I loved the cover on this book. It took me awhile to finish. In this compelling narrative, the author deftly explores themes of love, loss, and redemption against a backdrop of vividly rendered settings. The characters leap off the page, their struggles and triumphs resonating with readers on a deeply emotional level. With a masterful blend of suspense and introspection, this book keeps readers eagerly turning pages until the very end. A testament to the power of storytelling, this is a book that lingers in the mind long after it's been read, inviting reflection and sparking conversation.

This book reminded me of the show Desperate Housewives with a lot of teenage drama added to the mix. I found it entertaining and continued reading as I had to know about the murder. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Nope just no. This was slow and draggy and just not for me. The description leads you to believe one thing and it is not that.

“𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞… 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫.”

I tend to gravitate towards domestic suspense novels, especially when they involve rich people behaving badly. The Block Party looked like it would be my kind of read.

I had a hard time getting into this one; Jamie Day’s writing has a good flow, but I found all the characters were unlikeable (especially the men) and their problems (at first) to be not very interesting. However, once I leaned into the ways that the book reminded me of Desperate Housewives, I did start to enjoy it more: Alton Lane is full of households and neighbors that have secrets they are both keeping and sharing with each other; main narrators Alex and Lettie, reminded me of Susan and Julie Mayer (and Alex’s husband Nick had a Tom Scavo and Mike Delfino vibe); the final few chapters at the Memorial Day block party was like a high-octane mid-season finale that Housewives was known for, with all the characters interacting in different ways, leading to explosive events that would change the lives of those on Alton Lane (or Wisteria Lane - the supermarket hostage or the twister episodes anyone?!). I also liked that we didn’t know who died, but rather the build-up was through the Meadowbrook Online Community Page, filled with local gossip. I wish there had been a bit more editing done (the number of times Alex has a drink and talks about how it calms her is wild, and Lettie does a lot of telling in her point of view rather than showing) to tighten up the narrative and keep things moving at a brisker pace.

The Block Party is a story of neighbors, shame, taking revenge, and owning up to hard truths. Day’s writing shows promise, and although there were elements of this that didn’t work for me, I think there is enough that could be adapted into an interesting mini-series that could amp up the drama. It also would make for a good poolside summer read. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Many thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my #gifted copy.

It's the annual Memorial Day block party! Something bad has happened, but we are not sure what quite yet. We flash back to last years bock party. Everyone is harboring secrets. As the story unfolds and we get back to present time, the truths are coming out. I did enjoy this book. There were a lot of characters in it, so pay close attention.

The title of this book first pulled me in, as we had recently moved into a new, small neighborhood. While I won't say that this book is relatable, it was a joy to read. I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery. Add in a twist of not knowing who is murdered until the end and *chef's kiss*.

This is a great thriller for anyone who enjoys neighborhood drama. It kept me interested throughout but I wish some of the characters had been developed a little more. After reading I had a hard time recalling who was who.

Duel timeline book with lots of twists! This one had me guessing all the way through it! Lots of characters who have their own issues that are pointing fingers at their neighbors! I really liked all the drama of crazy characters in this one! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

There was SO MUCH DRAMA in this book, and I was HERE FOR IT. I grew up in a small town and was directly related to the biggest gossips in town, so this was like reliving my childhood. However the actual mystery was kind of underwhelming. 3 stars.

I am so sorry, I truly thought I left a review for this excellent book.

A real page-turner!

Excellent character develop and lots of red herrings and easter eggs.
Fun to read and try to solve.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher.

I received an advanced reader copy through NetGalley. Sending a big thank you to the author, publishing house and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-book.


This story began at the annual Memorial Day Block Party, hosted by the wealthy residents of Alton Road. As the chapter began, we’re introduced to our first narrator, Alexandra (Alex) Fox.
By the chapter end, we learned, via the Meadowbrook Community Page, something major had occurred and speculation rolled from there.

We shifted from the present day into the past, back a year, leading up to the mentioned incident. Told with a rotating point of view, by Alex (a divorce mediator/wine drinker extraordinaire) and her daughter, Lettie (a high school senior/environmentalist ). One way or another, these two managed to be in the center of all the drama.

Whew, there was a whole lot happening on this cul-de-sac!
It reminded me of watching a soap opera {I grew up on all those old shows}.
Big cast of characters as well.

Even though this book has been out for a bit, I’m not going to deep dive into the story to avoid spoiler territory. This was a quick read for me, it held my attention throughout. Was it an edge or your seat thriller? Nope, but there were a couple of unexpected twists.
Was everything believable? Nah, like I mentioned, it was very much like a soap opera.
There were a lot of really heavy topics brought up, and the resolutions were unrealistic or ignored.

One enjoyable point for me, was the Community Page interactions.
Which, definitely, reminded me of the local page I belong to. Everyone has an opinion, and you’ll hear about it, whether you want to or not. 😂

So. Much. Drama.

Those who live on an exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road definitely think they’re better than everyone else. The neighbors come together often, most notably for the annual block party over Memorial Day weekend.

While there’s always a scandal to be had at the block party, this year tops it all. Gunshots are fired. Someone is dead. But who died? And who is the murderer?

From those tense moments, the book takes us back one year. We watch secrets be hidden, suspicions grow, tensions heighten. There’s no shortage of possibilities as far as who might be hurt or angry enough to kill, and whom the victim is. You’re definitely kept guessing.

I do love the melodrama of neighbors behaving badly. At times it seemed like there were so many scandals and so many people in crisis that it was hard to keep track of it all. The book is narrated by Alex, organizer of the block party, and her daughter, Lettie. Neither are completely sympathetic characters.

I found the pacing strangely slow given the fact that so much was going on. (Two separate epilogues didn’t help.) But still, I couldn’t look away from these people and I needed to know how the story would be resolved.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy!

I normally love domestic drama, but this one fell flat for me. I was left feeling like there was something missing. While “The Block Party” didn’t work for me, I can see why some readers would enjoy this one.

🌿 murder (from chapter 1)

🌿 neighborhood chattiness

🌿 family drama

🌿 hilarious neighborhood watch message boards

However, for me, it was just too much, too many characters, and not enough story depth and character likeability. If I had to pick something I did enjoy from this one it would be neighborhood message board; they were absolutely ruthless.

I started and stopped this book multiple times before actually finishing it. To be a thriller it definitely seemed to drag. There are too many characters that were underdeveloped and hard to keep track of. I wasn't a huge fan of the high school daughter's chapters. While it tied in to the main plot of the book, I felt like it was hard to remember what was going on with everyone else as the chapters jumped back and forth. The book did not start to get good for me until the last quarter. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. A summer thriller that is entertaining for all the nosey people out here (most of us)! Who doesn't love a good murder mystery within a neighborhood full of secrets? A perfect summer thriller to read by the poolside or at your next barbecue.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first. There were so many characters and so much drama to keep track of. There were a few twists but the big one at the end had my jaw hitting the floor!

Desperate housewives meets The Real Housewives. Hard to start and finish.
I received an advance reader copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Block Party is the book that will make you feel that your own street is utopia. The scandal, the mess, the deception…Alton Road is the cul-de-sac to avoid. But, it made for a really fun, engaging summer suspense read!

This compulsively readable tale addressed bullying, infidelity, addiction, grief, and marital strife, with a cast of morally grey characters. Teenaged Lettie was my favorite of the bunch, with her big heart behind a gruff exterior.

As I toted this around from porch reading, to water park, to pool, I became more invested in untangling the lies and loved how it all came together in a scorching conclusion!

There's a murder in the neighborhood of a summer block party, but who has been killed---and more importantly, perhaps, who did it? It seems that no one has a perfect life in these beautiful houses on the cul-de-sac, but are worth killing over? Another great read---fast-paced and complex characters.

I love me a good neighborhood drama and this one did not disappoint
To me the characters were almost caricatures of themselves as each one had a different view on what had happened. So yes, you get a lot of different POVs as to what actually happened at the block party. All you really know is that someone died...but not sure who That reminded me a little of Big Little Lies.

All in all this was a quick, fun and perfect beach read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the arc .