"The Party" by Natasha Preston is an intense and gripping thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The story revolves around a seemingly perfect party that takes a dark turn, unraveling secrets and lies among a group of friends. Preston's writing is engaging and fast-paced, making it hard to put the book down. The characters are well-developed, and their interactions add depth to the unfolding mystery. The suspense builds steadily, leading to a shocking and satisfying conclusion. If you enjoy thrillers that keep you guessing, "The Party" is definitely worth a read.

I’ve read a couple other books by this author & I’m just such a sucker for a good YA thriller. I loved the concept of this book being a who dun it murder mystery where you can’t trust anyone but I didn’t love any of the characters. I wasn’t invested in who was guilty / innocent and I had a feeling one of the killers was who it was based on the context clues. Overall it was good & it kept me engaged but I would’ve loved if Bessie was more of an unreliable narrator or we switched perspectives of a few different people as they were slowly dying off but still didn’t know who to trust. I will keep reading this author love this one was just a slight miss for me!! But I still enjoyed it!!

While I usually love a Natasha Preston book, I was a little disappointed with this release after the last few books were starting to get exciting and had a different sort of ending. The Party didn't have the same vibe of The Dare or The Haunting and seemed to fall a little flat.

It started off with an interesting premise which was pretty similar to The Island, except in a castle setting, but as the story went along and with the obvious hints, it started being clear who was responsible for the murders despite the clues to throw you off. There was nothing shocking or unexpected about it, and a thing that nagged at me was that some of the murders felt like it wasn't a wound they could die from. The worse part of it was, the entire motive of the killers and the final survival ending scene felt rushed and pointless. It didn't even feel like any of her classic cliffhangers.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children's for the ARC.

Natasha Preston does it again! This one kept me guessing until the very end. I truly had no clue who "did it" for most of the book.

I loved the idea of a creepy mansion falling in disrepair as the setting for a party. Add in a raging thunderstorm and it felt a lot like an episode of Scooby Doo. This feeling quickly disappears as the suspense builds and it seems that one of them is killing them one by one. This story was all plot and moved at a swift pace. I admit that I was drawn in and couldn't put the book down. The characters lacked depth, were unlikable, and although they were all connected in some way, they just didn't seem all that good of friends. They begin to turn on one another as it became unclear who could be trusted. The ending was a bit of a disappointment and seemed very far-fetched. I do love this author, and her books are original and creative making them appealing to young adults.

I was so excited to read The Party by Natasha Preston. I am a huge fan! As I anticipated, this book was amazing!

I love Natasha Preston but this was a disappointment. I dud not like any if the characters so I didn't care what happened to them. The book dragged in places. Cutting 50 or 60 pages would help that. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

A sociopath with zero motives other than being bored is only a compelling character if he is Hannibal and the writer goes all-in. The set up on this thriller was great, but as soon as the body count began it lost steam, relying entirely on my hoping characters I had no reason to care for would stay alive. The ending went back and forth back and forth with motives so quickly that it lost any impact.

Bingeable; fast-paced storyline that kept me turning pages!

I'm a big fan of this author, I've read pretty much all of her books and I appreciate that her writing is so consistent. I know that each time I pick up one of her stories I will be met with a suspenseful whodunit mystery and "The Party" was definitely that!

Placing this locked room mystery in an isolated Castle was really intriguing, especially when paired with all of the tension between the leading characters and raging storm happening outside. It made for a really engaging and atmospheric read!

I'll definitely be adding this one to my collection and recommending it!

Thank you Natasha Preston, Net Galley and Random House Children's - Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Locked room mysteries are one of my favorite thriller tropes, and I can never get enough! This one, featuring ten people locked in a remote castle in the English countryside for a secret party before graduation, has strong echoes of And Then There Were None. The castle’s owners plan to turn the place into apartment complexes, sparking protests from the townies who leave threatening messages on forums, with some locals even saying they’d like to see the place burn down (at least, that’s what Bessie overheard).

As tensions with the locals grow, Bessie is invited to the party hosted by twins Allegra and Fergus, whose wealthy family owns the castle. Bessie and Kash are excited to spend the weekend at this eccentric location, keeping it a secret from their families but also having second thoughts about the castle's infrastructure issues. Once the rain starts and a storm knocks trees down, Bessie realizes the heating problems and lack of a proper bath are the least of their worries. Though the entire school was invited, only ten people show up, and Jai, who was exploring outside, gets injured when a tree falls on him. Despite the worsening weather, the group tries to keep spirits high by drinking and dancing. But in the morning, when one of them is found dead and their phones are missing, they realize there's someone inside the castle with harmful intentions. But who? Could it be one of them? Hugo and his friends, not part of the original inner circle, arrived at the last second before the storm. Could they be involved?

