Amazing read, you can finish this in one day. Emma Cline is trying something different than in GIRLS, which was a rather lush and long-winded book. Here, we get almost no detail; everything is clinical and severe, and the woman at the center of the story functions like a stage onto which we can project our fears, annoyances, and desires. I wish the ending was a little different--it's almost too neat/clean, but I understand she wants to leave it open rather than creating a heavy-handed bow.
I do want to see her write about something entirely different though –– maybe a novel from the perspective of a man.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Penguin Random House and NetGalley!

This book was so deliciously awful, and I loved it.

This story is about a young woman named Alex that seems to have no real discernable personality traits other than the fact that she is an excellent manipulator and knows exactly what to do or say to get what she needs from a person or situation. We follow Alex as she meanders her way through life and people over the course of approximately a week. As she makes her way through these people, she leaves some serious emotional and physical damage in her wake.

Let me be clear about this story. There is no real plot going on, no "true" conflict, and certainly no resolution. This is not a book for those that need those things in a story. As a self-proclaimed lover of sad girl lit fic and stories about terrible women wandering their way through life, this was perfect for me. Some words that immediately come to mind when thinking about this book include: cringy, gross, and stifling, all with an overarching feeling of dread throughout the entire book.

While all of those things sound horrible, I really enjoyed this story. HOWEVER, I'm just begging lit fic authors: can we PLEASE stop using the neglect/abuse of animals as plot devices? It can really ruin a book for me.

Thanks again to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this one! I should have read this story a lot sooner. It's a perfect summertime read.

Hmm. I've tried, I'm just not an Emma Cline girl. This story really didn't bring anything to the table, and it left me wondering why it even exists? Idk. Not my thing I guess. I felt the same about The Girls. She has some beautiful lines and her prose is lovely, but her stories just seem to be lacking.

Emma Cline never disappoints! I love a character that is absolutely chaotic and extremely unlikable, Alex gives exactly this. The writing was beautiful and the plot left me with a high sense of anxiety even after putting down the book. I absolutely loved this book and will be purchasing a copy for my friend’s upcoming birthday ❤️

A fascinating journey of a girl living by her wits and generosity of men, being haunted by a man she robbed, and trying to get back to a life she thinks she wants over a space of a week of couch surfing, people using, drug taking, theft.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I tried for 2/3 of the book but then gave up with the continuous and repetitive efforts of Alex to find a place to stay, steal from people and display absolutely no redeeming qualities. The lure of the connection to "Dom" wasn't enough to keep me interested.

The Guest was a really intriguing read. I liked reading about the different adventures Alex would go on to sustain herself when she was effectively homeless. I liked the constant tension leading up to the ending. While Alex was an "unlikeable" narrator, I did still feel for her. The ending was open-ended, which I appreciated.

“The Guest” started off promising enough, but it just seemed to sort of meander through from the middle of the book onward. It became a bit confusing and random as the story went on and I found myself not having much of a rooting interest as the book concluded. It disappointed me since I enjoyed her earlier work, “The Girls”. I can only give this one 2 stars ⭐️ as there was not too much that was memorable for me in this book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

Unfortunately, Emma Cline's new novel The Guest overstays its welcome. The book meanders to the point of exhaustion, its main character equally as pestering along the way.

pretty sleepy thriller but had some memorable moments about sex work and class. i liked the social commentary and north east setting.

Emma Cline's book, The Girls, creeped me out for years after i first read it. I was nervous to read this one lol. While i really enjoyed the writing of The Girls, Cline did too good of a job setting the scene ha

The Guest is another brilliant showcase of Cline's immense talent. She is an auto-read author that makes her readers sit with uncomfortable thoughts and is so talented at putting her readers into the setting of her books. She truly paints the most realistic imagery for her readers

I was excited to read this book because I really loved Emma Cline’s earlier novel, “The Girls”. Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me - I didn’t find anti-hero Alex to be a compelling protagonist and the story fell a bit flat for me and at times confusing. Thank you nonetheless for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. I was excited to read this book as I loved The Girls by Emma Cline. The voice here is similar - this has a very gritty feel to it. We follow Alex as she is kicked out of her "arrangement" in the Hamptons, and struggles to survive the week, thinking she can convince her boyfriend to take her back on Monday. I loved the premise of the book, as we had a clear timeline and goal to follow. She just had to survive until Monday. It made me anxious, especially now that I'm far from my early 20's, how much Alex lacked any stability or safety net. The writing was fabulous, and I was prepared to rate the book quite highly, but the ended did disappoint me slightly. I do recommend this book, but beware if you are put off by unlikeable characters.

Sometimes I read a book and it’s good, but I find myself asking what the point of it was. That, and, I have to sit with it for awhile to really take it all in. That is the case with The Guest, by Emma Cline.
Carrying the same dark tone as her previous works, the same ability to write about strange and unlikeable people, I found TG to be closer to her short story collection than her debut novel.
We follow Alex, who is in a financially beneficial relationship with a man named Simon. The story opens with Alex making a mistake, which costs her this relationship. Rather than leaving the town that she was staying in, she decides to try and find her way back to him, whatever it takes.
There is both more to it than that, and not. I would almost describe this as a character study, because we spend the entirety of the book following Alex, as she weaves through one complicated situation to the next.
I liked my time with this book, though it often felt like the beginning of a panic attack. I think I’d revisit it, too.

Something about this book just didn't quite do it for me at this time. I never managed to really feel engaged in the story and Alex's life, but it is a well-written book so maybe I'll feel differently if I come back to it at a different point in time.

The Guest by Emma Cline is the story of a young woman, Alex, who has spent the summer staying with an older man, Simon, in his ritzy Long Island home. An event takes place at a dinner party which results in Alex no longer being welcome at Simon's home. Unfortunately, Alex's complex past means she can't quite return to NYC and so she sets off with her uncanny ability to note what people want from her, to try to solve her current situation.

I think The Guest is best read with little information in advance. Cline has shown her ability to write complex, intriguing characters, all the way back to The Girls, her debut novel. Alex is no exception. She's unlikable and mysterious bordering on infuriating but she is a compelling character and her story was the perfect one to read on a waning Summer evening.

Honestly one of the best, most gripping, most innovative books I have ever read in my life. I actually read this over the summer and I still regularly think about the characters months later. Thank you so much for the ARC.

This was a great book that I felt very honored to have early access to. I read it in about two hours while sitting on the floor, it was that entrancing. A bit of Joan Didion "Play It As It Lays." Quite sad.

Somehow Alex's story stays interesting with underlying tension even though there aren't big plot twists or action points. Emma Cline's writing compels you to keep reading to find out what happens to this main character I wasn't particularly sympathetic towards, but also still wanted to see succeed against the many awful men she encounters. I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it.

In “The Guest,” we follow Alex, a 22-year-old woman who has spent the final month of summer residing with Simon, an older man, at his East End Long Island residence. Following a disruptive incident during a dinner party, Simon hints that Alex’s stay has reached its conclusion, providing her with a train ticket back to the city.

However, Alex has concealed the truth about her life in New York City. With limited resources and a trail of broken relationships, she possesses few incentives to return and more reasons to evade it altogether. Choosing to remain, she traverses from one place to another, braving the elements, and displaying a complete disregard for her well-being. As her self-destructive behaviour intensifies, Alex embarks on a harrowing descent.

“The Guest” offers an incredibly intense and riveting exploration of one individual’s relentless pursuit of personal gain and selfishness, regardless of the consequences and the lives she may shatter in the process.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.