3⭐
Genre ~ domestic thriller
Setting ~ North Carolina
Publication date ~ November 7, 2023
Page Count ~ 315 (p+ 40 chapters)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 12 minutes
Narrator ~ Jennifer Jill Araya
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ rich and snobby family, secrets, lies, murder, locked room

Kass & Murray are newly engaged and his parents are throwing them an engagement party. Kass will get to meet her future in-laws, woo hoo...or not.
Quick side bar ~ how do you get engaged to someone and not have ever met their family, or know anything at all about them? Just seems odd to me since my hub introduced me after 12 days of dating, I guess when ya know ya know.

Of course Murray's rich family has secrets to hide, but Kass has one, too...dun dun dun. There's a locked room feel since no one is allowed to leave after the murder AND the electricity is out, which I liked, but all characters are unlikable, so it was a bit crazy at times. Man, Murray's family, and even his parent's friends, were pretty awful. Naive Kass should've hightailed it outta there ASAP. I love what she found behind the dresser, I wish I had one.

Overall, this was fine enough as a debut that I'd read her work again.

PS ~I love the cover!

Narration notes:
Jennifer did a great. Her voice was a little slow though and I had to bump it up to 3x. She gave proper emotion and was very frantic when necessary.

The Engagement Party had a lot of twists that I enjoyed. I equally loved, then hated Murray and the Sedgemonts. The balance of elements between suspense, romance, and action were perfect and I loved the narration.

This is a debut novel so, knowing that, I will absolutely read Finley Turner when she writes again. The Engagement Party had all the elements of a good domestic thriller - the quick romance to engagement, main characters who probably didn't know each other well enough for that choice, a hugely wealthy family with an overwhelming abundance of possessions and ego to match, the future mother in law who will be trouble, a murrrderrr..... all of it. But, somehow, this one wasn't a love match for me. Good, not great.

First, I am growing weary of female characters written to be so naïve. I wish we could have smart, savvy females who don't personify waif. And, this one felt out of touch with the calendar. We are expected to believe a new man came into her life and she never googled him. Her friends have no idea who he is. The internet must not be a thing. Murray Sedgemont is heir to a FORTUNE but lives the average joe life as an "art dealer". Splitting living costs down the middle with finance Kass Baptiste who, I remind you, never googled this guy. All their friends think they struggle financially too. Yet, here she arrives at the parent's mansion and cannot comprehend how her future in laws have Bezos or Gates level wealth.

My poor husband got a five minute rant at the next plot point which made my head explode - the family has a security system at their mansion cause people don't like them. That's believable. What made me mad was the impending storm (of course) which cuts off electricity. Hence, cutting off the security system because it requires electricity. I am not wealthy. Comfortable, not rich. I HAVE A GENERATOR. My lack of electricity lasts 30 seconds then voila, I'm living the life. But, tell me again how we are expected to believe this doesn't exist for the uber rich. I'll wait.

Turner can write, but I'm fingers-crossing the next book leaves out hugely big stretches of believability.

Finley didn’t waste anytime getting me totally obsessed with this book. It had be on edge the whole time and was amazing! Left me wanting more but perfectly satisfied with the ending. Thanks NetGallery!

The Engagement Party is a solid, entertaining suspense. I enjoyed it, but, having said that, it's not a "wow" book. It follows a fairly standard fall in love, there's some intense drama, it works out kind of plot. Kass is a little more naive than I would have expected. Who doesn't have any idea about her fiancee's family, even from a casual internet search. I'm giving it a three-star rating, because it is a good book, but it's just not a must-know kind of book.

What a ride. This was a good mystery. I really enjoyed the narrator. I was sucked in and engaged the whole time.

In The Engagement Party, we are introduced to Kass Baptiste and her new fiancé, Murray Sedgemont after what we find out is a whirlwind romance. Before their big announcement, they receive an invitation to their own engagement party, thrown by Murray's family. We are whisked away to North Carolina, where the Sedgemont's are a powerful entity, that might not be exactly who she thought they were.

The Engagement Party is told in the first person POV, making Kass the leading lady in more ways that one. I don't think I can say that she was a reliable narrator, because most of her narration was colored by her past and the anxiety (and guilt) she felt over her best friend's death years earlier. Something big happens at their engagement party and it starts to spiral a little out of control. There were some parts that I just didn't find believable and then the character development, in my opinion starts to deteriorate. I think there was potential for more but the connections that were being made were a little tenuous in my opinion. I think the narration was good and there was definite movement towards a shocking ending but it just fell a little short.

I think this was an entertaining closed room thriller that had some great and unexpected plot twists that had me waiting for more, but it goes back to the development of the characters that had me a little underwhelmed. Rated up for 3.5 Stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Finley Turner for the advanced audiobook The Engagement Party in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for The Engagement Party by Finley Turner is 07 November 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley, Finley Turner & Dreamscape Media for an audio arc of The Engagement Party in exchange for an honest review.

"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."

I actually enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, despite the somewhat sloppy ending.

I won't lie, I felt like there were places in the story that were lacking, especially at the end, but the rest of the plot was enough to keep my interest.

I was disappointed in the ending, not so much what happened, but more of what didn't happen. Kass's relationship with Murray - she never confronted him further after the fire. We don't get any additional info on the twins. The ending could have had just a little more detail and information. It almost felt like it was an afterthought. "Oh wait, I've got to slap an ending on this story!" That is my only negative criticism.

I did enjoy the book overall and will rate it 4/5.

This was one that I didn’t want to pause/stop for long, super engaging and unfolded with so many twists along the way!

I LOVE when stories begin with such a perfect picture, a fairytale story from the outside, and layers begin to peel back until the past and ugly truths become known. This was one that started with a lovely engagement and began to unfold with surprising revelations from the beginning all the way to the very end! I gave 4 stars because a couple of connections seemed weak or less resolved, but overall the story was intriguing and engaging. I look forward to reading more from this author, Finley Turner.

Narration was wonderful by Jennifer Jill Araya, preferred listening speed between 1.25x-1.5x

Highly Recommend for a good mystery and murder twist!

Extra shoutout to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is told in one first person POV through main character Kassandra. Kass had a drug problem in college that ended with one of her friends dying, and she deals with that guilt throughout the book. Following her engagement she begins to get threatening anonymous messages on Instagram. Immediately after getting engaged she learns that her fiancé has a super rich family and they go to NC for an engagement party. Kass is extremely judgmental and unlikeable throughout the entire book. Her finance Murray is also an absolute drip of a man who gets worse throughout the book. When someone dies at the party, somehow suspicion is sent her way and the completely incompetent cop decides she's an easy solution for his case. Murray continues to show how terrible he is by doing nothing to support his fiancé. Then a bunch of surprising stuff happens that kind of made listening to the whole book worth it, but the ending was so rushed it felt unsatisfying when it was all done. Also, the narrator was annoying. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. If you want to check this one out, try reading it, I think I might have liked it better without the narrator getting on my nerves.

In my experience with the audiobook, I encountered a mix of elements that left me with conflicting impressions. On one hand, the narration's brisk pace provided an energetic momentum to the story, a factor I found appreciable. On the other hand, the characters' portrayal was a significant drawback. They seemed either overly naive or poorly developed, lacking the depth needed to establish a connection with the listener.

Amidst these challenges, the audiobook did manage to surprise me with unexpected plot twists. While these twists injected moments of intrigue, they were overshadowed by the overall character portrayal. The characters' lack of authenticity made it hard for me to fully immerse myself in the narrative, diminishing my overall enjoyment of the audiobook.

It's worth noting that individual preferences vary, and what didn't resonate with me might work for others. However, I personally found it difficult to engage with the story due to the underdeveloped characters, despite the promising plot twists.