Reading about rich people going crazy over murder and mayhem is my guilty pleasure!! You’re Invited has all the best destination thriller features and you will enjoy it, because I enjoyed it. The story moves little slow around the middle, but overall this was a juicy twisted story that gives a different take on happily ever after!

Thank you Berkley via Netgalley for the arc.

I really enjoyed this book and liked the premise along with the location. It felt really unique. The perspective was fresh compared to a lot of mystery thrillers and I felt like I learned a lot about the Sri Lankan culture as I devoured this book. There were a few parts where I felt like the descriptions went a little too far and I got lost in that vs. the story but overall it was really enjoyable and kept me guessing until the end!

I saw this quote from thriller author Andrea Bartz and had to include it here, since she said it so well: "YOU'RE INVITED reads like CRAZY RICH ASIANS' deranged, bloodthirsty sister—slick, twisted, and relentlessly juicy." That was the vibe I got as well, between the very unique and evocative Sri Lankan setting, and the bizarro wedding "celebration" that follows. It has a great hook—a woman is invited to her out-of-touch best friend's wedding, only to find the friend marrying her ex-boyfriend—that immediately upped the stakes for me as a reader. It takes a bit to get into the book and Amaya's head, but once you're in, baby you're in—buckle up!

“No one seems to understand that real loss never eases; we just become more adept at carrying a weight that settles deeper in our chests, smiling through it, pretending like we are totally fine whenever someone mentions them.”

YOU’RE INVITED
Hey guys. I am back? Kind of. I don’t even know where to begin. My life has changed drastically to the point where picking up a book is difficult. I started teaching in August so I have a backlog of reviews to get through and hopefully my desire to read again with come back. Depression will do that to a person. But I am working through it.

It has been a few months since I read You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa. Amaya left her life behind in Sri Lanka but must return for her former best friend’s wedding. Things get even more complex when she discovers that her best friend is marrying her ex-boyfriend. She must stop the wedding ceremony. However, weddings in Sri Lanka are extravagant, and rumors swirl. There are plenty of secrets that will come out into the open.

This is such a unique thriller. I don’t think I have ever read a book that has taken place in Sri Lanka. The author does a splendid job of going into the culture and the family dynamics. There are so many intricate ceremonial traditions that left me wanting to research more about them! There is also a lot to unpack when it comes to the wealth disparities within the community, as well.

I did enjoy the gradual release of the plot twists. It added a lot of layers to the story and gave me a sense of unpredictability. The only thing that bugged me is the constant time jumps and point-of-view changes. There were times when it took me out of the story. I really enjoyed the characters and there were some characters that you really loved to hate! Overall, a unique and addictive read!

This was an interesting book with interviews with the various wedding guests, what everyone thought about each other, and more.

I'm not sure if I would have been as on board as Amaya was with her ex-boyfriend about to marry her best friend. Not that I think she was ok with it considering everything that happens in this book. I'm not even sure I would have gone to the wedding. But it is her oldest friend.

What happens is an interesting twist, especially once the story ramps up closer to the end. It did take me some time to get into the book. I think this was because there were so many characters, and we had to understand the backstory of the main characters.

This book was amazing! I Love a destination and wedding thriller and this did not disappoint! I like the twist interns and I never knew what was going to happen. I like the discussion of female relationships and how will we actually know people. It was very creepy and atmospheric. The audiobook was also wonderful! Five out of five ⭐️!!!

This wasn't my favorite, but I am a picky reader. I think other readers will enjoy it, and this is an obvious addition to the collection.

A totally unputdownable thriller, this book will have you gripped from the very first page until the jaw-dropping final twist. Flawlessly plotted, the story unfolds in layers, each one more shocking than the last. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

Amaya has been estranged from her former best friend, Kaavi, for five years, when she made an agreement with Kaavi's family never to contact them again. But she still obsessively stalks Kaavi on social media, which is how she finds out her former best friend is engaged to her ex-boyfriend, which is shocking enough. Even more jaw dropping? Shortly after the announcement Amaya receives an email from Kaavi inviting her to the over-the-top wedding festivities in her native Sri Lanka. As if things weren't tense enough for Amaya, Kaavi gos missing the day of the wedding, and everyone starts pointing fingers her way. But it turns out, she isn't the only one with secrets to hide- and some of them may have been worth killing for.

