I’m so happy today to take part in the blog tour for this twisty and suspenseful new novel from Amanda Jayatissa. Poor Amaya gets more than she bargained for when she heads to Sri Lanka for a wedding of an old friend. She wants to stop the wedding, but will she resort to murder to do it?
Description
What could be worse than your ex-boyfriend marrying your childhood best friend? Getting accused of her murder… From the 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…

I love these suspenseful, psychological thrillers and I love trying to figure it all out before the last page. This one had the benefit of adding in the beauty of Sri Lanka and its culture. I could NOT put it down! Yes, I figured it out, but it was good and it kept me guessing until near the end!

This was my first novel by this author but I will look for more!

Highly recommended! Thank you for my e-copy and having me as part of the tour!

Here’s a bit about the author:

Amanda Jayatissa grew up in Sri Lanka, completed her undergrad at Mills College, CA, and lived in the UK before moving back to her sunny little island. She works as a corporate trainer, owns a chain of cookie stores, and is a proud dog-mum to her two spoiled huskies.

Riveting.

Amaya is an unreliable narrator as we get the sense that she isn't that stable. Something happened 5 years prior to make her cut off ties with her friends and family. Now, she receives a wedding invitation, who is getting married? Her ex boyfriend and her ex best friend. Amaya does what she feels is right, she goes to Sri Lanka to stop the wedding.

I really enjoyed learning about the Sri Lankan culture and the traditions they have, especially surrounding weddings. As the wedding day approaches there are many festivities and chances for things to go wrong.

This mystery is layered and we get an inner look at the relationships between friends and family and just how complex they are. While I didn't connect with Amaya, I still felt her journey was worth tagging along. The pacing was slower but rushed through the end. I had a few guesses how it would end up.

I have enjoyed Jayatissa's work and look forward to more by her.

Thank you to @berkleypub for inviting me to read and review this and having me on tour!

Fast and fun mystery thriller that will keep you guessing!

I really enjoyed this well-plotted and twisty tale of a Sri Lankan wedding gone wrong. From the start, when Amaya decides to attend her former best friend's celebration, the narrative is such that the reader can't wait to read more to find out what exactly is going on. Told from several points of view in a bit of a time shift fashion, it also includes excepts from interviews done by the investigation team.

Amaya and Kaavi used to be as close as sisters but they stopped all contact years ago so Amaya is quite surprised to get an invite to the social event of the season in Sri Lanka where they grew up together. The kicker that gets her on the plane back home is that Kaavi is marrying Spencer, Amaya's old boyfriend from their college days. This can't happen and Amaya is determined to stop the wedding. Everything comes to a head during the days of preparation and, when Kaavi is missing on the big day, all the clues point to Amaya being responsible.

Half the time while reading I was not sure what was going on. So many secrets and lies and manipulations behind the scenes. I loved it! Amaya seemed a jealous, self-harming, psycho mess but she was certainly resolute. Kaavi, the indulged princess of her wealthy family, appeared to be set on the marriage, and her parents and sister were leading her through all the festivities with a dogged purpose. But when things started to go awry, everything exploded in a spectacular fashion. What a great ending. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

4.25🌟 - I enjoyed it!

Thank you @prhaudio for the complimentary audiobook, and @netgalley & @berkleypub for the E-ARC.

This one surprised me! It had switching POV’s, twisty characters, a glamorous tropical Sri Lankan wedding setting, and engaging writing that made this one such a solid thriller!

The audio of this one is SO GOOD! I highly recommend it, I was so engrossed! It really let the characters come alive.

There were so many times I thought the story was going one way and completely went another, which I love in a thriller!

It started slow, but once it got going it really packed a punch!

This is my second book by @amandajayatissa, and can’t wait to see what she writes next!

First, thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was one of my most hyped books of the summer and maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to.

This hooked me with the words wedding and murder! I was fully prepared for so much action and betrayals and what I got was very slow building plot, characters I didn't invest in and more questions than answers.

I feel like the whole beginning of the book was not needed and I probably would have enjoyed it more had we not met all these characters that had nothing to do with the plot and story.

I did like the setting of Sri Lanka and the overall story as well as the cover design!

✉️ You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa ✉️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
⚠️ TW: Murder, mention of domestic violence, mention of death of parents, use of weapons, self-harm

👉🏼 Publishes August 9, 2022!

📖 Read if you like 📖
🌀 Twists and turns
🔎 Piecing together things as you read
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka culture and/or learning about other cultures
💵 Crazy Rich Asians plus a thriller element

💭 Thoughts:
This book gave drama and suspense!! It kept me guessing and piecing 🧩 things together up until the very end as I finished with my jaw DROPPED! I loved the setting and learning about the 🇱🇰 Sri Lankan culture, and hearing ALL sides of the story through the investigation transcripts embedded throughout the book. If you missed picking this book up from BOTM last month, definitely order it now and/or add it to your next box! 📫

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

You're Invited is a story of a girl who finds out her best friend is engaged to her ex-boyfriend and she decides she's going to do everything she can to make sure this wedding does not happen. This book overall gets 4 stars for me simply because there are a lot of things within Sri Lankan culture that I did not understand, and I felt like I had a hard time visualizing anything. I thought the plot twist at the end was brilliant and I loved the dual points of view and how it broke the book up overall as well as interviews from every person after the main incident.

Content warning: self harm, BDSM, gaslighting, domestic violence
Thanks to PRH for providing a free digital review copy via NetGalley. This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.

Amaya’s former bestfriend Kaavi is getting married. Their friendship fell apart five years ago and Amaya is cyber stalking her ever since. Amaya is determined to stop the wedding especially when she finds out that she is marrying her very own ex-boyfriend. After getting an inivtation to the wedding, Amaya flies to Sri Lanka. But things start to look bad for her when Kaavi goes missing on the day of her wedding.

I instantly became a fan of Jayatissa after reading her debut novel My Sweet Girl last year so I was very excited to read her new book. You’re Invited was a gripping and entertaining read.

I loved reading books with unreliable character and this book has a lot of them. Amaya was an intriguing character. Being in her head was fascinating and unsettling at times. I would have like to know when or how her fixation with lucky numbers started.

The book is written in Amaya’s perspective and towards the end we get Kaavi’s. I also enjoyed reading the investigator’s transcripts of interviews. It gave the readers some clues which made it even more harder to predict the next scenes. I thought this style was incredible and very effective. One of my favorites was reading and learning about Sri Lankan culture and wedding traditions. The food, ceremonies, the gossiping Aunties, and family dramas.

As much as I loved the shocking twists and turns, I was not one hundred percent satisfied with the ending. I will not mention which part because I don’t want to spoil anything. Aside from family and friendship, this book also talks about power, money, and privilege.

You’re Invited is a very compelling read that will keep you guessing until the end. It’s definitely one of my favorite reads this year. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Hahahaha, dude. What??!??!?? I don’t even know how to review this one! You’re Invited is a delicious, juicy thriller about a woman, Amaya, whose ex-boyfriend is marrying her ex-best friend. The book begins by portraying that the bride is dead and Amaya is the killer. But one thing we know about thrillers, fellow book lovers, is that things are not always as they seem…

There truly is a lot going on in this one. So many people appear to have motives for murdering the bride that it is pretty difficult for the reader to develop a clear theory as to who the true killer might be. Another aspect I enjoyed was the setting. The author included many cultural bits about Sri Lanka that weren’t just there for show and actually enhanced the story. I still can’t believe the book ended how it did. It wasn’t the GBOAT (greatest book of all time 🤪), but man, was I entertained.

⚠️ Trigger warnings: self-harm and domestic violence.

Book review: 'You're Invited' to genre-defying thriller
By ASHLEY RIGGLESON FOR THE FREE LANCE–STAR Aug 13, 2022

From time to time, I love a good thriller, so when I heard about Amanda Jayatissa’s new novel, “You’re Invited,” I wanted to pick it up immediately. This engrossing novel did not disappoint. I was involved from page one!

When the novel opens, readers hear from Amaya, a very superstitious woman, who is constantly on the lookout for good signs from the universe. Amaya, who is from Sri Lanka, soon discovers that her former best friend, Kaavi, is getting married to her own ex-boyfriend. For reasons initially unclear, Amaya is determined to stop the wedding from happening at any cost. Things start to look very bad for Amaya when Kaavi goes missing on the day of the wedding, and her room is found in disarray.

The plot is more complicated than that, however. As we soon learn from interspersed transcripts of interviews with various people throughout the text, there are many people with a motive to harm Kaavi. The truth, though seemingly apparent from the start, is slippery, and Jayatissa kept me guessing until the last page.

I loved this novel, and there was little I wanted to do other than get lost in its pages. But it is a not a typical thriller. While I was never bored, Jayatissa spends a long time developing the world and characters of the text, and “You’re Invited” has a genre-defying level of depth. Jayatissa critiques several aspects of Sri Lankan society and gives us an almost satirical look at mother-daughter relationships in that country. I am primarily a literary fiction reader, so Jayatissa’s attention to these themes made me love this novel all the more. That said, I think some readers may prefer a thriller with a faster plot. Personally, though, I found this delicious and gossipy novel, in which so much depends on the reputations of the characters, to be just what the doctor ordered. It’s a perfect summer read, especially if you are looking for something escapist and smart.

The ending is also quite ominous, and the questions Jayatissa poses with this novel (What are we willing to do for the ones we love, and What are we willing to do to maintain our good reputations?) are quite haunting. Jayatissa has so much talent, and I am excited to see what she does next. “You’re Invited” is one of my favorite thrillers of the year!

Ashley Riggleson is a freelance reviewer from Rappahannock County.

This review was originally printed in The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, VA.

You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa is a twisty, gripping novel about two best friends set in the beautiful backdrop of Colombo, Sri Lanka! It’s a multi layer family drama and mystery where culture, family and friendships are at the core of the story!

Kaavi and Amaya are childhood buddies who haven’t spoken in last 5 years! When Amaya learns that Kaavi is marrying her ex boyfriend, she makes a plan to attend and stop the wedding! I did not see the ending coming and the twists had me totally hooked!

Thank you NetGalley for the gifted galley that I was able to enjoy along with my copy of @bookofthemonth Go get your copy now, I bet you’ll love it!

Oh my word. I really dug My Sweet Girl and was super excited to get my hands on an early copy of Amanda Jayatissa’s new release. I started it months ago and did something I never do – I put it aside. I wasn’t feeling it and I figured it was a mood thing. Then Book of the Month chose it and Pub Day came around and people all over the ‘Gram were loving it so I thought surely it truly was wrong place/wrong time when I had made my first attempt.

I’m sorry to report but this “wedding gone wrong” (which is one of my favorite mystery/thriller tropes) was a total snoozefest. Literally NOTHING happens until the 80% point and then the reader only gets info finally dumped on them via a change in narrator from the unwanted guest Amaya to the bride-to-be Kaavi’s perspective and a rewind that covers a quick recap of the three months between the engagement and the wedding week. Waaaaaaaay too little, way too late for me. I stuck with it because I have not figured out how to DNF still, but this was a real Sophomore Slump. #zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Right from the beginning, this was a biting thriller that set me on edge.

MV Rating: 6/10
- Big gold star for the unique setting & theme: Sri Lankan weddings & culture is something I know very little about, and it added a little extra fun to the story for me.
-Amaya's ex-best friend and ex- boyfriend are getting married, and she's out to stop the wedding. Immediate TW: Amaya reads like a stalker right out of the first chapter (finstsas, showing up unwanted, etc.), and it made me severely uncomfy.
- There are definitely some crazy twists and turns, but overall the build-up over time is a little choppy - sometimes I felt like the story was pacing well/super tense, and other chapters/POV's seemed not to add anything.
- Even though this is a pretty standard thriller trope, Amaya's inconsistency and weird behavior has extremely dark, tense energy, which almost made me DNF. I'm glad I stuck through it, but there were definitely times that I felt her darkness turned me off of the overall story.
- This book will be a winner for fans of Jennifer Hillier & Lucy Foley - style books.

This was a GREAT thrill ride!! Told in multiple POVs we get to experience a lavish Sri Lankan wedding and the investigation after Kaavi, a wealthy social media influencer bride goes missing. Former best friend Amaya is surprised when she gets invited to the wedding especially when she learns the groom is her ex!

What follows is a twisty tale full of surprises and shocking motivations where everyone seems to have their own agenda and no one can be trusted. I enjoyed how the story switched from interview transcripts between the police and various guests post disappearance with Amaya and Kaavi's first person accounts.

Truly original and highly entertaining with a great cast of narrators. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. Amanda Jayatissa is quickly becoming a favorite new thriller author for me!

From my blog: Always With a Book

I absolutely loved Amanda Jayatissa’s debut novel, My Sweet Girl, so it was a no brainer that I would read her sophomore book. I just loved the sound of it…and it immediately became one of my most anticipated reads for this month – and I’m so happy to say that it totally delivered! Amanda Jayatissa is definitely going down as a must-read author for me!

Locked-room mysteries are one of my favorite tropes when it comes to this genre and this one kept me guessing all the way through. Let’s just say things are definitely not what they appear to be, and this book takes quite a few twists and turns that I did not see coming. Between the drama and intrigue of the friendship between Amaya and Kaavi, and the Sri Lankan culture that the author infuses into the story, I was hooked! It’s best to go into this one as blind as possible, so I’m not going to give too much away – just know that this one is definitely a binge-worthy type of read and I loved every second of it!

I loved that I really didn’t know which way this story was heading. We have an unreliable narrator and I loved how the story was structured with the investigation interviews interspersed throughout – it added such a nice layer to an already complicated story, where just about every character has their fair share of secrets.

The writing here is perfection and I cannot wait to see what comes next from this uber talented author. Definitely add this to your summer reading list if it is not already on it…it’s fast-paced, thrilling and sure to keep you flipping those pages!

There have been a LOT OF wedding thrillers lately so I went into this with some trepidation. But I really enjoyed this one, which had a lot more depth and layers than I was expecting. Did Amaya come to her former BFFs wedding to stop it at any cost, or is there something else going on? Loved the Columbo (Sri Lanka) setting and really enjoyed all the twists and turns.

Amaya is invited to Kaavi's wedding. But when she arrives everyone is surprised to see her which is a shock since the invitation said Kaavi and her family were excited to see her. But then Kaavis goes missing and is expected to be dead. But everything isn't what it seems to be! You're Invited is a suspenseful read! It switches between the wedding and the present and for the most part it's told from Amaya but then it adds in Kaavis. It's definitely a story with plenty of twists to keep you entertained! Great read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Amaya and Kaavi have been friends all their lives. Born into wealth and privilege in Colombo, Sri Lanka, they were inseparable as children and even went off to university in the United States together. There they were a popular threesome with Amaya's boyfriend Spencer. But, shortly after graduating, Amaya and Spencer break up, again, and Kaavi makes the mistake of letting Spencer know where they are now living. When Amaya finds out, she simply vanishes - out of America, out of Spencer's life, and out of Kaavi's life.

But , over 5 years later, Kaavi is engaged - to Spencer!! Receiving an invitation to the wedding from Kaavi, Amaya realizes she MUST stop this wedding. So she travels back to Sri Lanka. Now it is the day of the wedding and Kaavi is missing - perhaps murdered.

A good read, slow in parts, and I don't know ANYTHING about Sri Lankan customs or society so I was a little lost sometimes. I would recommend it. Just know it is NOT a quick read!

Who wouldn’t want to travel halfway across the world to attend their ex-boyfriend’s wedding?

I chose You’re Invited as my BOTM pick after giving a five-star review to My Sweet Girl last year. I’m a big fan of thrillers where weddings go wrong, and this cover sold it for me!

My favorite part of You’re Invited, similar to My Sweet Girl, was reading about Sri Lankan customs. I especially liked how it was applied to wedding etiquette in this case–I learned a lot about this multi-day affair that sounds like a blast!

Amaya is certainly an imperfect main character, and some may find her hard to like at the beginning of the book. She is obsessed with her ex-best friend and her life revolves around stalking Kaavi on her various social media platforms. She self-harms, which is described but never addressed. Rest assured, though, that her actions begin to make sense as the story progresses!

This book starts off slow, but a whole bunch of twists unravel at once in the end. Amanda Jayatissa certainly has a lot of skill as an author, and I will certainly be picking her books up again in the future.

I had such high hopes for this one because of the blurb. I thought there would be so many twists and turns that would shock me, and while it had those, you had to get through about 85% of the book which moved so slowly and made me want to give up several times. When I did get to the twist, it wasn’t as crazy as I thought it would be after sitting through all of that. The story did keep me interested and I enjoyed learning more about the culture of Sri Lanka but I wish the interviews had been left out of it. It really broke up the story for me and ruined the flow.