This was…a lot. I understand that this was the second book in a series, and the author did a great job recapping just how unhinged the first book was.

I enjoyed the first bit of this book, the dual perspectives, and the underlying mystery of “what’s in the bag?”

Except the twist was completely out of left field and was a wild shot in the dark that didn’t make any sense at all. The resolution was filled with plot holes. There wasn’t nearly enough suspense for this to be considered a psychological thriller.

Overall, I enjoyed these characters and the setting in Silicon Valley—but this just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of the story. Overall the book was okay. I felt like there was just too many plot lines going on in the story so it was difficult to keep track of all the information. Overall, I would rate the book a 2/5. Thanks!

It was very hard to get into the book without having read the first book in the series (which I didn’t realize until I began reading it). Would recommend reading Silicon Valley series book #1 first!

I thought I had this book figured out and I also felt this was a 3.5 star read and then that REVEAL happened. Talk about giving me whiplash! I did not see that coming at all! I love when a book can shock me. This one did and I enjoyed how entertaining this book was. There are twists and turns along the way with quite a few revelations.

This book was slightly creepy, but a bit predictable. I kept waiting for some unexpected revelation but it never quite got there for me. I was unaware it was part of a series, but it's easily read as a standalone book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Guest House, a psychological thriller written by Bonnie Traymore is about two women whose lives cross paths and intertwine. Allie Dawson is a young deaf entrepreneur who is one of the ten female awardees of Laura Foster’s Foundation, a start-up for female entrepreneurs. She moves from Milwaukee to pursue her dream of bringing her caption device to market. Bonnie gives us two women who are thrown curve balls in their lives yet rise up from those ashes. From Laura escaping attempts on her life, raising step-kids, and later re-inventing herself as a business and sports woman to Allie overcoming her disability knowing it’s not inability and surviving murder. It shows that one can tear themselves down and re-invent themselves to be a better version of themselves.

This is a well written psychological thriller with strong characters and an intriguing storyline!! The author does a great job developing the story

Series continues with this Silicon Valley thriller. It didn't hold my interest as the first in series did however. Espionage, old secrets and touch of romance combine for a good story featuring cochlear implants and technological advances.

Allie hears with a cochlear implant, which leads her to find a better way to hear in this world. Following her path to invent what is needed for the hearing impaired she meets a man who offers to rent her an apartment on his property. He and his wife are many of the people she meets while trying to achieve her goal. Are they all good people, who can she trust. The Foster family are prominent in her life are they who they seem. It was a lot of fun finding out who Allie can trust and who is actually trying to help her. Great read! Enjoyed all of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for this copy of The Guest House. Such a great read. So glad I'm not renting anymore for fear of this landlord.

So I just want to say, I do plan on reading the first book in the series because I think that may help me better understand things. I didn't realize this was the second in the series until I actually went to review it and saw that on GoodReads it's listed as Book 2. I am going to start with what I did like about the story. I love anything with a dual POV especially when it comes to thrillers. I think the representation of Allie in the deaf community was well done and I loved to read that she was an entrepreneur with technology to help others who also were deaf. As for the cons, I am not sure what it was, but I struggled a bit with the thriller aspect of it. I look for thrillers who keep me on the edge of my seats and this one seemed to fall flat for me. I also felt the book ended abruptly without some of the loose ends being tied together, but I am wondering if thats because there will be a third book? I also found it slightly hard to follow, but I also blame that on me and not the author now that I know this is the second in the series. Overall I would say that it was a good book and I appreciate the ARC from Netgalley and the publisher!

2.75/5 - Not a bad read, but not very original for me. I have read a lot in the genre, and there is not much to make this stand out from the rest. It's still a decent read. Take this review with a grain of salt, though. I had no idea when I started reading that this was a sequel in a series. You do not need to read the first book, but maybe it would have given me more character development? Like I said - grain of salt.

The Guest House: A Psychological Thriller – 3.7 stars (rounded to 4 stars)
(Silicon Valley Series Book 2)

#TheGuestHouseAPsychologicalThriller is a stand-alone sequel with an intrigue blurb.
The main character Allie is a deaf, smart girl. When she gets a welcome email inviting her to join the team at the Silicone Valley, she is full of joy and hope. This is her chance to develop and launch a new product. But when Allie got there, she realizes that everything is not as simple as she thought. Under pressure to rent at least something, she accepts an offer for a house. She soon begins to suspect something about her landlord and people around. And now Allie needs to figure out who she can trust to.
#TheGuestHouseAPsychologicalThriller has a few twists and turns. But I found it a little slow on my like and it wasn’t easy to get hooked into, I guess its just not my cup of tea.

Autor: Bonnie Traymore
Publisher: BooksGoSocial
Pages:275

Thank you NetGalley for providing ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#TheGuestHouseAPsychologicalThriller #NetGalley

I loved this book. I was hooked from the beginning and didn’t want it to end, I was enjoying it so much. The dual pov made it even more fast paced. Both Allie and Laura were well developed and likable characters.

Allie is deaf, and represented really well and I loved reading from her perspective. Allie is launching a product where a screen can be inserted into any eyeglasses and can translate in multiple languages that appear as captions through that screen. She’s really inspiring the way she never gives up no matter what obstacle she is facing.

There were twists and turns, suspense and everything I want in a thriller. I wish I knew about book one before reading, but it didn’t take away from the book at all. I will be reading more from Bonnie Traymore starting with the book I missed.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Bonnie Traymore for this ARC

Allie Dawson has been offered an amazing opportunity by Laura Foster and is keen on bringing her entrepreneurial concept to life. Allie lost her hearing at a young age, and together with her brother and a partner, has created a screen that clips onto eyeglasses and captions speech in real-time.

But life in Silicon Valley is expensive and Allie is struggling to find a place to stay. When a gentleman named Mike, claiming to be in real estate, approaches her at Starbucks and offers her a rental in his guest house, she is initially sceptical. But beggars can’t be choosers so Allie takes a chance. Initially, Allie is happy, but when she sees him dragging something across the lawn in the middle of the night, she has questions.

And, adding to her questions is the mysterious Hungarian Barnat, who also has a place at the guest house. After meeting a potential investor, Allie is over the moon about the future. But things take an odd turn when she realises that some people will do anything to get their hands on the newest idea.

I read the previous book in the series, which helped to understand some of the characters’ choices in this one as it continues where the previous one ended. However, there were directions some plot lines went in that didn’t seem necessary. For example: why the secret/angry looks from Susan and Willa?

I loved Allie’s concept and her portrayal as D/deaf and to be let into how she experiences the world was very interesting. Lots of things hearing people take for granted are highlighted here.

Laura has grown in this one and I liked the fact that she decided to take care of herself. But did Peter’s story have to go in that direction in order to get the closure she needed on her decision?

Shep was my favourite in the last book and I’m glad his story took a good turn in this one.

I think there were too many leaps to just “accept” in this. For Mike to invite Allie to stay and make her pay for three months meant he knew of the viability of her concept, otherwise what he was up to versus the timeframe is a waste. Barnat’s end story almost felt like a plaster on a plot hole. I also found Lydia’s fantasy oddly disturbing and hinted at something more maybe?

Again, I wouldn’t call this a psychological thriller but more of a suspense. However, the editing was great and the story kept me going. It does end with questions and seems to have been left open somewhat again. Is there another planned in the series? It is an enjoyable read but leaves you with questions and a feeling like it wasn’t quite finished off. I don’t mean things tied up with a bow, I mean loose tangents.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a chance to review the book.

He holds out his business card, and she plucks it from his fingers without touching them. “Hope to see you around, Allie Dawson,” he says. That was over a month ago. It seemed too good to be true, but Allie told herself to ignore the nagging feeling in her gut. That was her first mistake.

When she saw Laura Foster’s email welcoming her into a cohort of grant recipients, Allie literally jumped for joy. She was headed to Silicon Valley with a chance to bring her innovative product to market. She’s deaf with a cochlear implant, and she’s developed a screen that can clip onto eyeglasses and caption speech in real time.

But she had no idea how tight the rental market would be, or how cutthroat the competition is for everything from housing to venture capital. So, after a futile search to find a short-term apartment she could afford, she rented a guest house from a chummy real estate agent who approached her at a coffee shop.

But it’s clear now that she should have trusted her instincts. Because there’s something off about her landlord. And his moody wife. And the cryptic Hungarian guy renting his master suite.

Are they after her technology? She knows what it feels like to see her life flash before her eyes, and she doesn't need that kind of stress right now.

So why is she still living there?
And has she already seen too much?


Shades of Daniel Hurst and his thrillers. Could not put this down until I had finished it. I thought it was fantastical. Cannot wait to read more from this author.

I didn’t enjoy this book. The points of view were a little confusing at times and I felt that the plot sort of resolved a bit too neatly for my taste. I won’t be continuing this series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed this book from the get go, the characters and storyline were both fabulous! face paced but not to the detriment of the story, this oculd make a very good netflix series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is a thriller novel, told in a dual pov. It’s second in the series but can be read as a standalone! (I have not read the first book.)

Laura wants to help women entrepreneurs and to do so she gave out grants to different women. In addition to working, she is also a new mom- who has suffered traumatically over the last year. While trying to figure out her own life, she also is very supportive of Allie.

Allie, on of the grant recipients, is deaf, and working to create a device for the D/deaf community. She randomly meets a man who offers to rent out his guest house to her and although Allie is weary of him, she doesn’t have many housing options. She accepts the house and learns that he has another entrepreneur renting from him. Strange things start happening and Allie begins questioning those she lives with. Are they after her technology?

The story was good and fast paced. I also really enjoyed the characters! I loved the representation of the deaf community.

The reason I gave 3 stars is because I like my thrillers to keep me on the edge of my seat. Although the story was good, the thrilling aspect wasn’t there for me.

This is a standard thriller book that that follows the plot progression of a all other thrillers. However, there are several plot twists that make it less formulaic than your run of the mill thrillers. The story starts off slowly, it gradually builds momentum and then slows back down at the end. Despite this the character development of Allie, was phenomenal and i truly felt like i got to know her. She's a very authentic and relatable character. This book is the second in a series; however, it functions very well as a standalone novel.