I really wanted to love this book! While it had plenty of twists and kept me guessing all the way through it, I really wouldn't call it a thriller. The writing just lacked "excitement" and I felt a little bored even though I was interested in how it was going to end. Overall I decided to rate it 3 stars, because it held my attention enough to want to know how it ended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you for the advanced reader copy from Netgalley.

This was a quick read that had me second guessing multiple characters. I felt the ending was a little lack luster but maybe there will be a sequel.

It was interesting to discover about a relatively new way to help the hearing impaired, using a special screen to clip on to glasses,, a glass screen that would capture and print speech for the deaf to read in real time. That was the author's intention, to bring this technology to readers, and to urge venture capitalists and others to invest in such a technology.

I get that the author's aim is to aid in understanding of deaf issues and new technology, as her own daughter uses the screen to read speech. However, the thriller plot was disappointing. It did not capture my attention or interest and was somewhat disappointing.

The main character, Allie, rents a guest house from a suspicious couple, hence the title of the novel. The focus on the deaf technology in the book dominates a thriller plot.

Truly enjoyed every minute of this twisty and turny book! It was a pretty standard psychological thriller, in my opinion, but I was on the edge of my seat and didn't figure out any of the twists which is always an A+ in my book! I do think I should have realized this was a series and read the first book before diving into this one for osm ebackground information on one of the main characters but otherwise absolutely loved this one!

A relentless, suspenseful, and propulsive thriller that I devoured in two days. I always love the authors books for vivid characters and clever twists. She is a master at crafting truly palable tension, and her skill at plotting and suspense building that have readers glued to the pages. Then add in a jaw-dropping, earth-shattering final reveal, and you have all the key ingredients of a well executed thriller. Bonnie nailed it as she always does. I thoroughly enjoyed .

This was my first book by Bonnie Traymore. I should have started at the first book in the series. I did have a hard time following the characters. However, it kept me engaged and guessing until the very end!

The Guest House starts off with a bang. Someone is committed to reaching their goals, whatever the costs, and will kill if that’s what it takes to succeed.

Traymore keeps good pace and suspense right to the end.

Her characters too are an interesting mix. Allie is busy with the upcoming launch of her startup that would market light wireless clip-on caption frames for the hearing impaired. But she can't move past what she believes she saw being dragged across the lawn of the guest house in the dead of the night.
Laura's hands are full with her program that mentors and funds aspiring women entrepreneurs. But she's constantly preoccupied with thoughts of her family having murder in their genes.
And then there are a bunch of scamsters out to steal unpatented tech ideas.

I especially liked how Traymore weaves new tech and funding into the story, without coming off as contrived.

The only thing I found odd was Allie feeling there's a language barrier between her and Barton, whereas Barton's English is nothing but fluent.

But all in all, a real thriller. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

This was my second book by this author, and I am definitely a fan. I loved that Traymore wrote a book with a main character that is part of the D/deaf or hard of hearing community and wears a cochlear implant. I loved the premise of this book. It was narrated from two different POVs - Laura (who was my fave in the 1st book) and Allie. I read this suspenseful book in one sitting, and it did not disappoint. As someone that reads a ton of thrillers every year, I can say that I didn’t guess right on this one.

We see Laura come into her own from the 1st book, and I loved that she stood up for herself and followed her heart. She found her voice in this book, and I enjoyed watching her develop. I also loved Allie. It was great getting to know her in this book. Traymore did a great job with character development in this novel.

The suspense was at an all time high and I devoured this book in a few hours. The twists were twisting in this one! I was invested and very entertained while reading this. Traymore did a great job weaving a tale that was gripping while also educating me on the D/deaf or hard of hearing community.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Review of “The Guest House” by Bonnie Traymore

Disclaimer: Please note that I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

⭐⭐⭐☆☆

I gave “The Guest House” a shot, hoping for a gripping read with its intriguing premise of a deaf protagonist and innovative technology. But, alas, the writing style just didn’t click with me. I find first-person hard to write for, but when done well, it can be great. A lot of this, though, felt like sentence after sentence began with “I”, and it just felt repetitive and hard to fall into.

The constant switch between characters’ first-person perspectives made it hard to connect, and the story failed to show, not tell a lot of the time.

Despite some good twists, I found myself struggling to stay engaged. Maybe it’s just not my cup of tea, but others might enjoy its unique elements more. I would give this a 2.5-star rating.

This was my first read from Bonnie Traymore and I quite enjoyed the psychological thriller.. There was so much drama with the characters which I found quite interesting.

There was a loose end that I found, which was the Taberskys and where did Barnet go?

Definitely fast paced. Quite enjoyable

Thank you to Netgalley

Such a good book. I love the writing style and storyline. Cant wait for another book from this author

The Guest House is a great, easy beach read! However, I don’t know if I would consider this a psychological thriller to binge read during a dark and rainy day. I had different expectations for this book. Traymore has a fantastic style of writing; quick-paced, witty, and relaxing. I would have loved more cliffhangers and “thriller” style writing to make this a, stay up until 3am reading because it’s just that good” book.

While I had forgotten the first part of the series, it all came back when reading this new part. I have to say, that the first part was even more engaging than this one. The suspense was not high and ththe relation between the characters from the first part and the new characters seemed forced.

Allie was a great and unique character I so enjoyed reading. This story was riveting and I couldn't put this down. I will be looking for more from this author, including the first book in this series.

I almost finished in this book in one night. As with any book this author writes I find myself reading into the night. I look forward to reading more of this authors books in the future

Decent, ok book. Easy to read and has multiple likable characters. Plot was also pretty predictable but it was still good! Usually the husbands are always the bad guys in most bokks but not in this one finally lol. This one left me in my emotions a few times through out the book.

Thank you to Bonnie Traymore, Booksgosocial, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange with my honest opinion.

He holds out his business card, and she plucks it from his fingers without touching them. “Hope to see you around, Allie Dawson,” he says. That was over a month ago. It seemed too good to be true, but Allie told herself to ignore the nagging feeling in her gut. That was her first mistake.

When she saw Laura Foster’s email welcoming her into a cohort of grant recipients, Allie literally jumped for joy. She was headed to Silicon Valley with a chance to bring her innovative product to market. She’s deaf with a cochlear implant, and she’s developed a screen that can clip onto eyeglasses and caption speech in real time.

But she had no idea how tight the rental market would be, or how cutthroat the competition is for everything from housing to venture capital. So, after a futile search to find a short-term apartment she could afford, she rented a guest house from a chummy real estate agent who approached her at a coffee shop.

But it’s clear now that she should have trusted her instincts. Because there’s something off about her landlord. And his moody wife. And the cryptic Hungarian guy renting his master suite.

Are they after her technology? She knows what it feels like to see her life flash before her eyes, and she doesn't need that kind of stress right now.

So why is she still living there?
And has she already seen too much?

This was the first time hearing of this author, Bonnie Traymore and it really made me want to read more books that she's written. I was not aware that this book was the second in a series, but it didn't affect how much I enjoyed the story. I really loved that Allie is a representation for the deaf community and it was interesting seeing how she navigates with her hearing impairment, especially with today's technology. This story had me invested. Allie quickly finds herself involved in a host of tangled webs laced with betrayal, lies, and even murder. It is full of some twists and turns. My only complaint was that I figured out the twist at the end and I like the endings to be unpredictable. Overall it was a pretty good thriller and left me wanting to see what else this author has up her sleeves.

2.5 ⭐️

I really was enjoying this book up until the “twist.” I liked the premise of a young entrepreneur in Silicon Valley trying to make a product to benefit a community who sometimes struggles to communicate in this world. It was a unique storyline that could have been so much more.

Where this book lost me was when Allie was attacked, randomly, in another random location, for completely unknown reasons. It felt like the attack came out of left field. We had a tiny bit of foreshadowing with Barnat warning her about the potential of her technology being stolen, but otherwise, it literally came out of thin air and felt misplaced. And then to find out who was behind it… what??? And Barnat’s involvement….??? The whole thing was just completely unbelievable.

I also felt that the storyline with Laura and Peter was unnecessary. It just didn’t fit in this book at all.

This book had so much potential, but ultimately fell short for me. The “twist”/ending was rushed, unbelievable, and had way too many loose ends. That said, I generally enjoyed it up until that point and would be willing to give this author another go.

This is my first book by this author. Therefore, I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised.

Allie is new to town and trying to get a product developed. that will greatly help those who are deaf and hard of hearing. She is young and new to the competitive nature of creating new products. I liked her drive to do everything she could to get the job done.

I enjoyed the unique premise and how the D/deaf community was represented. It seemed very realistic to me.

Quite a few twists and turns in this one.

I felt connected to Allie at times, but found the other characters a little vague in their development.

This is the second book in a series. I did not read the first one. I don't think that took away from the story at all.

Thanks to netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley, Bonnie Traymore, and Pathways Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I tried so hard to get into this book...It didn't really seem like a psychological thriller but more just a long, drawn out story line.