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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Grace and Charles are on the way of their dream honeymoon but destiny got different plans. Due to the weather, they had to stay in Saltwater. All the guest houses are booked so they have to stay at Anchorage, which is not what Grace had in her mind, she is more than unhappy but Charles is reliving his childhood/teenage visits here. Anchorage is not what it seems, the hosts are also hiding something.
First of all Why it is named The Guest Book? There was just a tiny part of the guest book. I struggled in connecting with everything. Grace and Charles as a married couple didn't make sense to me. I didn't find any chemistry between them except what the author was telling. Charles as an individual character is so shady and unlikeable. Grace was a bit sane but I am done with mystery books using characters who are drunk or facing PTSD or other disorders for the sake of developing the whole story. It is the same pattern in almost all of the books.
I found the pace too slow and writing wasn't my cup of tea too. It is that kind of book which was too hard. I liked the final twist and it is the only thing I enjoyed.
First of all Why it is named The Guest Book? There was just a tiny part of the guest book. I struggled in connecting with everything. Grace and Charles as a married couple didn't make sense to me. I didn't find any chemistry between them except what the author was telling. Charles as an individual character is so shady and unlikeable. Grace was a bit sane but I am done with mystery books using characters who are drunk or facing PTSD or other disorders for the sake of developing the whole story. It is the same pattern in almost all of the books.
I found the pace too slow and writing wasn't my cup of tea too. It is that kind of book which was too hard. I liked the final twist and it is the only thing I enjoyed.
4.58 Stars
Thank you, Random House UK Vintage, CL. Pattison and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of “The Guest Book” in exchange for an honest review.
In The Guest Book, we follow three narrators as they share with us how Saltwater and a cozy little guest house, The Anchorage, impacted their lives.
Two of the narrators are Grace and Charles, newlyweds who find themselves at this quaint little town due to a storm. As fate would have it, Charles had vacationed there with his family in his teens and convinces his wife to stay at the same B&B he visited many summers. For Charles, this is a nostalgic stay. For Grace, however, it soon turns into a nightmare as she starts to hear children crying in the night, footsteps in empty hallways and sea chanties in the dead of night.
This book had me on the edge of my seat, flirting with the supernatural. The characters were so well developed, you could feel the emotions Grace was going through and every second you asked yourself if any of the narrators were reliable.
I loved the use of the third narrator, who was a mystery but told a very eerie story of an accident that happened to them in an undetermined timeline. The author uses “Grace” and “Charles” as headings for the chapters they narrate and no names, for the other chapters. This was an incredible way to build suspense and invite the reader to figure out what is going on and who could that person be
Another thing I really enjoyed was being transported to the seashore Cornish town of Saltwater. The whole atmosphere was well constructed and I felt like I was there – even more so, I want to go there! The eerie vibe of The Anchorage was also masterfully built.
I really enjoyed the plot twists, how the author played fair with her clues and how much she made me care for Grace. The was a visceral scene in the book that brought me to tears, in a good way.
I highly recommend this book and have marked May 27th on my calendar to get my hands on a physical copy.
#theguestbook #Netgalley
Thank you, Random House UK Vintage, CL. Pattison and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of “The Guest Book” in exchange for an honest review.
In The Guest Book, we follow three narrators as they share with us how Saltwater and a cozy little guest house, The Anchorage, impacted their lives.
Two of the narrators are Grace and Charles, newlyweds who find themselves at this quaint little town due to a storm. As fate would have it, Charles had vacationed there with his family in his teens and convinces his wife to stay at the same B&B he visited many summers. For Charles, this is a nostalgic stay. For Grace, however, it soon turns into a nightmare as she starts to hear children crying in the night, footsteps in empty hallways and sea chanties in the dead of night.
This book had me on the edge of my seat, flirting with the supernatural. The characters were so well developed, you could feel the emotions Grace was going through and every second you asked yourself if any of the narrators were reliable.
I loved the use of the third narrator, who was a mystery but told a very eerie story of an accident that happened to them in an undetermined timeline. The author uses “Grace” and “Charles” as headings for the chapters they narrate and no names, for the other chapters. This was an incredible way to build suspense and invite the reader to figure out what is going on and who could that person be
Another thing I really enjoyed was being transported to the seashore Cornish town of Saltwater. The whole atmosphere was well constructed and I felt like I was there – even more so, I want to go there! The eerie vibe of The Anchorage was also masterfully built.
I really enjoyed the plot twists, how the author played fair with her clues and how much she made me care for Grace. The was a visceral scene in the book that brought me to tears, in a good way.
I highly recommend this book and have marked May 27th on my calendar to get my hands on a physical copy.
#theguestbook #Netgalley
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
When newlyweds, Charles and Grace, are travelling by train towards St Ives for their honeymoon, their train is delayed by a terrible storm which brings down a tree upon the trainlines. They and the rest of the passengers have to stay the night in Saltwater, the nearest small town, but by the time Charles and Grace get to the town there is only one guesthouse with any vacancies. They thankfully check into the imposing house, but Grace is kept awake by the sound of child crying in one of the other rooms but the next morning they discover they are the only guests. As their stay in Saltwater is indefinitely extended by the bad weather, other strange things to happen and Grace finds a message in the guest book: Leave now. Do not trust them.
This was a gripping read for the most part. There are chapters told from both Grace and Charles's point of view and we learn that they are both hiding things from each other. The author manages to evoke a sense of isolation and almost suffocating oppression around Saltwater: they hardly see any of the other train passengers, the townspeople are reluctant to talk to them about the guest house, and the weather with the mist and fog cuts them off from the outside world. I think it all worked very well and it was well worth reading. I recommend this to anyone who likes slow-burning psychological thrillers.
Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Random House UK/Vintage, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
This was a gripping read for the most part. There are chapters told from both Grace and Charles's point of view and we learn that they are both hiding things from each other. The author manages to evoke a sense of isolation and almost suffocating oppression around Saltwater: they hardly see any of the other train passengers, the townspeople are reluctant to talk to them about the guest house, and the weather with the mist and fog cuts them off from the outside world. I think it all worked very well and it was well worth reading. I recommend this to anyone who likes slow-burning psychological thrillers.
Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Random House UK/Vintage, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.