I loved the setting of this book, Sri Lanka. I didn't know much about Sri Lankan culture and their wedding customs, so getting a glimpse into that world was really cool. And the author takes the time to really explain how the expectations and customs affected the characters actions and motivations throughout the book, which was really nice and provided a lot of insight into how the plot unfolded.

As for the plot itself, I was hooked from the beginning. The characters were fantastic. They were all incredibly multifaceted and each could have been the "bad guy," including Amaya, who had many flaws of her own, which the author doesn't shy away from showing. I liked that she was very far from perfect so we had to take our time getting to know her and learn how to read her. Same with Kaavi, who looked perfect on the outside and on social media, but was dealing with a lot on the inside.

I have to say I guessed a couple of the twists - the clues were there - but there were some that I did not seeming see at all, and the author did a great job of throwing in some great details that kept me turning pages. I loved discovering each new secret as it all unfolded.

Overall, if you like great mysteries with plenty of interesting characters, you'll love this book! It's got all of that plus plenty of twists to keep you turning pages!

So good!! I could not stop reading this book once I started!

Whatever you think is going to happen when you start this book, it’s probably not. With a wide cast of characters, this author weaves a tale where you want to keep reading to see what certain characters do next. So good!

What could be worse than your ex-boyfriend marrying your childhood best friend? Getting accused of her murder… 🔪👰🏻‍♀️🌹

I devoured this book in a day! It was super twisty, and kept me guessing! I really enjoyed this one!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

QOTD- If you could vacation anywhere, all expenses paid, where would you go?

Many thanks to @berkleypub @prhaudio for my digital and audio copies!

I absolutely loved @amandajayatissa first book, so I was overjoyed to be approved for this one!

I ended up listening to most of this book and I loved the audio. There were 3 narrators and when it comes to audio I always say the more the merrier. All the narrators did a great job of keeping my attention and performing the story.

I love how @amandajayatissa writes her main characters they are messy but love-able. I loved hearing about the Sri Lankan wedding culture. The audio had me completely transported. I think this is a great one to go into blind so I’m keeping this one vague. But if you enjoyed her first one you will like this one too!

As I’m sure you know this was a Book of the Month, so I’m glad that @amandajayatissa is getting the attention she deserves.

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

I don’t know if you felt my deep sigh. This month is going downhill and I am not liking anything I am reading. I was very intrigued by You’re Invited, it sounded like something I would love, since I love wedding drama and thrillers set at big events, but unfortunately it was a huge disappointment and I was bored for most of it.


But let’s start from the good thing: the setting was amazing; I’d never read a book set in Sri Lanka and I think the author was able to convey both the culture and the setting really well. I felt like I was there alongside out characters, and this is the only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one, because otherwise it was a complete disaster.

Make a list of all the thriller tropes you can think of. Good. More than half of them were in this book, probably. I swear to you, the plot was so predictable because it was only made of overused tropes and I had predicted from page one almost the entirety of it. The only “unexpected” thing was a small reveal at the end, but apart from that, it was basicness galore.

The characters were not interesting enough to make up for it, as far as I am concerned. You could tell that the author was trying so hard to give you an unreliable and unlikeable narrator and make you assume certain things, but I don’t think the hints were placed well, because even by the way Amaya talked and thinked you could figure out almost all of it.


Also, I don’t know why the author though it was a good idea to switch up the point of view at the end. It felt like a cheap and easy choice, I would have loved to learn the things that were revealed in the last chapters in a different way. I don’t know how to explain it, but since they were supposedly big reveals, either the book should have been told in alternating POVs from the beginning. Having only the last 15% of the story being told by Kavi.

