I loved this little novella thriller! It kept me so engaged, picking it up whenever I had time. I was along with the narrator, trying to figure out what was happening. Having visited Iceland, it was great to read a bunch of names that I remember from having visited. It was creepy and clever, and I would have given it a full five stars had it not been for the ending. I’m still a little confused on what happened exactly.

There is truly no way to back out once you start The Night Guest. This short novella draws you in with what appears initially to be a medical mystery causing Iðunn’s overwhelming fatigue and her strange bruises. Things quickly become far more sinister as the story progresses and the protagonist begins to unravel. A pedometer reveals extensive sleepwalking, a potentially violent ex is increasingly reaching out, and neighbor cats appear to fear Iðunn. I couldn’t have predicted where this was all going but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

The audiobook was excellent and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the narrator also translated this story from Icelandic to English.

Highly recommend! I only wish this was part of a broadly collection of short stories, but I look forward to reading more from this new author.

Thank you Net Galley and publisher for this audio ARC. This was a wild and twisty ride! I enjoyed it immensely.

3.75 stars rounded up

The Night Guest follows a woman who wakes up exhausted with bruises, cuts, and muscle pain. She goes to her physician who reassures her she is healthy, however her pains continue and her fitness tracker indicates she is walking thousands of steps each night. She begins to wonder where her wandering is taking her and why.

I loved the majority of this book and was engrossed in the storytelling. However, the ending was far too abrupt and unsatisfying which decreased my enjoyment of the story. I wish it had gone on for a few more chapters to provide a satisfying explanation! All of the exposition leading up to the end was a thrill to read and I’d recommend this work for that reason. I’m looking forward to seeing what else this author writes!

The audiobook narrator was fantastic and I would recommend enjoying this work via that medium!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC!

Wow, this was a hyper-fast read. I couldn’t stop and read it in one sitting. Fast-paced story and short chapters make this a compelling horror that will have you glued to the pages or headphones. 96% of this was excellent, but the ending simply did not deliver. Lackluster, vague and abrupt - the ending left me dissatisfied and wanting so much more from what was a great novella up until the final chapter.

The Night Guest was a fun, mind-bending book! I felt like I was losing my mind with the main character. Bonus points for short chapters, but I wish the book overall was longer; I need to know with more detail who she was!

Cat lovers will not enjoy this one... :(
I'm still pondering the ending. I loved that this was on the shorter side. Every word and chapter felt purposeful so major props to the author and editor for making this one thrilling.

I had to re-listen to the ending a couple times, and am still not entirely sure I have it figured out. I'm looking forward to people's reviews and takes on the ending once it's out to the public.

Narrator does an excellent job adding to the thriller/creepiness of this book.

Just a heads up...there is some animal violence/deaths involving cats.

At 208 pages, you'll get through this weird story quickly. Her descent to "madness" keeps the reader wondering what will happen next.

Narrator has a good voice and expresses complicated emotions easily.

I love the cover. The bright pink with the dark red is very eye catching and will look good on a shelf.

Reminds me of a thriller version of Come Closer by Sara Gran. I really enjoyed how unsettling and disturbing the story ended up being. I would definitely read more from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hildur Knusdottir, Mary Robinette Kowal, MacMillan Audio and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read The Night Guest. I have written this review voluntarily.

Generally I enjoy horror and Icelandic translations but if you're going to incorporate felicide into a story it at least better not otherwise be a snoozefest

What a creepy thriller. Reminds me of the sort of thrillers you'd see in the nineties, but the the ending was strange, and different. It reminded me a lot of Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, at the beginning, as it felt like that was the direction it was going - it was not, btw - but far darker in my opinion.

This is a feminist story of loss, paranoia, and fear, from a woman's perspective. I found it to be anxiety-inducing so I had to do the audiobook in two parts, even though it's quite short. I think this would've been easier to ingest if I'd read it as opposed to listen to the audiobook, though the narrator, Mary Robinette Kowal, does a great job.

For the length and quality? This one knocks it out the park. I just have to take a star off for the nausea it gave me lol

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝?! 𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑮𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 (𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝). 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐻𝒾𝓁𝒹𝓊𝓇 𝒦𝓃ú𝓉𝓈𝒹ó𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓇, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

It's disappointing when a book with such a promising premise doesn't quite deliver the chills you were hoping for. The story had a lot of potential with its various supernatural and paranormal angles. While the reveal was a good spin on the story, it left me feeling underwhelmed.


Trigger Warning... Dead Animals. It is possible the end left me underwhelmed because of how this made me feel.

I really enjoyed this one! I found the comparisons to chronic illness to be really relatable, and the build up to the reveal to be soo tense. I also really like how the author included both past and present situations from the protagonist's life and used them to further the plot of the story. I loved the ending as well, how we got some explanation, but not everything. Some was left to the imagination. Do I wish we got a little more? Yeah, but at the same time, I like the questioning. Longer review to come soon.

The Night Guest was short but packed a punch. It was a tight, creepy story about a woman who can't figure out why she wakes up so tired, sometimes covered in bruises. After falling asleep wearing her smartwatch she discovers she's walked over 40,000 steps. This was a one sitting read for me that I really enjoyed.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars

There is SO much to like about this sinister and horrific novella, but if you are a cat lover, this might be too much for your feline focused fondness.

Iðunn is experiencing a strange and challenging time that includes waking up with sore muscles and other unusual signs. One of the strangest parts is how incredibly tired she is. There's no way she can be sleeping through the night in the typical way, but what IS happening to her? What IS she doing? This author does an exceptional job of setting up exactly the right tone: that women are frequently considered unserious individuals, especially when it comes to their own health and thoughts. Along with the institutional barriers present in this unfortunate reality, Iðunn also has to basically go it alone. Her isolation is a constant issue throughout the work. Her mother asks her EVERY time she's coming to dinner if she eats a different kind of meat, ignoring her vegetarian diet. Her romantic relationships? WEIRD to say the least and certainly not centered on what she brings to the party. Her favorite animals? Well, she's allergic to them and must admire them from afar. And underlying all of this is an unexpected view of another loss in her life. This character is isolated in a crowd, and this is a feeling that in today's world will be, unfortunately, quite relatable to many audiences.

While I wanted more from the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed so much about this. Do be mindful of the cat content if this is a pain point.

I am totally intrigued by this author and hope to read more.

This is more of a short story than a novel, in my opinion. It's definitely a thriller with a consistent air of mystery. I liked the main character. She was relatable, and I found myself really wanting to know what was going on with her throughout. Overall , this was a quick read that was intriguing. I would definitely read this author again.

I am still processing this two and a half hour audio book a day later, so, yes, this does what books should do - affect a reader and make her think.

In a nutshell this novella features a woman with constant fatigue and seeking medical help to understand what is happening. Why is she continually tired? As a perimenopausal woman subject to American medical gaslighting, boy oh boy was this the topic for me.

Chapters are short, narration was on point, all was great - I really enjoyed the plot despite not understanding some of the locale specific words or Icelandic culture unfamiliar to me.

I didn't love the end. Not ashamed to admit it confused me and felt like I needed to go back and listen to the last hour with more intention.

My favorite thing about The Night Guest was how the book came to be - the real life explanation of a chance meeting at a writer's conference, friendships formed, someone willing to take a chance on a newbie and, voila, there I sat on a mountain in West Virginia listening to the words of Hildur Knutsdottir from a million miles away. We live in amazing times.

This was such a fun read. It's perfect for fall. It is twisty, dark, weird, and quick. This will be one I'm thinking about for a while and one I'll probably read again.

Ooh so spooky! Perfect for September - November cozy and creepy reading. The character wakes up exhausted and sore everyday, with doctors finding no medical reason. Then she begins tracking her steps and enabling GPS on the tracker. The mystery begins! Content warning for violence, drugs, and animal death (cats, off-page killing, on-page description of bodies). Recommended on audio AND/OR print.

From the moment I started this audiobook, I was hooked. The short chapters created a rhythm that kept the tension high and my heart racing. Each segment was perfectly paced, making it easy to digest while maintaining a relentless grip on my attention.

I don't usually find myself drawn to horror books, but this one was different. The narrative was so compelling, filled with suspense and unexpected twists, that I couldn't help but be drawn in. Each chapter ended with a cliffhanger that made it impossible to stop listening, creating an almost addictive need to know what would happen next.

The story unfolded in such a gripping way, and the atmosphere was perfectly eerie, keeping me on edge the entire time. The vivid descriptions and the hauntingly immersive audio production added layers of depth to the experience. I was curious to see what would happen next, and the book never disappointed. This audiobook truly delivered on every level of suspense and thrill I could have hoped for, making it an unforgettable experience.