The Block Party by Jamie Day was a thrilling read. It asks the question how well do your know your friends and even your own family. From start to finish I couldn’t put down, so many twists and secrets plus you never know what somebody else is going through. This was a good mystery, I highly recommend you read this book. Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Block Party started off very, very slow for me and I think that ultimately took away from me enjoying the story. I also found the characters very unlikeable.

The Block Party by Jamie Day is a highly recommended domestic drama with murder, secrets and scandals emerging on every page.

In Meadowbrook, Massachusetts, Alton Road is known for it's exclusiveness and the annual Summer block party the wealthy residents hold every year. This year, however, something more serious than the egg toss competition occurs. Murder. Then a jump back in time introduces us to the residents and the secrets and scandals that lead up to the present.

The novel starts at the current block party and then jumps back a year in time to introduce all the residents. Readers follow these characters through a rich plethora of action, lies, secrets, and all the potential motives for murder leading up to the current party. Everyone could be a potential victim or suspect.

The narrative is told through the alternating point of view of Alex, party organized and divorce mediator, and Lettie, her teenage daughter. They introduce you to the large cast of characters that are all distinctive and unique enough to easily keep track of who is who. And this cast of characters displays all manner of dysfunctional behavior and relationships, subterfuge, and secrets. As the action unfolds, interspersed between the chapters are excerpts from comments and speculation made on the Meadowbrook Online Community Page.

The Block Party is well-written and a great choice for an entertaining summer read that will hold your attention to the end.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

[ Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

PUB DATE: July 18, 2023

THOUGHTS:

Looking for drama, drama and more drama?! This is the book for you!

This is told with dual pov - Alex and Lettie (mother and daughter). And the story has two timelines, Memorial Day present & a year earlier. I wasn’t sold on Lettie’s perspective at first. She was an angsty teenager but I really grew to enjoy it as I kept reading.

It was a bit slow in the beginning for me to become invested but once I got past that, I had to know what was going to happen. I definitely had feelings and theories on everyone in the neighborhood but I couldn’t figure out the ‘why’ behind it all.

And the ending? So good. It was juicy!

Overall, a good summer domestic thriller! I’m just grateful I didn’t have an invite for this block party. 😉

It's time for the annual block party in the exclusive Alton Road neighborhood of Meadowbrook, Massachusetts. Alexandra Fox is the one who always organizes the party and makes sure it's up to the expected standards of the residents. Things start out fine, but before long, the sound of sirens invades the party atmosphere. This brings back memories of the part the year before and the story shifts to telling all about a series of events leading up to the present day. The story alternates between the point-of-view of Alex and her teen daughter Lettie. Mixed in are posts from an online community page from people who don't live on Alton Road gossiping about those who do.

This is a story that has a lot going on which sometimes takes away from the tension of the main plot, but does keep you guessing about what ultimately occurs during the present day block party and what that will mean for the Alton Road residents. I enjoyed this suspenseful, domestic thriller.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

This book kept me engaged, however, it also really annoyed me. ALL the characters are annoying, whiny, petty and just bleh. Not people I would want to associate with. There are two people narrating the book, but there are a lot of other characters in the book. In my opinion, we do not get to know enough about any of them. It is surface level info - and it is all annoying. I was expecting a much more juicy, dramatic story line - instead it was a lot of complaining. That being said, I was interested enough in figuring out what happens to continue reading, but I didn't particularly like any of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

I love dramatic crazy neighborhood stories just as much as the next person, but throw in their kids, a crazy Bug Man, a stalker and you have a party! I wish I could say one of the neighbors was a good person, maybe Emily MAYBE, but she also stayed with her cheating spouse so hello trust issues. I went back and forth on who was keeping the dirtiest secrets. The angsty teenagers or the crazy parents?! As it turns out it was all of them!

There are some good twists towards the end, but they have big consequences for some more than others! This book got me out of a meh month of reading so I am highly recommending it!

Thank you to Jamie Day, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am on a thriller kick and this book is at the top of my list for great thrillers. The twists and turns I didn't see coming. The mystery aspect kept me glued to the pages. I liked the different timelines and different POVs.

The online community page was an amazing added bonus. I loved it.

3.5 stars

This was a fun summer read full of gossipy neighborhood domestic suspense. We as readers are dropped into the middle of the Alton Road Memorial Day party where the drama begins right away.
The story alternates between present day and then a year prior leading up to the night of the murder and the unraveling of so many secrets and lies.

The premise reminded me a bit of Big Little Lies which I enjoyed, but this book has a lot of characters and subplots and at times it is hard to keep track of them all. I understand that the author was trying to build the suspense, but there were so many domestic issues thrown in that it started to muddy the main storyline and all that was revealed at the end seemed a little over the top.

Desperate Housewives is one of my Top 3 favorite shows of all time. This book took me back to Wisteria Lane, and I LOVEDDDD it. I loved the drama, the scandals, and of course trying to figure out whodunnit and why. The excerpts from the local community page were fun to read also, because my community page is just as outrageous 🤣

I wasn't able to predict the ending. This is something that RARELY happens when reading mysteries/thrillers. So when an author is able to keep my assumptions flying, I have to give BIG props for their creativity.

