This book gave me some mixed feelings. The 2 main characters are Gabriel and Iris, and their friend Laure comes to stay with them when she learns her husband has a child he has just found out about, and wants to be in that child's life. The events that follow are full of mystery, lies, and guilt.

The characters weren't super likable, but Laure especially got on my nerves. I liked that there were plenty of side characters.

The plot moved so slowly. It started to seem like nothing was ever truly going to happen. Despite moving at a snails pace, I had plenty of questions throughout the story, and it kept me going so that I could see them answered. I thought I knew exactly how it would end, and even though I figured out some minor things, I was pretty surprised by the twist ending.

My main complaint is really just that it felt like you had to sludge through a good bit of the book, but it did end up picking up in pace and intrigue. It's a slow simmer type of thriller rather than a rolling boil. I really like the way B.A. Paris writes. She made the end come together in a way that wrapped up everything there was to wonder about and satisfied my appetite for a big twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC!

B.A. Paris, you have done it again! I literally fly through books from this author and this was no different. I did not figure out the ending at all and was blown away by it. Paris has a gift with making seemingly innocuous interactions come to a frighteningly amazing conclusion. What a reveal.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book!

The guest by BA Paris. Woah. This twisty tale was truly unpredictable. I was shook by the end. I thought without doubt I had it all figured out, and though I had pieces, I was wrong.

I found myself not super connected to Iris, though I truly enjoyed Gabriel.

B.A. Paris hooked me at about the 30% mark and I enjoyed the story. Everything was tied up nicely with a bow at the end, I’m
Honestly still unsure of how because by the middle I had no clue how everything could possibly be explained.

Grateful to have read this early release and still shook with all the twisty fun that was the guest.

I am always excited for a B.A. Paris book so I was thrilled to received an advanced copy.

When I start a B.A. Paris book I know I am in for a wild ride and a great story. However, this one I did struggle with. The characters were hard to connect with and I felt there was not enough development of the main characters. I don't mind the different points of view but each chapter seemed just a little rushed and at some points I became a little confused as to what timeline I was in. I needed just a little more. I had a very hard time connecting with Iris because I couldn't get over how she just let things go with Laure and Gabriel. I needed more of a reaction.

I will say the redemption of the story was the epilogue and I loved every part of it. However, I just did not enjoy it as I thought I would up until that point.

2.5, generously
You can't put the entire twist in the epilogue. You just can't. Further, if you must: You can't make the epilogue almost 20% of the book! I'm actually slightly insulted by the laziness deployed here.

I was really excited to get approved for an advanced reading copy of this one. I’ve read a few books by B.A. Paris and have enjoyed all of them. The Guest was not quite as good as Behind Closed Doors but better than Bring Me Back.

The storyline was interesting enough. It had me looking everywhere but at the guilty person. I have to say, I was not expecting the big reveal…which is my favorite part of reading a book. I want to be SHOOK when I learn whodunnit.

However, the ending felt pretty abrupt. In most stories, you get little reveals here and there that start to tie the story together. And while I loved that hardly anything was as it seemed, I didn’t love the way it was all wrapped up so quickly at once. Basically, you could read the Epilogue and there’s your story.

Overall though, it was a pretty decent read and I was surprised by the ending, which is what I love in a thriller.

The Guest by B.A. Paris, is a domestic thriller that follows the lives of 3 couples as their secrets are slowly revealed. Entertaining plot, and flew through it as the writing is easy to read. I do wish we had more twists or reveals during the book instead of everything revealed during the epilogue, but solid thriller overall.

The book started slow, and I thought the story would be just about the petty drama between two sets of friendships and their relationships. I was wrong, as the middle started the wild ride with the hits of twist after twist. It was easy to get consumed by the tension between everyone that the twists were a complete surprise. The ending was so shocking that I read some of the epilogue twice. Overall this was a great gripping thriller that will make you second guess everything.

Thank you to NetGallery and to St. Martin Press for giving me a copy of the book.

Wow! I have always been a B.A. Paris fan and this one is an absolutely thrilling piece of work. I could not get over the ending and did not see any of the twists and turns coming. I was hooked till the very last page. Although the beginning is a bit slow, it sets the story line as to what will happen in the end! Stick with it at the beginning and you will not be disappointed!

Wow. This book was a wild trip! I honestly didn’t know where the author was going with the story. Usually I’m able to put the pieces together before the author reveals the truth but this one got me. The story was so intricate, my mind was going all over the place and just when I thought the author was just going to leave the ending in some crazy mess that didn’t make sense, the story was tied up perfectly with no lose ends. I really didn’t see the end coming which is a true testament to the author’s creativity! This is a great book!

I am grateful for #netgalley for providing me with the ARC book and this review is entirely on my own.

I had such high hopes for this book. It definitely fell short though. 😔 There was so much mind numbing conversations and days between the main characters I found myself incredibly bored. The “twist” is so drawn out it wasn’t worth discovering and some of it was incredibly predictable. It was written from two POV but I don’t feel you could connect with them.

Once I started reading this book I remembered why it took me so long to get through the other books written by this author. The plot was good and the twist was plausible just lots in details and then still left with unanswered questions.

#netgalley #theguest #baparis #thriller #bookreview

I was super excited to receive a copy of The Guest after reading and loving Behind Closed Doors. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a suspenseful, quick read.

Gabriel and Iris return home to find an unexpected guest in their house, Laure. At first, they are happy to help out a friend going through marital problems, but as the weeks go on they are eager to get their house back to themselves. Meanwhile, Gabriel is also struggling with the trauma finding an injured local boy and being unable to save him. As time goes on, more details are revealed about each of the characters’ lives and the secrets they are keeping from their friends and family. As time goes on, you aren’t sure who is telling the truth or what the truth is. The suspense builds wonderfully. I thought I saw the ending coming, but boy was I wrong. The twists will leave the reader shocked!

A twisty psychological thriller that will hold you in suspense from the beginning.
When Laure, a family friend, comes to stay with Iris and her husband then extended stay begins to add more turmoil to their marriage. Secrets and lies from the past and present will draw you in keeping you on the edge of your seat. The ending alone is such a shock for that alone you need to read this asap.

B.A.Paris created another master piece! While the first half of the booker was a slower read, the twist was worth the wait?
WOW!!

This one wasn’t for me. I felt zero connection to any of the characters and they all seemed so…off. I can’t really explain it, but it made it hard to care what happened. The twist was good, as usual with this author. But it wasn’t anything unique or super memorable. I thought it was going to have more of a wow factor. The timeline seemed to jump around a lot, which made things more confusing than they needed to be as well.

Put this more in the mystery category, because you're kind of meandering along for a while and not sure where the thread will unravel. I did not guess the ultimate twist, which is why this book is 3 stars. The chapters are short and quick and you may be like "wtf get on with it" but the ending makes up for it.. def good vacation/beach read.

Laure crashes with Iris and Gabriel, after a falling out with her husband, Pierre. Pierre revealed to Laure that he had a child with another woman. Iris insists that Laure can stay with her and Gabriel for as long as necessary,. However, Laure starts to become completely intertwined with Iris' life - from wearing her clothes to crashing all her plans.

Iris meets a new woman in town, Esme, who is expecting a baby. Iris and Esme become close. Esme even sends her hunky gardener to help at Iris' house. This gardener may have a bit of a sketchy past...

Through this all, secrets are revealed, but mainly not until the epilogue. There is a lot going on and the plot is somewhat messy. The characters were somewhat annoying and frustrating. This really took away from the book. I could not connect with any of the characters.

This book had a very slow start. Well, more than just a slow start. I would say the first half or so was slow and at times, a tad boring. Sadly, I found the twist quite predictable and guessed "whodunnit". I am normally a huge found of B.A. Paris' work, but this one just did not do it for me. If you want a fast-paced thriller, this is not it.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I’ll start by saying thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*


This book was crazy! I was never sure the direction that we were going in. I was surprised by the end. I will be honest and say that this book FELT extremely long, and the beginning was a little slow, but the end made it worth it.

This book follows Iris and Gabriel, and their temporary house guest, Laure. Laure is Iris’ best friend, and having marital problems, so she asks to stay with them temporarily. Though, everything gets WILD. 3.5* for me!!

This book was a very slow burn and more of a mystery than a thriller.

Iris and Gabriel return home to an unexpected guest, Laure. As time goes on, Laure decides that she will not be returning to her husband and has some suspicions about a big secret that he had just told her about. Only she’s totally wrong.

While the book did introduce a good amount of characters, I found myself being able to guess the the ending. If you like a slower burn mystery, you might just love this one.

Such a good book! I love BA Paris' other books so I was excited to get an ARC of The Guest and it did not disappoint! I was very surprised with the outcome and read it in 2 days. It was an excellent twisty storyline.