I really wanted to like this book, but I just didn’t. I felt like the characters are very shade. The narrative was expected, except a small twist at the end.
I didn’t care for the narrative specifically very cliched and clingy dialogue.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic narrator that brought to life one heck of a story. I loved the characters I loved the plot and that ending was explosive. This was one of my favourite audiobooks of all time. What a great plot, you keep wondering who is not who they should be and then the plot twists and you go what! Your jaw is hanging and then another shift. So many twists and turns give this one mystery and suspense throughout. Absolutely amazing.!

Alyssa Macallan sits in a hotel bar, far beneath her social status drinking her misery away as she worries about the direction her life is about to take. Her very wealthy and affluent husband Peter is divorcing her, and all of the people she once considered friends are following the money—his money. Now she doesn’t know what to do. She gave up law school and her own life the day she married him. As she drowns her sorrows in several glasses of wine, she meets Bree Lorrance another woman running from her problems sitting at the bar. The women quickly commiserate over their troubles, Alyssa with her manipulative soon-to-be ex and Bree with her toxic and maybe dangerous ex.

Before the evening is over, Bree is staying in Alyssa’s guesthouse and the two women are figuring out how they can help each other move forward. They quickly bond over being underestimated and soon make plans to help solve each other’s problems. Things are going well until the FBI ends up at their door.

Full of twists and turns, The House Guest is a fun and quick read. I personally struggled a bit with the intensity of the friendship between these two women in such a short time—really come stay at my home hours after I met you? But perhaps I’m too cynical. Like all thrillers, the book really picks up the pace the last quarter.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and of course Hank Phillippi Ryan for the advanced copy of the audiobook. The House Guest is comes out on February 7th. All opinions are my own.

This book was excellent! It had all the perfect thriller trimmings! It was fast paced & had me second guessing myself! I was rooting for Alyssa & couldn’t wait for her to take a stand for herself! The ending was incredibly satisfying!

There’s no way I could do a great summary without giving some key plot points away so what I will say is I was very disappointed with this new book from Hank Filippi Ryan I usually love in the door this author‘s books but I was so sadly disappointed with Desmond it seem like it was going everywhere and nowhere at the same time without like the author wasn’t sure where exactly she wanted to go with the narrative that maybe she started the book in wandered off in the wrong direction and stuck with it I DK. All I know is Barbie and I still wasn’t positive as the who was who and why they were there when will the document. I got the just of the book but some of the details were confusing… Very very confusing . I knew from the beginning that something was up with her new friend because I thought the lady protest too much end it all just didn’t sound right. I listen to the whole book because usually by the endyour like OMG I get it oh Miss Ryan is a genius but that wasn’t the case this time. You may like it some people do I did not. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

While I love audiobooks, I feel like I would like this book better if it wasn’t being listened to on audio. I will read the e-book and edit my review accordingly.

Update: I tried the ebook version and it still did not capture my attention. It is very slow paced with very little dialogue.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of The House Guest in exchange for my honest review.

Hank Phillippi Ryan at her best. An expertly crafted thriller with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers turning pages. I actually listened on Audible, and the narrator was fantastic. This was one mystery I didn't predict. Did not see THAT coming!

I enjoyed this story but there really wasnt any surprising twist or anything. I kept waiting for it to blow me away and unfortunately it didn't. It was pretty predictable.

I love Hank Phillippi Ryan books; this one was a great read to kick off the new year. Alyssa, newly separated from her businessman wealthy husband, befriends a woman also struggling with some personal issues at a bar, and once she welcomes her into her life as a house guest, some chaos ensues as twists are revealed….a nice fun quick read.

I loved this one. I was tricked twice! I love the double twist and the mystery. Definitely recommend for thriller and domestic suspense lovers. Thank you to the Author, the Publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio ARC of The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan in exchange for an honest review.

Alyssa Macallan's life is rapidly changing as her wealthy philanthropic husband, Bill, has abruptly filed for divorce. Her country club friends have turned their back on her and she can't be sure but think Bill has been sneaking in her house to mess with her sanity. One night she heads out to a local bar where and meets a down on her luck woman named Bree who is hiding from a stalker ex-boyfriend. Alyssa offers her guest house to Bree and the two become fast confidants. When Bree discovers a potential windfall it unexpectedly changes both women's lives forever.

I have enjoyed Ryan's previous works and was excited to jump into her newest venture which was a pretty solid effort. Overall, I liked the characters of Alyssa and Bree and their friendship, even though I was left questioning some of their decisions along the way. I spotted early on that the characters were not what they were presenting themselves to be but there are enough plot twists to keep the story interesting. There are moments that seemed too convenient and required a suspension of disbelief but ultimately I enjoyed the novel. I had the audio version read by Stephanie Willing who was very enjoyable to listen to. Her pacing is good and adds enough accent change to tell which character is speaking. I would recommend more of her work.

This was the perfect audiobook to pick as my first one for the new year. This is so good you will be happy after getting to read this one. I felt like I could have been besties with the girls. They were drawn together by the common thread of being in a mentally abusive relationship, currently going through a divorce. Alyssa will find her husband was embezzling millions from all of his charities. Stealing the life savings from some investors. Alyssa says she never saw anything happening. She was totally Nieve to what was actuallly going on with her husband The FBI was hot on his tail. The cat and mouse game insures. Bill thinks he is smarter than everyone. There are twists and turns galore. to the absolute end.so fortunate to have chosen this as my first thriller of the year. I am recommending this book two arms up with jazz hands that’s ten stars but I can only give five. Yes go get this in a couple of weeks.

Thanks to the following for allowing me to review early.... This is an honest totally my own opinion of The House Guest.

#NetGalley
#McMillan Audio
#HankPhillipiRyan
#TheHouseGuest
Pub. Date: 07 Feb 2023

This was one of my most anticipated 2023 releases and it was better than I could have ever expected. WHAT A THRILLER! Alyssa was a fantastic character and I was invested in her from the very beginning. The twists and turns kept coming and had me guessing until the end. I love a book that keeps me on the edge of my seat and that's exactly where I was for a good part of this novel. The narrator was fantastic and believable and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story unfold.

I absolutely loved the plot, but the execution wasn’t for me. Every time I feel like an author cannot write a more foolish and dumb female character than the last one I read, they seem to excel at this opportunity. Alyssa has to be the most naive character I have ever read. I totally understand that her naivety is what kept this book going, but come on, give her a little more of a brain. She asked the same questions over and over again. It made the book frustrating and repetitive. This is not an ideal combination for me.

I will say, the ending was great! I love the twists!

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Houseguest

**This review contains spoilers ** I got to listen to the audiobook thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Here is my honest review: The House Guest is a book which Alyssa Macallan, the main character and a new friendship she forms with some random person… that is now randomly living with her? And she has a psycho “ex-husband” who breaks in her house and hires actors to be FBI agents.

Wait who is working for the FBI? Why did she let some random people stay at her house? Why is everyone trying to test Alyssa? Very weird. In short, this book wasn’t very believable. It had an incredibly slow start and I was constantly shouting, “whaaa?” It picked up at around 80% of completion but I was still confused at the end.

I really wanted to stick through this but it just seemed very out there. The plot was weird. The characters were likable yet very naive and dumb.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to honestly review this book even though it wasn’t favorable this time.

“You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.”

Hold onto your hat for this crazy, electrifying ride! The House Guest is filled with twists, lies, and secrets that will pull the rug right out from under you. And good luck guessing who can be trusted!

Alyssa is a cliche. Poor girl falls in love with a rich older man, marries, becomes a trophy wife, and expects to live happily ever after. Except Bill decides to take a break after eight years. A separation agreement is made through lawyers and Alyssa is left in limbo. Bill doesn’t stick to the arrangement because rules don’t apply to him. Instead, he goes out of his way to taunt Alyssa and make her more miserable than she already is.

She goes to an average bar. One that Bill and his friends would never show their faces in and meets Bree. She’s having issues of her own so Alyssa eventually invites her to stay in her guest house. She enjoys having someone around until things start getting weird. First, the FBI shows up. Then Bree offers to help her get rid of her husband. She’s not sure who she can trust.

Sincere thanks to Macmillan Audio, Forge Books, Edelweiss, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own!

#TheHouseGuest #HankPhillippiRyan #macmillanaudio #forgebooks #netgalley #edelweiss #audiobook #honestreview #crimeandcocktailsbookcrew #mysteryandthrills #readwithme #bookaddict #thrilleraddict #thrillersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #lovebooks #bookreviewersofinstagram #lovetoreadbooks #cantstopreading #fortheloveofbooks #bookrecommendations #bookreels #igbookreels #booksbooksandmorebooks

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and found it very entertaining. Alyssa, is a recently separated woman, who meets Bree, a down on her luck woman, in a bar. The narrator of the audiobook does a fantastic job of distinguishing the characters and making them interesting, while Hank Phillipi Ryan as always brings the fun twists and turns, zippy writing, and expert plotting. Those of you who don't like suspending your disbelief too much may not relate to this one, but, as for me, even though I had a sense from the beginning of the unbelievable way this was going to end, I had a great time going along for the ride. The ending has a lot of explaining, but it kind of has to be that way with the complicated plot. I enjoyed the book all the way through and had fun with the red herrings and misdirection. Hank Phillipi Ryan remains one of my go-to suspense authors and this is an extremely well-done audiobook that you will be likely to gobble up in one or two sittings as I did.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and found it very entertaining. Alyssa, is a recently separated woman, who meets Bree, a down on her luck woman, in a bar. The narrator of the audiobook does a fantastic job of distinguishing the characters and making them interesting, while Hank Phillipi Ryan as always brings the fun twists and turns, zippy writing, and expert plotting. Those of you who don't like suspending your disbelief too much may not relate to this one, but, as for me, even though I had a sense from the beginning of the unbelievable way this was going to end, I had a great time going along for the ride. The ending has a lot of explaining, but it kind of has to be that way with the complicated plot. I enjoyed the book all the way through and had fun with the red herrings and misdirection. Hank Phillipi Ryan remains one of my go-to suspense authors and this is an extremely well-done audiobook that you will be likely to gobble up in one or two sittings as I did.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and found it very entertaining. Alyssa, is a recently separated woman, who meets Bree, a down on her luck woman, in a bar. The narrator of the audiobook does a fantastic job of distinguishing the characters and making them interesting, while Hank Phillipi Ryan as always brings the fun twists and turns, zippy writing, and expert plotting. Those of you who don't like suspending your disbelief too much may not relate to this one, but, as for me, even though I had a sense from the beginning of the unbelievable way this was going to end, I had a great time going along for the ride. The ending has a lot of explaining, but it kind of has to be that way with the complicated plot. I enjoyed the book all the way through and had fun with the red herrings and misdirection. Hank Phillipi Ryan remains one of my go-to suspense authors and this is an extremely well-done audiobook that you will be likely to gobble up in one or two sittings as I did.

This started off very slow for me and I wanted the story to get going. We spend a lot of time in Alyssa's head and I wanted more action and more story in the beginning. Alyssa makes a lot of bad decisions which was a little frustrating but it didn't take me out of the story. I get that she's lonely after her husband leaves her which is why she invites Bree to live in her guest house. The narrator is really good and compelling. Overall, this was just okay for me. It's my first Hank Phillippi Ryan book and I think I need to read another one because I know she's a favorite for many.