DNF at 43%. Full of unlikable characters and no mystery or thrill. I actually enjoyed the very beginning of the book. But as it jumped between characters, I found myself losing care for them and the excitement was gone. Just another book about suburban drama that had me rolling my eyes.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and author Jamie Day for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Neighbourhood Drama, Secrets, Murder

The Block Party by Jamie Day is a domestic thriller set in an affluent neighbourhood. The story revolves around the annual Memorial Day block party on Alton Road, a seemingly idyllic place where the residents are entangled in a web of secrets and scandals. The plot unfolds through multiple points of view, primarily focusing on Alex, a wife and mother who oversees the block party, and her rebellious daughter, Lettie. The narrative flashes back and forth over a year, culminating in a murder that takes place during the block party, leaving the community in turmoil as they try to uncover the perpetrator and the motive behind the crime.

The Block Party excels in creating a gripping narrative filled with suspense and drama. Jamie Day's ability to weave multiple storylines and perspectives into a cohesive plot is commendable. The book's strengths lie in its complex characters and the exploration of dark themes that resonate with readers. However, some may find the pacing slow at times, and the numerous characters can be challenging to keep track of. Despite these minor drawbacks, The Block Party is an entertaining and thought-provoking read that will appeal to fans of domestic thrillers.

To this day, I'm still advertising this to customers looking for a quick fun summer thriller! Pull out the barbecue grill or sit by the pool, Jamie Day's The Block Party, never fails to liven up the summer!

I finished this book but honestly wish I hadn’t. This almost bored me to tears. I don’t think that this is necessarily a reflection on the author or even the book, itself. I just think that I was not the right reader for this book.

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

This book was not for me. I appreciate the publishers and netgalley giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Block Party by Jamie Day explores themes of friendship, resilience, and the power of unity. The interactions had between characters builds tension in the story and it comes to a climax.

Another book about rich people misbehaving, shocking! I found this one was slow and I didn't like the characters which made it a slog at times. I think it picked up a bit in the end when things began to really unfurl, but I don't think it was enough to overcome the slow parts.

You know...for a debut novel...this book has got it going on! This is not only salacious, but it's juicy and cunning, all wrapped up in one! Jamie Day is one author that you should keep tabs on, because she's got what it takes to become literary' s next greatest! If she can do what she did with her first book, just imagine how good they will get over time! Gosh...I have goosebumps!

This book was a quick read that you can easily devour in one sitting! And the neighborhood is one that everyone knows exactly what you're talking about...there's one in every town! But someone in town is a murderer, and there are plenty of people that could or should be suspects!

The characters to the story, to the secrets, to the twists all offer the perfect combination of a summer blockbuster hit! I could totally see this being turned into a movie!

The Block Party is narrated by Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson. Megan Tusing is one of my favorite narrators, but both seemed to be an absolute perfect fit for this book, which makes a huge different in how a book comes across!

Overall, I am incredibly impressed with the likes of Jamie Day and The Block Party! You can't go wrong when choosing this for your next read!

I'd like to thank Jamie Day, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for providing me a copy of The Block Party which allowed me to contribute this honest and unbiased review!

This one took me a minute to get really into, but eventually I did and I was glad I stuck it out! It became very intriguing and twisty and fast-paced. So enjoyable as a mystery!

I was excited to dig into this one, but couldn't really get pulled in. Lots of characters to track and I just didn't feel the need to find out what happens next.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC.

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!

This. Book. Is. Fire!!! 🔥

I knew there was murder but didn’t know until the end who the victim(s) and killer(s) were!
I had so many suspicions about the lives of these complicated neighbors. Golly, though, some of them I didn’t see coming.
Jamie Day had me electrified with her writing, the plot, the action, the characters….
I couldn’t stop until I got to the end. It was absolutely electrifying!

This is a tv series waiting to happen!!! It has to!!!

The audiobook is oh so awesomely narrated by Megan Tusing & Suzy Jackson.

Thank you, Jamie Day, Macmillan Audio, St Martins Press & netgalley for my copy & audiobook! All opinions are my own.

This was my first Jamie Day book (audiobook) and I was hooked from the beginning. Great story! Great characters.

The Block Party was a fun summer read! I loved the tension of the neighborhood and the dramatic characters. Even though it was a large cast and hard to keep up with at first, I eventually got the hang of who was who and really go into it! Everyone has secrets but it was so fun finding out who committed the ultimate crime!

This book was NUTS in the best way possible. I loved that we got to experience two different POVs in the mother and the daughter. They were very different and often held polarizing ideas on the situations presented. I think that the classic idea of "everyone is doing the best they can" but you don't know what goes on in other people's heads absolutely applies here.. I would love to see this as a Netflix movie or a mini/limited series receiving the same treatment as Big Little Lies. Honestly... freaking riveting.

I have recommended this book to several bookish friends.

This one could be two stars but also could be four.
My problem with it was the amount of characters and storylines.
I get that it was designed that way to really make the reader think and wonder about the murder and what happened and what led to it, but in the end there were so many separate storylines that I felt like it became too much. The thing was, the storylines were interesting, but so many things happening I just couldn't decide in the end if I liked what was happening. In other words, too much was just too much. It became hard to pay attention and like, or even dislike, any one in particular. And becaused of this, by the end I didn't even care who died or why as the attempt to dramatize the lead up made the climax almost anticlimactic.
I was lucky enough to get the audiobook and ebook. Although I liked the narractors, I actually think this novel is better when read. It felt easier to keep track of characters and their storylines while reading instead of listening.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the arcs.

I've started and stopped this one a few times and I just don't think it's for me. Fully believe this could be someone else's fave book and it has a lot of potential! *graciously bows out*

DNF @ 24%.

I tried to listen to this book a few different times thinking that maybe I was just not in the mindset for it or something but I just couldn't get into it. I felt like it didn't grab my attention enough and there were so many characters that it was hard to keep track of who was who and what was going on. The story lines for the characters didn't seem to connect very well so that was difficult to maintain my attention as well. I decided to throw in the towel. It just wasn't for me.

What could be better than a block party? It's an opportunity for the community to come together, get to know each other, and have some fun. The residents of Alton Road–known as Altonites by those who are not one of these “lucky” few–have an annual block party often organized by Alex Fox. She does her best to make sure that everyone is happy and having a good time, but one summer things don’t quite go as planned; one summer the block party ends in murder. ⁣⁣⁣

The Block Party was an okay mystery. I liked that it started with the murder, but you don’t know who the victim is, drawing me into the story before jumping back one year. I also like that there are two narrators–Alex and her daughter, Lettie–along with sections consisting of community social media posts from those outside the Alton Road community. They each have their own unique voice, bringing two perspectives to the story. The story moved too slow for my tastes however, and I found a lot of the characters to be rather annoying. I think that, were I to live in that area, I would be referring to them as Altonites and having the same opinions about them that the social media posters did. There was just too much focus on drinking and social standing. I honestly found Lettie’s story more interesting than Alex’s. I just wanted more from this novel.⁣⁣⁣

The audiobook was one where I could take it or leave it. I liked that there were two narrators, one for Alex and one for Lettie, but I found Lettie’s sections to be much more enjoyable to listen to. Overall the pace was too slow, there wasn’t enough inflection (and by extension suspense), and some of the characters were presented as very whiny. The best part of the audiobook was probably the social media posts; I liked the unique voices given to the numerous individuals included in these sections.