Prepare for a cliffhanger but it hurts so good! Jude was a true Jodi MMC. Positive and red flags galore but in books, I’m down for it. The chemistry was off the charts and not sure how book two will redeem him but I can’t wait!

I really wanted to like this more than I did. I felt bored and had a hard time getting through this one. Unfortunately it just didn't hit the mark for me.

In true Jodi style, she did it again. She gave an amazing story, yet again. Great characters, great plot & the spice as always is top tier. It was angsty, and perfect in all the right places. I did the audio, and it was so well narrated.

Dnf! I did not enjoy this despite the great synopsis. The mmc did not want to take no for an answer. Creepy and gross! But the fmc would willing put herself into situations with him. They would be romantic, then she'd brush him off. It was such an odd & frustrating dynamic. I couldn't do it anymore. Both mcs really pissed me off and I couldn't continue reading. Also I didn't like the narrator. Women doing men voices or vise versa gives me the ick. Also when there's one narrator trying to do more than 2 voices. Ugh. Everything about this wasn't my taste. So, unfortunately I dnfed. Like I said, I really liked the synopsis and had high hopes for this. I do not give actual ratings to dnfs so this is technically a zero stars. That's all I have to say, but I guess I haven't reached the character limit? I do not remember 100 characters minimum requirement. I hated this book. I hate this character minimum. Just let me send my damn review now please!

This audiobook is narrated by Shakira Shute. The chemistry between Amelia and Jude is electric from the very first spa scene. Jude is intense, mysterious, and the kind of alpha who dominates every moment, while Amelia holds her own with strength and wit. I loved how the story mixes passion with intrigue, especially once you realize their meeting wasn’t random. Shakira Shute’s narration was fantastic and brought the emotional tension to life. It’s definitely steamy but also layered with drama and suspense. I can’t wait for the sequel. If you love addictive romance, this one’s a must-listen.

This was decent, not my favorite Malpas book or audio. I did enjoy the story at some points but I found myself zoning out a lot.

Audio review
Narrated by:

Billionaire
Possessive MMC
jealous (both)
Girl squad
Troubled MMC
Angst
A bit of a cliffhanger
Other woman/ man drama

Characters:
Amelia Lazenby
Jude Harrison


Amelia works in a male dominated career and she is focused on making partner. She is all work with few due n days. If it wasn’t for her girlfriends she probably would never take time off. On her 30th birthday, during a spa day, she meets the devastatingly handsome Jude.

Jude fits the over the top possessive narrative to a T. He fired, best up and threatened any man that came close to Amelia. He spends a lot of time coding Amelia. The reason why is definitely worth reading the next book. I anxious to see how this is resolved and the amount of groveling he has to do. Amelia is a pretty strong character and hopefully she will make him work for it.

Both characters are complex and have outside influences that hinder the development of the relationship. When things start to unravel and they start falling apart, their chemistry and attraction pushes through. They can’t stay away from each other until the Jude’s secrets are revealed.
The next book should be just as angsty and thrilling to read as this one.

Jodi wrote a story full of chemistry and tension, with well-developed characters and just enough suspense to keep the pages turning. It's a seductive read for fans of a powerful, arrogant, cocky, possessive and brooding MMC and strong fmc with submissive tendencies. The narration was done fabulously. This book does end in a cliffhanger so be ready to be left on the edge of your sit wondering what will be next.

The Invitation was such a disappointment to me. It had been a few years since my last JEM read and I expected something more. This first novel in the Arlington Hall Series was too much of an insta-lust situation to my taste between Amelia and Jude. I just couldn't connect with either of these protagonists. I didn't believe in their connection, physical or emotional. I felt there was no real plot to this novel and I almost didn't finish this audiobook. Because of my struggle to finish this story, I don't feel inclined to continue the series. One of the only positive aspect of this audiobook to me was the narration by Shakira Shute which was very well done.

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for this ARC . This was an author that I used to Reed many years ago and I’m so very happy I was chosen for this audio arc. First of all the narrator was amazing. She was fantastic and kept me engaged throughout the entire book. I loved the tropes such as found family, touch her and die, possessive, male main character and slow burn romance, that I found in this story . I was very nice to see a female main character Amelia, who is in her 30s and career driven and trying to make a name for herself in her field of work. I did enjoy Jude being possessive and a billionaire and wanting to protect Amelia. This story did leave on a cliffhanger and I will definitely be getting book two!

