Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on January 27, 2014 | 14 Comments


Review: Uninvited by Sophie JordanUninvited by Sophie Jordan
Series: Uninvited #1
Published by HarperTeen (1.28.2014)
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: eARC, 384 pages
Source: Edelweiss
Buy on Amazon


4 Stars

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.

My thoughts

This one kicked off with an AWESOME start! Actually, if I had been in a store and picked this book up, I would have bought it immediately just based on the first page. It’s one of the best first paragraphs I’ve read in a very long time!

The world building was one of my favorite parts of this novel. Sophie Jordan did a fabulous job of making everything sound legitimate and convincing! And the best part? There was a year – 2021!! It’s sad that I get so excited over that, but it’s one of my biggest pet peeves in futuristic novels to not include a year. This is vital information for me! Other than that, I loved how official everything was. There were a few articles and news reports thrown in, and it made it seem very realistic.

“Of course, if your infraction gets you arrested, then you’re imprinted and in jail.”
“That won’t happen,” I say.
He smirks. “You all say that.”

I found the idea of this one very interesting! The thought of people having a kill gene was intriguing and thought-provoking. The way the carriers were treated was horrible – but as an outsider without the gene, is that justified? If they have the gene then they could go off at any moment; they’re dangerous. Right? On the other hand, from the inside, the way they were treated was horrible. Some of the carriers were pretty normal people, nice people even. And Davy had never done anything wrong before she tested positive for HTS (Homicidal Tendency Syndrome – cool, right?). But after testing positive, she automatically got unfairly lumped in with all the others. What was worse, even if someone provokes you or treats you badly, you can’t defend yourself or react with anything close to anger because you could get imprinted (tattooed on your neck to mark how dangerous you are). So anyone that’s not a carrier could, say, slap a dude for being a chauvinist asshat; but not a carrier. It was crazy to think about!

hated Victoria! The way she talked down to Davy was infuriating. She was supposedly her best friend, then when Davy found out she had HTS, Victoria completely dumped her. And some of the things she said to Davy – I was all, ‘Bitch I’d snap, too, with you talking to me like that!’ She was awful and I wanted to reach into my Kindle and throttle her!

I really liked Sean! He caught my attention from the very first scene he was in. I enjoyed the development between Sean and Davy! It was nice and slow and nothing was rushed. Just the way I like it! There was one super swoony scene where he calls Davy perfect where I was like BE STILL MY BEATING HEART. *sighs* Yep. That’s how I like my romance. And there was plenty of tension, to the point that when they actually do kiss I practically yelled ‘FINALLY!!’ out loud!

While I don’t feel like this book will necessarily stick with me, I found the concept to be highly original and interesting, and I would definitely recommend it! 

Overall Assessment

Plot: 3/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 4.5/5
Characters: 3/5
World-building: 4.5/5
Pace: 4.5/5
Feels: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 4/5

Jessi (Geo)

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14 responses to “Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

  1. I’m glad you enjoyed this one Jessi! This is the first review where I’ve read that someone liked the relationship between Sean & Davy. The other reviews I’ve read either said that the romance was boring or just alright. The premise is definitely very interesting though, and I’m excited to get my hands on this one! :D

  2. Yes I totally agree! I found Davy to be such compelling character and the way she was being treated made me sooooo mad just because it was so unfair and absolutely ridiculous. *angry huffing* Sean was also such a great match for Davy because I got the vibe that he was unfairly given that tattoo protecting someone he loved or something at first. Fantastic review, Jessi! <33

  3. Jessica @ a GREAT read

    OOoh nice review!! Glad to hear you enjoyed this one! Just read a DNF review on it and it had been the first negative review I’ve read. But glad to see that most people are liking it! I can’t wait to buy it this weekend!

  4. Sam

    I really liked this book too! And I agree with you, futuristic stories should state a year! I also loved the originality of this book. It was a really good read. :)

  5. I haven’t actually seen many reviews of this one, but I’ll have to check it out. I certainly love dystopian stuff, and the whole (HTS) thing sounds interesting. Plus the cover is gorgeous!

  6. I’m glad you enjoyed this one, Jessi! :D As you know, I didn’t, sadly :( But I can see why so many of you love it!! I know I didn’t enjoy this one because I failed to connect with Davy D:
    Excellent review, Jessi!! <33

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