Iðunn is tired. No matter how much sleep she gets, she wakes up with aching limbs and an unceasing exhaustion. She goes to doctors who report all is normal. She listens to the well-meaning advice of her friends to be more active during the day and cut our caffeine. It does nothing. But when she accidentally leaves her pedometer on one night, she discovers she’s walking tens of thousands of miles each night. Where is she going? What is she doing?

This novella is a quick, creepy read. There is a lot left unanswered, but that is what keeps things satisfyingly scary. When it comes to horror, too much explanation ruins all the fun. I read this in one sitting and enjoyed it, but, could have done without the descriptions of violence against cats.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Night Guest is an Icelandic psychological horror novella that masterfully develops its pacing and emotional impact by adding and releasing tension through playing with chapter lengths, with some chapters even being one deeply unsettling sentence. Iðunn is plagued with various aches and pains that no doctor is able to figure out, and she is increasingly exhausted, no matter how much time she spends in bed. Lonely with no one to talk to besides her neighborhood cats, she tries to just ignore it and go on with her life. That is, until she starts waking up with bruises on her leg and blood on her chin. Upon buying a smartwatch, she finds that she has been walking tens of thousands of steps each night to the local harbor, for some unknown reason, and nothing she does can stop her sleepwalking.

This novel is an excellent commentary on the state of those with chronic illnesses not being believed by their doctors and seemingly no solutions providing aid for their sufferings. Likewise, it shows the extreme levels of misogyny that chronically ill women especially have to deal with, often being told that everything is in their head.

Content warning for depictions of dead pets

I would recommend this book to anyone looking an incredible psychological horror story that does so much with very little space.

This book wasn’t for me... I have to say, I didn’t like the ending at all! What was that?! 😪

Our main character thinks she’s losing her mind—constantly waking up tired and noticing mysterious scrapes and bruises on her body. The story kept me guessing, and I was expecting a big reveal, but the ending was a letdown.

I’d still recommend it, but be warned—the last few pages might frustrate you!

Solid 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC. Beyond humbled 🙏🏾 *The Night Guest* is out September 3rd, 2024!

Really enjoyed my time with this delightfully creepy little novella. I don't want to say too much at the risk of giving anything away as it is only 200 pages, but I'll say I highly recommend to readers who enjoyed books such as Come Closer by Sara Gran and Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for my review copy! Definitely will be purchasing a copy for my shelves when it publishes September 3rd.

Thank you Tor Nightfire for my free ARC of The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir — available Sep 3!

» READ IF YOU «
⌚️ wear a fitbit or other step-counting smartwatch
🥱 have ever been frustrated by not sleeping well
🌊 don't mind a bit of ambiguity in your endings

Translated from Icelandic by Mary Robinette Kowal 🇮🇸

» SYNOPSIS «
Iðunn is sleeping terribly and no medical professional seems able to help her. She's waking up exhausted and with strange injuries, and her smartwatch is telling her that she's taking thousands of steps in the middle of the night. Is she suffering from some strange malady? Or is something more sinister going on?

» REVIEW «
This was firstly, relatable as heck, and secondly, a pretty disturbing ride. I struggle off and on with weird sleep issues, so I felt for Iðunn and all those annoying pieces of advice she'd get — have you tried MELATONIN?!. Oof. Anyway, I loved where this went even if I didn't fully understand how or why things turned out the way they did. I'd say it's more "horror lite" than the cover and marketing imply; more of a psychological horror than anything, but I quite enjoyed it. Also, I love an ending that leaves me with questions and fosters discussion with other readers, so hit me up to chat about it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was so fast paced that it almost read like a short story. Mysterious things start happening right away, and the scenes and chapters are very short, which really keeps things moving. I read almost the entire book in one day, which I am never able to do. That should speak to my level of investment in this story.

The whole book is full of fantastic horror/suspense vibes. So much tension builds throughout the story. One scene in particular would have made me had a heart attack if this was a movie.

The writing and story were both really tremendous. Unfortunately, the ending fell flat for me. This is one of those books that feels like it just kind of... stops. There was a "payoff" of sorts, but it was very rushed and unsatisfying. I would still recommend reading this though, because the rest of the book makes up for the disappointing ending many times over.

THE NIGHT GUEST by @hildurknutsdottir

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @macmillan.audio and @tornightfire for the audio-ARC and finished copy. This one comes into the world on September 3!

🤫🤫🤫

Iðunn is exhausted. She goes to sleep every night for a reasonable stint, but wakes up feeling fatigued with sore muscles. As she works through her symptoms with a young, engaged female doctor after being dismissed by a male doctor, she is encouraged to start wearing a fitness watch to track her exercise, sleep and habits. When she wakes up to find that she has walked over 40,000 steps during the night without any recollection, her fears about what is happening to her body are wildly heightened.

This compact thriller translated from the Icelandic does not pack a punch so much as an icy cold hand that slowly closes around your throat, yet the build up is steep with a swift, satisfying ending. Many of the chapters were less than a sentence long which added to the suspense and propelled the story forward in short bursts. The cold, dark setting of Reykjavik in the winter months kept the book's atmosphere feeling chilly and spooky.

If you like thrilling fever dream books, unreliable narrators, sleep-deprivation themes, and a quick, pallet-cleansing read, pick this one up! Bonus that it is a translated title and it is #womenintranslation month and fun fact: I was in Iceland just a month ago, so this was fun to read on the heels of that.

💚💚💚

Do you ever intentionally seek out books set in places you love, places you want to visit, or places you have lived?

💚SMASHBOT💚

#bibliophile #booknerd #books #booksta #bookstagram #booklover #bookreview #thenightguest #hildurknútsdóttir
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I went into The Night Guest not really knowing what to expect, and having finished it, I have to say I’m still not too sure.

This was a quick novella that immediately introduced a creeping sense of terror and dread. This is what kept me reading, wanting to know what was going on, and what was happening to the main character.
The tension and dread just builds the farther into the story you get, as things become more and more sinister.
This is one I wish I would have read the TW for prior to requesting, because there are quite a few, many actually, dead cats. That isn’t contributing to my rating, although I do wish horror would move away from the shock factor of murdered animals.

Overall, I suppose I’m not too sure about The Night Guest. I was incredibly invested throughout but the entirely ambiguous and abrupt ending lost me. I understand the gist of things, and I enjoy some ambiguity, but just a shred of context would probably have changed my rating.

Thank you to the author and Tor Nightfire for this ARC via NetGalley.
Publication date 9/3/24

Luckily I looked at other reviews before I got too far into this and saw the trigger warnings provided by other readers - I cannot abide violence against animals, especially cats. I wasn't able to finish this.

The Night Guest is a horror novella that centers around a woman named Iðunn, who is experiencing exhaustion and mysterious bruises despite sleeping through the nights. With nothing showing up on any medical tests, she begins to feel helpless and finds temporary aid in pills. Though, it is only temporary as she starts to wake up with more injuries, more exhaustion, and her watch reporting over 40,000 steps overnight. All attempts to prevent herself from sleepwalking result in punishment.

This novella was a very quick read with short and compelling chapters that made it really easy for me to consume in a short period of time. It plays on the fear of losing one’s autonomy, feeling isolated, and losing a grip on reality. The further into the story I read, the more the sense of helplessness and dread intensified. Overall, I liked it! I think the ending is either gonna be a love it or hate it kind of thing for people, but it worked for me.

Thank you Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

3⭐️

This was wild. The Night Guest is a quick read, but things got dark pretty fast. I think this did a great job covering things like grief, medical neglect, and the paranoia around things like microplastics and location settings on your electronic devices that you hear from your conspiracy theory uncle on Facebook. And even though it covered so many things, it also made me regularly say WTF while reading it. The whole thought that you might know something is wrong with you that you can't explain and that things might be happening overnight that you have no control over is terrifying.

Massive trigger warning for animal death, especially if you like cats.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for providing this ARC to me!

This is an eerie story that starts off with what happens when a lady goes to sleep and wakes up with unknown injuries, messes, and loads of steps. Once she discovers a pattern to her sleep walking, she needs to determine why she’s doing this when she should be in her house sleeping. The ending with leave readers guessing.

Content warning: Animal cruelty.

The Night Guest is an unsettling story set in modern day Iceland about a woman who believes she might be sleep walking. Constantly tired and covered in cuts and bruises from nights before, Iðunn seeks help from a medical professional continuously dismisses her symptoms.

This is a quick and intense well written Horror Novella. It was super easy to finish in one setting. The Night Guest creeps under your skin and will make you wanting more. I will say I was disappointed in the ending, which is where my rating has dropped.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

The Night Guest is such a fast paced novella that I could not put down. You'll definitely be able to read this all in one sitting. Hildur's writing is fantastic. It sucks you in from the start. I wasn't sure where this story was going to go. It left me feeling very distraught. I really shouldn't have read this right before bed. It lingered in my mind for a while. Like other reviewers, I felt upset by the ending. I found myself reading that part a couple times and still haven't fully made sense of it. I do hope more of Hildur's work gets translated because I'd really like to read it.

Please note this book talks about death of cats. Thankfully you don't get any descriptions but it's talked about. :(

*Thank you so much to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Oh this was spooky! Iðunn lives in Reykjavik and has been suffering from chronic fatigue that she thinks may be a sign of some form of disease, but all tests show there's nothing wrong with her physically. She eventually gets a watch to track her sleep patterns and discovers that she's been walking thousands of steps in her sleep. What happens after that kept me furiously flipping the pages to figure it all out! The only thing I didn't like was the ambiguous ending, but I'm not a fan of those in general and I like to have some kind of resolution.

This is translated, and while I don't speak the original language this was published in, I thought the translation was really easy to follow. I read this easily in one sitting, and I really hope there will be more translations in the future of this authors works!

Also, there is a huge trigger warning here for animal cruelty, especially with cats. Lots and lots of cats. Mostly off page but it's pretty descriptive.

First I have to say - this might be one of the smoothest works of translation I've read in a while! I have no idea of the fidelity to the original text, but the reading experience was excellent. Second, this was unsettling in the best way. This is such a short novella, I think you should just go in blind and see if you like the vibes, but nice and creepy IMO. A very ambiguous ending, though, if that is a no-go for you

The Night Guest is a short novella that is easily read in a couple of sessions, but I have mixed feelings about the novella itself.

The first 90% is excellent. As the main character becomes more and more disturbed by her nightly wanderings, the reader definitely feels the tension rise. The author uses a variety of chapters lengths to keep our attention and up the dread as the story progresses.

But the ending left more questions than answers, as the story resolved in a way that wasn’t at all satisfying or effectively explained.

I loved the story, but the ending left me wanting more.

The Night Guest is a horror story set in Iceland about a woman who believes she may be sleep walking. She consistently feels worn out when she wakes up in the morning, having logged many steps, but she can't recall anything that may have happened.

This horror novella has a fast-paced plot that is eerie and unsettling. I am completely enamored with this bizarre story. I was reading nonstop because I had to know what the was going on with her. Iðunn's panic was skillfully captured by the author on the page.
I'm not entirely happy with the finish, even if I can see the use of a rapid and abrupt ending. I do like endings that leave room for interpretation, but in this one I wanted more of my questions to be answered.

Hildur Knútsdóttir created a universe and people that I adore, so I would definitely read more of her work. This book is a great choice if you're searching for something spooky and unique to read.

Short but compelling! Iounn is constantly exhausted and fears she has a horrible illness. After she starts wearing a fitness tracker and finds that she’s putting on thousands of steps after she’s asleep an even more disturbing thought occurs- where is she going and why does she wake up with blood on her, bruised and aching? Also why do the neighborhood cats suddenly hate her…and why are they disappearing?
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC- my opinions are my own.

Talk about creeppyyyy. This book really had me sitting there in daylight checking behind me.

Not only was the use of chapters very well done, the lack of background made the book somehow more creepy? It was fruatrating at some points, but I enjoyed knowing very little other then what the author gave us.

I do think the build up to the end was sudden and I wish we knew more past the end.