This was my first Jodi Ellen Malpas book and I was impressed. If you liked the AFTER series, check this out. Its a more grown up and spicer version. Shakira Shute did an amazing job on the audio! This is for fans of: Found Family, Billionaire Romance, Alpha-hole, and it leaves us on a cliffy. Thank you so much Brilliance and Netgalley for the ALC!

The Invitation by Jodi Ellen Malpas is a captivating story.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
I enjoyed this story and thought the narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

⋆˚✿˖°♡ 𝗡 𝗘 𝗪 𝗥 𝗘 𝗟 𝗘 𝗔 𝗦 𝗘 & 𝗔 𝗟 𝗖 𝗥 𝗘 𝗩 𝗜 𝗘 𝗪! ♡˖°✿˚⋆

✽ 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Shakira Shute

You’ll love this book if you like these tropes…♡

ꕤ 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 ꕤ

❥ Billionaire Romance
✿ Touch Her & Die Vibes
❥ Steamy, Sexy & Seductive
✿ Possessive & Dominant Hero
❥ Smart, Ambitious, Career Driven Heroine
✿ Angsty
❥ Slow Burn Romance

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by Jodi, and I’ve missed her books so much! I need to dive back into her backlist and catch up.

The Invitation was a sensual, seductive, and sensational read that had me completely captivated from beginning to end. This love story was filled with suspense, mystery, and unexpected plot twists. I instantly fell in love with Amelia and Jude and their sizzling, intoxicating, and addictive relationship.

Jude Harrison was something else entirely. I was utterly obsessed with him. He’s possessive, bossy, a bit arrogant, and a little aggressive, but he’s also very upfront, takes no nonsense, and is incredibly enticing, mysterious, and addictive. He’s every woman’s fantasy (well, he’s mine). He’s definitely not someone I would go for in real life, but he certainly ticks all the boxes when it comes to a fictional book boyfriend.

Amelia Lazenby was a beautiful character. She was smart, ambitious, and incredibly intelligent. She was career-driven and focused, but when Jude entered her life, her world began to spin, and her focus on her career went out the window. She had no chance with the man that is Jude Harrison.

Jude and Amelia had such strong chemistry. It was evident from their first encounter, and it was completely and utterly undeniable. I loved the cat and mouse game between the two of them. It made for one hell of a slow burn!

This book, along with the amazing characters and their complicated, messy yet beautiful love story, is a prime example of why JEM’s writing is timeless and continues to exceed all my expectations with each book I read of hers.

I can’t wait for book two in the duet!




FIVE STARS
✰✰✰✰✰

Thank you to NetGalley for ARC.

For me, this was a rehash of This Man. Not for me! I will not continue with this series.

Why do I love books that trash my heart into pieces?
I may never know but damn. That was such a good book. I adored every part of it. I read this in one day because I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. And now I learn that it ends on a cliffhanger and I have another month and a half to wait! Ugh. But worth the wait. I loved the audio as well, as it added such great color and depth to Amelia’s character. There was some slang lost in translation between the British characters and me being in the US but it was easy enough to understand the context.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. It’s a big will they won’t they about two people who never should have met. However, just as you’re invested in the two of them- BOOM! It’s the first book in a duet (or possibly series). This is not at all my cup of tea so I struggled with that.

However, I did really enjoy the narration as it gave the frazzled and often messy thoughts of Amelia such a lively and fun take!

So, if you like a book that ends in a cliffhanger, with an instalove, meant to be, he’s bossy and a billionaire flair, this could totally be for you!

This is a review of The Invitation by Jodi Ellen Malpas.

Let's start with basic rundown of the main characters
Amelia is professional woman working in finance trying to get up to the partner level in her firm. She has just turned 30 and her friends are taking her for a spa getaway for her birthday at an expensive spa resort somewhere north of where they live called Arlington Hall.

Jude Harrison is our male main character he is gorgeous, generous, a billionaire and a little unhinged. He is controlling has a wild temper and he is a bit obsessive, at least when it comes to Amelia. For the first many chapters he is giving stalker vibes. He also has a secret he does not want Amelia to know and that secret is of course going to come between our couple.

We have other side characters who play pivotal roles in the story. Amelia’s family is made up of her grandparents who are kind of like window dressing although grandma seems a bit intuitive. We have her parents: her father is clearly the patriarch of the family and what he says goes. He is very much for traditional marriage values where you get married and you have children and you stay at home, you cook, etc. Her Mother has done that for the entire course of their marriage and is now working part time at Amelia’s friends flower shop because she would like to get out of the house and do something else. Amelia’s brother Clark is supportive of her business goals although he would like her to come work for him at the family business. Her brother is the most supportive of her and her choices and desire to run her own life without interference.

