Thank you to Netgalley + Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audiobook arc. This novella is out September 3! This novella was originally published in 2021 in Iceland and has been translated from the Icelandic AND read on audio by Mary Robinette Kowal.

When a woman wakes up every morning feeling exhausted, covered in bruises and sore all over she seeks medical help but she’s often dismissed and considered hysterical. Even friends seem to think if she’d just “do yoga” or “drink more water” it would be fine. But she KNOWS that’s not the case. After equipping herself with fitness watch she realizes that she’s walked 40,000+ steps in the night?! But she can’t remember a thing…

A psychological horror that reads as a (sometimes) eerie and ambiguous contemporary fiction, ‘The Night Guest’ explores what it’s like to navigate the world as a woman and the pressure to keep going, live life and fit in despite all of our unknowns. It feels like a very feminist read and I appreciated the acknowledgement of anxiety, guilt, health and patriarchy. I really loved that the translator also provided the audiobook narration. I haven't seen that done before and I quite enjoyed it. A very enjoyable listen, for sure.

There was one specific line that really stood out to me, in this regard and I have to share it; “The patriarchy speaks with my mother’s voice.” …come on. Yes.

This is very ambiguous, throughout. There are short, tense chapters— some only a sentence. While this didn’t land every time, overall it effectively added to the spiraling feeling. It may not be satisfying, for that reason, to all readers but it worked so well for me, and specifically in the novella form. What’s real? Can she trust herself? I do encourage you to check the trigger warnings and will include one at the bottom of this post if you don’t want to see it, don’t read on:




[there is animal cruelty, specifically directed at cats and while it is more implied than shown there is one description that might be very upsetting]

This was such an interesting and fast-paced read, which was much needed for me right now. The concept of the book intrigued me the second I read it and kept me hooked the entire time. Definitely needed a trigger warning for murdered cats though. I really enjoyed when the author did “chapters” that were just a sentence long, those always keep me hooked.

CW: animal cruelty/death

A quick read of a thriller that makes you question what exactly causes you to wake up absolutely exhausted. The ending felt rushed and was very confusing to read. I wished the ending had been better planned out with more detail.

The consensus seems to be that the ending ruined this book. I thought the end was pretty solid. It's cryptic, but clear enough if you know how cold the North Atlantic is. I just wanted more from the whole story. It covered a lot of ground for so short a novella. I never got a chance to connect with the characters, and there were a lot of important scenes that ended too quickly. Ultimately, I think this would have been better as a full length novel.

This was really engaging and creepy and weird (in the best possible ways) right up until the end - when it lost me... I still don't entirely know what happened or what (if anything) it all meant. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is rather unsatisfying nevertheless. I found this an odd listen, but enjoyed it (mostly). The narration definitely sold the oddly off-kilter feel of it all, and really intensified the dramatic tension. But the ending - eek. It left so many unfinished elements that I can't give it more than 3 stars, despite really enjoying it to that point... It was abrupt and random and felt unfinished.

This was a very quick and suspenseful read. With this one, the build up was very intense and had me a little spooked. The ending felt a bit anticlimactic at first but overall it was a great quick chilling read.

The narrator was excellent for this one. She portrayed the FMC’s distress and anxiety wonderfully.

Completely mesmerizing - I read it in one sitting. Mary Robinette Kowal perfectly captured the wit of Iðunn's voice and increasing desperation and dissociation as the story progressed. This is true horror so look at content warnings before reading. Highly recommend!

This was such a quick novella and an easy audio listen! I found that even though it’s a short story, it definitely packs a punch! The entirety of the book had me on the edge of my seat with suspense and unease. I felt a looming sense of dread as Iounn raced to find answers about her startlingly distressing situation! It’s also set in Reykjavík, which was such an intriguing setting for me to read about! The ending is one that leaves the interpretation open for discussion, which I personally enjoy! I will note that there is a major content warning for animal cruelty/death which does happen off page but you get a very visual description of the aftermath which was difficult to read. Overall this was a very compelling fast paced read that I thoroughly enjoyed!
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this #gifted ALC!

I did enjoy THE NIGHT GUEST. The beginning started off great! I had suspected what was happening but, after the last chapter, I was totally lost. The novella was spooky but not scary to the point you wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Many thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for my gifted ALC.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

The Night Guest is a super short horror novel. This is what happens when sleep is lost then found. You might hear warnings of dead cats, which there are many, but very brief descriptions so that if that’s a trigger you can skip it. Your narrator is alone throughout the tale except at the end where their twin’s body of grief is found. At the heart of the tale, there is grief and if you’re not accustomed to it then you may miss it. The horror of the story is the loss of something that can never be found. ALC was provided by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

So this wasn’t what I thought it was going to be and it sounded so interesting! It started out well and then it just went disturbingly odd and I’m wondering if something was lost in translation. Also there should be trigger warnings on this, it caught me off guard and I wouldn’t have read it if I had known certain things. This has no real ending and you don’t really find out anything. I still don’t know what to make of it and I was really looking forward to this novella. I enjoyed the narrator and thought she did well with the story and names.

*Provided an ALC (advance listening copy) audiobook from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

I will update Goodreads with my review once when I settle on a star rating.

The Night Guest by Hildur Knitsdottir translated and narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal was a fast listen. I enjoyed the narrator’s voice. This is a novella. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audio book.

The book is set in Iceland. We meet Iounn who is waking up exhausted, bruised, blood under her finger nails and cannot figure out what’s going on. Medically she is checking out healthy. She gets a watch to track her steps. She thinks she is sleep walking. Intertwined in the novella we learn about Iounn’s life, her friends, family, ex and love life. The ending left me very confused. I’m not sure what was happening or what was being alluded to. Very abrupt with no explanation.

This novella needs a trigger warning and I’m so mad there was not one.


BIG SPOILER AND TRIGGER WARNING (so others don’t get sucked and then absolutely horrified):

Violence, abuse and murder of cats.

What I the hell did I just read (negative connotation). This book was pretty bizarre in the worst ways… all of which would be very spoilery, so I won’t go on about them but wtf! The story wasn’t really horrifying or even slightly creepy or suspenseful at all in my opinion. Also I was listening via audio and thought I zoned out on the last few chapters as the acknowledgments and end credits started rolling, BUT NO, it just ended quite abruptly for seemingly now reason!

All in all, this book clearly wasn’t the right book for me. I’m really glad I listened to it on audio because it was a really fast and pretty painless and I appreciated the short short
chapters!

1.5⭐️

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy of this ALC!

Iðunn is at another doctor, and when they dismiss her symptoms, she tries to follow everyone’s advice. Eat better. Exercise. Take vitamins, etc. One morning after falling asleep with her smart watch on, she wakes to find she’s walked 40,000 steps during the night. She starts waking with injuries, and no one believes her that something weird is going on. She can’t remember the nights, but she’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

I knew this book was short, but I didn’t realize how close I was to the end until I finished it. It went so quickly and had me engaged in the mystery the whole time. It’s paced well and holds the tension perfectly. I was invested in Iðunn and honestly could have kept going with her for a bit to see more fallout from the twists and turns. Definitely recommend for a summer, popcorn thriller.

I have never read anything quite like this. The formatting and extremely short chapters made this an absolute breeze to get through. It was almost like I blinked and it was over. It was definitely an eerie tale. I think the ending was a little bit of a let down but overall, I really enjoyed it!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of The Night Guest!

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and MacMillan Audio (#MacAudio) for the ALC!

“The Night Guest” is such a bingeable horror novella. I listened to the audio in less than a day and it was a fun one in between my usual thrillers. It was easy to relate to Iounn, desperate to feel better, and her search for answers on what was wrong with her. The intense feeling of dread permeated the entire story and, without giving any spoilers, the whole idea of what Iounn was going through scared me! I did feel like the ending was a bit abrupt, but given the subject matter, it fit the story. This is one I won’t soon forget!

”The Night Guest” releases September 3, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

A very interesting and eerie quick read. It was pretty messed up, poor cats. Well written. Thanks NetGallery!

To say the least this was a very interesting novella. I think that is important to note that it is a rather short story and on par with most it ends incredibly abruptly.
Iounn is waking up exhausted, with strange bruises, and sometimes smelling the metallic scent of blood on her person or clothes. She decides to buy a watch to track her steps and accidently keeps it on overnight. She wakes the next morning to discover a couple thousand steps have been recorded overnight. At first she believes this is a glitch and her watch must be broken, but as she wakes in the morning she begins to find herself in even stranger circumstances as time goes on.
I found the story compelling until the end. There were quite a few loose strands that I felt could have been better handled.

Before I start my review, thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for access to this ALC.

Performance: Mary Robinette Kowal did a great job. Her voice perfectly matched Iðunn's characterization.
Also, before I get into my discussion of this novel (BIG SPOILER), a trigger warning needs to be addressed: off page cat death/murder. If the description of a dead cat sits hard on your sensitivities, please do not read this novella.

On to the review!

Story: I was prepared to give this novel a full five stars until I got to the end. I listened to the ending twice last night and then once more today. I was tired last night, so I figured that I might have missed something due to sleepy mental fog. I think I did to an extent.

There is a certain amount of ambiguity allowed in an ending that lends itself towards great works of literary art. People talk, people debate, people feel strongly one way or another. <-- That last part is the key for me, the "one way or another." If the ending of an author's book is too ambiguous, readers struggle to find their footing. I lost a good amount of my footing in the narrative with the ending. I have worked through my own interpretation of the ending, which seems sound in my mind, but I think the author might have held too much back.

SERIOUS SPOILER AHEAD:
Iðunn's sister is no longer possessing her, but is now a separate external entity? Here is where that could make sense: Iðunn had head trauma in the final chapter. Her sister is not there. Instead, the gothic appearance of her sister is both a combination of and manifestation of the evil deeds Iðunn completed during the sleepwalking as her sister. Here is where I feel that I am missing something... why the cats? Because they were important to Iðunn? Maybe I would need to read the whole thing again, but there wasn't much in the novella that would lead me to believe that Iðunn's sister hated her or that there was a need for Iðunn's sister to punish her. There was the letter that was found after her sister's death, but no clear connection to Iðunn's involvement - as we never found out what it said. I don't know. Maybe I didn't want to expect to think this hard once I finished the novella and it is affecting my feelings about it in entirety.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

This was a good novella up until the abrupt and confusing ending. It’s well written and kept me interested.