Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - You're Invited

I liked this until I didn’t… that’s the best way to explain it. It was definitely twisty and I wanted to know what happened, but there was no real sense of urgency or high-stakes situation, partly because I didn’t like the characters. I also thought that the book was reallyyyy front heavy, with a lot of time dedicated to the rising action and very little time spent on explaining the “big twists”

Content Warnings

bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.75

Truly a bizarre read.
Very slow going, with disturbed MC who has very dark, violent thoughts about others and engages in self-harm.
All of the characters are unpleasant in varying degrees. Towards the end, Jayatissa begins throwing in so many plot twists/fact reveals that feel like a few too many. Ending was an abrupt, bizarre wrap-up, that left one major line of facts out of the final “whodunnit story” and none of the characters ask about it, and then you get more layers of unpleasant characters that by the last page I was left with a very “what the heck did I just read” sort of bad taste in my mouth.

Content Warnings

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I selected this as my Book of the Month selection for July because I am recently engaged and enthralled by all things weddings. I was so blown away by how much I loved this thriller; once I picked it up, I could not put it down!
"You're Invited" follows Amaya, a young woman who is invited to her ex-best friend's, Kaavi's, wedding. Despite being childhood friends, and inseparable all their lives, Amaya and Kaavi had some sort of falling out years ago and have not spoken. Now, Kaavi is marrying Amaya's ex-boyfriend and Amaya finds herself heading home to Sri Lanka with one mission: to stop this wedding at all costs.
This story is told through duel timelines, which is something I really enjoy in thrillers. In the first chapter we find out that Kaavi is missing on the morning of her wedding, and Amaya is the prime suspect. We slowly get the "present day" investigation, but we jump back to the days leading up to the wedding as well. EVERYONE has something they are hiding, and just when you think you have the story figured out, there is a new twist that completely derails everything. I thoroughly enjoyed reading a story set in Sri Lanka, and the author did an impeccable job of making the story incredibly atmospheric. I do think the ending might be polarizing, but I LOVED it.
I am so excited to continue to read from this author!

Content Warnings

misslaurenreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This had a strong start and strong ending, but the middle left me bored. Any time someone asked me what kind of book I was reading I said “It’s a murder mystery, except I’m not sure if there was a murder.” Definitely a lot of twists and turns!

Content Warnings