Bessie then discovers secret news articles in one of the rooms about the accident that changed her life. Could the dangerous person be linked to that same incident? Who really wants to hurt them?

I enjoyed the locked room mystery, the building tension, and the fast-paced plot, but the final third of the book was completely disappointing. The motive behind the murders was nonsensical, and the explanations were truly bizarre. Even the last-minute twist wasn’t as entertaining or shocking as I had hoped; everything felt far-fetched, even silly.

I’m still rounding up from 2.5 stars to 3 for the promising start, the haunted castle with secret passages, and the locked room mystery setup, but the ending and the one-dimensional characters really let me down. I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous works and wish this book had provided a more satisfying conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for sharing this locked room mystery’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Propulsive doesn't begin to describe this book! It's all plot (my favorite). There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but it wasn't too hard and, to be a little insensitive...they start dying off before too long, so the number of people you need to know decreases. I wouldn't say Preston transcended the thriller genre, but it was a solid installment.

DNF @ 52%

My mortal enemy! *gives evil eye* When it comes to books about someone having a party in a crumbling mansion, an old Victorian home, or somewhere where there was a murder, we don’t get along. We’re not pj&j nor are we besties holding hands while skipping under a rainbow. We are sneering at one another from across the room. Throwing daggers at each other with our eyes.

Then why? you ask. Because this author usually surprises me in the best of ways. And second of all… mind your business. I was hoping for Preston to change my mind, to make me love spooky party books but it just didn’t happen.

It started off slow and didn’t pick up at all. I’ve read quite a bit before I decided that I’ve had enough. I was waiting for that turning point where I couldn’t put this down but it seems as if all I wanted to do was the opposite. Once you get to that point, you know that it’s over.

The Party was not my favorite book by Preston. It was too slow for my tastes and the characters were dull with zero redeeming qualities. We’ll just act as if this doesn’t exist and I’ll read her next book.

3.5 stars

Another classic Natasha Preston book. Good characters gripping plot. Easy, fast paced and fun to read.

When Bessie's privileged friend Allegra plans the party of the year at her family's CASTLE, you know things are about to get wild. Bessie's friend group has been a little strained since an accident last year, so she is looking forward to this party. No one even bats an eye when they have to cross a MOAT to get to the castle, or even when the townspeople are not happy about the development of the castle. Unfortunately, most of the guests never make it to the party due to wild storm that strands them in the castle. By the next morning, someone is dead, and there are a lot of questions about if it was an accident or not...

I agree with other reviews that the characters are super stuck up and unlikeable. Allegra and Ferg fighting over who gets the literal castle is both hilarious and sad.

That being said, I did really enjoy this story. While the characters were unlikeable, I did find it easy to get sucked into their world and their drama. I did kind of guess one aspect to the ending, and I didn't love another aspect. But the vibe of a creepy castle in a storm gave me literal goosebumps more than once.

Easily becoming a Preston auto read fan!

I really enjoyed getting back to read a thriller from Natasha Preston. I had enjoyed the Twin a lot and was glad I was able to read this concept and the party going wrong in this story. It had that suspenseful element that I wanted and glad it was everything that I wanted.

Natasha Preston consistently writes novels that keep you guessing and engaged. This book was an easy read. Typically I do not guess what is going to happen at the end, but this book I had pegged from the beginning. I will recommend students purchase this book. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

This book follows Bessie and her friends as they head to an abandoned castle for a weekend long party… but the fun stops when the group is trapped in the castle by a vicious storm and begin to die one by one.

I’ve been a fan of Natasha Preston’s books in the past- They aren’t necessarily going to be rife with character, development and depth, but they’re usually a really good time! Unfortunately, this one fell pretty flat for me. The book falls into some repetitive cycles, the red herrings feel a bit forced, and I was able to pretty easily predict the twists. There are some fun moments, and I absolutely recommend that readers check out some of Preston’s writing if they enjoy a fast paced YA thriller- Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

I loved the premise of this, and the setting was great. Although I was completely intrigued and felt like I needed to keep reading, I didn’t really connect with any characters like I wanted to. Overall, it was a good, fast paced thriller!

A quick fast paced thriller. The story starts out with a group of teenagers gathering at an abandoned castle for a party. Soon someone starts killing the guests. The rest of the teenagers then have to find out who the killer is. I didn’t necessarily love any of the characters but was engrossed throughout the entire book. Overall would definitely recommend if you want a quick read!

I really wish NetGalley would let you give a 3.5 because that’s really what I want to give. This book is a variation on the Agatha Christie classic And Then There Were None. A group of friends go to an abandoned castle to have a big secret party but then people start dying and the murderer maybe among them. I loved the premise but the red herring (the grassroots group) was not convincing enough and in general the whole book was just too long. My students always love this author because she writes great shorter length books, I hope we can go back to that in the next one