When New Yorker Mimi drives all the way up into the Canadian wilderness to find the little house her artist father once used as a studio, she's just looking to spend some time alone - and away from an affair with a professor that has taken a nasty turn. The narrator was unremarkable but not bad either. In case you are wondering I listened to this on audiobook. Where this book is concerned, I recommend avoiding it altogether. To me it was pretty obvious the author was trying to be edgy. The plot seemed to be going nowhere, the main character felt flat and every time the sibling-lust came up I cringed. Normally I stubbornly force myself through a book, even if it's a miserable reading experience, because I don't want the book to beat me. And honestly I'm not sure where the sibling-lust ends because I did not finish this book. But the reader knows and that makes it creepy enough. And he lusts after Mimi, admiring everything about her, imagining a life with her. But there's another half-sibling lurking in this book. However that was minor and quickly went away. Even after she realizes that she still finds him attractive. It started when Mimi showed up and met Jay who (SPOILER ALERT) is her half brother. This book also had a creepy case of sibling lust.

Now that I've had a couple weeks away from this book I'm wondering where the story was even going. The reader knows who's spying and why they are spying. The POVS eliminate all the drama of who's spying. The story has numerous POVs, which is not that well executed. Someone is spying on Mimi and Jay (the second main character), being a creeper. This book had a plot that seemed to amble without going anywhere. I'm not comfortable reading books with hate speech unless it is addressing the issue of hate. I know most authors would argue 'but that's what the character says' but when it's not necessary it should be edited out. But it was used casually without any purpose to illustrate that a guy was effeminate. My discomfort grew with an unnamed character (you later find out who) is spying on Mimi, refers to one of her friends as 'faggy.' I'm not saying it's not okay to have homophobic characters. It's like 'look I'm a sassy free woman comfortable with my sexuality' but it's done in a way that doesn't feels genuine. Sometimes it feels like male writers create heroines who are merely their fantasies, not real well-devolved characters. When a male writer creates a female character who's beautiful, sexy and often not wearing many clothes, I'm a little leery. Not a sports bra, but a bra and not for any real reason. I was iffy about this book when they introduced the main character driving down the road just wearing a bra. However I found The Univited so frustrating and borderline offense that I feel the need to explain my feelings. Rarely do I actually write a review for a 1 star book.

The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones