(This review can also be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl).

When I saw that Liz Jensen had written a new book, I knew I wanted to read it. I loved her book The Rapture and was hoping The Uninvited would be just as good. However, I was disappointed with this book.

Hesketh is a man who has Asperger's Syndrome. He is sent by his company to investigate cases of whistle blowers and sabotage within companies. When Hesketh goes to investigate his first case in Taiwan, he gets more than he bargained for. The supposed whistle blower seems to be talking non-sense. The next day, the whistle blower commits suicide. Soon, this is happening all over the world. Not only that, but it children all over the world are attacking adults. What's going on? Will Hesketh be able to find the answer before it's too late?

The title of The Uninvited suits the book. Like most of my reviews, I don't want to go into too much detail as to why the title fits because I don't want to give away any spoilers.

I found this particular cover to be a bit plain for my liking. The cover didn't catch my attention. (It was the synopsis that did). This cover doesn't really give too much away about what the story is going to be about. To me, the cover just looks like some spoilt child hiding in her room trying to spy on what's going on which has nothing to do with the actual story of the book!!

The world building is very believable. I could actually imagine everything written in the book happening as the author was writing about it. I had no qualms about the world building. The author brings this dystopian world to life beautifully and scarily so!

Unfortunately, the pacing was horrible in this book. I had to force myself to read it and finish it which is a shame because I really wanted to love The Uninvited. The story just went on too slowly for my liking. A lot of the time, I was contemplating giving up on this book, but I've read a lot of books that get better towards the end. However, this wasn't the case with this book. It never got any better. It was a slow read throughout.

The dialogue, to me, confused me. It featured a lot of science jargon that I didn't understand. I found myself completely lost through most of this book. The ending, especially, left me the most confused. I didn't understand why or how. I just felt it was never fully explained which left me feeling rather annoyed.

The characters just felt too one dimensional. I couldn't relate to any of them, and I didn't care what happened to them. The character of Hesketh just came across really annoying. Yes, I understand he has Asperger's but so does my son, and he's no where as annoying as Hesketh. (And I'm not just saying that because he's my son). Throughout the book, Hesketh repeats things to himself three times, and he's constantly talking about his origami. I realise that he has his little quirks, but I felt as if Hesketh's origami was being shoved down my throat. If I had to pick a favourite character, it was be Professor Whybray. He just had that lovely old man quality and came across feeling grandfatherly.

All in all, I think the idea of this story is a great one, but it was just poorly executed. The pacing was too slow, the characters were too dull, and the dialogue was just too confusing. Like I said, I really wanted to enjoy this book as Liz Jenson has written some wonderful books before this one.

I really wouldn't recommend this book, but if you'd like to give it a try, I'd say ages 16 would be the best ages to try to enjoy it.

I'd give The Uninvited by Liz Jensen a 1.5 out of 5.

(A special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review). ( )

I really enjoyed the main character's voice. It was obscure, unique and quintessentially innocent with a raw power. The story line kept me turning the pages although it was not too difficult to work out what was coming after about a third of the way through. Despite this, the way things were spun out created enthusiasm for the story and the voice was a pleasure to read simply for the different perspective on the world. I would recommend. ( )

Disturbing, though-provoking and very, very well written. The main character, who has Aspergers, was extremely well done. There are very few books written from the POV of someone with Aspergers and many of them don't feel quite right to me. This one felt as if the author actually had Aspergers. The story was fascinating and I really didn't want it to end but it was the characters (mostly the main character) that really kept me reading and involved in the story. My son has Aspergers so I was love to read books starring characters with this disorder and the fact that this story also had a sci-fi/apocalyptic bent just made it so much better. ( )

**Disclaimer: The publisher provided a free digital ARC of this book for review purposes.

This book started with a bang. Actually, it yanked me in violently. But after the first page, it kind of petered out for few chapters. “The Uninvited” takes its time to reclaim its reader, but readers that stick with it are definitely rewarded. While the events in the novel are unlikely to happen, Jensen convinces the reader that it could. I think this is the vital ingredient in the success of this story.

Liz Jensen does a stellar job at creating creepy-as-shit children and imaginative chaos. The only fault I can see, and it’s a pretty subjective one, is that her protagonist, Hesketh Lock, is extremely difficult to relate to, and yet, I think he’s the perfect character for this story.

Other than the slow warm-up I had to Hesketh (yes I did warm up eventually) Jensen crafted her characters carefully and with admirable attention to detail. It is well written, but must be digested slowly and thoughtfully. Jensen writes a beautiful, complex and disturbing story that stays with you. Evil children are creepy, and this book releases those fears and dark thoughts that we try to avoid thinking. Once they’re in your mind, it’s not easy to bottle it up and put it away in a safe, dark place where it can’t touch you anymore. This novel requires patience, but it’s a read that is immensely rewarding.

Full review at www.onfictionwriting.com
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When I first saw this book I was very intrigued by it. The cover and the back summary of the book. Yes, please. I had to read this book to find out what was causing all of these children to go psycho and kill people. I agree with others that this book is not a horror story. Even though the front cover would lead you to think it is.

The opening scene of this book had me hooked. I could not wait to dig deeper into the story to learn the truth. After this the story just went flatline. It was a struggle for me to read the next few chapters. Even to call this book a psychological thriller would be a stretch. It was pretty evident soon that I had lost interest in the story and learning the truth. I guess I will never learn the truth. ( )