I've decided to stop sleeping."

We are so very vulnerable when asleep.
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir (translated by Mary Robinette Kowal) plays fully to that concept.
Thank you to @tornightfire for my gifted copy for review!
Iōunn sleeps but is not at all rested. She has injuries she can't explain, dirt on her body and damage to her clothes, missing shoes. A fitness watch shows thousands of steps she can't account for.
There's no obvious medical reason for her fatigue, and it seems to be beyond average sleepwalking. What has Iōunn been up to in the dark hours of the night?
This is a seriously eerie book. It's a quick read, but it's at-times spare prose packs impact. The haze of our protagonist's sleep deprivation brings us an unreliable narrator and a trance feeling in parts.
Recommended!
Released on Sept. 3.

I was initially excited for this one, but when I discovered it involved cats being hurt, I was disappointed and chose not to finish.

3.5 stars
This was a very quick, but increasingly suspenseful, read. The main character, Iðunn, is having trouble sleeping and can't figure out why she's constantly exhausted when she wakes up. But the doctors have no answers, and her progression of symptoms and injuries becomes more disturbing as the story unfolds. She is so confused about what is happening to her. And I don't blame her one bit; I was equally confused and slightly spooked as well, based on her escalating injuries. Was she dealing with hardcore sleepwalking, dissociative identity disorder (a.k.a. multiple personalities), or perhaps something much more sinister or even paranormal? My mind reeled at the possibilities.

It felt like there was also a social commentary aspect that ran through the fabric of the story. Possibly a bit of a discourse on the vagaries of modern life, as seen through the lens of one increasingly troubled young woman dealing with elements and people in her life that refused to stay separate? Iðunn seemed to be fairly isolated even within the bustling city of Reykjavík and her own workplace.

I wasn't able to put the book down once I started; I simply had to know what was happening to Iðunn. And - I have to be completely honest here - even after finishing the story, I'm still not totally sure I understand what was going on. The ending is eerily strange and intentionally abrupt. I recommend reading this book if you're looking for a quick thriller and a mysterious page-turner (I read it in just a couple hours). It's kept me thinking about it long after finishing those last few lines...

Thanks to NetGalley, author Hildur Knútsdóttir, and Tor Nightfire publishing for providing me with a digital ARC of the new English translation to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for the early review copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Let me first start with a trigger warning that is very important to some readers: ANIMAL MURDER/DEATH.

Now that that's out of the way, I enjoyed this book. It was definitely unsettling. I love an unreliable narrator and feeling like someone is slowly going crazy and I'm just going along for the ride.

Surprisingly, I found the end to be kind of melancholic... I felt sad instead of being horrified. Which I actually don't mind. If anything I think I enjoyed that about the ending.

My only complaint is that there were events that happened that didn't get explained, or recollected enough for me. I was left with questions and wanting to know more about some things that happened and why.

Overall this was a quick spooky read!

I was thoroughly impressed with this book. It was a quick and easy read that managed to capture me as a reader instantly. It was scary and intense. I felt like I had to find out what was happening to the FMC and why. I highly recommend this one!

Iðunn is at another doctor, and when they dismiss her symptoms, she tries to follow everyone’s advice. Eat better. Exercise. Take vitamins, etc. One morning after falling asleep with her smart watch on, she wakes to find she’s walked 40,000 steps during the night. She starts waking with injuries, and no one believes her that something weird is going on. She can’t remember the nights, but she’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

I knew this book was short, but I didn’t realize how close I was to the end until I finished it. It went so quickly and had me engaged in the mystery the whole time. It’s paced well and holds the tension perfectly. I was invested in Iðunn and honestly could have kept going with her for a bit to see more fallout from the twists and turns. Definitely recommend for a summer, popcorn thriller.

This book leaves something (everything) to be desired. Would not recommend. I'm not even quite sure what I just read. There are multiple chapters that are three words long. Tons of empty pages to add length to the book. No clear resolution to the conflict. Not a book I will find myself thinking about in the future.

A really great thriller that borders on unhinged females vibes. The pacing was great and it kept me entertained!’

This one had so much promise, but kind of drifted off and lost me at the end ( much like the MC’s sanity). Overall an interesting quick read with a thrilling premise, if you like a Scandi styled thriller/horror this is a good pick for you.

I admit I didn’t understand the ending at all. Also I felt it was a slow storyline. Maybe I missed something?

