A simple, annual block party. What could be more innocent? Nothing in this neighborhood. And now someone has been murdered and secrets are coming out. It seems that everyone in this privileged neighborhood has a secret behind their so called “perfect” lives. This book is a combination of thriller and humor. When the people on neighboring blocks hear the sirens, they immediately take to social media to theorize what is going on. These comments remind me of the ones I see on my Neighborhood app, from snarky to nosy to off topic. This levity during a murder lightened things up a bit. Many good twists and turns kept me going and I never would have guessed the ending! I highly recommend this book!

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The Block Party by Jamie Day is a wickedly fun neighborhood drama wrapped up in a domestic thriller story.

I loved the neighborhood drama. Readers who enjoy reality tv for the over-the-top drama will absolutely eat this up. The story gave me all the jaw-dropping dirt, and I lapped it up.

I also love the social media used during the story. It reminded me of an app called NextDoor that I'm on and love for the drama. The story's social media entries were very authentic compared to what I see on NextDoor.

I enjoyed the mystery very much, and the conclusion surprised me. There are clues to what the mystery will be and clues to the conclusion throughout the story. Drama enhanced by a mystery is simply sublime.

One issue is that, though it's not predictable, it also could be more original. This is the same neighborhood drama story told repeatedly. But I knew that going in and looked forward to it.

Another area for improvement is the large number of characters and how difficult it is to keep them and their stories straight. And this continues until the end. I found that it never got better for me.

The characters are well-developed, especially Lettie, though most of the development is wrapped up in the drama, making it very complicated to explain in a non-spoiler review.

The narration is third person focused, and it focuses on Alex, a wife, and mother who oversees the yearly Memorial Day block Party and her teenage daughter Lettie for the neighborhood teen drama. I liked having the story from 2 generations in the neighborhood rather than just one because the stories are intertwined and interconnected, as you would expect them to be.

I found the pace to be breakneck. The story is focused even though it covers quite a few families that live on the block. Still, it focused on the relationships between neighbors, so it never got mired down in irrelevant backstories.

The setting is Meadowbrook, Massachusetts, but it could be any upper-middle-class suburban neighborhood in the US. This works for relatability, but I would have loved to see some aspects particular to that part of the country.

Read if you're in the mood for:
Juicy neighborhood drama
A jaw-dropping conclusion
A cast of flawed characters

3-3.5 stars, rounding down to 3 though.

This book was just okay for me. There were some redeeming qualities, but overall, I was a bit underwhelmed. It falls into the domestic suspense category and gave me Desperate Housewives/ Big Little Lies vibes, so if you are in the mood to read something like that, you may want to check it out.

I will say for it to be such a large cast, I felt the author did a great job keeping everyone apart. I didn't have trouble distinguishing each character or getting them confused with one another and that isn't always the case for me.

We have multiple POVs and lots of drama. One of my favorite aspects of the book and what I thought was unique and fun was the occasional breaks between the chapters with the social media community page where neighbors gossiped and speculated about what happened at the neighborhood Memorial Day block party. It reminded me of my hometown's community pages on Facebook, especially of late. 😅

What made this book hard for me to read and caused me to drop my rating was the pacing. I felt towards the middle it slows down too much and it was hard for me to stay focused to continue reading.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

The Block Party by Jamie Day

My rating:
4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The neighborhood of Meadowbrook is filled with close knit people with lots of secrets. The Meadowbrook Annual Block Party is the celebration season, but one year, it goes terribly wrong.

Told in both mother and daughter perspectives, you slowly find out what secrets people have been hiding.

Overall I liked this book. I rounded it up to 4 because it was pretty enjoyable. However, I will say that for as long as the book is, not a lot actually happens until the end of the book. There was a lot of build up to the end part of the book. I think what I was missing was emotion from the characters. I did however enjoy reading from Lettie’s perspective.

If you like surburban drama with a murder thrown into the mix, I would recommend this one! Overall I really enjoyed, it was just a little bit of a slower pace than most of the thrillers I tend to read! There was definitely lots of secrets and lies!

Thanks netgalley and St Martins press for the Arc! You can read this one now! 🏡

Gun shots were heard at the annual block party? Everyone is speculating. Who shot who? Why? Read this thriller by Jamie Day to find out. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of The Block Party in exchange for my honest review.

I'll keep this short and sweet since this one wasn't for me. I ended up skipping quite a bit of the book just to get to the end. I think I would've preferred more than two narrators for this since there ended up being SO many secrets and lies and general chaos.

In fairness I won't review this on any other retail sites aside from NetGalley since I didn't *technically* finish it.

The story had me guessing the entire time. The story is told from Alex and Lettie’s POV (mother and daughter). It shows that you never truly know what’s going on in a person’s life. Surrounding neighbors think everyone on Alton Street lead perfect lives and have no troubles. The events of the past year prove that wrong. Everyone has secrets. Over the course of the year, these secrete are slowly revealed, until everything comes to a head. The story was well paced and everything wrapped up nicely.

3.5 stars

This book was good, not great. I couldn’t really root for any of the characters but none of them were all bad either. Alex might have been my least favorite tbh. She was a little too nosy and gossipy for me and ignorant about it to boot. Not quite sure how I feel about the layout of the book since I kinda had to go back and read the 1st part over again to remember. Nice plot, good characters. Would definitely give author another shot.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This felt like a season of Desperate Housewives and I am HERE. FOR. IT.

Seemingly independent storylines all end up converting in a way I would have never expected to tie a neat bow on an otherwise dramatic story?! YES. This is my kind of domestic suspense!

While I really enjoyed the multiple storylines and how they converged at the end, there were SO many subplots to follow that I found it sometimes distracting instead of entertaining. I often found myself going back to reread parts to fully understand the story. There were a few subplots that I could have done without.

Overall, there are definitely some triggers in this book and some incredibly heavy topics. The topics aren't deeply addressed, more so mentioned, so I would read triggers before picking this one up. There were a few jarring scenes that I could imagine might be an issue for some.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a domestic suspense that errs on b*tchy over scary!

The Block party of the year goes sideways and it is so scandalous you just cannot stop reading! It gave me a Desperate Housewives vibe which I loved as it was one of my favorites! I am glad that there was only 2 POV in this book as I was able to keep everything straight. This book was fun and kept you sucked into the story and wanting to know who is dead and who isn’t. Who did it? I am greatful to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this!

This was such an intriguing thriller. It gave me Desperate Housewives feels. The author does a fabulous job engaging the reader. Each chapter ends on a cliff hanger and kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked how the book was written with a dual POV, one a teenage girl and the other, her mother. There's mystery, betrayal, secrets, and.......murder. This is a party you definitely don't want to miss.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading this book. A little slow at times, but there was a solid story and solid ending. I think there could have been a few things left out to move through it a bit quicker. Told in alternating POVs from present day and last year, the Block Party focuses on a group of neighbors who get together each year and have…you guessed it! A block party. Someone is murdered at this year’s party, and there is also an online forum that is debating the rumors of a murder and whodunnit. I enjoyed these little forays into the online forum and found them entertaining and funny. The characters were, while sometimes infuriating, very well developed and believable.

*2.5 stars rounded up

I went into this book thinking I was getting a mystery/thriller. What I got was mostly domestic drama. Not that I don't like a good domestic drama if it's done well, but I had quite a few problems with this one.

Let's start with the positives.

The writing is very simplistic, so it's easy to read this very quickly. The chapters are very short, too, usually just 5-7 pages, so that also helps keep you turning the pages.

For the most part, I did want to know what was going on with the various mysteries, even though they weren't very strong. So, I was motivated to finish the story, even though by the end I couldn't stop rolling my eyes at the conclusion.

Also, even though the two main characters, Alex and her daughter Lettie, were a bit annoying, they were well fleshed out and easy to connect to. Most of the side characters...not so much.

Here were my problems.

The writing. I know it was in the positive section above, but the dialogue was so cringy at times! There also wasn't much description, either. It's very bare bones writing. So, while that does mean you can read it quickly, it wasn't interesting to read either.

The other problem that frequently took me out of the story was the logical inconsistencies. A lot of mystery/thrillers have this problem for me, so I'm willing to overlook some things. But so many things just didn't make any sense.

So, if you're looking for an easy-to-read domestic drama with some light mystery elements, I'd say give this a go. But it's far from being a favorite read of the year for me unfortunately.

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

This book had my name written ALL over it!

Neighbourhood drama, scandals and gossip, with a touch of murder.

I could not wait to get my hands on this book, I was so ecstatic when I got approved to read this.

The annual summer block party on the exclusive Alton Road cul-de-sac, is one to remember when someone is murdered.

The suspense slowly builds in this book. You’re just itching to find out what happens. But so many little details throughout the book, have you guessing who is guilty and who is the victim. Almost like breadcrumbs being dropping.

It was so simple who the guilty party was, and it all made sense. I really enjoyed this book!!


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a DRC. The Block Party is available now!

Block Party opens with a crime being committed during the annual Memorial Day block party and the rest is the book tells the story leading up to that fateful day, slowly revealing clues as to what happened and who was the victim. It had all the vibes of a Liane Moriarty book and Desperate Housewives with a neighborhood chatroom speculating what happened and then the rest of the book dangling clues with dual POVs and unveiling all of the secrets, scandals and deceptions of the various neighbors. This street was full of lies, secret trysts, drama and conflict. No one can be trusted, more and more wild things came to light and everyone was a suspect. It was pure summer fun reading and I was so hooked watching it unfold.

The Memorial Day neighborhood block party is a big event each year on the exclusive cul de sac of Alton Road. Between one party and the next year, the tensions between the neighbors builds as gossip and secrets eventually lead to violence.
There’s something really entertaining about a group of neighbors who are gossipy, back stabbing and interfering and these scenarios usually make really good thrillers. This book had the potential for some good twists and surprises but it just fell flat for me. The “bad guys” were obvious and it seemed like there were really too many motives and far-fetched events leading up to the climax. I felt like the plot was forced and most of the squabbles unnecessary. Overall, the book wasn’t boring but certainly not a five star read.
#NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress

The Block Party is a really fun and juicy read, perfect for summer! This neighborhood had everything: gossipy neighbors, revenge, affairs, stalkers, teenage drama and it all culminated at the annual Memorial Day block party. This one had me guessing and on the edge of my seat until the end!

The Block Party
Author Jamie Day

Thank you, @stmartinspress, @netgalley, @macmillianaudio, and @librofm, for my #gifted e- arc and audiobook! I listened to this one narrated by Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson, and it was a perfect summer audio read!

The Block Party ~ you'll die if you miss it~

At the annual summer block party for the residents of the affluent Alton Road, there has been a murder.

It's not clear who committed the murder, nor is it clear why, so Jamie Day brings her readers back a year and winds us down the suburban road filled with white picket fences, betrayal, gorgeous gardens, secrets, seemingly perfect homes, and lots of questions as to what goes on behind the beautiful closed doors.

The Block Party is quick, witty, entertaining, and suspenseful, and the many residents of Alton Road have so much going on in their lives that proves once again, that you have no idea what others are going through! Gossip, drama, romance, mystery - The Block Party has it all! Absolutely a perfect summer read!

THE BLOCK PARTY is full of drama and told in two timelines: we start out at a neighborhood Memorial Day block party, which ends with murder. Then we go back in time one year to see how we got to this point.

There’s gossip, cheating, drug and alcohol abuse, secrets, and plenty of mystery. You don’t find out exactly what’s going on until the last few pages.

I know many people enjoyed this one, but it was a bit slow moving for me. I didn’t really connect with the characters so it was difficult for me to get invested. I have to admit that while the ending was satisfying, with some big surprises, it took everything in me to get there.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of THE BLOCK PARTY in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you are looking for a book that grabs you from page one, this is the book for you! The Block Party has all the ingredients that make up a tasty summer read—secrecy, gossip, rumors, infidelity, addiction, and murder. Everyone in this exclusive cul-de-sac has something to hide and lots to lose. I read this book quickly because I did not want to put it down. This book was a five star read!