I found this book very entertaining! Yes, there are a lot of characters to keep track of at first, but you eventually see the differences in their personalities play out.
So much drama in this small cul-de-sac, so many small plots linking characters together, pointing possible blame on so many, yet through all of it, I really cared about the main character, Lettie, a girl about to leave this rich neighborhood, and is more than ready to head off to college (wherever she ends up!)
The author did a good job of weaving the plots together, and I didn't feel like there were any loose ends at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this fun read!

I read this book in one sitting. The Block Party tells the story of an annual block party for the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road. Everyone on the street has their own secrets and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep them covered up.

The book is well written, it moves along quickly. The characters are well developed and I definitely didn’t see the plot twist coming!! Great read!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
Drama and more drama, mystery and murder- usually I would like a book with these aspects, but this one just wasn't a good one for me.

Really enjoyed the alternating mother / daughter perspectives. Loved the twists and turns at the end. I did feel like the pace could have moved a bit quicker! Overall really had a great reading experience.

Oh.... the neighborhood block party. Everyone looks happy without a care in the world but that is so far from the truth. Meet the neighbors on Alton Road. Perfect lives??? NOT! This book had a bit of a Desperate Housewives slant to it that I enjoyed. It wasn't the deepest book I have ever read but entertaining. You know you will learn about some very flawed characters. I thought the "mystery" that was eluded to in the beginning would have had bit more punch to it. I found the messaging chapters between the Non-Alton Road neighbors very entertaining. All in all a great spring break read. Thank you NetGalley for and ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the twists and turns in this book! And aside from Lettie, everyone seemed like the potential antagonist, so it was really hard to figure out what would happen in the end. I read a lot of thrillers and am usually good at picking up on stuff early on in the books, but this one took me a lot longer (which I loved!). My only recommendation would be that the end was too clean and tidy. The last few chapters were all just happy, everything is all better, no struggle kind of vibes and I feel like that doesn’t fit with the characters. They were all struggling before the book even started. One incident isn’t going to make everyone’s lives perfect in the end.

The Block Party is told in alternating chapters between Alex and her daughter Lottie.
Who happened to be the two most boring people in the book, especially Alex. I wish we could have heard from the viewpoint of some of the bigger key players.

The story is told over the course of the year, and the middle started to drag. I was just ready to get to the end already, and I found the dialogue started to become a little juvenile, especially in Lottie’s segments. I understand she’s a teenager, but it wasn’t my cup of tea + started to bleed into the other chapters.
I found the message board sections confusing. They didn’t add any context to the book, just gave us more characters that I wasn’t sure if it was important to keep track of or not.

All in all, the suspense, drama, and secrets were intriguing enough that I wanted to finish, but it wasn’t my favorite of this type of genre.

There were a lot of different storylines at play in this neighborhood thriller and some were more engaging than others. By the end, there were some connections between characters that left me feeling a bit confused and wondering if I missed some plot points along the way.

I think this would be a good pool or beach read this summer!

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Jamie Day sets the reader in a perfect neighborhood. There’s family and friends near by. A yearly block party where everyone comes, plays games, grills, kids runs around and adults drink and eat. Sounds like the perfect block to live on. But, everyone has their secrets. What happens when the secret aren’t so secret anymore? The Block Party will have you wanting to not put the book down.

The Block Party is a quick beach read, with lots of drama. It's fast paced and engaging. It was labeled thriller but there was more drama and teenage angst than mystery. Please note this book touched upon a lot of sensitive subjects; rape, drug use, suicide, blackmail.
Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed the overall premise of the book - getting to know the characters, drama and the inner workings of the block. I felt that at times it could be a little slow, particularly towards the middle but enjoyed all of the details. It was important to know everything impacting the decisions everyone made the day of the block party. I didn't love the main character or her husband and felt that they were almost "too perfect" compared to the neighbors and was waiting for something crazy to happen to them?

How well do you really know your neighbors? And what you think you know may not always be real. The Block Party explores that concept in a thrilling and intriguing way that keeps you guessing until the end!
From the prologue, we know that something bad happens during the annual Memorial Day block party. We don’t know if it’s an accident or a murder, nor do we know who is involved. Rewind to a year ago at the last block party, and all the events leading up to current day.

The characters living on Alton Road are well-developed and fun to get to know. The interludes with a nearby neighborhood gossiping about what happened is fun, and so true to life as we live it today with social media tools that make it easy for nosy-nelly’s to meddle in other people’s business.

I LOVED this book and gave it five stars because I was immersed into the neighborhood and became one of those nosy nellie’s myself. And there is the morbid curiosity that naturally draws us in to want to know (or we fill in our best guesses) on what goes on behind closed doors. This is a great summer/beach read that will have you on the edge of your seat wanting more!

Thank you to Jamie Day, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a wild ride with the residents of Alton Road! I gave this book three stars because it was difficult for me to get into for the first half of the book. There are so many characters with so many storylines. The author did a fantastic job with the ending!

A very interesting read. It gave Desperate Housewives vibes. A lot of twists and turns. The book had humor through out it and kept my interest to the end.

What an addictive book! This book starts in the present at the neighborhood block party and there is a death and that is all we know. Jamie Day does a great job of bringing us into the past and getting to know all of the characters and all of their great and not so great qualities. Many plot twists take place throughout the novel and I was constantly on my toes. I was shocked by the ending revelations and did not see them coming. I highly recommend this novel.

This book took me a bit to get into. It begins in present day memorial day block party then proceeds into the year leading up to said block party. Multiple characters with multiple plot line can get a little confusing but in the end the author brought it all together in the last few chapters with a whirlwind ending! I couldn't put it down, I found myself gasping a few times. This is a great book to read for relaxation during the summer.

I wanted to like this book.... suburbs, bitchy women, scandal....

I struggled to get through it. The characters and plot line had so much potential but it really felt like almost a YA novel instead of something for women.

I'm a big fan of books filled with neighborhood drama/mysteries/secrets, and The Block Party delivered on all counts! This book is part Liane Moriarity's Truly Madly Guilty, part Desperate Housewives, and any fans of either will love The Block Party. With classic rock blasting from the speakers, meat sizzling on the grill, red Solo cups overflowing, Told in multiple POV's, with events taking place on Memorial Day, then going back one year to the previous Memorial Day, The Block Party is a light, easy read, perfect for late spring or summer, with enough twists and surprises to keep readers invested and guessing. Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for proving an early copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

The Block Party focuses on a group of neighbors living around a cul-de-sac on ritzy Alston Road. Each of the neighbors have secrets and hidden connections, and over the course of one year their twisted lies and hidden agendas all begin to seep out. It all culminates to a climax at the Memorial Day block party. Alcoholism, drugs, infidelity, homicide…this book has a little bit of everything!

The story is told in dual POV. Alex is the planner of the group who throws the block party yearly, and her daughter Lettie is in her senior year of high school. I enjoyed having Alex’s POV more, as Lettie skewed on the young, immature side and her section read more like a YA novel. I think I would have preferred the second view to be one of the other neighbors instead of having two from the same house,

The book is a slow burn, and there are so many characters to keep track of that I had to keep reminding myself who was married to who, which kids belonged to which couple, and who was supposedly having an affair. I wouldn’t call this a thriller, maybe a domestic drama. It was an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Review

The Block Party
⭐️⭐️⭐️
384 Pages

"When it comes to taking revenge, you won't get anywhere by playing it safe.”

Jamie Day’s debut novel, the Block Party, is the perfect combination of Desperate Housewives meets Mean Girls; which, for a reality junkie like me, is right up my alley, err road… Alton Road to be exact.

The Block Party begins on Memorial Day weekend and is told by two POVs: Alex and her teenage daughter Lettie. Alex spends her time drinking wine, gossiping with the ladies of Alton Road and designates herself as the neighborhood watch; Lettie, an awkward teen in her dark phase, plots revenge on a high school bully. Day had me laughing out loud with these characters; quirky demeanor, quick wit, and the best one liners ever!

The posts written on the Meadowbrook Online Community Page had me in stitches! These will resonate with anyone who has ever experienced the nosy neighborhood Nancy.

The Block Party is drama on drama on drama. Be prepared for a multitude of trigger warnings: alcoholism, drugs, rape, miscarriages, stalking, infidelity; Alton Road had it ALL.

If you are looking for a slow burn, suspenseful, family drama, but a relatively easy read (be prepared for 384 pages), The Block Party fits the bill! Light on the murder, heavy on the Merlot.🍷

Available this summer!

Publish Date: July 18

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All opinions are my own.