Ever feel so confident that you know what is happening in a book only to be made to look like a fool? Do you want that experience? Let me introduce you to the Guest House.

How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

We find out just how far Jamie and Victoria will go to protect their new born baby when Victoria goes into labor while locked into a guest house in the middle of no where.

The story follows the couple from both of their points of view from two different timelines. I was so sure I knew what was going to happen almost immediately, and while I was right about a couple things. I put my guard down and was SHOCKED by the twist in this book.

We had times where characters actions were just frustrating that I actually felt frustrated.

Morgan’s writing makes you feel the emotions and frustrations the characters are going through. It kept me engaged and wanting to know more.

Thank you Poisened Pen Press & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Look for it on shelves September 13, 2022

I had so much trouble getting into this because it’s super slow at the beginning to the extent that I considered dropping it entirely. There were also this huge walls of dialogue that seemed unnecessary when I was waiting for the pace to pick up. I only started to get interested around the 40% mark, but it gets really great after then. I love a thriller with good twists and turns, and this ended up delivering despite my issues with the beginning.

ARC book provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“The Guest House” is a domestic thriller told in multiple timelines beginning a month apart. The story follows Jamie and Victoria who depart on a vacation weeks before their baby is due. Victoria selected a guesthouse in a remote area run by an older couple, Barry and Fiona. The couple are a bit odd, but seem nice enough. Victoria wakes their first morning in the guesthouse with contractions, weeks too early. She wakes Jamie and lets him know the baby is coming. As they prepare to leave, something is wrong. All of the doors and windows are locked. Barry and Fiona are missing, and their van is gone. Jamie and Victoria’s keys and cell phones have also disappeared. With no way out, the baby is on its way. Their nightmare is just beginning.

This book was a quick read that I finished in one sitting. The story moves quickly enough in the beginning, but it slows down a bit too much in the middle. I thought the momentum dropped and became bogged down in too much detail, repetitive situations, and superfluous information. I found myself speed reading through this section, losing interest along the way. The characters themselves felt a bit flat, and I didn’t feel fully engaged in their story. However, I forced myself to push through and the ending did pick up again. Despite its somewhat boring middle, the ending contained some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. The ending is what mostly earned my three-star review. The flat characters and repetitive slow middle lost the other two stars.

Overall, this book was middle-of-the-road for me. It simply wasn’t overall engaging enough for my tastes. This book might be interesting for fans of domestic thrillers, especially with the twisty ending. However, I warn readers to be prepared for the slow middle of the book before the ending really takes off.

Jamie and Victoria are looking for a remote, quiet getaway before the arrival of their miracle baby--one that doctors told them would likely never come. Before long, it becomes clear that something isn't quite right at the guest house of Fiona and Barry, and what should have been a perfect escape for Jamie and Victoria is anything but.

Heart-pounding and wildly-entertaining right off the bat, "The Guest House" is a thriller that started out very strong for me and ended up losing some of its plausibility by the end of the story. Within the first several pages, readers are plunged right into a tense, suspenseful, and fast-paced narrative that's impossible to stop reading.

As the story progresses, however, there were a few key pieces of dialogue that really lost me by not feeling plausible or by feeling like they came out of left field; the plot line held my attention right up until the end of the story, but ultimately "the twist" left me with a lot of questions and left me wanting more.

All in all, "The Guest House" is an entertaining (albeit forgettable) thriller that readers are sure to fly through in a few sittings; it makes a noble effort to offer up some complex characters and a unique twist, but for me personally, it fell just short on both accounts.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced review copy of this title*

This was an amazing read. I could not put it down. The plot was filled with twists and turns and kept me engaged until the very end. So many pieces to this strange puzzle. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. In the beginning I thought, this might be like every other mystery I've read involving a baby and a family that is trapped. Nope! Completely wrong. Did not see that twist coming. Definitely enjoyed this.

Firstly I would like to Thank netgalley and poisoned pen press for a copy of this book,and the author for a fantastic read.

This story got me hooked from the start,it was chilling,excited to find out what was going to happen next,quite a thrilling read. This book starts with Victoria and Jamie are expecting a baby,they have failed attempts at IVF.and finally she is pregnant,they go on a break before the baby arrives to a guesthouse where they meet the owners Barry and Fiona,Jamie is uncomfortable in front of Barry.But why?There is a few twists in this read.Highly recommend this Thriller.

This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and I wanted to keep reading and find out how it ended. I did like the disability representation (cerebral palsy). I just really really did not like Victoria. I have a really hard time with cheating in books which made it harder for me to enjoy this book. I also just found it hard to believe that James had zero idea of Victoria’s aunt & uncle.

Victoria and Jamie sneak away to a guest house as a last vacation before their baby is born. The guest house and the owners seem quaint…until the couple wakes up to find themselves alone and locked in. Dun dun duuuunnnn…

So, yeah, I REALLY liked this chilling little novel a lot! In a space filled with “woman goes missing” books, this one felt original and I gobbled it right up. Set to publish in September 2022, you’ll want to put it on your preorder list now.

Wow! I could not put this book down. I was hooked on the first page. I found myself wondering what I’d do in that situation. The characters play mind games throughout. The author promises twists and turns and doesn’t disappoint. About three-fourths through the book, there is a graspable reveal! . Just when you think you have solved the author throws in another twist. You will be kept glued to this book right until the last word!

Read the blurb and then jump in…this is an absorbing, aggravating crazy train of a story. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I felt absolutely sick after reading the first three chapters and realizing what was happening. The author does a great job setting the stage without giving too much away in the first few chapters. Without spoiling it, this book makes you empathize with the MCs and the nightmarish position they’re in. I felt like I was right there with them and found myself thinking about how I would have reacted in the same situation. I absolutely never saw the twist coming, but looking back, there were definitely signs. The dual POVs and shifting timelines heighten the #suspense and keep the story moving. I’d recommend this for all #thrillerreads fans.

3.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Definitely a thrill ride. Told through multiple viewpoints and dual timelines, I never knew what might happen next. A fast read with all the twists and turns that keep you reading. The final twist was really unexpected, but explained the actions of some of the characters. Highly recommended if you are looking for an original plot with twists you don't see coming.

Thanks to Net galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A truly tense and twisty thriller! Jamie and Victoria, a couple on a pre-baby last getaway weekend, face a nightmare scenario. They are in remote guest house when they wake up to find they are locked in and their phones and car keys are missing. Then Victoria goes into labor with their much-anticipated first baby. Talk about a vulnerable couple -- she is in labor, and he has cerebral palsy. The thought of having to go through labor and delivery without access to medical help is terrifying enough, but then Jamie breaks out of the house to find the owners, and things get even weirder and more horrifying. Don't want to give too much away, but this was a wild ride.

When Victoria and Jamie decide to take a small getaway trip before their baby is born, they didn’t realize that their entire world was about to change.

After arriving to the isolated guesthouse they had rented, they met with the seemingly welcoming owners Barry and Fiona. They made themselves at home and turned in early after dinner. When they woke the next morning they found that the owners had disappeared along with their phones and car keys.

Within a short time, Victoria starts to go into labor a few weeks early. Being trapped in this house with a baby on the way, they realize that something sinister is taking place. With no options and no way out, they have to do what they can to survive, even if it means losing everything.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫 / 5

I was HOOKED after the first page and I had to re-read the very last as I was SHOCKED! I love a good isolated thriller. It sets the stage for such intense senecios. This book made my heart pound and made me not be able to put it down. I highly recommend this book for a fast paced thriller! Keep you eye out for its debut in September!

The Guest House

This was a good one! It immediately got my attention. It was suspenseful with a bunch of good, surprising twists! It was a very unique plot with well developed characters. I definitely recommend this book to other readers.Thank you NetGalley and Orion Publishing for the ARC.

Ding ding ding: we have big winner!

This is so much more than I expected : a psychological, thought provoking, unconventional, argumentative, heart shattering thriller that is also mind blowing, twisty, intelligent, surprising! You easily connect with the characters, pick a side, feeling their sorrows, hearing their inner turmoils, guilt feelings, angers, resentments!

This is so far: one of my best reads of the year! Don’t you dare this book get rooted at your tremendous tbrs! Go blind, explore, burn your grey little cells to find out what happened, form theories, share them with your loved ones even though they didn’t read a page of it, encourage them to read it so they will be thankful to you forever!

I will do my best to keep things to myself for not ruining your future reading journey!

I can only summarize this plot:
A couple: Jamie ( running start up called “KnowScam”- fraud prevention company), suffering from cerebral palsy and his wife Victoria( musician, hardly finding proper gigs) decides to take a weekend off as they are expecting their baby after several failed attempts and IVF treatments later. Victoria chooses a small countryside guesthouse which is close where she grew up. They meet with older couple ex police officer and ex midwife who lost turn son in the past.

When Victoria’s contractions start earlier than they expected, they try to find a way to take her to the hospital but the couple realizes they’re locked in their guest house. Jamie cannot find his car keys and the owners of the house seem like nowhere to be seen.

Then we move forward to one month to see they returned back to their old lives and they seem like grieving their child and they also get threats via post cards, letters mentioning they’re involved into a serious crime. Both of them seem like suffering from guilt, pain. Their marriage is about to crumble into pieces.

What happened at that guest house? Did they lose their child? If they why they act like they’re hiding something terrible? Did somebody die? Did the old couple try to take their baby?

I already spilled a lot! I’m shutting my mouth! Please just read it, read it and read it! Enjoy the heart throbbing, shocking ride!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

What a delightfully twisty tale this was! Every time I thought I had it figured out, a new twist dropped. I loved how even at the very end, a twist was revealed to change my whole perspective of the story. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

From the opening words to the very last word of the story, I was captivated.

I was completely besotted with the lead character, Jamie. The author was able to convince the reader to care about him and what he was going through. The rest of the characters were well written and completely worked with the storyline of the book.

The plot of the story was ingenious, and I was unable to put the book down as the tension kept building and building to the point, I thought I was gonna explode. The author did an excellent job surprising the reader at just the right moment. I admit to several jaw opening moments, as well as the sweet satisfaction at how well the author wrapped the book up.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

A tense thriller with not just one twist… but lots of them! Robin is on to a winner with this book - it’s a little bonkers but in the best way possible. I can easily see this book being turned into a TV series.

I found the writing very engaging and the dual timelines worked really well to ramp up the tension. I didn’t like any of the characters to begin with but I warmed to Jamie as the story progressed.

Although the book wrapped everything up nicely, the epilogue left me feeling like there could be a follow up… definitely something I would read.

*small spoilers ahead*
A few things I didn’t enjoy and feel like I should mention them because it’s an advance copy: The book is a little repetitive in places (shoutout to chapter 7 “in the near distance I can see the guest house”) and the wife killed her uncle but it doesn’t really get into why?!

Thank you so much to Robin, PPP and Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.