This was certainly a gripping story, and it was set in a fabulous location.

However I really found myself not being a fan of most of the characters. They were all quite hard to like and Eve is an utter doormat and seems to be able to manipulated by everyone in her life.

There are all sorts of secrets to uncover, but nothing that overtly shocked me or had me gasping. I was keen to know what was happening but ultimately it didn't quite grab me in they way I hoped it would.

I was able to read it quickly, as I wasn't feeling great and this certainly took my mind of my cold, but at least some of the key reveals I guessed fairly early, and with my disconnect from most of the characters, it just didn't work for me.

It's not a bad book by any stretch, but I think it may have just been the wrong book for me at the wrong time.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I want to express my gratitude to Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch.
From the very beginning, I was completely engrossed in the book. Being a lover of Greece, I was immediately intrigued by the setting of the story. The concept of a surprise party is something I adore, and Will goes all out in planning one for his wife Eve's 50th birthday inviting all their family and friends!
Just when things seem to be going well, a murder takes place the morning after the party. As the investigation unfolds, a variety of secrets come to light. While the book starts off at a slower pace, it gradually becomes more intense as deception takes center stage. It contains all the thrilling elements you would expect from a thriller! The plot is filled with unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.
I highly recommend this book to all thriller enthusiasts out there. It's a story that will completely catch you off guard!

I had a hard time getting into this one, the beginning was a bit slow for me. I have to say I absolutely love a thrillers set in an isolated location. Even more so when secrets are revealed and it sets off a wonderful chain of surprise events. Eve thinks they are going tot he island to reconnect and improve their marriage, he ends up throwing her a surprise 50th birthday party. I didn’t find any of the characters that likeable, or really connect with them. They all had selfish agendas. It’s an okay read, not too many twists or surprises (as the title suggests). I also had an issue with the dual POVks not being noted on the chapter, I figured it out, but like going into the change knowing who’s pov it is.

I absolutely love thrillers set on isolated locations where secrets and revealed and its all very tense so I was excited to get stuck in. I more of less hated absolutely everyone, which I've no doubt is by design! Such horrible people and granted it's not the most realistic but its a fiction so doesn't have to be. Don't think too hard about the logistics and just enjoy it for what it is

There were bits I liked and bits I didn’t - but in all it was a decent thriller.
Lots of unlikeable characters, meaning lots of people to be suspicious of!
I loved the premise - a surprise romantic trip for 2 actually being a party with a boat load of family.
It just didn’t measure up to some of the absolute bangers I have read this year.

This one was a bit too unrealistic for me. The ending was disappointing, and I found it easy to put down. Loved the plot and the setting though.

Meh.

I couldn’t connect to the characters and just wasn’t super involved in the story. It took me forever to finish and I never really looked forward to reading it.

I enjoyed Julia’s writing, but this story wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me an ARC in exchange for a review!

What a thriller. What a great read. Absolutely loved it and have already recommended to my friends. Loved the way it was written. A super beach read and so good!

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Great beach read with lots of very unlikeable characters. Could not put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley aan the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Surprise Party
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Julia Crouch

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Bookouture and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: This trip was meant to save our marriage. Instead it will destroy everything…

To celebrate my special birthday, my husband and I have returned to the beautiful Greek island village where we spent our honeymoon. As the boat pulls in to the harbour, I feel hope rise in my heart. The white houses, the blue doors, the brilliant turquoise of the sea, are just as I remember. If two weeks in this paradise won’t fix our marriage, nothing will.

But then the next day a boat arrives, full of my friends and family. My grown-up children jump on to the shore, grinning and holding balloons. My husband beams at me and says, “Surprise!”

I can’t believe it. It was meant to be just the two of us. This was my chance to confess what I’ve been hiding for years, the truth that will change everything.

Now I’m surrounded by all the people I’ve been desperate to escape, all the secrets I’ve been pretending I don’t know. I force a smile on to my face, but inside I want to kill my husband.

But even after my party ended in disaster, I didn’t expect anyone to die…

My Thoughts: Almost three decades later, and Eve and Will return to their honeymoon destination. Eve has been planning this two week getaway for them to reconnect, well, that is after she confesses a secret to him. Will also has a surprise for Eve when the entire family shows up the next day for Eve’s milestone, 50th birthday. Also on the island is Poppy who just departed from her cheating ex and is fed up with her mother’s lies. Before morning, there will be a dead body. The story opens with a gripping and compelling prologue that hooks you, immediate suspense, which I love.

There are a lot of characters in this book which means many suspects, unlikable characters, secrets, betrayals, accusations, and characters acting a fool made for a suspenseful thriller with so many twists. The mysterious character Poppy has an agenda. The characters are built with depth, secrets, mystery, outlandish antics, and were intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, had a compelling plot, twisty, with an atmospheric setting, and sharp characters with a satisfying ending with a surprise twist.

This was a domestic psychological thriller that can be read in one day. It keeps you on your toes. It is twisty, suspenseful, dark, and a wonderful spin on a whodunit mystery. I highly recommend for other readers.

I love thrillers with isolated settings and complicated family relationships so this book was definitely for me. We meet Poppy who is on the island looking to figure out the secrets she's found about her own life, and Eve who is on holiday with her husband to celebrate her birthday but he's planned a surprise for her, and it's not what she really wanted. I found this such a gripping read as we learn more about what each of the characters is up to and how it all interconnects. This was such a brilliant summer thriller and I recommend it!

Julia Crouch's "The Surprise Party" is a compelling psychological thriller that has you second guessing until the very end. Crouch tells a story that is both captivating and unpredictable by skilfully evoking tension and suspense throughout the entirety of the novel. The plot centres around Eve who believes she is going on holiday to Greece with her husband, only to be surprised by her family when she arrives. The secrets that begin to be revealed makes the story all the more complex.

I did find that the start of the story was a paced a bit slow, but it was a great read regardless!

This was such a great and fun read and I was so engrossed from the beginning. There were so many unlikeable characters and it really worked loved it. Such a great summer read.

Returning to the island where they enjoyed their honeymoon Eve is looking forward to spending time alone with her husband.

Poppy is staying on the island to get over an incident at work and the revelation her partner is a cheat

Will had arranged a surprise party for Eves 50th birthday and arranged for the family to surprise by their arrival

While this all sounds idyllic lives are about to be upheaved,secrets revealed and the birthday party guest numbers about to fall

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch in return for my honest review.
This is the first book Ive read by this author and certainly not the last, this is a story full of secrets and lies and it had me hooked from the beginning till the end. There are lots of really interesting characters some you’ll love and some you’ll love to hate this is a really well crafted story one that I shall definitely be recommending.

Loved this one so much. Tense and thrilling and absolutely unputdownable. One of my favourite reads of the year. Very highly recommend this one.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Surprise Party' by Julia Crouch.

Wow!!!! Well done Julia on another amazing success!!! An absolutely fantastic unputdownable psychological thriller. Extremely well written as are all Julia's books I have previously read with vivid descriptions that absorb you into the storyline. The storyline is chillingly realistic and it kept me on the edge of my seat and then on the edge of my bed until late at night as I just could not out it down!!! In this epic page turner Julia takes us on a holiday to a stunning Greek Island but the sun isn't the only thing heating the atmosphere up!! Julia brings the stunning scenery to life with her fantastic descriptions ensuring you are whisked off abroad along with each and every one of the characters. With bodies being found and secrets being hidden Julia will keep you hooked on this explosive psychological thriller from the very first page to the last!! With unexpected twists and turns I never would have worked out what was going on although I had loads of fun trying to work it out. Just when I thought I had it all worked out, yet again, Julia proves that she is a writing legend and proves me wrong yet again!!! I will never admit that to my partner mind as he knows I am always right but a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Julia for proving me wrong!! I have read countless crime and psychological thrillers so it is getting harder and harder to surprise me but Julia manages it every single time without fail!!! I was captivated throughout and the storyline was absolutely rammed with secrets, loss, love, deceit, suspense, tension, murder, twists , lies and red herrings all the way up until the very perfect ending. The characters were very strong and realistic but also several were very unlikeable!!! It is normally hard for me to enjoy a book but dislike the characters but this is something else that Julia has an amazing talent with and regardless of how I feel for her characters she hooks me in each and every single time and I cannot wait to get dragged back into another one of this amazing authors books!!

The characters were all realistic and strong and I was completely invested in them throughout. Julia's fantastic evocative descriptions really makes them jump out of the book and come to life in front of the readers eyes. Julia has done another absolutely amazing job of creating these amazing, unique and strong characters and it is just absolutely amazing!!! All of the characters were multi layered with complex personalities which definitely made them all the more interesting to read about!!! Unfortunately, I really can not say anymore as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. Regardless of what I thought about who, each character worked perfectly to make this page turning psychological thriller!!! I just cannot wait to see what characters this amazing author comes up with next!!! Hint hint Julia 😉 !!! I genuinely loved getting to know all the characters and was completely invested throughout even when I wasn't a fan of them!! It just goes to show how fantastic Julia's writing skills are as he completely brought them all to life for me. An absolutely fantastic selection of unique characters that all worked together perfectly to create an absolutely chilling, gripping and addictive page turner!!!

Congratulations Julia on yet another HUGE success and for, yet again, managing to shock me when many fail. This would make an epic movie that I would love to see come out!! This is the exact reason you are one of my favourite authors and here's to your next success 🥂!!!

Overall an addictive, page turning, epic and action packed psychological thriller that will shock you throughout!!

#TheSurpriseParty #JuliaCrouch #Bookouture #BookoutureAnonymous

@JuliaCrouch @Bookouture @BookoutureAnonymous

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Eve and her husband Will are returning to the place they spent their honeymoon 29 years ago. A holiday in a secluded fishing village on the Crete coast is just what Eve hopes will rekindle their marriage. But first she has a confession to make! A long held secret she needs to divulge.

Poppy is also holidaying in the village. She is angry over her mother's lies and has recently broken up with her cheating boyfriend. Poppy is on a mission and she has it all planned.

Eve's whole family arrives the next day for a surprise party for Eve's 50th birthday. Both Eve and Poppy now need to reassess their plans. When the morning after Eve's surprise party dawns, one guest will be dead.

This book had me hooked right from the gripping prologue where someone is in a life or death situation. This was such a great teaser because I then had to race through the book to see who it was and also how it ended.
A lot of the characters were messed up and honestly I thought the murderer could have been any one of them.

Lots of suspects, accusations, outbursts, unlikeable characters and great twists made The Surprise Party hard to put down. This is a read-in-one-sitting book!

I finished The Surprise Party eager for a follow up book.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this book from Bookouture.

Having just returned from holiday in Greece, it was lovely to be transported back via this book. I spent a lot of time Googling images of the island and the places referenced in the novel. The author really made me feel that I was on the island with them, although I'm not sure I wanted to be with these people!

I did guess who Poppy was quite early on but it didn't affect my enjoyment and there was a lot more going on with plenty of twists and turns to make this a page turner.

My favourite quote:

"She finally sets foot once more on Loutro harbour. Does this ground remember her?"