Published June 2019 by Bookouture
Review:
Previously referred to as ‘The Guest’ I was super disappointed with this novel by Jess Ryder. I haven’t read any of the authors previous books but found they were pretty popular and generally well received so I was expecting to really enjoy this read about a woman who buys a forever home only to have a stranger turn up in the night with an unknown link to the house.
The main reason for disappointment was purely the interactions between the characters. I found the conversations didn’t sit comfortably and felt a bit forced which made me struggle to really connect with any of them. Also the switching chapters between two characters didn’t quite work for me, I think it could have set itself up as more of a twist if written in a different format.
The narrative itself was easy to read but repetitive and clichéd with its tropes however I can respect the delicate way that domestic abuse is referred to and handled throughout the novel. It’s definitely not an easy subject to write or read about but Jess Ryder manages to delve into this without the use of in depth descriptions and difficult situations. The use of this subject matter is the novels redeeming feature in my opinion since a lot of research must have gone into it and it does show. I definitely wanted to get to the end of this novel and unveil all of its secrets which is why I ultimately gave the novel 3 stars out of 5 but it hasn’t made me desperate to pick up any more of Ryders novels.
Goodreads Rating 3/5 Stars
Feed Me Fiction 