“Fish and houseguests stink after 3 days” or so the old adage says, and it doesn’t seem to take even that long in The Family Guest.

The Merritt family has invited a foreign exchange student, Tanya, from the UK, into their home for the next school year. The Merritts, Matt and Natalie, their teen daughter, Paige, and 12 year old son, Will, are mostly excited to have another girl back in the house again after their oldest daughter, Anabel, tragically passed away 2 years ago.

Tanya immediately starts ingratiating herself to Matt and Natalie, and pissing off Paige, as Paige sees Tanya as trying to be the new, improved Anabel. Not going to lie, Tanya does a great job at being truly unlikeable. Think Regina George from Mean Girls on steroids, and you’re about there. You also get the feeling that Tanya has some end game she’s working towards.

Paige takes the majority of the abuse, and is pretty gaslit by her family as well, because Tanya excels at making Paige look crazy. If you’ve had a narcissist in your life, you might recognize the behaviors.

Paige enlists her tech genius little brother Will’s help to sleuth Tanya out, as she’s starting to get the sense there’s something really off about Tanya. Grandma Marjorie Merritt, Matt’s mother, is not taken in by Tanya’s sweet talking, and becomes one of my favorite people in the whole book. She’s got that perfect amount of aristocratic sass where you don’t even know you’ve been summarily dismissed as she slices you with her quick wit.

You end up feeling for Paige as she keeps sounding the warning bell and getting ignored every time, but keeps going regardless.

Skeletons (both real and figuratively) start coming out of the closet as the story winds around, leaving no person unscathed. Who will be left standing at the end of the book?

Overall, I think Nelle did an admirable job at writing a loathsome character, because I was about ready to jump into the book to off Tanya! A solid 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thoughts:
I thought having dual p.o.v gave me different view points, and helped with telling the story better. It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read nor the best thriller I’ve ever read. The book was still somewhat well written. It still did keep me entertained though. To me it was like a lifetime movie. The characters were very clueless, but some things were very predictable. I thought the ending was interesting, but they could have had just a little more. I honestly couldn’t put the book down i really just had to see how it ended. I felt bad for the family. They had just lost their daughter not long ago and then they go to a exchange program and bring Tanya into there home not knowing anything. I did love the epilogue as it was one of my favorite parts that I did not guess. At some points I was screaming at my kindle like the characters in the book would hear me. I didn’t like any of the characters. Paige was just an annoying spoiled teenager who complained about everything. Tanya (exchange student) was very manipulative. I hated the way that everyone was so naive about Tanya’s true intentions. I wanted to stop reading the book entirely because of her but I had to continue reading because I needed to know what happens. Tanya had many of red flags that were extremely obvious but the parents acted like they didn’t notice anything. They let her do whatever she wanted. I hated Tanya but I feel like I’m going to remember her character for a while as we see people like her in life all the time. I felt that the plot wasn’t there at some points in the book. At some points I was wondering what the certain things had to do with the book. I also didn’t like the cheating aspect of the book. If you’re looking for something quick and something to mess with your head a bit i would say read this book.

I was gifted this book by bookouture and NetGalley for my honest opinion.

This book represents the author’s first foray into psychological suspense and I can honestly say that I’m already looking forward to her next release. If you enjoy Lifetime Movie thrillers, The Family Guest is a must read.

Tanya is a British exchange student who strongly resembles her host family’s recently deceased daughter, Anabel. She was chosen by host mom, Natalie, in an effort to fill the hole that has been left in their family since Anabel’s untimely passing. Paige, Natalie’s younger daughter, is not a fan of this arrangement, especially as Tanya begins to infiltrate her social world. With assistance from tech savvy brother, Will, Paige attempts to discover the truth about this stranger that their parents have invited into their home.

This book includes all of the key elements of a nail biter, and they kept me hooked—interesting premise, a fast-paced story told in multiple perspectives, and a bevy of characters guarding potentially life-altering secrets. Little discoveries contributed to a steadily increasing air of apprehension. As a reader, I had questions and wanted answers, especially about what had happened to Anabel, and whether or not Tanya was who she claimed to be.

