The Uninvited / Nancy Banks / Book Review

THE UNINVITED

Moving to Paris from rainy Portland, Oregon is a dream come true for 17-year-old Tosh. The city is everything she could want: great public transit, amazing food, incredible sights and public art. And it's far, far away from the trouble she's leaving behind.

When she makes friends with a charming expat boy in her building, Tosh finds herself thrown into a side of Paris tourists never see. Dark catacomb tunnels, hole-in-the-wall bakeries, and a cutthroat street art scene unfold before her. In this environment, Tosh feels more alive (and more at home) than ever before.

But there's a predator stalking the streets of Paris, one the news rags are calling a "vampire." And as these attacks grow closer and closer to Tosh's new stomping ground, she has to reckon with what kinds of monsters would seek out young women just like her.

THOUGHTS

This book is good. Nancy Banks provides a refreshing take on vampires in a market plagued by Byronic heroes instead of, you know, bloodthirsty monsters... It feels very intentional in execution, but at the same time, this story is sometimes too heavy-handed in messaging. Overall, a solid read.

PROS

Francophile	Nancy Banks obviously knows French, and she knows the French. These characters might be speaking in English (or in French that's been transcribed to English for the sake of the readers), but you can hear the French cadence in what they're saying. You can hear their accents without the author relying on gimmick spelling. It's in the phrasing. It's in the little inflections. It's a real talent, to bring a particular way of speaking through so clearly in written language, so I have to give a lot of credit to Nancy Banks in making this Parisian life come alive, right down to the sound of Parisian chatter.
Exploring Paris	Paris comes alive in more than just diction. Tosh is invigorated by Parisian life, and she jumps at every chance to explore the nooks and crannies of the city. Tosh's passion (and, I assume, the author's) bleeds through on the pages. It feels like walking step-in-step with her, and it's really very exciting to feel the city come alive, to find the hidden gems and taste the flaky pastries during this Parisian summer.
Street Art Love	We get to dive into more than just the tourist-y parts of Paris, too. Paris is the City of Lights, and it's also a city alive with street art. This book brings that street art scene alive. It's a book brimming with artists and inspiration and community, and I love that!

CONS

The biggest problem I have with this book is that the message, at times, gets a little on-the-nose. I liked the message, a message about victim-blaming and women supporting women, et cetera. (I will not be spoiling anything here by really diving into it.) But a message like this needs to be woven into a story very organically. Most of the time, it is. Don't get me wrong. But there are a few times where it feels like we were getting the moral of the story, and something so direct feels a little... too direct, for a mature audience. This isn't a book written for elementary school students, after all. I don't need to be beat over the head, and no other YA reader needs that, either. This isn't always a problem. It's done fairly well, when taking in the big picture. But there were a few instances that just didn't pull together for me.	Heavy-Handed
I wish this book had spent more time in the catacombs. There's so much potential there, for this particular plotline, and we didn't explore it as much as I would have wanted. I liked what we got, but I wanted more of it.	Not-so-Cataphile
Absolutely, hands-down, the most frustrating part of this plot is Tosh's father. Unfortunately, I think his choices and his attitude toward her and what has happened to her is realistic. Sadly realistic. That's not why it's ended up here, in the cons list. I just think that he's left too ambiguous of a character, like there's no moral judgement on his attitude within the book. Or not a moral judgement that is free of the high-emotions of Tosh, the one being attacked (figuratively, of course, and not literally; not from her father, anyway). He's otherwise written as a fairly good father, and I think at the end, we're meant to still view him as a (mostly) good father. So the fact that he gets so one-note in this particular regard felt less-than-believable. Or at least less-than-ideal, if I'm still meant to see him as a fairly good guy. He otherwise listens to Tosh, even if he doesn't agree, so his utter inability to let her speak (to the point that he literally silences her at times) felt off for the character. Silencing and victim-blaming just isn't the name of the game in 2025, especially if I'm not meant to despise the guy by the end of it.	Frustrating Father

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10

Fans of Diana Urban's Under the Surface will like this new Parisian thriller. Those who liked following along with a less-than-consensual transition in Logan-Ashley Kisner's The Transition will like this sharp new vampire story.

Details Publisher: Delacorte Press Date: December 16, 2025 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.