Thanks to NetGalley, Amanda Robson and Avon Books for the ARC of The Unwelcome Guest.

Saffron is happily married to Miles with two young boys and her business is going well, but then her Mother in Law moves into the main house from the annexe (claiming it is too pokey for her needs) and starts interfering in their life. Saffron and Caprice have never got on, and Caprice is determined to split them up. Saffron has never been good enough for her son.

Told through multiple perspectives written as if they are addressing other characters in the book, what follows is stories of scheming, hatred and plots from multiple view points including Saffron, husband Miles, Mother in law Caprice, Nanny Hayley and Mile's brother Aiden. The addition of these extra characters adds complexity to what would otherwise be a simple toxic mother in law relationship and whilst none of the characters are particularly likeable and fairly extreme, the story unfolds in a fairly gripping and engaging way, with short sharp bursts in each chapter (some just a single page).

The biggest challenge for me of this book was that some of the plot reminded me of another book I have already read (The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth) and that one had me more invested in the characters and as such more emotion towards the twists when they arrived.

This one is a far fetched in parts, but despite this, I enjoyed the book and read it from cover to cover in 24 hours,

Loved the premise and blurb for this but sadly it fell short ( for me, there has to be at least some believability in a story and this Mum In Law would be thrown out of her sons house in reality , there were great characters but disliked every one ( I thin this was meant to be ) and the writing was good and in short sharp chapters, maybe would work better as a film?

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately I couldn't get all the way through this book. I tried. I got 35% or so. But there are SO MANY POV CHANGES. And some are only a couple paragraphs long. I could have managed, maybe, if all those changes actually moved the story along, or provided any kind of character insight or anything..but this was just a bunch of people committing to hatred and scheming. I have heard great things about this author, I'll try another book by her but this one was not the one for me.

I loved the synopsis of The Unwelcome Guest. It’s written to be read daily. But I just couldn’t work out in my mind why she wasn’t sent packing ASAP. This detracted from the whole story for me.

I found The Unwelcome Guest an ok read, it's not a bad story, it just didn't blow me away like I wanted it to. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and it just didn't do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Unwelcome guest indeed. To be honest, Caprice would have been told to get out of my house within a week, I'm not sure anyone would have tolerated her.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this. The way it was written, in short, sharp bursts, was jarring, and I found the style of addressing someone as if in letter format condescending and a bit far-fetched.

It may appeal to some but wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks to NetGalley, the author a and publisher for the ARC.

Miles and Saffron are happily married with 2 sons until Miles's mother, Caprice moves in to live with them. Saffron is busy most of the time as a mother and as a lawyer with her own firm. They decided to hire a nanny to take care of the boys. Caprice does not like Saffron as her daughter in law. As much as Saffron wants to get along with Caprice. Caprice would do anything to get rid of Saffron.

Okay, the story begins well for me, I really enjoy the first 40% and then it goes flat. If you guys ever watch K-drama, this really sounds like most of the K-drama where the mother in law dislike the daughter in law and trying to do all that nasty things to get rid of their daughter in law yet act like a victim, the kind of thing. Lol. This is certainly an easy, quick read,

Well, the ending is really good though. I thought it was going to be a 3-star reading when I was around 60%. The ending truly surprised me and I think it deserves another star. If you like those family dramas and feel like an easy read, you will definitely enjoy this!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for this ARC

I enjoyed this one, I like books with alternating POVs and this one had a lot. The plot itself has been done but I felt like the author put her own interesting twist on it. It captured my attention and held it until the end. I would read more by this author!

Saffron had the perfect life. She had money, success, and love. The only problem was she also had the mother-in-law from hell, Caprice. Caprice was powerful, determined and did not approve of Saffron. Just how far would Caprice go to tear them apart? How hard would Saffron fight for the life she deserved? Throw in a flirty Nanny and a handsy brother-in-law, and you have a colorful cast that will keep you guessing.
I really enjoyed this book. Told through multiple perspectives, you got a glimpse behind the curtain as to what might motivate others to take actions that seem unthinkable. Artfully told, I felt compassion for both Caprice and Saffron at times. I raced to the end of this book to learn who would prevail and who would pay the ultimate price.

Absolutely thrilling! Alternating between the perspectives of Saffron (the main character), Myles (her husband), Aidan (brother-in-law), Caprise (her mother-in-law) and Hayley (the nanny), you get an inside look and the twisted workings of this family.

Caprise has never liked Saffron, and has always wanted more for her favorite son, Myles. With the death of her husband, she has moved into Mules and Saffron's home and has made it her mission to break the two of them up. When the family gets an attractive new live-in-nanny (Hayley) to take care of their children, Caprise takes her under her wing and makes sure she sees things from her point of view.

The book asks the questions: how far will a mother go to get what's best for her son; how far will a woman go to protect her children and her family; and how far will a young woman go to get the life she thinks she deserves? This book is a great mystery and the different perspectives keep you guessing what's going to come next. Very reminiscent of Sally Hepworth's The Mother In Law.

Just really wasn’t pulled into this story as much as I’d have hoped. This story feels overdone & predictable. I will read more from this author in the future, but the one just missed the mark for me!

The Unwelcome Guest by Amanda Robson

We have lots of POVs, an evil witch of a mother-in-law, a brother-in-law who would love to take his brother's wife from him, a struggling lawyer wife/ lecturer husband couple, and a nineteen year old nanny. Husband's ex girlfriend from his teen years was married to his brother until they got divorced but she still works for the lawyer wife. Imagine one of those crime scene white boards with lines going from one connection to the other. We could make a white board for this group of people and the lines would be zigzagging all over the place. There are the lusters, the lovers, the manipulators, the liars, and not one likeable person in the bunch. Bad decisions and people too clueless to see what's in front of their faces make for a real eye roller of an experience. Each person is willing to believe the least credible person over anyone else. Critical thinking is almost non existent here.

Sadly two little boys are the pawns on this convoluted chessboard. Good thing they have their evil witch of a grandma to watch over them! Because mom doesn't want be around evil MIL (who moved into the main house even though she has her own MIL quarters) she hires the hot nanny two seconds after she meets her. The nanny falls into insta-lust for the husband and evil MIL is going to make this thing happen!

Read this for fun because it's too silly to take seriously. Some chapters can be so short that they aren't even a real paragraph, the POVs change constantly, and the characters talk directly at other characters ("you did this, you wore that") which is confusing and awkward. In many ways, what you see is what you get with this story.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for this ARC.

I’d like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Unwelcome Guest’ by Amanda Robson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Caprice has moved from the adjoining annexe into the house owned by her son Miles and daughter-in-law Saffron. Caprice has never liked Saffron and undermines her at every opportunity and when they employ New Zealander Hayley as Nanny for the children Caprice encourages her to fall in love with Miles so that he and Saffron will divorce and he’ll marry Hayley. But things don’t always go according to plan as they all discover.

‘The Unwelcome Guest’ is the disturbing story of a family, Caprice, Miles, Aiden her younger son, and Saffron who, with the new Nanny Hayley, alternately tell the story through their own eyes. I’ve enjoyed the story but heartily disliked the characters who were weak and malleable, and I couldn’t understand why Saffron let her mother-in-law continue to be so incredibly rude and insulting to her and not throw her out of the house. Many times I found it difficult to understand which character was speaking or thinking as I’d start reading a chapter entitled ‘Miles’ only to find it’s another or at times several of the characters, and the further I got into the story the worse it became until I became completely baffled. But putting that aside, the plot was enthralling and chilling at times, with a number of unexpected twists and turns and an exciting and totally unexpected conclusion. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, thought the ending was perfect, and can recommend it.

This was my third Amanda Robson book. I loved Obsession and Guilt was okay, but didn’t live up to my expectations and this last one, The Unwelcome Guest really annoyed me and made me consider not finishing it. In the end, I finished it and I am glad I did, but I didn’t love it.

The story is told in first person and by lots of different people. Within the first quarter of the book the story had already been told by 5 different people in present tense mostly and as if speaking to one of the other characters. This meant you really needed to focus on who was talking in order to know who the “you” is that they are talking about. It didn’t help matters that the ARC version I had to review contained lots of missing headers, forgetting to inform the reader when the POV changed, making it even more confusing. I assume these mistakes will be removed before the book is officially published.

The story is about a mother in law from hell, that has moved in with her son and his family and then a nanny comes into the picture who has the hots for her son. The mother in law Caprice wants to get rid of her daughter in law Saffron, but at what cost? On the other hand, Saffron also wants to get Caprice out of her life. The son/husband Miles, doesn’t want to pick sides between the two women he loves most in the world and finds it hard to believe that his mother is anything but a sweet lady.

