Such a great thriller! The plot takes a bit to get going but once it does, you are hooked! Love Nina Manning's writing style.

I have not come across Nina Manning's work before but was intrigued by the book description so decided to read it. The more I read the more I enjoyed it but didn't quite live up to my hopes.

Regi suffers from OCD and wanting a fresh start moves in with new housemates. She is desperate to escape her past and as a distraction follows the perfect lives of others on social media. An innocent hobby soon turns into an unhealthy obsession putting Regi at risk.

An interesting read that didn't quite gel with me.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Boldwood Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is rated between and 3 and 3.5 stars.

This book was slow moving and at times, just boring.

We are taken back and forth between the present and the past of the main character.

The reason I am leaning toward 3.5 stars, is for the decent twist at the end.

This story follows Regi, a woman who suffers from OCD. She no longer cares about her appearance, has trouble having meaningful relationships with other people and is consumed with repetitive, compulsive behaviors. To deviate from her routine causes her tremendous anxiety. Then she discovers the instagram account for Mrs. Clean. Everything in Mrs. Clean's world seems so perfect, so pure. Regi becomes obsessed with her. But she'll soon learn that perfection comes at a steep price.

This story is wrongly labeled as a psychological thriller. It's more of a character study and a well done one! As someone who also suffers from OCD, I felt an attachment and empathy for Regi. Through the pages of this book, the reader is able to glimpse into the life of someone with OCD and anxiety. It is so well portrayed! The narration is told from Regi's perspective in Now and Then chapters with segments from Mrs. Clean's instagram scattered throughout. I didn't really think the instagram posts added much to the story and could've just been included in the Now chapters, but that's just me. As the story progresses, Regi's past starts to unfold which helps to explain her struggle with anxiety, trust and the need for order.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I refuse to give anything away. I enjoyed this book a lot thinking I knew where this story was going and then I was stopped dead in my tracks, forced to sit back and not throw my book-Ha!. Well played Nina Manning!

Regi was a really good character. It was a rare but realistic profile of someone with obsessive and compulsive traits. She really was the best thing about the story.

The rest of the book is meant to catch you out or think differently but instead made me really confused and lost.

This book had me interested from page 1. I loved the ending It, was a total and complete curve ball I didn't see coming. This book had me guessing at every corner about the mental stability of the main character Regi. A real page turner, and really well written!

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review. The House Mate is a domestic drama which takes place just outside of London. The novel is told in alternating chapters labeled then and now, which are interspersed with instagram posts. The "now "chapters focus on a 36 year old woman going by the name of Regi who is starting over as the titular house mate of three college age women. It is clear early on that Regi has suffered severe trauma and is now exhibiting OCD tendencies. I found these chapters to be poignant and well written. I grew to care for Regi and I was actively rooting for her to find peace and happiness.

Unfortunately, the "then" chapters, which most readers would logically assume deal with Regi's past trauma, turn out to be a red herring and actually pertain to another woman altogether. While the author may have intended this to be a shocking reveal, it was a huge disappointment for me. The last quarter of the book was simply outlandish and confusing, leaving me with more questions than answers. This is a shame because the author created a great character in Regi, and I wish that the book had focused exclusively on her.

Overall, I would say that this book has great potential but did not live up to my expectations.

I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely a page turner and very well written. I thought I knew were it was heading and how it would end , but boy was I wrong, which I enjoyed because I always love a book that surprises you. Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm not quite sure how I felt about this. It was easy reading and there were aspects of it that I liked, but overall I probably wouldn't say that I liked it.

I did enjoy reading about a main character who suffers from OCD as it something I struggle with myself and it really does get in the way so it was nice to see that highlighted. I also enjoyed her awkward interactions with housemates ten years younger than her. I did the house share thing in my early twenties and can't even imagine doing it in my thirties!

The story itself though, I wasn't keen on. The ending relies on a lot of misdirection and one hell of a coincidence and I'm not a fan of that.

Overall I would say that I liked the main character and enjoyed reading about her relationships and how she navigated the world with her anxiety and OCD but I didn't like the mystery part which considering it's a thriller is probably the main point! I would still recommend readers to give this a go though if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, the world would be boring if we all liked the same things.

What a page turner! I've read it in a one sitting, holding my breath till the end.

Regina moves in a big house in London and becomes a roomate with young female students. She has OCD, dark past and is constantly afraid of something. It seems that the only thing that manage to calms her is an Instagram account of Mrs. Clean. And even there something is not totally right.

The novel is full of twists and turns and the reader constantly predict the narrative. But what a surprise awaits at the end!

I highly recommend this book!

I love books like The House Mate by Nina Manning. Dark, creepy suspense with mysterious characters and an interesting plot.

Regi is over thirty and has terrible OCD. She is running from something but we don’t know what exactly but she suffers terribly with her OCD. One day, Regi’s housemate tells her about an Instagram user named Mrs.Clean. Regi is immediately intrigued, then grows obsessed.

We get little peeks into Regi’s past and know she is running from something. There are pieces of her life that need to be put into place like a puzzle as we continue reading. The pieces come together.

Take a look:

The perfect life? …Or the perfect lie? When Regi moves into her new houseshare, she’s ready for a clean slate. A new home. A new routine. A new identity… Desperate to escape the shadow of her past that follows her everywhere she goes, Regi finds the ideal distraction in the perfect lives of others on social media.

But as innocent scrolling turns into an unhealthy obsession, Regi will soon learn that seeking perfection comes at a price…

I love how this book was just so tense and suspenseful, and I felt bad for Regi. Also, did you know that #cleanstagram was a thing? That might become my new Instagram obsession, too.

Coming out on October 15! Pre-order now.

Regi has recently moved into a house she shares with 3 much younger women. Regi has OCD and has to regularly perform certain repetitive actions to get through the moment or day. How she developed OCD is not revealed to us. She has a secret about her past and vaguely refers to some terrible event and her involvement. The book has a claustrophobic feeling as the description says because most of the book is inside her head and about her anxious thoughts and ideas.

The book is divided into 3 parts with chapters labelled Now, Then, and posts from an Instagram influencer called Mrs. Clean. The parts where Regi felt awkward around her housemates was done well but there weren't really any clues to suggest where the story was going. There is A LOT of repetition, including the phrases 'shiny eyes' and 'dry mouth'. The Instagram posts were a nice touch but weren't a part of Regi's past. One would think the Then chapters would tell us something but they end up causing confusion. I don't know if it was intentional but being labelled Then and the story being told within them seems to suggest it.

The climax takes place when Regi's obsession with Mrs. Clean grows and she takes action. It leads to a positive outcome but no normal person would or should do what Regi does. I was left feeling tricked and unsatisfied. I'm also unsure what the message was.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the read.

A really intense thriller that shows that you can never escape your true identity, and that the neighbor’s grass is not always greener... A great read!

It is rather odd to be 35 and roommates with three other girls in their 20's. It's what Regina is doing. She will start Uni soon taking her textile course. In the meantime she's spending time on Instagram following a cleaner. When she reads the remarks left afterwards she sees there is one who is always finding faul with the cleaner she follows.
Regi also has other problems. She has OCD. Her compulsion to lock and unlock windows and doors is overwhelming at times. Plus she has to open and close doors. All of this can to a bit much in a roommate. Her roomies seem to tolerate it. She makes up for her compulsiveness by helping keep the house clean.
The problem now is the phone calls she refuses to answer. She also sees the man in black who wears a baseball cap that she is sure is following her. Then the neighbor next door is most definitely abusing their little child.
Regi has a lot going on in her life. She also has a lot that went on before now.
A psychological thriller that will keep you guessing.

Interesting read better than the previous book I’ve read by this author. This is a book that is slower than I usually prefer

When I picked this up I thought the plot sounded really promising. However, it is a very slow book to read and it didn’t have me gripped. There were no major surprises and it was overall quite a bland read.

It wasn't a horrible book but it was so slow I put it down several times to force myself to pick it back up so i could finish it. Now that I read it I do not see anything that stands out except a somewhat interesting story line but was not a suspenceful read for me at least.

Regi, not her real name, lives with her three student housemates in London. She is older than them and a mature student. She has OCD and a past. We get occasional glimpses of this in alternating chapters/sections of her past life and what she has been running from. In the present she often sees a man in a baseball cap and keeps getting telephone calls- she knows the number and doesn't answer them. We also know that she had a child and an abusive partner- but not what happened to either of them. She is now occupying her spare time refurbishing the summerhouse in the garden and following a cleaning woman on instagram- cleanstagram (new to me!) to try and ward off her OCD as the pictures posted are of wonderful tidy and clean rooms- something that is second nature to Regi. There is something oddly compelling about reading this and I couldn't help but feel for Regi. Her heart was in the right place and it was as if she was in search of something- something she didn't quite know what. A very different interesting read which I really enjoyed.
For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/
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I wanted so badly to love this book! While the storyline was enjoyable, I found her OCD to be very distracting....which I understand OCD is indeed distracting....the focus was just too heavy on it.