The Invited

Normally, I don't care for McMahon, but I think her storytelling has really improved here. I typically find she writes great premises, and meh stories, but I thought The Invited was really good. Maybe it's because I cared about Olive, or maybe it's because I appreciated what Helen and Nate were trying to do....but most likely it's because there was a great balance of paranormal evil and human evil in the story and it really, really worked.
Listened on audio.

Both Helen and Nate were irritating, but I loved Olive. My heart broke for her 100 times. I like the mix of supernatural and craziness. You're never quite sure if a ghost encounter is actually happening or if you're seeing things through an unhinged person.

I did like this story, i just wish it would have been scarier. The Winter People is still my favorite from Jennifer McMahon!

Well knowing this author I knew this was going to be good. It was! So good! Anxiety inducing, haunting, thrilling, oooo and those creeps. And of course one of my very fave genres def didn't disappoint.

I didn't really know what kind of book I was reading, and I guess that's on me. I tend to avoid too much foreknowledge so I can just experience a book. All I knew was this was a horror novel about a haunting in a house under construction - clever and intriguing premise!

Only, this isn't actually a horror novel. I'd say it's an attempt at a thriller with paranormal elements? I probably wouldn't have picked it up had I known. It's not scary, creepy, or even atmospheric. And honestly while thriller is not my favorite genre, I feel like this wasn't great as a thriller either. The entire premise depends on a bunch of adults believing in buried treasure in a way only little kids or Stede Bonnet would. It's ridiculous. (And it doesn't even make sense that there would BE treasure in the first place - don't get me started on that.) There's a twist of sorts, and it doesn't make sense - this whole book suffers from a lot of Fridge Logic.

But hey, at least the characters are annoying! Olive is actually OK overall - she's a 14yo and being annoying and naive is developmentally normal. Helen, on the other hand, is almost literally Too Stupid to Live, while Nate is sort of a blank slate that does whatever the current scene demands.

Honestly, this still had enough of an interesting premise and engaging historical mystery to be rewarding, if only it had been more efficient. It was very bloated and slow. Shortly after the 50% mark, I just started reading the last paragraph of each page, occasionally jumping back to read a bit more if I needed to fill in some blanks. I was able to follow the whole plot, the twist, and the answer to the mystery with no problem.

A very medium read for me. It was kind of like going to see one of those lower-budget summer release horror movies: good enough for a few creepy moments, but not necessarily going to leave a lasting impression. I liked Olive well enough, but I didn't particularly care about Helen or the whole history of Hattie. Also, Nate was a drip. Also also, there were a few aspects of the ending I side-eyed. Still, a decent enough read. 3 haunted historical building objects out of 5.

Really enjoyed this mystery - the characters were well-developed and relatable. Well written and a nice twist!

I absolutely loved this book! Some of the reviews recalled the book being boring but I found it to be completely thrilling throughout! If you like a good mystery, I totally recommend this book!

Helen and Nate move to the country to build the dream home. All is not what it seems and trouble begins. Items go missing from the jobs site. The begin to wonder if the place is haunted. This book was just ok for me. It has plenty of twist to keep me interested enough to finish it, but nothing much different from other books that I have read.

When Helen and Nate go to build their dream home, they are signing up for more than they bargained for! The past is determined to not stay hidden, and the present is about to collide with the events that happened over 100 years ago.

This book was fabulous and I could not put it down! It is a real page turner that will leave you biting your nails!

My thoughts about this book are jumbled mess. I've been holding off on writing a review because, truth me told, I just couldn't pinpoint what about this story it was that didn't resonate with me. This isn't a poor story, by any means. It has a gorgeously rendered setting, and characters that feel like real people. The Invited even has a mystery that was complex enough to keep me guessing for a good portion of the story. Still, this book and I didn't really ever mesh and that was a pity.

Although Helen and Nate were excellently rendered characters, I had a hard time falling for them. They drove me a little bit crazy with their incessant bickering and wild spending habits. Helen especially grated on my nerves at the beginning. I know it's probably just me, but I have a hard time with a character who constantly overreacts. She did grow on me as the book progressed and, in fact, as the mystery started to unwind I found myself drawn more and more to this couple. I definitely appreciated that they cared so much about their new home, and the nature that surrounded it. The fact that the home that they were building was also steeped in such terrible history had me rapt.

As I mentioned above, the mystery was actually fairly well structured also. There were just enough clues peppered throughout to really keep me guessing as to what the ending would be. Unfortunately I did figure out the twist about halfway through and, after that, I was more just reading for the glimpse of any haunted happenings. I love stories that have rich atmosphere, especially when there are ghosts involved. In this case, all the atmosphere was there. The potential for a really excellent ghost story was just in sight. It just never panned out the way I hoped it would. This story meandered, and lacked the bite that I desperately wanted.


I suppose that the fact of the matter is that this story just wasn't for me. I love ghost stories. I love horror. The Invited doesn't really meet either of those marks, in my opinion. This is honestly more like a really well written mystery that happens to have a ghost as part of the plot. There's a lot to love here, and I know that there are plenty of readers out there who are going to adore this book. I'm unfortunately just not one of those people. For a lovely setting, well written characters, and the fact that I did indeed finish it, I'll happily give this three stars.

3.5 ⭐️
This review can also be found on my blog.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own. All quotes have been taken from the advanced copy and are subject to change upon publication.

Jennifer McMahon's The Winter People became one of my favorites when I read it last year so of course Rachel let me know the second she saw it on Netgalley and I requested it immediately. McMahon's books combine my love of horror with my love of all things Vermont (and New England) and I've been meaning to pick up more of her books for quite some time now. Rachel actually lent me a copy of The Night Sister, which I've got sitting in my physical TBR pile. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed The Invited, it just wasn't as strong a book as I had hoped for.

What people don't understand, they destroy.

As with The Winter People, McMahon sets up alternating perspectives. We have Helen, an outsider who is building a house with her husband Nate on supposedly haunted property. We also have Ollie, a girl in her early teens who is searching for a treasure that may or may not exist. I sympathized with Helen and while I found Ollie a bit irritating at first, I quickly warmed up to her as well. I also adored Ollie's aunt, Riley, with her dyed hair and many tattoos and love of local lore. At one point I briefly hoped that Helen would leave her husband for Riley, but alas, that was wishful thinking.

Sometimes Olive got so caught up in her own grief that she forgot other people were grieving, too.

The plot itself is somewhat interesting: Ollie searches for the treasure and for traces of her mother who had left while Helen searches for more information about the spirit that may haunt her new home. McMahon puts her own unique twist on the classic ghost story, incorporating new elements and giving us just the right amount of red herrings. A lot of my nitpicks came less from issues with the story itself and more from inconsistencies in the writing and the difficulty I had getting invested until about a third in. Hopefully some of this gets pulled together better in the final copy.

“Sometimes a vivid imagination is a curse,” her mama used to tell her.

Overall The Invited was interesting and enjoyable, but it unfortunately lacked the oomph that would have given it a higher rating and put it on my favorites list. Still, Jennifer McMahon manages to explore the storied history of New England and its comparison to modern-day life. I definitely recommend this to anyone who has read and liked any of her other books, as well as to those who like the exploration of relationships between women in horror.

I usually like McMahon's unusual stories, but this one was not my favorite.