In general, however, my main issue was with the writing style. Aside from the setting, I didn’t really like how the book was written and it was both boring and annoying; the dialogue felt stilted and the description were weird. I must say I read an ARC of the book and it really felt like an early draft to me, so maybe some of the issues I had with it were due to this and have now been corrected, but in general I don’t think this author is for me. Which is really sad, because I am always looking for more POC thriller authors and I hoped Amanda Jayatissa could be one. I am still willing to read something more from her, maybe a finished copy of her next book to see how it goes, but I truly did not like You’re Invited.

I do think that if you are new to the mystery thriller genre and not well-versed in its tropes, you could definitely enjoy this book, especially if you are not someone who cares a lot about the prose style (I envy you so much, people who don’t care about that). It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read this month — I’ve read three one star books, ugh — and aside from being boring and disappointing it didn’t do anything truly wrong.

4.25/5

Amanda Jayatissa's debut novel My Sweet Girl was a total cover buy for me, so of course when I saw the beautiful cover of her sophomore novel You're Invited I had to buy that too. Luckily, my cover buying totally worked for me in this instance and I was a huge fan of this book! It is more of the rich people behaving badly trope that I just can't get enough of, as well as a compelling mystery that kept me guessing. In many ways, it reminded me of The Guest List by Lucy Foley, except with a Sri Lanka setting. I also loved learning more about Sri Lanka and the customs there, although that was just one element of many that made me really enjoy this story. I did not want to put the book down although I ended up not having as much time to listen to it as I had hoped to, so it took me a couple of days to finish.

I also thought they did a really nice job with the audiobook, and it was quite nice having the 3 different narrators. Shimali De Silva voiced Amaya, Soneela Nankani voiced Kaavi, and Deepa Samuel read all of the transcripts which was another great addition to the book. All of these women did a wonderful job, and I loved their narration individually and as a whole. It did take me a minute to warm up to the characters but after a while, I ended up especially liking Amaya and ohhh the lengths some people will go to. I was surprised by every single one of the twists and the end totally shook me. Even though it was kind of evil, I absolutely loved it and I thought the characters were incredibly well-developed and fully formed. You're Invited was a deliciously devious and smart psychological thriller, and Jayatissa is firmly cemented in my list of autobuy authors.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I requested this one past on the rumor that it was going to be a BOTM. However, the graphic S&M scene is not my cup of tea. I did not finish.

After loving the author's first book, My Sweet Girl, I was so excited to read her next book, You're Invited. While You're Invited was a decent book, I do not think it lived up to the author's previous work. The book felt like it dragged on and was a bit too over the top. It was an average read for me. I look forward to reading whatever she releases next.

This was EXACTLY as described, an Agatha Christie story that takes place in a Crazy Rich Asians setting. Since I love both of those genres, I thought I was sure to love this one, and I was correct.

When Amaya is invited to estranged friend Kaavi’s over the top wedding in their home country of Sri Lanka, she is shocked, but can’t see how she can refuse. Kaavi is, after all, marrying Amaya’s ex-boyfriend, and she must stop the wedding at all costs.

There are twists you don’t see coming, plus some you definitely see coming, but that doesn’t keep this book from being a very entertaining read where you root for the protagonist, even when you’re unsure she’s actually the good guy. Great book!

Wow - what a ride! The first half of this book is a little slow - this is much more on the mystery side of the genre, and it did a great job of constantly pulling the rug out from under me. While I could figure out bits and pieces, the big twists were not obvious to me, and the ending is really what makes this such an enjoyable read!

I really enjoyed reading My Sweet Girl last year so I was really excited to pick this one up! As with her debut, this one is rich with Sri Lankan culture and I relished being able to continue learning more about it!

I found this to be such an intriguing storyline of crashing an ex’s AND best friends wedding, then add in an unreliable narrator? SOLD!

While a bit slow, this book was quite an entertaining adventure and the ending surely packs a punch as the twists start being revealed in rapid succession style!

I have really enjoyed Jayatissa’s writing style thus far and will certainly be keeping an eye on her!