I Invited Her In by Adele Parks is a disturbing look at guilt, remorse, revenge and resentment. It follows the life of Mel and her family and the disfunction that occurs when a long lost friend reappears.

I enjoyed reading this book and found it easy to follow. The characters were all very interesting and I felt myself feeling everything that the main character Mel felt. The loneliness, the mistrust and the disbelief - I felt them all. Such a crazy ride!

I would recommend this to lovers of psychological thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I am grateful to have received an advanced copy of I Invited Her In
By Netgalley.
I have always enjoyed Adele Parks’ yet I am at a loss for words with this one. This is a mystery, domestic thriller of friendship, betrayal, secrets, all which kept me engaged yet so many feelings got evoked and so many holes in the storyline.

Abi and Mel are college friends who parted ways in college when Mel had a baby. Mel gets an email from Abi after 20 years due to Abi’s husband cheating on her and so Mel invites her friend to stay at her house with her husband, son and two daughters.

The friendship is hard to imagine. Mel is happily married and a good mother but all her rules change when this woman comes to visit and all of a sudden we see this insecure woman in Mel. People change but how does one person have so much of an impact on someone?

Questions begin to surface as to what happened to the friendship and why after all this time does she enter into her life again. There was no fight that ended the friendship and as close as two friends could be in college to not talk to one another after all these years is bizarre. The story had some twists and predictable occurrences. It was long winded and raised questions of what would you do if this happened to you? Some things did not make sense and felt forced. I really can’t say I enjoyed this story because of how farfetched things turned out.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

What a good book! Although a little predictable at times, I found myself very excited to keep reading this because this author has a good way of sucking you into the story. The characters were solid and the plot was very good, all in all I would totally recommend this book!

I loved this book. The premise of the story was good; Mel is contacted by her long-lost friend who is recently separated from her husband of seventeen years, and on a wave of nostalgia she invites her to stay for as long as she wants to. The characters are interesting; Mel and Abi were best university pals until Mel fell pregnant and dropped out of her course whilst Abi marries her uni sweetheart and heads off with him to the US to live the high life as a rich socialite and celebrity. The relationships are very psychological, with the characters' motives for their behaviour very gradually revealed, bit by bit until Mel's happily married, family life becomes increasingly tense and fraught with emotional angst. I truly couldn't put this book down, and once finished I felt its loss, both indicators of a very good read!
A full five stars for 'I Invited Her In.'

I Invited Her in is a compelling story about friendship , lies and secrets . I really enjoy ref this book , especially the well though out characters and complex story . This one left me guessing until the very end !

I don't even know if there is a word to describe Abi. Terrible, evil, and others I can think of just don't seem to be dark enough. And Mel? Well Mel was kind of a doormat in that she even ignored her husband's wishes and allowed Abi to stay and stay and stay.....

While I enjoyed this book, there were things I think could have been done better. The story did tend to drag a bit and at one point, I was wondering how many more scenes of Abi walking all over Mel we'd see before Mel's husband up and threw her out.

There were some very graphic descriptions of sexual related things that may bother some people. I wouldn't have been disturbed had one of the main characters been slightly older. That bothered me and while I realize things are looked at differently in the UK as to how they are here, it did bother me.

Mel and Ben did seem to be rather permissive and ultimately I think that is what led to their downfall.

This is definitely a good read and I will look for more work by this author in future. I just think parts could have been cut out to make the story move quicker.

Thank you very much to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for approving my request for an ARC. My thoughts in this review are my own.

3.5 stars

I Invited Her In by Adele Parks is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Harlequin-MIRA, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.



My Synopsis:
Two girls, best friends in university. They lost touch. It’s been 17 years.

Abigail marries Rob, her university heart-throb, and goes on to be a television star in the U.S., with her director husband. Dream job, dream home, dream travel destinations, exotic parties and glamour. The only thing missing are children…and a faithful husband.

Melanie doesn’t finish university. She got pregnant and raised her son Liam on her own until she found Ben, who loved her and Liam equally. They married and have two more children. Their home is a little messy, and perhaps not very glamorous, but it is filled with love.

Abigail reaches out to Melanie when her marriage ends. Melanie opens her arms to embrace her old friend. She also opens her home and her family...to a nightmare. An open-ended visit which quickly goes awry, but its a long time til Melanie sees the truth.



My Opinions:
Okay, I started by not liking this book at all. It seems there are so many of these books out there…two or three old friends re-unite and their secrets explode. Secrets, betrayals and lies. While this book followed the pattern, and was quite predictable, it had a little something else. Really good writing. It also had a twist I didn’t see coming (not the last one, which was expected).

