This was a decent book. It is a young adult thriller. The first half seemed to drag on but the last half was much better. There was a lot of suspense.

Okay, finally a book by this author that I didn't find too many unbelievable things in. I do think it is strange that Fergus would want to kill everyone and that Hugo would want to avenge his brother who had just killed all of his friends...but not so outrageous that I couldn't roll with it. I wouldve liked to see the rest of how it played out when Bessie found civilization again.

Preston's thriller #TheParty centers around a group of friends planning an epic party around an abandoned castle. There's plenty of atmosphere as the body count rises. While the book starts off slowly, the ending is rapid fire. 4 stars

I think that plenty of people will enjoy this book, especially if they liked Preston’s other titles. But for me, it’s pretty dull for a book named The Party. I had a hard time connecting with the characters or feeling immersed in the story, which was disappointing because the manor is super cool. The writing feels overly simplistic and there is sooooo much dialogue. Constant chatter between the girls which leaves very little space for the reader to imagine anything for themselves.

I rated this book 3 stars. I liked it but i needed more.

I want to say thank you so much for the chance to read and review the book! I really loved the wild adventure this book took me on! I would love to read more from you!!!!

This book had me hooked right from the beginning. I loved the way the characters were developed and found it very suspenseful. A big thank you to the publisher and netgalley for letting me read this ARC!

In the last few weeks I’ve become a fan of Natasha Preston and have read a few of her books. This book was a little bit slow in the beginning but towards the middle it definitely picked up. This book is about the main character Bessie going on a Spring Break trip with a few close friends. She, along with the other friends are going to Fergus and Allegra’s Castle home before their parents remodel the castle. One last hurrah to party, but on the way to the castle they come across some protestors at the grocery store who are not happy with the remodeling since it’ll attract more unwanted people to their village. As murders start to occur in the castle, with no help with electricity, service, with a heavy storm and wind, the group have no choice but to stay in the castle and wait for the storm to pass. It’s a cat and mouse game to figure out if it’s someone in the group committing the murders or if a bystander from the village is the culprit. I really enjoyed this book and I felt like the ending was perfect. I know most readers have mixed feelings about Natasha Preston books because of the cliff hangers but I think that’s what I like most about her books because it’s up to the reader to interpret their own ending. Overall very good read, I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars just because it took a bit slower to get into. Thank You NetGalley, Random House Children’s for this early copy in exchange of my honest review. Publishing Date of December 3, 2024.

I was into at first because I love a locked room mystery and a spooky castle, but the characters were eh and the ending wasn't for me. It had potential but fell pretty flat.

What's supposed to be a fun weekend parting at an old castle quickly turns deadly. A storm makes it impossible to leave. With no way out, everyone is stuck inside the castle... with the killer.

I really enjoyed this book. The suspense was painful at times. I think I suspected every single character at least once. The plot twist was insane and it had me staring at my wall for five minutes while I attempted to process it.

I would like to thank @netgalley, @authornatashapreston, and @penguinrandomhouse for the opportunity to read this ARC! This book will be released on December 3rd.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Moral: don't go to parties without your parents' permission. Omg!

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but unfortunately if you’ve read one of her books, you’ve read them all. It feels like she’s telling the same story over and over again, just with a different setting, different names, and slightly different premise, but they all turn out the same way.

3.75 stars! **ARC provided by NetGally in exchange for an honest review.

Ten high school juniors and seniors secretly gather in an abandoned castle for a weekend long party. A freak storm traps the teens with no way out. When the first of them dies, it could just be a tragic accident, but as more and more start to drop it's clear someone is hunting them down. Is it someone from the town who is against the castle being used for development or is it one of their own? And does an accident from the past (that the main character, Bessie, can't seem to remember) have anything to do with the murders? I think I might have enjoyed this a little bit more had I not just read a book with essentially the same plot just last month, but still, very enjoyable and engaging.

I honestly could not guess the plot twist in this book. I was convinced I had it figured out, but then about 85% into the book, it was proven that I did not. I was actually spooked a couple of time reading this at night - abandoned castle with deranged killers??? Definitely creepy. I read the last 50% of this in one sitting because I was hooked and needed to know what would happen. Also, the last line... enraging but so well done.

