Pitched as a mesmerising thriller… gripping this was not! I really struggled with this book, I had previously read ‘The Girl Upstairs’ so was familiar with the authors writing style but this for me didn’t go anywhere fast enough and I lost interest…. That being said I did persevere and finish the book.

Lizzie the main character was not likeable, in fact I don’t think there were any characters which were… a few twists and turns but so subtle.

As I always say, not all books are for everyone and I’m sure some of you will really enjoy it but to set expectations it’s not a thriller,

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this book but Lizzie’s character frustrated me so much I wanted to reach into the book and shake her.

Best friends, co-workers, bosses; it all gets messy when love and lust are involved. On the night of December 4th, Rebecca Abbott goes missing after a work Christmas party. Lizzie is concerned for her friend and co-worker but is also dealing with her own heartbreak when she finds out her love interest, Dean, was secretly dating Rebecca for a year. There are the usual suspects in her disappearance but as time goes on it becomes clear that no one is telling the truth and she’s living in a village where secrets are abundant even amongst those she is closest to, including the one person whose job it is to protect her at all costs.

I enjoyed this book and the writing style but would categorize the plot as elementary with collegiate potential. It was engaging and kept me flipping pages ultimately finishing it in one day, but I was left wanting more. In a sense, I felt that the plot line was safe for a mystery and found myself saying ‘of course that would happen’ a lot. My biggest qualm was the MC’s insatiable desire to please and be with Dean, despite his irremediable flaws. I’m a little tired of stories where despite their being subpar, men have women flocking their to be with and take care of them. Enough of this narrative.

Great characters helped tell this domestic drama. Alternating timelines I enjoyed the twists and turns
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Mixed feelings about this one. First the writing is very good it kept me reading all the way through, even if I had other reservations. I would definitely read another story by this author. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley

The After Party by Georgina Lees is a book about unrequited love and unfulfilled potential. This was a slow burn thriller about Lizzie, a talented artist who is stuck in a lackluster job and has secretly been in love with her coworker Dean for the past 3 years. With the help of her best friend Marie she finally gets her nerve up to tell Dean her true feelings at the company Christmas party. However, this does not go as planned since Dean also has a secret to share that he has a girlfriend, the beautiful young Rebecca, who also works at their office. The events of the night lead to terrible decisions with brutal consequences including the disappearance of Rebecca. Trouble quickly follows Lizzie as she becomes embroiled in a police investigation, as many secrets are exposed.

What I liked:
-I liked the setting of a small little village and the description of the cottage
-I enjoyed the writing style, the descriptions painted a vivid picture in my mind of the setting and emotions of Lizzie
-the twists and red herrings throughout the book

What I disliked about the book:
-the unrelatable main character Lizzie, she came across as whiny, immature and obsessed…I found myself getting frustrated with her choices especially the ending of the book
- Dean was not the type of character I would obsessively pine after…he seemed shallow and self serving as did her best friend Marie
-although the premise was intriguing I found the story was flat and dragged, though it somewhat improved at the end

Final Take Away
This story had potential but it fell flat, it needed less repetition and more oomph. I was not satisfied with the ending. It had a promising start but derailed in the middle, to somewhat improve near the ending but I did not like Lizzie's life choices, it felt artificial.

My rating 3 out of 5

Many thanks go to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this eARC!

I look at reviews and take them seriously, I realize we all have our own perspective, however, a "gripping story, should be gripping." First of all I detest over wordy personal points of view. Dialogue between people are what make great stories, interspersed with profound private thoughts. Lizzie has been in love with Dean, a co worker for three years, neither one has done one thing about it, this to me is way too far fetched, I must respect the heroine, I found her artistry too out there to appreciate, yes, I must be a philistine, I cannot deal with unrequited love, it's boring, and too humiliating. Dean, the object of all of these love is not my idea of someone that you moon over, far from it. One fateful night after a Christmas party, his real girlfriend goes missing, then the investigation begins, it does have a surprise twist that you don't see coming, it is the books one redemptive plot, I love being surprised, even though I should have seen it coming. Many people will enjoy the story, even if I found the path tortuous.
I recommend for people who love tortured souls. Thank you #Netgalley #AfterTheParty

What The Shhhheeep! 😳😯🤯

⊰ 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐞𝐬 ⊱

I'm gonna say, I had some real high hopes for this one just by the synopsis but sadly it just didn't work for me. I really struggled reading this one and it wasn't because it was slow. It was the fact that Lizzie drove me nuts. She reminded me of a whiny high schooler dealing with her obsession of unrequited love with Dean. I will say this had such real potential and writing was really well done, but a lot of redundancy in it that made it difficult.

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Lizzie has just gotten a promotion as a project manager at small company, and she's absolutely in love with her co-worker, Dean, for the past three years. She starts to feel that maybe he has feelings for her too until at a Christmas party, he admits he has feelings for her colleague, Rebecca. A heartbroken Lizzie is more determined to take a job offer in London when police show up and say Rebecca has disappeared. What could have possibly happened and does it have anything to do with the Christmas party days earlier?