I really didn’t like either of the two central characters. One was just a conniving "B", and the other a passive, weak woman. My opinions didn’t really change throughout the book…which seemed very long.

Once I hit the halfway mark, things picked up...but a little late.

Overall, the book was okay.

Mel and Abi are best friends in university and having the time of their lives. But Mel gets pregnant from a one night stand and drops out of school to raise her son Liam. From there their lives proceed very differently. After struggling as a single mom, Mel meets Ben a very loving husband and has two daughters with him. Abi has married Rob the super cool, intelligent and handsome guy from their university days. They move to the States to be in the TV business. Life is great. Until Abi catches Robert cheating with another woman. Broken hearted she contacts her old friend Mel, even though it’s been seventeen years, and Mel invites her to stay at her house.
Sadly this book just didn’t do it for me. I found it way too long - although the writing was good. But it’s a story that’s been done before and to be honest the twists weren’t any big surprises for me. I didn’t even find Mel or Abi very likable so it was hard reading. Sorry I hate leaving negative reviews.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

My first Adele Parks novel and most certainly not my last! I happened upon this on NetGalley by chance, when browsing Psych Thrillers. When I read the description I knew I had to have it. I’m glad I did because wow! I read this in less than 24 hours! It was just that good.

Melanie’s character was a little iffy for me at first. She seemed kinda dull. But, the more I read, the more I was glad to get to know her character. Abigail, on the other, is one I loved to hate. I loved her so much for her role but I hated her so much, too. I love those kinds of characters.

The plot line was the best. Just when I thought I had it figured out, Parks would throw in something that left me jaw dropped and rethinking my own steps while reading this book. By the end, though, I was so glad with the gripping twists that she threw her readers!

This is definitely a keeper for me. Four stars, two thumbs and high praises to this new-to-me author. I am absolutely looking forward to going back and reading more of work. Well done, Ms. Parks!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*

This was the first book I had ever read by Adele Parks and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. The story was fast paced and I had it finished in less than two days. There was plenty of suspense and twists to keep me intrigued. I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

This is a spotlight post that appeared on my blog with a cover photo and author photo. I choose from several books each month to post reviews. This one didn't make the final cut for review but was definitely worth mentioning on my blog. Thanks

I Invited Her In by Adele Parks



Publication Date:02/05/2019

Publisher: Harlequin

Imprint: MIRA

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 978-0778308850



(Received for an honest review from Harlequin MIRA via NetGalley)



Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Book Depository



Adele Parks on the WEB: Website,Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram





Excerpt from I Invited Her In, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature



Synopsis:



Imagine the worst thing a friend could ever do.

This is worse.

When Mel receives an unexpected email from her oldest friend Abi, it brings back memories she thought she had buried forever. Their friendship belonged in the past. To those carefree days at university.

But Abi is in trouble and needs Mel’s help, and she wants a place to stay. Just for a few days, while she sorts things out. It’s the least Mel can do.

After all, friends look out for each other, don’t they?

I Invited Her In is a blistering tale of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy and revenge from Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks.




About the Author:





Adele Parks one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women's fiction writers in the UK. She has sold over 3 million books and her work has been translated into 25 different languages.

1500+ 5 star reviews have kindly been written by her fans on Amazon.co.uk :-)

She has published 15 novels in the past 15 years, all of which have been London Times Top Ten Bestsellers.

Adele was born in the North East of England, in 1969. She enjoyed a traditional 1970's childhood, watching too much TV and eating convenience food because nobody minded if kids did that in those days. Since graduating from university, where she studied English Language and Literature, she worked in advertising and as a management consultant. In 2010 Adele was proud to be awarded an honorary doctorate of Letters from Teesside University.

Melanie (Mel) Harrison has just received an email from her old friend Abigail (Abi) Curtiz with whom she went to university. Mel is married to Ben and the mother of Liam, age 17, Imogen, age 8, and Lily, age 6. Mel had been a single mother to Liam until she met Ben when her son was 5. Mel insists that she only knew the first name of Liam’s father and, thus, he was never a part of his life.

Abi had fallen in love with Rob Larsen when she was in university and he was studying for his PhD. He was 7 years older than her. After going together for some time, they married. They have had successful careers in television in the U.S. Now, they are divorcing because Abi found him with another woman. Abi asks to visit Mel and catch up and she agrees. Thinking Abi won’t stay long, her visit seems to be for an indefinite length of time. However, they enjoy catching up.

As Abi’s visit continues, tension builds between Mel and Ben. Entertaining Abi seems to take priority over being with family and getting things done. In addition, she tends to drink more which really aggravates Ben and their marriage becomes strained.

But things escalate and when the real reason for Abi’s visit comes out, Mel’s world starts to fall apart. How can she get her family back together?

This is a great book. The first part of it is a bit slow but it builds to a stunning conclusion. While it doesn’t seem to fall into the true classification of a thriller, it is indeed a fabulous read. Don’t miss it!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I wanted to read this when I saw a review on it a couple of months ago. I'm happy I got the chance to read and review it. There was friendship, hate, sex, secrets and a plethora of other things that happened. Even though the twists were obvious to me they were still page turners.

Thanks to Netgalley for this copy to review.

Thank you so much to Harlequin-Mira and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the kind of gripping thriller that I can never put down. I have never read anything by Adele Parks but this book instantly sucked me in and I couldn't stop reading.

This book is about best friends Mel and Abi that share everything and are more like sisters than friends. While in school Mel ends up pregnant from a one night stand and has to drop out. That changes everything for the two girls and they drift apart. Fast forward seventeen years and Mel is now married with three children and Abi is married to Rob and living the life of luxury, until Abi finds her husband in bed with his personal assistant. Abi reaches out to Mel to tell her she's coming home and Mel invites her to stay with her family and recover from it all. Now Mel is wondering who this girl she knew so well years ago really is and isn't ready for how life changing it would be when she invited her in.

I love how this book was told from the different characters mainly Mel and Abi. You got to hear the story from two different perspectives and I really enjoyed that. I did think that Abi used Mel as almost a doormat and walked all over Mel and I got a little irritated that Mel just let it happen because it's her old friend. I also felt bad for Ben since he pretty much got sidelined and ignored once Abi was back in the picture.

I do plan on reading more books by Adele Parks since I devoured this one so fast!

Oh, the tangled web we can weave when there are secrets and lies involved. This book had my eyeballs glued to it from start to finish. Melanie Harrison receives an email from an old college friend who she had lost touch with named Abi. Abi tells Mel she is getting a divorce from her husband Rob. Mel immediately comes to the rescue and invites Abi into her suburban home where she lives with her husband Ben, son Liam, and two daughters Imogen and Lily. Abi is used to living the high life as a television personality so from the beginning the reader sees her scoff at the very worn-in home of the Harrison family. Throughout the book, Adele Parks kept me guessing as to what Abi’s motives were for contacting Mel after all these years. She gives the reader clues and omits information that is necessary to put the pieces of the puzzle together. As the story becomes more and more suspenseful, Parks pulls the trigger and lets the biggest secret out, connecting all the parts of the tangled web into one big “WOW”. This book was extremely well written from start to end with characters with secrets and innocent bystanders woven in. A must-read for fans of suspense and thriller books.

I'm a little torn on how I feel about this book. It is the story of two women coming back into each others lives after 17 years of being apart, after one leaves school when she becomes pregnant from a one night stand.

The book is good, but predictable. I liked the twists in the story, but I knew they were coming. The writing seemed to try hard to make you think one thing was happening, but it was really something else. It may have tried too hard.

It is overall a good book, but may be suited better for readers that don't read suspense/thrillers all the time. I don't regret reading the book, and I will definitely read more by Parks, but I just hate that I knew everything that was going to happen, even the ending.

Thank you #NetGalley for an ARC of #IInvitedHerIn

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
Two college friends reunite in England after one of them discovers her husband is cheating. Mel invites Abi to live with her and her family "as long as she needs." Abi decides to divorce her cheating husband and the plot begins.
It was easy to figure out Abi's personality and what or whom she was after, but I the explicit sexual scenes were just too much for the story.
Although the book wasn't a good one for me, the way the book ended was a good ending to the story.

Keep your enemie close and your friends closer.

This book takes a look a motherhood, friendship, marriage, and trust. Can you be great at all of these at the same time? Should you be?

Mel was great at all of these until an old college friend, Abi, comes back to town. Conflicted with being a good wife and mother and now enjoying her time with her long lost friend is taking a toll on Mel. She is living out a forgotten teenage life which was cut short by the pregnancy of her first born. Mel is starting to become more obsessed with pleasing her friend than being a mother and wife. Will she learn to balance the two or was this Abi’s plan all along? Mel soon finds out and will stop at nothing to get her life back together.

I had high hopes for this book, as I LOVE thrillers. While this one did eventually get pretty thrilling, it was a LONG time coming. If it was not an ARC, I probably would have just put it down. I am glad I didn't though, as it did have a decent twist. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher!