The Guest Book by Mae Marvel

A treasure hunt, a centuries-old inn, and a love story that wrecked me in the best way.

The Guest Book is the kind of book that sneaks up on you. What begins as a charming sapphic romance set in an English village becomes something much deeper, a story about grief, identity, and what it means to truly be seen by another person.

Cosima and Edie are both running from something when they find themselves at Gregory Place, and I loved them individually and completely together. They are different in every way that matters and perfectly matched in the ways that count. The way they see each other—really see each other—is swoony and deeply moving. Cosima falls first, but Edie isn’t far behind, and watching that unfold was a joy.

The treasure hunt takes them across England, Spain, and France and it is as charming and fun as it sounds. But the emotional core of this book is what stayed with me. The handling of grief and addiction is honest and nuanced in ways that hit me hard. This book wrecked me in the best way and I was not fully prepared for that.

Gregory Place itself is a character, a place where people have been falling in love for generations, and you feel every bit of that history.

Mae Marvel has written something genuinely special here. I did not want it to end.

If this sounds like your kind of read, you can pre-order a copy HERE or request it from your local library.