Do you like creepy stories? I'm not sure I realized just how scary this book would be going into it - definitely a daylight only read for me!

Helen and Nate decide they want to make a change to their lives - leaving their condo in CT and their jobs as middle school teachers for a year to build a new home in the country in VT. They are so excited to get a great deal on the land! When the realtor tells them that locals talk about the woods being haunted, Helen and Nate just laugh it off. They aren't afraid of no ghosts!!

Well...just like at the start of any scary movie, I knew right then that scary stuff was about to go down! From the time they start working on the land - creepy things start happening. Helen starts doing more research into the woman who died on the land a hundred years ago - Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who knew things and was killed by villagers under suspicion of being a witch.

This was a great story that really sucked me in. Even reading it in the middle of the day on my lunch break in an office full of people - I still totally jumped twice when I was interrupted. If you enjoy creepy, atmospheric ghost stories - definitely give this one a shot!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the free advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Pretty good but I can't say the suspense was all that strong.. It took way too long to get going. I've read Jennifer McMahon's books before and this one was a bit of disappointment. Way too much backstory for me. Did we really need all that? I didn't. The ending didn't satisfy either, kind of ho-hum.. No real twists here. I'd rate the story a 3-star. The cover had a spooky atmosphere but the story really didn't fulfill.

I really enjoyed this ghost story seeped in history! The story starts out in the past and sets the tone for what's to come.

The author did a fantastic job setting the scenery and building characters that were unique. Told from the alternating perspectives of Olive and Helen with little tidbits of chapters from the past.

The bog setting mixed with a real life ghost makes this book high up there for creep factor, but this is not a horror story! A great piece of paranormal fiction!

I hate to dive into too much detail about this fine piece of work, for fear that I will give away spoilers. Twists and turns are littered throughout the novel.

The Invited is available now to read! I highly suggest adding it to your TBR list! It was a 5 star read for me!

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for allowing me a copy to read and give my honest review!

Happy Reading!

I went into this one expecting a few more thrills than what was delivered.
I enjoyed the premise of the story. Helen and her husband are building their new home in the country. Helen taught history and is fascinated by the history her new home has. As she gathers the details of Hattie's story she also collects items that tie her to the story. A piece of the hanging tree, an axe head, burned bricks. They all go into the house and she feels closer and closer to Hattie's ghost.
It is, for the most part, a mystery mixed with a few little spooky bits here and there.
I very much enjoyed McMahon's short story Hannah-Beast and felt like this one drug on a bit. The end lost me a bit. It just....it was odd. I would have liked to see some sort of wrap up on the whole building the house with stuff that came from the horrible things that happened to Hanna's ancestors thing. It just kind of fizzled out.

Thanks NetGalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Check out GoodReads for my review there too:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2717817508

Wonderfully written paranormal fiction. Loved the history of the town. The creepiness was just enough to keep you intrigued but not too scary. Enjoyed this book a lot! Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and their teaching jobs to take up residence on a too good to be true plot of land to build their dream home. 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 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. review: I had seen a few of my friends rave about this, so I was looking forward to this one! The story opens by describing the back story of Hattie and it grabbed my attention right away. I enjoyed the different POVs of Helen and Olive and found the story hard to put down! A few times I had to stop reading it before bed because I was afraid I would have nightmares. If you like suspense books with a hint of supernatural and like to be kept guessing, then this book is for you! rating: 4 out of 5 ⭐️

Jennifer McMahon's The Invited was a good read with sufficient creepiness factor. It was a bit slow in parts, but overall worth the time to read. The book's strengths are in its ability to take the reader into the bog and let the reader see and feel the natural world. Its weakness is in trying to do too much with certain characters, namely Mike. I never really saw the point of his character, other than to show that Olive had only one friend, and even that one friend she went out of her way to alienate. And although Olive herself is a key character, I found her presence in the book more annoying than not. This may be due, in part, to the fact that she is a ninth grade adolescent and I was far more interested in Hattie's story and in the stories of her ill-fated descendants. That said, there are enough twists and turns to keep readers interested and maybe the Olive character will draw younger readers or readers who prefer kid characters, but for those readers who prefer are less kid-focused, it may grow tedious at times.

I was expecting a ghost story. I don't really see this as a ghost story. I loved the idea of building a house in a haunted location. I didn't love Olive, or any of her family for that matter. I did like Hattie and her story, but that was just a small part of the book. I normally love McMahon's books. This one left me disappointed.

To start, this was exceptionally well written. The characters are well developed and the scenes are vividly descriptive.

I also enjoyed the alternating POVs between Helen, the newest inhabitant of Hartsboro, and Olive, the teenage girl she eventually forms a friendship with. Helen's husband, Nate, is a bit of a pill and I think that is intentional.

