Tasha Sylva's debut novel, The Guest Room, is an electrifying thriller that captivates from the first page. Tess, reeling from her sister Rosie's mysterious death, rents out her late sister’s room and finds herself unable to resist snooping through her guests' belongings. The plot thickens when she discovers the diary of her latest lodger, Arran, which starts as an innocent chronicle of infatuation but quickly turns dark and disturbing. Sylva brilliantly builds tension as Tess becomes increasingly obsessed with the diary’s contents, leading her to shadow Arran through London. The story’s twists and turns, along with its compelling exploration of obsession, make it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. The Guest Room keeps you guessing until the very end, proving Sylva a promising new voice in the genre.

I loved the idea of this book, but didn’t like the execution. It was a bit of a slow burn, but enjoyable. Well written with a character that I highly disliked (but I think that was the point). Kind of reminded me a bit of “You”.

I would definitely give this author another try. I would suggest this book as an entertaining beach read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

"The Guest Room: A Novel" by Tasha Sylva is a psychological thriller that delves deep into the complexities of grief and the human psyche. The protagonist, Tess, is a character shrouded in sorrow following the unsolved murder of her sister, Rosie. In an attempt to cope with her financial and emotional struggles, Tess rents out Rosie's old room, inadvertently setting the stage for a journey that intertwines the lives of strangers with her own.

Tasha Sylva weaves a narrative that is both haunting and compelling, as Tess's habit of snooping through her guests' belongings becomes a gateway to a darker, more obsessive world. The arrival of Arran, a mysterious and attractive lodger, marks a turning point in the story. His diary, filled with entries that oscillate between infatuation and obsession, becomes the focal point of Tess's spiraling thoughts and actions.

The novel's pacing is deliberate, mirroring the slow burn of Tess's unraveling. Sylva masterfully captures the fog of grief that envelops Tess, portraying a character whose desperation for understanding leads her down a path fraught with suspicion and surveillance. The setting of London serves as the perfect backdrop for Tess's nocturnal escapades, adding to the atmospheric tension that pervades the book.

What stands out in "The Guest Room" is Sylva's ability to maintain a sense of mysterious ambiguity throughout the story. The reader is drawn into Tess's paranoid state, feeling the "familiar creep of cold disappointment" at each dead end in the investigation of Rosie's murder. The narrative is enriched by the interspersed diary entries and anonymous texts, which add layers of complexity to the unfolding events.

The final revelation is unexpected, and the ending is both realistic and satisfying, leaving the reader to ponder the fine line between reality and perception. "The Guest Room" is a study of grief's power to distort reality and the lengths to which one will go to find closure.

Tasha Sylva's "The Guest Room" is a gripping tale that will resonate with fans of psychological thrillers and those intrigued by the human condition's darker aspects.

While reading this I wondered how many time I have looked over my shoulder to see if someone was following me. This book is literally a stalking book. It’s a fast paced (no pun intended) thriller that definitely keeps you entertained but if you read between the lines, you will figure it out before the ending. If you don’t, good because that twist was good!

All the characters had their own reasons to be disliked and trust me, you will wonder who’s watching who. Overall it was a good read but will give you that “You” creep feeling.📚

I actually very much enjoyed this book. It didn't hit the "wow" factor to make it a 5-star read for me, however. I really enjoyed the obsessive nature of grief and love in this one. I thought the idea of letting strangers rent a room in your place was absolutely unhinged but was on the edge waiting to see how it would pan out. There were some creepy twists and turns. I was hanging on suspense waiting for Tess' to go through people's belongings and seeing what she would find. Overall, it was a quick read that definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend it!

This book genuinely creeped me out and makes me so glad that I never had a roommate. What an eerie and suspensful read. I absolutely loved it!

A somewhat forgettable slow burn with no likable characters. I struggled to stay invested in this one throughout and it only picked up in the last 20%.

An enjoyable read, though the twists and turns are a little obvious and the pacing a little slow. Thank you for the advanced read and review.

This book leaves you wondering if you should ever book a temporary room rental in someone's place again. Tess rents our her sister's old room to make ends meet. Struggling with the loneliness of her sister being gone and the complicated grief over her sister's mysterious death, Tess finds herself becoming infatuated with her new renter. She creepily starts reading his journal and snooping in the room when he isn't there but how safe is she with this charming man in her home? I'm one of those readers that needs a character to root for. While I was rooting for Tess I still struggled with the creepiness of her snooping on her renters. Overall it was a solid psycholoical thriller just not my flavor. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ecopy for a honest review.

