In The Night Guest, written by Hildur Knútsdóttir, Iðunn is a young woman who knows something isn’t right. She doesn’t feel well, and it seems that she is always waking up tired. And she even sometimes has bruises or marks that she didn’t remember getting. When her doctor isn’t able to find anything wrong Iðunn tries to make some lifestyle changes, and buys a smartwatch. But there must be something wrong with it, because some of the numbers are way too high! She doesn’t remember walking miles during the night…
This book is a great spooky mystery. I felt like the reader could tell there was more than what meets the eye with the characters, and the storyline shows this. I enjoyed the mysterious family dynamics, and the little hints given through Iðunn’s friendships as well. I definitely recommend this book, especially as we come into fall and spooky season! Thank you to NetGalley and to the author, publisher, translator, and narrator for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Guest- Hildur Knútsdóttir
Translated and narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧

I don’t even know where to begin. This book was everything and not enough at the same time. I wanted so much more but the fact that there isn’t more and it leaves you to your imagination gives it the exact creep factor I believe the author is striving for.

The narration was fantastic. I’ve never heard this narrator before but I enjoyed listening to her translation and narration.

What a fun creepy short story! At no point while reading this did I have any idea where the story was going—and I loved it! Finished this eerie horror story in one sitting. Would definitely recommend it for Halloween!

(Thank you, Tor Publishing Group, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC.

This book was short and quick. But very bizarre and honestly I am not sure how I feel. It was intriguing but also gruesome.

TW: harm to animals.

Idunn wakes every morning with unexplained bruises and extreme fatigue. In an attempt to find answers, Idunn sees a new doctor but doesn’t get a diagnosis. She buys a smart watch that tracks her steps and falls asleep with it one night. In the morning, she discovers she has taken over 40k steps!

Is Idunn sleep-walking? What’s with all of her bruises? Why does she wake covered in blood one morning? What is going on?

☁️☁️☁️ɱყ ɬɧơųɠɧɬʂ☁️☁️☁️

Very fast, page-turning, HORRORIFIC short story! I LOVED this nightmarish read and the audiobook was perfect! I was pretty SHOCKED with the ending, was not expecting that at all! If you love Rachel Harrison or Darcy Coates, you will love this short read!

Iðunn has gone to yet another doctor in Reykjavik, just to be told once again that there is nothing wrong with her. It’s a good thing, obviously, that there is nothing wrong with her. But it doesn’t explain why she is so tired all the time. So, so tired. It doesn’t explain how she wakes up with bruises.

She gets asked the same questions everywhere she goes. Everyone has the same unhelpful advice. Is work stressing you out? Is your boyfriend hitting you? Are you depressed? Have you tried exercising? Maybe you should eat some meat (she’s vegetarian).

Since no one else seems able to help her, Iðunn decides to help herself. She buys a high end pedometer to track her steps. She turns off the GPS, because she doesn’t want anyone else to hack in and find out where she is. But she wants to keep track of her steps, see if getting in more steps will help her sleep.

She does fall asleep, but when she wakes up the next morning, she is exhausted again. And she’s logged over 40,000 steps. So that explains why she’s so tired, but it also explains nothing. She tries setting up a camera to watch herself sleep. It doesn’t record anything helpful. She turns the GPS on through her pedometer to try to figure out where she’s going. She tries sleeping pills. She locks herself in her apartment to try to stop whatever is happening to her. She tries to stay awake.

Nothing works.

And when Iðunn finally figures out what it is that’s happening to her, it’s far scarier than anything she could have imagined.

The Night Guest is a novella from Icelandic fantasy and horror author Hildur Knútsdóttir. This is the first of her works that is available here in America. It’s a short book, but beautifully written, eerie and atmospheric. And the mystery of what’s happening to Iðunn just gets odder as she tries to stop it, ramping up the tension and making this a true nail-biter.

The Night Guest was translated by Mary Robinette Kowal, who also narrates the audio book. She does a beautiful job, transporting listeners to nights of terror and mornings of confusion and pain. However, this is not a book for cat lovers. The neighborhood cats start to go missing, and it is most distressing to find out what happens to them. But other than that, I thought this was a good short creepy story, and I do hope that more of Knútsdóttir’s novels make it to the States.

Egalleys for The Night Guest were provided by Tor Nightfire and a copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Creepy story! Creative concept of a woman trying to uncover what she does when she's sleeping. The ending was a bit ambiguous but perhaps that's because I like directly stated things. Overall, a good creepy read.

4/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

CW: animal death

What a wild story! For such a short novella, this sure was gripping. Novellas are tricky for me, because it's hard to pack a punch in such a short time, but this one was great for it's length. Nordic noir is a genre I didn't know I needed -- but I enjoyed it a lot. I was desperate to know what was going on and to get to the end for answers. The end was super unexpected and, while I didn't love the way things played out, it was definitely shocking and entertaining. I'd read more books like this, that's for sure!

SYNOPSIS -- Iðunn has been desperately searching for the cause of her constant fatigue, with no results. Her doctors, friends and family have a ton of suggestions, none of which makes any bit of difference. She starts counting her steps as the newest unhelpful suggestion and, when she falls asleep with her smart watch on, she finds she has walked 40,000 steps in one night. Suddenly, her fatigue is starting to look a lot more sinister, especially as she continues to wake up with more and more blood on her hands...

Rating: 2/5 🌙's

Overview: our main character struggles with being exhausted no matter how much sleep and rest she seems to get. She's been to so many doctors and no one truly takes the way she feels seriously.
Then she decides she wants to track her sleep which also tracks her steps. Soon she find out why she's so tired.

Thoughts: This book was actually quite good up until 3/4 into the book. Then the plot was lost. Please be aware of spoilers in the below thought portions.


**spoilers**

Okay, now that you chose to read on let's get into it. First of all this book has no resolve. I don't understand the ending. Maybe it's because I'm not a gentleman and a scholar. I just know that I was left more confused than when the story began and the mystery was originally introduced. There was a trigger : animal death

This books narrorator wasn't too bad I enjoyed listening to this book. I just didn't like the way the plot unfolded.

Thank you @Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted ALC. I could not stop listening to this book. It was fast paced and really engaging to me. I just wanted to know what was going on and how it was going to end. I highly suggest if you're looking for a quick and easy read.

The narrator was amazing! She really brought the story to life!

Luckily I did not listen to this because I saw a trigger warning for violence against animals here before starting it. I do not tolerate anything containing that sort of content, and won't be purchasing for the collection either.

Nordic noir is one of my faves and this one did not disappoint! Short and (not so) sweet, this book is full of unsettling vibes making it perfect for your spooky season TBR!

Iðunn wakes up every morning exhausted, sore, and covered in bruises. She knows something is wrong but every test the doctors give her is normal. After taking some health advice from friends including walking more and eating better, Iðunn buys a smart watch to count her steps. One morning she wakes to find she forgot to take off her watch but it’s showing something strange. Somehow, it counted 40,000 steps overnight…while she slept. What is happening to her while she’s asleep? Where is she going? And why are her injuries becoming more severe yet no one seems to believe her?

This audiobook is only 2 hours and 42 minutes and I was completely engrossed the entire time. The narrator did a wonderful job setting the tone and expressing the confusion and fear felt by Iðunn. This book is short enough to finish in one sitting but long enough to not feel like a novella. There is gradual character development and nothing feels rushed. If you’re a fan of Nordic noir, psychological horror, and quick reads, definitely add this one to your list!

I absolutely loved the tone and relatability of the main character in this funky little surreal horror novella. It's very voicey and manages to offer decent commentary on broken families that have experienced trauma, shitty men who make dating awful, and the horrors of healthcare (particularly as a woman). Honestly as soon as it started, it was giving 5/5 energy!

But...

SPOILERS
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the animal deaths make me so sad 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

THE NIGHT GUEST review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

🌑There’s nothing better than a quick little novella on audio! When I need a palette cleanser or something to break me out of a slump I always pick up a quick read! This one is short but definitely unsettling. 😅

🌑Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
A woman visits her doctor after suffering from constant fatigue. She sleeps at night but every morning wakes up exhausted. One night she falls asleep with a fitness device on and finds she’s walked 40,000 steps over night. What is her body doing while she’s asleep, and why does she keep waking up with scrapes and bruises??

🌑This would be a great book to get you ready for spooky season! It’s a bit graphic at parts so definitely check content warnings. The ending felt very open to me and honestly I would have like a biiiit more explanation/closure. It was very well done on audio and I’d definitely recommend listening to it! Overall I enjoyed this one and would recommend it!

🌑Thanks to @macmillan.audio for my digital copy!

I liked this, it was a faced paced read and it has turns at every corner. I saw some saying it was more of a horror then a thriller but I didn't really see it that way. At times I would space out and lose track of the story or get confused so maybe that's why.

3.5

This start out mysterious and got a little spooky which I enjoyed but for me the end brought the book down. The end of the book felt rushed and incomplete.

CW: Animal death

Narrator review: The narrator did a great job of bring the story to life.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC

I loved this short story so much. What a creepy tale with an original idea. This was definitely a win in the horror novella category.

Iounn wakes every morning exhausted with aches, pains, and bruises. Doctors can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong. Her friends offer helpful tips for feeling better, including a smartwatch to track her sleep. But what her smartwatch displays in the morning brings more questions than answers.

This novella oozes with hopelessness, panic, and fear. It comprises 100 chapters, some containing only a sentence or a few words. As the chapters click down, the dread and weariness build with Iuonn's blinding fatigue.

Mary Robinette Kowal not only translated the novel but also narrates it. Her narration truly brings the story to life! Each time Iuonn awoke in her bed, I felt a deep sense of dread as I anticipated her nightly activities.

Overall, I loved this one. But….but….2 things. I strongly believe that the book needs a trigger warning for animal cruelty/death at the start. Additionally, the ending is ambiguous, and I would love an epilogue to add a bit more insight. I have a few theories about the ending and would love to discuss them further if anyone is interested.

😴Book Review😴
*
Summary- 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.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same — have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

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 . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?
*
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
*
My thoughts- this was such a super fun and unique read, it was very short and I just couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed Iðunn character, but I almost wish this was longer to really flesh out the ideas. The premise was interesting enough that this could have been much longer. The big part of this book that really killed it for me was the ending, it was so abrupt and unsatisfying. This one just left me wanting more.
*
QOTD- what are your plans for the weekend ?! I have no plans and no idea what we are up to and I’m so looking forward to it 😂💕

Finally a horror story to unsettle both you and your feline companion. I’ll start by saying there is a TW with this one (animal death) and I chose to glaze over those parts a bit. I initially listened to this one when I was sick and had quite the fever overnight. I actually went back and re-read the ARC the next day to make sure the fever dream-like qualities came from the book and not me. The creepiness was done really well in this one, the pacing of the buildup and the unnerving confusion were superb. My only complaint is that the ending was a bit abrupt and ambiguous. I’m a big fan of Mary Robinette Kowal and I thought her translation was really smooth. Kowal also narrates the audiobook and does a great job.