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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
mrsmishler's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Miscarriage, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
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
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
ecn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Gore, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Child death, Violence, Vomit, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Blood, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Excrement
nporter5'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Rape
emeraldsanto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism
jkar7's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Gore, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
Minor: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Vomit
stephanieluxton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
At times, this story feels like three books in one as each storyline slowly unfolds and we try to make predictions and decipher how they're connected. The characters are interesting and it's fun trying to predict their motivations.
The setting adds a lot of atmosphere to the story, especially in the present day/winter scenes. The cold, dark, white out conditions add so much claustrophobia. There were a few scenes in which I was genuinely terrified for our main characters.
My favorite thing about this book was seeing how the different characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. It felt believable.
One of my least favourite things was the end reveal - the reveal itself was fine, but I think it would have been more impactful if the motivations of the antagonist were a little more defined.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow burn crime/thrillers and dark "whodunnits".
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury
chooper454's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer