Wow! What a GREAT debut. THE GUEST ROOM by Tasha Sylva is one heck of a ride!
When Tess’s sister, Rosie, is killed in London, she moves to her flat, gets a job where she worked and walks the streets at night hoping she will be attacked like Rosie was, although I’m not sure if she planned to fight back or wanted to meet the same fate. She harasses her sister’s ex-boyfriend at first, convinced he beat her sister which lead to her death. After being warned off by the police, she moves on to other suspects.
When she needs to supplement her income by renting out a room to pay the house bill each month she decides it will be easier to take in a long-term (4 weeks) guest than just a few days at a time (less cleaning). Enter Arran, an artist who makes pottery. Tess enjoys snooping in her guest’s things and comes across a notebook which leads her to stalk Arran around London while he seemingly stalks another woman. As she digs deeper into the notebook she becomes convinced that Arran is the one who hurt her sister.
This book was fun as far as seeing how all of the neighbors interact with each other and the small community they’ve built. Tess put herself in positions of gaining information from others that I wouldn’t be brave enough to do. But Ms. Sylva is perfect at presenting the opportunities and Tess walking right into them. It was fun to watch.
I’m surprised that this is a debut novel. It will be interesting to see where Ms. Sylva takes me next. Definitely an author to watch. Great job!
Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt publishers for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and I’m leaving them voluntarily.

THE GUEST ROOM wasn’t for me. There was too much going on and I was confused by the main narrative, the diary, and then a third point of view?

The story could have been good, but there were too many red herrings and A LOT of unnecessary detail that went nowhere. I was interested to learn more about the main character, Tess, and her quest to learn how her beloved sister died. But this was convoluted by a whole lot of stalking (by several different characters) and Tess was simply unlikeable.

I had a hard time finishing this one, but I wanted to see if it had some sort of big twist that would bring it all together. Unfortunately, the end didn’t save the book.

I think THE GUEST ROOM had a lot of potential and the premise is good, but it missed the mark for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt & Co. for the ARC and the opportunity to give my honest feedback.

I held off on writing my review for a few days after completing this book. I wanted to sit with the story and really contemplate my feelings toward the story and its characters. After much contemplation, I don't think "The Guest Room" was the book for me. Tess and her complicated emotions toward her sister's untimely (and unresolved) death, are the center of this novel. While Tess struggles to find her sister's killer, she welcomes a new tenant, Arran, into her home.

The introduction of Arran is where the other central theme of the book comes in - stalking. I am not sure if stalking can be really considered a "theme" but it is the driving force behind this book. Tess, stalking Arran (through an obsessive consumption of his hidden diary), but also stalking her sister's ex-boyfriend, blaming him for her death. Without betraying the plot of the story, we witness various characters stalking each other, propelled forward by convoluted motivations. By the end of the story, Sylva ties up the the novel in a neat little bow, and the actions of characters are pretty well-defined.

As a debut novel, I can see the potential for Tasha Sylva's future writings. However, I think "The Guest Room" suffered from a lack of direction and was in need of cleaner editing.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Tasha Sylva for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A creepy London-based psychodrama in which characters are more than a little disturbed. Tess has taken to renting out her murdered sister's room (murder was never solved) on Airbnb. She also has a bad habit of rummaging through their things. Snooping is Tess's favorite hobby and she does it with relish. When Arran wants to let the room for a month until he finds more permanent lodgings, Tess goes through his things with gusto. And discovers while going through his diary, that Arran may be a little but of an obsessive stalker. But he's handsome and affable and we all have bad habits, right? After continuing to read Arran's diary, Tess discovers that his latest obsession may be her best friend, Nalika. And maybe Tess is a bit jealous about that. Or more than a bit...

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for this e-arc.*

Tess's sister was murdered and it remains unsolved. She has moved into her sister's home to ensure that the police put the required time and energy her sister deserves. In order to afford living in town Tess has been renting a room via airbnb. Tess is highly anxious and grieving. She can't stop herself from snooping through her guest's things. This habit is fairly innocuous until the good looking Arran moves in for a month. Tess discovers Arran's diary and his entries seem to refer to someone she knows. What secrets is he hiding.
This is a great mystery - very well paced and hard to solve. I enjoyed every minute of it and you will too!
#HenryHolt #TheGuestRoom #TashSylva

Thank you Net Gallery abs Author for this ARC!

Started off slow for me. Nice mystery read. There was quite of bit of repetition but other than that not bad. . Not bad for a first novel! I liked the ending. Thanks again

This was a trippy read. A woman mourning her sister’s unsolved death all while being disconnected from her parents and friends. Add in snooping through her guests’ things when they rent her spare room and disaster is bound to happen. A good debut for sure.

This was an incredibly slow burn and contained many unnecessary details. I just didn’t mesh well with the authors style. I do see a lot of potential, and wouldn’t mind picking up her next novel, but this one was not for me.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this debut novel as it's so much more than figuring out who the killer is! Tess still mourns the death of sister, Rosie and is rabid about finding her killer. But when newcomer, Arran moves into the guest room of her quaint B&B, she feels something akin to happiness for the first time in a long spell of grief. He's handsome and kind and often cooks for her; but when he's gone she discovers his diary with disturbing rants about a "you" she isn't sure about. Clearly it's a young woman he believes he loves and it stalking...so Tess becomes his stalker! Lots of tension, action-packed scenes of both good and evil. Could't put this one down!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a slow burn. There were a lot of details that could have been left out and bit repetitive. Not bad for a first novel! Enjoyed the ending!

After her sister’s death, Tess finds herself renting out her room as a bnb. However, she cannot stop snooping through her guests’ belongings. Her latest guest has a mysterious diary. But is he watching her too?

This book just jumped in and I think it could’ve been arranged better. I also was missing the suspense early on.

The book started off ok for me but at some point I found myself losing interest. This ended up being a DNF. The characters were boring and I kept waiting for the shock value that never came.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher fir this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Solid mystery with themes of secrecy, grief, and guilt as well as suspense through a tenant's obsessive stalking. Recommended for lovers of domestic mystery/suspense, and stories about sisters. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Tess is grieving for her sister Rosie who was murdered and her killer is yet to be found. She’s financially strapped so she now rents Rosie’s bedroom out to short term guests. Since her sister’s death she partakes in risky behaviors. One of those risks is she likes to snoop through her tenants things when they are out. Arran is her newest guest. When she discovers he keeps a diary, she can’t help herself. Each entry he makes about a woman he is enamored with gets more disturbing and the woman he’s watching seems to be her. The theme here is definitely stalking.

I thought this story was very good and the writing was darkly lyrical. I also thought the author portrayed the mix of grief, guilt and anger so well with losing a sister at a young age. I look forward to the author’s next book.

Great book! I really enjoyed this book and the overall story. It was an interesting suspense story that kept me reading. I could see some people getting bored with this book towards the middle and feeling as if it drags on, but the ending really makes up for it. Great twist and overall ending.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't start to find the book very interesting until about 60% the way through and it was only mild interest at that point. I was fully invested at 80% which is way too late for a book.

I also couldn't stand the main character. I understand that we should give some kind of leeway to her because her sister passed away but the choices she was making and how she was acting were so obnoxious and made me not care about her.

Tess lost her sister Rosie tragically and is still grieving and looking for answers. In the meantime, she has moved into her sister’s home and is forced to rent out one of the rooms to pay the bills. Tess also has a bad habit of snooping into her renter’s things… which is harmless, to a point. When a new tenant named Arran moves in for a month, Tess feels drawn to him and is soon going through his things when he is not around. She comes upon a diary filled with writings about a woman Arran appears to be obsessed with. Tess can’t help herself and as the days go by she continues sneak peaks at the diary, finding the writing to be getting darker and more sinister. Tess begins to have feelings for Arran and she thinks he for her as well. But how well does she really know her new tenant? On the outside he appears to be handsome, attentive and pleasant. But the words in his private journal tell a different story. Who is this mystery woman he is writing about? Is it Tess herself? How far will she go to uncover his secrets? This was such a great novel. I was drawn in from the start and could not put it down…And the twist at the end completely blind sided me! This was a 4 star read for me!

Where to even begin! I am still trying to get over the fact that this is Sylva's first novel. Just when you think you have everything figured out she throws you another curveball. Excellent character development. Great story. Will definitely be recommending this book to friends and colleagues!

Unfortunately not very memorable, but easy to read and digest. I think it was okay, I definitely wouldn't advise other readers against reading it if this is something that sounds like their vibe.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review. I honestly, really truly loved this book. I couldn’t get enough of it. Since I have finished this book, I have thought about it every day. The plot twist was a tiny bit predictable but still so good and I though Tess was annoying in that she could’ve avoided a lot by speaking up but this entire book was just *chefs kiss* to me.