This book had me hooked right from the start. The premise of the novel is that a couple who are expecting a baby go on a baby-moon and, during their trip, have an experience at the guest house that changes their path.

I was so intrigued by the plot that kept me guessing throughout but I could not have predicted the ending- the plot twists were a huge surprise for me.

Highly recommend this book for those that enjoy thrillers and family dramas.

𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 4 ⭐️
𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 4🌟

The Verdict: Loved this book! Nothing is what it seems and the twist will knock your socks off. Set your calendars for a September 13 pub date!

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🌸 Unlikeable characters
🌸 Unreliable narrators
🌸 Lucy Foley + Shari Lapena

💕 Totally bingeable! I read this in 3 days and absolutely enjoyed it. The beginning was addicting and utterly thrilling
💕Unlike any thriller I’ve recently read. Very unique plot
💕The twist at the end threw me for a loop! I did not guess that Victoria and Fiona were in on it together

👎🏼 The middle could have been trimmed a bit to keep the story fast paced
👎🏼 It felt like a plot hole that Jamie actually feared Fiona might hurt the baby and that kept him from speaking up. Fiona was DYING for a child and he should have known that he and Victoria could overpower her at any time and that she ultimately would never have killed Danny..

The Guest House kept me reading- I finished it in one day! I was compelled to find out what happened with this family and why. There were some moments of frustration with some choices made by the characters, but overall this kept my attention! This is a great read for someone looking for a suspenseful story. I would not recommend this for someone who has experienced/would be triggered by infant loss. I thought the beginning and ending of this one were particularly compelling!

The book has a slow weird start! The story begins with a couple going to a guest house a few weeks before their first child is due. This is not a practical situation. Once they get to the isolated place she goes into labor. There are issues with the delivery, the marriage starts falling apart, and there is danger. The plot develops and there is a very unexpected ending so it is worth the read. Not a read I would recommend to very many people.

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Poisened Pen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting with this book, but it sure isn’t what I just finished reading. Jamie and Victoria go off on a babymoon a few weeks before the birth of their first child. Of course things do not go as planned. The big twist threw me for a loop, as I did not see it coming at all. At times I noticed some repetition in things being mentioned again that I had just read a few pages before. Overall, I thought the book was good and it held my attention. The cover is gorgeous!

Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press Publishing for the opportunity to read this arc.

Wow! What a suspenseful story! You feel so sucked in and can't wait to find out what actually happened. I loved the dual timelines, it delivered the suspense needed to tell such a great thrilling story.

Highly recommend if your looking for a great thriller!

Probably one of the most ridiculous, unrealistic books I have ever read. The plot was absolutely unbelievable. I skimmed through this book, I probably could have read the first and last page and that would’ve been enough.

B O O K R E V I E W 🏠

The Guest House by Robin Morgan-Bentley

Jamie and Victoria are expecting their first baby.

With a few weeks to go, they head off for a final weekend break in a remote part of the North Pennines. The small and peaceful guesthouse is the ideal location to unwind together before becoming parents. Upon arrival, they are greeted by Barry and Fiona, the older couple who run the guesthouse. They cook them dinner and show them to their room before retreating to bed themselves.

The next morning, Jamie and Victoria wake to find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. Both their mobile phones and car keys have disappeared. Even though it’s a few weeks early, Victoria knows the contractions are starting.

The baby is coming, and there’s no way out.

——————————————————

This book was a rollercoaster! I read it in one day.
Without giving too much away, this book gives you an uneasy feeling with complex sinister characters.
The plot is new and refreshing, it was easy to dive into the story.
The dual timelines worked really well and sped up the suspense.
The execution of the twist was A* for sure, I did not see it coming.
I recommend this to my fellow thriller readers who want a quick read and engaging story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW miscarriage, infidelity, murder

(Thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for my ARC of this book)

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review, I appreciate it!

I am a big fan of thrillers/mysteries and WOW, I was not expecting the multiple twists this story threw at me. When I first started the book, I wasn't sure how I was going to like the back and forth timeline of the main characters and I felt like the dialog was dragging at times but about 50% in, things took a turn and I was hooked right until the end.

Overall, this book felt fresh and an exciting new read to the thriller genre and can absolutely see this becoming a series. I'd recommend this book to anyone that loves a good thriller!

Couldn't finish this no matter how I tried. I struggled to even get to where I left off. It's way too depressing, I couldn't connect to the characters, both are so weak and unlikable and the plot is so farfetched. I read to entertain myself to gleam into the characters mind & be intrigued, inspired . Oh, but not this one. All it did is keep me in perpetual melancholic mood. There is only so much I can take, I finally gave up at 58% of the story. I felt so relieved as soon as I decided to shelve it and never look back.

I was drawn to this book because if the cover and description. Sounded like an amazing thriller/mystery/suspense and it didn't disappoint.

Flipping between past and present, we follow Jamie and Victoria who are expecting their first child and decided to go on a quick trip before the birth.

What happened? You have to read to find out. And Holy hell did this book turn out to be a roller coaster of a screwed up ride I never wanted to get off of.

