From the book description: <i> Six guests are invited to paradise. Not all of them will survive.
Ryleigh is a struggling artist, still trying to catch her break in theater. Her new best friend offers her a once in a lifetime opportunity — a week on her family’s private island on Lake Michigan. She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t know these people at all. Kerrigan is the housewife with the perfect life. She has a loving husband and a glamorous city apartment. Her life is everything she could ever dream of. Her husband hates her. Their marriage is a sham. Cole is the only local on Stonecliffe Island. He’s there to make sure the guests have everything they want. He has to focus on creating the perfect experience. He can’t afford any distractions after last summer. This is his final chance.

Each guest has their own villa. There are staff on-call to help with every need — a masseuse, a chef to make dinner every night, waiters pouring endless champagne. It’s going to be perfect.But a violent storm looms on the horizon. There’s no way off the island. Then, one of the guests disappears. And they won’t be the last . . .</i>

So as you can see from the book description this book is about a group of friends. And there’s a lot of them to keep track of, and most of them get chapters from their POVs, which means that you have to be paying attention to keep things straight in this one.

As the story begins to unfold, I was really into it. Things came fast and furious, and I Leroy thinking I had a handle on where things were going, but then there would be a twist and something would throw a huge wrench in things. That was pretty exciting. There were times I had to resist skipping to the end and checking to see how it ended!

But after a while, there were so many twists, I felt like I was getting whiplash. Things were changing so fast, I could barely keep up. I’m still not entirely sure I got every detail in the ending, because there were little revelations up to the last page. It was A LOT.

Also, none of the characters were really worth rooting for. Well, maybe one, I guess, but I won’t say too much more, because as I said, there’s so many spoilers I don’t want to influence any opinions. But overall, you can really make a case that everyone is kind of obnoxious, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in a story like this, but for some reason with all the back and forth, I felt like I wanted someone to root for to come out on top, if that makes sense. But as they all piled on top of each other and pointed fingers, I just watched and didn’t feel that bad for anyone.

So, this book is indeed filled with suspense galore, but it’s also a bit of a bumpy ride!

Compelling..
Six guests, six villas, a luxury private island with every whim and want accounted for. Sounds perfect? Think again. With an impending storm on the horizon the island is soon cut off.. and then the guests begin to disappear. A compelling suspense with a cast of nicely crafted characters, an atmospheric backdrop and a plot populated with twists aplenty and an underlying undercurrent of simmering tension.

Gripping mystery. I just couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened. There are so many unimaginable lies,secrets and twists to the story and the real culprit is not revealed until theend. Everyone is unreliable. All friends are hiding some twisted mindsets. Told from multiple points of view makes it more sinister. I was so suspicious of Ryleigh and Kerrigan,
both from the start. It's gripping read with lots of turns. A highly recommended thriller. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The book had me intrigued and it lived up to its expectations. I enjoyed the trill it gave me with lots of twist and turns. I liked most of the characters, some not so much. This author kept my attention all the way through.

This book was a gripping fast paced read that will hook thriller fans from get go.
The plot is great, full of mystery and intrigue. The suspense doesn't let up and the twists are guaranteed leave your jaw dropping on the floor in shock.

Adriane Leigh never disappoints if you’re looking for shocking/jaw dropping. Her storylines are twisty and full of interesting characters with a lot of depth (they may not always be likeable, but you still want to follow them along to the end of their story). Another hit!

This was packed with action and thrills! I turned page after page wanting to see what was going to happen next and who was the next "victim"! Great read!!

The Guests was a difficult book to follow as each chapter focuses on a different character and therefore different aspects of their lives after the reading of a will. Each person owns shares in an island off the Michigan coast and have different ownership interests and objectives.

Stonecliff Manor is a decrepit, semi abandoned mansion on an island on Lake Michigan. Some of this group of friends have been summoned for the reading of a will, others are their friends who have accompanied them. None are likable and the contest will be to see who is the least likable. Contestants are Kerrigan and Kip, a very unhappily married couple with longtime ties to the island; Mika and Stavros, a fashion designer and her husband who married her for a green card; Ryleigh, described as a nice girl; Daniel, a novelist and Ryleigh’s best friend and Cole, the mansion caretaker. Things quickly go downhill. There’s a nasty storm, people are marooned on an uninhabited island and women start to disappear. Everyone is a suspect. The story is told in alternating voices and concludes with several chapters describing events months and years later.

There’s a lot to like with The Guests. Adriane Lee’s characters all face problems and have secrets that drive the plot. The location is creepy and atmospheric and who doesn’t love a storm on a deserted island? What I didn’t like was the difficulty in understanding the timeline after the island. Without spoilers, I didn’t understand what had happened (and why) after the return to civilization. I wish those last chapters and somehow been part of the island story without all the time in between or with that time blended in a different way. I do like this author and will definitely read her work again. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Joffe Books and Adriane Leigh for this ARC.

I struggled to get into this book, probably because I didn't relate to any of the characters. Very few had any redeeming qualities and I didn't really care what secrets they were keeping.

Thank you NetGalley! I loved the premise of this book, especially “locked room” thriller. It started it out with a bang. I just kept finding myself drifting away from the story and not being pulled back in

This was such an exciting and addictive read, throughout I had me unsure of who to trust. The timelines did throw me off at points as it was a bit confusing but I enjoyed everything else.

Ok, so I really enjoyed this book, but I feel like it's super choppy. You have the island itself, then you jump ahead like 9 months, then 6 months etc. It just didn't flow very well. There were so many characters and it was hard to keep them all straight, what their story was, and who their significant other was. This group of people show up on this island for the reading of a will. Who gets the shares? Some want to sell. Some want to kill others. They all seem to have secrets. This whole group is out to get each other, lie to each other, turn people against each other. No one knows who they can trust, and yet they seem to chose the one person to trust most of the time. Didn't see the ending coming. Overall I think I would rec it, but it can def flow smoother.

3.5 stars

The Guests by Adriane Leigh  is a psychological thriller about six people invited to a remote island for the reading of a will.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Joffe Books and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

  
My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Stonecliff Island is a remote island in Lake Michigan, and often without cell service.  But it is beautiful.  It may also be deadly.  Each guest to the island has their own "villa",  as well as access to almost anything they need.  Paradise.

Six people are invited to the island for the reading of a will.  Cole is the only "local" one there, and he is the caretaker of the island.  His job is to make sure everything runs smoothly, and this is his last chance, so he can't screw up.  Cole knows most of the invitees, but not all.

Kerrigan is married to Kip, and their marriage is a sham.  She is an artist, but would struggle without his money.  She invited her best friend Ryleigh along for a week in paradise.

Ryleigh is also a struggling artist, dreaming of a a break in theater.  She brought her dear friend Daniel.

Mika has recently married Stavros, and she has a large stake in the island.

But then, one of the six goes missing, and secrets start to surface.



My Opinions:
I will be up front and say I really hated the start of this book.  The characters were introduced haphazardly, and I struggled to identify each.  I also didn't like anybody (well, maybe Daniel, and sometimes Ryleigh).  My opinions really didn't change from start to finish.

As well, it moved really slowly. 

The story is told from multiple points of view, and we are never sure which, or if all, are unreliable narrators.  Is everyone lying?  There certainly are a lot of secrets.

The twists, however, came fast and furious.  You really had to pay attention!

Overall, it ended  up being much better than I thought, but it took a while to get there.

"Blood is thicker than water, but that summer at Stonecliffe taught me you can drown in either."

That's a very intense way to end it.

---

Thank you to Netgalley and Joffe Books for giving me a UPC of this book in exchange for my review, so I will be completely honest... After Chapter Twenty Nine, every thing went kinda messy for me. I was lost from the series of events from then on. But, I have to consider that the copy I received was an "uncorrected proof", meaning, there's still room for editing and finalization. I want to see how they'll clean every thing from the said chapter and how they'll finalize the series of events. Because given what I've read, there's so much potential for this book to be enjoyed by future readers.


For now, I will giving this book a 3 stars.

“The Guests” by Adriane Leigh is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the tension high from start to finish. Full of twists and suspense, the novel centers around a group of friends who were supposed to be on a trip in paradise,but nothing is as it seems. Leigh masterfully builds tension with unexpected revelations and a constantly shifting narrative that keeps readers guessing. This is a must read for fans of suspenseful thrillers.

Thank you Netgalley and Adriana Leigh for this ARC copy!

It was a great book, however, I did struggle a little with the different POVs in each chapter. That is not the fault of the book at all, though. It is always challenging for me, but I do like a good challenge sometimes.

The story is told from the POVs of Cole, Ryleigh, and Kerrigan most of the time, and two others sprinkled in-between towards the end. They do not know each other, but end all up being trapped on the same island with a strom coming close and a killer on the loose...

That and the fact that I did like the blurb made me keep reading, even when I had to jump back and forth sometimes to keep things clear (which is why I prefer a physical copy usually with these type of books, but again, I do not back down from a good challenge. And it was still a fast read and I of course wanted to find out what was going on, so I kept reading, determined to find out.

This book just was not for me. I hated almost all the characters and I know that is the point but I just didn't even want to hate read about them. They were just not people I had interest in.
But that is just me.
I think other people would be into it.
The cover is gorgeous.

The Guests by Adriane Leigh is an atmospheric, captivating novel that expertly blends suspense with emotional depth. Set in a luxurious, isolated mansion, the story follows a group of strangers whose secrets slowly unravel as they come together for a mysterious gathering. Leigh’s writing is immersive, drawing readers into a world of tension and intrigue, where every character feels layered and complex. The pacing is perfect, with twists and turns that keep you hooked until the final page. The Guests is a page-turning thriller that will keep readers guessing and leave them thinking long after they’ve finished. Highly recommended!

I wanted to love this book because the synopsis sounded right up my alley. I did enjoy the buildup in the beginning but the plot in the middle and especially the ending fell flat for me. It was confusing in parts and hard to keep up with.