I’m just not sure what to think about this debut novel. The characters were all interesting to read about, but in a train-wreck way - this book is definitely full of interesting characters, none of whom seem “normal”.

Tess’s sister, Rosie, was found murdered on the street, and her killer still hasn’t found. Tess finds herself alone, so she starts renting out her dead sister’s room to B&B guests. She gets a request from a man to stay for a month, and while she doesn’t like such long-term tenants, she agrees to let him in.

Arran is handsome, smart, a good cook and a tidy roommate. He’s also a writer of sorts - he has a diary that Tess finds while snooping through his things (something she does to all of her guests). This diary has him talking about his passion for an unknown woman, and as the book goes on, the diary keeps being written. Tess keeps reading, and soon finds herself stalking her new roommate.

This whole book is full of stalking - not just by Tess. Everyone seems to be watching everyone else, and the metropolis of London soon seems like a small place. Tess wants to find out who killed her sister. She wants to know who Arran is pining for. She wants to know why her neighbor and his on-again, off-again girlfriend are acting so suspicious. Basically, Tess needs to know it all, and she doesn’t mind getting dirty if she can get some dirt on people.

Like I said, the characters were all interesting, but over-the-top in their actions. The stalking almost became humorous after awhile, though I don’t think that was the intention. The ending was a surprise, but I didn’t care about it as much as the rest of the story. I’m giving this a 3.5, rounded up for being a debut.

(Thank you to Henry Holt & Co., Tasha Sylva, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on July 11, 2023.)

This book was ok for me. It centers on Tess, who rents out a room in her murdered sister’s flat to make ends meet and snoops through their stuff. When her newest renter. Arran, leaves a diary where she can find it, she gets more than she bargained for and sets out to find out what he is really doing. Tess is not doing great overall after the sudden death of her sister and this is one of her many vices.

So I liked the storyline but I HATED Tess. I thought she was truly awful and obnoxious and couldn’t believe all of the other characters in this book could even stand to be around her. I would have liked the book so much more if I didn’t have such a viscerally negative reaction to her. I did like the end of the book and appreciated the surprise twist- the author did a good job of creating viable suspects and surprising me when it all was said and done.

Overall, good storyline but I just didn’t like the protagonist and couldn’t get on board with the fact that others liked her when I saw so few redeeming qualities. Solid mystery, though! Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tess's sister Rosie was murdered a few months ago. Tess has moved into her sister's flat and taken a job at the gallery where Rosie worked.. She walks along Hampstead Heath at night ( where Rosie was found ). Looking for clues and also playing with danger as a means to coping with her sister's death. She also rents out her sister's room on a B&B website and snoops through her guests belongings. Enter Arran and his diary. Frankly, Tess annoyed me but the diary entries kept me reading. There's a lot of stalking going on here and some storylines that were just dropped abruptly with no real resolution. A disappearance, a creepy neighbor, a convenient ex boyfriend, and an overworked police detective who seems to try harder to get Tess into therapy than he does at finding Rosie's s killer. This book was a 2.5 to a 3 for me until the end I did not see that villain coming at all. The plot could have been a little tighter. Worth picking up especially if you're into the stalker trope. Four stars. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this.

First and foremost, I LOVED this book. It kept me thinking about it all day and I read every spare moment I got.
Plot: Have you ever wanted to go through someone's things? Just the curiosity of who this person is by getting a look at their belongings. Well, the main character, Tess, does just this and in a way that has you gripping your book a little harder than necessary.
Tess also tries to play detective for her sister's murder and also has a possible stalker.
With a whole cast of possible suspects the book kept me guessing after every potential clue.
The writing was very descriptive and I could play the movie of it in my mind as I read.
It was evenly paced easy to read. I can't wait to do a reread of it again and more importantly I cannot wait for another book from this author. They will be an auto-buy for me.

Rating: 4⭐️
Pub Date: July 11, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Macmillan Publishers for provided me with a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*Alexa. Play “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey.*

It’s totally normal for B&B hosts to go through their guests’ belongings, right? Tess seems to think so. After the murder of her sister, which is still unresolved, Tess began renting out the extra room in the flat to cover the bills. Now, not only is she absorbed with trying to solve her sister’s murder, she’s obsessed with going through the possessions her guests to see what they might be hiding and to experience the thrill of being somewhere she shouldn’t.
It’s been all fun and games until her next guest, Arran, and his diary. Tess becomes enthralled with reading it, anticipating each new entry and becoming invested in the woman he writes so much about. Who is this woman that has captured Arran’s heart and inspired his ever-watching eye? Does he just have a crush on her, or is it something more sinister? The more she reads, the more she realizes there are many similarities between the woman in the diary and herself.
Curiosity gets the better of her. She must find out who this woman is, no matter what it takes.

The Guest Room is a novel of obsession, possessiveness, and paranoia, which leads to layers upon layers of stalking and deceit. It’s also a story about grief and loss of a loved one and not receiving the closure that’s needed.
I was completely sucked in at the beginning of the book, as Tess was just asking for trouble and coping with the loss of her sister, doing anything she could to feel close to her, and trying to figure out who is responsible for taking her away. This storyline started to get a little muddled and lost with the introduction of Arran’s mystery woman and Tess’s pursuit to figure out who she is. The pacing started to drag for me in the middle, but it did start to pick back up in the last 15% when it’s revealed how these two mysteries entangle with one another. I wasn’t overly shocked with the ending, but I was left with a couple of questions.

Overall, this was a fun read! You’re suspicious of every character that’s introduced, and Tess became more unhinged as the story progressed. There was a constant question of who is watching whom, as well as who is telling the truth?

*Alexa. Now play Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell, ft. Michael Jackson.”

This one was really good. It did start a bit slow, but once things began to be revealed I was completely hooked. It was dark, suspenseful, and overall a fantastic debit for Sylva. Very enjoyable.

This book had a lot of potential but it just missed the mark for me. I found the first ¾ of the book too drawn out. I did enjoy some of the twists at the end but some were predictable. Maybe if I would have read this when I started my journey I would have been more into it but after reading so many thrillers I crave fast pace thrillers that keep me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tasha Sylva & Henry Holt & Company for an arc of The Guest Room in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

This story follows Tess who has an obsession with going through other people’s belongings. Specifically, the belongings of guests who rent out her late sister’s room, which she had to resort to renting to pay her bills. She ends up finding the diary of Arran, her newest renter where he details his infatuation with a beautiful stranger. It all seemed harmless at first, but then continued to get darker and more threatening. So, Tess begins to shadow Arron only to discovery that the similarities between herself and the stranger are eerily similar. Who’s stalking who???

This novel was just ok for me. Not bad, but not great either. What made it not great is that it was not very original and all the twists & ending were completely predictable. No one wants that in a thriller/suspense. It was too similar to You Season 2.

I would only recommend giving this one a go if you have run out of other books to read.

3/5 Stars

Thank you #NetGalley and #HenryHoltAndCompany for giving me the opportunity to read and review #TheGuestRoom by #TashaSylva. This is the ultimate stalking book. It had me so twisted up but in a good way. Loved all the drama and excitement and of course the stalking and twists. Did not see this one coming!

A slow slow burn, but once it got going there was some serious fine.
Definitely some good fake outs before the surprising twist- the protagonist is just flawed enough to keep you reading. All and all a satisfying debut thriller.

This story had great potential with an enticing plot. I was intrigued. However, this story dragged. It was too slow and a lot of suspense, tension, and twists were missed. It wasn't bad but it could have been better.

I wanted to love this book, but for me it missed the mark.

I was drawn in by the synopsis of Tess who rents a room out in her apartment, and spends her time snooping through her guests belongings. We also learn about the unsolved murder of Tess’ sister Rosie, around the same time a new guest Aarn checks into her spare room.

The story is told by Tess as she talks about her sisters murder, and tries to figure it out herself. While simultaneously reading through the diary of Aarn. The more she reads the more she begins to think, he may be writing about her in his diary. The reading of all the diary entires, gave me YOU vibes. As time runs out, will Tess solve her sisters murder? And also figure out how she’s connected to Aarns stay and diary writings.

This book was hard to get though, and at times felt like a lot of extra writing to make the book longer. It just continued to drag on. I will say I’m giving two stars because I did not see the twist coming. But to me it didn’t really make sense, even after all the explanations.

Overall, I’ve read much better thrillers.

Whew. What a read. This definitely was a page turner. I spent a lot of my time during this read going 'aha! I've got it! It's so obvious!!' only to second guess a few pages later. I'm very satisfied with the ending (if a little heartbroken) - after being burnt out on the mystery / thriller genre, this one reignited the flame.

Bravo, Sylva.

The Guest Room starts off with a heart-pounding habit. Specifically, Tess snooping through the belongings of her guest tenants while they're out. That alone is enough to build suspense, but unfortunately, not enough to sustain it.

It isn't until the 50% mark that the book's summary even kicks in. Before that point, the plot is monotonous in its routine. Tess snoops, blows off work, and verbally accosts her sister's ex-boyfriend, and an unknown narrator has a brief interlude. And then the cycle starts over.

By the time the book was about to reach its conclusion, I felt like I had been given a whole lot of clues that added up to nothing. At the same time, I wasn't surprised by any of the twists or reveals.

There was a lot of potential in this story. However, I feel like I few more rounds of edits would have tightened up the plot and made the ending much more impactful.

Money is tight, so to make ends meet, Tess rents out her dearly departed sister’s room. Tess is a curious soul and she loves nothing more then to snoop through her guests belongings. She gets a vicarious thrill and it helps take her mind off her sister, Rosie. But then Aran moves in. Aran with his torrid diary keeps Tess entertained – at first. When Tess realizes that the object of Aran’s obsession is in danger, she begins a hunt across London, trying to find the woman before it’s too late. Kind of like the book/series, You, but told from the viewpoint of a third party. Heart pounding

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.