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darlingmoira's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The only thing I did not like is the character Wiley. (Without spoilers) The way she talked to certain characters and the choices she made were just idiotic. She never thought anything through, acts mad at characters with obvious physical and mental trauma, and she leaves her son for a large period of time because he’s acting like a distant teenager. I genuinely really liked this book but she made me have to remove a star.
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Murder
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
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
karleevoelp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
As someone who truly has not read many thrillers at this point, I have not come across all the stereotypical tropes and predictable endings that I know come with most thrillers. That being said, unlike many of the reviews I've read, I did not really predict the ending as early on as it seems some people did. I actually really believed that Ethan was the culprit and that this was a very poorly written mystery (looking back now, silly), until that was obviously not a plausible case anymore. I think there was just the right amount of interjection of Randy throughout the past POV that I kind of forgot about him when I was predicting who I thought must have done it, but once it was revealed, had a bit of an aha moment. And honestly felt stupid after remembering Randy was literally in the barn on the same day Josie found Ethan's body lol.
NOW, where I have issues is the last 15-20% of the book. A) I think the presentation of the big who-dunnit mystery was a bit...lackluster...I excepted a little more. Don't ask me what that entails because I don't know but it felt not super emotional?? idk. B) I was almost laughing at how many times Wylie FAILED to make any sort of effectful impact on the man she was fighting against FOR HER LIFE. I think there had to be at least 6+ opportunities for her to hit him aside the head with the array of different tools she acquired along the way, and she failed every time lol. I saw a review say it was Michael Myers-esque where they simply just would..not...die. While the rest of the book felt fast paced and kept me entertained, toward the end I kept finding myself asking... how is this not over yet??
All in all, a good book and I would recommend reading!!
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Blood, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
leebeeloves'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Car accident, Gun violence, and Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, and Kidnapping
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
rachel_stout's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Miscarriage, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Rape, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Child death, and Grief
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
greatexpectations77'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: Blood, Gun violence, Confinement, Car accident, Child death, Bullying, Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Eating disorder, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Rape
Minor: Vomit, Torture, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Abortion