A friend from over 17 years ago turns up unexpectedly with a tale of woe and you invite her in because of a secret. Hmmmm this book was slightly a slow burner for me.
Mel was a character I detested and then felt for and that was why I struggled to get in to the book.
The secret I felt I had worked out before it was revealed.
You feel the pain,the hatred and the score to settle.
Slow to start but fast paced once it had you.
3.5 stars

When an old friend turns up on your doorstop with her marriage in tatters what do you do. Should you help her by letting her stay or turn your back as you hadn't stayed in touch. Mel decided to help her and will soon wish that she hadn't. This book is riverting and housework was left as I couldn't put it down. The ending was a nice suprise and I hadn't predicted it. Try this book and you will be immersed into the storyline like I was.

This is a five star book....but with a three star ending. The writer has woven an intriguing tale of friendship, adulation, jealousy and revenge which, whilst a little overlong, kept me gripped. It tells the kind of story that belongs in a very middle class version of Jeremy Kyle! It's an entertaining read, sometimes a bit predictable but a good read nonetheless.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for my free ARC.

Friendship is based on trust and respect, and respect is a feeling of deep admiration elicited by a person's abilities, qualities or achievements - the stuff of competition, envy and revenge. Meet Mel and Abi. Friendship borne out of their formative years; the years when a person is growing and developing their personality, their intelligence, their values and beliefs. Both of our protagonists have gone on to different lives and for 17 years have discovered a life that they could never have dreamt of. But for Abi, this has also led to extreme disappointment and she decides to track down her old friend for a bit of moral support. At least that is what the reader thinks at first. Abi is delighted when Mel decides to invite her for a visit thinking she can revisit her youthful adventure, the only trouble is, how can Mel and her husband Ben get Abi to leave?

This is a flat out story of envy and revenge, of persuasion and manipulation, and the ultimate betrayal. You will not be disappointed. As a reader I found this story compelling and engaging.

A fabulous story by Adele parks - I have read every book and always look forward to them - this was a great read. I loved the story and found it realistic and could not put it down.
Great characters and story!

Loved the suspense of this book and the strength of characters, not read many Adele Parks but she is now firmly up there with my favourite authors

I have read many of this author’s books and I was eagerly awaiting this one. It did not disappoint!! I loved the way the plot unfolded, with the dark twists. It had me at the edge of my seat. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Adele Parks for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

I was unable to finished this book, not because it was a bad book but because it was too good. I developed an intense dislike for Abi who was narcisstic, dominating, devious and heartless. and I hated even more what she was doing to Mel and her family.. Eventually I could no longer tolerate how this was making me feel and had to stop reading. I have never had this reaction to a story before. but I can now imagine my own ending and get some piece of mind.

I really wanted to like this book, however about halfway through I was bored and starting to skip pages.

I think the story was predictable & it just didn't keep my interest

As a long time fan of her writing, I haven't read an Adele Parks novel for a while but there was something so very 'inviting' (sorry!) about her new book, I Invited Her In. As soon as I picked it up, I remembered why I love Adele Parks books so much: the writing is so descriptive and the characters are so very 3 dimensional that it's like watching a soap opera created with wonderful words.

Mel and Abi were friends at university who lost touch when an unplanned pregnancy caused Mel to drop out of her studies. Many years later, Mel is surprised when Abi contacts her out of the blue and before she knows it she has invited Abi to stay at her house. Mel's house reminded me a bit of the TV show Outnumbered: always busy and a little frazzled with children at the heart of it. Just how will childless Abi fit in? Oh she fits in alright, she makes herself quite at home and I even exclaimed out loud at one point 'what a bitch!'

As Abi makes her intentions clear I was absolutely fuming! How dare she! I knew she had an ulterior motive but I didn't realise just how devious she was. As the cracks in Mel's family spread like a broken eggshell, I was firmly on Team Mel and hoped that blood proved to be thicker than water. With a bitch like Abi around though, anything could happen.

I loved the way that I Invited Her In put a friendship under the microscope. Mel considered Abi a friend at university but it's true that you never really know how the other person feels about you. So many people are fake and it seems like some of us are forever destined to get burned.

This is one of those books that I would place in my bitch-lit genre; Abi really grated on me and made me so mad whereas Mel was so trusting and honest. I'm even feeling mad just writing about it! As mad as I was, I couldn't read it fast enough so see if Abi's true colours would be revealed before it was too late. All in all, a very enjoyable read.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

I have quite mixed feelings about this book. First of all I guessed the biggest twists before I had read 10% of the book and I felt there were a few unconvincing things that happened such as (without going into any spoiler-fuelled detail) Mel inviting Abi to stay with her and her family in the first place and also how Mel was so bowled over by Abi that she pretty much side-lined her family whenever Abi was around.

However, the two main female characters in this are both flawed in their own ways, and the sort of drama that happened could only come from a meeting of these sorts of people. Despite guessing most of the twists early on I was still keen to keep reading this book and I think the last few chapters of the book were some of the best so that was a nice way to finish.

All in all at some points in the book I did feel myself wondering whether I'd give it 3 stars, but now I have finished I'm happy to give it a solid 4.

Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with a review copy of this book via Netgalley.

Should you leave the past where it belongs, in the past? Mel should have thought well and hard about inviting her old, best friend from university to stay. It was obvious from only a few pages in what would happen which ruined the mystique and any would be surprises. I also thought there was far too much about children and family trivia and the book would have been improved by cutting it by about a third. Mel and Abi were awful, with nothing much to choose between either of them to be honest - it was all me, me, me. I do like the author’s way of writing and I did read to the end to see if it all worked out as expected - it did!

There's a blast from the past when Abigail, newly divorced contacts Mel from their Uni days and stays with Mel and her family. Two very different people. They are chalk and cheese. Abigail a glamorous career girl with all the bells and whistles of grooming. Mel has been a single mum but is now married to Ben with three children. Mel is dazzled and obsessed by the glamour of her old friend. Abigail makes her feel young and giddy again. Both appear to want to change places. Mel doesn't seem to be perceptive or mature when it comes to evaluating her old friend. Ben feels sidelined by the lengthy intrusion. Good portraiture of the characters and a fairly interesting read, but predictable. Thank you to NetGalley and HQ.

Wow. Who needs enemies when you have a best friend like this! Not going to give anything away, apart from you won’t be disappointed! A real emotional rollercoaster and page turner!! Highly recommend!

When Mel hears from a long-lost friend in need of help, she doesn’t hesitate to invite her to stay. Mel and Abi were best friends back in the day, sharing the highs and lows of student life, until Mel’s unplanned pregnancy made her drop out of her studies.

Now, seventeen years later, Mel and Abi’s lives couldn’t be more different. Mel is happily married, having raised her son on her own before meeting her husband, Ben. Now they share gorgeous girls and have a chaotic but happy family home, with three children.

Abi, meanwhile, followed her lover to LA for a glamorous life of parties, celebrity and indulgence. Everything was perfect, until she discovered her partner had been cheating on her. Seventeen years wasted, and nothing to show for it. So what Abi needs now is a true friend to lean on, to share her grief over a glass of wine, and to have some time to heal. And what better place than Mel’s house, with her lovely kids, and supportive husband…

I’m a bit on the fence with this book.
The plot was great and the everyday setting made things seem more real and normal, however both the characters of Abi and Mel were really unlikeable.
Mel was annoying and almost spineless, simpering in the glamorous light that is Abi and to heck with her family, I mean who would allow an ex friend who hadn’t been in contact for 17 years practically move in and take over?
Abi was horrible, you could see how conniving she was at the start and despite a few twists, the storyline was predictable, though I was disappointed in Liam and the drama that ensued, he was one of my favourite characters until it all kicked off.
All in all I would say it’s worth a read.

Wow, I have read books by Adele Parks before but this one stands out. Fast paced with little twists. The reader watched helplessly as Mel is duped by her old college friend Abi. It causes tension in her marriage and with her family life. Fingers were crossed that all would come good in the end. Read and find out!

Read and reviewed thanks to a free copy from NetGalley. I'm not sure what I made of this book. The characters were well written and the plot was interesting but very predictable. It was an easy read and did want to keep reading and find out the end.

I was quite excited to read this book as the blurb sounded promising. However I was a tad bit disappointed. The characters seemed a bit unbelievable and not quite mature. There were a few twists to add to the story however it wasn't the best for me.

Loved this book. It had everything a great story, friends reunited but oh gosh what twists came along after
Suspence I couldn't put it down, It was scary in parts, the characters were great.
Lots of twists in it and very clever right to the end

Now this is what I call a good book. I can totally put myself in the shoes of the main character and see how she becomes embroiled and carried along the tidal wave of the evil storyline. And although I had an inkling of the ending, it still blew me away. Somehow everything worked out in the end. Read it.