Wow! I did NOT see that ending coming! What a riveting storyline, and a protagonist that I loved despite her troubled past. The narrator was top notch, too!

I want to thank Finley Turner, Dreamscape Media, and Netgalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I am rounding up to 3.5 stars...

The Engagement Party is told in a single POV of Kass Baptise, newly engaged to Murray Sedgemont. Before sharing their happy news with anyone, an invitation appears from Murray's parents, inviting them to an elaborate engagement party hosted by them. This is when "meet the parents" takes a whole new level. The Sedge ont family is rich and powerful, with many family secrets. Kass will soon learn these secrets while holding onto her own secrets.


This book started great. I loved the narrator and the single POV. I loved the idea of a "who done it"? As I read on, more and more characters were introduced, and I often found it hard to keep up. A little over halfway through, the book began to drag, and I was starting to lose interest. Secrets began to unravel, and I found them to be underwhelming. Once the main twist was revealed, I had to turn back pages to figure out who the character was 🤦🏻‍♀️.

Overall, it was an easy read, and I finished it in two days. I guess I just expected more.

Great narration with a few minor sound discrepancies, but only were noticed because I was listening for it. Loved the story and how it combined a gothic feel with a Clue-like vibe. Well developed characters and a good storyline.

Kass Baptiste is newly engaged to her fiancé Murray Sedgemont, and their next adventure is an engagement party back in North Carolina at the home of Murray's parents. Kass doesn't know much about Murray's family, but she soon learns that they are beyond wealthy and that her mother-in-law is a force to be reckoned with.

When the night of the engagement party to rival any society wedding comes around, everyone's eyes are on Kass, the stranger with no apparent social standing. And then when someone dies, Kass is thrust into suspicion.

Full of red herrings and secrets left and right, this one kept my attention as I listened to the skilled narration. I did guess some of the twists, but there was plenty that surprised me just enough. If you like the different worlds trope in a thriller and the wedding or large party setting, this one is a fun read.

Starting out as a seemingly perfect engagement, Kass had no idea what she was in for. As a struggling NY couple, she was shocked when meeting her soon to be in-laws for the first time, only to find that they were ridiculously wealthy. And like they say, money is the root of all evil.

Filled with secrets, lies, mystery, and suspense, this book was fast moving, addicting and fun too. The end threw me a twist that I could never have predicted. If you're looking for a read that will keep you on your toes and guessing and/or you're wanting a good "locked room" suspense thriller - this book is for you!

Great narration and a solid read, all the way around. I'm excited to read this debut author's next book already!

This was SUCH an immersive audiobook! It felt like a slow build-up at first but that really helped to set the scene of how normal things were for Cassandra and Murray....until everything changed. The foreshadowing was a wonderful way of building up tension and suspense. Highly recommend!!

Kass has fallen for a man she barely knows. They both have secrets, and they all come out in the end.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio copy for an honest review.

Cassandra found her dream man with Murray. But when she she meets his family for the first time at an engagement party thrown by his parents, Cassie learns that Murray's life is not what she thought. The Sedgemont family is extremely wealthy, and in typical novel trope, with tons of money comes tons of secrets. This book was just OK...there were a few too many coincidences for me. And I didn't necessarily buy the whole idea of Murray keeping so many secrets from Cassie. 3 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape from an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

The cover is lovely and dramatic which is a great lead into this book. The plot may sound like your typical wealthy vs impoverished young adult who happened to fall in love but there is so much more to this book. There is a creepy undertone which adds that extra element to this mysterious psychological thriller. The visuals of the grand estate, especially when the twists began were wonderful. It had characters you could relate to and some of those that you just love to hate.

The narrator was GREAT! I listen to a lot of audiobooks and sometimes struggle to enjoy a book based solely on the narration. Her diction was clear, flowed nicely and had emotion when needed. I am from the Midwest (USA) and she sounded to also be from the United States.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and sincerely thank NetGalley, Finley Turner, the publisher and also the narrator for this great read.

HOLY CRAP!!!
If this is her debut novel, well, hold on to your seats!!

#TheEngagementParty by #FinleyTurner

Kass (Kassandra) and Murray met in college and have known each other for years...but they only started dating recently, and now they are engaged! 💍

Before Kass has even had a MOMENT to digest this, a letter arrives in their Brooklyn apartment by courier. Kass is intrigued. Murray grabs it, opens it up, and informs her that his parents are hosting an engagement party for them in one week!

Wait. What??

They haven't even told anyone yet!

And...he is estranged from his parents!! So how did they know??

They travel to South Carolina (I think is was SC, but maybe NC?? Not sure) for the party...and Kass is shocked to find that his family is uber wealthy! 💲💲 And she's not even sure she can FIT IN with this crowd...

And then, a dead body appears... just after the party.
And the sh*t starts to hit the fan...in every which way!!

One shocking twist after another! A real page turner...and you will not want to go to sleep for fear of missing something!!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for an ARC of the audiobook which released 11/7.

The Engagement Party by Finley Turner.
Beautifully narrated by #JenniferJillAraya too!

4 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me, rounded up to 5.

Check out all my upcoming reviews on my Instagram account: BookReviews_with_emsr

Thanks for reading!! 📚📖

Thank you to NetGalley for introducing me to this author’s debut novel.

After a short engagement Kass and Murray go to his families home, which is an really an estate. Sedgemont Estate is in North Carolina and she Kass realizes her finances family is very wealthy. He has always said he was not close to them so when send him an invitation to “their engagement party”, it’s a shock because he never told them.

Shortly after showing up Kass begins getting threatening social media messages. As the party begins a body is found. Who could have wanted to kill this person? What has Kass gotten herself into? Family secrets run rampant in this novel.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Engagement Party by Finley Turner an audiobook narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya is a domestic thriller packed with everything you would want in a thriller - dark secrets, lies, rich people drama, revenge, and guilt. When I chose this book I chose it because of the stunning cover! Absolutely loved it! I didn't read any comments, reviews, or blurb so it was a full surprise for me and I am saying with confidence - a good surprise! I enjoyed every single part of this book! I loved the storyline and how some twists took unexpected directions, I loved the dynamics between characters, and I loved how angry some parts of this book made me as I value real emotions that the book can create.
The narrator did an amazing job and all together flowed so nicely!

When Kass got engaged she was the happiest woman in the world. She felt that she had everything all she needed to do was survive her engagement party that had been organised by soon-to-be her mother-in-law. How hard that could be? She was so wrong! Kass wasn't prepared for what she was signing up for!

I am so grateful for this audiobook, thank you NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media!

"The Engagement Party" by Finley Turner has me hooked from the very first page to the last. I finished this book in 2 days. I enjoyed the twists and turns and character development of the characters. I was a little disappointed in at the ending of the story, I wanted to know what happened to the main character and her relationship with her fiancé. Overall, I really and truly enjoyed this read.

On paper this sounds like everything I would enjoy- murder, messy rich people drama, confined setting, thriller. However, this was a major miss for me. Despite there being literal murders, everything in this book felt extremely low stakes. I was never very concerned for the wellbeing of any of the characters and ultimately found myself wanting to skip through the chapters. Kass acted like she was very in the know after meeting members of the family literally 24 hours prior. I couldn't handle her stupidity and unrealistic reactions.
I was bored, annoyed with our (extremely naive) main character, and overall ready to move on from this ridiculous storyline.

I hate giving a poor review given the generosity of the author and publisher, but honest reviews are what this is all about, right?

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I received an advanced audio copy of The Engagement Party by Finley Turner in exchange for my honest review.

Because I saw reviews comparing it to a few of my favorite suspense novels, I listened to the book in two days, waiting for the ultimate sparks and the aha moments.

While it did not reach the levels of epic proportions that I was hoping for, it was an easy listen with a couple of turns I did not see coming.

Overall, it was just okay, and I probably wouldn’t listen to it again.

All thought and opinions are my own.

'The Engagement Party' was a ton of fun, but you can tell it's a debut because there are some kinks that need to be worked out, along with a healthy sprinkle of plot holes. Even so, the premise is strong enough (and the pacing lively enough) to keep a reader going!

Premise - Kass is engaged to Murray, who isn't close to his family. His family insists on throwing them a lavish engagement party, however, so they head down South to celebrate. When Kass arrives, she's surprised to learn that Murray comes from an incredibly wealthy, influential family. All is not well, however, and soon one of the family members turns up dead... and Kass is the suspect.

So there's a lot here that requires the suspension of disbelief. Kass and Murray have dated long enough to get engaged (and to decide how many children they're having and of what genders) but they've seemingly never discussed how they grew up. Similar gaps in logic show up later, but I won't outline them as they contain spoilers.

The characters consistently make choices and behave in ways that don't feel true to character. It feels like they do them to advance the plot, but in their world they're just living, there is no plot, so...

Murray is a cardboard cutout with little doubt. We don't really see or feel the love between him and Kass even at the beginning, so it's not shocking when it turns out she doesn't actually know him.

All of that said, the premise of this is really fun and rich people behaving badly is always an entertaining spectacle.

This book has:
- a meddling ex-girlfriend
- plenty of murder
- lots of secrets
- inheritance drama
- family drama
- rich people behaving badly
- cover-ups

It loosely felt like it could have been the Murdoch family? Not at all because of the plot, but just general ~vibes.~

While the novel hit some debut bumps, the storytelling was lively and I was engaged throughout. I look forward to reading the author's sophomore release!

Thanks, NetGalley and Crooked Lane, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I find it hard to get into some mystery/thriller books but I was very interested in this one when I read the description. I think it started off really interesting but towards the middle/end things got kind of muddled and rushed. There were a bunch of details that felt way too convenient and how do people get engaged without knowing anything about their partner's family? That was really weird to me. It might have worked better if it had been a little longer so certain details and characters could be more developed, but overall I still enjoyed it and honestly had no idea who the killer was. The audio is short (about 9 hours) so it can definitely be finished in a day if you have time, even pausing and going back to it. The narrator did a good job and kept the story flowing. You could feel Kass's panic and emotions through the narrator. I do usually prefer multiple POV but I think this one worked with just having Kass tell the story since it's a thriller and you want to be more in the dark about what's going on. There were many aspects that I did like including the layout of the house, the backstory of Murray's family with the town (although I would have liked some more details), and the fact that Kass has her own secret past that she hasn't made peace with. As a debut thriller, I think this was worth the read/listen but I am looking forward to seeing how the author's writing grows.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF around 20%

This book couldn't keep my interest for two reasons: #1 it was very slow moving; nothing is happening and slow burns aren't for me. #2 The writing is terrible! The characters are all speaking like they’re in a bad “ straight to-DVD-movie." It is very unimaginative, cookie cutter and cardboard-like. Initially I was captivated and excited for this but it lost me fast. SORRY!

I'm giving this book a 3.5-star rating. I think the first half of this book was very strong, and the second half felt like the author was trying too much too fast. It went from this cool vibe of Cass and Murry against the world to "actually you're in a game of clue meets knives out" and the plot seems to get muddy. I felt like I was so engaged from the first half that his ex would come into play and that the author was leaving little clues, which was not the case. To me, the ending just felt rushed. He was embezzling and it just happened to also be the anniversary of her friend's death AND it's the guy her friend used to "date" and her fiance is also a bad guy but at the same time not at all relevant.

Murray and Kass get engaged after a whirlwind romance. Kass has never been happier. But things change dramatically when they head to Murray’s parents estate for a lavish engagement party. Kass knew that he came from money, but she is about to find out so much more about the man she thought she knew. I wanted a little more from this novel. The ending was very abrupt and rushed. I didn’t like any of the characters, but there were a few little twists that I didn’t see coming. Overall, a solid debut.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for this audio e-arc.*