Loved this book, there were so many twists and turns I never saw coming. The characters you feel bad for in the beginning will completely take a turn at the end!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy. This book was amazing! A family takes in an exchange student, and find out the hard way she is not who they think she is. There is danger and intrigue in this book and I loved it!

I just could not connect at all, to this story. I was really looking forward to a good thriller but I need characters that will pull me in and this just missed the mark. The characters were more annoying and flat than anything. DNF 17%

This was SO GOOD! From the beginning it reminded me of a lifetime movie in the best way possible. I found myself absolutely hating Tanya and visibly angry at the things she did throughout the book. The ending was kind of fast but I had no idea where it was going. Would recommend

First off, I'd like to thank Bookoulture, Netgalley & Nelle Lamarr for the opportunity to read The Family Guest for an honest review.

Natalie and Matt take in an exchange student to stay with them at their house after a horrible tragedy happens in their family. Getting to know Tanya, you start to realize something is off with her. She walks in that house and basically takes over. I kept thinking, it's time for her to GO!!! She does some terrible things to the family and their dog. (I'm so happy the dog made it through, bc if not this would have been a tear jerker for me!)

I really enjoyed this book! It was well written, the characters were well planned out, and the book itself was like an amazing roller coaster. It kept you on the edge of your seat wondering what was going to happen next in the story. I also really loved the epilogue. It made the book feel complete for me, with no questions left at the end.

"The Family Guest" by Nelle Lamarr earns a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. Lamarr's storytelling weaves a tapestry of emotions, family dynamics, and hidden truths. The pacing keeps the story engaging from start to finish. While there were moments which I think felt flat or unneeded, I enjoyed the read overall. Thank you Net Galley, Nelle Lamarr, and Publisher for the ARC!

Bang! From the very first pages I already knew who I was rooting for and who I did not trust at all and disliked deeply.

I have to say kudos for the narrators. They make the annoying people even more annoying and the ones I loved more loveable by the intonations of their voices. At first I did not know whether an audio book was something I would like or be able to comprehend totally. After all English is not my mother tongue and even though I have read numerous English books, there still is a difference between reading yourself or being able to understand everything that is being said. But I fell in love with audio books. A book becomes a play and it's so different. I feels like the characters are living and breathing human beings.

I loved the way the author used the points of view of Paige and her mom Nathalie to build the story around. I loved the banter between Paige and her younger brother Will. And of course, you just have to hug Bear, the lovely big family dog. :)

The story swept me up from page one and took me for a ride and I adored every minute of it. The book was a roller coaster of emotions: laughter, love, hate, regret, guild, lies and then there was that particular part of the book that brought tears to my eyes, made them stream down my cheeks a bit later with me shrieking NOOO, having me sighing with relief a bit later...

Great book. 5 stars

Thank you

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the Advanced Readers copy.

Nelle Lamarr really knows how to put the fun in dysfunction! The Family Guest is told from dual pov and there are plenty of twists that will leave you open-mouthed. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, then do yourself a favor and read this one right now.

I was not too sure on this book at first and after reading a few chapters i am still not 100% certain..

Featuring a spoilt exchange student living with her host family she seems to be intent on upending every aspect of the cosy family life they have....this in itself put me off for a while but carried on and whilst t he ending was a surprise i did feel it seemed predictable

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc

This is definitely up there as one of my favourite psychological thriller drama's, it was the gift that just kept on giving!

It's moderately paced, narrated from multiple POV and once you start you'll soon find yourself addicted to both the plot,

The twists and turns throughout were insane and just when you think you've got it all sussed, Lamarr throws another curve ball into the mix!

Absolutely brilliant book, highly recommended.

Well this book was bonkers in the best way! I couldn’t stop reading it and loved it, devoured the story.

I'd like to start off by saying that I couldn't put this book down. Matt and Natalie welcomed a beautiful teenager, Natalie, into their home and that brought back memories of their precious Anabel that died in an accident. Paige isn't very happy about their new guest, but is she right about her gut instinct?

I didn't imagine at all how this story would play out but I loved it! Definitely recommend this book.

This thriller reads from different points of view as spoiled British rich kid Tanya arrives as an exchange student in the United States. While I enjoyed the read, I had to check the genre as it felt like YA fiction rather than a psychological thriller, but that’s okay as I do enjoy a good YA book. I did work out the big twist fairly early but that didn’t really take away from the story as a whole.

I think the only issue I found was that I could not identify with any of the characters. I just didn’t like them, and while that isn’t in itself a problem for storytelling, I couldn’t connect with them which meant I could not empathise or appreciate the story from their different perspectives. This is just my opinion which I do not want to take away from anybody else’s enjoyment of the book, so read it for yourselves. I would be interested to know if you agree or disagree with me.

That said, I liked the plot and the way it delivered which earned a star, So I have given The Family Guest, by Nelle Lamarr, four stars.

If you love twisty psychological thrillers, this one will be sure to keep you guessing. But I did find it long getting into the story.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'The Family Guest' by Nelle Lamarr.



Read and reviewed via NetGalley Shelf and NetGalley for Elisabeth Carpenter, Bookouture publishers, Bookouture Audio and Bookouture anonymous.



Publication date 21st September 2023.


This is the first book I have read by this author but I'm definitely looking forward to reading more!!


This novel consists of a prologue, 64 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

'The Family Guest' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Nelle discusses mental health, infidelity and cruelty to animals.


This book is very well written and narrated and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

A fantastic and fast paced psychological family drama that warns you to be careful who you trust. The storyline is one that is unique to me which is always a bonus as I've read so many psychological thrillers it is getting harder and harder to find a unique storyline. Nelle's fantastic writing skills and Lynn and Cecily's excellent narrative skills ensures your heart races and your on the edge of your seat while being completely immersed in this page turner. It is absolutely rammed full of twists, toxic relationships, family, lies, red herrings, tension, drama, secrets and bombshells. The multiple narrative allows the reader to see what is going on from both Natalie (the mother) and Paige (the daughter) perspectives as well as seeing how they are feeling at different stages throughout the book. It is a captivating book that once I started listening to it I just couldn't stop and I was playing it through my earphones while doing jobs in the house, in the car when out and even through Alexa until I had devoured it in several hours!! There were several twists throughout the book and a massive one at the end which there was no way I would have ever seen coming!!! Another HUGE congratulations Nelle for that jaw dropping moment!! Again, it is getting harder and harder to shock me after reading so many thrillers that it is getting harder to surprise me but you managed to blow my mind!! I am looking forward to seeing what Nelle comes up with next!


It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture


This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Lynn Norris and Cecily Bednar Schmidt who both did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Lynn and Cecily did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices along with accents!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Nelle but also to listening to more books narrated by Lynn and Cecily!

The characters were all realistic and Nelle's evocative writing skills and Lynn and Cecily's fantastic narration brought each of them to life leaving you feel that you are standing next to each of them as they are telling you their stories. They each had their own unique personalities that I enjoyed getting to know as the story was being told. However, the majority of the characters are most definitely unlikeable!!! This normally puts me off books, when I despise them, but again Nelle surprises me by putting these horrid characters in books yet I was still hooked!!! Natalie and Matt are absolutely horrific people let alone parents!!! Talk about self obsessed, disgraceful and down right horrid!!! I could not stand them along with Tanya we who was an absolute brat from beginning to end!!! Lance, Paige's boyfriend was another absolute plick who was another despicable character. The only characters I liked and felt sorry for were Paige, Will and Bear who were the daughter, son and their dog who I absolutely loved and was brought to tears to by one event!!! These three were the victims of this book but were also strong, likeable and realistic characters that I would happily read more about. Will, especially was such a sweet boy and an amazing younger brother to Paige. Paige gets bonus points for being vegan!!! Go Paige!!! I am a huge animal lover so seeing animals/pets playing such big characters in books are always a huge bonus and Bear was adorable and heroic!! The other character I really liked and wanted to mention is Paige and Will's Grandmother and Matt's mother Marjorie who made me laugh with her attitude and wicked humour!! This is a book filled with lies, twists and one where you have no idea which characters are telling the truth or who are hiding secrets. regardless of whether you love or hate the characters they all work together perfectly to create a tension packed psychological drama that will keep you hooked throughout!


Congratulations Nelle on an absolutely gripping true page turner! I am looking forward to reading more of your books!!


Overall a captivating and tension packed intriguing psychological thriller!!!



374 pages. 9 hours 57 minutes via Audible.


This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited, £9.99 in paperback, £16 for the Audiobook and £7.99 for the Audiobook with Audible (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

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I’ve recently discovered that for me, great characters don’t have to be likeable. In fact, those who make my blood boil are often more memorable. The foreign exchange student in this story, Tanya, isn’t a typical evil character that we’ve grown up disliking, but rather an unashamedly flawed individual who seems to revel in manipulation. I was tempted to throw my KIndle across the room more than once and yet, there was something that kept me reading. Tanya was irksome and infuriating. She was definitely a young woman with a plan and laser like focus in carrying it out.

The Merritt family of Los Angeles had no idea what they were getting into when they welcomed Tanya into their home. My first response was to gasp and then comment aloud that it was going to be a long year ahead for everyone if they didn’t erect some boundaries immediately. I felt for Paige, the Merritt’s daughter, and could see myself in her. She was exasperated at every turn the moment Tanya walked into their home. I loved the multiple points of view and noted that each had a distinct voice that sounded extremely authentic.

Then the uneasy feeling started to settle in as I asked why the Merritts had requested an exchange student after suffering such loss. Was it a coping mechanism? Was it something more sinister? When the secrets started piling up, I was hooked.

There were fantastic twists I never saw coming and the epilogue was one of the best I’ve read.

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Tanya is an exchange student, staying with Matt and Natalie and their children. Tanya is just like the daughter they lost, beautiful and bright. But, unlike her, lies evil. Well told, gripping novel! I loved it!

Great read! Kept me turning pages late into the night! What a thriller! This is definitely a book I’ll be recommending to others.

You know a thriller is good when you don’t see the twist coming and it’s safe to say I did not expect the ending on this one.
A fast-paced dual POV psychological thriller that follows an exchange student and the family hosting her . They discover she’s not who she says she is well after she has made herself at home in their house.
Between trying to figure out what Tanya, the exchange student wanted and finding out family secrets, this book has a way of keeping you on your toes.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Wow! What a page turner.. This was such an amazing read I couldn’t put it down. There is plenty of suspense throughout with a great ending that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters were good, I loved the story itself it was so enjoyable and exciting, and the style of writing was perfect. This is the first book I have ever read by this author and can’t wait for the next one out. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes reading psychological thrillers.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a honest review.