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”

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. 

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!

TW: Self Harm 

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. 

<i> You’re Invited </i> follows the story of Amaya, a Sri-Lankan woman in her late twenties living in the USA who travels back to her home country to stop her ex-best friend from marrying her ex-boyfriend. Jayatissa’s portrayal of obsession, desire, craving, infatuation, and mania was profound and remarkable. However, I felt the depiction of self harm wasn’t done well and lacked any relevance to the book/plot. 

The start was a bit slow but it picked up quickly. I liked the the twists and there were many! One of the things I liked most about this book was Jayatissa’s talent to maintain the suspense throughout the story: from the beginning to the very end; almost every chapter had me racking my brain for clues and answers and every time I thought i had it figured out there was something else missing — it was very engaging. 

As for the writing, it was direct and had many cultural elements to it (sinhala dialect). I particularly liked the descriptions of loss and pain, may it be platonic or romantic relationships. In addition, Jayatissa’s introduction to Sri Lanka, the customs and traditions related to weddings, the society dynamics between the rich and poor, the typical Sri Lankan “Aunty” crowd was spot on and had me laughing at times but also missing home. 

Overall, this would’ve been a five star for me if not for the self harm mentions as i personally felt it was unnecessary. However, if you’re looking for a suspenseful thriller set in Sri Lanka to read this summer I highly recommend <I> You’re Invited. </I>

I had the pleasure of reading this as an early release through Book of the Month! 

The first thing you’d imagine when reading a book about an obsessive woman who plans to stop her best friend’s wedding at all costs, especially when she’s marrying your ex boyfriend, you normally know where things will go. But that was not the case here.

I ZIPPED through this book! There were times where I was sure I knew where the plot was going but was still left surprised when a new twist came up. Amanda Jayatissa really knows how to impact a reader!

The one downside is that the characters were hard to like. The main character Amaya seemed unlikeable for most of the book, but that was probably intended so we can see into her true intentions. 

Overall, this is a great read about traumatic pasts, gossip, and the things people will do to get their way.