The Block Party is a domestic drama debut from Jamie Day, an author I found on NetGalley. The premise pulled me immediately -- a murder at a neighborhood block party with a cast of characters similar to Desperate Housewives, a show I enjoyed for many seasons. All the characters are really well developed, someone stereotypical but also several unique and complex. Secrets explode, and just when you think you've got it all figured out, another secret is dropped. Ripe with sexual tension, drugs, classic bitchy barbs and over-the-top egos and masculinity, there are interesting modern touches applied in all the right places. Definitely liked the way the story unfolded, though I could've done without the local chat / online gossip commentaries, as it made the story feel too gimmicky. There are multiple deaths, and the cops show up to the block way too often. Not sure I'd want to be friends with any of these people, but they definitely stick with you for days afterward. Looking forward to the author's sophomore effort next year.

I’ve tried and tried and tried to get into this, and for whatever reason, I’m stuck.

I can’t even remember character names. I find myself rereading page after page.

I know I didn’t like the daughter. (Must be the adult in me!)

Maybe eventually I can finish this, but for now, there’s not enough keeping me glued to the Kindle.

*thanks to St. Martin's Press and netgalley for the ARC!*

i love a good neighborhood drama! the block party is set on a little street where everybody has money (presumably) and are too involved in each other's business (definitely). told in alternating perspectives between then and now, we get the present timeline and a year earlier, giving lots of detail about what causes all the drama in the opening scene at the annual block party.

i liked this book, i read it pretty much in a sitting. it kept me super intrigued, and i think a big part of it was not knowing exactly what the big incident was throughout the book, so you never even really know what you're waiting on to happen. it's a quick read, and had a lot of twists!

Sure to be a great summer beach read with the perfect blend of family drama, nosy neighbors, mother-daughter angst, cheating spouses and too many suspects to count for a murder at the annual neighborhood block party. A great escape read with so many twists and turns, it will keep you up late into the night to unravel all the secrets. A little over the top with so much cliche-type drama behind the doors of every mini-mansion but very entertaining nonetheless. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my brief review.

This was a good book! Sometimes different perspectives can be a little difficult to execute well. As I started reading, I really worried about whether this was a DNF for me, but Jamie Day did great! Great novel. Really enjoyed it.

Desperate Housewives on steroids is the best way to describe The Block Party. I loved the two narrators of this story. The story keeps you guessing till the very end

This unfortunately was a miss for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I thought the story was interesting but not enough to keep my attention. I also got bored quickly with the dynamic between the girl and boy who lived next door to one another.

The story opens up at the annual neighborhood block party. Queue the music, food, drinks, and games. Sounds like a great time! Under normal circumstances it would have been, but there has been some serious drama brewing in this neighborhood, fraught with cheating, lying, backstabbing, stalking and murder. The party ends with the neighborhood speculating who was killed, by whom, and why?

After the initial opening, the plot rewinds back and tells the slow burn story of all the tension between the neighbors that culminates into the murderous, dramatic explosion at the block party. There is quite a large cast of characters, which made it a little difficult to follow, at times. The story is broken down into seasons, where we get the chance to get to know the various residents and delve into their secrets. You never know what someone is hiding behind closed doors.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a little hard for me to get into at first, but once I got through the first half, things started gaining momentum. It was like watching the Desperate Housewives. There were some aspects to the story I think could have been left out, to make the book a little shorter and more succinct, without missing anything. There were some good plot twists and I was guessing what happened up until the big reveal at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley + St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. The pub date is set for 7/18/2023.

Secrets secrets might not make friends but boy do they make for a good drama!!! This has many story lines but some how keeps you hooked and doesn’t confuse you - the characters are easy to track and you quickly get sucked in and it is like a train wreck you can’t look away from! I will say I was not expecting the ending and love that they really gave you answers and closure so no extreme cliff hangers or frustration it is tied up nicely! This was a really good read and would have been quick read but I read it during treadmill runs it def gave me motivation to get on the tread to keep reading and helped distract me during the run !

If you like the Kardashians or desperate housewives I think you would love this (if you don’t watch those or don’t like them don’t worry I think you would still like this if you are a people watcher or live for the drama lol).

I really like this style of book normally. It had stories within stories within stories… But I think that’s where my problem with it lied. There was too much going on, while it was not hard to follow it just had to much stuff happening that my interest never truly peaked on a certain storyline… and there were tons… Rape, statutory rape, high school drama, vandalism, suicide, blackmail…. It does go on. It reminded me of a real housewives mellow drama.

How deep do your secrets go? 🫢🫣🤫

Special thank you to @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

[Swipe for synopsis]

MY REVIEW::
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book starts with a bang 💥 and then takes you back to explain what leads up to that event. It's through dual timelines of a mother and daughter. Mom is accused of having a drinking problem and being too nosey with her neighbors, and the daughter is too straight edge she's proved it in a way that's gotten her in big trouble.

Every year, this affluent block has a big party that everyone yearns to be a part of, but the ones that are there seem to have so many secrets, it seems you'd rather not be part of that block at all, for dramas' sake.

As the book unfolds, every secret seems to intertwine with the next. And that ending is a real bomb shell!

I think this book was very well written. Very suspenseful and keeps you on your toes with the back and forth of the timelines. Keeps you wanting to know what happens, but invested in each scenario equally.

QOTD:: Have you ever been to a block party?

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4.5 stars!!!

I absolutely loved this wild ride through Alton Road. Told from both Alex (mom) and Lettie (daughter) points of view over the course of a year we discover what happens at one fateful memorial day block party. Full of secrets and revenge (because secrets don't keep!) this book is a twisty thriller with wild backstories that lead to disaster. I thought I had ir figured it out, numerous times, then BAM a twist! It's a fast read for livers of psychological thrillers, mysteries, and domestic suspense.

A perfect summer read- be sure to pack this for vacatio
as your next summer poolside read.

There was nothing wrong with this book, but there was also nothing special about it. Many of the characters slid together, and now that I’m done reading it, the details are slipping my grasp. This doesn’t happen when I read something that truly moved me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Alton Road is an exclusive neighborhood that has its fair share of lies, scandal, drama, and rumors. However, at this years exclusive block party things don’t go as planned and the night ends in murder.

Y’all The Block Party is giving major Desperate Housewives vibes. It starts off with the current block party but then flashbacks to the previous year leading up to what took place that night. It’s fast paced and there’s plenty of twists to make this one enjoyable. I can honestly say though I wasn’t a big fan of any of the main characters. I feel like there was a bit of a drag part way through it but it definitely picked up and got a bit crazier at the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins press for my #gifted arc to read for an honest review.

I was engaged in this story from the very beginning and it kept me guessing. Very well written.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I would round up to 4 1/2 stars.

I thought this was a great story! I loved switching character perspectives each chapter and how real all the characters were. Each family that was featured from the block had their secrets; as a reader I could believe each and everyone one of those secrets could be a situation that could come out in real life. Affairs, secrets, alcoholism, revenge, trauma, a little bit of humor, and all the drama spans from ages teenagers to grown adults…..I felt like I was a part of the gossip in the neighborhood and trying to figure out the mystery, along with the others, but in the end I was still surprised. 😮 I would gladly read another novel by this author! #NetGalley #stmartinpress #JamieDay

This was an interesting and captivating book. The many threads meandered along keeping the reader wondering were it all was headed. And, bang.. it all coalesces all the loose ends come together. A fun read.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to get the eArc and preview this book. Hopefully more to come.

The block party is an annual tradition on Alton Road, but this year the secrets of Meadowbrook are taking over. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I thought it had a slow start and maybe too much back story as the book covers a span of a year, however I really enjoyed the dual POV and slow reveal of secrets and truths. The plot twists were the perfect amount of expected and surprising and the author nailed the timing of reveals. By the end I found myself wanting to know what other secrets lie on Alton Road, but still satisfied with the conclusion.

The Block Party a very fast paced read. The setting is a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone else's business. Some of the characters are strange and unlikable but very interesting. The author really hooked me into these characters lives and kept me interested all the way to the end. I enjoyed the mystery and I especially enjoyed the ending. I’ll be looking for more from this author. I highly recommend this one! I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I read this as an ARC read for my honest review.

The Block Party by Jamie Day reminds me a lot of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. We have an annual block party of upper middle class neighborhood that takes a turn for the worst. POV changes most often between Alex, a divorce mediator with an alcohol problem, and Lettie, Alex's daughter who's tied up in her own Pretty Little Liars-esque drama.

I didn't really care for the writing style and found the characters to be a bit flat. Conversations weren't written realistically and I often found myself thinking "you wouldn't say it like that."

The plot was definitely interning enough to warrant a read. I think that the writing style was just for me. The storyline was good and I enjoyed the twist. I didn't expect it to end the way it did, but I also think it was tied up just a little too neatly for me.