Y’all their “guest,” Laure, is too much!! Who goes into someone’s house while they are away without saying anything and basically moves herself in!? Everything about this friend has my introvert spidey senses working overtime. I understand telling someone no politely but when is your confirmatory too much!?

Another slow burn by B.A. Paris. Her last novel, The Prisoner was a bit of a bust for me, it wasn’t one of my favorites and I couldn’t get into it. Behind Closed Doors is still one of my absolute favorites, I LOVED that novel. If you haven’t read it check it out!

Back to this, I read a review on here that the book didn’t really start until the epilogue. I agree with that testament 100%! So slow to start, I almost didn’t hold on until I read that review. The epilogue was 🤯🤯. So much happens in that small period of time, all questions are answered, I was stunned by the result. If you can stick it out through the first half, well worth the read!

B.A. Paris’s new novel The Guest is the epitome of domestic drama! Following three couples, all with something to hide, this novel really brings into question, “Just who can you trust?”

When Iris and Gabriel return home from vacation, they discover that one half of their friend couple has made herself at home inside their house. Laure has had a falling out with her husband Pierre and is taking refuge at Iris and Gabriel’s home. When it is revealed that the real reason why Laure is at their home is because she found out that Pierre has a love child, the situation grows increasingly tense. Meanwhile, Iris and Gabriel are grappling with problems of their own. Gabriel recently witnessed the death of a local boy and is haunted by his last words, unable to come to terms with the insurmountable amount of grief that is accumulating in his life. Add to the mix, a new couple in town who Iris and Gabriel quickly befriend, and you have a lot of people with a lot of secrets on your hands.

The Guest is a novel that you don’t want to reveal too much of the plot ahead of time because it takes away the fun of reading. If you like books that feature domestic situations and tensions among friends, you may very well enjoy this story. I personally found it to be a bit slowly-paced, which unfortunately allowed my mind to wander at points, forcing me to go back and reread to prevent losing the storyline.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this opportunity to review this novel. This novel was an amazing thriller. I would highly recommend this to others

Gabriel and Iris are on vacation, or holiday as they call it. Upon coming home, they discover Laure at their home who is distraught and walked out on her husband Pierre who has shockingly admitted to fathering a child with another woman. The twists and turns, as well as the secrets, come one after the next, in true BA Paris fashion, leaving you quickly turning pages, until the shocking end when things come together. BA Paris is known for her intense psychological thrillers and this one is no exception.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars, and I'm not sure if I should be rounding up or rounding down. I almost feel like I need to give this a second read because I feel like I truly missed something along the way. (Unfortunately, I dont have time)The ending, while surprising, felt very convoluted in light of the fact that I didn't see any clues pointing to it. Part of the fun of a domestic thriller, in my opinion, is the could it be this person or that person dependent on clues along the way. Still, I enjoyed the story, while not like many characters, especially Laure, but as always, you must see things from the narrators' POV. I've been wanting to read BA Paris for some time and would read this author again.

A giant lead up to a aw dropping epilogue. While I wasn't in love with the book in it's entirety, the epilogue saved this story!

The Guest by B. A. Paris
I will read any book B. A. Paris writes. I have enjoyed her writing since I discovered her years ago. I have been fortunate to hear her speak and learn her back story. This makes her books even more enjoyable.
Iris and Gabriel return home to find a good friend of theirs waiting for them because she has walked out on her husband. With her now living with Iris and Gabriel the mystery begins. What will all the secrets do to their marriage and to their life.
Read The Guest to find out.

05.27.24

This was an enjoyable book overall, but I was not completely wowed until the ending. There is a lot of "talk" and scenes that didn't feel necessary. There were parts that were slow. I have enjoyed other books by this author more. Thanks NetGalley for the eArc.

SYNOPSIS
- Iris & Gabriel get back from vacation, and their longtime friend, Laure, has been crashing at their place. Laure tells them her husband, Pierre, had a baby with another woman, and the details are all pretty unknown.
- Iris & Gabriel also befriend a new couple in the neighborhood, and they end up using their gardener, Joseph, who seems mysterious.

MY THOUGHTS
- Okay, this book commits my cardinal sin, and I cannot endorse it!
- Let me break it down further. Unreliable narrator + twists: It is very obvious the author doesn’t know what these are. The book is told from present day perspectives. In other words, the readers learn about character’s thoughts and interactions, as they are occurring. It isn’t a “twist” or a “big reveal” to represent a character’s thoughts and conversations as one way, then do a 180 in the last couple pages?? Such a cheap writing tactic, and makes for a terrible book. So, was the entire book just BS? It makes no sense? We are reading her active, present thoughts. Wtf????
- I won’t even dive into the extremely unlikable cast of characters.

TL;DR: ⭐️cardinal sin, and I must one star it

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now.

BA paris is a miss author for me but this was my favourite ive read so far of hers.... it had me interested, the twist i actually liked

This is not my first book from BA Paris, and so I kind of knew what I was getting myself into when I chose this. It was not my favorite. I am all for a domestic thriller, but this one just seemed to drag on and on for no real reason. I grew really tired of the explanations in the character dialogues and that just really put me off of this book.

It was a good enough story, I guess. If I was really craving a domestic thriller, this would not be one that I came back to re-read.

The Guest by B.A. Paris
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Iris and Gabriel have returned from a holiday to find their friend, Laure, in their home. Laure is having problems at home and asks to stay for awhile. Things grow tense as Laure begins to overstay her welcome.
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I wasn’t sure where this book was going to go as I listened to the first couple chapters, but let me just tell you that I could NOT have predicted what wound up happening!

This book was a slow build on the tension, full of secrets and mysteries. I especially love how the author could unspool this level of a suspense story with a limited amount of characters.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I listened to the audio for this book and it was excellent. I enjoyed the tension of the Guest more than I expected to.

I struggled with this one…

The Guest is a slooooow burn domestic drama. We are lead to believe a guest of Iris and Gabriel, Laure, is annoyingly over staying her welcome, but I’m not entirely sure that’s what the story ends up being about.

There are so many storylines going on, I had a hard time deciphering what was pertinent to the ACTUAL story. This would end up in me being confused and frustrated and stepping away from the book days at a time. Never a good sign.

I don’t even know what that ending was. Out of left field for me, although I don’t think anyone will see it coming.

This one was just okay for me, it gave me None of this Is True vibes but not as good. I couldn't connect with any of the characters which is a deal breaker for me and i found Laure extremely annoying. The middle dragged a bit and there were a few twists at the end i didn't see coming. Overall I rated it a 3/5, it was entertaining but nothing that hits my favourites shelf.

B.A, Paris is such a pro at writing a twisty thriller. I loved Behind Closed Doors and was so excited to read another title by the author.

This is the story of a couple named Iris and Gabriel and one of their best friends, Laure. Laure comes to stay with Iris and Gabriel after she discovers her husband's affair and secret child. At first trying to be supportive of their friend, they're very accommodating and compassionate to her despite her erratic behavior, however her presence becomes unbearable. Iris and Gabriel have their own individual troubles to deal with, and then a new couple moves to town with even more crises and interwoven secrets amongst all of the adults. This was hard to follow at times, because of all of the characters, but it had an amazing twist at the end that I definitely did not see coming.

This book was engaging, addicting and a quick read. A perfect recommendation for someone in need of a thriller "palate cleanser".

I also reviewed the audiobook, but this was fantastic! I loved Paris's Behind Closed Doors, but wasn't crazy about her subsequent work. This "redeemed" Paris in my mind, and I will continue to look for more in the future.

BA Paris never fails to impress me. While I found this book a little more predictable than some of her others, I still immensely enjoyed the story. Full of suspense, it keeps you engaged and rooting for the characters, even knowing they may not be what they seem...
Great ending !

This is the book where you’re wondering the whole time what the heck is going on and who could be the perp. I was seriously guessing the whole time and I suspected every single character and I still somehow got it completely wrong. The epilogue was *chefs kiss* but the ending otherwise kind of left me wishing for more, so that’s why I only rated the book 4 out of 5 stars. B. A. Paris has never done me wrong and is an auto buy author for me!

This book was very interesting. I love books that keep me guessing and this was one of them. I never saw the twist coming either! Wow! I will read anything by this author.

I feel like this book was 100 pages too long and was left with too many open coincidences. It felt weird to have almost everything be “solved” by the epilogue, but then other crucial relationships are just chalked up to coincidence? It felt sloppy. But I did like the character development. They felt well-fleshed out and real.