3.5 ⭐

A good thriller about a wealthy family. I liked the twists and everyone had so many secrets! I found Kass sometimes a little annoying. She would get so upset about small things that didn't make sense. She didn't realize her fiance was wealthy and some of the things that come with being married to a guy with a wealthy family she didn't like.

The ending was kind of surprising and a little too out there for me. I didn't see it coming and didn't really know who the person was that was behind the whole thing.

An ok story. A little contrived and predictable. A whirlwind romance that ends in an engagement and an engagement party. Meeting the family for the first time at the party and finding out that they are excessively rich is a huge surprise as is the fact the groom to be has never told the bride to be that he is still involved in the family business.

This was gifted to me by the publisher & Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately I was so bored. The audio narrator did not have much inflection and was boring to listen to, normally this would not be the biggest issue, but all I had was the audio copy. On top of that it felt like a locked room mystery that was not well done, the story was boring and predictable. Especially if you have read other books with a similar premise. It would probably be fine if you hadn't read other books in the genre.

Thank you, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

I think this was a decent debut. There were things about it that I enjoyed but also some things that I did not.

I’ll start off with the things I liked about this.
I enjoyed the overall plot, and thought as the story progressed it really had some great character development.

It wasn’t until 50% in that the murder that was promised in the blurb happened. There was definitely a little too much build up beforehand and the majority of the big character development happened later on.
Because of this, at around 70% I was ready for it to be over. I didn’t really care at that point who the killer was, or who was sending Kass the messages.
At times I found this about as slow as I imagine these hoity-toity parties would be.

I enjoyed the ending and even though it seemed like maybe *too* much of a coincidence, it was still good.

Overall, the dislikes didn’t outweigh the likes and I will definitely check out what the author releases in the future.

This started out as a really interesting read; the tension was high between the family and the new fiancé, and the setting kept adding to the tension. I was expecting the book to stay fast paced and interesting, however it got a little confusing. There are some ties to characters that don't really need to be there; they don't add to the story.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

3.5ish stars

This was a fun, quick, suspenseful thriller. Some of the characters were beyond irritating at times, but it was clearly intentional, and those personalities and conflicts helped the story along. I didn’t expect everything about the way this one ended, which was fun, and I’d like to see what the writer creates next.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
The lavish engagement party in Finley Turner’s latest thriller is scandalous, with an abundance of shocks. You won’t believe the outrageous things these ultra-rich people get up to.

Imagine receiving an invitation to your engagement party. That’s what happened when Kass and Murray got engaged. Before they got the chance to share the news, Murray’s family sent them an invitation to their own engagement party! This family is one-of-a-kind. We hope!

Kass hasn’t met Murray’s family yet and she’s in for a wild time and a lot of surprises!

Sincere thanks to Dreamscape Media for this complimentary ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own and are left voluntarily.

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The Engagement Party
Finley Turner
An invitation for an engagement party arrives shortly after Murray Sedgemont places a ring on Kass Baptiste finger, his family insists on hosting the event. Kass has never met Murray’s family and he has never spoken well of them. The Sedgemont Estate is located in North Carolina. It is obvious that they are very wealthy and very powerful. Beatrice, Marruy’s mother, is not an easy person to get along with; she is bossy, judgmental and a fusspot. Kass starts receiving threatening messages. Something doesn’t feel right. Kass feels out of place and unwelcome.
The night of the engagement party Kass’ dress is missing; she has to borrow one from Beatrice. The guests at the party are rich and famous. When one of the guests is murdered, Kass is the main suspect. Kass has secrets but so does the Sedgemont family. Will Kass survive the secrets?
Everyone in this tale are borderline if not full-fledged fledged alcoholics. There is also drug usage. I really didn’t like any of the characters. Kass wasn’t very smart; she agreed to marry a man without meeting his family. Marray isn’t what he pretends to be. Beatrice is a B**ch. This tale is rather predictable: murder, storm, locked in, secrets, rich family, powerful people, ex-girlfriend, a butler, alcohol and drugs.

Kass and Murray are newly engaged when an invitation to their own engagement party arrives. Murray’s mother plans a party to announce the news before they do! Kass learns her future husband’s family comes from money money money. Someone ends up dead at the party and Kass has flashbacks about a deceased friend.

This is more of a whodunnit novel about characters I really didn’t care for. Think country club elite.

Thanks to Net Galley, Crooked Lane Books, and the author for the ARC!

Kass is newly engaged to Murray after a whirlwind romance. They have yet to share their good news when an invitation arrives to an engagement party hosted by his parents. When they arrive at his parents' estate, Kass is surprised to learn that his family is extremely wealthy and a powerful family in NC. Soon after arrival, Kass starts to get threatening messages, and on the night of the celebration, a body is found. Now, all eyes are on Kass.

The Engagement Party is a whirlwind of a read/listen. I received it as an audiobook ARC and it was easily devoured in one sitting. It's twisty, full of secrets, and full of drama. I liked the turn it took, because I didn't see the twist, but it did feel a little rushed, leaving me wanting more. Ultimately, a rushed ending didn't prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the book, it just took away from my star rating. The narrator did a great job telling this story and keeping my interest. If you are looking for a page turner, maybe trying to reach your reading goal this year, you should give this one a try! The Engagement Party is out as of 11/7/23.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook ARC and the chance to listen and review it honestly.

Happy reading!

Kass and Murray get engaged and before they can even tell anyone, Murray's parents have invited them to their own engagement party and their estate in North Carolina. Kass is a little overwhelmed at her soon to be mother-in-law, and she starts receiving threatening social media messages from an anonymous sender. When a body is found in the house where everyone is, people start to point fingers and with Kass being the outside and not having dated Murray for that longer, all fingers are pointing at her. So many secrets start to come out and even ones that are not expected.

When the story started talking about Kass' friend who died in a tragic accident, I wondered if there would be a connection to someone who loved her or if Kass really could kill not only a stranger but her friend, years ago, as well. This story was fast-paced and I do feel like the ending was a little rushed.

This is a fast-paced, fun thriller with an appealing heroine, Kass... whose in-laws are throwing her a mysterious engagement party. But they're not just rich - they live in a massive mansion with secret passageways. And who are these twin brothers her fiance never told her about? When a guest turns up dead, nearly anyone in her soon-to-be family could be the killer. And Kass starts to wonder if she even really knows her fisnce at all...

This was a fun, fast listen that was well-written and well-narrated. I would definitely read another book by this author!

This isn’t my usual genre but it was a nice change of pace. I liked the narrator for the FMC but when it came to the MMC, the narrator sounded so angry and irritated even when the MMC was clearly not feeling those emotions. It threw me off. I didn’t feel any connection to him, subsequently making me not want to cheer for the MMC either. I’m unsure if this is just the style of the genre but I would read more from this author. Definitely entertaining read.

I really enjoyed The Engagement Party until the last few chapters. The family was perfectly creepy, but I feel the book wrapped up all the loose ends too quickly and too tidily.

Synopsis: Kass and Murray are a newly engaged couple who do not know each other as well as they think. Murray is from an extremely wealthy family and when the family throws them an engagement party, Kass starts to see a whole new side to her fiancé.

My thoughts: Initially, I was really intrigued and excited when I started this audiobook but it lost me about 25% in 😩 I did not connect with the characters and just couldn’t get invested in the story. An unreliable MC who is constantly under the influence of drugs/alcohol is really just not my thing. The twist did surprise me, but overall I was disappointed.

I picked up the audiobook of Finley Turner's The Engagement Party on a whim. I really enjoyed the narrator. The story itself was a little bit repetitive for 75% of the book, followed by a tumultuous final 25% that left me feeling dazed.

Kass and Murray have the perfect relationship until Murray's wealthy parents throw an engagement party for the couple, and ugly secrets are revealed. It seems that both Kass and Murray have a past that will come back to haunt them. Their entire relationship unravels in the span of 48 hours, all while navigating family drama, the huge engagement party, threatening social media posts, and a catty ex. When you throw in a completely unrelated murder and protesting townspeople, there is an awful lot happening in the latter part of this book. It was good, but not outstanding in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook.

Kass and Murray were newly engaged. Murray came from a wealthy family. While Murray’s parents holding an enormous engagement party for them, a body was found in the house. Along with this mystery needed to be solved, the family drama and the secrets in the family, Murray and the past of Kass were going to reveal.

The story kept me hooked on what’s happening next. It had an intriguing start but then slow down and finally picked up the pace in the second half. The dirty dark secrets in a family always “entertaining” to read. I enjoyed the author spending time focusing on Kass while she realized what her fiancé did, especially her hesitation, which also executed very well by the narrator.

This book just wasn’t for me, and that’s okay. I don’t have anything particularly negative to say about it. I just never fully engaged with it like I wanted to. I never really connected with the protagonist on a deeper level. The twists just felt a little too contrived for me. Maybe I’m just jaded from reading so many books in this genre, but I just wasn’t fully believing it. It dragged for the majority of it and I wasn’t feeling all that excited or thrilled. There wasn’t anything that was pulling me in or making me want to frantically turn the pages. Although the stakes were objectively high, it didn’t feel like that while I was reading it. I just didn’t really care, to be honest. If you love a rich people drama thriller, then you may love this. Personally, I feel like there are better domestic thrillers out there than this one. I hate feeling like I’m being so negative about someone’s debut, it really wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t anything spectacular or fresh for this genre and I have to be honest about my opinion and experience. It was kind of bland and forgettable, basic in its plot and execution. I’d still probably pick up a second book by this author if I felt like it was a story that took more risks and veered from the status quo.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this mystery. I was surprised along the way and was often wrong about what I thought would happen.

There are a lot of moving pieces in this story, which added to the complexity. I did want more depth in some of the key players. Because of the moving pieces, some plot points seemed to just fizzle out with no resolution, which left me wanting more.

I listened in audio and the narrator was clear, crisp, and showed the emotions of the characters throughout.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the chance to listen to this early. All opinions are my own.

Not even a week after Kass and Murray are engaged, they receive an invite to celebrate their engagement party at Murray’s North Carolina family estate. Upon arrival, Kass is shocked to realize how filthy rich his Murray’s family actually is. They just about “own” the town and all the town’s people despise them all. Kass feels so out of place but endures a ridiculous, stuffy, ritzy party where 200 strangers attend. During the party someone is murdered and she ends up being the fall guy for it, number one suspect. During this process of the police investigation and getting to know her future in-laws, she finds that Murray is nothing like he portrays. She also discovers family lies and secrets, buried deep.

There are some surprising twists that come out of left field. I very much enjoyed this fast-paced domestic thriller! Writing was super as well as the whole story line. However, I felt like the ending could have been more in depth.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this wonderful advanced readers copy! I’ll be looking forward to more by this author!