Kass and Murray have built a nice life together in New York City. After dating for a few years, Murray takes the next step and proposes to Kass. Their engagement has just begun, and it hasn't fully sunk in for Kass when they receive an invitation from Murray's parents in North Carolina for their engagement party.

Kass has never met Murray's parents before, and she is unaware that the Sedmonts are one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in North Carolina. The engagement party takes unexpected turns, revealing that behind every powerful family, there are secrets, and Kass has a secret of her own that becomes entwined in the events.

I truly enjoyed this mystery/thriller with its many twists and turns. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing a gifted copy.

After a quick engagement, Kass is invited to meet her boyfriend Murray's wealthy family. Murray has never mentioned quite how wealthy his family is, and Kass is not warmly welcomed. She soon realizes that Murray is not who she thought he was, and then people begin dying when a storm cuts off their contact to the outside world.

This was a pretty classic locked-room mystery tied in with rich people behaving badly. It was an enjoyable enough read, but there wasn't much to set it apart from other thrillers in my opinion. I'd give this author another chance in the future.

The Engagement Party was a rollercoaster ride! A deepdive into the lives of the ridiculously rich and how horribly wrong it can go. The narrator was incredible. I can't believe this was a debut novel. Anxiously waiting to see what Finley Turner does next!

This story was full of unlikable characters. Cass very naive and Murray very secretive. It was wild to believe she had never met any of his family and were going to an engagement party for them that was organized before they were engaged. So many red flags through. I did not like Murray or any of his family. I would not recommend this one to my friends. I did not find it memorable or engaging.

I listened to the audio book of this and I really enjoyed the story but not so much the audio book. I kept taking breaks from it because of that and it took me a while to finish

This book is good. The atmosphere of the introduction gives the same feeling as "The Invitation" film where an event is being held at a large estate. With that, it helped me to visualize the setting easily.

Moreover, I also like that it has a good description of the events and the character features. Some parts are being overly descriptive but it is fine with me. The only thing that I think this book lacks is the thrill, there's so much happening but I find myself not being engrossed in the story, maybe because I am irritated by the main character who complains most of the time, so it kinda distracted me to feel what I should feel.

Overall, this book is okay, my only concern with this audiobook is that the reader does have a heavy accent, thus it leaves me confused in interpreting what is being told.

The Engagement Party
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Finley Turner

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Kass Baptiste is newly engaged to her fiancé Murray Sedgemont after a whirlwind romance. Before they even get to share the news, an invitation arrives via messenger—to an engagement party hosted by Murray’s parents. When Kass and Murray arrive at the Sedgemont Estate, she is astonished to learn that Murray’s family is one of the most powerful families in North Carolina. As Kass’s future mother-in-law, Beatrice, whips herself into a frenzy over the perfect party for the state’s elite, Kass begins to receive anonymous threatening social media messages.

On the night of the event, as champagne is popped and the celebrations begin, a body is found in the lavish home. All eyes are on Kass, the interloper amongst the rich and powerful guests. Over the course of the party, Kass’s dark past unexpectedly becomes intertwined with the murder, and in order to prove her innocence, she must finally come to terms with her secrets.

As Murray’s family secrets are revealed, Kass must prove herself innocent while evading the anonymous threats that haunt her every move.

My Thoughts: For a debut novel for Finley Tuner, I thought it gave a lot of promise of amazing things to come from this author. I will be picking up future books from this author. Whirlwind romance between Kass and Murray equates into a marriage proposal with an impressive three carat diamond ring. They are living together to save money (on Kass’s end) but do they really know each other? A very fancy invitation arrives inviting them to their own engagement party being thrown by Murray’s parents at the impressive Sedgemont Estate. During the weekend (leading up to the party) at the Sedgemont Estate, there is a lot of alcohol, questionable family activities, even some drug use, and then of course, the dead body. There is a storm that rocks the estate by taking out the power, shady family members, and maybe Kass does not know her fiancé as well as she thought she did. While there are some things that are questionable believable, the main characters did not know each other’s family, the characters could have been developed a little more, and the plot explored a little deeper, I still felt the overall premise of the novel was great.

The story is narrated in first person POV by Kass in her perspective, as an unreliable protagonist. Kass has a troubled past (that she keeps hidden from Murray), is reserved, and does not like chaos. Murray portrays himself one way in front of Kass and their friends, and is different with his family, not to mention that he is also hiding things. These two meet, date for a short time and decide to save money and move in together, a few months later decide to get married, then gets invited to their own engagement party that they had no part in planning. The characters were developed, however, I would have like to seen a little more development; they were mysterious, intriguing, and entertaining. There were multiple characters and the ongoing dialogue and storyline between them was fantastic. The author’s writing style was multilayered, suspenseful, twisty, and kept me invested throughout the entire novel. The plot was devliered in twisty layers, while some of the plot was predictable, the pace and flow worked well for the storyline, and the ending was unexpected and unpredictable.

The narrator (Jennifer Jill Araya) was wonderful and did an amazing job with pitch, tense, flow, and speed. She did a fantastic job at matching her voice to the character emotion. Her voice variation was distinct with the multiple characters and I had no problem listening on 2x speed throughout the novel. This book reminds me of Knives Out and if you loved that, you will love this one, keeping in mind to suspend belief a little. Overall, a great debut novel that I enjoyed very much. I had the pleasure of having the digital and audio versions and due to the amount of characters, I would lean on the audio version. I would definitely recommend to other readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ARC. Kass is newly engaged to Murray and before she can even let her friends and family know, they receive an invitation in the mail for an Engagement Party being held in their honour. The host of this party is Murray's parents who were supposedly estranged from Murray for several years. How did they find out about the engagement and why didn't Murray know about this party being planned. Kass is shocked once she sees the family home and even more so when she meets her future in laws and future brother-in-laws. Kass had no idea that her fiance came from money and he wasn't the only one keeping secrets. As the evening plays out,Kass' secrets will be revealed in more ways than one......and her past will collide and hopefully bring closure to one of her more painful memories. This was a quick read with a few twists but nothing that made me gasp out loud. Enjoy!!!

3.5 stars

This book was a pretty quick listen. It was good for the most part and the writing was good as well. The storyline, for me, was easy to solve pretty quickly. There was some suspense after you get to the turning point in the book which elevated the ending. Overall I liked it. The audio was easy to listen to and the narrator what good.

***Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape media for the ARC copy in return for an honest review***

Kass Baptiste recently got engaged to Murray Sedgemont after a whirlwind romance. Murray’s parents insisted to host an engagement party at the Sedgemont Estate, which turned out to be more lavish than Kass expected. Kass started wondering if she even knew her fiancé after all. Especially after a body was found during the party and all eyes turned to her, the ‘stranger’ who was joining the powerful family as its newest member.

This was exactly what I had expected going in. An action-packed, suspenseful pop-corn thriller. The start of it felt a bit slow as the first 35% only got us to the mystery point mentioned in the synopsis. It did pick up afterwards though.

Throughout the book, everyone’s behaviour towards Kass was so appalling. Realistically, if I were her, I’d just leave straight away!

The story climax and the action scenes around it were great. I was hooked, and scared for Kass’ life multiple times. There were some elements of convenient coincidences to help things reach conclusion that weren’t my favourite, but all in all, still a good thriller.

This was such an exciting thriller. I found myself on the edge of my seat for the majority of it. The tension steadily built to you were just waiting for the suspense to finally come to a head. I love a wealthy family with lots of secrets and this one certainly delivered. The characters were all really interesting in this and my only complaint is we didn't get to know them better. Overall I thought this was really well done and the ending was very fitting and satisfying. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
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I think this was a pretty decent debut novel. I enjoyed it enough to finish it in a day. But there isn’t really anything standing out to make this one unique - its a premise I feel like I’ve read many times before. With that, let me say I still enjoyed this one - it was a great drama filled popcorn thriller/mystery.
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The pacing throughout this had parts that were fast paced and gripping and other parts that felt more slow, which I really didn’t mind in. I liked the fact that Kass’ past was haunting her and how it related to the story. The characters were both likable and unlikable, mostly the ladder, but I felt that overall there was pretty decent character growth.
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If your looking for a quick read, a decent popcorn thriller, something you can read without needing complete and full concentration - go ahead and give this one a go!
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I listened to this via audiobook and the narrator Jennifer Jill Araya was great.
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The Engagement Party was released on 11/7. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Finley Turner and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This is your typical story of a middle-class girl engaged to a boy from a privileged family. And, of course, the wealthy family disapproves of their son's choice. But this story stands out because of a secret link that connects Kass to the Sedgemont family, the link that neither Kass nor the Sedgemonts are aware of. This novel is a quick and engaging read with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers hooked. Initially, the story revolves around Kass but later shifts its focus to the Sedgemont family and their numerous members. As the book progresses, trusting anyone, including Kass, becomes difficult. I found the mystery, pacing, and ending of the novel to be highly enjoyable. It's a fantastic choice for those who love family thrillers.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me a free advanced copy of the novel.

The premise of this novel was alluring with a wealthy yet secretive family background, threatening social media messages, and a possibly doomed engagement. However, Kass hysterically jumps to every outrageous conclusion and literally hides in the dumbest locations. Honestly if there was a toolshed with axes, scythes, and chainsaws she would have hidden behind them.

Kass and Murray have only recently gotten engaged when an invitation arrives from his parents hosting a celebration party in their honor. Kass has never met Murray’s parents and she becomes more nervous when she realizes that they are not only wealthy, but they might be one of the wealthiest families in North Carolina. Warning bells go off throughout the novel and Kass comes to the conclusion that she might not know her fiancé as well as she thought she did. In the background of the party a more nefarious plot is brewing that involves not only the Sedgemonts, but also Kass’s past.

The audio production was done very well and I enjoyed the narrator.

I did not finish this one as it failed to capture my attention from the start and stayed the same throughout few initial chapters
Also i feel like there was no significant character growth, at least not till the first 12 chapters

The Engagement Party was a well paced twist of a story. I enjoyed the tone and delivery of Jennifer Jill Araya, the narrator. The layers of the characters were methodically delivered keeping you guessing who the "good guys" really were. Thank you to the author Finley Turner, Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this ARC audiobook.

This was so interesting. I liked how they slowly told the details of what happened with her friend. It was sad how the family got away with so much because they were rich. I was shocked to find out who the killer was. I was so happy how it eneded and her weight was lifted.

If you think you know your fiance, wait until you meet his family, and all the secrets that come with it. Join a real time game of Clue with a side of blame as Cassie is completely blind sided and everyone is pointing the finger at her.

I had no idea what was going to happen in this book. I was engaged with it though. I kept wanting to listen to more to find out what happened next. I did NOT expect the ending. I just did not like some of the characters, which I know they were supposed to be unlikable. I thought Murray was a good guy...I ended up feeling bad for Cassandra at the end. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Wow. I did NOT see all those twists coming and I loved it! What a nightmare one party weekend turned into. The 2 people I thought were going to be the worst ended up being the best! Man did Kass dodge a bullet by finding out who Murray truly was! This was my 1st book by Finley Turner but I can't wait to read another by her!

#TheEngagementParty
#NetGalley