Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Publication Date: January 28, 2014

I absolutely loved the premise of Uninvited and found myself sucked into the plot early on. Often dystopian plots don’t seem plausible at all to me, but the scary thing about Uninvited is I could totally see this happening in the future. My only issue was I wished the book had a stronger female lead and that Davy didn’t constantly need saving by the love interest Sean.

The setup was wonderful—mandatory genetic testing has revealed charmed high school girl Davy is a carrier of a HTS, a homicidal tendency syndrome gene. I found the idea intriguing: should individuals be punished for being predisposed to violence? I actually wished the nature versus nurture debate could’ve been explored over the course of the novel fully.

Davy was empathetic and I did feel for her as her friends and boyfriend oust her. Her future is torn from her and she’s put in several dangerous situations as panic ensues over the possibility of killers living alongside the general populace. The secondary characters were all good and I especially liked Davy’s brother Mitchell and her newfound friends Gil and Sabine.

Sean was a bit of a confusing character for me and I think it was the author’s intention to make him this way. You never really know if he’s a good guy or not, especially since he’s also a carrier of HTS and has been branded because of violence. The thing annoying about the romance was every scene Sean was saving Davy. I understood Davy wasn’t exactly street smart, but by the end I felt like come on already. The way Sean looked out for Davy was irritating too because he was constantly inferring she was hopeless and needed a man to act as her protector.

The series has so much room for growth and I’ll definitely read the next installment.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book for review!