The Guest List audiobook

Hell yeah! My choice as best thriller won big again! 🥳💜🎈This book is a rule breaker for me because I hate two things throughout my readings: 1) Too many POVS: I got confused easily and I don’t like to go back to remember which character was the post man rang twice or which character had some irrelevant back story, blablas, unnecessary yadayadas2) Slow burning story telling: I’m impatient person, I like to go straight and cut to the chase. So I don’t like stalling around facts, I just like to dive in! BUT… this book is an exception. I loved its slow building tension, I loved the notorious, immature, childish boys club (I’m talking about groom’s friends who are acting like wedding crashers and stayed in their teenage years), I loved variety of interesting, rich, attention taker characterization. And wonderful part is till the end of the book we are left in the dark and we have no idea who is death or the identity of perpetrator. You have to focus so carefully when you read the chapters because any small detail turns out a big clue for you to solve the puzzle and not to get shocked when you face the surprising, twisty revelations and the connections between the characters. Yes, I have to stop that but I have to admit, at the end of the book my mouth was wide open, my eyes popped out and I stayed like this position for one hour. The neighborhood kids thought their dreams finally came true and I turned into a sculpture. Even the crows thought I was not a human and they left some gifts to my head( Yes, I washed ten times)But when I got rid of my first shock and started to move, they screamed and cried in pain. Yes, the witch was back! Let’s talk about the blurb a little bit: Jules, successful, glamorous and too ambitious magazine publisher, suffering from her anger management issues, selfish, focusing on perfection, giving orders, controlling the people, the worst bridezilla marries with charming, rising star of television, cocky, flirting Will at an island off the coast of Ireland, in the middle of nowhere, limited phone reception, giving you nightmarish vibes, with dark woods, caves, making you feel like somebody sneaking behind you. (Perfect place to low budget independent horror movie but not so preferable wedding place. Bridezilla doesn’t care, she knows the best!) Our other characters: Helen (plus 1) married with bride’s oldest and best male friend Charlie, having doubts about their so intense and secluded relationship, mother, graphic designer at long maternity leave, suffering from traumatic family drama, having her own secrets, befriending bridesmaid Olivia. Yes Olivia is 19 years old bridesmaid, half-sister of bridezilla, suffering from a big secret makes her lose weight, cutting herself. The secret is gnawing her. She needs to talk someone before she gets hurt herself. Could Helen be her confidante? Best man Johnno, seems confused what he’s doing about his life, sharing a really big secret with Will from their high school times, giving him nightmares and making him fell like chasing by the past time ghosts. And he learns something crucial to change his life forever and gives him a motive to do something dangerous… ' Let’s not forget Aoife, wedding planner, working her ass off to organize the entire ceremony, achieving a complex and challenging job but she observes everyone, looking agitated, seems like waiting for the shoe drop. Why is she so frustrated? What is she worried about? The lies, secrets, resentments and big revelations start to fall into her laps like bombs over and over again. And during the ceremony lights go out, screams, pitch black, lights come out, somebody is death….na na na… Welcome to the bridezilla zone! Do you want to know who killed who? Guess what, I already told you so much, you gotta read the rest of it. I hate to admit, I am not fan of Hunting Party. That book disappointed me a lot. But this one is surprisingly good, I couldn’t’ decide if I gave 4 or 5 stars. I decided 4 slow burn, intriguing, smart, entertaining, riveting stars! OVERALL: SURPRISINGLY ENJOYABLE!bloginstagramfacebooktwitter

solidly entertaining 3.75

I was really pleasantly surprised by The Guest List. Loads of people I know have read and enjoyed it, but I was putting it off because of the five different perspectives. This almost never works for me. I just don't end up caring enough about the characters to be concerned about their fate.Oddly, that wasn't a problem here.The Guest List is a fast-paced, gossipy, dramatic thriller, whose five main narrators are all clearly hiding something. Foley made me warm to three of the four perspectives very quickly, and while I didn't really like the other two (Jules and Johnno), I did find myself invested in their stories, and I understood their insecurities and self-doubts. Basically, everyone turns up for Jules and Will's lavish wedding, taking place on a small island off the coast of Ireland. Pretty much immediately, it becomes obvious that all is not well. Some of the guests are suppressing secrets and nursing old grievances that could probably shatter this marriage before it's even begun. Then, in the "now" of the novel, a body is found out in the storm.In the snippets of the present, guests venture out of the marquee to determine who it is lying dead, while the other chapters detail the events of the day before, building up to the final reveal. I think it is quite clever that the mystery is not only about who the culprit is, but also who the victim is. You can easily believe it could be any one of them, victim or culprit.Also, there is just something very compelling about being privy to all this shittalk and gossip about people and watching to see how the whole mess is going to blow up. And blow up it surely does.

