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lostcupofstars's review
5.0
This was PERFECTLY paced. I couldn’t put it down.
It would have been nice to have a little less of an open ending, but I’m not mad at it. It’s given me tons to think about.
Also the translation was so clean, I wouldn’t have known it was translated if it hadn’t said.
Content warning -cat murder
It would have been nice to have a little less of an open ending, but I’m not mad at it. It’s given me tons to think about.
Also the translation was so clean, I wouldn’t have known it was translated if it hadn’t said.
Content warning -
rachel_reads_7's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
trop_de_livres's review
4.0
Wow, what did I just read?
The Night Guest is an Icelandic horror novella by Hildur Knútsdóttir.
Iðunn, a woman living in Reykjavik, is exhausted, waking up every morning with new bruises on her body. She just wants to get to the bottom of what is causing her medical problems.
Told in first person present tense, this is a very propulsive story with short sentences, short chapters, and a unique main character with a sarcastic sense of humor. The increasing sense of horror and creepy dread kept me turning pages at a fast pace. However, those seeking likeable characters and tidy endings will have to look elsewhere.
I’m assuming the translation was excellent, because I would never have guessed it was translated from Icelandic.
This would be a great pick for a book club. (Check out content warnings!)
Thanks NetGalley and Tor for letting me read this in exchange for an honest opinion.
kindaspooky_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
5.0
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞.
This book was executed so uniquely + these day by day chapters- ranging from 2 pages to 1 sentence a chapter, was everything for me!
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
𝓢𝔂𝓷𝓸𝓹𝓼𝓲𝓼:
𝘐ð𝘶𝘯𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦.
𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐ð𝘶𝘯𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 40,000 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 . . .
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳?
→ 𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.
It’s like you’re blacking out with the character (𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!) leaving you wondering wtf is happening.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐫.
Thank you so much @tornightfire and @hildurknutsdottir for this advanced copy!
For sure my favorite read of the month of May!
This book was executed so uniquely + these day by day chapters- ranging from 2 pages to 1 sentence a chapter, was everything for me!
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
𝓢𝔂𝓷𝓸𝓹𝓼𝓲𝓼:
𝘐ð𝘶𝘯𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦.
𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐ð𝘶𝘯𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 40,000 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 . . .
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳?
→ 𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.
It’s like you’re blacking out with the character (𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!) leaving you wondering wtf is happening.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐫.
Thank you so much @tornightfire and @hildurknutsdottir for this advanced copy!
For sure my favorite read of the month of May!
mailei's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an absolutely wild time, but I guess that means the author did a lovely job of painting a horrifying picture!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
tangiblereads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I received The Night Guest as a #netgalleyarc and enjoyed it. The frivolous pink cover seems almost like a joke when you read the book. The layout with extremely short chapters, including one with one sentence, seemed like a space filler. I didn't like that. And the story itself ends at 90% which I don't like either. Although the ending is odd and the main character could have made better decisions to help herself, the story was somewhat predictable and I was entertained. It was eerie, kinda creepy, raunchy at times, and fun. Definitely unique. I especially liked the commentary about how female concerns are never taken seriously and females are expected to make others comfortable. I can relate.
mel_c_bell's review
5.0
An absolute masterpiece of feminine rage 🤌🏼 ! Or maybe feminine frustration is a better description.
I read this in about two hours. I could not put it down.
What do you do when you can't even trust yourself? Self-medicate, exercise, be impulsive, work harder... 🤷🏻♀️
There is so much story packed into this little novella; many of the chapters are only one sentence, but the impact is strong. I enjoyed the writing style and how the narration barely starts to bleed with stream-of-consciousness in parts. You feel like you are spiraling with the MC for a few pages and then settling again. It's a real rollercoaster.
Side note: I was so invested in the neighborhood cats.
I read this in about two hours. I could not put it down.
What do you do when you can't even trust yourself? Self-medicate, exercise, be impulsive, work harder... 🤷🏻♀️
There is so much story packed into this little novella; many of the chapters are only one sentence, but the impact is strong. I enjoyed the writing style and how the narration barely starts to bleed with stream-of-consciousness in parts. You feel like you are spiraling with the MC for a few pages and then settling again. It's a real rollercoaster.
Side note: I was so invested in the neighborhood cats.
isaiahh's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The Night Guest was a wild ride of a book! It's short, but it definitely packs a punch.
We follow Iðunn as she wakes up everyday exhausted, no matter what she tries (exercising, eating more, taking vitamins or sleeping pills,...). There's seemingly nothing wrong with her, but after she buys a smart watch and realises she walked 40,000 steps during the night, everything goes downhill. She wakes up sore and with bruises, or with her fingernails ruined and bloody; and she is desperate to understand what is happening to her.
Keeping a brisk pace and told through an unreliable and somewhat detached voice, this is almost a perfect short horror book. I personally thought it suffered from being a tad too short (though I had no problem with the one line chapters-they built the tension wonderfully), I would have liked some more character development; and the ending did nothing for me. I like open endings, but only to a certain point, and this one was past it.
All in all, though, a great quick read if you want some good psychological horror!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of The Night Guest in exchange for a review.
We follow Iðunn as she wakes up everyday exhausted, no matter what she tries (exercising, eating more, taking vitamins or sleeping pills,...). There's seemingly nothing wrong with her, but after she buys a smart watch and realises she walked 40,000 steps during the night, everything goes downhill. She wakes up sore and with bruises, or with her fingernails ruined and bloody; and she is desperate to understand what is happening to her.
Keeping a brisk pace and told through an unreliable and somewhat detached voice, this is almost a perfect short horror book. I personally thought it suffered from being a tad too short (though I had no problem with the one line chapters-they built the tension wonderfully), I would have liked some more character development; and the ending did nothing for me. I like open endings, but only to a certain point, and this one was past it.
All in all, though, a great quick read if you want some good psychological horror!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of The Night Guest in exchange for a review.
morguebooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0