An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

This was was a bit slow and kind of wordy for me I guess it wasn’t one for me!! I know of don’t like books that’s seem like someone else is telling the story other than the. Characters them self

Another amazing story from one of my favorite authors. As always he gets you hooked from the first line. A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher as well as Jame Frey for an eARC copy. All in all another crazy ride and a joy to follow.

I enjoyed this book. It is a little all over the place and sometimes hard to follow. There are a LOT of character viewpoints which was a little confusing at first but tied it all together nicely at the end. The ending was a great twist! The murder doesn’t happen until 75% through, so it is a bit of a slow burner, but really develops the characters.

Haters will say, "oHhHhhh NeXt tO HeAvEn IsNt A gOoD bOoK!" just because, technically, it isn't. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT ISN'T GREAT. Mfs will say "omg I hated Next to Heaven" but then go bingewatch a season of Real Housewives. It's messy, over-the-top, teetering on the edge of ridiculous... but that's also kind of the point??? Frey delivers a spectacle of wealth, debauchery, and moral decay that reads like Great Gatsby if Fitzgerald was less concerned with subtlety. Plot? Chaotic. Characters? Terrible people. Writing? Um... actually pretty sharp, but fully committed to the insanity. And yet, I devoured the whole thing in one sitting. It had everything: drama, intrigue, delusion, sexual tension, and a murder that barely scratches the top five worst things that these people do. So no, it's not good. But also yes it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and Authors Equity for the advance copy.

>>>>> for some fun illustrations, check out my blog! <<<<<<

well dang james frey continues to show me that he can write a captivating story.

something i love about frey’s books is they feel like real stories of real people (they probably are). the characters are easy to connect to. the story feels like watching a reality show unfold.

i love how frey gives just enough information about the location (new bethlehem) to provide meaningful context to the story without making it boring.

also loved that i can see parts of frey in some of the characters (charlie).

i read bright shiny morning when it was released years ago while i lived on the east coast. i was moved by the story. i was devastated by the story. i was attached to the characters in the story. but i had no context for life in/around LA. i moved to LA years later and re-read the book and i couldn’t help but feel like james wrote about several people that he had experienced or known. and that’s how i feel about this book.

several times while reading, i had to actively remind myself that these were characters and not my friends.

james’ writing style has always been something that captivated me, so i deeply loved this book because his style and voice is once again so prevalent throughout.

and not to mention... the ending slaps.

6/5 stars

This didn’t quite hit the mark for me, a little all over the place and I didn’t know where we were going with anything. I loved a million little pieces by Frey but the fictional stories are not quite up to par.

This book reminded me of a Jackie Collins book, I liked it. I've read all this author's books, wish there were more!

A huge fan of Frey’s writing style, I flew through this one and of course loved the thinly-veiled depiction of our little town in Connecticut.
The character development is spot on and the cast of characters runs the gamut from an imploding “small town hero” to a typical “closer” to a washed up “hockey pro”.

Since we moved here, I’ve always heard references to the “key” parties from the 1970s so I love that the culmination of these fractured relationships takes place at a not so random swingers party, full of booze, drugs, & sex.
With so many dominant personalities, layers of jealousy and revenge-no wonder it ends with a murder.
Dig in and hold on tight friends, you won’t be able to put this one down!

Unable to increase print on this book. Looking forward to reading it but unable to. Most of the early books I receive from NetGalley have the ability to increase the font but this one didn’t. Will try and get a library copy down the road.

Interesting twists throughout as they all raced to ruin each other’s lives. Character driven even though very few characters were likable!

I wanted to love this but felt a disconnect due to the unlikable characters. I think this will hit well with others but was a miss for me. But thank you for the arc!

You either love him or hate him and I absolutely love him. Brilliant. A despicable cast of characters, sharp social commentary, and the infamous writing style we've come to expect from James Frey.

This was a fascinating read from James Frey, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the feel of this. I thought the characters worked well in this universe and was everything that I was hoping for. It worked well and was invested in the story being told.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The summary says it all: ridiculously rich people, lacking common sense in some(most) cases, extreme drama mainly because of a swing party and a murder. It was fine, I think the first part was way too long and the ending too rushed. I would gladly exchange some of the affair scenes for more of the police investigation, but I get that their lives were an important part of the plot.
The twist was really easy to predict, but the writing was compelling and very fast paced, I read it in one sitting. Overall it was a good book, I would recommend it to people who like to read about rich, entitled and sometimes criminal characters and their over-the-top lives.

Thank you Netgalley and Author's Equity for the advance copy of this book.

New Bethlehem, Connecticut. Picture-perfect lawns, manicured hedges, multi-million dollar homes. But beneath the designer yoga gear and country club memberships lies a darker reality.

In this world of excess, Devon and Belle have it all—beauty, money, status. But they want something more. Something dangerous. Something that makes them feel alive. Their solution? A party—a meticulously curated gathering of New Bethlehem’s elite, from a desperate ex-NFL quarterback to a hockey coach with a penchant for married women, and a ruthless Wall Street “closer” who wields his wealth like a weapon.

One night. Multiple betrayals. And a murder that will shatter New Bethlehem’s carefully constructed facade.
Fans of "The White Lotus" and "Big Little Lies" will be drawn into the dark underbelly of the American Dream – a world where money can buy anything, until it ruins everything.

Thus is the first book that I've read by this author. Unfortunately I did not care for the writing style . I found it difficult to get in to this book. 2 out of 5 ⭐️ for me.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I just couldn't get into it. The writing didn't flow, the characters didn't gel well together.
Thank you so much to net gallery & the author & publisher for letting me have a free copy to read.

Friends, this book was not for me.

Extremely wealthy couples in the richest, whitest part of Connecticut decide to swing/have orgies. Literary fiction is sometimes overtly sexual and it seems to be egregious and even pandering to me. “All Fours” by Miranda July certainly had a lot of good reviews and was considered to be a favorite amongst critics, but I find it depressing.

James Frey has this very distinctive style of writing short, then longer and longer declarative sentences to design a paragraph and it ends up being distinctive pacing and descriptions. I do love his style of writing but the overall plot of this one and sheer unlikable characters made this one fall flat for me.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher Author’s Equity for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published June 17, 2025.