Another great YA thriller by Natasha Preston!! A fast-paced read for all ages. Loved the shocking ending!! Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have been wanting to read one of Natasha Preston’s books for such a long time. And I’m so glad that this was my first one. This was such a wild ride. At no point in this book did I know who to believe, who to trust. I even started second guessing myself for a bit, and I wasn’t even part of the book. The detail here, and how she was able to pull you into the pages, I felt like I was really at this nightmare party. This was all I could think about the few short days it took me to finish this. And I will now be binging every single one of her books as she’s now my new favorite author based solely on this book alone. I’m still utterly baffled at the story I just read, I can usually jump right into another book after finishing but this one will need some processing first. Just all in all a great read. I could go on and on about this book, but I think you should just read it yourself. And then come talk to me, because I have a theory about one of the twins.

Sneaking away from their elite, international boarding school to celebrate spring break seems like an exhilarating idea for Bessie and her friends. The best part? They will spend their days and nights partying in a schoolmate's family castle in the middle of the picturesque English countryside. However, there is tension among Bessie's close-knit group of friends, and the locals that the teens meet at a nearby gas station seem more intent on burning the castle to the ground rather than seeing it turn into luxury apartments. But surely they wouldn't do such a thing with teenagers inside? And the eerie graffiti found inside the castle is just the work of bored vandals, right? Despite Bessie's misgivings, her friends decide to stick it out and prepare for a party. By the time a ferocious storm hits the castle, it is too late to leave, and when people start dying and the body count rises, Bessie and her remaining friends are forced to acknowledge that they are trapped with a killer who will stop at nothing until every last one of them is dead.

While a little slow to start and laggy in places, Preston's The Party is still a solid read for those who like locked-room mysteries. Although the climax is somewhat predictable and the antagonist's motive weak, I still enjoyed the story. Told from Bessie's perspective, The Party serves up the suspense and scares, making it a good choice for teens who love thrillers that will keep them up all night.

What an adrenaline rush! The first half is a little slow but the second half has you on the edge of your seat. All the twist and turns keep you guessing. The last paragraph - WOW!!! This was such a fun suspenseful ride. Perfect for the fall and long nights!

4 star rating and I plan to read other books by Natasha Preston. Thank you to NetGalley & Delacorte Press for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Natasha has done it again. I couldn't put this book down all night. I had to figure out what was happening. Every time I thought I had it figured out bam another twist.

I unfortunately had to DNF this as I just couldn't get into it. It may be my mistake making this one of the first Natasha Preston books l've read anytime recently. If I was a little younger (maybe in my teens) I might like it more. I wasn't a fan of the character names either. I was hoping to get into it and enjoy it but it was just not my cup of tea. I guess my book interests have changed.
Thank you for the ARC from NetGalley!

Good YA book for a fun, thrilling quick read. Comparable to the game CLUE, a group of friends wind up at a remote castle to have an epic party. Things begin going south as, one by one, they end up dead. The ending was a bit rushed for me but overall fun read

Um, excuse me? Natasha Preston if you're reading this, I'd like to have a word. CAN YOU STOP ENDING THE BOOKS LIKE THAT? Because there I am attempting to go to the next page and it's just...OVER.

This one was a bit slower to get into in the beginning but once you do, you won't put it down. There are so many twists and oh I think I figured it out, nope wrong again.

Even with the flashes of memory returning to Bessie, I was so sold on the idea that she was actually in a coma and the whole thing was fake. Spoiler Alert: this was not the plot. When I wasn't sold on the coma idea, I will say I had pegged one of the killers. So I wasn't completely throw off.

Overall a good read that kept me guessing.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Random House Children’s for providing me with an arc of “The Party” for my honest review. Natasha Preston is always an immediate request/read. I loved the description of “The Party” and the feeling that I got from the cover; it felt reminiscent of a locked room mystery. This has always been one of my favorite tropes when it comes to mysteries, so I was really excited to see what “The Party” had in store for us. I will say that while “The Party” did at times evoke a similar feeling to “And Then There Were None”, it felt more like a High School slasher.

I appreciated the seemingly diverse cast of characters, but I wish we had more time to get to know them as they were getting introduced. It was a lot to take in at once, so in the beginning, it was hard to connect with the characters and get truly invested. However, once the first dead body was discovered, I was invested in the mystery and in trying to figure out what was going on.

I love the anticipation that builds in a mystery and it was definitely not lacking in “The Party”, but I was left a little less satisfied than usual with the ending. However, I truly did not expect the ending. I wish we got a little more insight into the characters so we would be more invested in the whole story. Regardless, I still enjoyed the story and I look forward to Natasha Preston’s next book!

Bit of a slow start for me, but once I reached the second half, it really picked up. I loved the twists! Kept me guessing!

"The Party" is an engaging and suspenseful thriller that will appeal to fans of Natasha Preston’s previous work, as well as readers who enjoy mysteries with a focus on character relationships. The book’s fast pace, constant twists, and exploration of dark secrets make it a page-turner that’s hard to put down. While some of the plot twists may feel familiar to seasoned thriller readers, Preston’s skill in creating tension and delivering emotional punches ensures a satisfying reading experience.

Love that this book kept me on the edge of my seat!!! Little slow to start for me but it definitely picked up and I loved it!!!!

Natasha Peterson does it again. I just love this authors writing.

She is an autobuy / autoread author for me.

This book did not disappoint. It has you on the edge of your seat and just twists and turns. Great job to Natasha for another great book.


Thank you Net Galley for letting me read and review

This was so good! I was on the edge of my seat until the very end. Speaking of which, I’d love to know what happens next! It was very much a cliffhanger. I didn’t see the killer/killers coming and the logic behind it? Whoa. Very Scream mixed with I Know What You Did Last Summer. Great story, great characters, great twists!

I didn’t realize this book was YA by the cover and description. I realized it on the first page though by the dialogue. That said, it made for a very quick, twisty read for me. A group of teens ventures to an old castle for a party weekend on spring break. Between some creepy locals and personal grudges, a killing rampage ensues. There were a lot of shallow characters that could stand to be more developed for the reader to care about them and their demise. Their names were also odd (Allegra?) and they really didn’t seem to have anything in common other than proximity in school. Some parts of the plot drove me crazy: WHY on earth do these kids keep separating from each other when they are aware of safety in numbers and their friends being picked off one by one? HOW does a tree land on a person and they survive, but don’t feel they need medical attention? 🥴All in all, I probably would have enjoyed this much more as a teenager. I didn’t figure out part of the final twist which kept it interesting. Scream meets Scooby Doo 👍🏻
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review this title.

Natasha Preston does it again with another great book!
She is one of my auto buy anytime she releases something.

Will be coming back to update my review tomorrow.

𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔! 💖✨

If you're looking for an easy YA thriller that feels like playing a game of Clue with your friends, then 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 by Natasha Preston is the perfect pick! 🎲🏰 Set in a gorgeous castle nestled in the English countryside, this book pulls you in with the promise of fun and friendship. But hold onto your tea, because things get twisty really fast! ☕️💨

As a group of teens gathers for a weekend filled with laughter and games, everything takes a dark turn when the first guest mysteriously dies. 😱 With each chapter, the tension ramps up, and the body count rises—SEND HELP! As the remaining friends scramble to figure out who among them is hiding a deadly secret! 🔍💔

Natasha Preston does an incredible job of creating an atmosphere that’s both realistic and chilling. 🏰✨ Her characters feel so relatable and real, each with their own quirks and secrets, making it easy to get swept away in the drama. 👀

This one will keep you guessing until the very end! 📚❤️✨

Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Random House for my ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte for the ARC!

“The Party” follows Bessie and her friends as they prepare to have a weekend long party in an old castle owned by the father of two of their friends. Between a nasty storm ruining their plans, and waking up the following morning to find one of their friends dead and their phones suddenly missing, the group are thrust into survival mode. As the storm worsens and their chances of escape dwindling, they have to figure out who’s picking them off one by one, or succumb to their fates.

This book feels very similar to “The Dare”. It has a lot of parallels to that book, almost like this was one of the ideas she may have had before coming up with the concept for that book. Unfortunately, much like that book, “The Party” also dragged. I once again had to leave the book a few times, coming back, and making myself keep reading to get to a point where I was actively invested. I will admit that I did guess part of the ending fairly quickly, but I did like the parts of it I hadn’t expected. With such a big cast of characters this time, and having them not begin to die as quickly as some of her other books, it was harder to feel like they were fleshed out. I also did not enjoy our protagonist this go around, she was definitely the kind of girl you’d see die first generally. So, the book wasn’t as good as her others, but it was a fun enough read if you want a quick murder mystery for the spooky season.

This book was interesting to say the least. Not my favorite, but… it did keep me wanting to read more to figure out what happened and who was behind everything. The ending of this book was not what I was expecting and I was hoping for a bit more. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this ARC!

If you can push through the first half, things start getting a lot more suspenseful and twisty. The second half had me on the edge of my seat! I loved the twists, as I couldn't see the coming. I partially guessed the huge twist near the end but didn't fully guess the ending. The last paragraph will make you shocked. Overall, this was a great read that made me read this in one sitting. I loved being on the edge of my seat and trying to figure out who could be behind all of the bad things happening! The last 30% really made this book worthwhile!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Delacorte Press to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.