The Guest House

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

I liked this book and it has a lot of potential. The author does a really good at making the reader angry at most of the characters because they're so unlikable and terrible people; you just wish the worst for them. This is a positive thing and keeps your heart pumping because you aren't supposed to like these characters. I really liked and appreciated the inclusion of Jamie having cerebral palsy, but I thought he was a bit pathetic and passive. Though it is nice to see him become his own person in the end.

The plot summary is that Victoria and Jamie are expecting. They stay at a guest house and then are trapped when Victoria is in labour; the owners of the guest house nowhere to be found.

The beginning of the story was really boring to me and took too long to pique my interest. It took me like 3 days to get through the first quarter of the book and I'm not a slow reader. I think part of that is not understanding why the couple felt so trapped. This story is told in a dual timelines and (dual) perspectives, which is fine but I thought the whole contractions sections were just repetitive and did the opposite of upping the tension. However the ending and unravelling of everything was the best part of this book. The ending utilizes letters and I'm a complete sucker for them because well-done letters allow the reader to understand a character's voice and thought process. I was hooked and cared about the consequences for the main characters. It is disturbing and reminiscent of true crime documentaries so the believability is there for me.

Overall, I do not regret reading this book and the book left me a lot to think about, which is important to me. I'd give this book a 3.5 stars and I would recommend it for the most part, but it's not my favourite read of the year. I feel like other people would enjoy this book more than me.