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

This book is short and attention grabbing. I was instantly pulled in and interested and it stayed that way right up until the end, but the end just did not do it for me. So ultimately, a fantastic book with a disappointing ending. The book is really creepy and you just don't really know what is happening (just like Iðunn throughout the book) which adds to the intrigue and excitment but, in the end, you are left with nothing explained and no real answers as to what was happening in this book. It truly was so good but the ending was too abrupt and left too many things unexplained.

I went into this blind as just trying to catch up on my arcs this month and so glad I chose this! It was really well translated and had the right mix of creepy, sinister and dread that I couldn’t put it down! The main character was completely unreliable and unhinged without her even knowing it which made for a compelling read!

Set in Iceland, The Night Guest follows Iðunn who has been waking up with heavy fatigue despite leading a fairly unadventurous life. After seeking out countless doctors, and with no diagnosis on the horizon, Iðunn’s decides to keep as healthy as possible by acquiring vitamins, sleeping pills, and a fancy new fitness watch. At first, things seem to be working until Iðunn wakes up with another bought of fatigue and bruising. To make matters worse, her fitness watch recorded 40,000 steps she has no recollection of taking during the night. What is Iðunn doing during these unaccounted nighttime hours and can she stop whatever it is before these unexplained injuries intensify?

I am slowly getting into the horror genre and this novella was perfect to get me hooked. The Night Guest is a quick and eerie read with a fast-paced chapter structure that encouraged me to keep flipping pages. Once things started to fall into place I was shaken by the direction things were going in and had to know how the story was going to end.

Be aware, The Night Guest is not for the faint of heart and I would check out the trigger warnings before proceeding. There is on page gore and sickening imagery, much of which includes animal death. I think the author Hildur Knútsdóttir succeed at crafting a spine-chilling tale that made me uneasy to fall asleep at night.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This fast-paced horror novel was a delightfully creepy quick read. I loved the short chapters and the main character slowly and then QUICKLY spiraling downhill. The way this book unfolds from the main character dealing with fatigue, to sleepwalking, and to waking up in the wildest situations kept me wanting more. I was slightly disappointed in the ending, hence the 4 stars - I just thought it ended too quickly from all of the build up. BUT I will be reading this book again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for this ARC of The Night Guest!

What a fun creepy short story! At no point while reading this did I have any idea where the story was going—and I loved it! Finished this eerie horror story in one sitting. Would definitely recommend it for Halloween!

(Thank you, Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Yay! I am so excited about a horror novella.

It starts off by the MC going to the doctor because she knows there is something wrong. She goes to bed but wakes up extremely exhausted. No one seems to believe her and that is one of my greatest nightmares.

She gets herself a watch that can track her steps and soon realizes that she is not sleeping at night. But is she doing...

I really enjoyed this story...up until the end. I think I am still confused and not quite sure what happened in the end.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Night Guest. The pacing of the novella is fantastic, it’s such a standout aspect that compliments the themes. It moves quickly, but manages to build Iðunn‘s mental and emotional state with depth that others might struggle to do even in longer formats. This setup only elevates the reading experience. I wasn’t a fan of the ending but it actually didn’t leave a sour note so at least there’s that!

Idunn wakes every morning with unexplained bruises and extreme fatigue. In an attempt to find answers, Idunn sees a new doctor but doesn’t get a diagnosis. She buys a smart watch that tracks her steps and falls asleep with it one night. In the morning, she discovers she has taken over 40k steps!

Is Idunn sleep-walking? What’s with all of her bruises? Why does she wake covered in blood one morning? What is going on?

☁️☁️☁️ɱყ ɬɧơųɠɧɬʂ☁️☁️☁️

Very fast, page-turning, HORRORIFIC short story! I LOVED this nightmarish read! I was pretty SHOCKED with the ending, was not expecting that at all! If you love Rachel Harrison or Darcy Coates, you will love this short read!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Tor for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

..............I wish the trigger warning was in the description.

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir is a horror thriller novel about Iðunn, who is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause. When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same — have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps. Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . . What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

I went into this book, thinking it would be an easy guessing game of a thriller, with some horror elements perfect for Spooky season. Boy was I wrong. This book is truly a horror, and I kind of wished some of the trigger warnings were included in the initial summary. I don't think I'll be able to get it out of my head anytime soon.

A quick read. Unsettling. I actually had to stop reading before bed as I was getting creeped out. It was sad. I haven't read anything in a long time that had such an ambiguous ending.