Series: Uninvited

I received this book for free from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

A quick read that leads us into a dystopian society where future killers can be identified with a gene test. The last thing Davy expected was to be found positive – her perfect life as a popular, smart, future Julliard student down the drain.

What I found very interesting about this dystopian story, and also one that makes it stand out from the others, is how it doesn’t completely start out as one. We get to see the actual developments of a very scary dystopian society where people’s rights become non existent, and extreme measures are unfairly taken to control the country. It’s set in the not-so-far future where this HTS Killer gene is well-known and government control is beginning, but we experience through our protagonist’ eyes the change in society into one that is morally unjust, and infinitely scary. It’s also depicted in a plausible light; I could easily see the general public react in the same way if we were faced with friends and family members’ positive diagnosis of a gene we were all conditioned to fear. This is also how the government is able to get so out of line. People are afraid, and they see what the government is doing as right. On the other hand, with such a high crime rate that induces panic all around with this new detectable gene, the government can’t just do nothing either. It gives us something to think about.

I do wish we’d gotten to see a bit more of the happenings outside of Davy’s perspective. We get a few glimpses from conversations that are shown between each chapter which I highly enjoyed, but I was dying to know what exactly was going on at the camps and how everyone was reacting to these new measures. As for Davy, I did not expect her story to go in the direction that it did at first, which was a nice surprise. The writing makes it an incredibly quick read even though the pacing could be inconsistent. The first half of the book can be a bit slow. We get into some more intense developments in the second part where we’re treated to very well described fight scenes and thought-provoking situations. Situations that are already starting to change Davy into a tougher, rougher version of who everyone else thinks she already is – albeit I wish she didn’t have to be saved by Sean so many times throughout the book. I wanted her to out-smart these people for once. She is definitely growing as a character – for better or worse, I guess that’s subjective.

An engaging start to a new series, Uninvited throws us into a story where fear, helplessness, and a constant threat of violence are ever-present. It’s got well-developed characters, a great romantic sub-plot, and tons more potential to come!

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