Sitting Tenant is a perfectly fine book. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't quite this. I have no doubt people will LOVE this book, but it just wasn't for me. The story was easy to follow, but there were a lot of different threads. It almost seems like it doesn't quite know what kind of book it wants to be.

Overall, Sitting Tenant is a pleasant enough read with warm characters and a charming backdrop, but the predictability and hurried finish kept it firmly in the “just OK” category for me.

I loved this book. It kept me engaged and enticed the whole time. The flow and story were great! Thank you for the arc

There are times when I want to be really wrong about twists in a book, and when I really want to be right. I was right about a lot of the twists in this book. I don't think that makes them predictable. I think for a second book written by someone whose first novel was published at age 70, it's pretty good, and I think the writing will only get better. If you ignore the domestic thriller aspect of it and just follow Mattie's story, it's about a young woman recovering from a mental breakdown who is facing challenges that could derail her sanity and her mental health again at any moment, and you will likely find yourself rooting for her, that she makes it out okay.

I did feel that there were a few things that needed to be tightened up, like the ending. There were a few details that seemingly came out of nowhere and a couple events I found a little implausible,

Overall, I really did enjoy the book. I look forward to more books by this author.

Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read and review a digital copy of this book. All opinions, mine.

Sitting Tenant is a tense, slow-burn psychological thriller that leans heavily into atmosphere and unease. From the beginning, there’s a constant feeling that something isn’t right — and that quiet dread only intensifies as the story unfolds.

What really stood out to me was the way tension is built through everyday situations. Small moments, crossed boundaries, and subtle shifts in power create a sense of paranoia that feels disturbingly realistic. Rather than relying on shock value, this story lets suspicion and fear creep in gradually, which made it incredibly effective.

The domestic setting adds another layer of discomfort — the idea that your own home can become unsafe is what makes this book so compelling. The psychological manipulation and escalating control kept me hooked, and I found myself constantly questioning motives and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Huge thank you to Rosie Radcliffe, NetGalley, and The Book Guild for the ARC. I would highly recommend Sitting Tenant to readers who enjoy atmospheric domestic thrillers, slow-building suspense, and stories that get under your skin rather than relying on nonstop action.

This book was not at all what I expected, but I did end up enjoying it. I thought it was going to be scary: a creepy tenant in a house you inherited- tell me more about that!! It was not scary- I would say it was a mix between cozy mystery and a women's lit. That being said, our protagonist, Mattie, is a likable character, and you can't help but to root for her. She discovers herself as the book continues and is better for doing so.

The synopsis gives some stuff away but I am always reticent to share too much, so I'll just say that the sitting tenant is not what you expect. The book is really about Mattie inheriting a house from a relative she didn't know she had and rethinking her life and how she wants to spend it. She opens herself up to new relationships and new experiences and grows as a character through that process. There are some hurdles along the way- I guess you could call them twists but I feel like I pretty quickly figured them all out. It also digs a little into racism, family dynamics, and mental health along the way. The ending of the book ties up everything in a neat little bow but honestly that is exactly what I expected after reading it.

Overall, I enjoyed this but it was very unexpected, and very much not scary. If you are expecting a psychological thriller, you won't get it, but if you like to see character development and take a break from the deeper stuff, you'll enjoy it. It's a quick read and Mattie is a character worth rooting for. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book from the beginning. Rosie has a very nice way of writing that makes us feel engaged with the characters, and I could truly sense Mattie’s pain as she dealt with her mental health. There is a subtle mystery that kept me thinking on every page: what those voices really were and why she heard them. It’s a cozy mystery that you can read really fast, while still making you think about mental health, love, and the people you choose to share your life with.

Sitting tenant was the perfect mix of paranormal and mystery. Mattie was such a well developed character, at times she could be defensive but as a reader I felt she was still endearing. The plot had a nice pace, with enough family secrets and revelations to keep me hooked. Would recommend for anyone who likes a character driven haunted house story!

Not what I expected. Lots of family drama, mental health topics, supernatural( I personal would of liked more) and a house. The pacing is steady but slow. Took awhile to get into but I did finish.

I had no idea what to expect going into this book, so I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. This book is written incredibly well and it the story was so wholesome. I feel like I didn’t know how much I needed this book. I highly recommend this book!

Some houses are haunted, but not always by evil spirits.

The Sitting Tenant throws us right into the fray with Mattie as they're released from hospital and get a fresh start with a mysteriously inherited family home, a curiously eccentric late aunt to discover, family secrets to unravel and a new collection of worries to think about as the voices start again. But this time, they're different - everything is written in a way that creates this anxious irony where the reader figures things out much sooner than Mattie and we wait for them to catch up.

Mattie was honestly a delight; blunt and straightforward but funny and warm, talking to us in friendly, quick, but never rushed pace that flicked through with short chapters making it just so easily readable. Despite the excellent pacing, it was largely character-driven, with a large part of the book being about Mattie finding their footing, nightmare neighbours and CPN appointments which balances the strange voices and family skeletons creating a strange tableau of life at 47 Lodge Road.

The house itself was almost a character of itself, so vivid that it sprung to life on the page, painting colourfully perfect pictures of a truly enchanting, engrossing setting.

This was a solid 5 stars for me until around 75% when following a brilliant plot twist, the tone shifted quite a lot into a completely new vibe, a few plot devices used to explain felt a tad 'told-not-shown' in and the excitement kind of plateaued for me but I still very much enjoyed most of this book.

While we're solving old familial secrets, figure out what on earth is happening in the house and trying to remain sane, there was also some beautifully handled discussions about mental health, about the judgement and stigma even from those who claim to love you or protect you - and a moving story about chosen family and love.

This book was…bizarre? I don’t know how else to summarize it. It just seemed to bounce around various genres. First it’s paranormal with voices in the house, but also there’s romance, murder plots, and racism? It wasn’t an unenjoyable book but it never seemed to know its direction. The cover suggests much more paranormal activity but the house voice is actually really wholesome. Definitely not what I anticipated when I picked up this ARC.

A much needed new start is on the cards for Mattie, when she inherits an old house from her aunt. Mattie has always battled her mental health and is definitely misunderstood, especially by her own mother, who she rarely has contact with, due to her mother’s difficulties in understanding her struggles. Relatable!

There is a “presence” in the house, a voice in Mattie’s head, that frustrated and annoyed her, but provided much amusement to me! And there’s a very real threat to Mattie, in the shape of someone who would prefer she chose the option of selling the house.

This was a very enjoyable read, tender and raw, with a touch of mystery. Predictable in parts, but Mattie’s engaging personality was the overriding factor.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Rosie Radcliffe and The Book Guild for an ARC of this book.

we are right into things from the start. and this makes us all the more closer to Mattie and her story. we know shes been struggling and shes actually had a breakdown. now she is being discharged from a mental health facility and is in need of...something. when she finds shes inherited a house this feels like it could be a new start. but this is only the start of us and Mattie.
i loved getting to know Mattie. i wished i could scoop her up and somehow give her a spoonful of medicine to make all the mental illness go away. it such a debilitating illness for so many, and knowing there isn't no quick fix or cure you can give in a pill really makes it hard to see people you care for go through the struggle. watching Mattie's story i think was really sensitive towards what it can be like. the depressive episodes were portrayed so well within this book. and like all the touches of mental health it didn't overshadow who the characters were but neither did it make light of something so hard, so important. the stigma and thrown around comments and "thoughts" on this illness can be so frustrating. so when someone, a book, a conversation talks about it with the proper kind of importance or weight it is all the more loved in my eyes. it also didn't take away from the story.
while Mattie's has moved shes also unravelling her family history and there is lots more to come there. this adds great intrigue to the book and also supports the telling of Mattie's own journey throughout.
we have such a great group of supporting characters in this book. some we like more than others of course. but they all come in and out of Mattie's life and shapes more of her story. i really liked this for this book. it always felt to me like it should always make her the central component and it did just that all the way through.
this book was somehow really comforting and relatable. it felt sensitive and done with care. its got mystery and family and even love sprinkled in there too.
this book just felt all round good. and i mean good in the best way, as in feel good.the layers to this book all worked out to make a thoughtful and thought provoking story. some of the topics could have been really quite heavy but somehow Rosie wrote it with kindness and heartfelt moments all wrapped together.
i was rooting for Mattie the whole way through. i was glued until the end with a huge need and hope that she might be ok or that we would be left thinking that she would be...

To start, this book initially held my attention, but it hit a point where things began to move slowly. Nearly dragging in the second act into the third.

The supernatural elements were nice, but I was hoping more would’ve come from that. The family drama, was a lot. I wish there were more internal thoughts. It would’ve given me a better understanding of some of the decisions she made.

Then when it got to that ending… it felt rushed and left me with more questions.
3.5/5

Thanks for allowing an early read of this novel.

I am pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up liking this book.
Normally, when reading some with a supernatural component, I like them to be absolutely overflowing with action and excitement. The slower pace of this book did take me a while to get used to, but once I got there, it became really enjoyable. Do I wish we got a little more tension in parts and a bit more ghosts all around? Sure. I do, however, think it would shift the vibe of the book that goes against the author's goals.
I believe the "About" blurb said something along the lines of "talking about topics with a light hand," and this book did that amazingly. Talking about mental health is always tricky and that's before we get into the supernatural. I really liked how the book handled these tough topics in almost an educational light. The emergence of the supernatural wasn't the end of Mattie getting mental health and being ok with it. I do wish we got more internal dialog because I think it helped bring out the internal struggle that Mattie went through the best. There was a decent amount of dialog in this book, which was a little much for me. That goes back to the pacing and style point, so it wasn't much of a detractor.
Overall, this was a fun but deep read that I quite enjoyed.

fun, intense, and interestingly-plotted book with fantastic vibes. 5 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

Review also on my Goodreads and StoryGraph

*Big thanks to the Book Guild and NetGalley for my first ever ARC!!*

Sitting Tenant is literary fiction with supernatural elements about Mattie-a British mathematician with depression-who hears voices. After being released from the hospital she inherits her long lost aunt’s house and gets a fresh start but the voices don’t stop and soon more curious things start to happen.
The book is little slow to start, but picked up as the twists and revelations came to light near the halfway point. The big reveal at the end was a little too obvious for me and I think could have benefitted from more build-up. The ending also felt a bit rushed but overall the story was very interesting and it was well-written. The author also does a great job tackling difficult subject matter including mental health and racism.

Read if…
- you like family drama
- You want an easy read that manages to tackle difficult topics

Skip if…
- you don’t care for books with supernatural elements
- You want something that makes your heart race (there’s a mystery to it but nothing crazy)

Sitting Tenant was fine. It was OK. The characters are likable, and the setting has a fun, quirky charm that makes the world easy to slip into. I enjoyed following Mattie, especially in the moments where she starts to grow, find her voice, and gain confidence. Those were the parts of the book that felt the most grounded and satisfying. There was a nice statement on dealing with mental health issues and being allowed to treat them like any other ailment even though the world doesn’t always let us do that.

The plot, though, was predictable. I do not need big twists to enjoy a story, but if twists are included, I do not want to greet them with “Well, obviously.” Unfortunately, all of the turns in this one felt telegraphed long before they arrived. They were more like the only reasonable reason for the events of the story.

The ending also felt rushed, and the explanation for what happens in the final part pushed the limits of believability. It wrapped things up, but not in a way that felt fully earned. Someone went through all of that trouble and committed multiple felonies for that reason? OK.

Overall, Sitting Tenant is a pleasant enough read with warm characters and a charming backdrop, but the predictability and hurried finish kept it firmly in the “just OK” category for me.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The story line was fast paced and kept moving and the little bit of paranormal twist to it was good, however I wish it was played on a little more. Overall I liked the atmosphere of the story and character arcs of the story. So why the missing star? That ending kept going and going and going. It could have been shortened quite a bit for the same impact.

Rosie Radcliffe’s second novel, Sitting Tenant, is a quietly powerful tale of resilience, secrets, and the fragile hope of starting over. At its heart is Mattie, a woman seeking refuge after personal collapse, who inherits a house from an aunt she never knew. What should be a sanctuary quickly becomes a labyrinth of hidden histories and unsettling presences.

Radcliffe excels at weaving domestic detail with creeping tension. The house itself feels alive—its sitting tenant a reminder that the past is never easily evicted. As Mattie unravels the truth about her mother, her birth, and the sister erased from family memory, the novel deepens into a meditation on identity and belonging. Yet just as she begins to root herself, a sinister campaign threatens to drive her out, blurring the line between psychological fragility and external menace.

What makes the story compelling is its balance: Radcliffe writes with warmth and humanity, even as she explores betrayal and fear. The Lancashire coast setting adds a quiet melancholy, grounding the suspense in everyday textures of place and community.

This is a novel for readers who love mysteries laced with emotional depth—a story about finding strength when the past refuses to stay buried, and about claiming a home not just in bricks and mortar, but in oneself.

With thanks to Rosie Radcliffe, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

3.5⭐️
Sitting Tenant had me hooked straight away and for the majority of the book I enjoyed the story, characters and the mysteries surrounding our fmc Mattie. Towards the end however, the "unknown enemy" in the story blindsided me. With no reference any other time in the book to them being the way they are suddenly portrayed... It was a feeling of where did that come from?!, rather than a good twist in the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and The Book Guild for the arc copy for review.

3.5 rounded up

“Sitting Tenant” weaves ghosts, mystery, and mental health together in a way that feels both heartfelt and thought-provoking. It does explore some heavy themes and stigma, so I’d definitely recommend checking the content warnings before diving in. I really appreciate when a book doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, and this one handles them with care.

The writing is incredibly easy to slip into, and I found myself warming to most characters as they appeared. There’s an underlying sense of suspicion from early on, and the tension really ramps up around the 86% mark. I did guess quite a few of the twists — and some felt a little far-fetched — but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. I still had a genuinely good time reading it, even if it took a wild turn that felt a little ridiculous.

What surprised me most was the warmth that runs through the darker moments. Despite the heavier elements, the story feels cosy and hopeful, with strong themes of second chances, rebuilding your life, and finding the people who make you feel at home. A comforting yet emotionally layered read.

I really wanted this book to pack a punch and hit me with all the feels…. For some reason it didn’t :( it was well written and a lovely story of a journey. The character development was fun and I felt a lot of warmth from them but I struggled with it. I’m sorry.

Review of ‘Sitting Tenant’ by Rosie Radcliffe, due to be published on 28 November 2025 by The Book Guild.

Fresh from suffering a breakdown and learning her job contract is not going to be renewed, Mattie receives life changing news that she has inherited a house from an Aunt she didn’t know existed, relocating from York to Lytham.

Mattie connects with her neighbour, Lucas, who tells her stories about her Aunt Emilie, and urges her to contact her mother, Sofie, to find answers to the questions of her secret past. 

There are a wealth of supporting characters, who all have an important place in Mattie’s life and helping her to move forward. All are relatable, and easy to like - well with the exception of ‘those’ who want her to leave! 

Whilst Mattie is a complex character, this is a joyful, engaging and beautifully written story, with the power of love, friendship and learning to be your true self at its core.  

Well written and compelling, a definite recommended read.