While I expended several “seriously?” sighs over occasional unbelievable details/coincidences, dated references (i.e. noogies), and campy dialogue that sounded as though it had been plucked from an episode of Scooby Doo, there was no way I was putting this book down until I was finished. Lamarr tells a solid story, resulting in an entertaining page-turner. This was a fun read, and I can’t wait for her next book.

Thank you to Bookouture, Nelle Lamarr, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance of its September 21, 2023 release.

I wasn't sure if this was a 2 or 3 for me so I'm landing on 2.5 stars. I feel like I have so many more dislikes than things I enjoyed BUT, I was intrigued still and I did finish so it earns some points there... it was very predictable though. I found toward the back end the characters were written better with a clear distinction and the adult POV more adult like (explained further below).

The Family Guest is about an exchange student from the U.K. residing with a U.S. family. The daughter of a diplomat, she's rich, stuck up and spoilt. There is some questionable behaviour and she's ultimately trying to ruin the daughter of the family who she's living with, Paige. Paige seems to be a sweet and smart teen, but with some messed up inner thoughts.

The family guest is multi POV, and we hear from Paige and her mum, Natalie. Although Natalie is an adult, early on in the book this gives very much YA vibes for each POV.

Now I know some people love catty, dramatic, rich people stuff but I find it a bit cringe and insufferable sometimes so there's a good chance if it's your jam this will work for you - suggest checking other reviews.

I was constantly annoyed by the awful parents and parenting in this book. It was no doubt intended but ugh, I hate reading about such selfish, unloving, uncaring, neglectful and just s*** parents. Not enjoyable when one is the main POV.

I googled whether the author was male or female by chapter 9 - the phrasing used to describe opposite gender, sexual content etc. just seemed so much like books I've read from male authors and the reason I personally don't enjoy many male authors books. I think maybe it was aiming for a teenage language vibe but it didn't work. For example, Paige, the teenage daughter, says of the exchange student "for someone so skinny, she was incredibly stacked". Just no.

Paige seemed like a very sweet girl but then suddenly for chapters she had some insanely dark, twisted thoughts about murder, death and suffering of the exchange student. It didn't read well and didn't fit. Even if she thought it for a second, she didn't feel bad just kept persisting. This is from a person who's sister had died, she may be a teen, but she understands death. I really didn't like it.

There were a lot of times where I found this book very similar to an ARC I read recently, She Says She's My Daughter. It's different in quite a few respects, but reading one book of the kind was enough for me.

Lastly, there were quite a few holes. Suspend disbelief is necessary but also, may be frustrated by things such as medical scripts being written in false names or without history or... I don't even understand how, and can't explain the issue without spoilers.

I wouldn't recommend this one widely, but to a few people I know who may enjoy it.

Thank you to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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** Spoilers below **


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I am just so frustrated by two things and cannot comprehend it:

1. Natalie is cheated on by her husband, but when Lance cheats on her daughter with the exchange student living in her house she doesn't kick her out nor care too much. Seriously?! She sees it coming and just no fs given for her daughter.

2. At the end, Natalie is relying on her TWELVE year old to save her daughter and his quick thinking intelligence. For real? We're made to think she's smarter than that but then that happens. Ugh.

The Family Guest threw a curve ball at the end that I would not have thought of. I had exceptional hate for the exchange student and could not wait to find out what happened to her. Great read.

Wow, what a twisted psychological thriller! Just when you think you know what's going to happen, it takes tight turns! Very well done by a new-to-me author. Definitely looking forward to more!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Ugh..... men! They never fail to annoy do they? Which I mean goes to show how realistic and engaging the writing was that it did have me wanting to slap one of the characters!

This is the kind of domestic noir that I love! Someone shady and everyone else trying to figure out who they are and what they want. There's also a secret. Did I mention there's a secret? Because there is a secret!

It's multiple povs and each voice is written clearly and distinctly so there's no confusion about who's perspective were reading. The characters were well written, the plot engaging and some good twists thrown it. A quick read but a really enjoyable one

3.5 stars ⭐️

“𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭.”

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛
The Family Guest follows the Merritt Family as they host a foreign exchange student. A perfect guest, Tanya, seems to be a great distraction to the family from their tragedy but soon they realise she’s not who she claims to be…

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
A fast-paced well-written page-turner that’ll keep you hooked! I enjoyed it as the writing was simple and captivating. With dual POVs and an intriguing plot, I couldn’t put it down.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝-𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭-𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚. It was infuriating how Tanya overpowered the Merritt Family with her manipulations. I disliked Tanya so much and hated the fact that they just let her get away with her uncalled actions.

And then the plot turned into a dangerous psychological—thriller. Tanya showed her true colours and her actions became menacing. As Tanya threatened the Merritt Family, their demons and secrets were ready to come out as chaos engulfed them..

And I loved Paige and Will, both were more mature than their parents! And their bonding was incredibly sweet. Their Sherlock-Watson Duo will forever be my favourite🤩

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, except for one thing at the end🤯 Everything else was “typical in teenage/adult thrillers”. Many twists and turns were so obvious even before they even came into sight.

Plus, the parents. They were absolutely clueless and ignored the crystal-clear red flags around them, and then acted surprised when things took a turn. Some reveals were used for “blackmail” even when they were out in the open👀

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
Overall, a captivating psychological thriller that’ll keep you hooked. With dual POVs and a frustrating guest, it oscillates between a spoiled-teenage-drama and a life-threatening thriller. But, some of the characters needed improvement and the twists and turns were relatively predictable.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞-𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Nelle Lamarr for the chance to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

When I'm reading books typically I love to find a character that tugs on the heart strings or I find myself particularly attached to (one to root for) as a story progresses. In this book my god, some of the characters were so infuriating I had to scream internally so I didn't hurl my kindle or scare the cat. While saying that while I may have been raging internally.....man, it worked so well for the character development and this story and it was VERY well done.

This was a wonderful psychological thriller that took me on a rollercoaster of emotions and had all of the twists and turns that I love in this genre. I would put the book down but then quickly find myself snatching it back up again because I had to find out what happened next. I was invested.

This is not one to miss!

This was a decent, fast paced domestic thriller.

The story is told in alternate points of view between Paige (the daughter) and Natalie (the mom) as they deal with an English exchange student, Tanya, who comes to live with them. Tanya looks almost identical to Natalie's daughter, Anabel, who died tragically a few years ago. Natalie treats Tanya like her daughter and is on cloud 9. Paige is suspicious of Tanya and doesn't think she's who she says she is.

It's a fairly standard plot where you have one person who's probably up to no good and everyone has secrets, but it's well written and interesting. I wanted to know who Tanya really was and what she was up to.

The author does a good job of switching the POVs and each having a distinctive voice. I also enjoyed the one chapter Matt popped in to narrate. It was fast paced and I enjoyed watching the conflicts escalate.

What drove me absolutely nuts was how most of Natalie's chapters ended with a reference to her secret and how if her secret comes out, she would lose everything, and she has a secret she's hiding, and, not sure if you know this, but THERE'S A SECRET. The horse was dead and the author kept beating it.

I enjoyed the resolution; it was a bit predictable but still interesting. I hated the Epilogue chapter with my entire being and am pretending it doesn't exist. I don't think the author did a satisfactory job (or attempt it) of explaining how Tanya was able to join the reputable exchange student program so I do still wonder about that. But the rest of the ending was solid and had believable explanations.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

A fast page turner for me. I didn’t like the characters very much but they made a very good story. Also, I didn’t expect the twist - I was totally oblivious to it so when it came I was very surprised!

A very good read. I hope to read more by this Author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Told primarily from dual POVs this book follows a mother and her daughter as they welcome an exchange student into their home. We quickly find out that the student isn’t who she says she is. The mother has her own secrets. And the daughter is just trying to survive her last year of high school.

Overall I found this story enjoyable but predictable. I did guess most of the big reveals. The pacing was a little off and for me the depth of the characters was lacking. It was easy to read. I did enjoy how the husband got what was coming for him. And I did enjoy the twist of Tiffany in FL at the end. But overall for me it just lacked that wow factor.

First things first, I'd like to thank Netgalley, Nelle Lamarr, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and completely voluntary!

I was drawn to this book by the cover, intrigued by the summary, and hooked on the first page. HOOKED. Quite literally, once I started I couldn't stop. I finally fell asleep reading, about 85% through, and finished it first thing the next morning!

