🎧THE HOUSE GUEST by Hank Phillipi Ryan

🕵🏻 In every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.

👩🏻‍💻 I enjoyed the audio version of The House Guest from NetGalley. Throughout reading, I questioned the motives and the truth of every single character. While some of my suspicions were on the right path, I wasn't able to fully guess each twist and turn and enjoyed being surprised at the end.

My biggest takeaways were that female friendships are complicated, as are marriages, but when the real ride or die show up, you pay attention. There was a lot in the theme of loyalty in the pages and done in a beautifully written and engaging way. This book managed to keep my attention, especially as I've been through a big slump for a while, and the author created a tangible atmosphere in every scene that made me feel like I was in the room with the characters as all of the drama and mystery unfolded.

Fans of Liv Constantine or Kimberly McCreight will enjoy this book about rich people doing bad things.

You can pre-order THE HOUSE GUEST wherever you buy books - Pub Day is February 7th!

Thank you to MacMillan for a copy of THE HOUSE GUEST on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. Alyssa is going through a divorce and starts to get paranoid that her husband is entering her house and moving things around trying to scare her and it is all kind of out there. One day while sitting in a lounge having a drink she meets up with another woman trying to get out of a relationship and she befriends her. Not only that but she invites her to come stay with her in her guest house. It only gets stranger from here and then the next thing you know the FBI is knocking at her door asking questions about her husband's business. Who do you trust? the FBI? the husband? or the complete stranger living in your house? From the start I did not connect with the main character as I felt she was not too bright and as the story went on I just kept getting more angry with how stupid she was about telling these 2 perfect strangers all about the confidential matters in her life and her marriage. Who does that right? As the story went on and the unbelievable stuff kept happening, I was fully prepared to give this book a 1 or 2 star rating. Well then all of a sudden things changed and the interesting part of the story started to unfold. Now we are talking, I liked how the characters were explained and how it all came together but after going through the long tedious struggle at the beginning and no connection, the highest I could possibly rate this book and still live with my rating is a 3 star!!!! Enjoy!!!!!

This book took forever to get into anything good. Alyssa also annoyed me. She was so beyond naive and couldn’t see that she shouldn’t trust ANYONE. I know it is kind of the point to prey on the vulnerable, but wow it was frustrating.

The good parts however, were when it started to pick up. The “bad guy” was clear, however it still had build up as Alyssa learned more and more of the truth.

This was an ok listen for me, as I had the audiobook.

The narrator was great! She wasn’t monotoned and was entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I've been wanting to read more psychological thrillers and I'm so glad I picked this one! This is my first book my this author and I can't wait to read more. I was sucked in by the end of the first chapter and binged this book in one session. While the plot did have a somewhat slow build up, there were twists upon twists that continued to hold my attention captive. As the end of the book neared I was sure I had figured everything out, but all of my guesses were completely wrong. I really enjoyed the final twist that brought this book to a close.

This book had such an amazing twist I never saw coming! I will definitely be looking into more by this author, it's great writing and keeps your attention until the end!

What a delightful surprise! I've never read from this author before, so I didn't know what to expect, but this was a great thriller. Great premise, lots of twists, lies all around. The audiobook narrator was fantastic.

Perhaps, it is never a good idea to invite a person, (any person) who you met at a bar, back into your house. However, Alyssa Macallan is at her wit's end. She's terrified that her uber wealthy husband is going to divorce her and he is out for revenge. Revenge for him seems to be leaving her without money and set adrift in the world of the poor.

As she meets Bree Lorrance and they hit it off, over drinks, she invites Bree to live in her guesthouse, and then things get interesting. Of course if you have seen the movie Strangers On The Train, you will get the drift of this book. However, there are so many twists that one becomes enmeshed in the story as the author keeps the reader guessing and wondering what is going on.

The clues are there, but the story is riveting so perhaps one would miss the elements that brought this book to its ending.

I very much enjoyed this thriller. It was intelligent and well written with a definite flair for the unexpected. Who really are the bad guys and what can be behind their somewhat evil plans? If you love being in the dark until the final days of this story, this is the book for you.

Many thanks to Hank Phillippi Ryan, Stephanie Willing, the narrator, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for a copy of this intriguing book.

Living alone in a large house after her husband moves out and asks for a divorce, Alyssa is friendless and lonely. Her only companion her fake guard dog until one evening she goes into a bar and meets a woman that seems even more down on her luck. The next couple of weeks are full of paranoia, fear, and confusion. And at what seems like the end of it all, her husband shows up telling her she has passed a loyalty test and he wants her back. Lies abound in this twisty novel.

The book is a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse with plenty of twists and turns. Just when you think you have it all figured out, the author does an awesome job pulling the rug from under you. The only problem I had with it is that I felt that it dragged on for quite a while. And the MC's naïveté drove me crazy. The audiobook narrator, Stephanie Willing, did a fantastic job narrating both the male and female characters. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Alyssa’s world has come crashing down when her wealthy husband Bill leaves her. To make matters worse, he appears to be harassing her as well. When the FBI shows up at her door, she has never felt more alone. So when she finds herself in a bar and meets a young woman named Bree, she invites her to stay in her guest house and the two quickly become friends. But just who is this woman? And how she will play a role in Alyssa’s life?

Well, this was certainly entertaining! The synopsis described it as a “cat and mouse game” and I certainly found that to be true. In fact, I had no idea who was the cat and who was the mouse for most of the book. All the characters seemed like they could be hiding something and I loved finding out how their stories fit together. I found Alyssa and Bree’s friendship strangely endearing too. But my most revelries character was the dog 😊

Thank you to Hank Philippe Ryan, Netgalley, Forge books and MacMillan Audio for the ARC and ALC! “The House Guest” is releasing February 7th.