Amelia’s best friends, Abbie and Charley, are a welcome addition. They provide some comic relief and support their friend to the bitter end.

Next, we have Nick. Nick is the boyfriend she broke up with before her birthday. He also works in finance but at a different firm and he is not as good as her. They have been dating for a few years, and he tells her that he wants to get married and have babies which sends Amelia into an immediate anxiety riddled spiral. She says no. I am not ready. I do not know if I want kids. I do not know if I want to be married. I want to focus on my career right now. His response to this? He tells her she owes him this because of all the years he has been dating her – is it any wonder she dumped him?

While on this spa getaway, Amelia catches the eye of a gorgeous man. She does not know his name. She sees him a couple of times and she runs into him in the steam room where he tells her she should have dinner with him. She turns him down and leaves, which she later regrets. This sets off a series of events, which at first are headed to stalker territory, until she finally gives in and agrees to dinner. This is where the story really gets going, and the spice is spicing.

We need to address Amelia’s anxiety. She has a constant internal monologue and is incredibly high strung and indecisive which seems odd for someone who works in finance where you must make decisions about stocks and bonds and investments for your clients best interests. Since she is good at her job, I am going to assume that she is capable of making decisions when it comes to everything except for her personal life. After breaking up with someone like Nick I can empathize, but this level of anxiety is medication worthy.

All in all, this is an excellent book by one of my favorite authors and I'm very much looking forward to book 2. The narrator, Shakira Shute, was excellent! All the characters had distinct voices, which is particularly important to me because when they all start to sound the same, I am not entirely sure who is talking and as an audiobook listener that distinction is needed and appreciated.

I am going to give this book 4.5 stars and on most rating sites I can only do a 4 or a 5, so on those sites it will be a four, but this is a solid 4.5. The only real flaw with the book that keeps it from being a 5 is the anxiety riddled inner monologue. Justified or not, it was just too much it would have been better if it were toned down a bit as a lot of it was repetitive.

If you like romance, rich mystery men with secrets, cliffhangers, anxiety riddled FMC’s, possessive men, and a lot of spice (like a lot of spice) then this book is definitely for you!

I would like to thank Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions expressed here are my own. If I don’t like a book, you will definitely know it.

This audiobook was an absolute scorcher!

The narration brought the perfect blend of elegance and filth. Yes, filthy. And had me blushing in public. Jude? Whew. Send help. The way the tension was delivered, the control, the raw sensuality? Masterful. Amelia’s spiral into lust and longing felt authentic, relatable, and downright addictive.

It’s not just a romance. It’s a sinful invitation to surrender. Highly recommend for anyone who craves dominance, mystery, and scandal wrapped in velvet prose and dripping in heat.

The Invitation by Jodi Ellen Malpas offers a sultry blend of romance, intrigue, and emotional tension, brought to life through a solid audiobook performance. The story follows Amelia, a successful professional woman celebrating her 30th birthday at a spa getaway with friends. It’s there that she meets Jude—a dangerously magnetic stranger who pursues her with unwavering intensity.

The pacing of the story is smooth and engaging, with a plot that keeps you curious about where things are headed. The narration does a great job of capturing both the sensuality and emotional undercurrents of the relationship, especially Jude’s morally gray allure. He’s intense, dominant, and undeniably compelling.

That said, I found it difficult to fully connect with Amelia as a character. Her friends actually stood out more to me, adding a welcome layer of warmth and charm to the story. While Jude had the dark, brooding love interest vibe down to a science, the emotional connection between the leads sometimes felt a bit forced.

Still, this audiobook was enjoyable and worth a listen for fans of bold, steamy romance with complex leads. While it may not be my favorite of Malpas’s works, The Invitation delivers on mood, tension, and chemistry—and Jude will definitely leave an impression.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ok what a cliffhanger!!!!! I did NOT see that coming!!! What?!?! There was sooooo much chemistry between Jude and Amelia. She was hell bent on avoiding him and trying to concentrate on her career, stuck in a man’s world and fighting to the top when Jude completely upends her emotional self. I loved that he didn’t ever ask her to quit her job or give her any fuss for working. There were several times I was screaming for her to communicate with him though, she’s 30, not 20. I wanted her to be more mature when it came to communicating with Jude, and YES, Jude needed to do the same. I will definitely be reading/listening to book two as soon as it comes out!!!
Spice 2.5 🌶️🌶️

Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC