This was a good story. It wasnt necessarily a thriller or suspense read but a little mysterious and intense. It was a little predictable in some parts but I felt satisfied with it and the ending was not what I first imagined. I liked all the different view points front the characters and the family dynamics. Mel was a relatable character and the story and family struggles were believable.

The idea posed in the description of this book is a curious one. How would we react if an old friend contacted us out of the blue after 17 years? Is it a good idea to try to reconnect? Or has too much time passed? The description really pulled me in, and though i don't usually read books by this publisher (they tend to have more romance than I usually like), and I haven't read anything by the author before, I was intrigued enough to jump right in.
The copy I read was a ebook ARC, and uncorrected. Usually that isn't a problem, but this copy was tough. the formatting was so messed up, random numbers would appear in the middle of the page, there were huge gaps between the letters of random words - it was a challenge. And very distracting. I think that's why I"m having such trouble deciding how I feel about this book. The description really pulled me in, but the book fell far short of that goal, in my opinion. The formatting distracted me, but I don't think it distracted me THAT much. So much repetition, and jumps back and forth in time with no clear indication left me confused, and having to go back pages to try to figure out what all was going on. Hopefully, that will be fixed before the book is printed.
Overall, I felt that the story didn't match the description, and that the book was highly repetitive and a bit juvenile. Also, in the description, I didn't see note that this was taking place in the UK. Had I known that, I would have skipped it overall.

After a few tries, I've come to realize that I don't really enjoy domestic thrillers, even though psychological thriller is one of my favourite genres.

I Invited Her In had a good storyline, but I'm more into thrillers that include murder, mayhem and that type of stuff. Domestic thrillers aren't really my cup of tea, I've come to realize.

I enjoyed the writing style, and there were a few fun moments, but mostly, I just slogged through the book with no real interest.

But that doesn't mean it wasn't a good book; it just means that it wasn't my type. Objectively speaking, I think it was pretty good, hence the three stars.

I really enjoyed this book- I found that it had unique twists throughout in a genre that has become oversaturated over the last year. I thought Parks did a solid job of providing us tiny clues throughout the book on where it was going without outright telling us. There were several surprises I did not see coming and things that never happened that I thought were being hinted at. There were some slow moments about 1/3 of the way in but keep pushing through because its worth it! Great thriller read!
This is my first read from Adele Parks and I will be sure to watch for more from her in the future. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I trudged through this book, hoping it would get better, but it didn’t. The sorry just drug on for much too long. The plot is extremely predictable. I knew exactly where it was going 10% into the book. The characters were flat and lacked depth. I was never invested in the characters or story line.

Unfortunately I got 7% into the book and couldn't continue or finish the book. I tried to stick with it.. When I read the book blurb it sounded so good.
The story got off to a slow start, and it droned on and on with too much detail that I felt was unnecessary for the story. I thought it might help me if I could skip through the unnecessary parts and got to the point of the story where things would pick up and maybe captivate me some but it just seem to drone on and on.
I'm very sorry and I do not mean any disrespect to the author but unfortunately it just didn't captivate me and it was hard to follow.

Mel is shocked one day when she receives an email from Abi, a close friend from the best. Abi is in the middle of a nasty divorce, and is having a hard time. Mel asks her if she'd like to stay with her and her family (husband and children) to help her with her grief. Unfortunately, this will not be the reunion either of them are expecting.

I INVITED HER IN is an addicting thriller that kept me engaged until the end. The story line initially sounds a bit predictable, but I was pleasantly surprised over and over again as the story gets darker and more twisted. I was very happy to have received an ARC and will definitely spread the word about this excellent, well written thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, Adele Parks, and HQ.

Thank you Net Galley and Harlequin Mira for an early copy of I Invited Her In by Adele Parks. WOW!!!! I kind of figured out some parts but the epilogue threw me for a loop. Excellent book and writing, loved the characters. Very Very Good!

The story revolves around Melanie, aka Mel, who is married to Ben. She works in a high-street clothes shop, has two little girls (Lily and Imogen) and a teenage son, Liam.
Due to an unplanned pregnancy, she left college halfway through and experienced some tough years as a single mum to Liam. Eventually she met Ben, a caring an compassionate man, who treated Liam as his own from the very beginning. However, the mother-son bond still remained a tad bit special.

Out of the blue, one fine day, Mel receives an email from an old college friend, Abigail, aka Abi. Currently living in the US, Abi is on the verge of a divorce. She had married her then college boyfriend, Rob. Though successful in her career, she was a shadow of Rob, who controlled her every move. Shocked at discovering her husband with another woman, Abi needs to break away from the marriage.
She reaches out to Mel with hopes to rebuild their friendship - or is their something else?

Mel invites Abi to stay with them for a few days while she figures out her next move. Abi is beautiful, exciting, with a lot of spark and oodles of self-belief and charm, that Mel gets swayed by her very persona. As days become weeks, and Mel relieves her lost youth and college days with Abi, she becomes increasingly distant from the family.
In the process, she gets a lot more than she bargains for, when the full impact and revelation of her decisions and buried secrets comes back to haunt her... and her entire life turns topsy-turvy.

This is a story of the nuances of female friendship, envy, revenge and hidden secrets.
The plot, to me, was a tad predictable.
At times, I didn’t relate to some of the decisions taken by the characters and the foundation of the story, i.e. the friendship between Mel and Abi, could have been better defined.

This novel also reveals the dangers of keeping secrets buried and of revenge and regret. The truth will eventually be uncovered - the question is are you prepared to deal with the consequences?
Also, do think twice about letting old friends back into your life - one can never be sure when the friendship gets messy or terribly wrong!

Definitely worth one read.

3.5/5 for me

Thank you to NetGalley, Adele Parks and Harlequin Mira for this ARC.

While I enjoyed this book, I didn't LOVE it. The premise was good, but I felt it was a little flat in story telling. I figured out what's going on halfway through the book, and then the characters (especially Melanie and Abi) just irritated me. The ending was good, a nice little twist that you didn't see coming.

An intense, brilliant read! Adele parks has done it yet again.

This story begins with what was supposed to be an over weekend stay of Abigail at Melanie's home that doesn't happen. Abigail was good friends with Melanie at uni but they have been out of touch for 17 years.. Of course "weekend" is not the case. Abigail stays long enough to insinuate herself into the heart of Melanie's family. Melanie's husband, Ben, and her children: Liam (17) and daughters Imogen (8) and Lily (6) are all uprooted one way or another by Abigail's long visit.

Since Abigail is also a renowned TV personality in the States, many of the people in Great Britain recognize her, as well. Melanie is drawn in by her career, charm, finesse and youthfulness. Abigail and Melanie party, eat at restaurants and do things that Melanie has not done since her days at uni. Ben is quite disturbed by Abigail's lengthy visit. He and Melanie become at odds with each other.

However, Abigail has a hidden agenda.....

Many thanks to Harlequin - MIRA and NetGalley for a wonderful story with twists galore!!!

Best book I have read for years. Love the title, the cover and this author. My new favourite author! The story really does show that the past can catch up on you and lies always come to bite you on the butt. Or some people bite you with the past lies. The book tells the story of a good friend wanting to help her old friend after a nasty breakup. She invites her into their lives, disrupts the whole family, work and relationships just to help her old friend. She doesn't see the harm this does or it is doing. When things start falling apart, she rushes to try and fix everyone elses problems and forgets herself... Brilliant book. Look forward to your next Adele Parks!

As a whole I enjoyed this book but I’m only giving it 3 out of 5 stars because it seemed unnecessarily long and very predictable- I was able to predict the twist from the very beginning of the book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for review.

I really enjoyed this book from the very beginning.
It explores the many roles a mother plays in the family and how as our children grow up and become young adults we have to learn to step back, let them make their own choices (and mistakes).
Told from the different characters perspective the story unfolds and shows how they all respond to the situation they find themselves in.

Normally I love Adele Parks books but I found this one to be disappointing and predictable. Not one of her best books in my opinion

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC.

A miss in the mass thriller genre, this was too long and too watered down. It's a story line I've read many times before, one that tried to be in the same vein as the big sellers. Unfortunately, it was predictable. The writing was good, but this really could have been so much more if there weren't so much filler, and if the characters had more dimension and depth. I'm sorry, but I do not recommend this one.

I loved this book and could not get enough of it! I was even reading it on my phone while I was in the drive through line at Dunkin Donuts waiting for my turn! Though many parts were predictable, it didn’t matter because it was written so well and was accompanied by enough extra twists that were not expected. I gasped, cringed, laughed, and moaned while following these delightful characters. I was completely enthralled and gobbled up every word on every page.

I was into this one. It’s like good Lifetime movie! A tad longer than it needs to be, but still good. The concept is not something you see that often, so it was a refreshing change from all the marital/relationship thrillers out there.

The plot was okay, but the characters were grossly underdeveloped.
There was lots of eye rolling from myself, and I just didn't care for it overall.

A good read, slightly predictable but did take me a while to get used to the characters.

Don't think I will read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin - Mira for giving me the opportunity to read this book.