This book is such an eye opening read, bone chilling and utterly spooky. I had fun reading this book and the illustrations are so beautiful. The story too is very enlightening and I recommend everyone to read this book!

A wild and beautiful graphic novel about ghosts and love and the confusion of becoming a step parent. It was haunting in the way that I want more, I need to know even more of what each of the characters were thinking, what was happening, and who the ghost truly was.

I'd like to preface this by saying that I was allowed to read this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! Thanks, NetGalley!

I've been locking forward to this one for sure, I'm a big fan of Emily Carroll's stories and artwork. This did not disappoint. A thriller of a novel with lots of twists and turns, I was never quite sure who was the villain and who was the hero. Certainly a fun read; I look forward to owning my own copy.

This book left me confused, creeped out, lost, and intrigued all at once. I'm not even sure how to describe what I just read if I'm being honest.

Abby is a very complicated and almost unreliable narrator. Her experiences at the house, with Sheila and Crystal and the husband felt almost shrouded with interpretation, like she herself didn't know the truth of these interactions.

Her monotonous life turns unsteady when the ghost of her husbands dead wife starts appearing to Abby in dreams and what appears to be real life. Crystal – abby's step daughter – also seems convinced she's seeing the past mother as well. New (and detrimental) information is revealed about Sheila's death, about the husband, and about the future Abby holds within the family.

I truly don't know how to put into words what my experience was but I finished the book wanting more. Maybe that's enough. I recommend giving it a read because I need other people to give me their thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books.

Emily Carroll's new graphic novel follows a recently married woman and her descent into her new husband, her stepdaughter, and the dead woman that plagues them. Like most of Carroll's work, the art in this is vibrant and eye catching. I always find myself drawn to their art style but like their other work, I always find the narratives just lacking. This new offering is no exception unfortunately. There's a lot about this story that just didn't work; Abby and her husband have no chemistry whatsoever and although Carroll tries to explain this away as Abby being lonely, I just found it really difficult to buy into Abby's perspective. I read this on my flight home from the U.K. and I often found myself just thumbing through pages looking at the artwork and ignoring the text because I just did not care. I read most of this on my iPad and the artwork was beautiful but man was it difficult to actually look at. It seems like other people also received blurry arcs which made me feel less bad about it.

Anyways, this is beautifully drawn but my god, Carroll's attempts at some kind of feminist horror/thriller just never works for me. I often feel like they reach too far, narratively, and it makes it difficult for any actual cohesive story to thrive. On top of that, the ending for this was a weird and nonsensical one. I've reread the whole thing multiple times and even looked at other reviews and it seems that many others had issues with the ending. If you think too hard about the ending, it's just not good and honestly, very much "baby's first creative writing class." If you are able to just turn your brain off and not think about it, the ending will probably come across as very subversive and deep. For me, this just cements Carroll as a talented artist but a deeply flawed and untrained writer.

Eery, fun, and a great follow up to Through the Woods. Reminds me of "The Yellow Wallpaper," but with murder. This book really looks into marriage and its effect on identity and what happens when one threatens to overtake the other.

I have to say I solely requested this for the artwork. I've read three books by Emily Carroll and I'm sad to say her stories aren't for me. Her artwork is incredible though. I probably would have given this 3 stars but unfortately this early copy was blurry so I couldn't fully enjoy this. I couldn't get into the story. I wasn't a fan of Abby's relationship with her husband. I felt it was very obviously no connection between them. I'm sure this is on purpose. There's more to it than that but eventually I found myself skimming and then stopped reading. I really wanted to like this so bad and I'm sad I didn't. If you're a fan of Emily Carroll, you'll definitely enjoy it.

I always have such a visceral reaction to Emily Carroll’s work. She’s incredible and I always recommend her books to anyone who likes graphic novels and spooky tales. Her illustrations and stories are such a good mix of horror, fantasy, and old fables. A Guest in the House is disturbing and gorgeous. I couldn’t put it down. It’s very reminiscent of Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier, if it had more blood and fairy tale elements. What’s not to like?

Emily Carroll has done it once again. With full double page spreads of beautiful artwork and the eye-catching style of select color throughout the story, the reader is drawn deeper into the mystery of Abby's new family. The story haunts you with questions and thoughts well after you've finished the book and makes a delightful summer time read. I'd highly recommend the story for fans of horror and especially horror graphic novels because the method in which Emily delivers the story through the dialogue and the art really is masterful.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review*

Story:
A seemingly normal graphic novel about a younger adult who married an older adult with a child...

Or... is it?

This illustrated work takes a turn for the worst as a ghost makes it's presence known, intertwining with the main character's adoration for a children's novel in twisted gore that will have you squirming in your seat.