Now I will say that it had some real redeeming qualities as the plot unfolded. And I enjoyed the thriller aspect & mystery she bloomed along that kept me wondering and unsure. She has real talent and I think just needs to hone it a bit more. This had super good potential and I think she'll get there. The ending definitely made up for the rest of the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK for this ARC.
Release Date: August 12, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 3 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊

I really wanted to love this, but sadly...I did not. This book had so much promise but fell short with unlikeable characters and the ending was...unexpected and odd.
Lizzie has pined after Dean for many years only discover that Dean is in a secret romance with a coworker at the holiday Christmas party. Heartbroken and dejected, Lizzie calls her (overbearing, obsessive, helicopter) mom to come retrieve her. It's not until later that Lizzie learns of the tragedy that occurred.
The storyline is intriguing with a real slow build that keeps you turning your pages, but the flat characters really hinder the story. And, as I stated before, the ending is lacking.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins and One More Chapter for the ARC of this book.
I’m very sorry but this book was not for me at all. The characters seemed very flat and the book did not draw me in at all. I found the storyline somewhat difficult, no one fancies someone for 3 years without saying anything and the fact that the mother effectively made him available for her daughter i find totally unbelievable and unacceptable. She let someone else go to prison for what she had done to make her daughter happy and stay with her and the object of her affections. I felt the ending left a nasty taste for me but that is just my opinion.

I enjoyed reading After the Party by Georgina Lees. It was quite a slow starter, but so well written, and once it got going it was a great read

After the Party by Georgina Lees started slowly, but the plot pace picked up and I really got caught up in this book. When you think the worst has happened, there was, even more, to deal with. The characters are realistic, the setting was good and twists and turns are abundant. Recommend.

Very interesting story. There were some predictable elements of the story but there are some intriguing parts. I wish the characters were a bit more developed

Perfect for fans of slow-build psychological thrillers and very much in the style of Georgina Lees’s first novel The Girl Upstairs, the story covers work-based as well as family relationships with a good cast of suspects. I was nicely wrong-footed by the denouement.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance cover in exchange for an independent review.

The cover really grabbed me to start of with then the blurb. The book itself was okay, I just didnt think that much of the characters not well rounded and developed enough. I just found the plot a bit meh, but that is just that it was not for me, that is the joys of books - different things appeal to different people.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

I found Lizzy to be fairly irritating in her continued pining after a man who barely acknowledges her existence and then seemingly oblivious of her crush, confides in her that he is in love with her friend.
When said friend goes missing Lizzie becomes embroiled in the investigation- partly as an official suspect and partly as an extremely naive self-nominated investigator.
The story has many false leads running through it and the ending is completely unexpected- everything you would want in a mystery!

Another great read from Georgina Lees. I would have probably given 5 stars had I not guessed the perpetrator at an early stage.

The story is told from the perspective of talented artist, Lizzie, a woman who finds herself in a job she doesn't much care for, in her small home town, in love with a colleague she has admired from a far for years without declaring her feelings. On the night of 'the party' she decides it is make or break time, have her feelings reciprocated, or pursue her artistic aspirations in the heady lights of London. The night does not turn out in any way Lizzie could have predicted however, as she soon discovers one of her colleagues has disappeared in suspicious circumstances....

I really enjoyed the drama and excitement this book offered. The relationships between charterers was authentic and well conveyed.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

OMG - Dean is not my favorite person!
I could not guess what was coming next in Lizzie’s life - I genuinely felt for her with her Dean emotions, but really wish she would have given the detective a chance.
The story itself was detailed and intriguing - I had a hard time putting this book down! Like I said above - I could not figure out the next twist - I thought I had it several times, then boom! It switched .
My only dislike was the ending, I wish it ended differently, but otherwise fantastic book!

I loved the premise of this book and was full of hope when I started but that was soon drained out of me when I realised how vile all the characters were. I'm sure that was the point but it meant I couldnt relate or sympathise as much as I normally would. Plus so so stupid!! Anyways in theory, this is absolutely my kind of book. I did lose interest a bit but I'm glad I stuck with it tol the end. It's more character driven than action so of that's the kind of books you enjoy then you'll probably love this one because it is a good premise and it is kept going...... but just not enough action for me or likeable characters

“…love does make you do stupid things…”

Lizzie is in love with Dean but he’s in love with Rebecca, and when Rebecca turns up missing after the party, this twisted love triangle unfolds…

If you enjoy a drama-based whodunit with a cast of unlikeable characters, this is the book for you! I desperately tried to enjoy the story, and while it was well written, it just wasn’t for me. So please do not let my rating dissuade you from reading. While not my fav, it could be yours!

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **