Review: You're Invited by Amanda Jayatissa

Title: You're Invited

Author: Amanda Jayatissa

Year published: 2022

Category: Adult fiction (thriller)

Pages: 384 pages

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Location: (my 2022 Google Reading map): Sri Lanka

Summary: What could be worse than your ex-boyfriend marrying your childhood best friend? Getting accused of her murder… From the award-winning author of My Sweet Girl comes a dangerously addictive new thriller about a lavish Sri Lankan wedding celebration that not everyone will survive.

When Amaya is invited to Kaavi’s over-the-top wedding in Sri Lanka, she is surprised and a little hurt to hear from her former best friend after so many years of radio silence. But when Amaya learns that the groom is her very own ex-boyfriend, she is consumed by a single thought: She must stop the wedding from happening, no matter the cost. But as the week of wedding celebrations begin and rumors about Amaya’s past begin to swirl, she can’t help but feel like she also has a target on her back. When Kaavi goes missing and is presumed dead, all evidence points to Amaya. However, nothing is as it seems as Jayatissa expertly unravels that each wedding guest has their own dark secret and agenda, and Amaya may not be the only one with a plan to keep the bride from getting her happily ever after…

Review: I enjoyed the previous book that I read by Jayatissa (see my review of My Sweet Girl) and was looking forward to this thriller. Though I liked the ending, I was a bit disappointed through the middle of the book.

This thriller had a narrator that was really tough to like. She was conniving, obsessed, and just didn't appeal to me. And, I felt the other characters weren't developed enough. That said, by the end I felt differently about the lead and the other main woman and that is good because it means I was duped all along.

The premise of the plot is a good one and I liked the cultural aspects of Sri Lanka that we learned about through the story and characters. It just all felt a bit slow for me. 

Challenges for which this counts:

• Alphabet (Title)--Y
• RIP XVIII