  Set in England the Averill family live on an estate outside of London.  Beth is confused and wary but over the years she comes to love her new life
In 2019 Sadie is hired as an actress to take part in a murder mystery set in Raven Hall.  It's obvious that someone from the past is set on revenge but the twist and turns are breathtaking as the story progresses.  I love all the characters and the story is a thriller. I highly recommend this story to everyone who enjoys a well thought out book with lots of twists.  I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It started slow and built to a big crescendo, with lots of twisty turns along the way. I love it when I can’t get close to guessing how it might all play out.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up 


I started reading The Perfect Guests weeks ago and put it aside. It started out ok but just wasn’t really keeping my attention. I decided to pick it back up today to see if maybe it was just my mood at the time that kept me from sticking with it. So glad I gave it another try because I ended up really enjoying it. 

I was flying through the last half and couldn’t wait to see what what going to happen. So many unknowns and I was wondering how does this all relate but it was tied up nicely in the end. I really enjoyed The Perfect Guests and would definitely recommend it. 

This is my first book by Emma Rouss, so I immediately added The Au Pair to my TBR list. 

Thank you to Berkeley Pub, NetGalley and Emma Rouss for my ARC in exchange for my review.

Too many characters to try to keep straight and the constant timeline jumps were tricky to also keep straight.  Trying to figure out who was causing all turmoil in the house I was able to figure out but the multiple surprises at the end were good so I give this a 3.5.

The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous is a fascinating novel that is set in the vicinity of the English fens. The story alternates between 1988 and 2019. In the eighties Beth, an orphan living in a children’s home, is selected to live at Raven Hall, an elaborate estate. She is to be a companion to the daughter of the house, Nina. The two girls soon become fast friends and all is well until it isn’t! In 2019, an eager actress, Sadie, is invited to Raven Hall, to participate in what she believes is a murder mystery evening. At this point, the night turns into something right out of the Agatha Christie mysteries. There are several invitees, all strangers to each other. The guests do not know who owns Raven Hall now or who organized the bizarre evening. Nothing will be as it seems, leaving everyone bewildered and confused. The rest will be up to the reader to investigate and solve. The Perfect Guests is an excellent choice for a winter evening, by the fire. Emma Rous has written a mystery within a mystery that will hold your attention to the very end. Highly recommended. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I'd rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

After reading so many historical fictions lately, I was in need of something that would keep me guessing and this twisty book was the perfect choice!⁣
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Beth is an orphan that is invited to stay with the Averell family at Raven Hall throughout the summer to keep their daughter, Nina, company. They quickly become close friends and Beth eventually becomes a part of the family. Everything seems like a dream come true until Beth is asked to impersonate Nina.⁣
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Fast forward to present day and Sadie, a struggling actress, receives an invitation to play what seems like the perfect part. Similar to the game of Clue, she needs to attend a murder mystery dinner and stay in part the length of her stay. It also happens to be at Raven Hall and she quickly learns this may not be what she had originally thought. ⁣
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Although I did enjoy reading this book, it was a bit predictable and fell flat towards the end. Even though some of the twists were farfetched, it did continue to keep me guessing which I loved. Overall I would give it 3.5 💫’

While I didn't like the Au Pair, I decided to give the author another shot because this book started out with so much promise. The murder mystery premise was awesome but so much of this just did not make sense. The twists were predictable and got ridiculous towards the end. Inauthentic and absurd.

This is the second book I've read by Emma Rous and it won't be the last. A quick read with great characters. multiple narratives and timelines, and amazing twists and turns. Kept me reading late into the night and I was still guessing right up to the last page. Highly recommended

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. 

This was a gripping suspense that used multiple narrators with alternating timelines. There is also an unexpected and unidentified narrator who interjects on occasion to had to the mystery. It is a complex story with many characters which at times can get confusing.

In July 1988, Beth Soames loses her parents in a tragic car accident while they were taking her brother to the hospital. Consequently, Beth was placed into a children's home as her Aunt Caroline traveled for work and unable to care for her. One day Aunt Caroline arrives to take Beth to live with Lenora and Markus Averelle at Raven Hall where they have a 14 year old daughter the same age. It seems Nina only has one friend named Jonas who comes to visit on his bike to go swimming. They feel Beth would be a great companion for Nina who they have secluded at Raven Hall, a manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. Beth is pleased to have the opportunity to live with a family and tries to befriend Nina who gives her weird vibes. There are many questions Beth wants to ask, like why isn't Nina allowed to go to school or leave Raven Hall? 

Many years later, Sadie Langton is a struggling actress in 2019 who is intrigued when she receives an invitation to play a "party guest" Miss Lamb at a mystery dinner party at the infamous Raven Hall which has seen better days. As the guests arrive, Sadie becomes amused with the other "characters" like Lady Nightingale, Professor Everett Owl and Miss Genevieve Mouse. Aside from the odd characters, the game clues seem to be specific to each guest and not their supposed character. Suddenly, the games begins to feel freaky and personal with fear and paranoia spreading when bizarre things occur. 
Apparently there was a tragedy which closed Raven Hall after someone died and the father moved abroad. The house was left abandoned and the guests are to determine who killed Lord Nightingale in his study. 

I was unable to put the book the down as I was so drawn into the chaotic, eerie mystery which involved family deaths, secrets, lies, and history that throws the reader off guard when it all comes together.

A twisty novel told from the perspective of Beth, a young teenage orphan, living on a grand estate in the late 1980s and a current day woman Sadie, a struggling actress,  invited to participate in a murder mystery event at the same estate.  The estate holds many secrets which unfold as do the players in the game.  The pace picks up dramatically as the stories unfold and I couldn't put it down until it was done.

In 1988, Beth is moved from an orphanage to live at Raven Hall with The Averells and their daughter Nina. In 2019, Sadie accepts an acting job which involves working in a murder mystery party at the same mansion! I don't want to ruin it, so I won't say anymore!

The Perfect Guests has a very intricate, twisty plot! There are many connections between characters and it is clearly well thought out! I loved the ominous old mansion setting, and was intrigued by the dark side of Nina and her family that is apparent early on. I was torn between wanting Beth to fit with her new family and listening to all the alarm bells that were going off!

I don't always love dual timelines, but in this case I really couldn't see how they were related and was surprised when everything comes together. This is a great, slow burn, thriller with lots of suspense and twists!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Books for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This reminded me very much of Emma Rous' first book, The Au Pair.  The writing style and set up of the book was so similar I kept thinking I had already read this book.  It was good enough but fairly predictable.  Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I am a bit late on posting about my latest book, but this month has been anything but normal. I finished The Perfect Guests last night, and absolutely loved it!

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Thank you so much to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the gifted review copy of The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous! I was already a fan of this author after reading her previous book The Au Pair, and The Perfect Guests did not disappoint.

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Synopsis from the publisher: When Beth was fourteen, she was invited into Raven Hall, a rambling, isolated manor house in the English countryside. The family who lived there were warm and welcoming, and Beth soon became firm friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even felt like she was truly part of the family … But then they asked her to play a very strange game - and nothing was the same again. Now, after years of abandonment, Raven Hall has been restored to its former glory and is playing host to an evening of murder mystery … But why does the tragic past of this imposing house seem to have such a hold on everyone? Is this really just a game, or a murder mystery for real?

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This book has everything you could want in a great mystery. Multiple POVs, alternating timelines, a cast of unreliable characters, and a dark atmospheric manor house. I did have the end pretty well figured out before everything was revealed, but I really did find the end very satisfying in the way the author chose to conclude everything. This story has many layers and characters who all weave together in a very elaborate plot. Highly recommend for all readers who like dark, atmospheric, family drama mysteries.

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QOTD: If you were given the opportunity to move into a mansion, but you knew it had a very dark history, would you still move in?

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.  I really enjoyed this mystery thriller!! It was hard to put down, I read it in a day.  Loved all of the twists all the way up to the end.   Told in two timelines and wrapped up nicely at the end.   The story starts with Beth in 1988 at spooky Raven Hall  and alternates with Sadie in 2019  who is an actress that gets invited to a mystery dinner for a part at Raven Hall!   Definitely recommend!!

I am sorry but this was not for me at all. When I read the plot summary I had a recall and it reminded me of another book by Emily Carpenter. Sadly this one was just boring and didn't seem to have a point.

3.5 stars for this captivating tale of deeply buried family secrets rising to the surface.

Told through two timelines, this novel unravels the mystery surrounding the family legacy of Raven Hall, an old crumbling mansion in the isolated English countryside.  Raven Hall was like a character in itself, dark and powerfully atmospheric in setting - I loved it!

I was engrossed with this story from start to finish.  I surprised myself with how connected I felt to the book even though I found several aspects of the plot line were quite far fetched, especially near the end.  This is usually a deal breaker for me, however, I was so enthralled in the story that I remained hanging on every word with extreme curiosity in how it would all come together.

I really enjoyed the writing and characters.   The pace and flow were great and the characters were memorable.  I wasn’t a fan of the Present Day storyline in what brought them to Raven Hall, but I was able to “go with it” and lose myself within that aspect of the story.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining and unique novel that kept me engaged.  I enjoyed this authors previous novel, The Au Pair, a tiny bit more but found this a close second.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for my review copy!

Favorite Quote:

Her thoughts are like darting fish, sparking across her mind and slipping out of reach.

My Review:

My first Emma Rous read and it was quite a complicated and twisty tale with lots of moving parts, secrets, and hidden agendas.  The storylines were slowly constructed and cleverly nuanced over two timelines with a large cast of characters.  The story threads were taut with tension and wound around themselves to weave what seemed like tangled knots, which ultimately became a complex tapestry while ensnaring my attention and endlessly provoking my curiosity with ever-evolving theories. Many of the main characters were elusive and an odd mix of peculiar and erratic in both timelines. This was a hard one to put down and my poor optical orbits feel like they have burned through to the back of my skull as I may have been reluctant to blink as I didn’t want to miss anything. All told, it was rather ingenious.

This was an interesting and well crafted story. I appreciated how the author tied all the threads together, even some threads of which I was unaware until close to the end.  Well done, it will definitely be good for book groups.