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kacieo33'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
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Murder
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
ladyinverse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Child abuse
kt2e56's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
The ending also felt a bit rushed but the plot itself does make up for that. It’s certainly entertaining.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Car accident, Confinement, Murder, Sexual assault, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit, Cursing, Alcoholism, Excrement, Medical trauma, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Stalking
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
icieri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
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
christyjoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
1. They escape the basement and run right back in.
2. He bolts the door, but wait 'there's a window'....hello? a window the whole time they could escape from?
3. She gets a gun and won't shoot her captor but shoots around him like a dumb-ass.
4. Drama but finally her own kid shoots her father in the head because 'he just won't die'
I hope these books get better for this year, because this one was underwhelming.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Torture, Rape, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Murder