Started off slow but eventually picked up. Was more of a mystery than a ghost story, and not very chilling. However, the writing was solid and it was the author wrapped up the ending satisfactorily.

I have been reviewing for almost ten years now, and when people ask me who my favorite authors are, Jennifer McMahon is always at the top of my list. Her Island of Lost Girls was one of the very first books I featured here, and what I always say about it is this: don't make the mistake of taking it on vacation with you because you won't want to do anything else but read! With The Invited, McMahon continues with that creepy, haunting vibe she does so well in her books.

Helen and Nate decide to chuck it all and move from the comforts of their Connecticut home to rural Vermont. At first, everything is exciting to them: they buy a piece of land and begin building their beautiful new house. As the days pass, however, they discover the dark history of their land, which includes the hanging of a supposed witch, Hattie Breckinridge. Helen becomes consumed with learning everything there is to know about Hattie and her descendants. In her quest to use salvaged materials with history to design her new home, Helen also inadvertently builds her own haunted house.

McMahon's use of short chapters makes The Invited positively addicting. Readers will be caught between a rock and a hard place: you won't want to know what happens next but you won't be able to stop reading. As far as I'm concerned, McMahon is the queen of the dark, creepy book.

MY RATING - 4

I really love a haunted house ghost story and reading about things that go bump in the night. The Invited was a unique take on this concept. It’s a spooky story without the really gruesome elements that are common within the horror genre. I think I was expecting a bigger scare factor, but this was more of a mysterious slow burn. Fans of Stephen King may find this to be too PG, but readers looking for some mystery and who enjoy haunted house vibes will like it. Overall, I enjoyed it and thought the storyline was very original. I think it would make a cool movie

Talk about a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat! I read this book in two days and was a nervous wreck the entire time I was reading...I HAD TO KNOW what was going to happen next. This book definitely keeps you thinking and I love a good "history mystery" which this book most definitely is!

I love a good ghost story--a book that gives you chills and keeps you up at night.

"The Invited" has all the right elements for a good read: interesting characters, a creepy setting, a dark history, and an unsolved mystery. It pulled me right in and kept me reading late into the night.

I wouldn't say this is a "creepy" book, not really. The ghosty elements weren't scary. But it had just enough mystery and layers to keep me hooked. I especially loved the historical aspects of the book, and the flashbacks to the Breckenridge women through the generations.

Overall, a solid and entertaining mystery/ghost story.

This was an interesting book, but ultimately didn't really do it for me (maybe like a 3.5).

I think I went into this book expecting it to be a scary ghost story. While there are indeed a few ghosts in this story, they don't make many appearances. Ultimately, the book is more of a mystery--one the humans are solving at the behest of ghosts. That may seem like a small distinction to make, but it made a difference in my level of enjoyment. There is much more focus on human elements than supernatural ones in this story.

Overall, this book is very solid (it wasn't the book I was looking for, but I enjoyed it anyway.) I liked the shifting character perspectives (although, it does give you some big clues about where the story is heading.) Helen and Nate have interesting character arcs, but I did feel like the book ended with some major elements about them unresolved. Over time I found Helen's whole hunt for artifacts related to Hattie to be a little too contrived, but I found her quest compelling nonetheless.

I felt like Olive was really the heart and soul of the story and enjoyed her sections the most. (I wondered at times if the book even needed the Helen/Nate storyline.) I really rooted for her character and hoped that she found resolution about her mom.

So, overall this was a fine book about two women each on a quest to find answers about a woman's death and her family's subsequent bad luck. If you're looking for a book like that (with some slightly spooky elements) you'll likely enjoy this book. I just wouldn't go into it expecting big scares.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always been interested in the paranormal. It might have started when I was old enough to realize that I had a grandfather even though he died before I was born. There is a painting of him in my parents’ house; and when I was little, I would dream of him leaving the painting to play with me. He was someone I never met, and yet I felt such a strong connection to him.

My mom and I would watch television shows about ghost hunting and psychics. I grew up hearing a lot of secondhand “ghost stories” that members of my family had experienced. Basically, the paranormal has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

Recently, I’ve been interested in witchcraft. Specifically, I’ve been researching the history of witchcraft (shout out to all the history databases I have access to at work!) and how the idea of it has been used to basically criminalize women for centuries. Therefore, I was so excited when I was approved to read and review The Invited by Jennifer McMahon, which is expected to release on April 30 of this year.

The Invited is told from different perspectives, all women, which was an element I really enjoyed. The good and the bad of each character was somewhat relatable; and I found myself really caring for each of them, which is something I actually haven’t felt in a while.

The story follows Helen and her husband Nate as they move to a plot of land in a small town where a witch was supposedly hanged in the 1920s, but not before she hid a mysterious treasure. Helen and Nate intend to build their dream home on the land; and as Helen begins to add interesting pieces from various spots around town to the house, she encounters some visitors.

The other side of the story mainly comes from Olive, a fourteen-year-old who has lived in the town her whole life. She is afraid when Helen and Nate move to the witch’s property, and she isn’t sure what these new inhabitants might stir up. Additionally, she has been looking for the witch’s treasure for years, and Helen and Nate living on the land where she has been looking is only going to make the situation more difficult.

This was such an entertaining book, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is looking for an easy read with themes of witchcraft and paranormal activity.


https://bravenewlibrarian.com/2019/01/23/the-invited-review/

I really liked this ghost story It started out pretty slow for me but it picked up and kept my interest. I did kind of see the ending coming but, overall this was a very enjoyable read and I highly recommend!

I’ve tried reading Jennifer McMahon’s books before, and I’ve alwyas struggled with them. This one was no different. I felt no connection with the characters. The writing is very bland and boring.

This is a well-done work of paranormal fiction. I’m not usually a big fan of the paranormal, but it works well here because the story is grounded in history and science since Helen is a history teacher and her husband, Nate, is a science teacher. After Helen receives a large inheritance, they give up their teaching jobs and buy property in the woods of Vermont, even though the realtor tells them the land is alleged to be haunted.

At first, neither of them believes it, but when weird things begin happening to the house they are building and things start to go missing from the trailer they’re living in while working on their home, Helen investigates further. The grim family tree she unravels makes for a fun and suspenseful read, made more suspenseful because one of the inhabitants of the land they’re on now was murdered by hanging in the early 1900s because she was a “witch” has purportedly hidden treasure somewhere near the bog.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 30, 2019.

It is always a pleasure to read Jennifer McMahen. She combines the best parts of a mystery novel with the supernatural that creates a truly satisfying read. The Invited is a ghost story, a haunted house story. Basically Helen and Nate decide to build a home in Vermont. Things start getting weird and the towns horrific past comes to light but there’s more.... so much more. The novel unfurls slowly but it is rich in mood and atmosphere. I couldn’t put it down.

The Invited: A Novel by [McMahon, Jennifer]

If you are in the mood for a ghost story, this is super fun.



Review copy provided by publisher.

Started and finished in the same day - it was that good! A wonderful take on a classic ghost story. The author did a wonderful job with character development and storyline. I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the theme and the relationships of the various characters. The past and present flowed well and were not difficult to follow. I definitely recommend this book.

I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Absolutely the best mystery I have read in a long time. Powerful, exciting,fantastic fast paced story. I could not put it down.

This was not bad but also not my favorite, which means it’s getting a solid 2.5 stars from me. The premise was interesting, and seeing about the lives of three generations was interesting too, but overall this one just didn’t grab me in the way that some other books have lately. It wasn’t a miss, and I love a good ghost story, it just wasn’t one that hooked me into avoiding other things to read it and that’s okay! They can’t all be new favorites, right?!

I’m seeing in other reviews that if you liked her book The Winter People, you’ll enjoy this one. If you like stories spanning decades, ghost stories, and overlying plot styles, this could be a good one for you!

Helen and Nate leave their jobs and the life they’ve built in Connecticut for a more simple life in rural Vermont. As they build their house, the secrets of the town they’ve moved to swirl around them, reeling them in. Helen and Nate begin seeing strange things, and as Helen is drawn to the history of the land she and Nate now live on, it becomes clear that something is speaking through the years to Helen, and that danger is close at hand. Rumors of treasure and a missing woman tie them to Olive, a young girl who lives nearby and is searching for her own truth, one that will change things for herself and Helen forever.

I’ve read several books of Jennifer McMahon’s — The Night Sister, Burntown, The Winter People — and liked them all, but The Invited really impressed me. McMahon writes of a haunted house, but not one that was made haunted by negative events, rather a house that was made haunted by choice, a fascinating take on a popular theme. The characters were well crafted, flawed but compelling, making it easy as a reader to enjoy the book and get drawn in ourselves, tied to the characters before we realize it. The switching POV from Helen to Olive and other women tied to the land Helen lives on and that Olive searches gave scope and heart to the story, as well as ramping up the suspense as these women’s lives become tied closer and closer together, leading to the climax of the story.

While the book started off slow to me, I quickly became engaged and could barely put the book down, needing to know what happened to Helen and Olive, what happened to the missing woman, what happened to all of the women who had been hurt and lost in the story. There was so much happening, from Helen and Nate’s relationship to Olive’s relationship with her father, the secrets that a small town can hold, how fear and anger can ruin not just one’s own life but also the lives of others, and that the past is never truly so far behind us as it affects the present quite deeply. I know I’m going to be thinking about this one for some time yet.

The Invited is set to be released on April 30, 2019.

The Invited is a gothic ghost story set in Vermont that follows a couple, Helen and Nate, as they build their new home on a plot of land that is rumored to be haunted by the spirit of a woman named Hattie. Helen becomes obsessed with Hattie and her story, and begins to research her story to find out the truth behind her life.

I absolutely loved the scenes in this book with Hattie and her ghost. McMahon is fantastic at writing creepy, unsettling scenes. I also adored Olive. She was precocious, sure of herself, and determined to reach her goal of finding Hattie's treasure, as well as her missing mother. I especially appreciated that Olive was a strong young woman, but in a believable sense. She wasn't a 30 year old in a 14 year old's body, like characters often seem to be.

The biggest problem I had throughout the book were the super easy coincidences. All of the artifacts that Helen found came to her way too easily. It's hard to go into details without naming spoilers, but she really didn't have to work hard at all to find out everything about Hattie and her life.

I also appreciated the underlying theme of victim blaming, and history's tendency to believe men and demonize women.

Overall I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and extended family dramas-this one blended those two story elements very well.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an early copy of this book for review!

Such a fun and creepy read. Another solid read from McMahon who deserves real props for this one. The mysterious bog, magic, superstition and ghosts, all make fora successful yarn. Happy to push this one .

Helen and Nate have decided to quit their pedestrian day jobs as teachers in the city and move out to the wilds of Vermont where they plant to build their dream house. Trouble begins when their personal belongings begin to disappear, not to mention Helen keeps thinking she's seeing ghosts. As Helen's curiosity gets the better of her, she starts researching the history of the land where they are building and the mysterious woman who may have been hanged on their property back in 1909.

Suspense builds as the story of Helen and Nate intertwines with the (mis)adventures of a local girl. Together they discover that the past doesn't always stay buried.

5 Stars!!

First thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review a advance copy of this book.
Jennifer McMahon has written a great suspense story in The Invited. If you liked her book The Winter People you will certainly enjoy this one as well. With a great combination of history and a little bit of supernatural it is a enjoyable read.