{"id":51,"date":"2020-07-30T10:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T10:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/\/?p=51"},"modified":"2020-07-30T10:40:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T10:40:00","slug":"the-guest-list-by-lucy-foley-book-review-a-mini-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=51","title":{"rendered":"The Guest List by Lucy Foley Book Review + A MINI Announcement!"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Hi Readers! I am on a roll! Ever since the weight of my 2020 Reading Challenge<\/a> has been lifted, I feel invincible. Okay, the Challenge is not technically completed. I did read 52 books, but I have only read <\/span>42 out of the 52 categories<\/span><\/b>. The remaining 10 books are random. But, it is as good as done because it\u2019s only July & I\u2019ve got a ton of time to complete it.<\/span><\/p>\n

This brings me to my ANNOUNCEMENT<\/span><\/b>. I have decided to read a total of <\/span>75 BOOKS<\/span><\/b> <\/span>this year!! It sounds overwhelming, but it basically means I just have to read 22 more books<\/span><\/b> <\/span>in the remaining FIVE MONTHS<\/span><\/b>! That\u2019s nothing! So, there you have it! The mini announcement! Now, feel free to head on to the book review!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

~~INTRODUCTION~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Lucy Foley\u2019s \u2018The Guest List\u2019 kept popping all over my Goodreads account<\/a>, but so do a lot of other books. The funny thing was the mixed reviews. Some people had rated it 5, many at 3 & a few at 1, which was all so misleading yet intriguing! So, I decided why not read it & decide for myself? Anyway, it was a thriller, so it had to have some SHOCKING<\/span><\/b> <\/span>potential in it, right? That\u2019s why I finally read it. And, I am with the many people who rated it at 3\/5!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The Guest List is set on a spooky island near Ireland where a famous couple decide to have their wedding. The groom Will Slater<\/span><\/b> <\/span>is an actor on a show called Survive the Night while the bride Julia Keegan<\/span><\/b> <\/span>is the founder\/owner of an online magazine called The Download. Both the parties are obscenely rich. The book is divided into two story lines<\/span><\/b>; one is the NOW<\/span><\/b> <\/span>where the setting is of the wedding night, and second is THE DAY BEFORE<\/span><\/b> <\/span>until it catches up to NOW. The story is told through FIVE different people<\/span><\/b> <\/span>‘ Aoife<\/span><\/b> <\/span>(The Wedding Planner), Hannah<\/span><\/b> <\/span>(The Plus-One), Jules<\/span><\/b> <\/span>(The Bride), Johnno<\/span><\/b> <\/span>(The Best Man) and Olivia<\/span><\/b> <\/span>(The Bridesmaid). From a thriller standpoint, you get a lot in this. An isolated creepy island, a dead body, messed up characters & many secrets from the past!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

~~Narrative Division~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The \u2018NOW\u2019<\/span><\/b> <\/span>part is obviously the one where the chapters are basically one page giving very little away until we are close to the end, which I really LIKED<\/span><\/b>. All we know that has happened in the NOW is that there is a body, which makes it all the more interesting.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>In \u2018The DAY BEFORE\u2019<\/span><\/b>, we get to meet all these MANY<\/span><\/b> <\/span>characters, listen to their stories & learn their lifestyles. The most amazing thing is that there is AT LEAST one cliffhanger<\/span><\/b> <\/span>in every person\u2019s story which always keeps hanging. I suppose that was a bit of a different take which I also LIKED<\/span><\/b>. Because of this take, there was always a lot going on on every front. This made me continue reading it obsessively.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Were Jules & Charlie ever together?<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What is Olivia\u2019s past?<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Why is this month bothering Hannah?<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What is the long past secret between Johnno & Will?<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Every single character has something hidden, which was probably the x-factor<\/span><\/b> <\/span>of this novel. Other than that, I\u2019d say it was quite an average read.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

~~Well-Balanced Characters~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The Guest List is a character-driven novel<\/span><\/b> <\/span>& I loved that about it. I got a lot of insight into the characters because of this narrative. I found a common trend among the male characters in this story ‘ they are all assholes<\/span><\/b>! All of them are so toxic when they are together, especially Will, Johnno & the ushers. Next is Charlie, a married man with kids, who keeps flirting with Jules, the bride, a day before her wedding. We also have Jules\u2019 & Will\u2019s fathers who are both poor examples of parenting. We also see Will with his polite (read flirtatious) talks with Hannah & Aoife. There are just no examples of good men in the story which became a bit notorious to read. It was well-balanced with all the amazing female characters<\/span><\/b>though. Jules being the strong & take-charge woman. We also see Hannah & Olivia sharing their stories in the vulnerable darkness of the cave. I would\u2019ve liked to see more of their power together after seeing them being sad together. Given that we have so specific characters, it was fun at times, but also dull at other times.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

~~Predictability & Probability~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

In thrillers, the most fun part for readers is to guess who is the murderer & to connect the very blurry dots along the story. In this novel, there were two BIG REVEALS<\/span><\/b> <\/span>relating to Will, which I was able to guess pretty easily. Because Will is not one of the narrators, there was always an aura of mystery to him & I knew from the beginning there had to be something about him. But I always hate it when my guesses are right because it just means that the writing is not that great. Another thing about those two things was how low the probability was of Will being connected to them both. I know it\u2019s a novel, but the probability is so unimaginably low, which also disappointed me.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

~~The Ending~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

I was finally happy when the ending was unpredictable. I should have seen it coming if I had put a LOT of thought & logic<\/span><\/b> <\/span>behind it. So, just the last 20 pages or so were thrilling in the whole novel. Even though I liked the ending & how it nicely connected the dots, I felt like it was incomplete. There was so much happening in that wedding that I think somehow think that all the loose ends did not tie up at the end.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

~~CONCLUSION~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

I read thrillers awfully quickly & usually tend to guess what\u2019s coming. In The Guest List, some factors were really amazing, such as the island setting, narrative division, each person\u2019s hidden secret with so much drama & the ending. What did not fit with me was how easy it was to predict things. Also, I got a bit of a \u2018Big Little Lies\u2019 vibe toward the end when all these women are pissed at Will. Given the build-up, the end didn\u2019t feel as complete as expected. Overall, it was a good attempt, but not the best I have read.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

I have rated The Guest List by Lucy Foley at 3\/5 stars<\/span><\/b>! By reading this, I have completed the category of \u2018A book written by a British author\u2019<\/span><\/b> <\/span>from my 2020 Reading Challenge!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Until next time,<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Readers! I am on a roll! Ever since the weight of my 2020 Reading Challenge has been lifted, I feel invincible. Okay, the Challenge is not technically completed. I did read 52 books, but I have only read 42 out of the 52 categories. The remaining 10 books are random. But, it is as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-mindscape-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1604,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1604","url_meta":{"origin":51,"position":0},"title":"Top 12 Books of 2021 \u2013 Year in Review (Part 2)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! You can check out my Year in Review (Part 1) here, where I have written about my 21 Things to do in 2021! And, here's part two! One of the most prioritised goals for me every year is reading. So, welcome to my reading review of the year!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PicsArt_12-10-10.18.19-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PicsArt_12-10-10.18.19-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PicsArt_12-10-10.18.19-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PicsArt_12-10-10.18.19-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PicsArt_12-10-10.18.19-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=56","url_meta":{"origin":51,"position":1},"title":"Update on my Reading Challenge!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Now that we are more than halfway done with 2020, I thought of updating you guys with my Reading Challenge. Here is the main first post if you want to download the image! As you know I had prepared a challenge of reading 52 Books in 52 Weeks&\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-fR8Atp9hn9k\/Wbg8tczARCI\/AAAAAAAAdy4\/x4OhWVMk_WALzEgQhnySQSThzqqcDPUrwCPcBGAYYCw\/w200-h176\/sign.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=89","url_meta":{"origin":51,"position":2},"title":"2020 Reading Challenge: 52 Books in 52 Weeks!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"January 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers!You all know how much of a planner I am. You can clearly see that from the 20 Things to do in 2020 post. While I am always organized in most matters, there is one important area where I am haphazard. And that, dear readers, is shockingly READING! I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-wWvI_BMSOrU\/WbTkGjlRdJI\/AAAAAAAAdvY\/6yyPr5o3uygLBglyrrIldaTX1hLJrK9HACPcBGAYYCw\/s200\/sign.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=24","url_meta":{"origin":51,"position":3},"title":"Top Posts of 2020 – Year in Review (Part 4)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Readers! I wasn\u2019t entirely sure if I should write a \u2018Top 10 Posts of 2020\u2019 post, because I already did a similar post on Mindscape in Words\u2019 6th Blogoversary! 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What\u2019s even better is that I LOVED THREE BOOKS, HATED\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--H_BZsbMOLY\/XostdbI7OKI\/AAAAAAAAimY\/Bmq3GUm6gEgni8jzWOtY-NI_VABn2nWXQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/IMG_20200406_174718-01.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=73","url_meta":{"origin":51,"position":5},"title":"April Reads! (Mindscape Reviews)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"May 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Readers! You need to make up your mind now, because all of my posts this year are going to be book posts. For 2020, I had only 2 travel plans anyway, but now obviously it\u2019s not possible. So, just putting it out there\u2026 Books! 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