"Money changes everything"

Lack of money changes everything too as Alyssa finds out when her manipulative pathetic soon to be ex husband walks out on her taking their money and their friends in the tension filled trust no one psychological thriller The House Guest by premier thriller author Hank Philippe Ryan.

Once again, this author brings the nerve wracking nail biting tension as we watch the loyal trusting Alyssa align herself with new people we just know are not who they say they are, even inviting one to live in her guest house. Reading her accidental meeting with Bree had me on high alert. Then conveniently meeting lawyer Dez seems too good to be true. But when an FBI Agent shows up I wasn't sure who or what to believe; which I am sure was the plan all along from this so much fun to read writer.

I also listened to the audiobook and the wonderful Stephanie Willing brought her usual acting abilities so that we felt Alyssa's paranoia, her fear and her confusion.

There were elements that seemed a bit far fetched at times, like the bank account with millions in Alyssa's name that she knew nothing about; not a single phone call about investing her millions? Now that's hard to believe! But what made this a four star read for me was the extremely satisfying ending that proved sometimes people get what they deserve including the house guest.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Alyssa’s husband just left her and he has been messing with her making her uncomfortable in her home so she goes to a hotel. She’s drinking in the hotel when she meets this woman named Bree. Her and Bree are hitting it off so well she invites her to stay in her guest home. Bree needs a place to get away from her ex and Alyssa needs someone to be there to make her feel safe. Bree then finds out she’s got a brother from an ancestry test and Alyssa pushes her to go meet him when they find out Bree is set to inherit millions. While this is happening Alyssa gets a visit from an FBI agent regarding her soon to be ex husband. Alyssa is freaked out now and starts investigating everyone and starts uncovering a lot of secrets!!
I was so excited when I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley as an arc to read because I am a big fan of Hank Philippi Ryan books. There are always so many twists and you’ll have to read to find out who these people truly are and what really happened.

After reading so many glowing reviews of this book, I was really eager to read it, and overall it didn't disappoint. I found the beginning of the book to be a bit slower moving than I expected, but the last quarter or so is filled with enough unexpected twists that it made up for it. This is one of those that I definitely thought I had fully figured out early on, but I was wrong- and I enjoyed it even more for that.

I thought this was different and exciting and all the things.
I was super happy that this wasn't just like every other thriller out there now.
The ride this takes you on is a journey not a sprint and the ending will catch you by surprise.
So hold on and enjoy the ride.

2.5 STARS - I have heard a lot of good things about Hank Phillippi Ryan's books, but surprisingly, this is the first book I've read by the author. The House Guest is labelled a 'diabolical cat-and-mouse thriller' in its blurb, so I was ready for a twisty read.

But it wasn't twisty cat and mouse read for me. It was much more of a slow-paced domestic drama with secrets, lies and manipulation that requires readers to suspend disbelief due to a character's naïve decisions and the unbelievably quick bond between two strangers. Alyssa and Bree meet in a bar, bond over the problems in their lives and by the end of the night Alyssa has invited Bree to live with her. They become instant BFFs and readers are left to wonder who is manipulating whom.

I enjoyed trying to guess the identity of the manipulator, but I struggled with the very slow build of the story, Alyssa's repetitive dialogue and her mercurial feelings towards her spouse. I also felt frustrated that readers are told about the bond between the main characters instead of being shown how their relationship could have believably evolved. But if readers are patient, the story picks up around the 80% mark when things fall into place and readers are hit with a decent twist.

This is a lighter, escapist kind of read that has received rave reviews from other advanced readers. The House Guest didn't quite make it into the suspense genre for me and I'm left feeling disappointed that I found it to be a convoluted story whose focus was more on an implausible friendship than building tension.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Macmillan Tor/Forge Books for my advanced digital copy which was provided via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

📚Pub Day Shoutouts📚
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Thank you so much to the tagged publishers for advanced readers copies of all of these books! I couldn’t possibly read them all this week but just wanted to give them a shout out and share a little about each of them:
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The House Guest- described as a cat and mouse game. Alyssa gets divorced from her rich husband and suspects she’s being scammed. A new friend offers to help her and drama ensues ! Thank you @forgereads !
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The Black Guy Dies First- explore the black journey in modern horror. This one I’m going to lend to my movie obsessed husband! Thank you @gallerybooks !
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Don’t Fear the Reaper- sequel to my heart is a chainsaw. Jade returns to town as convicted serial killer Dark Mill *escapes to complete his revenge killings! Thank you @gallerybooks
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Secretly Yours- a steamy small town rom com about an uptight professor and the bubble neighbor he clashes with at every turn! Thank you @avonbooks
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QOTD- Do any of these new releases sound like something you would like to read ?
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#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksofig #booksofinsta #bibliophile #booknerd #bookworm #bookwormsunite #bookobsessed #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #newreleasetuesday #bookaesthetic #bookish #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #readersgonnaread #readersofig #bookaholic

