This is a scandalously delicious summer read!
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Family Drama, Neighborhood Drama, Childhood Drama…SO MUCH DRAMA! I loved every tasty and juicy tidbit. Jamie Day is an awesome author that I’ll be keeping my eye on!

Everything comes to a head at the annual Alton Road Block Party. Long-buried secrets have been clawing their way to the surface and when they mingle with the new secrets on the block, it’s like adding vinegar to baking soda.

“The Block Party” is a volcano of betrayal, obsession, and scandal that has been simmering just under the surface. It erupts and everything (well, almost everything 😈) spews out on a Memorial Day that will forever be memorable!

Alton Road is an exclusive cul-de-sac that is like a world of its own. Wealthy residents seem to live carefree lives in their gorgeous houses. But behind their manicured lawns and picture-perfect windows are scandalous and shameful secrets dying to get out!

The story literally begins with a bang. A murder right out of the gate but we won’t get the details until the end of the book. The story switches between past and present, building suspense, with multiple narrators! I enjoyed piecing together my predictions! I could have done without so much rambling from Alex. Does she have a drinking problem? Hell YES! Do something about it so we can focus on the story, lol.

I received complimentary ARCs of both the ebook and audiobook, thanks to St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio. The audiobook had incredible narrators and I highly recommend it. All opinions are my own. This is a scandalously delicious summer read!

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I adored this book and the narrators!! It took me a little while to get the hang of what was going on because of the time jumps and change of perspective but I find that’s often the case when listening to books written in that style. I guessed a couple of the plot twists but other were a complete shock which I’m impressed by because I’m usually pretty good at guessing. I loved the overall theme of revenge and twisted fantasies. And the end message of girl power 💗

Thank you to Netgalley, Jamie Day, and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of The Block Party in exchange for an honest review. I feel like I say this on repeat but for me, theres just something about listening to drama when individuals are rich. I enjoyed following along with the great assortment of characters throughout this story. There were many different storylines in this one that flawlessly came together as the book went on. This is definitely full of suspense and I found myself questioning alot of the characters motives. I was happy with the ending and I thought the narrator did a fantastic job bringing this story to life for me. You can pick up this one on July 18th! 4.5 stars!

The Block Party is a great light summer read- a murder mystery with a Desperate Housewives sort of flavor to it. Everyone’s got secrets, the question you’re left wondering until the very end is: which secrets are worth killing over? One thing that’s clear: This is definitely a block on which I’m happy not to reside.

The audiobook is perfectly narrated by Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson.

Thank you Jamie Day, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Light Read with Room for Improvement: A Review of "Block Party" by Jamie Day

Firstly, I would like to extend my gratitude to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of "Block Party" by Jamie Day. This book was a light read, perfect for those lazy summer afternoons on the beach. The narration was commendable, with a smooth flow that made it easy to follow the story.

However, the book fell short in terms of character development. The characters, especially the protagonist, were given careers that required advanced education and intelligence, yet their internal dialogues and actions were often incongruous with their supposed intellect. This inconsistency was a bit jarring and detracted from the overall believability of the characters.

The book is targeted towards a young adult audience, but I hesitate to recommend it to this demographic. The reason being, the characters' actions often came across as silly, ill-conceived, and childish. The execution of the plot left much to be desired, despite the writing itself being quite decent.

A particular character that stood out in this regard was the teenage daughter. Her thought process and actions were more reminiscent of a pre-teen than a 17-year-old college-bound young woman. Her reactions, decision-making, and deductions lacked the maturity and intelligence that the other characters seemed to attribute to her.

In conclusion, "Block Party" is a book that you might enjoy if you're looking for a light read to pass the time and your expectations are not too high. It's a book that you can casually read while sipping a drink on the beach, without worrying about missing any significant plot twists. However, if you're looking for a book with deep character development and a well-executed plot, this might not be the one for you.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. New neighbors. An annual summer block party. Hidden secrets that will eventually come to light. Difficult to follow at times and a little slow. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am so grateful to have received my first ARC that is an audiobook in the highly anticipated debut domestic suspense novel, “The Block Party” by Jamie Day! Thank you to @netgalley as well as @macmillanaudio for granting me early access to this title, which releases to the public on July 18!

This twisty novel is truly domestic in nature. It concerns the residents of Alton Road, an upscale development in the fictional upper-middle-to-just-upper-class town of Meadowbrook, Massachusetts, and their yearly Block Party to celebrate Memorial Day. As a lifelong Masshole who has worked in communities akin to this, my interest was piqued by the setting instantly, and the ride was fun overall.

Overall, this is a strong debut. Duel perspectives show us a third person treatment of Alex, the main adult narrator and most reliable character over the course of the book as well as Lettie, Alex’s daughter whose narration is in first person. This juxtaposition of narration voice styles was particularly evident to me as a listener rather than reader, and overall I appreciated it, but kind of wish it had gone all one way or the other.

There is a murder- eventually. The series of events which builds up to the last act drama, the most exciting part of the story, is definitely that of a slow burn style. The ending was satisfying and surprising. There is a subplot romance for Lettie and Jay Kumar, the new neighbor boy, which kind of fell flat at the end, which was a bit of a disappointment.

I would still recommend this title, and definitely would say it makes an awesome vacation or beach read! I’ll be excited to see what else is to come from Jamie in the future as there is some really exciting character building and interactions in this. Look for this juicy summer drama in stores everywhere later this July!

Five Stars! This story of neighborhood drama and secrets is told from alternating POV of mother and teenage daughter. I was nervous about having a teenage narrator but it really worked to enhance the story and plotlines. As the story opens we know that something tragic has happened at the neighborhood Memorial Day party, but exactly what and to whom is not known. As we get to know the neighbors, secrets and complicated histories are revealed and each one had me wanting to continue immediately to the next chapter. The drama built to a satisfying conclusion. Fans of Big Little Lies, The Husbands, or Desperate Housewives will enjoy this fantastic novel!

Thank you Macmillan Audio & NetGalley for the audio version of this book. This audiobook was very well done. This neighborhood has a lot happening and I was there for it! The narrators do a good job reading for their characters Alex and Lettie. It made for easy listening even if your multi-tasking - the story was easy to follow - the neighborhood block party ends in murder and the author takes the reader through a number of scandals, secrets and multiple sub plots. The story kept me engaged and held my attention and did give me vibes of Big Little Lies. I don't see any other books by this author so if this is her debut novel it was very well done!

A mystery/thriller involving the lives of wealthy families and neighbors who are interconnected by blood and relationships? Sign me up!
Given the premise, I was very excited to give the audiobook for The Block Party a listen.
...And then I struggled through the first quarter/third of the book.
Right from the start the characters come off as whiny, irritating, shallow, and so many other undesirable adjectives. And not in a way that makes you curious and hopeful that the plot will find them in a predicament. In a way that makes you want to stop reading/listening to this book.
But if you struggle through, the plot makes it worth it.
Did I end up learning to love and appreciate the characters? No. For the most part, I still felt they had little depth and little in the way of redeeming qualities.
The only reason this story becomes enjoyable is because it starts to focus more and more on the mystery. The reader gets pulled in enough that the "who did it" and "who did they do it to" are important.
I do feel this is one of those books I probably would have enjoyed more if I would have physically read it and not listened to it, but it isn't because the audiobook isn't enjoyable. It is, but I think hearing these characters made them more unappealing to me.

As another reviewer said, this was a block party to which I was glad I was not invited. This book did not appeal to me for many reasons. There were way too many characters and they were not developed enough that you could care about them. Too many intense topics were involved, including rape, infidelity, suicide, alcohol abuse, drug use, etc. The shallow people who filled the pages with insipid tv drama-like lives made it a chore for me to force myself to read through to the last word. I’ll never get that time back!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

This is the story of a beautiful neighborhood with some very ugly secrets. Every Summer, Alton Street hosts a block party for itself. Usually, when listening to a book that has more than four characters, I have trouble keeping them straight. But I did not have that problem, and for that, I credit the author. I highly recommend this page-turner if the reader enjoys a domestic drama filled with plenty of twists and turns. The narrator did a wonderful job.

This is an excellently narrated audiobook! I love a “perfect neighborhood” with secrets plot line and The Block Party didn't disappoint. I liked the dual narration from mother, Alex, and daughter, Lettie. It took me a little while to get all the characters straight, but that probably would be less difficult by reading in physical form- a regular caution with audio. I was definitely on my toes with this mystery and constantly guessing right up till the very last sentence. Highly recommend.

"The Block Party" was a twisty thriller with a cast of depraved characters. When I started the audiobook, I was a bit confused by the timeline, and the characters coming at me fast was a lot. Once I figured out the logistics, I just sunk into the story. These characters are such a mess, and I genuinely wasn't sure who would be the killer and who would be killed, but I knew any answer would be satisfying. The street was so insular that I thought the Facebook discussions from people off the road were weird. Those parts didn't add much to the story for me. Fans of "Desperate Housewives" would like this story.

There is soooo much drama in this book. So many storyline and lots of history to unpack with this crew.

This was a good audiobook, I really liked the narrator. It’s one of those audiobooks where even if you lose focus for a second, you’ll be able to jump right back in without being confused of the major plot points.

When I first began I realized there were a ton of characters in this one, I panicked. I legit took notes. As the story progressed I was able to keep the characters separated in my brain.

None of the characters were particularly likable, but I think that was kind of the point. Entitled, pretentious, “above the law,” types.

I thought the social media forum was a fun touch that added a little something extra to the story because we all know how those neighborhoods social media pages can be. No one on the community’s social media page really care for the crew at the party.

The first twist regarding the NEW boyfriend of Riley surprised me. I definitely wasn’t expecting THAT person to be the bf.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the copy of this ALC!

This was a fun time on the cul-de-sac on Alton Road. There is *DRAMA GALORE* and I love that Jamie Day chose to tell this story from both an adult and YA perspective - it made it so much more intriguing! There's lots of engaging action on in this book, making the perfect bingeable summer read.

I was intrigued by this book because it sounded like Desperate Housewives meets Big Little Lies and that’s exactly what I got. A street full of rich, nosy neighbors with lots of drama. We only follow two perspectives which helped me keep all the characters straight but I didn’t like that one was in first person and the other was in third person. I felt the story dragged at times, if it was shorter and fast paced I would have enjoyed it more. It was intriguing enough to keep me reading. Always appreciate a mystery that is clean language - no swearing!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I loveeee neighborhood drama thrillers but I could not get into this one. I think the cheating ways and jealousy threw me and made me not get into it as much. It just seemed a little whiney, needed and not the neighborhood murder drama I was looking for.

This block is rockin' and riddled with secrets. Mom Alex and daughter Letty tell the story of a year between Memorial Days. The audio book is well done with a narrator for each part. Interludes highlight a social media conversation speculating about what happened at the present day event. Jamie Day covers a lot of ground and tackles issues like #Metoo, climate activism, infidelity, alcoholism, bullying, entitlement mentality, and more. Not a block I would want to live on.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. So many characters with depth and storylines. It was a book that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through!