Wow, okay, that was creepy! This was juicy delicious creepiness, and I so enjoyed it. The art, y'all! The art was so perfect, the color sequences so gorgeous and lurid, the black and white so full of shadows and menacing vibes and then poof! all is normal again... this is a perfect October read! I don't want to say anything about the story, the blurb tells you everything you need to know, and I don't want to spoil anything. I will say, some reviews I've seen mention a Rebecca feel to this story, and there definitely is a bit of that vibe here, the second wife living in the shadow of the first, but this isn't a Rebecca retelling, so get that out of your head. Abby was so relatable to me, her masking, her people-pleasing, her trying so hard to fit in... I don't know if Carroll meant for Abby to be ND, but she sure is.
That ending, though... I have questions, but that makes things even spookier. This was amazing, just read it!

A thirty-something, slightly dumpy woman, by her own definition at least, is happy enough to have found a husband, even if he is a dentist, with a teenaged tomboyish daughter and a dead wife. Moving into a lakeside house together, after a fire wiped out his past, the threesome try to get along in a kind of boring, quiet manner, until clues from the girl Crystal suggest to the step-mother that the ghost of the deceased is also there. Is this true, or just teenaged grief – and if it is true, who is the character of the title? And just how much is the dentist keeping his own pearly whites from ever admitting to?

I can't exactly see from where the praise for this is coming, in all honesty. Never mind the bodged visuals of the ending, what we have before then is fine – up to a point. It's just been done many times before, the woman fretting over the spouse's previous, the cuckoo syndrome or whatever it might be called at the time. I preferred the muted greys and sombreness of much of it to the more personal-seeming colour dreamscapes, of knights in armour, women in towers, drowning and whatnot. The uniform grey suggests the world where everyone is trapped in this awkward, ennui-filled, foggy, host-a-barbeque-and-speak-to-three-people world, whereas the colour insets just make it out as someone's psychosis almost. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I thoroughly regret my time between these covers, but I would never suggest to anyone else they follow me there – two and a half stars.

This graphic novel has a great twist, but the end is rather abrupt for me. I was confused for a minute but after I sat on it and I reread it I totally understood what was going on. The basis of the story is good, but I hated how she was treated by her husband. My other big thing is that the main story is so slow. There are too many words and very little action. Graphic novels are a more visual medium allowing you to really see what is going on. What saves the story is the beautiful artwork that represents the other/spiritual world and inner thoughts. The colors are amazing, and the art is better in this section than it is in the main story. Overall, this is a decent story but a so-so graphic novel.

A Guest in the House was a beautifully striking graphic novel exploring the tropes of psychology of domestic horror. The main character, Abby, is navigating her new role as a wife and step-mother in a small town. From the beginning, she seems isolated and timid although prone to an overactive imagination that is captured by flashes of vibrant color in contrast to the black and white illustrations of her reality on the page. Following the classic tropes of the gothic genre, the presence of her predecessor, the first wife, Sheila. It is clear that her marriage was sudden and Abby's lack of knowledge about her husband's past adds to the mystery of the plot and creates a space of distrust as Abby and the reader try to decipher the inconsistent, and conflicting stories about what happened to Sheila.

While it feels like the story ends a bit abruptly, this was a beautifully haunting narrative with engaging twists and captivating illustrations that make the reader linger on each page to fully take in each image.

Warning: there is a quite a bit of illustrated gore and violence throughout this book.

A very chilling tale about a woman named Abby who marries a man who is recently widowed and has a young daughter. Adjusting to her new life as a married woman and step-mother is difficult for Abby and as the story progresses things begin to take a major turn for the worst. To be honest, I was a little confused about the story as a whole. I'm still not quite sure about what exactly went down as the narrator, Abby, isn't really very reliable. (This is visibly portrayed through what seems to me like hallucinations/maladaptive daydreams.) Still, I really enjoyed the overall creepiness and the artwork is stunning.

This one is hard to review without spoilers! The art is wonderful and makes the story. But it often obscures the plot. It makes sense that the narrator wpuld be confused on those plot points, but as a reader it sometimes left me baffled. I honestly can't decide overall how I feel on this one. It would be a very niche recommendation, and it seems to fly a bit fast and loose with mental illness.

Another great entry by Emily Carroll. Perfect artwork, an incredible and unsettling story, with an absolute chilling progression to the plot.

I've been eagerly waiting for Emily Carroll to put out a new book! Her previous work, Through the Woods, has been a raging success in my high school library. Great for boys and other reluctant readers. I believe her work has inspired many readers to become graphic novel fans.

A Guest in the House doesn't disappoint, it's just as creepy as the first and grips the reader from the first page. The illustrations are incredible. Definitely a must-purchase!

This would be an easy 5 star read if I knew what the fuck happened at the end? And I see that it isn't just me with these feelings after finishing.

The artwork was stunning, I mean, that in itself made me love it. Emily Carroll has done an excellent job at using color/lack of color to its full potential--it was part of the story telling and dialogue without exactly doing so? (if that makes sense)

*it also reminded me just a teeny tiny bit of The Yellow Wallpaper and that made me extra happy!

But gosh darn, I wish I understood what it all means!! Will definitely give it a reread to try and answer some of my questions.

An extremely well-illustrated graphic novel that is a perfect blend of thriller, horror, and fantasy. A Guest in the House features an unreliable, female narrator who is looking to uncover the secrets behind the mysterious death of her husband's first wife. The story primarily takes place in a small-town and near a secluded lake house, which only adds to the creep factor. I gave this book a solid four stars because the resolution was not entirely clear upon a first reading. However, the terrifying and beautiful illustrations make this book a must-read.

A few years ago when I decided to read more of the Thriller and/or Horror genre, a friend suggested Emily Carroll. I've been a fan ever since. I've never been so engrossed in an art style that blends sexy and chillingly creepy so amazingly well!


A Guest in the House follows Emily a newly married second wife to a local Dentist. Abby's new husband and step-daughter are still grieving of the death, from cancer, of Sheila wife number one. As Abby moves throughout her new life she has questions about Sheila that her husband is cagey about answering, this is compounded by the haunting dreams of Sheila's ghost that is haunting Abby. Abby begins to wonder is Sheila's death was really cancer or something more sinister? This disturbing tale of domestic horror will pull readers in with the charming lakeside town of the 90's, and leave you thinking about the ending long after the book is closed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and First Second Books for providing me with an eARC of A Guest in the House in exchange for my honest review!

Tales with a gothic atmosphere can draw me in pretty easily, and that proves to hold true when it comes to A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll. Even though the paranormal mystery isn't all that twisty, it possesses such a thick mood that keeps me gripped within the path we embark on to dig up the secrets and layers of this story. The illustration style is great, too, deploying a stark contrast between the monochromatic and vivid coloring that turns this graphic novel into a feast for the eyes. Now, I do think the overly ambiguous ending leaves readers with too many unanswered questions, and I doubt we'll be getting any kind of follow-up to resolve them.

Still, though, A Guest in the House is definitely worth checking out, and I'd be interested in consuming more of her work.

Emily Carroll is an author that I have consistently heard nothing but good things about. My first experience did not disappoint!

I think her use of color and her color pallets were brilliant. The dream/fantasy sequences were gorgeous and lush and haunting especially when partnered with the other more prevalent black and grey panels. This is a ghost story in the same vein of Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House, in my opinion. There's an overarching element of 'is this thing that's haunting the narrative the unreliable narrator, the comp het, or an actual ghost.'

The ending is a weak point, I'll admit. I disagree that it feels like it comes from nowhere, I do think that some more interesting directions were maybe set up and then not followed through all the way. The direction that Carroll actually went with is the sort of ending that would have been spectacular with even just a couple extra panels, maybe an extra page or two, following through a little more on some of the set up at the beginning of the book; without that it still manages to be okay. It is an ambiguous ending, and if that's not your thing you probably are going to be left disappointed; personally, I thought it worked with the rest of the domestic horror of it all.

Abby is lonely and isolated, and when she marries David, as widowed dentist, she thinks she might have finally found something more. She's a stepmother, a wife, what else could she want? But her childhood fantasies of being a knight and rescuing the damsel don't seem to be fulfilled in her new reality. When she begins being haunted by David's dead wife, and she finds evidence that David's been lying, what lengths will she go to become the hero of her story?

Abby's boring life is presented in monotone, while her fantasies are colored in bright shades that swirl through the story, which gives the narrative a thrust as those fantasies become more and more present.

I am a huge Emily Carroll fan due to her unique art style and her penchant for telling feminist and queer stories. The art in A Guest in the House is absolutely stunning. The use of black and white vs. color is very effective, and the color feels even more riotous by comparison. I liked the tone of the story, which had a mutedness that was in line with the black and white color palette that characterized the main character's conscious moments. I admit that like many others I was somewhat mystified by the ending, and am inclined to rate this 4.5/5 just for that fact, but I liked the whole thing so much that I am happy to round up to 5/5 stars.

I loved this! Emily Carroll fans won't be disappointed. Newcomers to Carroll have a solid plot line to keep them hooked if they're not immediately taken with the art. The story is rich enough for several re-reads.

Thanks NetGalley, First Second Books, and First Second for access to this fantastic but confusing arc hahaha

4/5 stars

I really, really enjoyed the art style of this graphic novel. The story was pretty good, but that ending?? I'm still confused and I have had a few days to think it over. I feel like it is intentionally vague, but it's too vague! What happened there?! The art was great, I like the differentiation between her colourful dreams and her depressing monotonous daily life. I just wish we had more backstory on Abby and THAT ENDING. But other than that I really enjoyed it!

An intriguing tale of death, new family dynamics, ghosts, and the lies that ripple to deadly consequences.

This is the first time I read a book by Emily Carroll. I am speechless…

The artwork is gorgeous, the different styles work really well differentiating Abby’s mind and imagination from her real life.

I feel like there should be more about Abby… as much as I enjoyed the art, it was hard to care about the main character. She was boring, which yes, she was written that way on purpose, but why is she so quiet? Why is she so shy? Why has she been lonely most of her life? What brought her to where we meet her?

Again I’m sure this was done on purpose, but I prefer knowing what happens than having to guess. The ending perplexed me. Instead of making me go “woah” it made me go “ummm what?!”

4/5 because of the the ending.

If this was a horror story about being stuck as a young housewife to an older, distant, bland ass husband who's the breadwinner, then it definitely hit the mark.

I really liked the art and the sporadic use of color to show Abby's imagination and what she sees (which might or might not be real). Abby is also drawn realistically, which I really loved. The color illustrations are done really well. I love how Abby imagined herself as a knight trying to save her husband's ex-wife in a tower.

Other than that, I didn't like the story at all. I didn't care about Abby enough as a main character. She was really bland and had no personality other than being married to a man with money. She had no hobbies, interests, etc. She was obsessed with finding out what happened to her husband's ex-wife, which is definitely understandable, but nothing else really stood out.

Maybe that was the entire point. I have no idea.

The story gave me slight Jane Eyre vibes, but at least Jane was a well-rounded character. Abby? Not so much.

The ending felt really rushed and made less sense than what was going on between Abby and Sheila/husband's ex. It felt like something was either edited out or the story was left unfinished. Or maybe that was also the point. I don't really care enough to think about this.

Thank you to First Second Books and NetGalley for this arc.