You Are Invited by Sarah A. Denzil
Description
"There are those who claim the ghosts walking the corridors of Sfântul Mihail are not ghosts at all."
During a midnight journey snaking through the Carpathian Mountains, these are the words whispered to Cath Fenwick. It is the warning she will later wish she'd taken more seriously.
When Cath receives her invitation to The Event--a monetised retreat for social media influencers--she can't believe her luck. Irene Jobert is the most famous influencer in the world, and now Cath will be one of the five participants chosen to stay with Irene in a renovated Transylvanian monastery.
The catch? Their every move will be live-streamed to millions of people around the world. Patrons pay for constant access to their favourite social media stars: Irene, the model; Nathan, the gamer; Jules, the blogger; Daniel, the fitness guru; and Cath, the writer.
Nestled halfway up a mountain, surrounded by forests teeming with nature, the five are isolated, with nothing but the internet to connect them to the world. That is, until eagle-eyed live-stream followers all around the globe notice a sixth participant. A dark figure lurking in the background. Who--or what--is in the monastery with them?
Wolves roam the nearby forests. Shadows haunt the long corridors of Sfântul Mihail. Slowly, five lonely people begin to lose their minds. You are invited to The Event.
My Review
Spooky and so unpredictable. It gave me “The Nun” vibes mixed with a tiny bit of “Run” found on Netflix and I loved it all.
Told by Cath, a writer and introvert with her own demons accept an invite for an extended stay at a monastery with a sordid past, high up in the Romanian mountains. Her along with four others, settle in for a few weeks in hopes to make money, share their brands as influencers while streaming live and offering exclusive content to subscribers. Cath seems to be the only one to collect a few details about the history of the place by chance and allows that knowledge to worm its way enough to add to the feel of the place. Being totally locked off from any outsiders, the strangers try their best to get o with normal daily activities both alone and as a group to give the viewers something to talk about and hopefully pay more for what they bring to the table.
Things quickly escalate as one could imagine in such a place and Cath’s mental health takes a turn as the hours drag on. It’s not a crew you expect to hang out together under normal circumstances so it’s not long before the edges begin to fray.
Is it the history of the building, the negativity between them, or something else proding them to lose their minds?
First, I have to say that how it unfolded caught me totally off guard. It’s so well written that when you do eventually find out what’s happening it’s like being dosed in ice water. You curse yourself for not having seen it coming but begin to all make sense. Second, the character evolvement is beyond as it’s got to be difficult to develop each personality so that the story comes together at the end.
This is definitely a 5-star book with twists and turns that will have you holding your breath until the end.