The Invited: A Novel

I went into this one expecting, and hoping, for a scary, send me hiding under the covers story. The beginning had me excited, but as we move to the present, I realized that while The Invited is eerie at times, it is not that scary tale I was looking for. It is well-written, and the author certainly knows how to create atmosphere in a story. The characters are interesting and we get what I would consider mystery light, but the most intriguing part of this one for me was the history of the land and what happened there. In the end, the book did hold my interest, but it lacked that oomph that I was hoping for. I think some will enjoy it more than others, and those looking for a horror story will be disappointed. As for me, the story was worth the read and left me somewhere in the fair to midland range.

While the writing was really good and the book is well edited this story just didn't work for me. It isn't a bad read it's just much slower than I can handle. I actually found myself scheming because it did catch my attention and I couldn't just let it go. This couple figures it's a great idea to buy some land out in the middle of no where that has a story/myth/legend/haunting going on and it goes on from there. There are some nice surprises and twist in the story and a great spin at the end for ME it just took too long to get there. The author takes time to bring the beauty of the area to life in vivid color with all of the sounds and feels that go with it. Same for her characters so if you are one of those who enjoy a good slow burn type of read this is the read for you.

A thrilling book with many women involved, barely any men (it would fail a reverse Bechdel test, I think, haha). I didn't mind that. The mystery was kept under wraps until shortly before the end, but the start of the book was a little slow. It's not the best story out there, though still an enjoyable quick read. If you've enjoyed Jennifer McMahon before, I don't think you'll be disappointed.