I was so excited when I saw that B.A. Paris was coming out with a new novel. The Guest was a solid read and I enjoyed it. I’ve read many mixed reviews on this but I went into it knowing very little about the plot and just enjoyed it for what it was, an entertaining read. I will always want to read B.A. Paris’s novels, I am rarely disappointed.

If you didn’t read Behind Close Doors, get it right now. It was AMAZING.

Here’s the synopsis:

Some secrets never leave.

Iris and Gabriel have just arrived home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their closest friends, Laure, is in their house. The atmosphere quickly becomes tense as she oversteps again and again: sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris’ clothes, even rearranging the furniture.

Laure has walked out on her husband—and their good friend—Pierre, over his confession of an affair and a secret child. Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive of their friends, but as Laure’s mood becomes increasingly unpredictable, her presence takes its toll.

Iris and Gabriel’s only respite comes in the form of a couple new to town. But with them comes their gardener, who has a checkered past.

Soon, secrets from all their pasts will unravel, some more dangerous than they could have known.

This comes out on February 20, there is a Goodreads giveaway happening right now for this book!

I always have high expectation for BA Paris after Behind Closed Doors, but this was a miss for me. Everything happened in the epilogue... I would have enjoyed it more if it was better paced.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

B.A. Paris knows how to spin a crazy, not-totally-realistic, twisty story and I binged it in a day.

This book was a bit of a rough start for me because it has one of my least favorite tropes: a friend overstaying their welcome in your house (I cannot explain how uncomfy and frustrated it makes me😂), but I could get past it once more started happening in the plot- and there was a lot happening. This got pretty twisty the farther along the story got; some twists I saw coming, and others were a total surprise. I wouldn’t say this is an “on the edge of your seat” thriller, but instead had a sense of dread and unease carrying throughout the story, which can be just as captivating in my opinion. The ending wraps up pretty neatly, and then the epilogue comes and completely blindsided me with a twist I never even thought of.

This is a quick domestic drama that’ll pull you in easily!

I enjoyed it but I dont think it will stick with me, I thought it was creative and well thought out, but the first 50% was pretty hum-drum. It started to pick up but I could tell as i was nearing the end that it was going to be the type of book that reveals everything at once in the last chapter. I did not guess the twist, so thats a plus!

This was a wild ride. Well paced, twisty, and tons of thrills. I thought I had it figured out and then bam! epilogue changes it all.

I do love an uninvited guest trope - they are always here to shake things up. The characters in this are going through a lot of things including marriage separation, grief, and depression. Parts of this felt extremely repetitive. I went back and forth between reading and listening and at one point didn’t realize I had skipped back a chapter because many parts felt so similar. I definitely didn’t see the ending coming and I would be shocked if anyone does predict it!

My relationship with BA Paris's books is somewhat of a love/hate. Love the stories...often hate one of more of the characters! The Guest is middle of the road for me. The pacing in this book was good but at times it felt like the story was a bit jumbled. I enjoy the build up to the twists and the twists themselves. Although this isn't my favorite, I will definitely read more of this author.

3.5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Guest
By: B. P. Paris
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: 2/20/24

B.A. Paris’s thrillers never let me down. Her twists always knock me for a loop.
Iris and Gabriel have it all or so it seems from the outside. When they were on their honeymoon they met Laure and her husband Pierre. They kept in touch and and become good friends. Only the secrets began from the beginning. Now Pierre isn’t happy. He’s found out he had a child but who is this child and who's the mother? He makes a big mistake by not telling Laure what’s really going on. He continues to keep secrets until she flees France and heads to Iris’ & Gabriel’s place. Gabriel calls and texts Pierre over and over and he never picks up. When people start disappearing and bodies begin to appear you know there's more to the story.
I love how these thrillers are so easy to get sucked into. I just kept saying one more chapter well now it’s 2 a.m. I’ve read the whole thing in just a few hours. This book comes out Tuesday February 20th.

I listened to the audiobook of this one for the first third and then I switched to kindle because I honestly am a bit behind with audiobooks and they take me a little longer to read. I liked the narrator and I think it was a well done audiobook and I could have finished it that way. I liked this thriller overall even though I found the story to start way slower than I would have liked and it took way longer than I would have preferred to get more interesting. The epilogue was great and full of some fun twists (I had suspicions but I wasn’t positive of the outcome). Gabriel and his wife Iris return from a trip to see that someone has been in their home. Surprised they find an old family friend Laure who tells them she has left her husband because he had an affair and fathered a child. Laure plans on staying a few weeks, but after a few weeks goes by she doesn’t feel ready to return and asks to stay longer. The writing was good and I thought the characters were well developed (even if I didn’t really like any of the characters except Beth and Esme).

Paris is just killing it! The Guest by B.A. Paris is another bombshell of a story.
This book will leave you on the edge of your seat with each turn of the page.
This story was super compelling and had me totally invested.
The plot is packed with twists and turns, carefully arranged by the author to keep readers guessing until the end.
A wonderfully-crafted, tense, and absorbing story.
When you read a Paris book, you can expect to be hooked by one twist after another, a relentless pace, and smart writing.
B.A. Paris is a brilliant writer and I cannot wait to read more from her. I am so thrilled to have been able to read this advanced reader’s copy!

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I previously read Behind Closed Doors and loved it. So getting the chance to review an ARC by the same author is exciting.

I took me a little while to get into, I felt there was a ton of dialog and the day to day life was kind of boring. But the epilogue was FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! It brought everything together and all the questions I had at the end were instantly answered.

Good book if you push through till the end. I will recommend for sure!

A loving couple named Iris and Gabriel are one day surprised by an unexpected visitor. Laure learns of her husband Pierre's infidelity and chooses to move in with the happy couple. The two couples have been together for a long time, but when Laure chooses to stay with Iris and Gabriel, the situation completely changes. Iris is displeased with her actions and wants things to return to as they were before she moved in.

One of my favorite mystery thriller tropes is the unexpected or uninvited guest who turns up. It seemed to me that the main focus of this story would be that trope. It was, at the absolute least, the first fifty %, but the second half of it takes a different turn after that. Ironically, the tale picked up more intrigue and accelerated after the trope was removed, even though the section I was most looking forward to because of it was the slowest!

Things really take off and get crazy in the second part of the novel. If you persevere through the first half of the novel without giving up, you'll be rewarded with some tremendous action. This is also where the thriller component of the story really shines. Although I don't think the characters are especially well-developed, I do believe that the plot is more significant in a novel like this. If you enjoy the author's writing style. You’ll enjoy this book.

This was slow for me, I had a hard time wanting to finish this. I’ve loved this authors work before, so I’ll continue to read her other books!

This is my new B.A. Paris favorite. This was such a treat and a delight. I have really enjoyed all of her backlist, Behind Closed Doors being my favorite but with The Guest, I got those old B.A. Paris vibes and I loved it.

This was a well-developed, easy-to-follow story, with a very brilliant and unexpected twist at the end. I honestly was not expecting that. I also liked how one of the MCs is so evil and the other one very annoying but I didn't dislike them or hate them.

I can't wait for B.A. Paris's next book to come out. She will forever be one of my favorite authors.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the Advanced Free Copy, in exchange for an honest review.

This was pretty slow paced. I did find that it did keep my interest for the most part but I was also bored too. This wasn’t my favorite.

Wow! This book was so good! It is the type of thriller I can not get enough of, full of twists I didn't see coming. Plus the writing drew me immediately into the story and I did not want to put it down.

Iris and Gabriel have gone on holiday to try to reconnect after Gabriel discovered a young neighbor that had an accident and was the recipient of his last words. Gabriel has been struggling and distant since that day. They come home from holiday a day early to discover their friend Laure. She has left her husband Pierre and is living in their house and wearing Iris' clothes. She left Pierre after discovering he has a child with another woman. As they adjust to the unexpected guest they befriend a couple, Esme and Hugh, that has just moved to the village and hire the family friend staying with them, Joseph, to help in the garden. Why is Gabriel struggling so with the final message? How long will the guest stay? What other secrets are they hiding?

A house guest that just won't leave...aka my worst nightmare.

I have been a longtime fan of B.A. Paris and her work and I was so excited to receive an ARC of The Guest. This domestic drama seriously had me sucked into the drama of these people and their lives.

Iris and Gabriel's friend Laure has just separated from her husband Pierre and has come to stay with them. She certainly is overstaying her welcome. There are other characters, new neighbors down the road Esme and Hugh and Joseph, a friend who of course is a little shady. There were times that I was frustrated by the characters and their day to day actions that parts of the book felt slow to me when I really just wanted to find out how all these characters were connected to each other. But there was just the right amount of intrigue that I needed to know!

The ending is wrapped up nicely, and I do prefer an ambiguous ending HOWEVER if you like things wrapped neatly in a bow, this would be perfect for you! I was surprised and it almost made me want to go back and reread parts of the book.

All in all, I'm landing at 4 stars for this one! If you are looking for a slow burn domestic thriller check this one out!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for my ARC. The Guest is out 2/20!

I love this author and this book did not disappoint! It was such a quick read and kept my interest. Just when I thought I could predict the ending, another twist popped up! If you like thrillers, I highly recommend this one.

This is the fourth novel I've read by B.A. Paris and my least favorite thus far. I had higher hopes for this one after reading the synopsis, but was let down overall.

In this novel, husband and wife Gabriel and Iris are on vacation. When they return home, they find that their friend Laure has taken up residence in their house because she's discovered her husband Pierre has a child with another woman. Laure has completely taken over, wearing Iris' clothes, sleeping in their bed, the whole 9 yards. After Iris and Gabriel arrive back home, Laure continues to do so. Creepy, right?

Gabriel has his own internal conflict. He's found the body of a boy who fell into the quarry behind their home. The boy was the same age as their daughter so they know the family. He is struggling with the loss overall and a few more things you find out later on.

There are many side characters in the novel that feel a bit unnecessary at times. Most of the characters are unlikeable as well which made the novel difficult to finish. I didn't find myself reaching for this one. If you're a Paris fan, you will likely be let down by this one. 3.5 stars overall.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Iris and Gabriel return home from a holiday abroad to find that they have a houseguest. Laure has made herself at home, having left her husband, Pierre, because he discovered that he has a child. Laure quickly makes herself quite the nuisance and Iris and Gabriel find respite in a new couple that has moved into the neighborhood. However, Esme & Hugh have brought along a gardener/landscaper/family friend named Joseph who has troubles of his own. The tension is a slow-build and the twist is so worth it! You won't see it coming. :)

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*