This is my 2nd Natasha Preston book and I will continue to read her work because it is quite entertaining!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a 3.5 for me, rounded down to 3 mostly because of the last line and chapter of the book.

Bessie and her group of very close friends are the type of rich that makes problems disappear. Over a holiday weekend, the friends tell whatever lies necessary to get out of their boarding school without adult supervision so they can go to an abandoned castle owned by one of their families. They will host the best party of the year. But when a torrential rain and wind storm cancels the party and traps the friends in the castle, things go from bad to worse. Someone is picking them off one by one and it seems like the threat is closer than anyone wants to believe.

I enjoy a twisty closed-room murder/thriller and Preston does a good job here of keeping tension high once we get to the point in the narrative where everyone is in the castle. The setting too, is very well done for this kind of story: creepy abandoned and run-down castle, terrible weather, an impassable moat, and hidden rooms. The fact that most of the characters are unlikeable and come off the page as spoiled made me feel better about my own sense of schadenfreude while reading, which I think is necessary in order not to lose your audience.

The last chapter - and specifically the last line of the book - all but ruined this story for me, though. There's just to much "Aha! Tricked ya!....AHA! Tricked ya again!...Just kidding, tricked you AGAIN!" in a short few pages for me and the tricks are not something that the narrative hints enough at for a reader to have discovered on their own or grown to care about. The result is that I was left feeling uninvested in what was supposed to be a big reveal and I didn't care since the necessary details came out of nowhere. Sure, this meant that I couldn't see the end entirely clearly (did guess the killer but not motive), but it also meant that I didn't care about who made it out in the end.

Still a fun read, but not something I'd rush to add to a friend's TBR.

I just love how Natasha Preston writes so much!!! Another banger of hers and it captivated from the start it was so good!!!

Who doesn't enjoy a good locked room mystery? It's always a fun game to figure out the killer from the group! This was my first book by Natasha Preston, but it certainly won't be the last. I loved the pace, the setting, the overall tone of the book. I did think there were a few times where I really had to ignore plot holes, but it still was worth the read! Check it out!

**First and foremost thank you to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review** Okay, definitely giving the spook factor being set in a CASTLE. Hidden stairways and rooms? Check. Psycho murderer? Check. Drama and tension? Check. Plot twist with a plot twist? Double check. This is my second Natasha Preston novel and she always comes in strong with the body count. This does follow teens and at times can come across a little more YA than I’d like but it doesn’t take away from the overall story line. If you’re looking for a bingeable thriller - look no further.

What a wild ride Natasha really knows how to keep her fans happy. I loved the character development within a party atmosphere, I will say there weren't really any characters that I wanted to "survive" this one but it was a good fun twist filled book.

Another classic Preston. These books have become a go to for several of my students and they never disappoint.

Book:
THE PARTY by Natasha Preston
Thank you Netgalley and GetUnderlined for the earc(Dec3)

Review:
4⭐
What a twisted book...
THE PARTY is a gripping thriller that follows Bessie and her friends. A party in a castle with her closest friends. What could possibly go wrong---besides a terrible storm and m*rder? When you of her friends ends up dead, Bessie and the others race against the clock to stop the k*ller before another ends up dead?
Natasha Preston is one of those instant-buy/read authors, and I had extremely high expectations for this book. THE PARTY did have a slow start as the characters were introduced and the preparations were. However, once Bessie and her friends arrived at the castle, and things started going wrong, I was hooked. I had to know the whodunit and their reason. There were so many questions coursing through my brain.
Constantly, I found myself guessing the k*ller. Constantly, I thought I was wrong. As the mystery was picked apart, the k*llings picked up, and the k*ller was close to be revealed, I finally landed on whodunit, but that revelation and big twist made me realize I waa on the wrong track.

The Party by Natasha Preston
Publishing date - 12/03/24
Rating (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre - YA

Synopsis - The Party follows a group of teenagers who travel to a castle in the middle of nowhere for the weekend. When one of them is found dead, the weekend takes a turn for the worst. The remaining guests must try to uncover the killers identity , a classic who done it thriller.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House - Delacorte Press for this e-ARC. This book started off just a tad slow for me, but around 50% into it ; this book really picked up and the second half was really good. If you enjoy YA thrillers, then you’ll love this one!