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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Pregnancy, Rape, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Emotional abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
irenemarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism
Minor: Terminal illness, Rape, and Vomit
mkfaucher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Car accident, Miscarriage, Rape, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
aas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual violence, Gore, Abandonment, Murder, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Rape
brielowrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Abortion, Child death, Death, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.25
“Homes were supposed to be safe havens, meant to protect. It was supposed to be a shelter from the elements, a fortress to keep out evil, and her home had betrayed Josie in the worst possible way.”
WARNING: another unpopular opinion review!
My first two experiences with this author were excellent, so I fully expected to have a great time reading The Overnight Guest as well. The premise has everything I love in a thriller: a bookish angle, a remote setting, a bout of bad weather to further isolate the main character... But in the end there was something about the execution of the plot that didn't hit the mark for me. Is it just a case of wrong expectations and not being in the mood for the story that was presented instead? Maybe. But the fact is that somehow this story just didn't work as well for me personally. This has a lot to do with the structure of the plot. The Overnight Guest is divided into three storylines, and only the present POV is the one as described in the blurb. Then there is a flashback POV to 2000 where we see the events surrounding the crime that took place in the house featured in the present POV... And last but not least, a POV that has serious Room vibes following a young girl and her mother locked up and being abused. Especially the third POV kind of came out of nowhere for me, and it wasn't a POV I particularly liked even though it was well written. Reading about active (child)abuse just wasn't what I had signed up for when I started this story...
The pace in general was also a lot slower than expected, but I think this has a lot to do with the constant POV switches. These switches were way too frequent in my opinion, and the story would have benefitted considerably from staying with one storyline more than a couple of pages. And while part of me can appreciate how everything was woven together in the end, it also ment having to accept way too many coincidences and it just wasn't credible anymore. I did love the ominous atmosphere of the present POV, and the storm is very well done. I think my reaction to The Overnight Guest is the result of overcomplicating the plot, and as a result it all felt a bit disjointed during most of the story. And while I can understand the third POV featuring the girl being included, I would have enjoyed this story SO much better without it. In short: interesting start, WAY too many POV switches, undesirable POV and over the top conclusion with way too many coincidences. Not the story for me, but most people do seem to enjoy it better so it might just have been my fickle reading mood acting up again.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Vomit, Miscarriage, Stalking, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
carmluvs2read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Confinement and Child abuse
marytreybig's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Kidnapping, Confinement, and Sexual assault
kaitcope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Confinement
gknott's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Rape, and Vomit