I Invited Her In by Adele Parks

I Invited Her In by Adele Parks
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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…

This dark, unsettling tale of the reunion of long-lost friends is thoroughly gripping exploration of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy and revenge from Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks.


Well written but totally too long and drawn out. There were no surprises in this novel, it was all very transparent and predictable.

I felt that although the subject matter was good Adele Parks just never took it to the next level. It was such a predictable tale of jealousy and revenge that it didn’t stand out from any other novel of its kind.

I didn’t particularly bond with any of the characters and felt their individual responses to events in the novel were at best weak and at worst not believable.

I expected more from such an established author and was frustrated with the overly long outpouring of feelings that contributed to make this novel border on boredom. I hate giving such negative reviews but such an experienced author should produce better in my view. It wasn’t awful but just not satisfying enough to set it apart as a great read. Sorry but this can only get a two star rating from me, too long, so predictable and overall disappointing.