At one point it seems like everyone of the characters, other than the kids, have a secret agenda, even Miles’s brother and not one of these adult characters is genuinely nice, which makes it harder to enjoy the story for me. I know liking the main characters is not a must for all people, so for those people who don’t need nice people as main characters, this might be a really entertaining read.

What to expect:
✅ story told first people by many people

✅ over the top characters

✅ scheming and tricking each other and to what extent

✅ family drama, mother vs wife… who should you believe?

✅ whodunnit?

I love Amanda's domestic dramas and this new one is brimming with toxicity! The brilliantly observed characters - all pretty self-absorbed and twisted in their own right - will keep you turning the pages. You'll be desperate to find out just how Saffron's relationship with poisonous mother-in-law Caprice will end! The short chapters mean the story hurtles along and before you know it, you've reached the dramatic conclusion. Great stuff.

4.5 stars which I will gladly round up to 5 because I loved the ending and it surprised me.

The UnWelcome Guest is full of nasty characters that plot against each other .

The question is who will survive and who will not.

Saffron and Miles are happily married (though they do have their moments) and his Mum just happens to live with them.

Caprice wishes her son did not marry Saffron and she is downright nasty almost to the point of being evil to her.

In comes the Nanny, Hayley.

This wont end well, I just know it.

Twists and turns will keep you reading to see who will prevail in the tale of the mother in law from hell.

Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK, Avon for a twisted read.

Amanda Robson is one of my favourite authors - her books are amazing and I could not wait to try The Unwelcome Guest and so grateful to NetGalley for allowing me a copy in return for my honest review.

This novel did not let me down - I personally feel that her other novels really set the bar high for anything else she wrote to live up to but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

We follow Saffron and Miles who are married and live with their children and also Miles mother. Caprice is Saffron's Mother in Law and really despises Saffron - she is literally a force to be reckoned with and I really felt for Saffron having a busy life as a mother and a lawyer with her own firm and then she has to contend with the horrid Caprice. Miles and Saffron hire a nanny to help look after their children and again there is more that meets the eye. Caprice was a truly awful character and I really hated and loved reading about her in this novel.

Chapters in this novel alternate between the characters and I love this about Amanda Robson's writing style.

Her style of writing and the narrative that she weaves catches my attention and it is literally the only I want to do - read her book.

I love the way the story is told and how the many different characters evolve during the novel. There are many twists and turns and if you love, like I do, an amazing twisty, fast-paced read then you will not regret picking up this novel.

Thanks to Amanda Robson, NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my review - I loved it.

Saffron and Miles are living with their two sons when Miles mother decides to move in. Caprice has never liked Saffron and takes every opportunity to undermine her. The lengths she will go to get Saffron out of her son's life are over the top to say the least. She is the definition of the mother in law from hell. She is not above using her other son and the nanny to get what she wants.
Told from several points of view. The very short blurbs from each person is a little too much at times. It got confusing as to who was currently speaking.
If you like a book of family drama then this book is for you!

Many thanks to netgalley and Avon Books, UK for the advance copy

This book was insanely readable. I don't what it was but the pages just turned themselves. The chapters were very short so that helped speed thing along. Every single character in this book is deplorable, I hated them all. A lot of the things that happened weren't entirely believable and there were so many red flags ignored and repeated I was shaking my head so fast I got dizzy! Miles was a wimp of the highest order and if any man let his mama treat me the way his mother treated his wife I would kick him and her to the curb! I have never read about a couple who distrusted each other as much as Miles and Saffron. I didn't think it could get any worse but towards the end it was almost ridiculous, I was rolling my eyes nearly every page. Why did I like so much? I have no idea but I couldn't put it down...kinda like you can't help but slow down to look at a car accident.

Gripping and thrilling, I enjoyed The Unwelcome Guest from the first page to the last. We’ve all heard about Mother-in-laws from hell, but it seems Saffron’s is a whole different class. Saffron vowed to love Miles and weather any storm together but when Miles’ mother Caprice moves into the family home things take a turn for the worst. Saffron hopes the new nanny will be an ally and shield her from the worst of it, but very soon she starts to feel increasingly paranoid in her own home. Especially as it seems Caprice wants a new daughter-in-law and will do whatever it takes to get one. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.