I loved the idea of this novel more than its execution. The beginning of it I was really intrigued, but as it went on and got to the middle and end of it, it didn’t really satisfy me.

I do really like the aspect of it where she’s a victim of strange happenings and unable to control her body. I also found certain scenes to be intriguing like when she wakes up after having tried to look herself up in her own home only to find that she hurt herself trying to leave.

I also like the commentary the story gives about how often women are dismissed by their doctors. The reality of being a woman is that people will often say that the issues you are experiencing are simply due to being emotional, anxious, or stressed. A lot of underlying health conditions in women go under-diagnosed.

Unfortunately the story lost me towards the end and left me feeling lost and confused. The escalation was there only to kinda just abruptly end and be kind of nothing. The questions I had throughout the story were never answered. In the end I just felt like the book was ok.

Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio for an advance listener copy of The Night Guest.

Iounn is suffering from constant fatigue and knows that something is off in her life, despite doctor’s insistence and blood tests revealing that there is nothing wrong. Then she falls asleep with her smartwatch on and wakes up to find she’s walked a whopping 40,000 steps when she thought she was sleeping. From there she is thrown into mental turmoil trying to discover what is happening when she’s losing time, why is she finding mysterious bruises and injuries, and how can she convince anyone to listen to her concerns?

This was a really intriguing quick horror read, perfect for people who enjoy psychological terror. It will be polarizing in terms of the ending, but overall at just shy of 200 pages, it’s totally worth picking up if the premise grabs your attention.

The entire time I was reading, I was filled with a sense of dread and uncertainty.

Hildur does a great job at bringing the readers along on Iounn’s mind trip and helping us to sympathize with her feelings of loneliness and questioning her own sanity.

What I enjoyed:
-The eery and unsettling tone
-The themes of women advocating for their healthcare
-The concise writing style and short chapters

What I did not enjoy:
-Animal harm (check TW)
-The slightly convoluted turn the story took in the second half.

Read if you like stories like Delicate Condition but beware of some serious gaslighting.

For a short, fast-paced read this certainly brought the eeriness. It was mysterious and somewhat haunting as the main character attempts to get answers for her extreme case of sleep walking from doctors who don’t seem to listen…The ending for me was a bit confusing…there was too much open for interpretation and my analytical brain wanted more definitive closure. I appreciate overall haunting vibes though!

I was impressed with the absolute pace of this book. It brings the reader in by the lapels and doesn't let go, it doesn't give you any time to breathe before something else happens. I enjoyed how Knutsdottir allows for the reader to form their own opinion of certain characters and doesn't waste unnecessary time with filler action. I appreciated the very original plot, the fast action mixed with dark dread and horror, so I look forward to the next Knutsdottir novel.

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Hildur Knutsdottir's The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.

Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.
Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: I'm always down for a psychological horror read. This one has a strong message about misogyny at its core. I think that is what powered me past my disappointing reading experience.

Iðunn's world is a very familiar, quotidian one of tedious work, unfulfilling relationships, and family pressures that might or might not be external. Like so many, maybe every, female of my acquaintance, she's a poor sleeper. This has multiple negative effects on a person's life. Iðunn tries to make changes in her sleeping deficits with a fancy new kind of wearable multiple-axes tracking device.

The promised data on her sleeping patterns tells a story that does not make sleep come any easier. If anything the data scares her more; and the device itself seems to be making her life, not only her sleep deficit, much worse.

Iðunn's sense of crushing responsibility for every single thing in her life is not unfamiliar to me. It's just not something I think is always an external pressure as Iðunn thinks it is. No matter; her responses to the world are the story, so putting aside my sense of her emotional immaturity, I travel down the unhappy trail with her. Why is she, for want of another term, sleepwalking? Why does her body acquire wounds during her unconsciousness? If it isn't sleep, what is this state and why is it part of her nightly experience that is unavailable to her daylight mind?

I was ready to quit the read when animal harm entered the chat. I was perfectly happy to follow the deteriorating sense of control over her body and mind; it seems to me to be an excellent metaphor for being a woman in a misogyny-drenched world. I'm very much not down with harming creatures that can not adequately defend themselves, when it's done for cruelty's sake most especially. In this case it did nit feel to me to be more than an intensifying trope; it did not come from something within Iðunn that was just bursting out of her in a horrible way...see The Wasp Factory for an example of what I mean by that.

I decided to trust the eminent Mary Robinette Kowal, a personal favorite creative talent, whose translation of the text felt very smooth and organic and unlike I was reading a story at an extra remove. That often happens to me, even in excellent translations. This story isn't ever going to be a five-star read to me, thought I, but it's way better than average.

Then...the ending.

Three and a half stars. No more, no less.

Sorry, big nope from me. Murdered cats. It's a pity because this could've gone in so many different directions, but it just went cruel without giving any explanations. I have read it until the end and it's not by habit to give books 1 star, in fact, I think this is the first one

Spooky vibes but too short. Also, it just ended?? I think I know what happened, but I wish it was a little clearer.

This book was really good, although i felt the characters could be more fleshed out and developed more. The pacing of this novel is rather slow,, but i still found myself enjoying the slow burn psychological horror. I love the supernatural elements and of course the iclendic elements all which were very foreign for me, There is a lot going on in this book which could be a little overwhelming at times, but still enjoyable.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, Tor Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of honest thoughts and comments.

Read this book if you like: Literary horror, creepy atmosphere

Such a good novella! It pulled me and I couldn't put it down. It's a quick read, but so deep. I would watch a movie or series in a heartbeat. I highly recommend this!

I'm increasingly interested in this genre of novel, a kind of literary women's horror, which to me is a lot more subtle and insidious than the more in-your-face horror that's dominated the shelves for so long. Although quite a slight novel, this story had the slow-creeping energy that held my interest until the end. Although the ending felt somewhat abrupt -- I wished the author had sat in that for a little longer -- I loved the book. This one would translate easily and readily to film and I'd be surprised if it weren't already optioned. I'll definitely look for more books by this author and look forward to seeing what she writes next.

I love a good questionable descent into madness.
I went into The Night Guest completely blind and was so pleasantly surprised by both the simplicity and how unsettling it was.

Our narrator has been tired. So tired. It doesn't seem to matter how much she's slept. But I guess you'd be tired too, if your fitness watch started clocking 40,000 steps overnight. But what is she doing, where are the bruises coming from and why can't she do these things while she's awake…?

The translation was smooth and flawless and I whipped through it in 24 hours flat. I'd recommend this one to most horror/mystery lovers 😍 it's not too graphic (check your triggers!) and I feel like it would be a great book for those wanting to dip their toes into the horror world.

Thank you NetGalley, Hildur Knutsdottir and Tor Publishing for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Knútsdóttir's thought-provoking and chilling novella is rich and disturbing - but cat lovers should probably give it a major swerve.

I felt like this book could have been way better than what we was givin. I found it to be bland with no action in it at all. I was hopping for more thriller type book while it was a decent read. I just wish there was more to it.

Thank you to Tor & Netgalley for the arc

This was a decent little horror story that thoroughly creeped me out. Unfortunately those poor cats kept distracting me.

Eh, it was pretty good. No big earth-shattering ideas, but a nice creepy feeling throughout. plot twist was good, if not somewhat predictable. There is a red flag for animal abuse that prospective readers should be aware of.

The Night Guest was a fast, but creepy read that is set in contemporary Reykjavík about Iðunn who struggles with fatigue. What happens when she she is asleep or wakes up with injuries on her hands? If you want to find out than make sure to read this. The author did a good job writing the book and the characters were interesting. Overall, I enjoyed this read and would recommend to any reader who loves horror books. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this read in exchange of my honest review of The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir!

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this and I am so glad I went in relatively blind. The Night Guest was a whirlwind that started at a breakneck speed and did not let up until the last page. It does a great job at building the intrigue and keeping the reader guessing and reading on.

The Night Guest is a short horror story following Iounn on her quest to figuring out wtf is wrong with her. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this book took some super unexpected and very dark turns. Parts of this story made me wonder if there was something more than the obvious happening with the FMC. Either way; the ending, had it be maybe a few pages longer - could have increased this from 3 starts to 5.



Because the ending left me…. Umm… well… confused. Too open ended.. and just… done.



I received a copy of this ARC through NetGalley.