Few people can weave a mind bending twist quite like B.A. Paris! Just when I think I’ve figured things out… everything is turned upside down!

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy of The Guest by B.A. Paris.
When Iris and Gabriel get back from their vacation, they are shocked to find their close friend, Laure, in their house. She not only makes herself at home, but completely oversteps her bounds.
Laure is there because of leaving her husband (and their good friend) Pierre who has completely devasted Laure with his affair and subsequent child. They want to help Laure, but her unpredictable behavior is taking its toll on them.
Then they meet their new neighbors, Esme, who is pregnant, and Hugh, her twenty-year-older husband. Their gardener, Joseph, also lives on their grounds in a cottage.
With so many secrets (and lies) revealed from everyone’s past and present, how do you know who is telling the truth?
I finished this book in two days! It was exciting and totally kept my attention the whole time trying to figure out who did what to whom and who was involved with which person!
I would definitely recommend this one – five stars for The Guest!

This is my first B.A. Paris book & they did NOT disappoint. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was so wrong. Total twist at the end. I will be recommending this to everyone.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This was a very different psychological thriller. Two couples meet in the Bahamas where one is celebrating their first anniversary and the other is honeymooning. They develop a friendship that extends for twenty years. It is basically narrated by the wife of the longer married couple. The other couple had separated and that wife had come to stay with Gabriel and Iris while she decided what to do. There are two wrists and turns throughout the story along with a memorable climax. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC for an honest review.

Entertaining with an ending I did not see coming. I really hated some of the characters, and the writing sometimes felt "bumpy" but it kept me interested enough to read it in a couple of days. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Wow, this is a fabulous thriller centered around mistakes, lies, and consequences. I spent the majority of the book analyzing the cast of characters and wondering what was going on. The story focuses on an English couple—Iris and Gabriel—who arrive home from vacation to find their French friend Laure staying in their house because she has left her husband Pierre. Laure is devastated by the discovery that Pierre has fathered a child with another woman and her friends are equally flabbergasted. They agree that Laure can stay with them as they work to sort out what is happening…but as the weeks pass tensions fray as she overstays her welcome and nothing seems to get resolved. The story is relatively quiet and slow paced for a while, until the real action begins. The twist at the end and the way that the storylines weave together is wonderful and I was thoroughly captivated by this book. I’ve read and loved all of the books that B.A. Paris has written, but was slightly underwhelmed by the last one. I think that The Guest is one of her best and I highly recommend it. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Summary: Iris and Gabriel seem to be a happy married couple. They have a home in the British countryside, a daughter that volunteers at an animal shelter in Greece, and good friends Laure and Pierre. When a local boy has a tragic accident in the nearby quarry, Gabriel is the one that is there during his final moment to hear his last words. This leaves Gabriel feeling extreme guilt. Iris tries to help her husband get through it but in the process they get an unexpected house guest. Laure has moved into their home without any warning when she finds out some traumatic news about her husband. Iris and Gabriel insists she stays as long as she needs to help her get through it but it seems Laure is starting to take advantage of them and it’s beginning to become weird. With everything going on, Iris and Gabriel seem to be growing apart. Can their own marriage me saved or will the lies keep unfolding?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an E-book in exchange for an honest review.

Publication: February 20th, 2024

Thoughts: After listening to B.A. Paris’s novel, Behind Closed Doors and loving it, this was an extremely slow burn compared to that book. I found most of the plot boring especially after reading the epilogue. When I read the epilogue I thought it was going to be way more exciting then what it turned out to be. It seems that there were really no exciting parts until we reached the ending. Most of the characters were unlikeable, however, the ending was a shock. If you enjoy family drama, with some thrill I recommend picking this one up!

I always feel bad giving ARCS low scores, but this one was really disappointing. I’ve read quite a few of BA Paris’ other books and enjoyed the thrill, but this one didn’t really do anything for me! The premise seemed interesting enough, but the characters just didn’t intrigue me. Though this is touted as a “domestic thriller,” the pacing was really off and I felt it was a SLOG to get through until about the 80% mark. The epilogue was (sort of) worth the read, but ultimately it felt really cheap to have a whole book full of short, choppy chapters (which switch POVs all the time) and MANY many questions that only all get resolved and “answered” in the epilogue.

I think this would have worked better if bits of the “twist” were parceled out throughout the book. There was no way I could have guessed that ending, and not in a good, “what a shock!” way, but in a “no one could have predicted how out of left field this was” sort of way.

The main characters, Iris/Gabriel/Laure, all spend a lot of the book complaining about “all they’ve been through” and reminiscing on the past and their terrible experiences. This book relied a lot on the reader feeling invested in the characters, and unfortunately I didn’t feel that, so the big reveal moments left me feeling really meh. (And so many of their issues could have been resolved with better communication and/or therapy).

Promising concept, but sad to say it wasn’t great execution.

Iris and Gabriel come back from vacation to their friend Laure, who has been staying there following her break up with her partner Pierre. Laure leaves Pierre because she found out Pierre has a child from a previous relationship.

While dealing with Laure and her inability to take a hint. New neighbours arrive in town and Iris becomes slightly obsessed with them, and finding out about their pasts…

I found all the characters to be unlikeable, they all seemed weak and unable to speak their minds. The book had a lot going on so it was hard keeping track at times who everyone was.

And the award for the most SHOCKING epilogue goes to … The Guest by B.A. Paris. Holy cow, I was not expecting that wild ending!!! This whole book was a S-L-O-W burn but that ending was pretty great and a great twist to end the book! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published February 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and B.A. Paris for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating. 3/5 Stars

I enjoyed this book, but I did get a little disinterested with the pacing of it. All in all, I did want to see how it ended though.

Did Eeyore write this or BA Paris? Because to be totally honest, the tone of this book was completely depressing, melancholy, anhedonic and dull. (You caught me, I had NO idea what anhedonic meant, I googled terms to describe Eeyore and it is the perfect word).
On top of the "tone" it was repetitive beyond belief, I was bored of out of my mind. I will save you and just tell you all that you need to know for the first 90% of the novel okay. Get ready.
1. Gabriel is sad because he witnessed a young man die. Spirals into depression and complains about it. Starts gardening (ALL DAY--Believe me I could grow a whole farm with the amount of time he spent doing it)
2.His wife Iris goes for runs, drinks tea and allows Laure the house guest to completely take over their home and not confront her
3.Laure comes to live with Gabriel and Iris and WAY oversteps her boundaries. because she states hat her husband has a love child and they need time apart. (She also constantly runs and drinks tea)She mopes around all day complaining about Pierre. Gabriel mopes around all day complaining that Pierre won't call him back. Iris mopes around all day about Laure.

Okay now re read those above paragraphs 585.3 times(123 words in the above and most novels are 80,000 words, however the repeating stops at 90% so only 72000 words at that point, then since there are 123 words you only have to read the above paragraphs 585.3 times) And there you have it folks that is the bulk of what happens UNTIL the epilogue. There are a few details sprinkled in about the shady gardener (see what I did there?) A couple that lives down the way (Esme, Hugh and their baby-Hamish, that name I just can’t) mixes in to provide a little variety, but ultimately they are total duds.
When certain characters were killed off, I said out loud, THANK GOODNESS. Nothing was happening I was just so sick of the complaining. All that being said, when I got to the epilogue I couldn’t stop. It was very twisty, but I think what BA Paris did was not fair to the reader. To drag us through complete mud only to find out we could have taken a far more interesting journey,

I am quite disappointed in the fact that she left me bored to tears. Obviously she has talent, but unfortunately she chose to bottle that talent up in the last 8% of the novel. I wish I could say I am looking forward to better things from this author, but her 2 most recent books serve better purposes as yoga blocks or door stops.

The one thing I did love about this book was it was a Buddy read and we could suffer together!! Misery loves company?

So unless your name is Eeyore, skip this one there are many other books in the 100 acre woods you could pick from!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to review this advanced copy of The Guest by BA Paris. I was not influenced or paid in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book !!!

I began this book and could not put it down.!!! This is a great weekend read ( unless you want to stay up very late ).
I think the saying goes " Guests are like fish they begin to smell in 3 days). Imagine going away on a trip and returning home a day early to find one of your close friends staying in your home ( and sleeping in your bed). This happened to Iris and Gabriel.

Laure had left her husband Pierre who had told her he fathered a child. She did now know who the woman was but was very upset. Gabriel also had sometime very traumatic happen to him that he was trying to process. Things get complicated when a new neighbor comes to town and a friend they brought with them ( Joseph) begins helping Gabriel with a garden. Tragic accidents occur all around Iris and Gabriel and things keep getting worse. There are so many twists and turns in this book ( you think you know the characters responsible for all this ) but then things change. This is an excellent book and you won't want to put it down.

This was my first time reading this author’s work. The storyline moved painfully slow. - I almost gave up several times. I understand how everything intertwined together in the end, but in the beginning there were too many random storylines going on, and I stopped caring. It felt as if there was too much “telling” versus “showing” throughout. Halfway through, the chapters skipped ahead in time and glossed over something important that happened off-page. The twist at the end really wasn’t that big of a surprise.

B.A. Paris comes back with another one that will blow you away! This book had me sitting on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

I always enjoy B.A. Paris’ writing and this was no exception! Iris and Gabrielle are going through a rough time. Going on holiday hasn’t fixed it and they return home to find an unexpected guest in their home. From there things gradually become more tense and as more characters are introduced, their tensions continue to mount. A great read!

So disappointed in this book. For one, because I expect(ed) so much more from this author. And for two, the book was just bad. The entire book was practically copy & paste …wash rinse repeat. Boring & repetitive!! Literally the last 8%, a VERY long epilogue, was the best part of the book. The entire book wasn’t worth reading just to have a somewhat good ending. The twists (basically all laid out in the epilogue) would’ve been decent twists had they been scattered throughout the book instead of jamming into one long chapter. Even then though when coming back to the storyline it was ridiculous & not that interesting overall. I think had the premise been tweaked a bit in how it was all laid out & characters intertwined, oh & not all the reveals happening in one chapter, it had the potential for a good book. So if maybe a different author had been given the plot idea to run with it it could’ve been good? Sorry but yikes.

I almost feel like Behind Closed Doors was written by a ghost writer or something. Every book by her hasn’t even remotely compared & this is by far the worst book I’ve read by Paris.

2 stars I suppose (back & forth between 1 &2) because she is a good writer & for the creativity of the villain. I will say that iMo any of the people that said “this is slow but worth it once you get into it”, they’re just wrong 😂😂 It is slow, the entire book!!, minus the last chapter. Do yourself a favor & skip this one.

I do appreciate the opportunity Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press gave me by providing me with an ARC, thank you!

This book was a little hard to get into with the slow pacing. I’m a fan of B.A. Paris but this isn’t a fave for me. I couldn’t help but feel annoyed with the Laure character. I was just waiting for the protagonist to do SOMETHING! That was well written for sure. When it picked up a little, it all came together at the end. I give it a 3.5 overall.

Thank you @BAParis, @StMartinsPress and @NetGalley for a free e-ARC. The opinions are mine alone and not biased in any way.

Quick synopsis: Gabriel and Iris are very close friends with Laure and her husband Pierre. They come home from vacation and discover Laure in their house upset that her marriage is on the rocks due to possible infidelity. They allow her to stay and are trying to do their best to help repair the relationship but there are some unforeseen circumstances. Add in a friendship with other neighbors and a new landscaper, things just get more interesting.

Up until the Epilogue things kept happening but there was no in depth development of the why. It was just more conversational. Then we hit the epilogue and it told everything that happened in between the lines. It literally filled in all the blanks to the point where you didn't even need to read all the chapters. The Epilogue summed it up. While I liked how it all went down, it happened in the last 20 pages. I prefer some clues throughout. I want to see more then the idea of being told what happened. It tied a nice bow on it but I felt a little robbed that I wasn't immersed in the story. So much happened it would have been nice to see it real time instead of filling in the blanks later.

I have always been a fan of this author, but more so on the earlier books then the newer ones.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I had a hard time getting into this book. I very was anxious reading it! Lol. BA Paris writes very well and it shows! Not my favorite of theirs but overall a pretty good book. A 3 star read for me.