This was an entertaining read although some of the twists were ridiculous and the ending was a bit over the top

**TRIGGER WARNING: Gore in some parts **

I thoroughly enjoyed Ruby Speechley's previous books: Missing, Gone, Someone Else's Baby and Every Little Secret, so I was pleased to find out she had another one out. <br /><br />The Uninvited Guest started off well and I liked Megan's cute baby daughter, Freya, and thought her parents were caring and realistically portrayed.

I also thought the description of the house was good, and I liked how it was decorated. I didn't like Megan or her friends, as they didn't seem very mature.

Is Beth really Megan's fiancés cousin?

The twists were mostly predictable although I didn't anticipate some. I still didn't feel like the plot was mysterious enough, although it was fast paced, but I didn't feel as gripped by it as I was by Ruby's other books. It was suddenly shockingly gory in some parts, which I really didn't like, and the way that some of Megan's supposed "friends" treated her on a night out was just terrible. I almost had to abandon the book completely because of this and the gore, but I wanted to know how the novel ended.

I went between disliking Danielle and Sarah and then (very briefly) liking them, as they were the only two people who did show Megan some respect and support in the toughest parts of the story. If it were me, I would have abandoned the house and everyone earlier and gone back to my life.

It seemed like Megan wasn't a very strong character and found it hard to show self worth and fight for self-respect. I went between liking and disliking Jamie. I wasn't sure how much to trust him at some points.

This time, the book. wasn't for me, although I really wanted to like it more.

3 stars

Thanks to Ruby Speechley and Boldwood Books for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

We follow Megan, a bride-to-be, who is excited about going away for her hen party with some of her closest friends. But as she's about to leave her daughter at her parents house, someone has left something horrible in the front garden. Then there was an unexpected guest at her hen party., and the hen party turns into a disaster. they have rented a cottage, and the surprises kept coming. Megan doesn't know who she can trust. People are hiding secrets, are they about to be revealed?

The pace is fast and the plot kept me turning the pages. The characters are complex and not all of them likeable. It's filled with drama, it's tense, and the suspense builds throughout. I found myself questioning everything. It's filled with secrets and lies. This is a well-written and thrilling read.

Published 10th February 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #RubySpeechly for my ARC of #TheUninvitedGuest in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts off strong, the drama kicks off right away, and I flew through the first few chapters. However, I regret to say that the writing started to get a bit sloppy, and it was like reading a poorly written wattpad thriller.
First of all, I did not like the main character of Megan, she was very selfish, she acted immature and I felt myself screaming at her everytime she overshared with Brooke, especially after finding out she was Jamie's ex. The plot was very predictable, and it was fairly obvious how it was going to end. I think Jamie taking back Megan was a bad move. How could he trust her again after ALL of that.
There were plot inconsistencies as well. 2 examples. 1. Megan throws her friends phone in the pool, but then later on, she uses the phone to take photos and post them on all her socials. 2. Jamie is talking to Megan after she finds him when he's gone missing. Then his mouth is gagged, and then he's back to talking again.

I wouldn't recommend this book. It had a lot of promise, but it felt very rushed, and the storyline escalated down a very silly path.

3.5 stars
How far is too far? How much does a reader need to suspend imagination? When does it turn into a soap opera?

These are some questions I asked myself before writing this review. I want to clarify that this book was pretty enjoyable. It has enough mystery, red herrings to keep you hooked.

Megan starts receiving threatening messages as she celebrates her hen party. Things start escalating through the party and as the days of her wedding approach. I liked that the author showed that the FMC was not perfect midway. The arrival of an unexpected guest leaves her reeling as she doesn't understand whom to believe. Most characters were well written and the story also dealt with mental health issues.

I liked how this did not take the cliche spousal route and that it showed a very different picture. My issue is that it was stretched too far to be enjoyable. Hence I cut half a star for the resolution.

Overall this was suspenseful and devious and I would truly recommend this book to the readers.
I thank Boldwood books and NetGalley for this E-Arc and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I did not really like this one. None of the characters were likeable and events were farfetched and made the reader suspend their belief a little too far.

I ᴡᴀs ɪɴsᴛᴀɴᴛʟʏ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs. Iᴛ sᴏᴜɴᴅᴇᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀ ɢʀɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴘsʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ, ʙᴜᴛ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴇɴᴛ ᴏғғ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴀɪʟs ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ғᴇʟʟ ғʟᴀᴛ.

Tʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛᴡɪsᴛs ʙᴜᴛ Tʜᴇ FMC ᴡᴀs ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇʟʏ ᴜɴʀᴇʟᴀᴛᴀʙʟᴇ . sʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴊᴜᴠɪɴɪʟᴇ, ᴡʜɪɴᴇʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ʀᴇᴅᴜᴄᴜʟᴏᴜs ᴅᴇᴄɪsɪᴏɴs ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ.

Tʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ sʜᴏʀᴛ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ғᴏʀ ᴀ ғᴀsᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴏᴛ sᴇᴇᴍᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴅʀᴀɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴғᴏʀᴛᴜɴᴀᴛʟʏ ɪᴛ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ.

Tʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ʙᴏʟᴅᴡᴏᴏᴅ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ғᴏʀ ᴍʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʀʏ ᴄᴏᴘʏ. Mʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs ᴀʀᴇ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Ruby Speechley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I won't lie, I struggled with this book. The FMC was so unrelatable and the choices she made throughout the book just didn't seem realistic. There were some twists and turns scattered throughout but ultimately the plot seemed to drag on. It won't stop me from reading other books by this author in the future though.

OMW, I really enjoyed this book! Just when I had an idea about who had done what and to whom, I was lead down another path by a further twist in the tail! Couldn't wait to get to the end of this book to find out the culprit although, at times, there was a little too many twists which made the story a little difficult to follow. Some of the happenings were a little far fetched but overall I loved this book!
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this book.

Megan's hen weekend is going to be great... except that she doesn't really want to leave her fiance and daughter in the first place. To please her friend Danielle, she agrees to attend, leaving her daughter with her parents. But as she's leaving her parents' home, an evil prank threatens to ruin her weekend. When one prank becomes many and Megan's hen weekend becomes a nightmare, the reader is left to wonder who's behind all the nastiness and why is someone at the hen party out to ruin Megan's big day.
The whole novel was a bit over the top, especially the ending. At one point, I said to myself that the next time someone screamed, I was putting down the book for the night. The book was great and I wanted to know what happened next as much as the characters, but when too many big reactions happen, sometimes they lose their power.
Most of the characters were unlikeable as well. They served their purpose. There was a hint that anyone could have been behind the strange happenings. That said, it was hard for me to stay on Megan's side sometimes.
All that said, it was an engaging book and I was invested in finding out who was pulling all the strings and why. This book is definitely a Read It!

Note: I received an ARC of this book, at no cost to myself, from NetGalley.

what a WILD ride! packed with unexpected twists and shocking surprises, this book had me on the edge of my seat. a true horror story about just how dangerously attached some people can become to those they love.

Wow! This book had me on the edge of my seat! I thought I knew it was, then I thought someone else was behind it! This book did leave me with some questions, but overall, this was a quick and twisty read!

Wow!... This book had me from the beginning and kept my interest all the way until the end. Psycological and gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns. I really loved it. The drama and the suspense are amazing. I read this in one sitting, what a book! sychological thriller... The only question in my mind in the entire reading session was:  "Who can Megan trust?"

Thank you , Boldwood books for the copy of The Uninvited Guest by Ruby Speechley. As much as I wanted to love this book, I couldn’t. Megan was so trusting and gullible and naive I cringed at the things she did and said. The reveals we got from Jamie and Megan were things an engaged couple shouldn’t have kept secret from each other. So many of the things happening to Megan were unbelievable and the ‘big reveal’ was obvious early on. If you love books where things happen constantly, you will love this book. I just need more plausibility, so it wasn’t for me. 2 stars

This was a thriller that kept me on edge with so many twists and turns and several possible characters that could be the antagonist. It was a fairly quick read, full of suspense and intrique right to the end. This was the first book that I have read by Ruby Speechley and will definitely be reading more. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Definitely a fast paced book that keeps you guessing for most of it. Some unlikable characters which they were suppose to be..lol so worked out perfect. The ending was good. Enjoyed this book overall.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

Thank you for this one! I always enjoy a fast paced thriller, and this is one! Kept me guessing the whole time, right up until the end. Main character Megan was a bit frustrating, what a pushover, and so naive. But you still root for her (poor thing). I give this one a solid 3.5 stars, great transitional book between heavy reads.
This was gifted to me by way of "Bold Book Club VIP" through NetGalley.... so fun! thank you!

Megan Lewis is ready for her big day, but when an unexpected guest crashes her hen weekend, her perfectly curated world unravels. Beth, claiming to be Jamie’s cousin, quickly charms the group. But when she gets close to bridesmaid Lauren, things take a dark turn, and a game of truth or dare exposes secrets from Megan’s past, shaking her world. As the wedding nears, Megan realises Beth isn’t who she says she is — but she may be her only ally.

I enjoyed this, although as an American, the whole 'hen' thing still gets me! Quite entertaining, although the main character was unbelievably gullible. Otherwise, I enjoyed this a lot. I read it in one sitting. Definitely recommended!

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

This book drew me in from the start. A hen party, what could possibly go wrong? Far, far more than I expected. Someone is out to ruin things for Megan, the bride to be. Megan has a secret she wants to keep. The suspense and tension increased throughout the book. I think I suspected everyone for trying to sabotage Megan and Jamie's wedding, in one instance it was one character, but then it could be another. An enjoyable read

Gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns. Absolutely loved it. The drama and suspense is amazing.