I love whe. I finish a book and immediately think “what did I just read?!” This was definitely the case with THE NIGHT GUEST.

I listened to the audiobook format and the narration was really good and drew me in right away.

*many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I really REALLY enjoyed this and the narrator was great. I think my only complaint is the ending. I’m not sure if it was supposed to be an ambiguous ending but it fell so flat for me that I was disappointed. Up until then though I enjoyed the heck out of this.

A woman wakes up with bruises and in pain. Her doctor can't find anything wrong with her
Somwthing is going on in the middle of the night that she can not remember
Is she sleep walking
Cats are missing as well

I'm really not sure how to rate this one. I really felt for our main character in the early chapters. I certainly believed her that something was wrong. I appreciated the narrative around her struggle to get medical care - and to get a doctor to listen/believe her. I was feeling invested and then the author started to lose me. Things got pretty weird and there wasn't great resolution. I was left wanting more. More explanation, more story, and possibly a better result? It just kind of fizzled for me. I would be very open to trying this author again. If nothing else, I'm intrigued enough to see what's next.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Good audiobook, would recommend but probably not reread lol

What did I just binge listen to?! Wowww I’m going to need some time to unpack this one. If you like your books wrapped up in a cute little bow, this isn’t for you. If you don’t want to read about animal cruelty, again, this book isn’t for you!

However, if you love a spine tingling creepy read with an ambiguous ending that will fill you with complete dread - look no further my bookish friends!, this book is most definitely for you! Also, just go in blind and enjoy this psychological horror novella!

This ALC was kindly gifted to by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. 4 Creeptastic Stars!!! The narrator did a fabulous job translating this novel as well as narrating it. 100 chapters in a novella?! Say what?! Those short chapters and the narration were so impactful. Full of suspense and dread. I couldn’t stop listening.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this tale but found myself increasingly frustrated by it as it went on. Even though it's short, it took me a long time to get through it because of how I stopped caring about the main character. It does a great job at building intrigue and mystery but absolutely loses steam.

Despite not liking the novella itself, the audiobook narrator did a great job with it, making sure to draw out all the suspense without ever sounding hokey.

Thanks to @netgalley, @macmillan.audio, @hildurknutsdottir, & @tornightfire for my advanced listening copy!

PUB DAY: SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2024
Translated and narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

This was such a quick and gripping read. I’ve never listened to an entire audiobook in a day but I did with this one. At less than 3 hours, I flew through this. Reminding me that 8 hours of sleep is important, this was an intensely creepy story and a bit disturbing. With short chapters (sometimes even just a sentence), it helped propel the creepiness factor into overdrive. The ending was a little confusing and somewhat open ended but the overall story is a must read if you love horror novellas (although I’m not sure this is full blown horror).

*There are trigger warnings about dead animals*

I really enjoyed this novella. It has some fantastic metaphors and the female voice is interesting. The cycle of doubt and resignation was powerful and the voice acting really helped to send the emotions to the reader. It had just the right amount of gore and creep factor. I don't know how I feel about the ending, but I also don't love it when things are tied up in a neat and tidy bow, so I'm fine with it. The short chapters were clipped and left an impression. This would have a lot to offer a book club even though it's a novella.

I listened to this audiobook in one morning while getting some housework done. I was alone, and this book definitely made me feel very unsettled. The Night Guest is eerie and so short that everything comes at you incredibly fast. You hardly have time to process what's going on. All you know is that you may never sleep again. This is one that's going to be on my mind for a long time. I'll certainly be thinking about the open to interpretation ending.

This audiobook was narrated by Robinette Kowal, and I enjoyed it immensely. She brought a sense of panic and urgency that I loved.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, for this ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

As an audiobook, the Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir offers a chilling and atmospheric listening experience that immerses listeners in its eerie, suspenseful narrative. It is a suspenseful and atmospheric psychological thriller.

I honestly don't know what to say about "The Night Guest." It was definitely a compelling story that I had a hard time putting down. But the animal cruelty was a huge turn-off, and I didn't understand the ending at all... There were too many unanswered questions that we're left to try to puzzle out ourselves.

I think if the ending were less vague than it is, this could have been a really good book. Its premise was certainly new to me, and it's rare to read a story that is as fresh as this one seemed to be. The writing was also good, making me want to keep reading to figure out what was going on. But so much of the story was enigmatic. For example, when the MC sees a photo of someone, she states that she immediately recognized the smile, but she never lets on who it reminds her of. We also learn of a sister who is presumably dead, but we're never told that for certain, despite another character's repeated attempts to learn more about what had happened.

By the time I was done reading the book, I felt more unnerved than satisfied. And given some of the content, perhaps it might have fit better into the psychological thriller or horror genre than the general adult fiction the publisher indicated it is.

Regardless, I want to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

This one fell flat for me. It was promising in the beginning but it quickly lost my interest and I found myself feeling confused. Not to mention, the animal cruelty is not my jam.

I enjoyed the narrator of The Night Guest, I didn't love the actual story itself. I would for sure listen to another audiobook with this narrator, I may search for some to see what types of books they've done. I don't know that I'll read or listen to another book by this author.
4 stars for the narrator
2 stars for the story

This was a strange little story. I listened to the audiobook and referenced a digital copy at times for spellings and clarification. The audio was narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal who portrays anxious characters in such a fantastic manner.

The story takes place in Reykjavik and follows Iðunn as she navigates the healthcare system in Iceland to find a diagnosis for her strange symptoms. She has been experiencing extreme exhaustion and fatigue as well as finding strange bruises on her body. While her concerns about being brushed off by male doctors who run tests that all come back showing nothing is wrong with her are justified, there’s also an element of nervous frustration about her that lent her an air of hypochondria also exacerbated by her need to self-diagnose. I can relate here as I’m terrible at keeping my hands away from an internet browser when I have a strange symptom.

Well-meaning friends are quick to advise her on all sorts of remedies that they believe will help. The advice leads her to purchase a watch to keep track of her steps and she discovers that she’s been walking miles at night in her sleep. I was intrigued with the premise behind this story.
It’s told in very short chapters, sometimes just a sentence or phrase. This keeps the pace going quickly, which kept my interest as I started to figure out what was behind these strange happenings. I admit I was a bit disappointed in the resolution. It went off the rails a bit for me in the end. Still a quick, short read that I enjoyed for the most part.

TW: Animal harm (cats specifically)

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Tor Nightfire for a copy provided for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Super quick psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator! I didn't totally understand the ending and maybe it could be interpreted different ways. Enjoyable fast read!

I wasn’t expecting this story at all and it was a big surprise. It’s a short story, I had no idea, but what a wild ride. It’s eerie, disturbing, tense and completely addictive. If you like chilling and gripping stories you need to read this.

So confused after finishing this in 2 hours… I did not know the ending was the end. This was very eerie and chilling but just simply not for me. I’m so confused and disturbed and not in a good way.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a surprising novella for me. The voice was strong and I really enjoyed how surreal the whole novella felt. The atmosphere was great and I was sufficiently creeped the hell out at times. I love novellas, and I thought the story Knútsdóttir wanted to tell was perfect for this format. My only quibble is that the ending didn’t feel as strong as the rest of the story. The audiobook is narrated by the translator, and she did a wonderful job.

The one major thing that needs to be said about this one is the graphic animal cruelty. If this particular content warning is a no for you, it’s probably best to just turn away.

*3.5 stars* The vibes were great, the writing was not. I don't know how much was lost in translation. I always enjoy translated fiction I just wish it flowed better and was more horror instead of suspense.