Reviews

The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous

vegantrav's review against another edition

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4.0

This book is a soap opera in print. And I don’t mean that in a bad way: I loved every single crazy twist and outlandish revelation. If I had read this in July instead of March, this would have been a perfect beach read.

lindseydomokur's review against another edition

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4.0

Beth comes to Raven Hall as a companion for The Averell's daughter Nina in 1988. She is greeted with open arms and made part of the family. After a little while there, Beth starts to notice that things aren't what they seem. The grand house holds so many secrets and when the truth comes out everything could come crashing down.
Sadie is a struggling actress and she is invited to Raven Hall for a mystery theatre performance. When she gets there and meets the other characters, she realizes things are off. She was hoping to make some friends and be greeted openly and warmly, and what she got was a cast of characters that have many secrets.
The story toggles between three POV, Beth, Sadie and Leonora, but at the beginning of the book you don't realize how these people are interconnected. As the story starts to unfold, the reader starts to understand that everything is related.
I really enjoyed this thriller because I had no idea what was going to happen. I went in thinking I would read a little bit and ended up finishing the book because I really wanted to know all the answers to the questions reeling through my mind. Thank you to Berkley,Netgalley and the author for an early copy of this book.

lindseydomokur's review against another edition

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4.0

Beth comes to Raven Hall as a companion for The Averell's daughter Nina in 1988. She is greeted with open arms and made part of the family. After a little while there, Beth starts to notice that things aren't what they seem. The grand house holds so many secrets and when the truth comes out everything could come crashing down.
Sadie is a struggling actress and she is invited to Raven Hall for a mystery theatre performance. When she gets there and meets the other characters, she realizes things are off. She was hoping to make some friends and be greeted openly and warmly, and what she got was a cast of characters that have many secrets.
The story toggles between three POV, Beth, Sadie and Leonora, but at the beginning of the book you don't realize how these people are interconnected. As the story starts to unfold, the reader starts to understand that everything is related.
I really enjoyed this thriller because I had no idea what was going to happen. I went in thinking I would read a little bit and ended up finishing the book because I really wanted to know all the answers to the questions reeling through my mind. Thank you to Berkley,Netgalley and the author for an early copy of this book.

laurensm_th's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A little hard to follow with the number of characters but great atmosphere 

sophieiellison's review against another edition

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4.0

In the late 1980s an orphan, Beth, is dropped off at Raven Hall to become a best friend for the young girl living there, Nina. We also read that in 2019, Sadie, a struggling actress has been hired for a murder mystery dinner at the same Raven Hall. The guests all arrive for a fun evening but it quickly turns sinister as someone is playing an ominous game with them all. This book was very entertaining and each character was likeable or unlikeable as appropriate. I enjoyed the dual timeline telling of the story and it made the ending come together neatly. It had the expected twists and turns of a mystery but each of them were carefully constructed and left me putting the book down to absorb what I had just read (my favourite). I would really recommend this book to anyone interested in the mystery genre.

princesswolverine's review against another edition

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3.0

It was a little complicated to follow for me, and that made it more difficult to feel invested in the characters. Still, an overall enjoyable read.

kristianawithak's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed this book, but the last 10% felt like it was doing too many things! So many things! It was interesting and mysterious, but it could have used the Coco Chanel method of taking one accessory off before leaving the house.

apple0loving0shinigami's review against another edition

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4.0

Ominous Gothic atmosphere, many twists and turns that will keep you guessing up until the very end.

I consumed it in an audiobook format, and I must say, I'm satisfied with the narrator. She did an excellent job portraying the right emotions and creating the right atmosphere.

If you are looking for a murder mystery thriller, you won't get it. This is something much different.

anneenichole's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

emily_madcharo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5