Nothing is ever as it seems, especially in this household full of lies.


Art:
The art is impeccable. Maintaining a black and white style until the fantasy (ghost/childhood story) pulls in color.

Overall:
I heavily suggest checking this graphic novel out at least once. It's completely worth the time and truly gives a classic thriller feel.

Gorgeous, creepy, moody. Everything I happened to be looking for. Definitely worth a read and a reread.

Emily Carroll is fantastic. Great atmosphere, beautiful art that’s subtly evocative at times and visceral and unequivocal at others, and a delicate sense for how to reveal just enough of a story to really snare a reader. Enjoyed this very much and I’m looking forward to rereading!

This was so spooky. I think it would have been even better if the plot was left more mysterious in the synobsis. I loved the lead up to the events at the end. It felt eery and I love how the step mom part with the daughter was told and shown. At first I was not a fan of the black and white but then when I saw how color was used I loved it. I love how the people look like regular average people as well. How the women was a knight. The ending confused me a little. I may have to go back and read again. Felt like something may have went over my head. I enjoyed this and it would make for a great spooky read.

A Guest in the House is a retro style psychological thriller in a graphic novel format geared to an adult audience. The art is stellar, much like all of Carroll’s other works, with the knight panels to be reminiscent of 1960s pulp fiction. The story kept me interested until the very end with a twist I did not anticipate.

While I would probably not place this as readily in a curriculum, as part of a high school library, I might use excerpts to show different layout styles or artistic techniques. The interior monologue of our main character would also be useful for teaching the concept of unreliable narrator.

Thank you NetGalley and First Second Books for this ARC.

I've been a fan of Emily Carroll since I read Through the woods, so I was really excited to check out her new graphic novel. It didn't disappoint me. This is a haunting tale about a woman who doesn't know herself very well., and the consequences she and others suffer due to this lack of knowledge. Abby is lonely, insecure, fragile and believes what anyone will tell her. She gets married to a man she doesn't even really like just so she can escape loneliness. She doesn't question anything, she does nothing to try and change her life, she doesn't pursue her own happiness. Her desires are elsewhere, but she doesn't realize it. And then there's the ghost.

The relationship Abby builds with the ghost of her husband's deceased first wife is a reflection of Abby's insecure, unaware nature. And it's all downhill from there. I've seen many reviewers comment on the ending, and yes, it's very open and confusing at first. You need to go back, read some parts again and figure out for yourself what probably happened. There are no easy answers, no certainties, only interpretations. And that's what makes this graphic novel so good, in my opinion. I get why so many people dislike the ending, but after reading it a few times and reflecting, I think I like it.

Overall, I had a great time reading this. The only downside was the quality of the ebook – it's so blurry, which makes it hard to read sometimes. I'll have to grab a physical copy in the future, that's how much I enjoyed it.

I was a big fan of "Through the Woods', so it's unsurprising that I absolutely love Emily Carroll's latest effort, which centers on a woman living in a lake house with her husband (recently widowed) and stepdaughter. She presents to the world as meek and capitulating, but has a colorful and complicated inner life. She frequently daydreams about the fairytales she loved in her youth, casting herself as the brave, dragon-slaying knight-- the hero of her own story, which stands in stark contrast to the quiet, subservient life she actually leads. When the ghost of her husband's ex-wife appears to her, she begins to wonder if he's who he claims to be. The illustration is impeccable, the sparing use of color very effective. The story and characterization really pack an unsettling, stick-to-the-ribs punch. I wanted to turn this over and read it again the moment I finished it. The ending is left a little ambiguous, but I think it's more powerful for it. There's a gripping tension between reality and fantasy, between memory and presence, between interiority and the physical world. Beautifully haunting with folkloric & feminist overtones. I highly recommend.

I am a huge fan of Emily Carroll and the artwork did not fail in this latest edition. However, I think the storytelling and ambitious ending could have been clarified a bit.

The art in this was INCREDIBLE and the story was so off putting. I could not stop reading once I started it. Really fun read and I would highly recommend it to any horror lover!

Stunning artwork and an intriguing story kept me reading. However, the ending was so abrupt that I was left confused.

i’ve read “through the woods” a couple of years ago and i loved the artstyle & the storytelling, so i was extremely excited to get an arc of “a guest in the house”, but, unfortunately, this one wasn’t my cup of tea. the art style was gorgeous, but that was about it. i was constantly frustrated with the main character and i didn’t quite understand the story. and from what i’ve seen online, i’m not the only one with this problem. the ending especially, was quite confusing. the ebook was only blurry, so i couldn’t quite look at the artwork and see the tiny details. the writing was also hard to read because of that. overall, i think this needed a bit more editing.