amymalbeuf's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thebookslayer_'s review against another edition
2.0
I found it difficult to connect and/or care about any of the characters and wasn’t even that interested in who the killer was. The writing felt disjointed and overall, there wasn’t anything about the story that will be memorable to me and frankly, it kind of dragged quite a bit. It’s a massive slow burn which I didn’t realize when I started it and so I was kind of bored. The story picks up towards the end, about 80% of the book maybe, but the end reveal about the main protagonist’s past and who the killer is didn’t shock me or anything. I didn’t predict it either but it was nothing special. I kind of enjoyed it but I don’t think the time was worth my time and so I wouldn’t really recommend it. It was my first book by this author but I’m not sure if I want to continue with her books.
rana_reads's review
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
laluu's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mandylovestoread's review against another edition
3.0
After hearing so much about this book I was really looking forward to reading it. I found the first 3/4 to be slow but picked up alot towards the end. Not alot of likeable characters either . I didn't hate it but was expecting a bit more.
rva_reader's review against another edition
4.0
Couldn’t put this book down because I wanted to know what happened! Good thriller. I wasn’t too big a fan of the switching years in the beginning but by the end, I didn’t mind it
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
Finished reading: January 23rd 2020
"But that was the trick of the place - it lured you in under false pretenses, and then it took everything from you."
Spoiler
Both All The Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger are on my list of all time favorites, so to say that The Last House Guest was on my list of most anticipated 2019 releases is an understatement. I'm not sure why it took me this long to pick it up; it might have been the hype, it might have been the mixed reviews, but I'm actually kind of glad I waited until the hype died down a bit now. Why? Well, let's just say that somehow I was quite underwhelmed by what I found in The Last House Guest. It's not necessarily a bad read, but I don't think it lives up to the quality of especially All The Missing Girls either... I found the plot to be rather dull, slow-paced and predictable most of the time, and the tension took a loooooong time building up. So long, that I found myself losing interest along the way, and this definitely wasn't the unputdownable pageturner I thought it would be. Likewise, the final reveals were a bit abrupt to me and I felt the ending was almost rushed... After so long of nothing going on, I don't think the suspense and plot twist reveals were well distributed in the story. I wasn't a fan of the characters either... In fact, I don't think I liked any of them and that is kind of a problem when a story is mostly focused on the characters. That aside, I did think the Littleport setting and the contrast between the locals and the visitors were interesting enough. Avery is used to give us an insight in both worlds, although I did feel that something was lacking in the development of both characters and plot even though I can't put my finger exactly on what was missing. I think as a whole The Last House Guest sadly failed to hit the mark for me, and I'm hoping her next psychological thriller will help me fall in love with her stories again... Fingers crossed!
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
aliski's review against another edition
3.0
not great but still not bad… ending wasn’t that thrilling , felt like a good build up slow burn to not that great of a revelation
readwithkyladawngail's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. Super well written. It has twists and turns and ends unexpectedly. I love it!