Actual Rating 2.5

Tess has to rent out a room in her house as a temporary guest room to make ends meet, but she doesn’t tend to mind as she enjoys snooping through their belongings. When a handsome man named Arran rents the room for an extended period, she discovers a journal that details his obsession with a beautiful woman. Tess finds herself obsessed with his obsession and begins to take dramatic steps to discover the truth of Arran’s crush.

This certainly was not a thriller but more of a slow burn psychological mystery. Tess was an emotional mess (and reasonably so), not handling her stress and trauma well, and the way that bled into the rest of her life was well written. She wasn’t likeable but was enjoyable to read about, though I didn’t really connect with her. The other characters were okay but weren’t anything special.

While I liked the concept of this read, it wasn’t quite what I expected. It wasn’t long into the read before the “twists” became quite apparent. Getting there was still okay, but I was disappointed that the mystery was so apparent (or maybe I just got lucky this time in guessing the truth). I also disliked the antagonist word-vomit at the end justifying all the reasons they did what they did. Villain monologues in “thrillers” don’t really work for me. There were also many instances where a suspension in logic was necessary to enjoy the read.

This wasn’t a bad read but wasn’t as memorable or interesting as I’d hoped it would be. If you’re looking for an okay slow burn psychological suspense, then you might like this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great thriller from start to finish! All the twists and turns keeps you guessing. Such a page turner!

Thank you netgalley.

A fabulous, twist-filled thriller about what the mysterious--and troubling--journal a girl finds in her AirBnB guest's room.

The premise was so fun--a girl who goes snooping in her guest's belongings, and what happens when she finds something suspicious. The meta-text snippets were so fun--the creepy anonymous POV that popped up once in a while, and the journal entries which get more and more sinister. I loved the vivid details Sylva uses to bring a setting to life, the little quirks and memories Tess has. I could see some of the twists coming, but I enjoyed the way they unfolded so much I didn't mind--I felt like a detective, trying to piece together the tiny details and references to figure out the next reveal.

If anything, I think there may have been a little *too* much stalking--both on the page (there are quite a few scenes), and also in character. SO many people stalk! It was a little much for me, but I still very much enjoyed the book, and would definitely recommend it.

So grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for this delightfully suspense story!

Tess is forced to rent out her late sister room in order to make ends meet. When she decides to let her instructive thoughts win and snoop through new roommate, Arran, belongings, things take a turn. When she finds a diary that shows Arran stalking a woman, the similarities she sees are too much to ignore. Will Tess’ snooping come back to haunt her?

This story kept me hooked and entertained. I enjoyed reading this and so glad I was approved for the ARC. Thank you!

This book was hard to get into. I liked the idea behind it and always like a thriller and trying to find out what happened. But I felt like this story was hard to get into and that it was a lot of random character run ins. The unsolved murder is a great storyline and overall concept…. The execution could have been done differently. However, I was able to finish it

Tess, a young woman who rents out her murdered sister's room, can't stop herself from digging through her unwitting tenants' belongings to learn every last detail about them. When her latest roommate's journal reveals his obsession with an unnamed woman, she convinces herself that he must be responsible for the unsolved murder. The book has some interesting twists and turns, but I found Tess extremely unlikeable.

This is a debut novel by Tasha Sylva and is a slow burn phycological ride.

We have Tess who fallen on hard times has to rent out her sister's old room. She soon gets a roommate in Aaron. And of course, Tess has a habit of snooping into her roommate's belongings and she soon finds Aaron's diary which starts a crazy obsession with him.

What follows is a fairly predictable story with Tess falling in love with Aaron via his diary and she starts to stalk him. And of course who is stalking who in this story?

I would say this is a good beach read but you probably won't remember too much of it down the road.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This was a fast paced thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seats! I highly enjoyed and will recommend to all my friends.

I bought thus book so I could read the rest of it when it expired! Which is a good indication that 75% through I wanted to know the ending.

The ending-I didn't see coming!

I would recommend this book to people who liked the show You or the books The Wife Between Us and The Paris Apartment.

Thank you for letting me read this ARC! Great, easy read. Pick it up for some perfectly plotted entertainment!

Thank you NetGalley for allowng me to receive this book for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this book based on the title. But I found this book very slow and difficult to finish.
As slow as it was I found it hard to keep track of the characters. I felt myself re-reading pages to try and figure out what was going on. I felt like I was wasting time.

If you want to give this one a try, please do but I honestly could not recommend.