An enjoyable and entertaining book packed with plenty of secrets, lies and twists. This is a clever story, exceptionally well plotted, with very well developed characters providing multiple POVs and reveals.
Juliet is the main character and the most likeable, although she is a little stiff and too serious. Her husband Hugh is the life tenant of an estate in Surrey held by a trust set up by his great grandfather. Hugh is very unlikeable in every way. The house guest is called Alexis, and while she is despicably horrendous, she is also entertaining.
It was really interesting to see the characters from other people's views, and as the POVs changed the plot thickened with plenty of intriguing details and the timeline goes further forward to reveal more twists.
Where will these characters end up and who will get their hands on the sought after estate?
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

THE HOUSE GUEST was non-stop entertainment. First of all, I would never let someone into my house even if they did tell me they were a distant cousin and showed me a DNA match. After Alexis is invited in to the house, things start to get really interesting. All the juicy details start to unfold in the seven parts it's told in. I really couldn't stand that characters of Hugh and Belinda. But I did like Juliet's character, she was not going to let anyone fool her! And I'm very happy with how everything turned out in the end. Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my gifted copy. This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in near future.

Wow! A stunner of a thriller!

I really loved how the story is told from multiple POVs, but rather than the more commonly used format of alternating chapters, the book is split into parts and we hear from the four main narrators in the various parts of the book.

There is a line in one of my favourite musicals that goes like this; “everyone remembers it how they need to, right?” And that phrase really sums this up. All four have their own agenda, but which one is one step ahead of the rest?

The twists just kept on coming, keeping me gripped and guessing, right up to the end.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Alison James and Bookouture for an ARC in return for an honest review.

"The House Guest" is a tale of secrets, intrigue, gaslighting, and deceit. The book is well-written and told through rotating points of view in seven parts, making it a psychological domestic thriller that utilizes unreliable narrators to deliver twist after twist. The English manor, which serves as the setting, is absolutely stunning and worth fighting for. It's fascinating to watch the convoluted cast of characters attempt to secure their place as head of the house, each with their own secrets and agendas. The tension steadily rises with every new twist, and the house itself becomes another character around which everything revolves. Overall, it was a dark delight to read, I recommend it to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC.

When a woman shows up on the doorstep of the estate of Hugh and Juliet claiming she has DNA to prove she is a family member of Hugh he welcomes her with open arms.
Juliet is suspicious especially if it is proven the DNA is correct then she will have a claim on Hugh's estate.
The story is told by the main characters which I found interesting - secrets are spilled and a collision course set
Really good read.

The writing in this book is beautiful and I love the way the setting is described. It just didn't do it for me. I didn't connect with the characters. They seem rude I guess.
Also I loved books with different perspectives but this was a lot of the same scenes described from different perspectives with no new information being revealed. I don't know. I guess it just felt off to me and I was a little bored. Not a bad book at all, just not for me.

This book blew my mind, and I really didn't expect it to!

When Juliet hears a knock on the door during one of her neighbourhood get-togethers, she is shocked to find her husband's only living relative on their doorstep, unannounced.
What really stood out to me in this book is how each character was well-rounded, had their own background stories, and didn't just end up in the story in a vacuum.

I loved how the author managed to get me to imagine the entire house they lived in, in my mind's eye. What started off as a simple story of husbands, wives, and long-lost family, became so much more. Every character thought they were smarter than the next, and I absolutely loved the twists and turns the story took me through.

Thanks for this book, netgalley and bookouture- Highly recommend!

I open the creaking oak front door of my beautiful country house to see a stranger on my doorstep. The woman is stunning with glossy red hair and flawless make-up. "Can I help you" I ask. That was my first mistake. Alexis tells me she is a distant relative and shows me a DNA match in her phone. She has no family and would like to get to know us. My husband Hugh invites her in to join our dinner party. As we drink wine, she opens up about her sad childhood. Her amber eyes are mesmerizing, and I can see my husband is being drawn in by her story. Then she asks for help. Saying yes was the second mistake.

It did not take long for me to become fully invested in this story. The character development was on par. The story is told from several perspectives. Juliet and Hugh live on his family estate, and they are the envy of their family and friends. Alexis turns up on their doorstep claiming to be a distant relative, she has the DNA results that prove it. I loved the plot twists, they just kept coming. With themes of infidelity, trust issues, friendship and family, this is an intriguing read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #AlisonJames for my ARC of #TheHouseGuest in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of this Author and another addictive read. Juliet is the wife of Hugo her husband home has been in the family for generations and Juliet likes to keep it all good they host a lot of partys for there friends but one night a young woman turns up and says she Hugo cousin the next in line for the house Juliet is taken back how her husband is so nice to her. then Hugo dies in a car accident. but who can you trust so good

When lady of the house, Juliet, hears a knock on the door during one of her elegant dinner parties, she never would have guessed that the stranger standing on the other side of the threshold of her sprawling English estate is the lone distant relative of her husband, Hugh. This mystery woman has a suitcase in hand, but there is more than simply luggage packed away for the host and hostess to unpack.

Told through rotating points of view in seven parts, The House Guest is a psychological domestic thriller that utilizes unreliable narrators to succeed in delivering twist after twist. It is a diabolical ride to see how each character will try to outmaneuver the next at all costs in their elaborate plans to get to their own desired ending paving the way for a few plot points that are genuinely surprising. Each character’s point of view reveals new and interesting information that is cleverly seeded throughout prior sections of the book. More often than not, domestic thrillers are filled with only the most morally questionable characters (let’s face it, that can be half the fun), but it was refreshing in this case to have a protagonist to root for, one who we really want to see justice delivered to in the end.

The English manor itself, a most enviable setting, seems worth fighting for. It’s a dark delight to watch what our convoluted cast will attempt to secure their place as head of the house. The House Guest is a quick read and a solid 4 star recommendation to add to you book stack this Fall. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoture for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I struggled to get into this book initially but once I did I was unable to put it down this book was a proper twisty and edge of your seat kinda of book!

My favourite character was Alexis as I would always wonder what would happen next with her. Overall, a great book with many twist and turns!

I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Couldn’t put this down!!Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I enjoyed the multiple narrator chapters and learning what information each character knew as everything unfolded.

This is a psychological thriller like no other. Told in several points of view. It’s the story of Juliet and Hugh living in Hugh’s family estate Mullen’s End. They are the envy of their friends and family. When a woman called Alexis turns up, claiming to be a distant relative. A DNA match confirms it. The couple now concerned about their inheritance. Alexis stays at their home until her own flat is redecorated but she doesn’t seem to want to leave and slowly she and Hugh get closer together while Juliet looks on and worries about her marriage to Hugh. But if they did divorce Hugh would have to pay her a hefty sum of money.
I have a been a fan of Amanda James from her very first book and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into her latest novel. It was a bit slow to start with and even though I thought it was an entertaining read. It was because for me personally I thought it was a bit too far fetched for me. Especially Hugh, the character was too convincing. 3 stars from me.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The good:
This is a very quick and easy read.
It mostly kept my attention (though I was never on the edge of my seat).

The not good:
This quickly became a "hate read" for me.

The story is told from different characters', first person POV, which I normally enjoy. In The House Guest, the tone was exactly the same. Flip to any page in the book and there are zero differences in how characters speak or think.

Also disappointingly is when the same event is recalled by different characters, it is basically a copy and paste of the same information - no new details are included or left out.

Mentioned above, the writing is very simple and easy to read, except for the random "$5 words" that pop us every once in a while. Perhaps because the setting is in England and the author is British, this is common vocabulary for the UK and my American, public educated mind is used to the dumbing down of language.

The way the characters behave is odd- they generally seem to make the correct choices for self preservation, as if they are fully aware of what other's are doing or thinking - when there is no way they have this insight. This makes for very boring reading.

There are a couple of twists that aren't that shocking, mostly because the explanations of how or why the twists came to be is absolutely ridiculous.

"The House Guest" by Alison James is a convoluted psychological thriller that revolves around multiple points of view and is set in the UK. It's the second book by this author that I read, and it certainly won't be the last. The book is divided into seven parts, each following several characters from their perspective: Juliet, her husband Hugh, Belinda (her good friend), and Alexis (the house guest). Each section is written in the first person from a different character's point of view.

Meet Juliet: she is half-Italian and lives with her husband on his family estate. She has a son from a former relationship who lives with his father in Italy. One day, she receives a message from a woman named Alexis, claiming to be a distant cousin of Hugh's, which she initially ignores. Things come to a head when Alexis shows up at their house unexpectedly while Juliet and Hugh are hosting a dinner party. She claims she is transitioning between flats, so Hugh invites her to stay with them until her new apartment is ready. Juliet is unhappy with this, particularly as Juliet is an attractive woman, but she grits her teeth. The plot thickens when threats are made against them from an unknown source, and Alexis appears to have no intention of leaving.

With themes of friendship, family, infidelity, and trust, the author has crafted an intriguing tale. The characters are well-rounded and come across as genuine. Each of them has their own secrets and agendas, and tension steadily rises with every new twist. The house itself becomes another character around which everything revolves. Juliet was the only character I liked and rooted for; the rest, I despised.

I enjoyed the book, but it didn't deliver nail-biting suspense. It started off well, and I liked the first sections; the writing was solid. However, it dragged in the middle due to the literary device used. I appreciated how the author seamlessly integrated the stories of the protagonists. Nonetheless, while I liked the fact that the story was told from different perspectives, describing the same situation from different characters' points of view made the story somewhat repetitive. In a few places in the middle of the book, the momentum sagged a bit as a result. Additionally, some choices and actions by the characters were unbelievable and irrational.

Overall, I enjoyed the book despite its flaws and was surprised by some of the twists. It held my interest throughout, and the ending was mostly satisfying. I would rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 4, and recommend it to those who enjoy stories written from alternating character points of view.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

Juliet is shocked when a girl shows up on their doorstep claiming to be a distant relative of her husband Hugh. He invites her to stay but Juliet is suspicious of her intentions, especially as it seems she could have a claim to their home. I loved how we get the story from all the different characters and thought all the secrets and shocks were brilliant. Loved it!

I must say, while the book keeps you enthralled, it felt like a story that's been written before. The twists were predictable but entertaining. A good solid read to keep you busy. The characters seemed trite and they weren't explored very much so not much character building, but speaking of buildings, the house seemed like IT was the main character. While that may have been the intent, I think that it should have been a secondary character.

I haven't read a story in this genre where we have the same situation told by different characters. This led to a lot of repetition and made the story a bit boring. It took the tension out of it because I knew what was happening. There could have been some real twists and turns but it was all fairly obviously signposted. Still an enjoyable read thought.

If you love a good domestic suspense novel, you’ll love The House Guest by Alison James.

When a woman shows up on Hugh and Juliet’s doorstep claiming to be the heir to Hugh’s estate, a complex web of lies and deceit begins. Who can you trust? Who should you believe? It’s a twisty page turner from the beginning all the way to the end - I finished it in one day, and I was surprised at how each chapter kept me guessing.

This is my first book by James, and it stood out to me as one of the best suspense novels I’ve read this year. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.