You Are Invited by Sarah A. Denzil
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Thank you NetGalley for a free ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review! I really appreciate the opportunity. This book is expected to release on 15/09/2020.
“We invited the monster in. Mother Mary help us, save our souls, we are cursed here on the mountains.”
Cath, Jules, Irene, Nathan, and Dan have been invited to participate in The Event, a lucrative opportunity for these influencers. All they have to do is live a month in the secluded and long abandoned Sfăntul Mihail monastery of Romania, live streaming and providing other content for their subscribers. However, clashing personalities, the rumours of a curse, dangerous secrets, and the ghost of a nun make The Event more grating for the participants.
I quite enjoyed my time with You Are Invited, my second book by Sarah A. Denzil. Mystery and secrets very much seem to be what Denzil specialises in, and she brings plenty of it into this supernatural tale. The characters were, for the most part, nuanced and engaging, and the setting was perfect for the story being told. There was some asexual and lesbian rep that I appreciated, and misconceptions and ignorance about these were addressed in an organic way. There were also some aspects I had difficulty with, which I will also address in this review.
This story is told primarily from Cath’s point of view. In fact, she is the one telling us the story, so it is in first person. I have an uneasy relationship with first person horror, but I believe in this case it worked. We were told what we needed to be told, discovering things alongside Cath, who was perceptive and open minded enough not to ignore aspects of the haunting we needed to know about. Cath is a sweet girl, who notices much of the other characters. She also has schizophrenia, which will will discuss in more detail shortly.
I say that this is primarily told from Cath’s point of view because, between some of the chapters we get a glimpse at the chat of the subscribers to The Event. This was brilliant. It broke things up a bit, provided a fresh perspective on the occurrences and characters, and makes an interesting statement on internet culture, idolisation, and anonymity.
The other characters were also interesting to learn about, with their own motivations and lives outside of The Event. There was definitely some stereotyping at play however, to get the characters to fit together. Nathan and Irene were the most guilty of this, but each also had some unique aspects to their characters as well, once you get to know them.
The setting, as is often the case with horror, was one of my favourite aspects of the book. It was fascinating to explore the monastery with the characters. I especially enjoyed the juxtaposition between the modern, renovated sections, and the ancient, best left alone.
The haunting itself was slightly disappointing. The author attempted an ambiguity which made it difficult to tell what was supernatural and what was psychological. This is a valid tactic, but I don’t think it landed well here. Instead it muddied the waters too much, and rubbed up against my next point in a way I didn’t enjoy.
Cath is on anti-psychotics for her schizophrenia, but this is also played with for ambiguity in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. SPOILER In fact, in the end she was able to stop taking her medication and was completely fine END SPOILER. I can’t make any comment about the rep of the illness itself however, as I have no experience with it. I will leave that to someone more knowledgeable.
Overall, I would say this is a solid story for people who like mystery and isolated settings. While some aspects didn’t work for me, they may well be great for you! I was thorough absorbed in this book until the very last page.
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Rebecka O'Malley 