Friends can be devious and deadly.

Mel hears from a long-lost friend from uni after 19 years. Abi has just split with her husband and wants to reconnect.

Mel invites her to stay and, for a while, all goes well, until Abi starts an affair with far-reaching consequences and lots of heartaches.

Revenge can be best served cold.

This is a well-polished and professionally written book with all the characters and their secrets gradually disclosed in the story until the final reveal. However, the book is yet another rehash of old friendships turned bad and the happy family turns into a nightmare.

I enjoyed the book but I predicted the main points early in the story and had a feeling of how it was going to end but that doesn’t detract from the book at all. Adele is a brilliant author and cannot be faulted in her books.

An enjoyable read that will make time pass all too quickly, it is a ‘just one more chapter’ type of book.

I look forward to reading more from Ms Parks.

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

I really enjoy this author’s work and this book was no exception.

This is about female friendship, betrayal and revenge.

It starts off with Mel receiving an email from her old university friend Abigail, she is leaving her husband and needs somewhere to lick her wounds. Mel, feeling bad for her invites her to stay with her and her family to help her get back on her feet.
Unfortunately for Mel though this is the worst mistake she can make because Abi doesn’t have good intentions.

It’s pretty obvious from a couple of chapters in that there is more to Abi and the reason she is at Mel’s.
I honestly didn’t understand why Mel seemed so obsessed with Abi and her life etc. The more I read, the more it seemed obvious Abi wasn’t a particular nice person. Then as the story and characters develop more it became obvious why Mel and her had such a weird friendship.

At around the 20% mark of this, I had guessed who Liam’s biological father was. To be honest I feel like the author didn’t mean this to be a twist because it hinted at it so strongly.
At the 55% mark, I was ready to ask someone to hold my earrings and throw down with Abi.

I think it’s brilliant that a story and the way its written can rile up your emotions so.
I was so mad that I actually had to take a break.

Mel showed far more restraint than I would have and that (not so nice word) would have been flung out of my house by her hair lol.

From that moment on, I really felt Mel just kept showing his naive she was and especially at the end with the reveal. I mean of course Abi knew.
Ben, Mel’s husband also just annoyed the heck out of me. I also can’t help but wonder if he would have been so blasé about the whole thing if is had been one of his daughters and a man of the same age as Abi. Let’s face it, he wouldn’t have been.

Overall I really enjoyed this one. Once I started reading it, it kept my attention, never letting it go.
None of the characters were particularly likeable but all were engaging enough that I needed to know how it ended.

The small twist at the end was unexpected in a lot of ways, in hindsight it seems obvious but I didn’t see it coming.

I would say this is one of my favourite reads from Adele Parks.

Would you invite an old college friend to stay indefinitely having lost contact 20 years earlier? Mel does, and the book slowly picks apart the reasons why she is so ready to drop everything for her old friend Abi and explores the repercussions of her invitation and the subsequent visit.

There are *a lot* of themes tackled in this book; female jealousy, cheating husbands, single motherhood, age differences in relationships, family life, teenage hormones, female friendships being just a few! I think that the book might have worked better if instead of lots of little twists, there were just a couple of big twists and themes. Having so much packed in meant that the characters behaved rather erratically and often in a completely unbelievable way. The book had a strange slow pace, and coupled with the story being told entirely from Mel's point of view (with the odd chapter describing one of the other character's actions) I didn't ever experience a sense of unease or a building of suspense. In-fact the book fell rather flat for me and I never really felt engaged with any of the characters enough to care about the outcome.

My thanks go to Net Galley and the publishers for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This book was a hard one to review because there were some things, the plot for example, that were brilliant. The story was well conceived and could have been great.

The stumbling block for me was the way the story was told. It could have been shorter because it felt like a lot of the writing was 'fleshing out' rather than relevant content.

This was one book that for me had a fabulous synopsis and story plan but the actual execution missed the mark for me.

If you are going to do a trope in the suspense/ thriller genre that has been many times, then you need to write something pretty special because there have been some outstanding books within this genre.

I found myself frustrated with several of the characters in this book and you just want to scream "Really???" at the things they fail to see or chose to overlook or the way they behave and get away with! However it is also a compelling tale that was certainly worth investing time in reading. As a mother and also someone who has a inherent wariness of all this social media reconnecting with "old friends", it sent shivers down my spine.

I am really loving the darker novels that Adele has been writing lately. I like the domestic noir feel and the twists and turn. I Invited Her in is the story of old college friends, Mel and Abi. When Abi's life falls apart, she turns to her old friend Mel for comfort and a place to stay. Mel happily invites her into her family home and tells her to stay as long as she wants.

Things are not what they seem, but Abi charms Mel just like she always did. While Mel is under her spell, Abi is carefully plotting and planning to find the ultimate way to seek revenge for a wrong that was done years before.

I love how twisty, turny, gripping and gritty this book is! I was kept guessing until the end. I actually gasped out loud when it all came to a head and I was shocked by the level of deception portrayed here. It just goes to show that you can never really know someone. Not even your best friend.

Probably my favourite of the new, darker Adele Parks books and a definite must read, page turner!

Fabulous fabulous read. As an Adele Parks fan, this did not disappoint.. A real page turner...secrets, lies a psychological thriller at its best. Couldn't put it down.

Loved it. What a great twisted story. Characters you loved to hate, you won’t ever look at old friends in the same way again. . Highly recommend

I finished this book but I struggled doing so. I loved Adele Parks' previous titles and I thought I was going to enjoy it but this one didn't do it for me at all. I thought the plot was really interesting and the story deep and twisted but I found that it developed slowly and that, at times, the descriptions were too long. I am sad it was not was I was expecting at all but grateful I had the chance to read another novel by Parks. Let's see what she comes up with next!

This was by far my favourite book of my summer reading fest. From the first page I was hooked and thoroughly enjoyed every twist and turn of this brilliant psychological thriller! Rather than regurgitate the plot, I will tell you how I felt whilst reading this fantastic book. Well, I found myself literally screaming at the pages for Mel to wake up and smell the coffee and also willing Abigail to mess up so that she got caught out! I had just the right amount of sympathy for Mel and couldn't help wondering why she was so weak and under Abigail's beguiling spell! At the same time as loathing Abi and her manipulative ways, I couldn't help but admire her tenacity in her pursuit for happiness!

A Brilliant, brilliant read! Many thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed reading this book by Adele Parks, I had suspected the twist but thought I was guessing incorrectly, it was still a surprise when the twist was revealed. I have read a few of Adele's books and this one wasn't stand out but it was still a good read. Abi was a horrible character, complete opposite of Mel and very well written.

I really wanted to like this book, after all the rave reviews about Adele Parks. This was my first. And it started off well, but by a third of the way through, it loses its way, becomes boring, mundane, tedious even, and the characters lose all their verve. I'm afraid it lost my interest early on, and I didn't care enough about any of the characters to carry on.

Wow!!!!!! What a book!!!! This is definitely a must read.

Abi calls upon her university friend Mel for help after finding her husband in bed with another woman. She packs up and flies from her home in LA to Mel's home in England.
Mel has the most happiest of families. That is until Abi steps into their home and blows the lives apart.

This domestic noir dealing with friendship and noir is very intense character study that is greater than the sum. The story is well written and though at times, it gets lost in the descriptive text, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is difficult read. The book has a throw back feel of a 70’s novel and the better for this.

The suburban feel of the book is very much in vogue at the moment especially with the HBO and Netflix hits dealing with this genre. Parks does put her own spin on the proceedings and as the knife keeps twisting, the plot thickens proven that sometimes your friends can be your darkest enemies. At times, the pace does slow but with patience, the reader will be rewarded to the exciting conclusion that seems natural to the proceedings before.

The characters are strong and this is where Parks really lets shine getting into the minds and emotions of her cast. They are realistic, powerful and resonant within the plot. Through this characterisations, the novel keeps things interesting.

Overall, this is a dark suburban noir that ticks all the boxes. It is not truly original as this is becoming the new genre but she does have her own flair to add to the proceedings. Intense, smartly written and for fans of this genre, they should be rewarded. I personally enjoyed the book and was invested in the story and would recommend to people who are interested in this genre.

This novel by Adele Parks is a story about revenge although this is not clear from the beginning. The plot almost wrote itself for me with one line when Abi first arrived at the house. A good read but a bit far fetched.

Adele Parks has been one of my favourite authors of the last few years, so I was excited to be approved for an advance review copy of this, her latest book via Netgalley.

Melanie Harrison has a pretty ordinary life with husband Ben, a part time job and 3 children to keep her busy in their suburban life in Wolvney. A life that she loves. Until the shock arrival of her best friend from university days, Abigail Curtiz, makes her wonder if she is missing out on something more exciting. Life changed in an instant back at the start of Melanie's second year at uni when she found herself pregnant after a one night stand. Her hopes and dreams shattered in a moment of impulsiveness. Abigail was the first person she confided in after finding out, who didn't judge her actions or question her decision to abandon her studies and keep her baby. So why, after losing touch for many years, is Abi back in her life in glorious technicolour?

I love the contrast in the two women's lifestyles and characters featured in this book. Adele Parks is an excellent writer of people, the strengths and flaws that we all have. Her skilled observation of how diverse we all are - yet she never comes across as judgmental. Melanie is just like the majority of women in today's society; she has a job which she is happy doing which fits in nicely with her family's needs, a day to day routine of domestic chores and multi tasking skills to be proud of as she juggles the demands of three school age children and a working husband. Abi however is another breed: the successful career woman with seemingly no responsibilities and a glamorous appearance. Therein lies the problem as Melanie invites Abi to stay in her home, hoping to recreate the nostalgia of their earlier friendship. Abi is going through a messy divorce from her high profile TV producer husband Rob Larson, and Mel feels she owes Abi a place to stay while she sorts herself out. I did question why Mel felt such a strong debt to her friend when her only action back in the day was to offer a shoulder to cry on in Mel's hour of need - all was to become clear in time but not until Abi and her ulterior motives wreaked havoc in the Harrisons' lives.


The scenarios created by the author are sadly all too believable in our society where well-meaning, good-hearted people are cruelly used by others who have a sense of entitlement in their lives together with a nasty streak of revenge running through them. There were moments I wanted to give Mel a good shake to get her to open her eyes to what was going on in front of her eyes, and other moments where I wanted to kick Abi out and put her straight back on to the next plane to the States. Husband Ben was the one who was under no illusions and I think a stronger man would have put his foot down and reclaimed his home from Abi's clutches quite early into her stay but he was too nice, which kind of compounded the issues.

While I suspected where the final destination of the story would be, there were certainly strong plot detours along the way which I hadn't foreseen. This is a great book for a cold dark evening/weekend when you can settle in and wonder at how life can change so quickly and drastically when just one person decides to make waves. I would have loved to have been able to sit and read this in one sitting, snuggled up with the dog in my nice suburban, boring life with its regular routines. Maybe sometimes life's better that way, eh?

A very enjoyable read, and very dark and twisted at times. Not a huge twist as the story is quite open in terms of its plot but still very gripping.

This was a twisted, domestic noir all about friendship and betrayal, jealousy and revenge and wanting what you can't have. Unfortunately, it wasn't a book I cared much for, and I wasn't engaged enough to bother what happened to any of the characters. That said, I always try to read to end of each book, and this honestly wasn't bad enough to DNF it, so I continued despite not enjoying it. It's well written, i'll give it that, but the story was one i've read a gazillion times over using well worn tropes of the genre. I don't mind this if there is something to set it apart from the rest, but it just blurred into forgettable obscurity.

This is a great one to pick up if you're just looking to pass a few hours in a way that won't tax your brain. The characters are strong and realistic, but it was distinctly lacking in unpredictability, and I saw every one of the twisty surprises miles off. I tend to prefer quality over quantity in my stories and wished there had been fewer twists but ones that were much more of a shock to the system. Some of the behaviour of the characters could be deemed as unbelievable and certainly unreasonable. There were many moments where they came across as spoiled brats despite being grown women, and I found this incredibly irritating. I would say that this is either best described as a very tame thriller or womens fiction/chick lit, and fans of those book types will no doubt get along with this superbly. For me though, it just didn't work.

Many thanks to HQ for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 Dark, Intriguing, Soul Destroying Stars!!!

I was given this book in turn for an honest review.

When Mel invited Abi to come stay with her family, she couldn’t possibly comprehend the dark, twisted, heart-breaking months that lay ahead.

I Invited Her In was one of those books that I loved and loathed in equal measure. Adele Parks is an excellent writer and her story telling is fantastic. She captivates from the very start, and even when you feel yourself getting infuriated with a character, you still feel that urge to keep reading, Adele Parks certainly knows how to keep readers hooked into her stories.

The storyline for me was interesting, at first, I wasn’t sure where it was going to go. I had worked out one or two secrets quite quickly, however, I wasn’t always sure on what Abi’s intentions were. It was clear the woman couldn’t be trusted and from the start I never took to her at all.

I did find myself get frustrated and annoyed with some of the characters, I wanted to scream at them for not seeing what was staring them in the face. Some of their reactions made no sense to me at all, I couldn’t understand why they were allowing Abi to control their lives.

Around the half way mark this story made a great turn, and it was then that I began to feel heartache for the hell that Mel was going through. She had been naive and for that I wanted to mentally slap her, however, she had reached a point of realisation and her life was literally falling apart around her. Adele Parks brought me round to her story at this point, and the frustration I had felt melted away. I could see the clever way in which Adele Parks had written this story and I applaud her for the way she keeps her readers hooked.

I Invited Her In is a dark, heart-breaking story about secrets and deceit. It’s a story about realisation, that some people’s lives aren’t always as they seem; that the mundane life isn’t always as dull as you think.

Well written, with a storyline that drew me in early on. The characters are of the kind that you either love them or hate them. I found myself getting frustrated in some parts, not because the story was lacking, the opposite in fact. I found myself thinking how I’d feel in the situations as they unfolded. I would recommend this book and I will be looking out for more books by this author.