I’ll start with a positive, I love this cover! Love it! Pink covers are the best. But overall this book just absolutely was not for me! Maybe next time.

This was fine. I will say I do need to ease up on novellas because I am particularly harsher on them. I do think I needed more information on what was actually going on at night, but I LOVED what it eluded to towards the end. The ambiguous ending was also pretty top notch. Overall though, I wish this was a bit longer with some more context on what was happening in the nights.

Iðunn is tired. More than tired. Exhausted.
Shes trying out a new doctor. Her former pcp dismissed her symptoms. Her experience was relatable. The wish for some answers and a reason for the way she feels. Everyone has auggesgions. But still, she’s no closer to a fix. An answer.

I can see how her behavior could have been viewed as hysterical or that of a hypochondriac but the 40,000 steps that appear overnight on her new step tracker changes that. That’s when the story turns. She grasps at straws. She must be sleepwalking? She begins doing what she can to keep her sleeping self confined to her apartment. Where does she go when she sleepwalks? How can she prevent it? The cats are afraid of her. Come to think of it… the cats are disappearing. Is that a coincidence?

I liked the short chapters. Some as short as a sentence. It gave me the feel of someone missing time.

I enjoyed this audiobook, performed by Mary Robinette Kowal. She did a beautiful job making it feel as though I was in conversation with her. I could absolutely find myself talking to Iðunn.

The final chapters (approximately 5 minutes to the end) I completely lost the plot. I listened to it 5 times, thinking I must have missed a big point. But no. It was vague, leaving it open to interpretation. Also, do not read this if you haven’t already problem with animals being harmed.

So, the first 2 hours and 40 minutes? A 4 star. The final minutes? 1 star. I’d even it out to 3 stars.

Thank you Hildur Knútsdóttir, NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Mary Robinette Kowal for providing the ARC for an honest review.

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
4 🌟
-
N O V E L L A! I love a good, quick, easy read novella that will keep your attention the entire time and also have you wanting more. When it comes to novella, the pacing of the story for me can either make or break the storyline, and for The Night Guest, the pace was FAST and straight to the point. I loved it!

The narrator | translator Mary Robinette Kowal did a great job, and I enjoyed listening to her tell this story.

Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms, and blood tests haven't revealed any cause. Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬:
•mystery | horror
•contemporary Reykjavik
•missing | murdered cats
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 Sept.3
Thank you, Netgalley, and MacmillanAudio for the audiobook for my honest review

#bookreview #audiobook #novella #mystery #horror #Reykjavik #missingcats #suspense #thriller #booklover #bookworm #mustread #highlyrecommended

I found the initial parts of the story engaging, but it lost my interest as it progressed. The ending deviated significantly from what I anticipated, which affected my overall engagement with the narrative

A quick little horror / mystery novella that will keep you guessing. We follow our main character into her descent into confusion and paranoia. She's found herself incredibly fatigued, without answers to her symptoms from her doctors, and at a loss for explaining how her watch has tracked her taking 40,000 steps in one night. Does she have some rare disease? Is she sleepwalking? Is she possessed? Is this all just in her head?

This was a very quick read, with the audiobook coming in at a little of 2 hours. Although short, I still felt confused and disoriented along with our main character, desperately wanting to know what was happening on these night walks and why.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a dnf for me. Just didnt make sense. No rating. Could have been the narrator but it was very hard to follow and the main character was very unlikeable.

This one was a mixed bag for me. Maybe it had too much intrigue and open ended details? I felt like if I had read this book instead of listening to it, I may have had different feelings about it. I listened to this book in one sitting on a road trip home. I have to say between the traffic and the kids in the backseat I may have been a little too distracted for the pace of this book. It was fast moving and I felt myself missing key details or character development if I was distracted at all. I feel like I could've got a lot more out of this book if I had read it. I only gave it a two star review, but I hope to have a chance to listen to this one again at a later date. Maybe I'll have different feelings after a second listen. Thank you, McMillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the ARC of this audiobook.

This novel read like a short story. Not heavy on background, dialog or description, but rife with tension and dread.

I struggled to appropriately tag and describe this book because I couldn't come up with the right words I needed. It's creepy, it's tense, it's troubling, and it's disturbing.

Thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I think if it had been any longer, I likely would have given up, but since this novella was quite short, I powered through. I wish there had been more clues about what was really happening. There was a description of the map and where she was sleepwalking, but there was never any indication of why that place may have been important to the main character. She just kept saying that she didn't want to know what was there. I think it could have added another layer to the story if there had been some connection to, who I'm assuming is the sister she thought was dead, and the location where the men were found.

I was pretty disappointed by the ending, and I won't likely recommend this book. I've read some other books that are by Nordic authors, and I haven't loved those either, so I think maybe this style of writing isn't my cup of tea. I do hope it finds its audience!

What a deeply unsettling novella! About a week after finishing it, I keep randomly thinking about it.

For starters, massive trigger warning for animal cruelty/death. I was not expecting it and the content was graphic.

This starts off a bit slow, and if you don't read the synopsis ahead of time (I hadn't), you're not quite sure what's happening. The narrator drops a couple of hints that things are not okay, that there are recent events that might come into play in the story, which is enough to start building up tension.

If you like going into things not knowing much, then all you really need to know is that the main character seems to be having sleep issues and keeps waking up exhausted, sometimes with unexplained bruises and injuries. She's on a quest to figure out what's going on, and what she discovers leaves her with more questions than answers.

By the end of the book, you're also left with questions, so if you need a clean, clear ending, this might not be for you. This type of ending works perfectly well for me, as does the general structure of this story. I love trying to piece things together with the character. I love the feeling that things aren't quite right and can't possibly end well. This is creepy as hell, and the audiobook is great.

I did keep wanting just a bit more. A bit more of the main character, a bit more insight into her past, a bit more at the end (not necessarily more answers, just... more). This is what keeps it from 5 stars, but if it lingers with me much longer, that might get bumped up.

Sometimes I feel like this woman too. I wake up feeling like I did all the work in the world overnight. I thought I need melatonin or other sleeping aid to have restful sleep. I got an Oura ring to follow my sleeping habits but maybe I have someone haunting me too. Who knows who gets under my skin make my walk/work every night?!

It must be horrifying to see that your watch is telling you you took 40000 steps when you were supposed to be sleeping or going to same place over and over again with missing kitten tally rose. Iðunn was truly struggling with her sleep. People suggest all sorts of "remedies" but none of them worked. She couldn't get over her sister's passing and probably sleeping with her ex did not make things better either. But no one know what exactly was wrong with her. How could she wake up with damp hair and blood under her nails?

Short but scary novella fitting to Nordic tradition. They don't beat around the bush. They hit you right in the face with crazy stories and you'll just have to take it.

I won't be reading this on audio anymore, although I was initially very interested in receiving this ARC.... until I realized it was a horror novel featured killing cats, dead cats. Please change your publisher's blurb to mention this cruelty and the horror genre.

The Night Guest is a quick read that is very intriguing. If you like psychological thrillers, this story is for you. I was curious from the beginning of this story, wondering where it may go. It took a turn that was not expected, and kept me engaged until the end.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story which is a translation that is read by the translator. It was well done. I listened at 1.75x speed (my normal audiobook listening speed is 1.75-2x speed).

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.

I listened to an advanced copy of the audiobook

Review of the audiobook : 4 stars
The narrator is clear at speeds 0.5x-2x, but I think some elements of this book would be much more impactful in a physical format

Review of the book : 2.5 stars
Had good ideas but something about the writing style isn't for me

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

Super Quick listen and so good. I love unreliable narrators. This was like diving into the mind of someone with hypochondria but also extreme mental illness. Throw in a few terrifying sleep disorders. Even through all that I still really liked the main character and wanted her to find peace.

Great narration!

Trigger Warning for animal abuse.

Read Completed 7/27/24 | 3.5 stars
THE NIGHT GUEST was a quick and easy horror read, clocking in at just over 200 pages. I loved the fast and furious descent into terror as the main character realizes she's been active in her sleep... and it's not just sleep walking.

I listened to the audiobook so I didn't realize how short it was and didn't understand the pacing at first, but once I adjusted to that, I realized how quickly I was flying through it! The author wastes no time getting into Iðunn's issues and it immediately had me interested and hooked. Is she turning into a vampire? Is she possessed? Is she hallucinating? And who could blame her for almost not wanting to know what's going on. If you're not in control of your own body and you're terrified, I totally understood being a little too scared to even want to *really* find out what's happening.

I also really enjoyed the tone! It was a little quirky in some ways but it wasn't silly. I love Mary Robinette Kowal and her narration brought a light tone to the audiobook as well. Audiobook note: I also think it's so cool that MRK translated this book! I didn't know she knew Islandic. The author's note said the author met Mary Robinette Kowal at a book conference in Iceland and they hit it off and MRK offered to translate the book for her. That's such a neat story. Anyway...

My only complaint is that which I have with a lot of short books and it's that I didn't quite satisfy me in the end. The ending really escalated, but the ending was a tad confusing and I wish we had gotten a little more backstory. I could definitely draw a lot of conclusions but I just wanted a couple more dots so I could connect them a little better and get a little bit better of a final picture.

If you're looking for a fast and quickly engaging horror read, this was a fun one! Please check content warnings (especially animal deaths, specific to cats only) if you need them.

The Night Guest was a quick twisted little read. I flew through this one. The narrator is fantastic. I did get a little confused during the end but maybe I just lost something in translation. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who loves horror novellas.
3/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

For fans of novellas I highly recommend picking up The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir. This short book is engaging and doesn't overwhelm the plot with too many characters or details. As the book opens, there is wonderfully executed buildup as to why our main character Iðunn is always fatigued and brings up the very real experience of the medical professions dismissal of women's health concerns. After buying a watch to track her steps/health, she realizes she is walking thousands of steps throughout the night with no memory of the trips. This is really all you need to know before you jump in and follow the unraveling of the mystery.

Compulsively readable. Deliciously horrific. These types of books that have a a thriller/mystery component, I never really love the "reveal" at the end. It never seems to match the build up for me, which is why I tend to avoid thrillers. Can't say I loved this "reveal" either but it was vague enough to make me like it more than usual and it leaned into the horror elements in the build up in a way I really enjoyed.
The audiobook is a super quick 2 hours and 42 minutes so if you listen at a faster speed, as I do, you really can listen to it in a day or two. It's narrated by the translator so she clearly KNOWS the book and narrates masterfully. I was absolutely transported!!

Definitely recommended for a quick scare!