And that ending! What! Read it. You won't be disappointed.

This book is a wild ride. It starts off so compelling, almost visceral, that you need to find out what will happen next. As the plot and characters develop, interest wanes. There is a twist and it is quite good. My main criticism is that I found it difficult to connect to any of the characters, even the ones we are supposed to like. I wasn't rooting for anyone until the end but only for moral reasons and not because I felt they earned my loyalty. What I did appreciate is that the characters act as I would imagine real people would act in such strange circumstances, but that makes them even less likable. Maybe that's the point.

I found this book lacked so many things that I expect when I pick up a thriller. I didn’t feel gripped by the story or the characters, I found the plot to be mundane and actually by the end, I don’t feel as though I’m left wanting any more from it. The book as a whole lacks unpredictability, with no real gripping twists and nothing that really grabbed me and kept me engaged throughout.

This one was a real nail biter! I could not put it down! I flew through this book. Kept me on the edge of my seat for sure and I did NOT see the twist coming! Would highly recommend.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

are you looking for something that makes you feel fooled? That’s the book for you

I personally LOVE being wrong about books and I was wrong about this ending
We get 2 POVs, it may seem slow at first, but it definitely gets you on its second half (even before that to be honest, but the middle is a littleee bit slow)
I read it in one weekend, it was a great surprise, although i didn’t love the characters, the atmosfera made up for it, that and the twist earned my four stars

Ever feel so confident that you know what is happening in a book only to be made to look like a fool? Do you want that experience? Let me introduce you to the Guest House.

How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

We find out just how far Jamie and Victoria will go to protect their new born baby when Victoria goes into labor while locked into a guest house in the middle of no where.

The story follows the couple from both of their points of view from two different timelines. I was so sure I knew what was going to happen almost immediately, and while I was right about a couple things. I put my guard down and was SHOCKED by the twist in this book.

We had times where characters actions were just frustrating that I actually felt frustrated.

Morgan’s writing makes you feel the emotions and frustrations the characters are going through. It kept me engaged and wanting to know more.

Thank you Poisened Pen Press & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Look for it on shelves September 13, 2022

I had so much trouble getting into this because it’s super slow at the beginning to the extent that I considered dropping it entirely. There were also this huge walls of dialogue that seemed unnecessary when I was waiting for the pace to pick up. I only started to get interested around the 40% mark, but it gets really great after then. I love a thriller with good twists and turns, and this ended up delivering despite my issues with the beginning.

ARC book provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“The Guest House” is a domestic thriller told in multiple timelines beginning a month apart. The story follows Jamie and Victoria who depart on a vacation weeks before their baby is due. Victoria selected a guesthouse in a remote area run by an older couple, Barry and Fiona. The couple are a bit odd, but seem nice enough. Victoria wakes their first morning in the guesthouse with contractions, weeks too early. She wakes Jamie and lets him know the baby is coming. As they prepare to leave, something is wrong. All of the doors and windows are locked. Barry and Fiona are missing, and their van is gone. Jamie and Victoria’s keys and cell phones have also disappeared. With no way out, the baby is on its way. Their nightmare is just beginning.

This book was a quick read that I finished in one sitting. The story moves quickly enough in the beginning, but it slows down a bit too much in the middle. I thought the momentum dropped and became bogged down in too much detail, repetitive situations, and superfluous information. I found myself speed reading through this section, losing interest along the way. The characters themselves felt a bit flat, and I didn’t feel fully engaged in their story. However, I forced myself to push through and the ending did pick up again. Despite its somewhat boring middle, the ending contained some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. The ending is what mostly earned my three-star review. The flat characters and repetitive slow middle lost the other two stars.

Overall, this book was middle-of-the-road for me. It simply wasn’t overall engaging enough for my tastes. This book might be interesting for fans of domestic thrillers, especially with the twisty ending. However, I warn readers to be prepared for the slow middle of the book before the ending really takes off.

Jamie and Victoria are looking for a remote, quiet getaway before the arrival of their miracle baby--one that doctors told them would likely never come. Before long, it becomes clear that something isn't quite right at the guest house of Fiona and Barry, and what should have been a perfect escape for Jamie and Victoria is anything but.

Heart-pounding and wildly-entertaining right off the bat, "The Guest House" is a thriller that started out very strong for me and ended up losing some of its plausibility by the end of the story. Within the first several pages, readers are plunged right into a tense, suspenseful, and fast-paced narrative that's impossible to stop reading.

As the story progresses, however, there were a few key pieces of dialogue that really lost me by not feeling plausible or by feeling like they came out of left field; the plot line held my attention right up until the end of the story, but ultimately "the twist" left me with a lot of questions and left me wanting more.

All in all, "The Guest House" is an entertaining (albeit forgettable) thriller that readers are sure to fly through in a few sittings; it makes a noble effort to offer up some complex characters and a unique twist, but for me personally, it fell just short on both accounts.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced review copy of this title*

This was an amazing read. I could not put it down. The plot was filled with twists and turns and kept me engaged until the very end. So many pieces to this strange puzzle. Thoroughly enjoyed!