In this book, you'll find...
✔️ Family drama
✔️ Secrets & lies
✔️ Jaw dropping revelations
✔️ Characters you love to hate

➡Triggers include death of a child, child abandonment, adultery, child abuse, and sexual assault

The Merritt family has a slew of issues. They lost their oldest child, Anabel, two years prior, and it nearly destroyed Natalie Merritt. She admittedly favored Anabel and was closer to her than either of her other children, Paige and Will. Natalie and her husband, Matt, have little to no relationships with Paige nor Will, and are each incredibly self absorbed. Enter Tanya - a beautiful, materialistic, and mysterious foreign exchange student that is strikingly similar to Anabel. Tanya takes Anabel's room, starts wearing Anabel's clothes, and this is just the beginning of her tumultuous presence in the Merritt home. Natalie adores Tanya, but Paige knows something isn't right. She and Will decide it's their duty to uncover out Tanya's secrets, but little do they know just how twisty and dangerous that path could be.

The Family Guest is an unputdownable psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you think you have it all figured out, you probably don't. Some things seemed so obvious, and while I was on the right track, Nelle Lamarr threw a few curve balls that leveled up the story and kept me guessing.

If you're looking for a quick, engrossing, and enthralling story - look no further!

So I thought this book was really good, but the plot is way overdone and predictable. I find it hard to believe everyone would suddenly fawn over this girl while neglecting their family? I knew who Tanya was almost immediately, but I still loved this book and powered through it. Made my blood boil like no other!

Reminding myself to never host a student exchange as I don't want drama or messed up people besides for one character in my life

This was a fast paced thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. I could not put this book down. Bookouture definitely knows how to sign psychological thriller author and Nelle Lamarr is no exception

A definite recommend. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book and all thoughts are my own.

The writing seemed kind of juvenile and there were points that were especially cringy. The overall story wasn’t bad, but I almost didn’t make it through because it felt like it was written by a teenage girl.

Read this is one day, so it's definitely fast paced. While not being an original storyline, I did appreciate some of the twists that Lamarr came up with. I definitely had a different ending in mind so didn't see that coming! Sadly, the epilogue was not a shock.

Overall, a great beach read or quick one to help reach your reading goals.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this!

A family that from the outside seems to have it all: beauty, wealth and happiness, suffers a terrible loss. Anabelle, Natalie and Matt's eldest daughter, died young.
This horrible event plunges Natalie into a deep depression, which she struggles with pills and alcohol for several months. Until her children Paige and Will give her the push she needs to recover.
However, things are not going well between Natalie and Matt, despite appearances.
One fine day, a young British girl arrives in the Merrit's life, Tanya, an exchange student from the same school as Paige and Will.
Tanya’s arrival, who curiously looks a lot like Anabelle, will be an event in the Merrit's family life.
Hardly any secrets will remain hidden after the visit of this family guest.
My impressions
Once again Bookouture does it - what an eye the editors of this publisher have! No author disappoints and Nelle Lamarr is no exception.
The story written by Lamarr kept me hooked to my Kindle for days, I am a 5 chapter a day reader but every chance I got I would go back and read another chapter or two.
The present tense narration will always be a green flag for me as it allows you to get involved in the story.
Paige's and Natalie's points of view, great.
The complicity between Paige and Will, I loved it.
The clues that Nelle drops here and there to make you come up with crazy theories. Outstanding.
The ending? WOW. Even though I thought I knew it all, I never quite figured it out.
My rating is 5 flawless stars.

This was a fast paced thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. I could not put this book down.
This was my first book by this author, but it most definitely won't be my last. I could not put this one down. I finished reading this in one day ( and well into the night, too!)
Fans of Freida McFadden and Kiersten Modglin should read this book.
I really liked that this story is told from different points of view and the characters were well thought out.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC of The Family Guest by Nelle Lamarr.

First off, wow, that prologue had me hooked. I could not put this one down. The writing style was one that kept me engaged and wanting to know more. I thought I had parts of it figured out but boy was I wrong. I will definitely recommend this one and will be on the lookout for more books from Nelle!