For thriller lovers, this is a fun summer read.

The Block Party is available July 18! 📚

4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This domestic suspense novel starts at a neighborhood Memorial Day Block Party that goes awry and possibly leaves someone dead - then without telling us who or what happened, goes back a year to the previous Memorial Day so we can see the events of that year. It’s told from the alternating perspectives of middle aged mon Alex and her teenage daughter Lettie, occasionally interspersed with posts from a neighborhood forum from the future Memorial Day. And of course over the course of the year we learn that everyone in the neighborhood has secrets and/or grudges, so really anybody could be either the killer or the victim.

This book was an enjoyable page-turner, but also was one that was kind of over the top unbelievable and which went extra crazy and nonsensical towards the end. The last few chapters really were A LOT plus a lot of exposition too. With its time shifting structure and neighborhood behaving badly plot, this one definitely had Liane Moriarty vibes (though not as good) or The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward, so if you like those types of books, you might enjoy this one too

3.5 stars

DNF @ 7%
The plot itself was fine, but the characters were so obnoxious. I couldn’t get past anytime they spoke

On the seemingly idyllic cul-de-sac of Alton Road, not a single house is exempt from suburban secrets. Alex's evening glass of wine comes earlier and earlier each day--sometimes a glass, sometimes a bottle. Her sister Emily is holding on to her marriage for dear life, that fresh start not as fresh as she's let the neighbors think. Recently-widowed Brooke hardly seems to be mourning the loss of her husband Jerry.

As the residents of Alton Road know, it's all just harmless gossip, though.
Until someone ends up dead at the Memorial Day block party.

An sizzling, explosive summer suspense, "The Block Party" is everything you could want in a domestic drama. A well-defined cast of characters, secrets galore, and a slow-burn fuse that's lit in the first chapter and comes to a shocking conclusion by the end, readers looking for an escapist read that's not your usual Nantucket romance are bound to love this story.

By no means a perfect novel and a little heavy-handed on the theatrics at times, "The Block Party" is still a worthwhile summer read that does manage to dish a little depth along with its drama.

Looking for a fun summer romp and not too worried about implausibility? Then pick this one up when it publishes July 18.

In the vein of Big Little Lies, The Block Party begins with a bang at a Memorial Day Block party in an upscale neighbourhood. Narrated by Alex (stereotyped wine-swilling wealthy white woman) and her daughter Lettie (eighteen and privileged), the characters of the cul de sac are revealed along with all of their various secrets. The timeline moves back to the year previous and then moves forward to the present day.

The characters, while unlikeable, were interesting and each had a lot of drama going on. I am going to be honest, this book is for the reality tv watchers. If you enjoy the drama of 90 Day Fiancé and the Housewives franchises then I believe this book will fit into your summer reading list. While I love a good character driven literary story or a twisty suspense book particularly ones with situations I worry about getting myself into, I can so easily fall into this kind of popcorn book. I am not knocking this book and really enjoyed it but it won’t be for everyone. Will I be looking for whatever this author writes? Yes, I will be!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC of The Block Party in exchange for my honest opinions. Another fun one by a favourite publisher.

Check out my storygraph account (Pomoevareads) for content warnings!

What should I call The Block Party? A domestic thriller? We all enjoy a peek into the messy home lives of others. How about calling it something more menacing like Suburban Noir? In the end I enjoyed very much this summer read chockablock with many interlocking situations that are all satisfactorily tied up in the end with a nice, neat bow.

This is a new author to me. This book was quite unusual to me. I thought it would be thriller but the book fooled me. It was about the neighborhood.

This book was very intriguing and interesting. It held my interest thru the whole book.

I'm going to look for more books by this author. I really loved this book. Great job.

Phew this one took a while for me to finish! I've never read a Jamie Day book before but would read another one. The book gave a Heathers vibe, "Writing about revenge is cool, I guess, but taking revenge ... now, that's something to truly savor." I thought to try the reverse psychology on my daughter but it didn't work, "Parents just don't get it. The more they want us not to do something, the more likely it is we're going to do it. Such thinking is hardwired into our teenage brains." I don't think I've ever heard the phrase, but it stuck with me, "if everyone threw their problems up in the air, people would race to catch their own." It resonated with a teenager who didn't want to catch what another one was lugging around.
The Block Party by Jamie Day. #NetGalley #july182023

I really wanted to love this book but I just could not get into it. I started/stopped it 2 times before pushing through because the publish date was approaching but reading this felt so much like a chore. The characters are not at all likeable and there were so many secrets that by the time the end arrived I was just glad not to be learning anything else about these people. This was a miss for me.

I was irritated with Alex and how she is portrayed at the beginning of the book and that possibly colored my opinion from the beginning. I found Lettie and her perspective interesting, but I struggled to stay engaged in the story, skimming and sometimes outright skipping sections of the book to get to the end. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Jamie Day for the eARC.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable neighborhood drama told from multiple perspectives over a couple of different timelines. The characters were engaging, the plot was well paced, and there were several twists that I didn't see coming. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy.