Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

Unfortunately I really didn't care for this book.

Despite it's length, it was a quick read as the chapters changed perspectives often and some were quite short. The story is told from 5-6 different point of views. The characters were all pretty unlikeable, with a pure evil mother in law being an over the top characterization.

I will give this author another try in that while I didn't necessarily enjoy the book, it was entertaining on some level.

What a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive. That line kept running through my head as I read this book, because it really is so true. Secrets, betrayals, lies … nothing good can come from that stuff, and this novel is a case in point!

This is written from the viewpoints of:

Miles - doting mother’s boy, husband, pushover and father of two
Saffron - Miles’ wife, vegan, owner of a law firm and mother of before-mentioned two
Candice - Miles’ widowed mother (and thus, Saffron’s mother-in-law)
Aiden - Miles’ brother, motivated by money and deeply in love with his brother’s wife, and
Hayley - The family’s beautiful young nanny.

Except for Aiden, though he’s often around, they all live together in a gorgeous mansion. When Miles’ father died, Candice moved in with her son and his wife. The only problem is that she’s the mother-in-law from hell. She has never liked Saffron, and the feeling is mutual. Saffron was never good enough for Candice, and over the years, the elder woman seemed to constantly be finding things to hate about her daughter-in-law.

After too much time and closeness, everyone is at a breaking point - and that’s when things go from bad to unimaginably horrible. Through manipulation and lies, Candice is ready to get her way and rid her son of Saffron, no matter what it takes. The only problem is that Miles is infatuated with his wife, so some of her plans get thwarted. She always tries again though … she’ll try until her dying day.

This book has some soap opera/V.C. Andrews vibes; it was written quite simply and perhaps a bit dramatically. Other than that, I thought this was a great one. There are several storylines, several points of view and several twists. It’s not a brilliant book, but it’s definitely an entertaining book. I’m giving it 4/5 stars and would recommend it for an easy, slightly trashy read.

(I’d like to thank HarperCollins, Avon Books, Amanda Robson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

My first book to read by this author and I cannot wait to read more! The story kept you on the edge of your seat and was a very fast read. Highly recommend it to fans of thrillers everywhere!

I was really attracted to the premise of this story, a meddlesome difficult mother in law out to rid her favorite son of his wife. Sadly, I found it to be a bit of a difficult read for me personally based on the writing style. The chapters were really short, in some cases a mere paragraph. It also bounces about between each characters viewpoint which made it a little difficult to follow at times.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Harper360 and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

A unique thriller for those who love the genre.

Caprice is a mother-in-law that every wife dreads. Saffron loves her husband Miles, they built an annex for Caprice, but she found it too stifling and decided to move in with Miles and Saffron. This is when Saffron realized that Caprice wanted her out of the way and that she already had an idea that Miles should have a new wife. Tension builds and although Saffron tries to get along with her mother-in-law, Caprice is set on destroying the marriage between her precious son and Saffron.
This was an easy read and one that most people can identify with.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A vicious viper for a mother in law. A beautiful young nanny who has the hots for a man. A wife who is unsure of her husband. Add in some more characters and the convoluted plot The Unwelcome Guest is unveiled. The story had many sharp edges. The fluctuating changes of views kept me on my toes to keep them all straight. My jaw dropped at some of the events and the perniciousness of certain acts. One part of me loved the delicious deceit and wickedness that was pervasive. Animosity runs deeps in this book.

Woooooo!!! Here we gooooo! This was one of the best and most unique books I’ve read all year! Y’all know I love my first person chapters and I love alternating characters narrating chapters but Amanda Robson went and threw on another super cool layer where every chapter had a character using first person AND second person! I loved to see each character’s object of obsession (Good or bad? That’s to be determined!) and I just could not freaking put this book down! I honestly could not even begin to guess how this book would end and that made it even better for me! I’m going back to buy all of her previous books and putting her on my auto buy author list!!! 87 stars from me!!!

I normally love thrillers. I love domestic thrillers. I love close proximity thrillers. This book technically hits each of my "loves" and yet fell so short. I'm one to love a good plot twist- there was hardly any here. You can almost predict 90% of the book within the first 10%. The fact that the "chapters" are in others POVs doesnt bother me- what did was the fact that quite a bit of these chapters were technically just a paragraph. It became hard to follow because each thought would last a blink of a second. This book wasn't horrible, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I wish the author well, and I always say don't yuck someones yum- you very well could enjoy it!

What a great read! First off, I absolutely could not stand Caprice. She's the mother in law from hell, as I'm sure you'll realize how she treats Saffron her daughter in law. I wanted her son, Miles, to open his eyes and realize his mom is not the loving person he thinks she is. I could not put this book down! I was determined to see if Karma bites Caprice in the behind with everything she puts Saffron through while no one else thinks she is capable of being so despicable. Loved the twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I really really enjoyed this book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read it in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. I love the different POVs and the chapters were short. Excellent domestic thriller!!

#TheUnwelcomeGuest#
NetGalley
Reviewer: Librarian
The Unwelcome Guest is a story of revenge told from the viewpoint of all major characters. They each interpret mutual life events to serve their secret intentions. All the characters except the two children are desperately flawed. The ending though somewhat predictable leaves questions about justice in the modern world.
The book is well crafted. The short chapters easy to read.

The Unwelcome Guest
by Amanda Robson
Well, I wish I could say I enjoyed it. It was not a book I could even try to like anyone. I suppose that was the point. It was not well written and felt clunky.

I tried so hard to find something to like about this book. The writing style felt very juvenile. The writer tells us everything instead of showing us. She is also very direct with her writing by pointing fingers at characters (YOU did this and YOU did that) which makes me uncomfortable and feels awkward. Each character is in another character’s POV which can be confusing. Characters are all very 2 dimensional. They all think they are perfect without flaws. They all have the same personality and mindset which wouldn’t have been as obvious if she stuck to one POV. There are also a lot of unnecessary comments about weight that do not add anything to the story. I ended up not being able to finish this book.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and Harper 360.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me.

Pros:
The writing was fast paced and the chapters short.

Interesting characters, each with a complex backstory and motivations.

Cons
I found the perspective shifts quick and jarring. I do not prefer stories written with so many different points of view.

I stopped reading because I wasn’t finding any of the characters likable enough to root for, and did not enjoy the multiple points of view. However this is just a preference on my part. Kudos to the author for tackling the story in such a difficult way.

The Unwanted Guest, by Amanda Robson, took me for a rather wild at times ride. There are a number of points of view. There’s the wife (Saffron) who works as a lawyer. She works with her husband’s ex-girlfriend and brother-in-law’s ex-wife (yes, same person). There’s the husband (Miles) who is madly in love with Saffron, but also loves his mother. There’s the mother-in-law, Caprice, who detests Saffron and wants to manipulate things behind the scenes. There’s the brother-in-law (Aiden) who lusts after Saffron. Then there’s the nanny (Hayley) who, upon seeing Miles, instantly falls in love/lust with him. To be honest, none of these people are actually lovable - or trustworthy. Everybody seems to be clueless - or maybe driven by their hopes/desires over reality - and willing to believe what anyone tells them, because it was told to them. It does make for some rather eye-rolling moments.

I did like the multiple points of view, as it gave a rather fly on the wall perspective, though at times I had to figure out who was talking, as the voice went from first-person to second-person quite often. There is a twist, though I kept wondering how the police explained something in their investigation. The boys (Saffron and Miles’s) sound adorable. The description of vegan food was a little off-putting for me. I'd probably read another book by this author. But, overall, read this for fun, not for a deep thriller/mystery.

I have read and loved many previous psychological thrillers written by the brilliant Amanda Robson. This one is one of my new favorites this year! The classic setup of the wife vs the mother in law is told in a different way and turns the trope backwards, upside down with more turns then a roundabout. Saffron is the wife and Caprice is the mother-in-law and in turn you feel for each as the story starts and the ultimate showdown begins. Excellent writing with different POVs in timed sequences add to the pleasure of reading this confident startling novel. Highly recommended!