Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me early review this book.

I love Jennifer MacMahon! She’s an autobuy author for me. I first read The Night Sister by her, and loved it so much, the next day I bought all her past written books. She writes these slow, atmospheric reads, that get under your skin; under it in a good way. The suspenseful creepiness is always what grabs my attention when I read her books. Sadly this book took me a while to get into.

I love a good witch story and it almost felt like the characters were in Salem. There are these secrets in this really small town in Vermont and for generations the Breckinridge family has been cursed. Hattie can see visions but not always in the right way. When a vision goes wrong, the towns people comes after her. Years later Helen and Nate build their house on her land and things happen. Told in alternating voices between Helen and a young girl Olivia, we watch the events of building a house, to the feeling of being watched, to the hunt for buried treasure.

There’s so many twists and turns that happen in this book, but sadly like I said I dragged in this book. I was hard for me to get into and a spent way longer trying to read it then I should have. But like I also said I love Jennifer’s books and will always continue to be a fan

This book was definitely interesting but I was hoping for more. I guess I'm just doomed to never have a book spook me out ever! 3/5 stars.
This book started off with a bang but then it slowed down a ton and had a hard time keeping my attention. I loved the second half though and that's what saved it to give it 3 stars.

This is not in my usual genera, as I don't usually enjoy paranormal stories, but this one held my attention! I loved the twist at the end. Even if you think you know how this story will end, I think you'll be surprised!

(I was provided a free copy through NetGally in return for an honest review)

This is a pretty interesting story with some twists and turns along the way. I liked the ghost and witch elements a lot and the location is pretty neat, too. I don't know a lot about bogs, and I'm not sure I'd like to live by one, but it makes for a nice, creepy location!


A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was thrilled to receive this ARC by Jennifer McMahon. I’ve read an enjoyed her books before and was not disappointed in this witch-ghost thriller.

Ghosts and witches? Yes, please! I would recommend this to anyone that would like a mystery intertwined with paranormal.

Helen, a previous history teacher, and Nate, a previous science teacher, buy property in Vermont to build their dream house. It’s rumored that the land is haunted by a ghost named Hattie that was hanged for witchcraft in the early 1900s. Weird things start happening, and Helen becomes obsessed with finding out the history of the land and finding the ancestors of Hattie. I think it’s more of a mystery with some creepiness in the mix. I didn’t think it was hide-the-book-in-the-freezer scary but had just the right amount of scare factor. I really enjoyed the history Helen dug up and would’ve loved a little more of that.

The book has alternating chapter told from the views of Helen and of Olive, the neighbor girl set on finding Hattie’s treasure. There are also a few other chapters that go back in time told from views of Hattie and her descendants. I figured out most of the mystery before Helen did, but it didn’t take away from the well-told story.

4.5 stars rounded up because I really enjoyed this book and will recommend over and over! Many thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for this ARC.

Helen has always dreamed of owning an old house. While she and her husband, Nate looked for old houses, they realized they could build their own dream house. They purchased some land, left their jobs, and started building their house. However, Helen soon learns that the land they bought may be haunted.
I really liked Helen. She was curious, persistant, and compassionate. I did not care for her husband Nate. He seemed very condescending.
Overall, the novel is very atmospheric. There were some loose ends and some details that were never explained. I would have liked more information on Hattie. Still, I recommend this for fans of Simone St. James. Full review to come!

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of The Invited by Jennifer McMahon. I had really high expectations for this because I'm obsessed with anything in regards to ghosts. Unfortunately, this book just fell really flat with me. I only got around 20% of the way done with it before I completely gave up. I've ever picked it up a few more times in hopes of getting into it, but each time I put it back down again.

The Invited is my second book by McMahon, and I'm already looking forward to what she comes up with next! The story moved slowly to begin with, but I enjoyed the writing and the plotting of the mystery was smart and engaging. Recommended!

This book was a captivating multi-generational ghost story with great mystery. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put this book down. It was a well written book that kept you wanting to know all the answers. There were plenty of twists and turns and the ending has a huge twist which made me really love this book.

Solid 4.5 STARS
Creepy vibes from the start and the beginning hooks you in.

"In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and teaching jobs to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this charming property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. As Helen starts carefully sourcing decorative building materials for her home - wooden beams, mantles, historic bricks -- she starts to unearth, and literally conjure, the tragic lives of Hattie's descendants, three generations of "Breckenridge women," each of whom died amidst suspicion, and who seem to still be seeking something precious and elusive in the present day."

I was totally captivated by this story and loved how the story wrapped up and that ending We all kind of saw it coming didn't we.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the very beginning of the story, Hattie Breckenridge is hung for being a witch.
Nate and Emily decide that they want to build a house in Vermount. The plot of land that they purchase is haunted. They then learn that Hattie use to live on the land that they purchased a century ago near the Bog. Then things get really interesting. Helen doesn't know it but she ends up building a haunted house from sctatch. Then strange things start happening.

Helen also finds out about the tragic lives of Hallie's descendants, three generations of Breckenridge women, each of whom died amidst suspicion.

Then Olive, a 14 year old girl, tried to find her mother who disappeared without a trace. She lives with her father and they are both grieving. Before her mother died she told her that there was a hidden treasure somewhere in the woods that borders the bog. Olive then is on a search
to find the treasure.

A chilling gothic ghost story with a twist which was not scary but very creepy and it did give me goose bumps. It's also a thriller and a mystery.

I was immediately drawn into the story, since I loved the atmosphere and the supernatural eerie world of this book. The book goes back and forth from the past to the present. There are dark secrets that are slowly revealed. The book kept me in suspense to find out what was going to happen next.

I thought this was a character driven novel. They were very well developed. My favorite character was Olive. I loved the writing style which had short chapters. I found it to be an addicting read.

I recently read The Winter People and loved that book too. I already downloaded The Night Sister, by this author and can't wait to read it. I just want more from this author.

This was a Traveling Sister Read and a lot of us enjoyed it a lot. It made a great group read.

I want to thank Netgalley, DoubleDay/Random House and Jennifer McMahon for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Helen and Neal are living the dream. After inheriting money from Helen’s father, they decided to build their own house in Vermont. Shortly after they start building, Helen hears about the legend of Hattie Breckenridge. Her obsession begins when Hattie manifests in the new home. While she is out collection materials that were involved with each descendants death, Nate is obsessing over a white deer. What is the connection? Will the secrets that the town has long suppressed come back to haunt the people? Who is willing to kill to keep them that way? And how does Helen figure into all of this? Who is she supposed to save and why?

I was intrigued by a thriller set in Vermont. I can count on one hand how many books I have read that took place there. Out of all of those books, zero were thrillers. Which was the main reason I decided to request the book. I am happy to say that the author did pull it off.

The main plot line of The Invited was an interesting one. I haven’t read a book where the haunted house was built. Every other thriller that involves ghosts, the house were already built. It was a refreshing change.

The plot line with Helen and her obsession with finding Hattie’s descendants was written beautifully. I agreed with Nate at one point in the book. I thought that it was morbid that Helen was bringing in items that were present during a violent death to put in their new house. But at the same time, I got why Helen was doing it.

I thought I figured out Olive’s story line reasonably early in the book. Yeah, word to the wise, don’t do that because it came back to bite me in the butt. I was thrown for a loop not once but twice. I will say that I thought Olive would have made a great detective. I am not going to say much more than that.

I liked that I got to see what Hattie, Jane, Ann, and Gloria went through before their deaths.Out of all of the story lines, I was surprised by Jane’s. I was surprised at what she revealed.

I thought that the characters in The Invited were well written and well rounded out. The author did a great job of giving them depth. Their stories pulled at my heart: Olive’s, the most. Even the characters I didn’t like were well written.

The Invited fit well with the thriller genre. There were times in the book where I didn’t know what was going to happen or who it was going to happen too.

I loved how the paranormal angle of the book was written. It wasn’t overpowering. There was just the right amount of ghosts in the book. Which is something I never thought I would say. Plus, Hattie never harmed anyone. She manifested only to Helen.

If I liked the book so much, why the 3.5-star rating. I didn’t like how Riley’s story line turned out. I don’t like it when a character does a sudden 180, which Riley did. It baffled me.

The ending bothered me. Why reveal what it revealed then? Why to the person it was shown to? I don’t get bothered by endings, but this one got to me. There were too many whys, what ifs and a wth on my end.

I would give The Invited an Adult rating. There is no sex. There is violence. There is language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Invited. I would recommend this book to family and friends.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Invited.

All opinions stated in this review of The Invited are mine.

Have you read The Invited?

What are your thoughts?

Do you believe in the paranormal?

Let me know!!

The story opens in 1924 with the tragic end of Hattie Breckenridge, purported witch and condemned wrongfully by the townsfolk. As she dies, she curses the people, threatening to always be there, at one with the land. We then move forward to 2015, meeting Helen, a former History Teacher, and Nate, a Science Teacher who were determined to change their lives by personally building their own home in the country, living more simply off the land and away from suburbia. But as they begin the build, they also start accumulating reclaimed materials that bring along not just history but ghosts of their own. Helen soon becomes obsessed with these items and the history attached to them, a history that is filled with a macabre timeline of a tragic ancestry. And Nate himself develops his own obsession with the wildlife found in the area, especially in the bog area. The other main character that we meet through the story is Olive, a 12-year old with her own tragedy, a father consumed with sadness and a mother that has apparently run off and abandoned her family. The story soon brings together these characters as the ghosts begin haunting all three, in different ways and for different purposes. This is a true ghost story, not filled with gore or shuddery scares, but with more psychological studies of haunted personalities. It was a little jarring going from the circumstances surrounding the death of Hattie to Helen and Nate's discussion of their surburban life and hopes for that perfect country home. But as the story continues, and the chapters alternate between Helen and Olive, a story of family history and tragedy emerges. The story was a little slow in the beginning, but overall, was an enjoyable if slightly creepy story of obsessions and haunting. Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this book received from NetGalley and all opinions are solely my own.

The Invited lures you in to think you’re reading a creepy ghost story, and to some extent, that’s what you’re getting, however the story is also shrouded in mystery and in the end, the mystery is solved but the ending of the story left me with unanswered questions about two of the main characters, Helen & Nate. We find the answers to what happened to Lori, but we’re left with unanswered questions, this four stars instead of five. Overall a solid story. I like the way McMahon wove two stories into one and intertwined the characters lives. I would recommend this book to others! Thanks to Doubleday for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

They thought they would find a simpler life, feel closer to nature, get in touch with themselves, but what city dwellers Helen and Nate found could freeze even the heartiest in their tracks. The piece of heaven they purchased has a dark past and that past haunts the property to this day, cursed by the witch who swung from a tree all those years ago or is it something more contemporary, but just as evil? As they worked, nail by nail to build their home, they were being watched by something in the bog…

THE INVITED by Jenifer McMahon is haunting, yet not nightmare inducing! This tale comes across as as much of a contemporary suspense as a ghost story and I couldn’t’ help but feel for the young girl, Olive, who seems to be caught up in the middle of more than an old ghost story.

An easy read, sometimes spellbinding in the suspense, sometimes almost mundane as the mechanics and pitfalls of home building come into play, the horrors of going over budget still pale in comparison to the horrors of this small town’s secrets.

Ms. McMahon creates a nice balance between the past, the present and the mysteries that surround the bog and land it is on.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Doubleday Books!

Publisher: Doubleday (April 30, 2019)
Publication Date: April 30, 2019
Genre: Suspense | Ghosts
Print Length: 368 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com

This was a fabulous ghost story with characters you will cheer for! Also it's so much more than just a ghost story, thriller, mystery, family secrets.....

Olive is bound and determined to find the old ghost Hattie's treasure even though her momma disappeared looking for it but rumor has it she ran away with another man, but is that what happened? Did she find the treasure and run off? or is it something else???

Helen and her husband Nate leave the big city and buy some land by the bog and start building their dream house but weird things start to happen and pretty soon this couple isn't sure whats real and whats not.

McMahon really brought these characters to life I cared what happens to Olive and Helen. I enjoyed the way the story was laid out and had a hard time putting this book down!

Highly recommend this one!

4 1/2 Stars

This is a very interesting suspenseful book, one that keeps you wanting to continue reading. Helen and Nate are teachers who want to move from city life to the country. They busy some land in Vermont to build a house, but learn that the land has a spooky past. Thus begins the mystery..great ghost story with mystery. Thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon is a no-thrill, no-chill, no horror, quasi ghost story.

The plot revolves around two middle school teachers who decide to move to Vermont to build their dream house. They purchase a plot of land near a bog that turns out to be the former homestead of a witch who was hanged by her neighbors. Of course, the protagonists had no idea when they bought the land. Then they begin the building process, most of which they do on their own. They even install their own electrical system, which usually requires a licensed electrician in most localities. Where they gained the expertise to build a home is never explained.

The plot element that could have been extremely interesting is the fact that the wife begins to, as her husband says, build a haunted house in order to invite in ghosts. She travels the countryside searching for sites where the witch or her decedents died horribly, bringing back souvenirs as a way of making the possible ghosts feel welcome in her house. Somehow, she stumbles upon valuable items that are offered to her for free or at minimal cost. This plot could have turned out interesting if the author had supplied backstory to offer motivation for this quest, perhaps some long suppressed urge. Instead, this quest comes off as a trivial whim. Readers know almost nothing about the past of the couple. Most notable is the fact that nothing of meaning happens for the first thirty-nine percent of the story. Instead, in this portion of the story, readers must wade through mounds of inconsequential information such as what color cup a character likes and the location of the chip on the rim. Few readers in this high-pressure era have time for such trivialities. The greatest flaw of the plot is the almost total lack of conflict until the very end. In addition, there is no discernible rising action or turning point. The plot line is flat and predictable.

The characters are undifferentiated, bland, lacking in emotion, and two-dimensional. They all speak with the exact same voice which mirrors the authorial intrusions. Readers must pay close attention to keep track of the dialogue. Character actions seem robotic and repetitive. It is as if they wander in a half trance. The lack of backstory for the two main characters makes their actions hard to believe.

Those who enjoy following characters through a mundane detailed view of everyday lives might find the book enjoyable. Readers who value their time may want to give The Invited a pass.

Super fun twist on the haunted house trope, where a husband and wife move to an isolated plot of land in the countryside with a horrific history and decide to build a house using artifacts found in and around the building site. Liked the alternating viewpoints between the wife of the couple and a teenage girl living nearby with a mysterious connection to the town history surrounding the land. I didn't find the book particularly scary (more eery), but I liked the unfolding of the mystery and thought the writing was crisp and moved and a fast pace.

Witchcraft, a wicked creepy town history, things that go bump in the night. Yes please! I loved this book! I didn't know what to expect when I agreed to read this book as a group read with some fellow Traveling Sisters. Whew, let me tell you it was fantastic. I was creeped out right down to my toes. I am not a fan of horror and I have never read a witchcraft, or witch themed book, oh gasp...... yes I know. I could not get enough of this book though.

Helen and Nate decided to pursue their dream of building their own little dream house in Vermont in the middle of literally nowhere. Little by little the history of their dream lot started to reveal itself and it was not pretty. Even though it was extremely sad and disturbing I must admit I was drawn in immediately. It was fascinating to hear about the town and it's past. Quite frankly it just kept getting more interesting as the book went on.

Things began to happen that could not be explained away. As Helen starting witnessing things that were obviously supernatural in nature, she seemed even more in love with her dream property. Me, I would have packed my bags and gotten the hell out of there and back to Connecticut immediately!


I guess why I was so in love with this book is that it has such fine details and was so atmospheric. I literally felt chills down my spine and uneasy as I was reading much of the book. Horror it is not, but it is one great creepy read. The story line was so interesting, I could not get enough of the town's history.


I have heard so many good things about this author and this book far exceeded my expectations! I just added The Winter People to my list of MUST be read soon! Thank you so much to Doubleday Books, Jennifer McMahon and Netgalley for this fantastic, creepy ARC! #justiceforhattie