Book Review: By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang
By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang
Published: September 2nd 2025 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Genres: Young Adult // Contemporary, Romance
Quick Thoughts: Electric, friendship-focused and regal, saturated with fancy thrills, deeply fashioned connections and drama for days. A glitteringly gorgeous read with an ode to fashion, style and culture that kept me turning pages into the night, imagining I was in Paris, too.
I was gifted this book via the Publisher/PR. There was no obligation to post/give this book a certain rating. All views are my own. I remain entirely impartial.
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Reader Information: View Content Warnings.
TW: this book contains mentions and descriptions of the death of a family member. Readers 15+.
Prestigious scholarship
Debutante ball in Paris
Enemies-to-friends
Fashionable Competition
About This Book:
A hard-working teen hoping to land a college scholarship and a nepo baby looking to prove herself collide at the world’s most high-profile debutante ball in Paris in this young adult romance perfect for fans of American Royals and Better Than the Movies.
Every year, a hand-selected group of young women travel to Paris to make their debuts into high society at La Danse des Débutantes, the most exclusive debutante ball in the world. Being wealthy, royal, or famous gets you into the pool of potential debutantes, but only La Danse decides who is truly worthy of attending.
Chapin Buckingham, the daughter two Hollywood legends, is one of the lucky few chosen to attend. Chapin’s not usually a society girl, but she has her reasons for wanting to be crowned Debutante of the Year. Her chances seem good…until a fellow debutante creates a PR nightmare that has the eat-the-rich cohort calling for La Danse’s cancellation.
Enter Piper Woo Collins. As the daughter of an EMT and winner of the International Science Fair Prize with a profile in Teen Vogue, Piper is the perfect, down-to-earth person who could restore La Danse’s reputation. But Piper isn’t interested in becoming a debutante—until they offer her a college scholarship…if she wins Debutante of the Year.
In competition for the crown, Piper and Chapin have every reason to clash. But at La Danse, everyone wants something. Piper and Chapin might just need each other to go from pawns in a game to ruling the board…
First Thoughts
Everything about By Invitation Only screams enthralling, with high fashion and higher heels galore. I adore discovering new branches of YA to love, and with Alexandra’s debut pitched as for fans of American Royals and Better Than The Movies (which is one of my favourite books), I couldn’t wait to dive into this thanks to Alex at Simon & Schuster!
My Review
Our main characters, Piper and Chapin, are very different girls. Told through a dual-POV we meet Chapin, daughter of two Hollywood celebrity legends, and Piper, who comes from an ordinary family and wouldn’t have been in the spotlight if she hadn’t won the International Science Fair and had a profile in Teen Vogue for it. Every year in Paris, a handful of carefully selected young women are picked to make their high society debut at La Danse des Débutantes. It’s one of the most élite balls in the world that only principally attracts the affluent, royal clientele—only La Danse decides who is truly worthwhile.
Chapin thinks she’s a shoo-in for being crowned Debutante of the Year. Only, La Danse teeters on the edge of being cancelled after a debutante creates a scandal that rocks it’s image, dashing her chances. Scrambling to reclaim their famed look, La Danse needs someone down-to-earth to reclaim their edge: enter Piper. Only, she’s not interested in the high society life, not until they offer a college scholarship on a platter if she should win Debutante of the Year, something she snaps up. Competition is rife, romance tangles and complicates, and personalities clash. Piper and Chapin are no stranger to headbutting into enemy territory. Yet, when aligning themselves with a common goal, maybe it’s better being friends. After all, La Danse is better experienced with someone in your corner you can rely on, because it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
Overall, By Invitation Only was electric, friendship-focused and regal, saturated with fancy thrills, deeply fashioned connections and drama for days. I really loved the storytelling pace and lean into a sort of Reality TV, Gossip Girl vibe that I got. I could very easily see this being a TV show. The romance takes a backseat in the story (although both girls do have love interests and we do get lots of romantic undertones) but I actually adored the concentration on female friendships, banter and comedy keeping me obsessed instead. Alexandra’s debut is nothing short of a glitteringly gorgeous read with an ode to fashion, style and culture, a lean into family bonds and laughs-a-plenty events that kept me turning pages into the night, imagining I was in Paris, too.
RATING:
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Happy Reading!
