The Block Party by Jamie Day is a really fun and quick read. I found the plot to be very intriguing but kind of fell off with the characters. I liked Alex's perspective a lot, but I found Lettie to be super annoying and felt myself skimming her chapters. In terms of the plot, I think it was well paced, and well put together. I liked the aspect of the community chat tying into chapters, as I thought it was a nice way to foreshadow what was happening in the present day.

also, in lieu of the new Barbie movie coming out, she’s everything - he’s just ken.

There’s an exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road that has an annual block party every summer. This summer there’s a murder, but the details go back one year earlier.

I liked the start of this one and I enjoyed the characters and all their differences. The pacing was not steady for me. It slows down a lot until about 70% in when it suddenly gets crazy; drama, after drama, after drama. It was a little too much for me and I felt like my head was spinning. This wasn’t for me but may be a good summer read for someone looking for some juicy gossip and neighborhood drama.

“I’m just saying there’s always something going wrong on Alton Road and we pay for it like it or not, that’s a fact.”

The Block Party comes out 7/18

I love books about wealthy neighborhoods and all of the drama! Great mystery that keeps you guessing until the end! There were a lot of characters to keep track of but it was well worth it. Highly recommend!

3.5 stars!

What an awesome cover! A great read for those summer, pool days. This was a mix of real housewives + a mystery which I enjoyed. Lots of plot lines and characters to keep track of. Most of the characters felt undeveloped and thrown in there for the sake of it. The beginning really loops you in but then half way through I found myself thinking, “okay? What’s next.” I lost interest.

I did enjoy the aspect of lots of drama!!! I enjoyed piecing some things together. Most of your known mystery tropes are thrown in. Overall, I enjoyed the twists and the author kept it mysterious all the way till the end.

As the residents of tony Alton Rd. hold their annual Memorial Day block party, sirens are heard racing to the area and the town’s Facebook chat hints that there has been a murder. The novel then goes back a year in time, introducing the neighbors and their personal, marital, and other difficulties. It seems just about any domestic problem you can think of probably lives on Alton Rd.



The novel starts out with a breezy style of writing, stereotypical of Desperate Housewives or other evening soaps. The plot thickens as the neighborhood goings on are told and secrets revealed from two POVs, mother Alex and daughter Lettie. Alex’s POV is in third person; Lettie’s in first.



Although it was fast reading, this novel by a debut author is a bit long. I couldn’t put it down, though, as it was fun imagining the reasons for every one of the characters to have been the victim or the killer! I particularly enjoyed the online Meadowbrook Community Page posts, with all the snarky and sometimes inane entries. We have something similar in my town and it really reminded of some of the exchanges I see there.



For those who need trigger warnings, there are many of them here; if you are overly sensitive or not a fan of Big Little Lies genre, this book may not be for you. But, if you enjoy a sordid confection for your summer read, check this one out.

I’ve been trying to think of the best way to write this review because I absolutely loved this book! Go read it for yourself and enjoy the twisted ride it takes you on.

Block Party was an entertaining neighborhood drama focused on five households on the same block and all the secrets and gossip that take place there. Seems everyone is hiding something. It has a similar vibe to Big Little Lies. For me the middle maybe dragged just a bit but I really enjoyed how everything unfolded and the aftermath.

3.5 stars!

Desperate Housewives in book form. Memorial Day calls for the annual block party on this pretentious street. We start on the current Memorial Day, but then head back to a year ago, where the new neighbors move in. What happens throughout year that the police are called this Memorial Day?

Secrets unfold and you don't know what to expect with the couples on this street. Controlling husbands, cheating partners, stalkers, divorces, alcoholics, and more. Told between Lettie and her mom Alex's POV, you get two sides to this story to piece together. What will happen? Who was killed?

This book had twists and turns that I wasn't expected. It was a slow burn and I don't love those stories, but I did somewhat enjoy this one. I could picture it being told the way that Desperate Housewives was.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those stories where you're going to hate every character. It's purposeful. But if you can't get over that, this isn't for you. I was a bit irked by it, but what didn't work for me truly was that I found the twists a bit predictable and the pacing too slow.

Neighbors in a cul-de-sac are caught up in each others secrets. On the night of their annual summer party there is a murder. But who did it and why? A fun summer mystery!

Boom! That's the sound of my brain exploding, which happened multiple times during Jamie Day's book, The Block Party. I loved it!!

The story follows the families who live on Alton Road, where every family has a secret. Throughout the book, these secrets are revealed as giant bombs, some of which I did not see coming (thus the exploding brain). I especially loved that there was not just one big reveal or twist at the end; but rather, all throughout the book, there were giant reveals. And while the story does highlight events that happen at the block party (thrown annually to celebrate Memorial Day), there are also crucial events as we move through the year from one year's block party to the next.

Told from the perspective of Alex and her daughter Lettie, the narration flows smoothly. Lettie is an absolute delight: 17 and 18 years old during this story's telling, she is wholeheartedly dedicated to her causes, completely sold out to following her dreams, and is the epitome of teenage internal conflict between family loyalty, friendships, and growing up.

Another fabulous feature of The Block Party is the "online community page" that pops up a few times between sections of the book. On the community page, neighbors are weighing in on what may have happened on Alton Road. True to every community social page, there are neighbors who gossip, ones who criticize, those who share positivity, and some who talk about completely unrelated issues on the community page. It is really funny, and also so true of social media platforms.

Because this is the story of several families and their interactions, there are a lot of characters to keep track of. Additionally, Alex's sister also lives on Alton Road, so there are family relationships to remember (cousins, aunt, and uncle when Lettie is narrating; nephews, sister, and brother-in-law when Alex is narrating). There are character connections everywhere, so be ready to learn who's who; it is so worth it!

Can we also take just a moment to pause and admire how absolutely gorgeous this book cover is?! The perfect summer read, The Block Party launches July 18, 2023. I think it's going to be one of the best books of the summer. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Block Party was my first book by Jamie Day but won't be my last. One thing that always strikes me as being a good writer is when the author can make you anxious while reading. In this case, my anxiety came by Jamie's description of Alex's drinking throughout the book -- it truly made me cringe reading at certain times because you want to root for her and you know she's going down a dark hole. This was the ultimate neighborhood/domestic drama -- perfect for a day at the beach! A great read for 2023!!

This novel about secrets, revenge, various forms of abuse, and difficult family relationships absorbed me more and more the further I got into it. The relationships in the marriages of the close neighbors, those between the parents and children, and those among young adults in their teens and twenties are explored and developed throughout the story in an intricate and gripping way. The time frame shifts back and forth as well; all this is a lot to keep track of, and the dramatic revelations keep coming to a degree that may make it difficult for some readers to suspend their disbelief--the number of dramatic secrets that are revealed about a few people on one street in a small neighborhood approach soap opera proportions, but I found the story absorbing enough and bought into the characters enough that I could set that aside. The connections between the seemingly random neighbors also make the story more compelling. There is also some comic relief in the device of an online neighborhood forum that appears at intervals throughout the story, where townspeople not living on the street give their opinions and speculations on the unfolding drama. All in all, I found the novel well worth reading and would recommend it to fans of psychological suspense.

Sometimes living in the fancy neighborhood isn’t the best option, especially when one of the neighbors ends up dead. A suspenseful book told through the viewpoints of mother and daughter living in a neighborhood where secrets are running rampant.

A yearly block party turns deadly. In alternating chapters between Alex and her daughter, Lettie, the events that lead up to the fatalities unfold.

I think there could’ve been more suspense besides just the community posts from the present day, as those didn’t have too much suspense. I also don’t understand why Lettie’s chapters were first person and Alex’s were third person. Especially since Lettie’s had her name at the start. That could’ve been done for Alex’s. I do think there were some good twists toward the end, but before that, it was more family drama than suspense and thriller.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a domestic thriller this was a suspenseful mystery that certainly delivered in the I cannot put this novel down department for me. I loved the writing style the multiple POV, the timeline that the story took place over. It's a perfect summer time read which I'll be recommending all summer long. The Block Party would be a great read to get into anytime of year. You won't be disappointed figuring out what went down on Alton Rd. I'm looking forward to reading more from Jamie Day.

What an excitable suspense novel. The cast of characters that live I this little cul-de-sac are perfect and diverse enough to keep you guessing. There were many times I wanted to read the last chapter just so I could know. You see the beginning starts with a death, we don’t know whose death and then the story unfolds starting from a year prior. As you read, you find the underbelly of this idyllic neighborhood that perhaps is only surface level. Everything slowly unravels until we get to the end (which was the beginning).

As someone who does not read a lot of thrillers, I found this book the perfect length with the right amount of intrigue to keep me guessing. And the ending was definitely not one I saw coming. While this does tackle some heavier subject matter, it wasn’t a turn off and naturally/organically progressed the storyline along. You should definitely one-click this now, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I requested this one on a whim even though I'm not a big fan of suspense/mystery-type books but I couldn't seem to put this one down! The book is told from two POV's, Alex Fox and her teenage daughter Lettie. The book starts at Memorial Day (present) and then rewinds one year. Then you spend the book finding out the secrets of the families of Alton Road. By the end, you'll surely have your favorites and who you're rooting against. I know I did!

In one word : underwhelming 😕

This one is probably labeled as a domestic thriller, but I was more bored than thrilled... I don't like to write negative reviews, but I think it's important to be honest. I had no problem with the writing, but I didn't care for any character and wasn't invested in the story. I wasn't even curious to know the identity of the victim and the culprit! 🤷‍♀️😬

Looking at the other reviews, I'm sure that plenty of readers will enjoy this book more than I did.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Pub Date: 18 Jul 2023

Centered around Memorial Day, The Block Party highlights the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Alton Road families. Spicing up this hot summer read, Jamie Day mixes cocktails and pills with a splash of death in The Block Party.

Alton Road is in a premier neighborhood and one that people remember for the epic Memorial Day bashes that are thrown. But this year, the festivities get way out of hand as the community social media forum acts like every other in the county, allowing speculation and embellishment to rule the day. Alex Fox and her husband Nick live on the block with their daughter Lettie, and boy is there an alcohol problem there. Alex’s sister Emily, and her husband Ken Adair, live just a few houses away with their son Dylan but boy is there a deep dark secret that one of them is harboring. Emily is a well-respected real estate agent who just happens to sell a home on the street to Samir and Mandy Kumar, along with their troubled college aged son Jay.

Day throws it back to the previous year’s Memorial Day bash, to when the Kumar family was touring a home for sale on the street and things were better left unsaid. There is a whole other host of characters that come in to make a statement, including the Only Fans model who was recently widowed. As the neighborhood races towards another extraordinary summer kickoff blowout, the tempers come to lare at a boiling hot pace. Not knowing who has secrets and who doesn’t blood spills as everyone in this tight knit community is tied into something that they really didn’t even know they were.

Jamie Day gets this summer blockbuster cooking with real housewife vibes tossed into an episode of big Brother. There is no shortage of carnage and backstabbing in this mind-twisting journey. Love is stolen and given free of charge as “get out of here” and “nuh-uh'' become your favorite phrases while bebopping your way through this neighborhood trainwreck. Comical at times, downright scary at others, Day highlights the do’s and do nots of the classical neighborhood mixer while attempting to throw you off her tail at every opportunity. This is a bit of a step out of my normal military action thriller, but it went fast and crazy and had me so jumbled up, I didn’t know what she was going to do next. I believe the phrase the kids use these days is “never let them know your next move” and Day took this to heart and absolutely will keep you guessing until the end.