This one had an intriguing premise — glitzy events, secret connections, and a peek behind the scenes of high-society life. The story was engaging at times, and I enjoyed the characters’ ambitions and drama, but some plot points felt predictable, and a few storylines didn’t get enough depth.

That said, it’s still a breezy read if you’re in the mood for a light, glamorous contemporary drama. Perfect for a weekend when you just want something fun and easy to flip through.

🌿 Overall: A decent, enjoyable read — not groundbreaking, but entertaining enough for fans of light contemporary fiction.

📌 Save this if you’re in the mood for:
✔️ Glamorous, high-society drama
✔️ Quick, light reading
✔️ Characters with ambition, secrets, and flair

A very fun story, I've seen some reviewers compare it to the inheritance games but debutants and I see it! it's very fun, I enjoyed the characters and the ending. I wish I saw more of Seb! he was such a fun side character, I loved piper and that she was a science girl boss, and seeing Chapin and her interact was sweet! I love reading books where it's a girl diving into a world so different from hers so overall this was a very fun and enjoyable read! thank you Simon teen for the E-ARC!

3/5
Thank you, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Alexandra Brown Chang for providing the arc for this review.

It is the annual La Danse des Debutantes, where a small group of young women is selected from the prestigious royals, the wealthy, and the famous. The star debutante of the season gets caught in a stealing scandal, leading her to be kicked out of the program, and this year's La Danse is in disarray. Piper Woo Collins is the winner of the international science fair and is looking to further her career at Columbus University. That is, until her scholarship gets revoked. To save the face of the debutante season, she is invited to La Danse with the opportunity of a lifetime and a fully paid first year at Columbia. Chapin Buckingham is the daughter of two Hollywood idols and doesn't necessarily care for high society. She has her reasons to become Debutante of the Year, and she will not let Piper destroy that chance for her.

This book started off strong, and the ending just took me out of the story. I read most of the book in one setting until I had about 50 pages left. I was confused about why the author took the direction they did. This is a dual pov book where each chapter switches between the two main characters, so if you are not into dual povs this is not the book for you.

The characters are intricate and well-thought-out. I would not say this is a romance; it is definitely a side plot. If you want a full-on romance book, this is not the book for you because it is sort of touched on, but not the forefront. This book focuses more on self-reflection and female friendships. The relationships between the parents, specifically Chapin, were interesting. I enjoyed having that in this drama-filled book.

The writing was good, and I was thoroughly invested until the end. The plot of this book kind of dissipates after everyone shows up in Paris. The whole book leads up to the Debutante Ball, and there are some preparations, although it mainly focuses on relationships while in Paris. I thought this was going to focus more on the week and Piper preparing for the ball in more detail, since she is the outcast. There was already drama and catfights in this book, but the ending drama I thought came out of nowhere and did not need to be a plot point. It felt like the author did not know how to wrap up the book or knew how they wanted the book to end, but just did not know how to get there. If it was just for added drama, I feel it could have been left out.

I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this book or not. I'm not normally into this kind of book since I'm a fantasy girlie through and through. I don't stray from the fantasy or romantasy genres very often but I'm glad I did for this book.

I hated Chapin from the get-go and my feelings for her didn't stray very far until we got more information about her relationship with her mother. I can understand where she's coming from, though, because the pressure can be very difficult to deal with, even for the toughest of us.

I can also relate to Piper since I've also lost a parent. I was well into adulthood when my father passed away but it's still hard. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to lose a parent as a much younger person. I felt so bad for her.

I'm glad Piper was able to rise up as well as she did. I was angry with most of the other folks in this book, however, for discounting her or gaslighting her at every turn. That was not okay and I'm glad she decided to say something toward the end. If only she did it at a much earlier point. Oh, well.

I wanted more out of the romance between Dalton and Piper but that's just my personal opinion. I do like the "Romeo and Juliet" type feel, though. That was a very nice touch. I'm hoping there will be more books in this universe so we can get more out of them. Again, that's just me.

I'm also glad they were able to gain revenge against Face for what he did. Revenge porn is never okay, no matter what intention the offender had. He's a slime ball and totally deserved to be arrested. I hope he gets what he deserves, fictional man or not.

All in all, I'd recommend this book for folks of all ages. I know this is a YA book but it's still good without the smut I'm used to. I feel this is another book where the smut isn't even needed. That's perfectly okay, of course.

This book felt like a YA version of gossip girl set in Paris. I loved the concept of the debutante ball set in Paris. The book took us to so many amazing locations in Paris. I found it so interesting that we had a dual POV from our two FMC. I really enjoyed seeing what each of the girls thought of each-other and the situation. I really enjoyed the friendship between our FMCs. I would love to see a second book exploring what life is like for our FMC living in collage together.

I really enoyed this book. I took me by surpise. i think this book had all the elemnt of interitance games and also american royals. I also liked that it gave me a-list vibes and also just fun female characters and the plot was hard to predict, i really loved this authors wriiting style!! def a soild read!!

Lush writing, and left a tiny bit to be desired. I think I struggled most with pacing and keeping the plot moving naturally in this one. However, I was still thoroughly entertained and enticed to see how it all turned out. I'd give the author another shot for sure!

Sometimes you think you are going to love a book and it lets you down immensely. Which, given the fact I'm writing that on this book review means that this book let me down. I had high hopes for the plot, the characters, the drama, the fashion but it felt a little lackluster in the way that a boring movie does. Another goodreads review put it as "watererd down inheritance games" and you know what, lets make it, watered down inheritance games but with fashion and debutantes". Now we have the book that is By Invitation Only. I wasn't the biggest fan of our fmc who in a way gave off "not like other girls" but she was also just so very bland. And so was our love interest. In fact he was so bland that I almost thought he wasn't the love interest. I think it could have been so much more but it was just lacking in so many ways. And don't even get me started on that ugly cover. The purple is abdominal. And I like purple. So pick up if you don't want to use your brain to read I guess.

Adjusted Rating: ⭐️⭐️🌟 (2.75 stars)

This book was… bland. There wasn’t much depth anywhere—characters, story, setting, even the attempt at romance or the slow build of one. Everything stayed very surface-level.

That said, it was a very quick read. I got through it in about 5.5 hours total, and I did find myself intrigued enough to keep going and see how things played out. I also appreciated that the focus leaned more on friendship than on the main character falling for a guy—though I do wish the romance had offered at least something more substantial.

Funny enough, while reading, I kept having random flashes to scenes in Modelland by Tyra Banks (a book I haven’t touched in around 14 years 🤣). Both share that same kind of “meh” energy—where you’re entertained in the moment but not left with much afterwards.

Overall, this felt like the book version of a perfectly average TV show or movie you might throw on in the background while folding laundry—easy to breeze through, a little intriguing, but not something that sticks.

This one was fun and very unique but overall, just didn’t strike my fancy too much. It felt a little under developed and just idk fell flat at some points. I’m not sure how else to describe other than just ok? I did finish it without feeling like I was forcing myself to and enjoyed how the story was wrapped up; however, I never truly felt super connected to any of the characters and could see the “plot twists” coming from the beginning. If you’re interested in some rich people drama and enjoy a YA book, maybe pick this one up and see if you like it. I’m sure this is the perfect book for some readers, it just wasn’t for me.

***Now playing "Paris" by Taylor Swift***

^^No, literally, I'm actually listening to it rn lol.

Alright, full disclosure, this is the sort of book that, for me personally, is a fun read when I'm in the right mood, but not really my fav, and sometimes annoying. Then again, as a mood reader, that's true to a certain extent for pretty much anything. No, but this was one of those YA books that REALLY feels YA if you know what I mean. Well, except for the bit of spice towards the end there. It's got that sort of reality tv, vibe.

So, basically, there's this big debutante ball, La Danse des Débutantes, and it's basically a bunch of nepo babies that get to go. But one of them got disqualified for shoplifting from Sephora (no, fr, that's what actually happens), so they need a replacement. And they choose Piper Woo Collins, who won the International Science Fair. She goes because they offer to pay for her scholarship to Columbia. We follow Piper, as well as Chapin Buckingham, who is the daughter of a movie star and a rock star. And somehow both of them to some extent fall into the not like other girls stereotype? Idk, but they def did both give me that vibe at times, Piper going on about it all being stupid in her head, Chapin wanting to wear sneakers instead of heels. Like, there's nothing wrong with those things, it just... It gives me the vibes, yk? But they did end up addressing the issue of assuming girls who are into fashion are dumb or jerks or whatever, so yay?

I also did love how the emphasis was more on female friendship, and less so the romance. Like, yes, both girls end the story with a love interest, but that wasn't the focus of the book, and I honestly really appreciated that. Sure, the two don't get along at first, but their relationship is the center of the story. I guess it's enemies-to-friends. :)

There being a character named Face did keep throwing me off. Like, no it's not his actually given name, but it's what everyone calls him, and like what. I think I might know why the author chose to have him called that (or maybe I'm just reaching), but still, there was no like explanation for how he got that nickname in universe. And I have a hard time imagining anyone who would actually like that. But yeah, every time he was on page, I had to get used to it all over again lmao.

The ending was giving 2010s Barbie movie, or 2000s/2010s Disney Channel movie (yk, like High School Musical or Descendants or smth). Other than the spice and what happened because of that, in a kids movie obvs that plot point would have been very different, but, like, that aside, it was was really giving that. A bit cheesy, a bit easily wrapped up, big party, everyone's friends, everyone's paired up. You know what I'm talking about. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, it's certainly not a favorite for me, or the type of book that I'm likely to reread, but it was still fun, in a similar way to those sorts of movies.

***I recieved a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

In By Invitation Only, Alexandra Brown Chang spins a world so rich, so visceral, that you can almost feel the shimmer of Parisian air on your skin. This debut novel pulses with life, drawing you into the world of debutantes, glitzy balls, and high society while simultaneously, trying to resist the romanticized, fairytale image of these places and life. Here, the Paris draped in sparkling champagne and scented with romance feels more like a curated stage where everyone is pretending to be someone they’re not and in this contradiction lies the arresting charm Brown Chang captured.

The writing is lush, not in an overwrought way, but in a tactile, almost cinematic way. It’s the kind of writing that immerses you, where you can almost taste the champagne and feel the heft of the gowns. There’s a tactile quality to it that made me like I'd walked into the grand ballroom of “La Danse des Débutantes,”. The descriptions—oh, the descriptions the author has given makes make Paris not just a backdrop, but a living, breathing character in the story, a stage for the drama to play out. The world she builds is like a fog—a glittering, deadly fog—where one is never quite sure what’s real and what’s been made for the cameras. It’s the sort of world-building that lingers, and I liked that Brown Chang didn’t fall into the cliché of depicting Paris simply as the city of love. Rather, Paris is an enigmatic place with complex social secrets, bustling tensions, and as much shadows as it is filled with secrets. Paris with all its tension and grandeur—that lingers. It’s Paris as a powerful, immersive, and rich experience where the surfaces offered are of wealth and privilege, but what lies underneath is murky, complex, and often dark. This world is something that is both beautiful and suffocating. It’s the dance, La Danse, that captures something raw. It’s the social dance of the women and the men that vie for the women’s gaze and the money that watches over them, and it’s in the social maneuvering that the real action lies. It’s a show, a spectacle for all to view. Yet, as with all spectacles, it is but a cover for the truth. That, after all, we are simply trying to make sense of our place in the society ridden with perpetual change and uncertainty.

The book's characters are distinct and relatable. Most notable are Chapin Buckingham, a Hollywood socialite, and Piper Woo Collins, a scientific whiz. It's easy to see what drives them, especially with how much they've changed by the end of the novel, and especially the unanticipated bond that forms between the two of them. The dynamic is one of the novel’s greatest strengths, considering the two women come from completely different societies and alongside different expectations. It is a realistic bond, a friendship forged out of the absurd need to adapt to a world that expects uniformity. Brown Chang depicts the quiet details of the conflict within the friendship, the rivalry, the more complicated aspects of social relations that change as they discover how much they truly rely on one another.

The dialogue, though, is where things falter a bit. While the narrative has moments that are sharp and funny, the character interactions tend to be overly self-aware—forced to capture the irreverent wit of Gen Z. At times, it comes off to me as characters reciting lines that TikTok or some trendy social media platform would churn out, rather than what actual teenagers would say in casual conversation. I wouldn’t say it’s bad dialogue, it’s just that much of the interactions could do with some polish to increase the spontaneity and flow, especially when they are meant to showcase the characters’ chemistry. Instead of feeling organic, some moments drift towards the overly done, cringey, Gen Z quip that misses its mark. It’s the kind of thing that takes you out of the moment rather than pulling you deeper in.

Still, this book was an enjoyable reading experience. While there are small flaws in dialogue and pacing, they do not diminish the strong world that Brown Chang has built, one that seems like a blend of self-discovery, competition, and privilege. It’s a story of young women who are trying to find their place in a world that seeks to shape them, a blend of ambition and friendship and the messy truths in between. Along with feeling a great deal of beauty in the tension of the desire to belong and the willingness to stand apart, the book has a lot to offer. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. And that’s impressive for a debut.

If this is your vibe " Gossip Girl xoxo" or " Get in loser we are going shopping" then this book is right for you. Two iconic lines from classic shows meshed together in this one book.

Piper's simple world of facts and science collide with the glitz and glam of Chapin's life.
Piper's life changes when she realizes her dreams and scholarship are taken from her. An opportunity of a lifetime presents itself as a solution to her dilemma.

La Danse des Debutantes in Paris. Prestigious ball attended by handpicked girls coming from royalty, wealth, and celebrity status. Every girl is there to prove themselves worthy of the honor of being picked including Chapin.

Book is filled with designer dresses, 4-inch stiletto backstabbing, picture perfect drama, and all the glitz you could want in a story. In this cutthroat competition Piper and Chapin realize that although coming from 2 completely different worlds, they may need to lean on each other to come out with minimal damage.

Will have to read and find out who comes out on top crowned Debutante of the Year.

La Danse des Debutantes is the most exclusive ball in the world, where the debs are hand-selected to participate, and the whole of society is watching. Chapin is a shoo-in for the Debutante of the Year until one of the other debs creates a PR disaster. To save the ball, Piper, the winner of the international science fair prize, is offered a college scholarship if she attends and competes to be named Debutante of the Year.

Now, Piper and Chapin are competing for the crown – and worse, they are living together! As the competition heats up, an unlikely friendship forms for the duo, but will the competition -or a boy – pull them apart?

Why Kirsten loves it
This is perfect for teens looking for a Gossip Girl-like book without the sexual content. These 16-year-olds don’t seem too adult or too naive; they are perfectly balanced. The antics and glamor will have any fashion lover lapping up the details, and the romance is enough to keep teens interested while still being appropriate.

I was immediately intrigued by the cover and blurb, it gave me a bit of “The Selection” vibes, old money, a Cinderella story of sorts. This was a quick read, but I can’t say I loved it.

This is YA and I do enjoy reading that genre, but this was a little too YA for me and there’s something about excessive mentions of social media platforms or gen z culture references that just irks me. Most of the characters I couldn’t really stand, like Chapin for example who I guess had her sort of redemption. Also those names… they were interesting for sure, though I don’t think I’m vibing with “Face Wellington”.

Overall I saw the potential, and it was good for a debut, but I would’ve loved a little more substance to it.

Someone told me this gave gossip girl vibes and it did! But with a more likeable Jenny as the main character and if they stayed friends with Blair bc they were actually peers. I basically binged this one and it helped break a mini slump. Overall 4.5 stars. I’m excited to read more by this debut author.

I am OBSESSED with this book and Alexandra Brown Chang! This book felt like the movie Monte Carlo, one of my favorite movies from when I was in middle school. It's Emily in Paris, but teen appropriate. What I so appreciated about this book is that it is so clearly and intentionally written for teens. It is not trying to play to an adult audience at all, it is a book meant for teens. If you or a teen in your life loves high society, royalty, fashion, balls. The Princess Diaries, and anything written by Katharine McGee, this book is for you!

This was an ARC from NetGalley. This plot had a lot of promise, but literally this is 100s of pages of nothing. I kept waiting for the story to ramp up, but we didn't get any sabotage narrative until the last 25% and the entire outcome felt very low stakes. Overall, I don't think I would recommend this one as it isn't very memorable. #netgalley #byinvitationonly #paris #debutanteball #ya

✨ “Welcome to La Danse des Débutantes, the most exclusive debutante ball in the world.” ✨

By Invitation Only was such a fun read! It definitely gave me major Gossip Girl vibes with a dash of the Princess Diaries! The cover is stunning and it does its job of drawing readers in and convincing them to pick up the book (or at least it did for me 😂).

I loved the deep dive into the high fashion world that we get to see, especially since the book is set in Paris. They don’t call Paris the fashion capital of the world for nothing!

This book is all about friendship and girl power! Chapin speaking her mind about fashion during her exclusive interview was everything and the fact she finally stood up to her mother was something that just had to be done! I loved that Piper and Chapin were able to put aside their differences, considering they come from two very different worlds, and were able to form such a tight knit bond!

Dalton and Piper were super cute together, and I loved that they were also able to bond over Columbia and what Chapin would consider “geeky” topics! Sometimes there’s more to a person than what you see on the outside, and I feel like that is especially true for Dalton!

Thank you so much to Simon Teen / Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy! By Invitation Only releases on September 2, so be sure to check it out!

I was excited to read this as soon as I learned this was like the inheritance games. I must say, bow that I finished it I can see the resemblance although is it slightly different. I found myself enjoying the books at times, but often it felt a bit “flat”. There were chapters I felt like nothing was happening and other chapters that I was completely immersed into. Overall a mid experience.