The Unwelcome Guest’ was a very welcome addition to my reading matter – an utterly fantastic read with Amanda Robson's trademark sass and acerbic style heavily in evidence throughout this book.

Main character Saffron, a career woman, is wife to gorgeous academic, Miles and mother to two lively young boys. Mother in law, Candace, lives with them and will stop at nothing to spilt up Saffron and Miles’ marriage - believing that Saffron is unsuitable for her precious son. Consequently, she makes Saffron's life a living hell. Also playing a prominent role is nanny, Hayley, a young Kiwi, who develops an inappropriate crush! Events play out with unimaginable consequences in this modern work of contemporary / psychological fiction.

The writing style is totally unique and fantastically engaging. Amanda Robson’s books are distinctive with a unique selling point and very modern feel. she captures this through the narrative where each character directs their thoughts / narrative to another character. I have never come across this style before but it really works.

This is a book I can’t recommend highly enough – great story, superb narrative and heavily featuring those all important plot twists!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advanced copy.

It’s a brave person who takes on the subject of the dreaded mother-in-law, the reader could instantly dislike it! This book is written by a new author for me so I gave it a try!
Saffron of course loves Miles and her children, life is difficult with his horrid mother Caprice living in their home, she’s doing all she can to find a new daughter-in-law! Hayley is the new nanny, she moves in when other nannies have failed and Aiden, Miles’ brother, has his sneaky moments too!
I felt every tension, every devious plan and manipulation and wondered, how the mind works to scheme and meddle into others lives.
The plot is brilliant, superb and a book that all mothers-in-law should read, if you dare!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks so much to Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read and offer my review of this superbly written book!

This book started off really intense but lost its way a little by being a bit confusing and almost simplistic - having said that I finished it and found it an easy read, The relationship between mother in law and daughter in law is a very precarious one and it was written very well in this book. There are no massive surprises at the end but then there doesn't always have to be.

The Unwelcome Guest is a book about domestic issues, the tension between Saffron and her mother in love, Caprice. The plot is built on this unhealthy relationship from the very beginning. However, the situation is dramatically changing when Caprice is moving into Saffron and Miles home. You can find here intrigue, suspense, obsession.

The book is written from many perspectives - all family members have their voice in this story. The first-person multi-perspective was a bit tricky for me. Although, it could be great material for a tv sitcom. There are several family members that you will hear but never know enough to understand their motivations and feelings, which makes it a bit flat or questionable. It seems that even they do not know each other very well. The plot is based on a well-known toxic relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The writing style makes it more interesting and intriguing.

There is something creepy in it - if you know that all people around you think in such a negative way, how toxic your surrounding will be? Dysfunctional family.

However, I admire the author for such a bold structure of the book.

Thank you, NetGalley and AvonBooksUK, for an ARC of this book.

This book was sent to me on Kindle by Netgalley. It is a character driven story with likeable-at times- characters. The story is problematic as it is told in first person by numerous characters. I could not get into this book.

2 stars

Saffron is just one of the characters readers get to meet through this multi-perspective thriller, and she is - in many ways - the center of this family-based event. Along with Saffron, readers get first-person insights into Miles (the husband), Aiden (the brother-in-law), Caprice (the mother-in-law), and Hayley (the nanny). While the convergence of the multi-perspective and family-centered plot have the makings of a compulsively readable thriller, for me, this fell flat almost instantly. The surprise twist? I was the unwelcome guest at this party.

There are some challenges here. First, there are so many perspectives that readers never get to know any of the characters well enough to find their motivations and actions believable. Their choices are bonkers, but it's also really tough to root for them because they just keep appearing at their worst. It's easy to feel like the characters mostly get what they deserve - varying degrees of misery at different times - because they are, to be diplomatic, not smart. It's one thing to have a set of characters who are fooled by a double life scenario, but somehow - despite being related for many years in most cases - these characters manage to not know each other at all. And this situation is not just relegated to the maniacal mother-in-law archetype in which the (usually) son has no clue how his angelic mother could possibly [fill in the blank outrageous acts/words/etc. here]. The characters are, in broad strokes, terrible communicators, and it is frustrating to watch them make ridiculous moves repeatedly. Along with the horrible characters and challenging structure, there are some bizarre distractions including what almost feels like product placement (an utterly odd use of unnecessary details - "Ugg slippers," "_The Crown_ on Netflix, and repetition of "Diet Coke" among various others). Easily the worst offense is the extreme predictability. Read the first 5%-10%, and you'll know exactly what is happening and where folks will land. Ugh.

Obviously, this was not a thrilling experience for me, but I will give Robson another try and hope for a different outcome.

I wasn't sure about this book when I started but after a few chapters, I was hooked! Saffron & Miles are married & have two sons. The problem is Miles mother Caprice who lives with them. She hates Saffron & will do anything to ruin her. How can anyone be so vindictive? Read this book & find out !

This was quite the thriller! It was suspenseful and kept me on my toes! I found myself reading very quickly to find out what happened next. The only thing I found a bit hard to follow at times was the switching back and forth between the different characters and their perspectives. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it!

Suspense, intrigue, excitement…this book has it all. I read it in one day as I couldn’t put it down, I had to know exactly what was going on. The author created great characters with enough foibles to make them believable and some of them likeable. The storyline has enough suspense to keep you interested and pondering what is going to happen. With just the right amounts of red herrings and twists this book will keep you entertained to the end. If you like suspense you will love this book. Thank you to Avon Books Uk and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book.

Gosh this really is the mother in law from hell and I really felt sorry for the Saffron the wife as she just couldn’t do anything right in her mother in law Caprices eyes and now the new nanny has arrived Caprice has decided she would make her son a better wife. Now just need to get Saffron out of the way. This is an exciting read with a great ending.

This one was amazing ! Told at the first and second person singular - it completely makes the reader feel as if the main characters are talking right to you!!! Genius!
The relationship between MIL and DIL is interesting to watch! When the MIL sets her sights on the nanny to take over for her current DIL whom she thinks is not good enough for her son - we- the reader - witness evil at play !!
You will NOT want to put this one down until you read the last word!
This author is now an automatic buy for me :) thank you @ netgalley and to the publisher for this amazing read !!

3.5 stars

Welcome to the bonkers world of Amanda Robson who sure knows how to create crazy characters! Lawyer Saffron is married to Miles but her mother in law Caprice makes it quite clear from the beginning of their relationship that she dislikes her. Caprice sees a career driven, self obsessed woman and an intellectual snob. Whilst Miles loves his mother he can see there’s a blooming great cuckoo in the nest when she comes to live with them and let’s add into the mix a new nanny Hayley and Miles’ brother Aidan who is in love with Saffron and let the games begin!

It’s fair to say this is an entertaining, easy read with fruitcake, slightly deranged characters who, shall we say, have strong opinions. There’s lust, love, envy, obsession, jealousy and hatred in the toxic domestic soup. The suffocating atmosphere with numerous darkly suppurating undercurrents comes across well. At times the tension between Saffron and Caprice worsens to a war of attrition which neither want to lose until one of them is out of the picture - but which one? The first half in my opinion is much better than the second because as it progresses the path it takes becomes predictable.

Initially, the constantly changing points of view works really well as they illuminate the other but after a while the flitting from one to the other becomes jarring and a bit confusing. It also means there’s not much depth, it becomes superficial and it leads to some repetition. At times what the characters eat, drink or wear takes centre stage rather than what they’re thinking. Some emotions feel very flat and matter of fact possibly because of the constant narrative change. There’s nothing especially new on the table here, the evil mother in law and can we trust the nanny trope is a path well worn. Some incidents strike a false note for example the visit by social services.

Overall, it’s fun and enjoyable but a bit overblown and probably not especially memorable.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books UK for the arc in return for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was not for me and I was very disappointed as I was really looking forward to it. I don't like to give negative reviews but in this case I have to be honest. I found the whole story unbelievable, each action from the unwelcome guest seemed all a bit ridiculous and as it continued I found it all very predictable. I did not like any of the characters so in turn I really didn't care what happened to them, I really struggled to finish it. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them so maybe in this case it was just me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book.

The Unwelcome Guest was a psychological thriller about the lives of Saffron and Miles, who are completely in love with each other, happily married and have two adorable little boys. The only problem is that Caprice, who is Mile's mother, is way way too much in the picture and she not only can't stand Saffron, but to top it off, she lives with them! She wants to do anything she can to get them to break up so Miles can find someone more "appropriate" to be with. Then, throw Aiden, Mile's brother (who secretly adores Saffron), along with their beautiful new nanny Hayley (who ogles and dreams about handsome Miles) in the picture and the story becomes completely cray cray. Caprice gets to manipulate to her hearts desire and let the games begin!

I did like the way Robson wrote from each character's point of view. It made the story more interesting and brought it to life to know how each person was feeling as things were progressing. There were some twists and turns in the mix which I did enjoy. Robson is good at throwing those in, and I love that about her writing style in her books!

I would like to thank #NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my eARC for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book had me guessing up until the very end. I thought It was dark and delicious and am looking forward to its pub date so that all the world can read it! I had not heard of this book until I saw it on NetGalley so I’m looking forward to reading more by this author in the near future.

It just goes to show, you can have it all but something will always spoil things. Saffron really does have it all, a good marriage to Miles, children, she is beautiful, successful and they are wealthy. They also live in a beautiful house, funded by her Mother-in-law; and that is the fly in Saffron’s ointment – Caprice. Initially Caprice was supposed to live in the annexe but now she finds it too small. As we are introduced to the family Saffron is in the process of employing a new Nanny, enter Hayley, young and beautiful and she cannot believe she has landed on her feet with this job. To add to this melange we have Aiden, the brother in law who is infatuated with Saffron and seriously wealthy.

In Caprice’s opinion Saffron can do nothing right, she doesn’t think she is good enough for her son Miles, and doesn’t agree with her parenting – or her work. She is determined to get rid of her. From Saffron’s point of view she can see how toxic her MIL is, how disruptive and Miles seems oblivious to it all. In addition to the tension between Saffron and Caprice, we also have Hayley’s perspective – she admires Saffron’s polish but likes her lifestyle, home and husband more.

The plot is revealed through the perspective of multiple characters but not in the third person, but as though they are addressing their comments directly to the other person, somewhat like an inner dialogue; i.e. “I know what you are doing and it will not work”.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to see where it went and was somewhat surprised at Saffron’s remedy to her situation and the next steps she took. Well worth a read.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

The Unwelcome Guest by Amanda Robson is a thriller that pits wife against mother-in-law.

Although I enjoyed this book, it didn't seem overly believable. The characters seemed to leap to drastic actions too easily and I feel like this took away from the rest of the story.

3 stars from me as I did enjoy it, just not as much as other books in this genre.

Fast paced and relatively well written. Enjoyed the style of different character viewpoints although some relationships felt simplistic at times and not particularly realistic. Enjoyed the book overall, would recommend

Such a great read! I was completely invested in the story. It’s something you can really imagine happening and hearing about on the news.

The Unwelcome Guest

Saffron and Miles have a great marriage - they have 2 little boys, a beautiful house, decent jobs, and a great love for one another. However, in Saffron's eyes her marriage would be even better if her Mother-in-law wasn't in the picture. And for Caprice, the Mother-in-law, the feeling is mutual. Caprice is constantly pinning Saffron for things she didn't do, or staging it to look like Saffron is in love with her Brother-in-law Aiden. Caprice will gladly put on show, using everyone in the house as puppets to turn them against each other just to get the life she thinks her precious son, Miles, deserves.

In the beginning I really enjoyed the book. I didn't want to put it down. All of Caprice's drama was very entertaining and enjoyable to get in to. I liked the changing of perspectives because you were able to 'feel' what the characters felt during all the drama even if words weren't said.

However, the velocity the book started off with slowly diminished and the book got a little boring for my taste. I liked the the ending in a broad term, I just wish some of the juicy action from the beginning would have carried on to the end. For that reason I give this book 3 stars. If the last 1/4 of the book would have been as interesting as the first 3/4 of the book - this book would have definitely been a 4+ star rating.

Thank you Amanda Robson, Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the advance copy to read in return for my honest review!