A Book of the Month 2020 Book of the Year Finalist!On a small island off the coast of Ireland, a scream rings out at a wedding party. As a search party goes out, the book shifts perspective to a few days earlier as we follow the bride (Jules), the plus-one (Hannah), the best man (Johnno), the wedding planner (Aoife), and the bridesmaid (Olivia). Who is in danger and who is the bad apple?The Guest List had quite a hype around it, and it seems to be on my TBR for ages so expectations were sky high. I'm no stranger to multiple perspective books; however, the format didn't do any favors for this book. Many of the characters in the book are not particularly likeable. Additionally, because there were so many characters in this book and the chapters were divided evenly between the main characters, the author couldn't go deep which impacted my ability to really connect with the characters. For the first 75% of the book, the book was just an average mystery. The last 25% did pick up a bit and kept the pages turning.Overall, a solid mystery/thriller but a bit overhyped.2023 Reading ScheduleJan Alice in WonderlandFeb Notes from a Small IslandMar Cloud AtlasApr On the RoadMay The Color PurpleJun Bleak HouseJul Bridget Jones’s DiaryAug Anna KareninaSep The Secret HistoryOct Brave New WorldNov A Confederacy of DuncesDec The Count of Monte CristoConnect With Me!Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta

4.75 stars Just released my Top 10 Books from 2020 BookTube Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest! The Written Review So, I've talked about this one on my channel a lot by now. And the long and short of it is that I enjoyed this book immensely. I really enjoyed just discovering what this book was about without any external influence, so I'll keep my review short.It's an atmospheric whodunit with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes.The overall premise is that there's a wedding on a remote Irish island, the weather closes in and the island is cut off from the rest of the world. And then the body is found.Not knowing the body and having an ever-growing list of potential-killers...you are left wondering who in the world could've done it. And why??I loved and adored the setting and various atmospheric elements. The characters felt well fleshed out and the plot was intriguing throughout. I definitely recommend it!!Other BookTube Videos involving this gorgeous book: Just posted my Goodreads Choice 2020 Reaction Video on Booktube! Click the link to check it out!!YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

This one is more a wonderful character study and a take-off on the old locked room mystery--on a dark and stormy night. The story, as it should, grabs more and more as you turn the pages. Great writing. We get to know all the characters enough to care about them before something happens. Instead of a mystery construct this one is done as a thriller. First person present tense that moves backward and forward in time. I was never lost or confused. Clear concise writing.Too many points of view made the story a tad choppy like driving with one foot on the brake and one foot on the gas. Stop, start. Just when I got going into one character’s story, we’re off to another. Lots of atmosphere, and the setting carries equal, if not more, weight than the characters. The story is like a frayed rope being braided tighter and tighter as we approached the crisis. The characters, although three dimensional and at least semi-likable all turn heavily flawed by the end. The idea of killing a victim in a story is to evoke emotions. In this case the victim turns out to be so heinous we’re cheering for the killer. Which is really a unique way of twisting the plot. By the end everyone has a motive just like in the best locked room mysteries. What was really nice, I did not guess the, “who.”Four solid stars and I would recommend this book.David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson Series.

The Guest List BOTM April 2020 SelectionIn a sea of mediocre mysteries and thrillers, this one caught my attention and held it through to the explosive ending. Lucy Foley writes psychological fiction that isn't flashy, but focuses a quiet power to envelop the reader with strong writing and plotting. In my opinion, a good thriller isn't one that has to pull a twist out of somewhere the reader wouldn't expect, but takes the entire cast of characters and makes each look as guilty as the rest, so that by the time the reader reaches the end, it doesn't really matter whodunnit as much as how the author has kept you floundering around for 300+ pages in search of the reveal. This is precisely what Foley has done with The Guest List, and while it was difficult at first to keep up with the numerous POVs we receive, I was able to keep them straight once the story was going. Part Agatha Christie mystery, part Big Little Lies, The Guest List is a book that I felt lightened the burden of current world issues and allowed me to slip into a place that was filled with murder and mayhem instead of viruses and homeschooling. Disclaimer: I also received a review copy via the publisher.

Not bad! Not bad at all!Lately I feel like many of the suspense/thriller/mysteries I read are so twisty that it starts to get ridiculous. I love a good twist or two, a shocking revelation or three, but not incomprehensible nonsense. With The Guest List I feel satisfaction because the level of twists and turns is just right and the magnitude of the surprises is not nonsensically bloated. Its nice to finally find one that is just right (like Goldilocks, but hopefully without the angry bears).I was thinking 4 to 4.5 stars at first, but because this one quenched my thirst for twisty perfection, I am gonna go for 5 stars (it is my review and I can do what I want, so there! 🤪🤪🤪🤣🤣🤣)I know not everyone feels the way I do (an average 3.87 stars on Goodreads as I write this). Also, with a victory in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards, it is quite hyped up - and I get the feeling that many avoid hyped books or go into hyped books kind of jaded before page one. But, I am gonna put my neck out there and say "give this one a try!". Sure, you may end up with a 2 or 3 star review. Maybe you will come back to shame me for promoting the hype. But, my hope is that you enjoy it as much as I did! 😃

spooky island. check.variety of characters. check.dead body. check. this has everything you could want from a classic ‘whodunnit.’ i had no surprises whilst reading this - i saw EVERYTHING coming a mile away. but its definitely because LF does a great job at planting clues along the way. even though the story only takes place over the course of two days, this is a very slow building novel. its very much character focused, rather than plot, and i like that. the writing is quick and easy to devour. my only critique would be the ending. as i said, the story spans two days, with a brief epilogue taking place the morning of the third day. i would have loved to have more closure than that. it doesnt feel as if theres a proper ending for many of the characters, so i have no idea how they are going to adjust will the fall out of the events during the wedding weekend. but overall, this is a very enjoyable and addicting read! i look forward to seeing what kind of story LF comes up with next!↠ 4 stars

Ahhhh, I had so much fun reading this thriller. This is a classic who-dunnit mystery, and it all takes place during a wedding on an island in Ireland. I love everything about this book: the slow burn mystery, the isolated spooky island, and reading form several different POV’s.I found this book to be impossible to put down. Right away, it creates this creepy spooky eerie vibe on this island, and I was pretty obsessed with the atmosphere of this book. This entire book takes place within two days, during a wedding. The story mainly takes place the day before the wedding and then it flash forwards we see what happened the night of the wedding - when someone is murdered. I like that we don’t find out who it is that is murdered until nearly the end, I was trying to figure it out the entire book. And I love that we follow from the POV from six different characters. You’d think it would be confusing but it was actually really easy after a while, and I loved all the storylines happening. I love that everyone had a motive so you are still trying to figure out who did it. There’s a storm happening on the island and there are high winds and crashing waves and the power goes in and out, and it just makes for the perfect spooky setting. This book honestly kind of reminds me of the movie Knives Out because of how clever and smart and atmospheric it is.I just loved it a whole lot. It takes a lot for me to give a thriller five stars but I just had so much fun reading this and I didn’t have any issues with it and I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. Thanks to Book of the Month for sending this early copy my way!

I know quite a few of y’all are anti-audiobook, but this is one that I insist that you should give it a try on. 😉 This book is told from several points of view, which can be confusing. However, the audiobook had a full cast of narrators, so you definitely knew who was speaking, making the story that much more intriguing. 😁 While I kinda guessed a part of the plot early on, I didn’t guess who would be killed and who the killer would be. 🧐 Overall this was a pretty good mystery.

3.75 stars“I have raised hell.”The Guest List a whodunnit about a glamorous wedding. The guests are out for revenge, leading them to “raise hell.”The wedding of the year is about to take place on an exclusive island. Bridezilla is about to marry a smarmy D list celebrity who has many skeletons in his closet. The members of the Wedding Party hold the cards that could destroy their marriage and their lives. The narrative alternates between many POV’s: The Bride, the Groom, the Best Man, The Plus One, The Wedding Planner, and The Bridesmaid. While it seems a lot to keep up with, the structure of the book makes it easy to keep track of who is who. The timeline flips back and forth between the past, two days before the wedding, to the chaotic wedding in the present. The reader is taunted throughout about what might have happened. We know that something bad has happened from the start, but we don’t know quite what or who might have been hurt. Details are slowly revealed leading to a bloody and dramatic ending.The structure and style of this book are similar to The Hunting Party, but the characters are more likable (well, some of them are). The setting was my favorite element. The story takes place on a secluded, remote island off the coast of Ireland. The island, rumored to be haunted, is dark and sinister. It is just as dangerous as the people staying on it, and the atmosphere adds an additional layer of menace.This is fast-paced and easy to read. I figured out the murderer early on, but I didn’t know who had been murdered or why. There are a lot of red herrings thrown in to make one question their arm-chair detective skills. Some elements of the plot came together with a little too easily--it just so happened that one person in attendance had a link to another in a way that was just way too convenient. However, this connection did add another potential candidate as the murderer.Overall, I enjoyed this for the entertainment value and for keeping me guessing! I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

pelo amor de deus, galera.

Atmospheric, locked room (remote island), extravagant wedding What else could you ask for? This one has the atmospheric vibes that mystery lovers crave and I enjoyed every minute reading it! My first by this author.The writing, the characters, and the suspense kept me guessing and I was all over the place trying to pinpoint the murderer. The wildness of this island was getting under everyone's skin. The cliffs, the waves, the sea, that moment.One night, the bride is afraid she won't sleep a wink. Is it the upcoming wedding or something else?I was on pins and needles more than once.  Characters to love and hate. I love a good mystery and this one wowed me!Thanks to my Goodreads friend for sharing her arc! Highly entertaining.Out May 2020. 

4-5 stars. You are cordially invited to the wedding of Julia Keegan, owner of a lifestyle magazine and Will Slater, TV star. The wedding of the year will take place on Inis Amploir (Cormorant Island) off the Irish coast. A boat will be provided to ferry you to and from the island, though the main wedding party will stay in the luxuriously refurbished Folly. It would be wise to take a motion sickness pill prior to boarding the boat as Irish seas can be er ....... unpredictable, so probably best not to wear green or wear vertiginous heels as they could sink into the many peat bogs. So a disparate bunch of invitees make their way to the island and despite the intentions of Aoife, the wedding planner and owner of the island, what develops is a nightmarish gathering from hell. The pair duly marry but a storm is raging outside and inside, a waitress screams, the lights go out, a few of the guests stumble drunkenly outside to work out what’s happening. There’s the danger of the cliff edge and peat bogs to swallow you up. Is someone dead? Who? What unravels is very atmospheric and tense and towards the end you find you are holding your breathe as you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Literally. This slow burning psychological thriller is very well written. The account of the events includes five perspectives, Aoife, Jules the bride, Olivia her half sister and bridesmaid, Johnno the best man and Hannah the plus one, married to Charlie the MC. The characters are well depicted, some are despicable, there’s the odd diva (there always is as a wedding), a few botoxed beauties, some likeable characters and the ushers who are a bunch of arrogant, entitled privately educated men who are still school boys, act like pack animals and I want to punch their lights out!! Which is entirely the point! The stand out thing for me is the island and the weather which provides a magnificent, atmospheric backdrop and mirrors the storm brewing among the guests. The island has a ghostly feel and has legends which adds an extra dimension and there are some really creepy scenes to match the folklore, not least around the screeching cormorants which are seen as harbingers of death and evil which adds another layer of tension. Lucy Foley captures so well how strangers meet at a wedding, all bringing their stories and their baggage and as the night progresses with increased drunkenness, the frenzy of the band, tension rises and erupts volcanically in this wild location. The book has everything fans of this genre like - tension, revenge, secrets, lies, cowardice, grief, cruelty, the list goes on making this the guest list from Hades. Overall, a really well executed, atmospheric, slow burner of a novel. At times I felt the pace a little too slow and I couldn’t get past my dislike of the ushers so hence 4 - 5 stars. There is a great deal to admire in the writing of this clever novel and I would recommend it to fans of the genre. There are things you definitely don’t see coming and the end is a genuine surprise which I really like. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.