Let me begin this by saying that I am a fan of the tv show YOU, so I had high hopes for this novel. Hopes that throughout the course of the novel were repeatedly dashed, unfortunately.

To begin with, none of these characters are particularly likable, but Tess is the worst of all. She comes across throughout most of the book as just obnoxious, and her holier-than-thou attitude quickly got on my nerves. I get wanting to see your sister's killer brought to justice, but the way she not only snoops through her paying guests' belongings but also then begins to follow them around did not endear me to her as a character.

Although, in her defense, I'm guessing that that sort of behavior is the norm in the UK as it seemed that everyone in town seemed to be just as unstable as she was. Since when is wanting to know your neighbor's every move considered normal? I live in a close-knit community, and we do NOT act like this.

I kept pushing through the story, despite the fact that I had to put it down and come back to it several times, hoping that there would be something so mind-blowing at the end that it would make my struggles worth it, but once again, I was left disappointed.

Hopefully, this will be my last disappointing read for awhile; I think after my latest run of bad luck, I deserve something better.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Happy Friday Eve!

I don't know about you but I have some mixed emotions going into this weekend. I turn 38 on Sunday, which is a hard pill to swallow. It also concludes July which means Summer is almost over (Im crying over this) but I will be surrounded by friends and family who will be visiting our beach house for the weekend.

The only downfall is I'll have minimal time to read, which is why I have soaked it all in this week.

The Guest Room, delivers.

Tasha Sylva, has hit the ground running with this stunning debut. From the title, to the cover to the brief description, I knew this one would be a shoe in for a five star read, and I was right!

The constant suspense and fear that built up with all of Tess' snooping had me holding my breath the entire time I was reading. No, I didn't die, but I sure did feel the fear!

You don't want to miss this one folks! Head on over to your favorite place to purchase books (or borrow) and dive on in!

Teaser :

Tess has a bad habit. She can’t stop snooping through her guests' belongings . . .

When Tess is forced to rent out her late sister’s old room to pay the bills, the urge to rummage through her guests’ belongings overtakes her every thought. Teasing herself with forbidden glimpses into the lives of strangers is a momentary thrill, but it’s the closest she’s felt to anyone since the mysterious death of her sister, Rosie.

After her newest lodger, Arran, takes the room, Tess finds his salaciously detailed diary, which chronicles his infatuation with a beautiful stranger. The diary, which appears harmless at first, slowly takes a darker, more menacing tone with each new entry.

Is this a crush or an obsession?

Her compulsion to know the truth leads to Tess shadowing Arran through the streets of London, hoping to catch a glimpse of this unnamed woman. And as she continues to peruse his diary, she can’t help but notice the similarities between the woman on the pages and herself, leaving her to wonder, Who has truly been watching whom?

Great debut novel! Definitely an author to watch for more from. Rosie dies under mysterious circumstances and her sister can’t seem to move on. Tess’s obsession with her sisters ex as her killer is palpable, yet is Oliver really to blame? Through this book you find yourself trying to put together the pieces and see what really happened.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Tasha Sylva and Henry Holt and Company for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

The Guest Room is an exciting psychological thriller with unexpected twists in which the reader may not actually know who the real villain could be. The plot sends you down a rabbit hole of mystery and suspense as you try and put the pieces together of why a young woman was murdered and if her sister may be having some sort of breakdown trying to find the answers.

When Tess’s sister Rosie is found murdered, her life is turned upside down. Forget the fact that Rosie had been leaving her messages to call her and Tess had been too busy, but she also finds out that Rosie had been having some sort of breakdown at the time. So, with all this guilt, blaming herself for not being a good sister, it is now Tess’s mission to find out what really happened. Even though the police have no suspects, Tess does.

After the murder, Tess moves into the apartment Rosie, an upcoming artist owned. Unable to make ends meet she decides to rent out the extra bedroom to travelers and visitors on a short-term basis. But with everything going on with the death, Tess has developed a habit. She snoops in their room just to make sure the has not rented the to a psychopath! She must say she does enjoy looking through their things, trying to figure out who they are and what makes them tick.

At night though, Tess roams the area where Rosie was killed. She tries to find clues or perhaps lure the killer out. She tries to imagine just what happened to Rosie and why. She feels the police, who she hounds daily, has put her sister’s case on the backburner. She feels it is up to her to find out what really took place.

But when a new tenant arrives, Aaran, a very handsome, very kind man arrives to stay in the guest room, Tess becomes curious as to his life. When she does her snooping into his backpack, she finds a diary he is in the process of writing, In the diary he seems to have a secret obsession with a woman. He follows her and imagines his life with her. Tess becomes all consumed with the diary and Aaran.

As her preoccupation with finding out exactly who the woman her tenant seems to be stalking is, she herself becomes obsessed with Aaran. She begins to see this man in a different light. So, she begins to stalk him, but also fall for him.

Then in the blink of an eye Tess’s world which was cracking, completely falls apart as she discovers Aaron’s obsession and thinks she’s found her sister’s killer. As Tess seems to lose all sense of reality, the shocking ending will make this rollercoaster ride worth every minute! Who is really living in the guest room?

Thank you #NetGalley #HenryHoltandCo #TashaSylva #TheGuestRoom for the advanced copy.

Thanks Netgalley for the advance copy of this book, It took me a while to get into this book and ultimately I felt like it was an average thriller. The majority of the book seemed drawn out with everything being tied up fairly quickly in the last 30-ish pages.

Book Description:
When her sister, Rosie, dies and leaves behind a mortgage and other unpaid bills, Tess moves into Rosie's home and rents out Rosie's old room.

It's been four months. There are no leads to the person who murdered Rosie, and Tess is not okay. She's gotten a job at the same gallery where Rosie worked. Her grief is palpable. From hounding Rosie's ex-boyfriend to obsessively contacting Detective Pettiford, Tess is consumed with finding her sister's killer.

My thoughts:
Tessa gets sucked into reading her latest lodger's diary. Things start getting creepy, and when his entries become a bit stalk-ery, she becomes obsessed with finding this mystery woman he's describing.

It's somewhat of a slow burn, but I promise it's worth it! I would have it all figured out, and then new information would make me doubt myself.

Late one night, I told myself, "Okay, this is a good stopping place. I'm gonna stop after this chapter." Then, it got crazy, and I HAD to read until the end!

Read if you like:
• Psychological Thrillers
• Suspense
• Books set in London

I really did want to read this book unfortunately it took me a very long time to get through. There were some redeeming qualities in here that did hold my interest but not for long enough. I just did not see myself caring for much for the main characters i could not make a connection with them. I’m going to give this one 3 starts as i was able to keep interest enough to finish the novel.

I am so thankful to Tasha Sylva, Henry Holt & Company, and Netgalley, for granting me an advanced digital copy of The Guest Room. I did not like the protagonist but the premise was interesting. I liked the setting too.

Sometimes you can just be too nosy and that's the issue with our main character Tess. Tess rents out her deceased sister Rosie's room after she is murdered to make extra income. Tess also has a nasty habit of snooping through her guests things when they are not around. Her guest, AARAN keeps a creepy diary that she can't get enough of. Could his diary be connected with her sister's death? There's quite a bit of twist and turns. This was a juicy little novel! #theguestroom #netgalley

[1.5 Stars]

Oh man....my fellow reviewers said this would be a wild ride, but I was not anticipating this kind of ride. From the beginning, I was annoyed with our main character Tess. She is utterly obsessed with finding her sister's killer and pins it on just about everyone she can think of. Oh, and she also operates a B&B in which she goes through her guests' belongings. I had many moments where I almost gave up on the book, but I wanted to ride it out to see what the big twist was. And...I can't even tell you what it was. By the time I got to the end of the book, I just couldn't keep up with what was going on. I truly can't tell you what really happened in the book other than Tess is beyond paranoid and needs the advice of a mental health professional.

It reminds me a bit of You (both the books and the tv show) but in the worst ways possible. So, maybe if you like that kind of story this will be for you - or if you have the patience to sort through who is who and what is going on. But I honestly can't say I recommend this one. There are far better domestic thrillers out there right now.

I am so thankful to Henry Holt & Company, Netgalley, and Tasha Sylva for granting me advanced digital and physical access to this jarring thriller. I couldn't put it down and can't wait to consume more of this like-minded content going forward.

Tasha Sylva's debut is claustrophobic and unsettling. Tess's need to discover the truth about what happened to her sister quickly spirals into obsession. Reminiscent of Nicci French. Definitely recommend.

The premise of this book drew me in. A story if a sister grieving for the sister she lost and the need to find out what happened to her. She wants to get as close as she can to her sister Rosie’s life to see if she can piece things together. She rents out a room in her sisters apartment and a young man takes the room. She finds his diary and becomes obsessed with his every move. It definitely was a slow burn, but mostly enjoyable.
Thank you so much to Tasha Sylvia, Henry Holt and Company, and Netgalley for the ARC of The Guest Room.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Tess still misses and wonders how her sister Rose went missing but in the interim she rents out her room to make money. She also likes to rummage through her guests things not to take their stuff just because she’s very nosy. She also keeps in touch with the two detectives investigating Rosie‘s case give them any helpful tips she can remember from before her sister went missing. When she rents the room to a guest name Erin, unlike other guest he cooks bakes bread and makes his self at home and even a to extend his stay when she finds a journal in his belongings and starts to read it she is enthralled with what she finds but soon the lines between renter and lover get blurred. When another girl goes missing however she is once again front and center with the detectives and it seems unlike her sisters case she is more reluctant to share everything she knows because everything she knows will flip her life upside down although Tess wasn’t my favorite MC I feel really enjoyed this story it was intriguing and a book I found hard to put down. I have never read a book by this author before but I will definitely read the next one I see. I want to thank NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

After the mysterious death of her sister, Rosie, Tess decides to rent out her old room to help pay the bills. She begins to take risks by being out late at night in the park where her sister died and even begins to snoop through her tenants belongings because it gives her a thrill and distraction while her sisters murder is being investigated.

When a handsome man named Arran takes the room, Tess finds a diary in his belongings which he writes about his seemingly infatuation with a mystery woman. Soon she becomes obsessed with finding out who the woman in the diary is and what other secrets Arran might be hiding without knowing she’s putting herself in great danger.

I didn’t care for Tess. I tried to remind myself she is a bit of a mess due to her sisters murder but she just wasn’t likable. Everyone was stalking everyone but it wasn’t very enjoyable because it was over the top and the twists were a little more than obvious. This was a debut novel and had potential though. I’d be happy to read another book by this author in the future.

Thank you Henry Holt & Co. for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Guest Room is the suspenseful debut novel of Tasha Sylva. It follows Tess, a young woman who recently lost her sister Rosie who was killed 4 months prior in a mysterious accident that left her dead in the wood. The police can't seem to figure out who killed her. Tees is adamant that the ex-boyfriend is the culprit. Tess seems to be completely obsessed with her sister since she moved to Rosie's apartment and kinda cut ties with her entourage, even her parents. She even got a job at Rosie's previous office.
Since she doesn't have the heart the sleep in Rosie's room, she rent out through a B and B system. This handsome young man books this room for four weeks. his name is Aran. Tess can't help herself but rummaging through his belongings once he is out of the apartment. This is a bad habit she developed when starting to rent out the room. She finds a diary in Aran's bag. Little does know that this diary is going to turn her life upside down.

This was a slow burn the first 50% of the book, getting to know the character, wonder who they all were, who had motives to kill Rosie, or was Tess is completely cookoo. I loved it! I loved how Tess kept following her instinct despite all the huge warnings. She wasn't worried about getting in trouble trying to find her sister's murderer.

Definitely an author to look out for.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Excellent prose, engaging plot, and solid twists that kept me guessing. A suspenseful page-turner that scratched this mood reader’s itch for a great thriller.

Sisters in London, an unsolved murder, a missing woman, B&B guests, stalking, secret diaries and a cast of shady characters that might keep you guessing until the shocking end.

Don’t miss the release date July 11, 2023! I know I won’t!

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this book, it was an ok thriller but at times too many things going on and I wanted to know more about the main character. A very slow burn, which as some points was redundant. I will definitely give this author another chance. This one was just ok for me. Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the copy to read in exchange for an honest review.
3 star

I was given an advanced copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was an addictive read with lots of suspense and opportunities to guess the identity of the villain! Highly recommend