Helen and Nate left their comfortable life in Connecticut to build their dream house in the small town of Hartsboro, Vermont.

Helen develops an obsession with Hattie Breckenridge, the original owner and resident of their land. Hattie suffered a horrific death at the hands of the townspeople. It is widely believed that the land is haunted by Hattie. Olive is obsessed with finding the treasure it is rumored that Hattie buried in the land. Will her treasure hunt prove to be more dangerous than it's worth?

Y'all, I was really expecting a scary ghost story, I mean Helen and Nate were building a haunted house! At best this was mysterious with a touch of supernatural. The ending does have a twist that I did not see coming.

Thank you to Doubleday Books for the free copy of this book.

I had heard some great things about Jennifer McMahon, especially her book "The Winter People," so I was ready to give this one a try. Unfortunately, I don't think it really lived up to the buzz I had heard. Usually, I go through books fairly quickly, but this one took me days to get through as it was a struggle to finish. Maybe there was just too much going on in this novel, but something just didn't seem to work with the plot to hold my attention.

Helen and Nate acquired 44 acres in rural Vermont and decide to build a home of their dreams. They soon find out that the land was owned by Hattie Breckenridge who was hung as witch in the early 1900's. Their dream house is now a ghost house and the past is not resting well. The story starts out slowly and picks up in the 2nd half with a very surprising conclusion. Olive is a local teenager whose mother has disappeared. She is also helping them to build the house. The book is well written, very atmospheric and chilling but not creepily overdone. There are several points of view as the past and present come together in the end. The themes in the novel are witches, ghosts, spirits, curses and treasure near the bog. I have read all of McMahon's books and have enjoyed them all. I would highly recommend this one to those who love paranormal ghost stories. I would like to thank Doubleday and NetGalley for a free copy for an honest review.

The Invited is another intense read from Jennifer McMahon. She is an author who really excels at building a slow and well-crafted suspense of a read. This book is about Helen and Nate who decide to build their dream house in Vermont. Little do they know that they seem to be building a very haunted house instead. Their 14-year-old neighbor Olive and her aunt Riley help Helen and Nate get the lay of the land that they are now living on as well as with building the house. However, not all is as it seems. Read and enjoy!

I recently discovered Jennifer McMahon as an author just this last fall/winter. I know that she has a number of fans but to be honest—ghost stories freak me out and I rarely read them.

However, during the fall/winter, I saw that there was an Instagram group that was reading her novel, The Winter People, and though I didn’t participate in the reading group, I was nevertheless intrigued by the cover of the book and summary.

So I ended up reading it and absolutely fell in love with her prose and plot. While I was honest to god scared while reading The Winter People, I didn’t think that it was so scary that I couldn’t continue but rather scary enough that I couldn’t put it down! As soon as I finished that book I ordered two more books. But I am waiting to read them until the fall because I think they will be more fun to read when it’s a dark and stormy night. Plus I knew I had this one coming up so I wanted to spread out my terror!

Summary

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and their 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 (summary from Goodreads).

Review

One of the things that I love about McMahon’s books is the atmosphere and setting. I know that the author herself, lives in Vermont and her love and knowledge of the state show in her books. The entire time I was reading this book all I could think was how perfect Vermont was for a chilling ghost story such as this. The book’s gothic, moody, and chilling vibe drew it near to my heart as I love books that are full of atmosphere.

I am impressed with McMahon’s ability to write such terrifying novels but yet balancing the terror with tragic, interesting, and well constructed characters and secondary plot. The terror is always there, but she does a fantastic job giving the reader time to process and absorb the story without being too terrified to keep reading. The author also does a great job and weaving the past and present together and for people who like history, such as myself, this book was idilic.

I think my favorite thing about this book though was the over all concept. Who would build a haunted house from the ground up and invite ghosts in?! I know I wouldn’t! So instantly I was drawn in and wanted to know more about what would prompt someone to want to do that in the first place! Such an excellent concept and interesting way to tell a story!

While some people said that they didn’t like this book as much as The Winter People, I personally loved it! The Winter People will probably be one of my favorites because it was my first time reading this author, but I loved this book! I didn’t always love each of the characters, but in the horror and gothic genres, it’s fairly common for the characters to be unlikeable. In the end I went with a 4.5 rating.

This was a great new book from this author. I love her ability to blend the paranormal with other types of fiction. My only complaint is this was a little predictable.

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon is a wild ride into the supernatural-Lots of twists and turns while keeping the reader invested.
Helen and Nate have decided to leave their busy world and purchase land way out in the middle of nowhere and build their dream house by hand. They have it all planned out. What they didn’t plan on is meeting Odd Olive, a young girl who wants them off the land so she can continue searching for the treasure legend says is hidden on the land guarded by the spirit of a hanged witch Hattie. As Helen and Nate get deeper and deeper in this mystery filled with tragedy, Hattie sends more and more angry messages, or are they urgent? And is it even Hattie?
This is considered an adult book, but high school students will love it. Horror and mystery is a perfect blend. #theinvited #netgalley

Helen and Nate buy some beautiful property away from the hustle and bustle of the city. They decide to build their dream house all on their own. But, strange things start to happen. Tools go missing, noises in the night, plus an albino deer create havoc for them and their marriage.

Helen becomes obsessed with the history of Hattie, the “town witch.” She even goes so far as to place artifacts of Hattie’s into her new home. These artifacts actually draw her deeper into Hattie’s story. And boy, does Nate fight this tooth and nail.

Then there is Olive. She is their young, teenage neighbor and she has her own issues. Her mother has left and she is being raised by her father. Olive is not one to let things go. She is continually looking for her mother and why she left. The answer will surprise you!

I am big fan of Jennifer McMahon stories. She has fantastic characters and she always has something CREEPY! This one is not her creepiest but it is still a good read. This story grabs you right off with the murder of the town witch…not much is stranger than that! It just escalates from there and creates a unique tale about murder, mayhem and ghosts!

I received this novel from Doubleday via Netgalley for a honest review.

As someone who gravitates towards thrillers and murder mysteries, I generally don't pick up "ghost stories"; McMahon's The Invited is the exception to my frequent tendencies. When Helen and Nate move from suburban Connecticut, away from the private school they taught in for many years, away from their friends, they relocate and build a home in rural Vermont. Upon buying the land, they don't realize the chilling history that took place on their bog. When they start building and little things start appearing and disappearing, they aren't sure what to think. The lifelong residents of this area don't appreciate them building on the bog because they're sure it will bring Hattie's angry spirit back to their families and their homes. As the story goes, Hattie was the neighborhood "witch" who knew when things would happen, but couldn't do anything to alter their outcome. When she kept her daughter home from school after telling the town it would burn down that day (and it did burn down and kill three children), Hattie was hung and her daughter wasn't seen or heard from again. Or was she? McMahon does a marvelous job of keeping readers on their toes and weaving in genealogical tidbits that flesh out Hattie's family tree. Grab this one before the waiting list is too long -- it's truly phenomenal.

Wow!!!!

Suspenseful, masterful, addicting!

Deliciously creepy!!

I couldn’t get enough. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I couldn’t stop thinking about the story. I was hooked on these amazing characters and this hair-raising book! I might be sleeping with the lights on!

I absolutely recommend.

1924

When she was just a little girl, Hattie Breckenridge had a doll she called Miss Fentwig. The doll told her things, sometimes things she did not want to hear. Hattie felt that it was a gift for her too. Yet, other things, like animals, talked to her too.

One day, Hattie’s daughter, Jane, confessed that she had burned down the school house and students died. The parents of the students killed found Hattie and hanged her from a tree as they thought Hattie had started the fire. Jane remained hidden inside a root cellar.

There is a legend that Hattie inherited her wealthy family’s money and had hidden it near her home. Yet, no one has ever found it.

Helen - 2015

Helen is watching the foundation of her new home being poured. Now, she and her husband plan on building a home themselves. Helen and Nate had been middle school teachers and when Helen’s father passed away, it was a wake-up call to begin the life they wanted: a house in the country where they can garden, have chickens, and pets. They found the perfect land near the Breckenridge Bog. The realtor told them that the land is supposed to be haunted, but they don’t let that bother them.

Olive - 2015

Olive, 14, is perched in a tree watching Helen and Nate as they work on their house. She is complaining to her friend with her that Helen and Nate don’t belong, calling them Flatlanders. Olive and her mother believe there is treasure buried on the land and they want it.

As the story continues and the characters interact, we learn more about folklore of the area, and it appears there are some super natural happenings occurring.

What a magnificently compelling novel with vivid, glittering descriptions. The tale draws the reader in, keeping them mesmerized from the first to the last page. Whether you “believe” or not, you will find this book totally amazing.

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

Helen and Nate give up city living for a simpler life in the Vermont countryside. Little did they know, things aren’t going to be that simple. The small rural town where they are building their new home has dark secrets, suspicious neighbors and a supernatural presence who seems to have a plan for Helen.

An interesting cast of characters, yet Olive, a local, spirited teenager was my favorite and her story most compelling. I sympathized with and rooted for this girl who is mourning the loss of her mother and refuses to believe she is gone forever. Olive’s character grows as she searches for answers and to find peace.

Creepy and suspenseful at times, overall a creative and engrossing read.