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly 😊

Loved this! For most of the book I thought I knew how it would play out. I was for SURE that I knew the outcome because it was following the typical pattern of this style of book but sure enough it surprised me, TWICE! Just when you thought the big reveal happened it gave me another one! And even better, the ending was great. 10/10 recommend

This is a story of 2 women, Alyssa and Bree. They meet in a bar when they are both having a rough time of things. Alyssa takes pity on Bree and invites her to come stay in her guest house until she gets back on her feet. She is happy to help and could use the company after her husband left her, a move that she did not see coming. But both women have their secrets.

There is so much going on with this book… friendship, trust, love, money, lies, deceit, betrayal, and so much more. Thriller lovers will devour this one like I did.

I loved this cat and mouse thriller!

This book had major Desperate Housewives vibes and I'm here for it. Alyssa is newly divorced from her husband who betrayed her time and time again and keeps all their friends in the process, manipulating the situation to his favor. She desperately needs a friend and just so happens to meet one at a bar. Bree seems too good to be true.

So is she?

Bree is running from a man's secret threats and Alyssa is thrilled to help her out to escape her own problems. She invites Bree to stay in her guesthouse. An FBI agents shows up at her door and not Alyssa is determined to find out what the truth really is.

This twisty thriller had me from start to finish. Loved!

Thank you NetGalley and Forge Books for the advanced read copy!

Overall, I give this 4/5 stars!

Alyssa has the perfect life: money, a handsome well-to-do husband, home, country club, and all she could desire monetarily. Suddenly she is kicked to the curb by her powerful husband, Bill. One evening, she makes an unlikely friend while out drinking in a bar. Her new friend Bree feels a connection with Alyssa, but Bree has issues of her own. One drink leads to another and before you know it, Alyssa has extended an invite for Bree to stay in her guest house. Friendship is formed and the two become inseparable. Then, suddenly the FBI arrive in search of Alyssa's husband. What has her husband gotten himself into? What is going on? Is she connected to the crime? Who can be trusted?

The book is a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse with plenty of twists and turns to puzzle your mind. The beginning of the story was mildly entertaining as the stage is set and characters are developed. However, the story seemed to drag on and go in circles for the majority of the beginning of the book. All the excitement hit at around 75%-80% and the ending was a rollercoaster ride of drama, intrigue, and mystery. The audio book was well read and overall, it was a nice escape book which I would rate 3.3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan audio for the copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Great book! It had all the intrigue, drama and suspense I had hoped for. The cat and mouse storyline kept me guessing and provided some twists and turns until the end. A great plot!

Stephanie Willing did a fantastic job narrating both mail and female characters. Her energy definitely kept me interested.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

I am a huge Phillipi Ryan fan....I watched her deliver the news in Atlanta as well as Boston, and I like her books....usually. But this one was a bust for me.

Alyssa is separated from her husband, and tentatively living in the lap of luxury. She is befriended by Bree who supposedly comes into a lot of money, and tries to convince Alyssa to investigate the alleged ponzi scheme that her husband is involved in. Enter Dez, Bree's "friend" - to help them.

The story is very predictable and contrived -- there's really no element of suspense. I was disappointed in the ending, which although not exactly what I'd foreseen, was still not satisfying. The characters are not very well developed and there is no real action other than driving around Massachusetts (and sometimes incorrect as to locations and geography...for example, there is no route 128 on the Cape).

Hopefully this is a one-off. I was disappointed!

The House Guest had a god narrator but I didn’t really care for the story. It dragged on and on. Most of was so unbelievable that I almost didn’t finish but this is an author I usually enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hank Phillippi Ryan and publishers for an ARC.

This book was a struggle for me. Alyssa's wealthy husband has left her and she doesn't know why. They aren't communicating except through lawyers, so while drinking away her sorrows one night at a bar, she meets Bree, another lonely woman going through her own relationship struggles. Alyssa invites her to stay in her guest house. Wait, what? Who invites a stranger into their house immediately after meeting them?

The book continually had me questioning Alyssa's common sense from there, and I just couldn't relate to her naivety. The last 15% had me thinking that maybe it was about to get to the good stuff, but even with the twisty ending, I was disappointed. I may be too much of a realist for this plot. I did enjoy the narrator though, her change in male and female voices was really good.

Oooo this book was so twisty twisty!!
Constantly bouncing back and forth on who to trust and who to think of as suspicious!

Alyssa’s husband randomly left her and now she is devastated. One night, she goes to a bar and hits it off with a younger, down-on-her-luck woman, Bree, whom she invites into her home. They become friends and begin to do everything together. Then the FBI tries to get her involved in catching her husband doing sketchy things…

This book shocked me & I finished the entire thing without stopping. I highly suggest you check this out if you’re into books that keep you on your toes.

Kudos to Hank Phillippi Ryan for keeping me on the edge of my seat having no idea who to trust and just who the bad guy was!

I usually have an idea from clues given throughout a book just who the bad guy is but this book had me jumping back and forth and all around and I was wrong all the way. Ryan had me scratching my head throughout most of this book as to whom Alyssa could believe and trust. One thing I did think was that her husband, who was unspeakably mean and abusive to Alyssa, was not someone she could trust. Was I wrong? You'll find out when you read this engrossing thriller.

Narration by Stephanie Willing was excellent with intonations, voice changes, and chapter announcements. It made following the roller coaster ride easy and helped me experience the fear, anger, and frustration that often comes with a good thriller.

My thanks to #NetGalley, @MacmillanAudio, and the author for the enjoyment of listening to this ARC. This opinion is my own.