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The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir

Translated fiction and horror are my two favorite genres so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. The Night Guest is a novella following a woman who wakes up every morning with bruises and cuts on her body but no memory of what happened. Throughout the story we follow her as she tries to figure out where she goes when she’s asleep and what she gets up to. All she knows is something controls her body at night, and she’s scared to find out what this thing (herself?) does. This story left me with many questions and I feel like the ending can be interpreted differently based on the reader.

TW: there is animal violence within this book which is something I absolutely hate. This slightly reflected my rating of the book but I still enjoyed the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and TOR publishing for allowing me to read an ARC for this book!

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Iðunn is struggling with fatigue. When she wakes up her muscles feel like she’s been doing hard labor and she’s starting to get weird bruises and a lingering taste of blood in her mouth even though her sleep is fairly normal. She’s finally found a doctor who will listen to her but bloodwork comes back normal. After accidentally leaving on a pedometer she’s using to see if being more active will help overnight she wakes up to it saying she’s walked 47, 325 steps. Surely it must be broken. Right?

I couldn’t put this down and ended up reading it in one sitting; it’s a story I can’t stop thinking about. The pacing is pretty perfect and gives the reader a feeling of dread and increasing anxiety as the story progresses and as we approached the climax I had chills. I also enjoyed the exploration of women’s experience in health and mental health spaces. The translation was really well done. Trigger warning however, some bad things do happen to cats. I really need to find more of Hildur Knútsdóttir’s work because this was fantastic.

This is perfect for people looking for a short horror filled fast past read that you will not be able to put down. I think this will also appeal to fans of Mona Awad as it gives a similar vibe to her work.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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This horror novella is everything I loved — fast-paced, dreamlike, and something that plays with your mind. The descent into madness is so well done and the readers themselves will feel the chills alongside the narrator of this forlorn story. Powerful and dark, this is a book you can and will finish in a single sitting. Again and again Tornightfire proves that they come out with the best books.

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This was a surprisingly short and fast paced read, even for a novella. I'm not quite sure how to review or describe this little story without spoiling anything...

Sleepwalking.
Cats.
Spirits.

I won't say any more! This was good, it wasn't great. In my opinion, novellas seldom are. Not enough character development for me to really get attached to anyone or care about them. Loved reading a novella set in Iceland though. My favorite country!

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Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for my ARC!

Wow okay, so i read this in like 2 hours maybe 3. Super fast paced book that’s so bizarre I find myself questioning if i have sleep deprivation hallucinations from reading it!

Our main character suffers from strange aches and pains when she awakens each morning. She feels as though she doesn’t sleep and barely musters energy for her daily routine. Upon investigation she finds she sleep walks but..what does she do? Where does she go? Is something more sinister taking place?

This book leaves more questions than answers and, honestly, i kinda like that. I like that we aren’t truly given an answer to what happens or what’s going on. It felt like a folk tale or an episode from Tales From the Crypt. A weird story full of atmosphere and dread that I couldn’t put down till i finished it.

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Incredibly unique voice. Love the short chapters - could read this in one sitting if you have the time. My only gripe is the ending--I wanted things explained a bit more... but that said, it's a novella, and it got me thinking-so it did the job. Really love the writing style and can't wait to read more from this author!

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Synopsis: Iðunn is tired. Iðunn’s watch says she logged 40,000+ steps overnight. Iðunn wakes up with bruises and in blood. Her doctor finds nothing wrong with her. What’s going on with Iðunn?

What I liked: The Night Guest is thrilling, disturbing, creepy and fast-paced. Iðunn is an unreliable narrator. There are short chapters, and the book is easy to finish within a day. I wanted more!

What I disliked: This would have been five starts but I personally don’t love quick or ambiguous endings. Trigger warning includes depiction of deceased animals.

This book is for you if… You’re craving a quick, eerie, horror novella.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of #TheNightGuest.

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Iðunn has a very real problem. She is deathly tired and her whole-body aches. But her doctor finds nothing wrong, which at least calms her mind, and removes the fear of a horrible disease. But when she starts tracking her steps after being told exercise might help, she is dumbfounded. She is getting numerous steps at night, while she is asleep. Is she sleepwalking? If so, how is she getting covered in bruises and blood?
I was hooked on this novella from the first page. I didn’t love how it ended, but I really enjoyed the journey.

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Spooky and fast-paced, I breezed through this in a single day. It was overall enjoyable, but the climax felt a little rushed and underwhelming compared to the rest of the book. I also didn’t feel much more than a surface-level connection to the main character, but that’s probably more due to the length of the book rather than the writing. I would have loved to read this as a full length novel instead of a novella, I think it would have felt much more fleshed-out.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Tor publishing. This novella was fast paced and a little creepy. It has such a unique premise and kept me interested. It was also a pretty easy read. I will say I did not like the writing style. I found it a little distracting. I also didn’t care for the conclusion of the book, I think it just fell flat for me. Overall, I thought it was okay. I enjoyed it but it’s not something I would reread and I won’t be picking up a copy when it releases.

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Deliciously short and fantastically paced, The Night Guest is the perfect book to get you ready for spooky season! Hildur Knutsdottir tells a tale of 55 year old Iðunn. She's having trouble sleeping and is feeling exhausted upon waking each morning, as though she's done a hard workout in the night. In an attempt to remedy her concerns, Iðunn seeks out professional help and does some investigations herself in the form of purchasing a watch with a pedometer.

Without giving too much away, there is definitely a sense that something is wrong. The dread grows as we are introduced to new characters in Iðunn's life, including an ex-boyfriend of her sister. I would totally recommend this! The Night Guest was translated from Icelandic, which adds a fun storytelling perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, Tor Nightfire, the author Hildur Knutsdottir, and the translator Mary Robinette Kowal for an ARC of The Night Guest in exchange for an honest review.

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When Iðunn becomes more and more tired and wakes every morning sore, cut and bruised, she contacts doctors for help. She doesn’t get any. She’s afraid she has a neurological disorder. She doesn’t. Sleeping pills don’t work. When she wears a sport watch to bed, it shows she’s walking many steps at night, while she is “sleeping.” A psychologist is suggested. She doesn’t go. She tries to have a normal life by dating. This proves to be a spectacularly bad decision.

The Night Guest is pure horror wrapped in mystery. Page by page, moving slowly toward absolute terror, Hildur Knútsdóttir’s The Night Guest builds to a chilling conclusion. Don’t read this one at night! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group and Hildur Knútsdóttir for this ARC.

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Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir. Don’t let the bright pink cover fool you. This book is the opposite of bright and happy. It is creepy and atmospheric. It is a short novel, but the creep factor is high. The reader has no idea where the story is going until the end.

Iounn knows something is wrong with her. She is exhausted and unknown bruises keep showing up on her body. Doctors can’t figure out what is going on. One night she walks over 40000 steps. Is she safe? Is anyone around her safe?

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It was a strong premise and enjoyable while it lasted. The abrupt ending didn’t seem to fit the mystery of the story. I thought that I had received an unfinished copy.

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“Whatever has hooked me has a helluva grip on me. The hook is already so deep in my flesh, that the only way out is through. I walk into the darkness.”

Hildur Knutsdottir's creepy novella is set in contemporary Reykjavík. Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but her test results always are the same, they don’t show anything wrong. Family and friends offer advice on how she can improve her health through lifestyle changes. She caves and purchases a step counting watch. After having it on over night it shows she has walked 40,000 that she can not recollect. The mystery behind why she’s walking so much when she’s asleep will open a can of worms nobody is prepared for.

This was a fast paced disturbing story. It sets up the atmosphere for an eerie story early on and the more it progresses the more the reader feels something isn’t quite right.

I loved that this was fast paced with short chapters. Somehow the unhinged side of this story had more of an effect this way. I was hooked from the get go. I couldn’t put it down or slow down reading it.

This was a fun unsettling novella I would definitely recommend.

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The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir is a creepy quick read. Iðunn keeps suffering from fatigue with no known cause. Until one night she records herself and discovers that she has been walking miles without any knowledge of it. She wonders if she is sleepwalking or if it is something else entirely. The story is fast paced and keeps you interested. It is creepy but the ending is vague, leaving you to wonder what you just read. It has a cosmic horror type of feel to it much like Paul Tremblay. Some will love it, some will hate it. I enjoyed it and would recommend reading it if you like horror that makes you think.
Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Tor Nightfire for the advanced copy. The opinions are my own.

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Thank you to Netgalley! Here are my honest thoughts and reaction:

The Night Guest follows an unreliable narrator as she descends into a hazy madness. Through her prose and sentence structure, the author manages to create a disorienting out of body experience that pulls the reader in.

Short, enjoyable, and haunting. I'd recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of the "unhinged woman" trope, psychological terror, and atmospheric writing.

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This story is a quick read, and I couldn’t put it down! Told in first person, Idunn is an unassuming young office worker in Iceland, suffering from exhaustion from sleeplessness. The writing (and translation) is witty and so taut, and this novella is a page turner. I look forward to reading more from this author. Recommended!

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Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc copy I grabbed this one up so fast I heard so many good things about it but this one really wasn’t for me. I really liked how quick of a read it was and the short chapters but that’s about it.

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I enjoyed reading The Night Guest. For one thing, I was drawn into this slice of contemporary Icelandic culture—the workplace dynamics, the dating scene and nightlife. Iðunn’s story is told around a very recognizable paradigm in which women are not believed and have their concerns dismissed by medical professionals, and in which men feel welcome to insert themselves as a solution. Even with this somewhat far-fetched tale, Iðunn comes off as a very believable narrator as she navigates the very believable horror of giving up where her body goes during the night.
The short, one-line chapters create an interesting effect but make for a strangely rapid pacing that feels insubstantial for a horror story. I would have expected to feel more trapped to maximize the dread, and the slimness allowed us to rush to the end a little too quickly.

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