I received a digital ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I liked the premise of this novel, but it was very slow. The second half of the novel kept my interest, and I did enjoy the ending. I just wish I felt the same way from the very beginning of the story. I look forward to what the author, Jamie Day, writes in the future.

I am just starting to get into thrillers and for the most part I really enjoy them, what with the suspense, excitement, and breath holding (which I realize I’m holding), so this one was a bit of a letdown for me. I found it just meh and not very suspenseful.
Meadowbrook, Ma has some great places to raise a family, but the one that’s best known is Alton Road. With a cul-de-sac, lots of kids, and couples who are all friends with each other, it’s really quite idyllic. All of that, plus the Memorial Day block party they throw every year make them the envy of the rest of the neighborhood- until something so disastrous happens Alton Road and it’s residents become the talk of social media for other reasons. Between stalkers, rapists, child predators, blackmailers, and alcoholics & drug addicts it turns out Alton Road isn’t so quaint after all.
I was a little confused by the way Jamie Day chose to tell this story. It starts out at the present day Memorial block party and then jumps to the previous year’s block party. In alternating chapters we are given a birds eye view of the neighborhood and the residents (that’s how I always envision third person) and a first person view from a 17 year old girl (told present tense, even though it’s still last year). Dispersed throughout the book are present day social media threads from neighbors in Meadowbrook who live on the surrounding streets meant to help move the story along. There is a lot of foreshadowing in these parts and while I didn’t see every twist, the foreshadowing definitely gave a few of them away.
I don’t know of it was the story or the writing, but something about this just didn’t jive with me. It felt pedestrian and I expect a little more excitement out of my thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book. This hits shelves on July 18th.

This story centers around the rich families all living on the same cul-de-sac and is told primarily from the point of view of the mother-daughter duo Alex and Lettie (who is 17 years old). While there are a number of characters, it is easy enough to keep track of them. For me, the story would have been more enjoyable if it had centered more around the adults although there is a twist at the end that reveals why Lettie's portion of the storyline was necessary. There were plenty of secrets being kept among the neighbors.

Definite Desperate Housewives vibes. Great character development ending with a whole lotta WTF.

Solid 3… maybe 3.5… ⭐️

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

📚: The Block Party by Jamie Day
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

Did you ever want to be a part of a super close knit neighborhood? If so, this book could have you second guessing.

A then and now narrative between one year, we know that there’s an annual block party (on Alton Road - a big deal in Meadowbrook, MA), a lot of sirens, and a plethora of (maybe?) unreliable narrators. Including our main narrator that found herself fallen in the kiddie pool (but who are we to judge?).

A twisty ending that I didn’t see coming but that held one too many twists to feel truly jaw-dropping - but is a great beach/vacation read.

Big thanks to @stmartinspress via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Block Party is out next week on July 18th!

The beginnings a bit jarring as you’re just dropped into it with no lead up and then as soon as you start to get your bearings you jump back a year. The large cast of characters are all interesting but lack depth. Everyone’s fairly surface level with cliche secrets. However, the story is very plot driven and full of drama so that helps make up for it. My biggest issue was that many of Lettie and Jay’s interactions were so cringy. It’s hard to tell if it was due to writing issues or if I’m just blocking out how cringe we all were at that “cusp of adulthood” time of life. It’s probably the latter! In the end I loved how as secrets began to come out they started twisting into each other. The ending turned out to be very satisfying in a tied up in a bow kind of way.

🙋🏻‍♀️Who I’d Recommend It To:
•Anyone searching for a mash up between the reality show Real Housewives of… and the classic board game Clue.

Think twice before you move to a cul-de-sac. People who live there have too many secrets. And some secrets can be murder when found out by the other neighbors.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel but felt it did take a little longer to get there than needed. I liked thr message of women protecting women and bonding together. The drama that is in some
Neighborhoods is real and this novel reveals that.

Sadly, I was not a big fan of this one. I felt it repetitive and the concept some what tired. It could totally just be me.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for my Gifted copy.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me at about 20%. I thought this was more of mystery thriller and so far all that happened was discussing a lot of drama from the families. It kept me from being interested in what even happened at the block party.

The block party has been a buzzy debut for the summer but I’m not sure it’s worth it. In the vein of Liane moriarty. The plot follows the complicated relationships and dynamics of a group of neighbors/family members. Tensions begin simmering between these neighbors over the course of a year and it explodes into a murder at the annual Memorial Day block party. However, who was murdered by whom and why guides the plot and the flashbacks over the year leading up to the event.

While an entertaining summer read, there are many characters, many of whom seem under developed. The plot didn’t really hold my attention and some of the dialogue felt wooden. However, this is a good beach read and many people will enjoy this read.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts with a bang. Or maybe the results of a bang. We know something has happened at the annual Alton Road Summer Block Party. We know it's bad. There are rumors. Then the story goes back a year and we work our way towards that fateful day with short interludes of rumor and message board posting to remind us where we are headed. Why? Because well the story brewing over that year is messed up enough on its own that maybe we don't even need the big bang beginning or ending we are moving towards. This book probably could be a 5 star for me except for my feelings about the two narrators: Alex and her daughter Lettie. Lettie's voice is very consciously young adult. Appropriate given that she is 17 and 18 in the book. But sometimes I struggled with the choices she made. Again, probably appropriate but it rubbed me the wrong way a couple times. Her mother, Alex, however, was on my last nerve for a majority of the book. She was an alcoholic and maybe I should just avoid books with mothers who like a lot of wine. My stomach kind of curdles whenever they are a main character. I understand that the character needed to be that way but somehow it still felt a little bit much. Maybe I just don't know enough about drinking bottles of wine every night? But, other than resulting in some serious eye rolling at the narrator's foibles, there were so many secrets and so many layers in this book. Even when I put it down I was wondering what was going to happen next and how it was going to take a full year for the drama to peak with all the drama going on.

I love a good ole dysfunctional neighborhood! This book was a fun read with a number of surprises and suspenseful writing. There were quite a lot of characters to keep up with, so I found myself a little lost at times, but this family drama was still entertaining.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars

This thriller/mystery surprised me on how much I enjoyed the story and the characters throughout my read. I read a lot of mystery novels and typically can guess what was going to happen throughout, but with this book I felt myself going with the flow of the novel and being surprised about twists throughout. I don't want to share too much about the book because like most thrillers you should go in not knowing very much about what is happening.

Jamie Day did an amazing job and creating characters that were enjoyable to read about while also disliking aspects of what they were doing with their lives. It reminded me a lot of Desperate Housewives and how a lot of their story arcs crossed with one another to reveal secrets going on in the neighborhood. When it comes to books that have a lot going on the story can get a bit confusing, but every aspect of this neighborhood was enjoyable to learn about and uncover.

Quite a few trigger warnings so look those up if you are sensitive to certain topics.

I recommend this book to those that enjoy a thriller/mystery based on a rich neighborhood. Reminiscent of Desperate Housewives, Weeds, and Big Little Lies.

This book was really quite hard for me to read. I'm sad to admit I had to DNF at the half-way point. Not much happening in the first half of the book at all. A few times there were things that caught the readers attention but fell flat when it came to the storyline. I know that a lot of the beginning of the book was to set the stage for the rest of the book but there was never enough to keep my attention. The way the characters acted and spoke seemed very unlikely and I found myself cringing a lot. The characters were not likeable or developed well. This book was definitely not for me. I'm sorry I won't be able to finish it which rarely happens.
2 stars.

This was decent and well written, but I guessed the plot pretty easily. There was no major twists that I hadn’t already figured out. Still a good story though.

I was provided a free advanced copy of this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
On the exclusive Alton Road, the annual block party is the event of the year. But this year, it will definitely be a blast! 💥😳 The story starts out in the present but leaves us hanging before we cut to a year before. We then follow the residents of this small community, who have many secrets, throughout the year revealing bits and pieces until that fateful party!
This is definitely a crazy story! There are a lot of secrets, a lot of characters doing crazy things, and a lot of things to try to figure out, as the reader. I figured out a few things, but not a lot!
If you're a fan of dark mysteries you'll enjoy this one! Although you know someone(s?) get shot, you don't know who, or if they survive until later!
This is set to be published next Tuesday (18 July) so add it to your TBR and check it out then!
#NetGalley #TheBlockParty

Rich people behaving badly is one of my favorite genres. In this well-to-do neighborhood that seems perfect, everyone is hiding something. We begin at the neighborhood's annual Memorial Day Block Party where there has been a murder. Then we flash back and forth between the previous year's block party and the current, learning more about each neighbor as we go.

I loved this book. It had such great neighborhood drama - total Desperate Housewives vibes.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read and review this book.

While slow at times, this book is definitely a wild ride with a few jaw drops and “Whhhhaaattttt?!” coming out of my mouth. I thought I had it figured out, but I was nowhere CLOSE to this one. The author did a great job of touching on mental health, domestic abuse, and alcoholism. Great book.

THE BLOCK PARTY by Jamie Day

🏡 🤫 🔫🍷
2 STARS

✨ FOR FANS OF: Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, domestic thrillers

⭐️WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets & scandal utterly unknown to the outside world. On the night of the annual summer block party, there has been a murder. But who did it & why takes readers back one year earlier, as rivalries & betrayals unfold, revealing that nothing is ever as it seems. 

WHAT I LIKED:
🌟 I loved the concept of the block party being a culminating incident with a flashback structure! I was excited to see how the story developed to the point, which had me hooked at the beginning.
🌟 some twists I genuinely did not call, so that pay-off was sometimes good. I won’t name which ones due to spoilers, but there was one in particular that caught me by surprise.

WHAT I DIDN’T:
☁️not much, honestly. I am grateful for the chance to read this ARC but y’all. the writing took me out of the story every five minutes. This book did so much “tell, not show”ing & had the most stilted dialogue I have read in a while. Actual lines include “I’m from Ludhiana in the sixteenth-largest state in India” (spoken) & “he was dressed like a metrosexual” (internal). What? Who speaks like that?
☁️ the passages told in the teen daughter’s voice were especially grating. I also didn’t like that the mother’s passage was in third-person but the daughter’s was in first?
☁️ there are so many predictable plot twists & annoying characters. I considered DNFing at the 25% mark but felt I had to finish it. this book is 3x longer than it needs to be with needless descriptions thrown in or repetitive details.
☁️the book heavily overuses the “woman drinking” trope & sometimes veers into weird, slightly microaggressive territory when they make the Indian husband the only controlling one on the block. They also definitely needed a sensitivity/cultural reader for the Indian content— why would they make such a big deal about having people over for Thanksgiving for “the holiday season” when they’re Hindu & Diwali is at basically the exact same time? and then they serve “some dish that looks like paneer”? This, of course, is my own bias, but it was so glaring to me that someone was trying to include a character of color without actually looking anything up.

⭐️OVERALL: I picked this up hoping for a beach read— I can stand some so-so writing if the plot is good, but this book had little pay-off for the pages invested. I’d skip it, honestly.

Thanks to @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the ARC in exchange for my honest reviews.

‼️ Check trigger warnings, as always.