Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

You're Invited by Amanda Jayatissa

38 reviews

cowboykid's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very predictable but engaging
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kerryamchugh's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Loved the author's previous novel, but the pacing of this one didn't click for me, and the frame of the story as told in interviews to private detectives didn't ring true and distracted from the character building, even as it was used as a device to explain the story.
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georgiagirl1315's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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queendbw's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Book #4 of 2023 - You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa. 

This is a juicy who-did-what-and-why tale - and the ending was quite unexpected. 

Amaya receives an email inviting her to the wedding of her ex-best friend (Kaavi) to her ex-boyfriend(Spencer).  She decides to go home to Sri Lanka to participate in the wedding festivities, but NOTHING goes according to plan - hers, Kaavi’s or Spencer’s.  

The author does a great job of giving just enough of the story to keep you guessing and the juicy background gossip is delicious!  I could totally see this adapted to film!  Great story, characters and ending!  4/5 stars

#readsof2023 #audiobookreader #literacy #readingisfundamental
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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ok, I wasn't sure how I was gonna feel about this one at first. It gave me a little bit of White Ivy energy in the beginning, when Amaya was making what seemed like bad decisions with no clear reason and we were only getting part of her thought processes. However, the story and the characters were so intriguing that I kept listening, and it definitely improved. The big reveal hit me right in the feels. I thought that it was handled really well, too, from an own voices perspective. 
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alyssone's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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abundance_of_fiction's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! Amanda Jayatissa did an amazing job of explaining nuances that might cause cultural confusion as well as developing characters that had depth. The twist though! To be honest you get a major hint about 30% in, and may figure out a part, but not the whole thing. It is great to follow hints and them not be red herrings, but there still being more than what you could see. Great alternation of narrators and overall a fantastic thriller. 
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karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

You're Invited is an engaging mystery that had me constantly guessing where the story was going & I am happy to say that it did not disappoint. The chaos and messiness of it all had me gasping and laughing out loud at the audacity!

The story follows multiple POV's as we try to unravel the mystery of what happened to the bride on the morning of her ultra glamorous wedding day. We start off with the female main characters POV months in the past and slowly count down to the wedding of her estranged best friend (to her ex-boyfriend no less). From the get go we know the FMC, Amaya, has only one goal in mind- to stop the wedding from happening. As the story unfolds, we get the POV of different characters involved in the lives of the bride & FMC as they are interviewed by private authorities. I loved this aspect because you really learn so much about the intricacies between characters, whether its friendship, romantic relations, or familial relationships. Not to mention learning some juicy secrets along the way!

The middle bit can seem a bit convoluted due to the big character list while keeping up with all the ins & outs of who is who (and who knows who, and who the heck is this person???) but I just kept it rollin' and was able to piece my confusion together. I will say that I thought the ending was a bit far fetched, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed the heck out of this!!

If you are a reality tv show junkie and love the DRAMA of it all, I think you will enjoy this too.
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b_gutermann's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Mediocre plot, wildly unlikable characters, unnecessary twist with the fiancée, and the dialogue left much to be desired. 
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sallysimply's review against another edition

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4.5

It was a wild ride, and I was here for it!
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