Decent storyline, plot, characters...just did not enjoy the writing style. Could just be me, it was very different. Made it hard for me to enjoy more. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I wanted to like this book, but the writing was obnoxious. It felt like the author was trying so hard to be the next literary masterpiece that she forgot to tell the story. Everything was so dramatic. I only made it part way through the book but I was exhausted like I had just run a marathon. This has the potential to be a good story, if the writing wasn’t trying so hard to be ….whatever that was. I don’t even have a good name for it

Thank you for the ARC. I was not a huge fan of the book. I requested the book because of the premise. I thought reading from the three POVs (the captive, daughter, and love interest) would be interesting. Unlike any book I’ve read this far, but the book fell flat. The majority of the book was told from the captive, which is standard, but I was hoping to read more from the daughters POV. I also think it would’ve been better to get the kidnapper’s POV for backstory. Overall, just not a fan of the book.

Thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.. Unfortunately The Quiet Tenant just didn’t work for me.., The writing was off— this book has great potential and the plot is interesting, however the writing just fell flat.

The Quiet Tenant checks all the boxes for a successful psychological thriller. The characters come alive as you are introduced to each one. You know this could have happened and the feelings of each are real and totally believable. It was fast paced from the start and the pace never slowed. I loved this book snd I know it has the stuff best sellers are made of. I highly recommend it !!!

When I saw well-known bookstagrammer Abby Endler @crimebythebook recommended this debut author, I knew that I had to jump at the chance to read this thriller! Wow, was I not disappointed! Despite a sky-high to-do list, I devoured this book in 48 hours, because I literally could not put it down. We first meet Rachel in the shed. As far as she knows, she is the sole survivor of her captor and serial killer, Aidan. She follows her rules and stays quiet. She doesn't ask questions. She stays alive. When Aidan tells her that he has to move, she saves herself yet again and becomes a "family friend". But now, all the rules have changed. Can she stay alive in her new reality?

This book is a totally fresh approach in the mystery/thriller genre! All the characters were so well written that I really felt attached to all of them - and even I felt charmed a bit by Aidan at times, even knowing exactly who he was. I was desperate for someone else to learn the truth, and that desperation kept propelling me forward and forward and forward!

I wish that there was a bit more in the end...I feel like the entire book was so well-set, the characters so vibrant, and the pacing so perfect, that I was surprised at the suddenness of the ending.

This is an absolute 5 star read; only my second in 2022 - out of 60 books read!

I loved every single moment of this book except for one tiny part that would have made this the perfect book in my opinion. I loved the style, the story, the characters and even the ending shy one point.
I devoured this book and will absolutely read more from this author

SPOILERS*****


Why oh why did we not get a final POV from Cecilia??? Come on!! This is super frustrating. Emily was annoying and seemed to go from normal to stalker far too rapidly for my understanding. But that's fine. Rachel/May broke my heart a million times over and I loved the way her chapters were written,

One more thing that appealed to me was the lack of detail in the sexually violent scenes. as the reader, we know what is happening and I apprcieated not having to read it in detail.

A great read. The story felt so real, which is a terrifying thought. I loved the differing points of view and how much the author did and did not give away.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!***
We’ve all read the news stories-women abducted and then, years later, miraculously found. This story is the story of what happens in the middle, and it’s fascinating. Tense, thrilling and exciting, and at times frustrating. You really feel for this woman and want her to survive. I recommend this suspenseful read!

Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the book but it was not one of my favorites. It had a lot of potential and I look forward to seeing what else this author comes up with in the future.

That being said, I was not sure I liked the storytelling done in the second person format. It took some getting used to but I was not able to fully get into the story because of it. The story itself to me was not very high on the thriller aspect so it would be good for someone who likes books with a light thrill theme.

The story is mainly told from the captive’s view with some from the daughter and love interest of the kidnapper’s. It would have been nice to have a little more of the daughter’s view told, especially in the end. I also think having some view point from the kidnapper would have been interesting to get a background on why it started and to see how the spiraling out of control started and progressed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
So I didn’t love this one and I didn’t hate it either.
It was a little confusing and back and forth with current timeline and previous timelines. There isn’t a whole lot of backstory on the previous victims.
Then we have the current victim who is just moved from one shed to a house and suddenly introduced to people and almost escapes several times.
It wasn’t really a thriller for me. It was just weird.

A twisty tale. The writing style was something I hadn’t seen before in any book. It took a moment to adjust but ultimately it was a good book.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for letting me read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I will have 2 parts to this review, the first part spoiler free and the sedcond part full of spoilers so reader beware...

PART 1

I want to start out by saying that I was looking for a book that would get my heart racing and this book did not dissapoint. I raced to get to the end as I was sucked into the book immediately. This book follows the POV of a girl who has been kidnapped by a serial killer as well as the POV of a girl who has a crush on the serial killer and is trying to get his attention. The entire book has you screaming in your head and ready to hurl the book across the room in the most amazing way possible. I absolutely loved the characters and the complexities that come with them. Even the secondary characters were a true delightful addition to the store and necessary to the plot.

This book is an absolute must read. I have given it four stars only due to the fact that it has a very strong start and then it feels like it drags for a few chapters only to be picked up again and have you very excited. Also, I really wanted more from the ending, I feel that it has all the ingredients of a 5 star read and it was just so close. I need just a little bit more, but otherwise it was overall incredible. I loved the journey.







PART TWO SPOILERS

First off, the POV of the kidnapped woman? Chefs kiss. Immaculate. Emily was super annoying but she couldn't help it. She really liked this guy... this guy who happen to be a serial killer. The way Emily inserts herself, trying to be super flirty and cute, goodness gracious. You can tell this is a small town girl who has been sheltered her entire life. I loved it though. I loved the way Aidan was almost... like you were rooting for Emily and Aidan? But definitely not at the same time? Like when she describes his touch, you were one part revolted and screaming for her to run but also like, maybe he won't kill her? But then she breaks into his house and he HAS to kill her!! (Also shout out to Yuwanda for saving her LIFE). But like, Emily, sweetie, darling, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING GOING INTO YOUR CRUSHES HOUSE UNANNOUNCED????? I literally was so frustrated with Emily. Not smart girl.

And Cecelia? Ugh, I really wish we got her final POV at the end. Poor girl! I just want to make sure she's okay and is going to be okay! At least she has a dog? Idk, seems like she lost everyone, the least she can hold onto is her dog Rosa.

I loved the POVs of the previous women he killed. Those were fun to read because you got an even deeper inside look to this mad man's world. I really wanted more struggle at the ending. I wanted there to be a showdown. I just needed more, that would have made it 5 stars easily.

In the end, man got careless. But, shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Arc from netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt for the main character the entire time. And I liked the view points from other women in the male main characters life. The only thing that stopped this from being a 5 was the ending. I kind of wished for more from the female main character. What she did with her life, just something a little more. All in all 4 star. Highly recommend.

Thank you again to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Public Catalog for approving me to read an arc for this upcoming thriller being released on June 13, 2023! This is a psychological thriller/thriller that follows multiple perspectives and makes you feel as though YOU are the one going through all the trauma. This novel truly shows you, you never know what goes on behind closed doors. I really enjoyed the hammering of my heart when I was in suspense in the intense scenes. This was a 4 ⭐ read for me. The only thing I would say was the ending was a bit anticlimactic for me as I was hoping for something a bit more dramatic, but very realistic in a creepy keep your lights on at night kind of way. Look for trigger warnings before picking up, but this one is one for the books.

Clémence Michallon’s debut novel “A Quiet Tenant” is one of the best serial killer books I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot). There is so much about this book that I love but I’m having a hard time finding the right words.

I loved this book because of the protagonist. ‘Rachel’ was incredibly intelligent and resilient. I often find when I’m reading books or watching shows there’s a part where the killer is running after someone, and you want to scream at the TV because a character is doing something ridiculous instead. That feeling of frustration where you almost wish you could step into the novel or the TV and do something different. This book was not like that. ‘Rachel’ was so through and her plans were so well thought out that there was a sense of satisfaction in it. Her resilience was so refreshing.

This book showed Aidan through the eyes of so many people in his life; Rachel, Cecilia, Emily, and the people who lived in his town. I can easily believe that serial killers could charm and fool people, and we know they have (ex. Ted Bundy, Dexter, etc). As someone who’s watched a lot of documentaries and has an extensive psychology background, this novel was very accurate in terms of how people can portray themselves. The needs of killers sometimes require them to blend in, so by having a ‘normal life’ it really just allows them to go on killing longer. In a way that’s scarier than someone who is obvious about it. ‘Rachel’ complies to survive and Aidan complied with what society things is acceptable.

