Really enjoyed the overall story. I was pretty hooked, but the pacing was tough at times due to the characters talking/ monologuing. I had a hard time enjoying the characters. They just were not likeable for me.
I loved the short chapters, I think that was the biggest pro to this book in regards to pacing.
The ending had a good wow factor that I always enjoy as well - really redeemed a lot of the annoyances I had with the characters.

Story overall was really decent. The drama kept me hooked - I needed to keep reading.
It was the characters in this one that fell short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review *

Iris and Gabriel have an unexpected and frankly unwanted houseguest. Laure is a friend so they try to look past all the chaos she brings with her after her split from her husband. But things just aren't adding up and Iris decides to do some investigating. This book is full of twists and turns! I loved this book!

“The Guest” by B.A. Paris is a psychological thriller about Iris and Gabriel, whose lives unravel when their friend Laure moves in after a personal crisis. As tensions rise with Laure’s erratic behavior, new neighbors, and a suspicious gardener, buried secrets surface, turning their home into a web of deception and suspense.

Highlights:
- The beginning of this story drops you right into the action with our houseguest making an early appearance, and as time goes on, things just get more and more…weird. You know something is off but can’t put your finger on it.
- Stick with it for the suspense leading up to some pretty good twists.
- Psychological thriller elements are there but a bit muted, but for me this wasn’t a huge deal. I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen with Laure, and beyond.

What Could Be Better:
- This took a while to get into beyond the opening for me, but this could be personal preference.
- There was some general repetition which didn’t make sense to me until the very end, but at the moment felt a bit much. Lots of going back and forth between houses and gardens.

In summary: if you like psychological thrillers, this one may be a good one to pick up - stick with it till the end for the good plot twist. Esme may have been my favorite character?

I make sure to look for BA Paris’ latest books. While this one was not my favorite of hers, it was still a good read. There were several twists throughout it to keep the interest of readers and picked up quite a bit towards the middle of the book. There were some repetitive areas of the book but overall it was an entertaining read.

I was slightly disappointed in this read as I really enjoyed B.A Paris’s previous mysteries. This felt a bit bland for the authors usual style.

B.A. Paris is one of my favorite authors. The Guest was truly an amazing book. I found myself getting angry with a few of the characters. Paris does an amazing job eliciting emotion from the reader. Although I truly enjoyed the book, I'll admit I did find parts of the book to be predictable. However, I will say Paris does a great job building anticipation early on in the book. I would recommend the book regardless of the predictability. If you enjoy suspenseful books, grab a copy of The Guest.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a free ARC to read and review.

Overall, this story felt more like a domestic drama than a thriller, a day to day experience of Gabriel and Iris’s married life, one that seemed to have slowly fizzled out. Except, when they return from holiday, they find their good friend Laure upset with her husband, Pierre. He has just revealed that he has a child from an affair that occurred years ago. This story was filled with secrets that each person was keeping from others. Iris also befriends a neighbor who has a sketchy gardener with secrets of his own, and all throughout the book, people die. It can’t be coincidence, so which secret is the biggest and who has the most to lose?

Easy, but slow read. I wish the pace was a bit faster, for the circumstances. In the middle I just stopped caring unfortunately. Closer to the end I was interested again and the ending was pretty good! I am usually a pretty big fan of BA Paris but this one was just okay for me.

This was not a favorite for me. I do love the authors writing style, but I felt this book was repetitive. I was hoping not to predict the ending right when I started. The book was a bit slow to start but then picked up a bit.

I loved the twist ending but other than that this book was a bit of a bore. It dragged, lacked character development and at times was all over the place.

I really do just enjoy BA Paris's thrillers. They keep me interested, and guessing. The Guest was no different. Great author to add to your list if you like drama and mystery.

Iris and Gabriel come home from vacation to an unexpected guest -- their friend, Laure. Laure is going through a tumultuous time in her marriage and decides to stay with her friends in England. This book had me hooked from the beginning. I wanted to know what was going on with Laure and her husband and how everything was going to play out. I didn't really like any of the characters, but that didn't stop me from flying through this book. I enjoyed this book, but I felt like the ending kind of came out of nowhere, which is something I am not really a fan of in my thrillers. It definitely kept it interesting and there were plenty of twists and turns that I enjoyed. Overall, I liked this one, but it isn't my favorite from this author.

Loved this book- BA Paris does it again! Excellent thriller that pulled me in from the first chapter, and loved all the twists and turns!

I’m a big fan of a domestic suspense novel and an even bigger fan of B.A. Paris’ work so I was so excited to jump into this one.

The start of this one fall’s flat for me, and felt like I really had to persevere, but I’m so glad I did. Once you make it past the initial pacing of the book I devoured the rest of it in 2 sittings as I just wanted to find out more.

There’s lots of twists and turns that has you thinking you’ve figured it out along the way but you’ll be wrong… that ending surprised me. I’m not sure I loved the overall outcome but I did really enjoy the way it all came together.

I found myself disliking all the character’s at some point during the duration of the book as well which I always find interesting.

A solid thriller, that’s worth the read

B.A. Paris is such a hit and miss for me. I absolutely LOVED her first book, Behind Closed Doors, but the rest have been up and down for me. Still, there have been some gems, which is why I continue to return to Paris time and again. The Guest, unfortunately, was a miss for me.

Laure has left her husband, Pierre, due to infidelity and a secret love child. Unfortunately for Iris and Gabriel, Laure has decided to move in with them, without their permission. Of course, they don't want to kick out their close friend, but things start to get really weird. Laure becomes increasingly unhinged, and Iris and Gabriel don't know what to do about their unwanted houseguest.

While I found the plot interesting enough to continue reading, I struggled with so many unreliable characters and the slow pacing. The characters were also generally unlikable which didn't help the situation. It felt less thriller and more domestic drama, which was a huge let down.

I think I struggle with domestic thrillers. There is such a fine balance between it being just straight up family drama and actual thriller. I need more thriller.

This was another great read by BA Paris! Every character is suspicious with possible hidden motives and the twists keep coming in this roller-coaster thriller. This is a fun enjoyable read and highly recommended.

Having read BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B.A. Paris I opened THE GUEST with great expectations, though not a terrible read, not the read I was hoping for.

Iris and Gabriel narrate. They have been away and come home to find an unwelcome guest in their home that overstays their welcome.

This book was not a thriller, perhaps a mystery. Not the cup of tea I was hoping for.

This was not Paris’ best work. I’m used to more addictive thrillers and suspense and it was too much of a slow burn. I was bored and almost DNF. Ending was the best part

I really enjoyed the ending, but overall I think I prefer this author's earlier works. I'm not a fan of the whole family drama storylines paired with multiple affairs. I was more invested in the actual suspense parts of the story rather than the drama.

*Thank you to #NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book, all thoughts are my own.

This was a solid book! It took me a minute to figure out who was who, but once I figured that out I was able to get into it more. The pacing was a little bit slow, but still readable. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!