The market has sure been saturated lately with many psychological thrillers and mysteries. They seem to be one of the hottest genres out there. That leads to a great deal of mediocrity, but I’m happy to say that this book doesn’t fall into that category. The unique setting and surprises elevate it above others in the overcrowded genre.
You’re Invited is an August 2022 release from Berkley Publishers
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, see disclosures for more detail.
About the Book:
When Amaya is invited to Kaavi’s over-the-top wedding in Sri Lanka, she is surprised and a little hurt to hear from her former best friend after so many years of radio silence. But when Amaya learns that the groom is her very own ex-boyfriend, she is consumed by a single thought: She must stop the wedding from happening, no matter the cost.
But as the weeklong wedding celebrations begin and rumors about Amaya’s past begin to swirl, she can’t help but feel like she also has a target on her back. When Kaavi goes missing and is presumed dead, all evidence points to Amaya.
However, nothing is as it seems as Jayatissa expertly unravels that each wedding guest has their own dark secret and agenda, and Amaya may not be the only one with a plan to keep the bride from getting her happily ever after…
My Thoughts:
I gave this book 4 stars
Once this book got going (and it took a while) it was full of surprises and in the end I liked how twisty and surprising it was.
Amaya and Kaavi’s friendship fell apart five years before after being friends since childhood. That’s why Amaya is surprised to receive a heartfelt e-mail with an invitation to Kaavi’s wedding in their home country of Sri Lanka. Yet when she discovers that Kaavi is marrying Amaya’s ex Spencer, she knows she has to go and stop Kaavi from marrying Spencer.
Nothing in this book is what it seems on the surface. There are hidden motives, dark secrets, and unclear motivations. I must admit that I thought it was going a certain way and I was completely wrong! Like I said, it did take a while, it takes until the book is at about 50% for things to really start being revealed.
This book does suffer from the unfortunate issue of OTTM–One Twist Too Many. I thought that everything was wrapped up really nicely and then surprise, one more twist was thrown in. It didn’t wreck the book, but it was totally unnecessary except that it did answer a couple of the unanswered questions/clues from earlier in the narrative. I’ll give the book a pass, but authors need to rein themselves in when throwing in twists.
I loved the Sri Lanka setting and culture. It was fascinating and really gave a unique flavor to the story and kept me engaged. Even though there are foreign words and phrases sprinkled throughout, they are all translated so I wasn’t lost.
All in all, this is a very surprising suspense tale, if you stick with it past the initial long setup, the payoff is fantastic.
About the Author:
Amanda Jayatissa grew up in Sri Lanka, completed her undergrad at Mills College, CA, and lived in the UK before moving back to her sunny little island. She works as a corporate trainer, owns a chain of cookie stores, and is a proud dog-mum to her two spoiled huskies.