This book was amazing and honestly there isn’t much I would personally say this story can improve on. My only suggestion would be that this author keep writing! If this is her first book, I can only imagine what will come next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for the ARC of this book!

Dnf’ed at 17%. Reading this book was like watching paint dry. I’m disappointed because the premise seemed like it would be a winner but I couldn’t get past the writer’s robotic writing. The overly descriptive details drove me crazy and I did not like the second person perspective.

A woman is taken by a serial killer who moves her unexpectedly into his home with his daughter. His daughter has no idea who her father really is and neither does the poor sap from the local restaurant who fell head over heels for him.

The Quiet Tenant is available July 20, 2023.

Thank you netgalley and knopf for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, I just want to thank this author for writing such an amazing story. I was getting so frustrated reading so many mediocre books when I started this. I won't lie, it did take a little bit to really get into this, especially with the unique second person narrative. But at some point, this really, truly grabbed me and the last few pages had me unusually emotional. This is such a brutal, sad, heartbreaking story told from three different females involved in the life of a serial killer. This one is one of the few that will really stick with me for a while. Five Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC.

Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.

WOW. After b2b 5-star reads... I stumbled upon one of the most overwritten, melodramatic books I've read this year. Yes, even more melodramatic than The Last Housewife. It was so excruciatingly painful to read each sentence that I couldn't even enjoy a good ole hate reads and kikiki with some friends. Nah. Where TF was the editor??? Within 15% I had 30+ highlights and notes. That's when you know it's bad. And just so you're not like, oh this bish is being picky AGAIN, I'm going to share (some) of them with you. You're so welcome.

I really have to ask: who is this for? Apparently this is a literary thriller, but I can't see any ride or die literary fic or thriller readers bussin down with this. And it's too detailed and slow for the popcorn thriller audience. So... prisoners with no choice?? And another thing... second person pov is a BOLD choice. You're really assuming the reader is going to resonate with what you're saying. And using second person for a victim of kidnapping... even bolder. I found this annoying AF (shocker)

IGHT, let's get into it. Here are the quotes:

And he went ahead and died, because that's what chefs do—exist in a blur of heat and chaos onl to leave you to pick up the pieces. --> She's talking about her father who owned a mom and pop version of Perkins (ghetto Cracker Barrel) in a town where possums outnumber people 5:1.

"Thank you for that." Aidan Thomas looked up as if he had just noticed my presence. I wanted to catch my words, still hanging in the air between us, and swallow them back. You learn to hate the sound of your own voice at an early age, when you're a girl.. --> WTF are you even talking about!? You're thanking an adult for fixing your dad's fridge. Stop with the woe is me crap.

It was nothing, it was everything. It was basic politeness and it was endless kindness. A halo of light landing on a hidden girl, plucking her out of the shadows, allowing her to be seen. --> He literally thanked her for a drink. Right after this, she writes:

Now I watch as Aidan Thomas is frozen mid-sip, gazing at me through his glass. I am no longer the hidden girl, waiting for men to cast a light on her. I am a woman who has just walked in a halo of her own making. --> This quite literally contradicts what you just said.

He reaches over. Something shifts. A disturbance in the world, tectonic plates bumping against each other, miles below the Hudson River. --> You can't be fking serious. The last three quotes were just from ONE page btw.

Bats zoom around in your brain. --> LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Soil swarming underneath your bare feet. --> Wut???

It's here, like it's been waiting for you. A black sky and dozens of stars. You keep marching, one step after another, as you let the sky drink you in. You and the darkness. You, the bottomless ocean, and the promise of tiny icebergs speckled around. You, black ink, brought to life by glimmers of white paint. --> She's just looking up at the sky?

To your right is another door. Blank. Bland. He takes out another key, inserts it in the lock at the center of the round doorknob, and turns it. Smooth, silent. So deadly agile, even in the dark. --> This is actually another level of closed caption ass writing with a heavy dose of melodrama.

The mattress sags like it's trying to swallow you. Like you'll keep sinking and sinking until there's nothing left, no trace of you on this earth, nothing to let people know you were ever here. --> She was literally just lying on a bed.

You bring both legs up onto the mattress, extend them, lower your torso, and let your head touch the pillow. --> I'm begging you to stop.

Enough said?