THE HOUSE GUEST by Hank Phillippi Ryan is a twisty cat-and-mouse thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I couldn’t put this book down! Alyssa Macallen’s life is turned upside down when her rich and powerful husband of eight years dumps her. Until the divorce is final, she is left all alone in their mansion, sad, lonely and soon to lose everything. One night she stops in to a local hotel bar and by chance meets Bree Lorrance, a woman who is fleeing a toxic relationship. Against her better judgment, she invites Bree to stay in her guest house where she can be safe. The two quickly become friends and share secrets, but soon Alyssa wonders whether Bree is telling the truth. Too many coincidences leave Alyssa questioning everything in her life, including who she can really trust. The tension builds as the plot unfolds and secrets are slowly revealed. The clever twists and turns kept me guessing right up to the dramatic ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this latest thriller from Hank Phillippi Ryan and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

The House Guest
By Hank Phillipi Ryan

A cleverly Woven Story

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Alyssa is dumped by Bill, her wealthy husband of eight years, and a divorce is looming. She believes that her husband is determined to cut her off without a cent or and her friends at the country club have shunned her. Drowning in her sorrows with a drink or two at a bar across town, she meets another lonely woman, Bree Lorrance. The two hit it off and Alyssia, who is desperately in need of a friend, invites Bree to come stay at her guest house. Perhaps they can help each out.

Next the FBI show up at Alyssa’s home and allege that Bill’s charity fundraising was lining his own pockets. They think Alyssa must have know about the fraud, since there is a huge account in her name. Alyssa’s life soon spends out of control and she doesn't know who she can trust.


REVIEW
Hank Phillipi Ryan can undoubtedly weave a clever story. She has been in journalism for 43 years and has seen a lot on which to draw her stories upon. Her latest novel THE HOUSE GUEST will keep you guessing throughout this involved and twisty thriller.

I recently watched an interview with Ryan where she discusses the impetus for THE HOUSE GUEST. She asks how much do we really know about the person laying on the pillow next to us Are they really going to work and doing what we think? How do you know? They could be doing something illegal for all you know. While this is not a true story, Ryan knew a woman whose story was similar to what she has written about in the book. The woman didn’t know her husband was committing fraud until the police showed up at their door.

Ryan defines this story as a cat-and-mouse thriller. We don’t know who is the cat, the mouse, and who is allied with whom? She sees her job as an author as trying to pull the rug out from under the reader, so we can’t guess who are the good guys and who are bad. She nailed the rug pull on this story. She described THE HOUSE GUEST as akin to a Rubik’s cube. Little bits of the story come from lots of different places and touch on greed, divorce, betrayal, female empowerment, and revenge.

The story is told from Alyssa’s point of view, as an unhappy wife that has been wronged, and her husband is possibly playing tricks on her. Think about the movie Gaslight. She connects up with Bree, thinks about the movie Thelma and Louise and when they both agree to help each other solve their problems, think of Strangers on a Train. It's a bit of a challenging read but the ending is worth the challenge.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge
Published February 7, 2023
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

While I thought Alyssa was an idiot, I was all in from the start of this one. I must’ve screamed at her more than once at what I thought were poor choices. Who invites someone to stay at their home when they’ve only known them for a few hours? Ah, but then I guess we don’t have a book without the invite. I spent the entire book trying to figure out who was trustworthy and who was scamming whom and for what reason. And while I had many correct guesses, I had even more incorrect ones, so not sure I can claim a win there.

I am quite the fan of cat and mouse games and this one is a doozy. I wasn’t exactly sure who I liked and if I didn’t why, including Alyssa. Page after page and twist after twist, I flipped and flopped over what was happening and who was on the up and up. The story and the characters were layered and every time I figured something out, another layer changed the narrative. While I waffled on trusting Alyssa, I did feel for and could relate to her angst with her current situation. Of course, instead of bringing home strangers, I brought home pets. They can be a little shady too.

There was a slight need to explain things at the end, which isn’t my favorite way for a book to end and the situation might be a little much for some to believe, but I did not want to put this one down and that outweighs everything else.

I went back and forth between the book and the audio and found both equally entertaining. Stephanie Willing did a great job with the voices to help me keep track of whose mind we were in and let me concentrate on the plot.

If you want to sit back and be swept away by the story, you should pick this one up.

I started this on on audio, but it is a slow paced story so I ended up switching to the book - which is always faster for me as I can’t do audio on super speed like so many others . Overall the plot was interesting and the last 20-25% of the book was a lot more exciting - I do generally prefer faster paced stories though

This book brings you everything to keep you glued to its' pages: Lies, greed, and twists! The characters are so deceptive that you aren't sure who you should trust as you turn the page. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reading copy of this book.

Ugh, I was so disappointed by this one. It sounded amazing and I had such high hopes, but it felt very flat for me. I really disliked the main characters - they were unrealistic and they frankly bothered me. The decision making went against common sense to a fault. The story line was very slow and repetitive - I wanted something to actually happen, but instead the book went in circles. The book just never had the oomph that I was hoping for in a thriller. I seem to be in the minority though and I have enjoyed the authors books before - so maybe I just set my expectations too high?!
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This one was a bummer for me. I love this author and almost always live her novels but this one was just really confusing to me. It was almost as if not a single scene was complete. I’m surprised by all the five stars.

When her wealthy husband files for divorce, cutting her off financially, Alyssa is in a quandary. She takes in a house guest with a friend who offer to “make her troubles go away.” Now who can she trust? This is a twisty thriller that will keep you guessing.

#Hank_Phillippi_Ryan
Universal Buy Link:
https://bit.ly/3V6fEKc
Forge Books
MacMillan Audio

Reading Between the Wines book review #13/115 for 2023:
Rating: 3 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: The House Guest
Author: Hank Phillippi Ryan
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASES February 7, 2023!!

Sipping thoughts: Who can you trust? Alyssa is going through a divorce when all these weird things start to happen? Is her soon to be ex-husband to blame or the new friend who she just let AND offered her to stay in her guesthouse? I did not predict what was going to happen with this ending, and it kept me on my toes. I appreciated how all the ends were tied up so the reader had an explanation for everything.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @MacMillanTorForge for an advanced copy of @TheHouseGuest.

#TheHouseGuest #HankPhillippiRyan #MacMillanTorForge #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers

I always look forward to a book by this author. She keeps me entranced from start to finish and this one was another truly great one.

What do you do when your husband decides he needs space. Time apart. Then that time apart is a divorce. And he's going to take everything. You know he is. He's that kind of man. That kind of jerk. Even the friends. Well in reality they were not really friends to begin with. Just part of the show. Part of the marriage as it were. You came into this marriage with nothing and have had it all for eight years. Given him everything. Your total complete all. But he wants more. He does not want you to have anything.

Then you make a friend. A friend you met in a bar. Not your usual hangout but still. You was lonely in that big huge house alone. You meet this woman and the two of you become fast friends. She's someone you can help and who will listen or be there for you. Then you meet her new lawyer friend and the three of you become friends. They are there to help you. To help you carry on. Possibly to help you prove you was not involved in any elicit schemes to defraud people out of their life savings. But your soon to be ex was and not the FBI want to know what you know. What part you played in it all.

This book takes you on a very exciting journey. One that will leave you baffled. Have you scratching your head. One that will keep you guessing and you still won't get it. I thought I had it figured out so many times. I was so confused as to who was who and who was doing what all the way. Not once did I come very close to figuring out what exactly was going on. That's a first for me. I loved this book for that. I loved how strong Alyssa finally was. How strong Bree finally was. How the two remained friends despite all that happened. Or did they? Was one of the sinistral enough to completely fool the other? And what about Bill... The soon to be ex-husband.

Thank you #NetGalley, #HankPhillippiRyan, #Macmillan-tor/Forgebooks for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5 huge stars. It's wonderful. My new favorite by this author. One you don't want to miss.

“Money itself wasn’t a bad thing. Not until bad people used it.”

Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she's dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who's running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers to let Bree Lorrance stay in her guest house, and the two become fast friends. Then Bree makes Alyssa a very tempting offer. Maybe they can help solve each others' problems.

But no one is what they seem. And you can't always get what you want but, sometimes, you get what you deserve.

This was a super quick read that kept me guessing until the very end. I both read and listened to this and I LOVE doing that because that means you are never without your book! The audio was great and I enjoyed the narrator.

Just when you think you can trust someone BOOM, a twist. And you’re like damn I didn’t see that coming. None of the twists are mind blowing, though, but I was definitely surprised at multiple points throughout the story. If you enjoy twisty thrillers this is a solid one.

“The Mass Turnpike was insanity on wheels in any weather.” #IYKYK

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, Forge Books, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Alyssa sits at a bar drowning her sorrows because her jerky wealthy husband has dumped her. She meets Bree, another woman down on her luck and invites her to stay at her guest house.
Right away I was suspicious of Bree, her newfound wealth and I questioned immediately why Des was attached at the hip to Bree instantly.
There are many deceptions in the story and just when you think you have it all sorted out, bam, Ryan reveals some more deceptions.
I knew Alyssa wasn’t that gullible and I was satisfied with the ending.
Takeaway lesson: squirrel money away for just in case, especially if you marry a rich older guy.

I have always enjoyed books by this author, until the Guest House. I thought it was way too much drama, "oh my, what am I without my man" kind of drama, over and over. This is the whatever we brought back from X, but he left me and all I have are the memories. Seriously?

Then Alyssa, the drama queen, meets down and out Bree in a bar and brings her home to protect her from her boyfriend who keeps calling. Then the drama really begins. Is Alyssa's hubby really swindling charities? Why does the FBI want her to try to con the hubby? Why does Dez, who works for an attorney have so much free time and asks so many questions? Why is Alyssa so shallow?

Several times I put it down, but forced myself to finish to see if the ending redeemed it. It did not.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.