*The Invitation* by Katie Webster is a captivating fantasy novel that immerses readers in the tense conflict between two rival kingdoms, Meta and Archmond. The story follows Queen Emery, who wakes to the chilling realization that her enemies have brought forth a girl, Lucy, from another world to destroy her. Meanwhile, in Archmond, the arrival of Lucy is celebrated as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, though doubts linger about her true role.

Webster’s world-building is impressive, crafting a tale filled with political intrigue, magical elements, and complex characters. The dual perspectives of Queen Emery and Lucy provide depth, as readers see both sides of the brewing conflict. While the pacing may occasionally slow due to the detailed setup, the novel is engaging and sets the stage for a thrilling confrontation. *The Invitation* is a promising start to what feels like an epic saga, perfect for fans of character-driven fantasy with high stakes and moral ambiguity.

Was far too similar to the Wizard of Oz. It was a bummer for me and I ended up getting pretty bored. There were almost too many details and the plot was lost.

I really wanted to like this one but it kind of fell flat. When I originally read the description I was really excited, it sounded really neat; but it was far too similar to The Wizard of Oz.
Lucy and Crumbs were cute and Katie Webster can paint a really detailed scene but there felt like some big gaps that could be improved upon.
The Invitation is the first book in the trilogy, curious to see where Katie takes it next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katie Webster, and The Conrad Press for the ARC, the book was received for free but the opinions are my own.

I love fantasy, but this one wasn't for me. It reads like a children's book, but then again, the flowery language contradicts that. The numerous descriptions also make it confusing to read and difficult to follow the plot. The book could be much shorter, because many things happened, but also really nothing happened. This is the first book in the Lucy's Crypt series, but for me, the journey ends here.

I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alice in Wonderland meets Wizard of Oz covered in trauma sprinkles.

It took me a while to pull this review together because I tried to be as objective as possible. In the end I picked up and restarted The Invitation three separate times before managing to finish it. Now I love a good 'chosen one' story as much as the next YA reader, but this was nothing like I had expected based on the synopsis alone.

Teenage girl, outcast, unwilling heroine, a splash of Celtic inspiration- sounds like fun, right?

This story ended up being the opposite of fun by definition. Within the first thirty pages there were at least three separate calls for trigger warnings and none of them ended up being relevant to the larger plot. Our main character is awash with very real trauma in a world that feels as fantastical as Wonderland or Oz leaving the reader very uncertain how to feel. Are we sad, or whimsical? Honestly, the answer was never clear. Add in an annoying first person narrator and a predictable plot- this one was not for me.

I did appreciate Webster's ability to paint a scene, on the other hand. Her ambient prose was beautiful and really put you on the scene. I hope the series will improve as it goes on, but I do not plan on returning to Archmond any time soon.

[Thaank you to NetGalley and Conrad Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

The wizard of oz meets Alice in wonderland. Overall entertaining, but didn’t completely absorb me. The worldbuilding is well developed and easy to follow. This is the first of a trilogy so more to come! Overall worth the read.

This book seemed like it wanted to start a tragic backstory for shock value. It was pretty hard to get into, and it didn't really make sende for out MC to even get the invitation. I would have understood if the MC was an adult, but it was pretty bizzare and uncomfortable to read that about a literal child.

The Invitation had a very much ‘Alice in Wonderland’ vibe, which reminds me of a lot of fantasy books I read as a child.

Lucy and her animal companion Crumbs are both very adorable At the start, we follow Lucy, who comes from a poor family and lives in a judgemental society. She has been whisked away to another world where she is their protagonist who needs to go on an adventure while discovering and growing as a person.

There was a lot of showing of imagery, but not a lot of telling. Despite the slow start, this book has a lot of potential, and overall it was a sweet fantasy that a lot of young readers will enjoy!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC, in return for an honest review!

An epic fantasy that gave me Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz vibes. Lucy has accepted an invitation unbeknownst to her that transports her to another world after she has witnessed a traumatic event. A world with wizards, an evil queen, and a prophecy that relates to her and this queen. She agrees to help these wizards and with their plight in order to return home. She departs on this journey meeting friends along the way. Unsure as what to do, but willing to learn along the way.

It really starts to pick up towards this end when Lucy enters an unforgiving climate and it’s uncertain if she will survive. Here is where she is confronted with deep repressed memories that she must acknowledge in order to proceed. Will she stop lying to herself to see just how she fits into this prophecy? Do these wizards really have her best interest in mind or their own twisted motives?

Looking forward to reading the next book!

The cover design caught my eye, and I thought this book looked interesting.

This was a fantasy novel, and initially, it had a kind of simplicity that I enjoyed, reminding me of the kind of book that I might have chosen as a child.

For the most part, the writing style was nice. However, I didn't warm to the protagonist, Lucy, as much as I should have done. I also found some parts of the story a little bit bizarre, and there was some profanity and crude language in places, which for me, just didn't seem quite right.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whoever wrote in the description that this is “highly imaginative and original” must not have ever read or seen “The Wizard of Oz.” This book even includes the phrase “I’m not in Scotland anymore, am I?” Lucy is a high school student with a very bad living situation: her parents are constantly fighting (physically) and she doesn’t know what to do. At school, other students make fun of her because she can’t afford to buy nice clothes. She spends her afternoons just wandering around, not wanting to stay at school, not wanting to go home.

Then, she is mysteriously swept up and sent to the kingdom of Archmond (which is when we get the stolen line from Wizard of Oz), where the sorcerer Soleman has brought her between worlds to be used for his own purposes in the war against Meta Emery.

This book was disappointing for so many reasons, not just that it’s an obvious ripoff of The Wizard of Oz. It’s also very poorly written, and lacks any kind of realistic characterization for anyone. Lucy is sad, woeful, helpless, confused, and nothing else. I have no idea what she’s like or what’s important to her. Just nothing.

I really enjoyed this one.
The world building was interesting and although this feels like a long introduction I am eager to see where the story will go.
Lucy is a likeable character and her companion adorable.
A bit slow at the beginning but overall a good introduction into this fantastic world.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an arc through net galley.

First there were a lot of formatting errors with the ebook. Spaces within words, improper Spacing of sentences, and barely any paragraphs.

The story, if you could call it that, was one of happenstance. The author spent so much time painting wonderful imagery but then told you nothing of what happened. Everything just happened by coincidence. Lucy was lead on this quest but did absolutely nothing. I wish the author spent less time going over what Everything looked like and focused more telling us what is happening.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC. Here’s my honest take:

I’m not sure where to begin. Lucy’s journey with Crumbs is a Tolkien-ish spin on a savior from another world trope. Webster’s story building is words, words, and more words and it somehow works and brings the reader through. As an adult, I didn’t have the patience for this style of writing, but the plot is strong and I think many of my students wouldn’t mind the prose. The many chapter subsections also help the narrative not feel quite so rambling.

I enjoyed the destination, but not the climb.

I wanted to enjoy this one but I found the plot, story, and characterizations hard to follow and not really resonate the best for me at times.