This is the classic Peyton Place plus Desperate Housewives as well as a bit of Melrose Place (and then some) all wrapped up into a very fast moving story. Every household on this posh cup de sac has something going on. It all comes to a head during their annual block party. There are so many secrets I’m surprised the neighborhood held itself together for so long. Excellent domestic suspense that I highly recommend.

Let me just say that I am glad I've never been to a block party like this one! The Block Party by Jamie Day is full of intrigue, deception, and plenty of twists and turns. The book is told from the point of view of mother-daughter duo of Alex and Lettie. Each gives insight to their own lives, as well as those that live on their cul de sac.

Each of the characters are described with complex detail. And each one has a secret of their own. It was a quick read for me, as I became invested in each of the characters. I was left guessing until the very end!

Special thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Jamie Day for this ARC.

Definitely has a Desperate Housewives vibe! Every house has secrets, and some would kill to keep them. Fast moving story, it was hard to put down once I started. The dual POV helped move things along.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I was really intrigued about this desperate housewife type of vibe when reading the synopsis. It seemed to deliver on that thought.

What I was not expecting was the slowness of it. The time frames jumping was a little confusing. The 3rd person, mixed it with some first person, then Lettie’s first person pov was not my cup of tea. While I’m not usually a 3+ POV fan, I believe it would have helped. The references of climate change took away from the story.

The main goal of the book was good. Never knowing what goes on behind closed doors was a great theme, especially those who are the “perfect” type.

It’s one of those I liked but didn’t at the same time. It took me a week to get through it, which was disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Jamie Day for the ARC for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book puts me in mind of a Desperate Housewives scenario.In this upscale neighborhood, every house has secrets; some of them deep and dark. I enjoyed the timeline, sometimes current and going back to the year before as well as the funny comments on the online community page. This story is highly addictive, like your favorite show and there are so many twists and turns the end will be a surprise. There are quite a few characters but they are all personalities you can relate to in one way or another. What a read!

I received this book from NetGalley. I'm giving an honest review. The Block Party was a murder mystery about families that lived on a culdesac. They were families with histories of each other. Some of the couples new each other from High School with secrets that will haunt them through adult hood and the action taken as adults effect them, their teenage children, and their neighbors! It kept me interested throughout the book and it is highly recommended.

Such a good book! First time reading this author and it won’t be the last! I am ready for the next one already! Highly recommend this to others!

I loved this book and couldn't race through it fast enough! Who knew a yearly block party could release such crazy behavior in neighbors! There are adults and teens, secrets, lies, stalkers, guns, drugs, divorces, and most of all, revenge! So many great scenes and events I couldn't predict or even see coming until they smacked me in the face! But I do know I'll read anything Day writes as this one will resonate with me for a long time (and I'll be staying away from block parties for sure)!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Alexander Fox lives on a cul-de-sac on Alton Road, the neighbors call themselves Altonites and believe their street is a perfect family friendly neighborhood. But on the night of the annual summer block party, shots ring out and someone dies. What exactly are the secrets hidden behind the doors of this cul-de-sac? The story revolves around the Fox family, Alexander (Alex) Fox, her daughter, Lettie and husband Nick and their interactions with neighbors, Ken and Emily Adair, Emily is Alex’s sister, and their sons, Logan and Dylan, close cousin of Lettie, the Thompsons, Willow and Evan and their daughter Riley, Lettie’s mortal enemy, Brooke Bailey, the widow of the group, and when the new neighbors Samir, Mandy Kumar and their son Jay move in, secrets really start to reveal themselves.

I liked this story, it was told from the present day, then jumped back one year to reveal what happened that fateful day of the annual summer block party. Who died, why did they die, what secrets were revealed are all coaxed out little by little, details emerging like a mist rising from the ground. It was entertaining, intriguing and a darn fun read. This is the first time I’ve read Jamie Day and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters provide just the right of amount of curiosity, the mystery folds out nicely, the writing is a delight. Pick up this book, you won’t regret this fun, mystery read.

Who was murdered at the block party? Who committed the murder? And why? As the night unfolds, the residents will discover that the real danger lies within their own block and nothing—and no one—is ever as it seems. Propulsive and layered, THE BLOCK PARTY will keep you guessing until the very last page.

My thoughts:
I really wanted to love this book. Reading the blurb it sounded so interesting but I felt like it took forever to get into it and then still it wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a book I couldn't put down that kept me hooked but that was not the case. I think the narration bothered me the most along with the daughter Lettie talking about environmental stuff so much.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

“The Block Party” was a LOT of a wild ride by Jamie Day. Where to start - well, start by popping some popcorn and sit down. The book begins with the present, then zips back a year and continues forward to the present day. Interleaved are comments from a site (kinda like a chat group) in the present day. Then everything - and more - is revealed in the final few chapters. The chapters are told from the POV of two characters - Alex and her daughter Lottie. I have to admit, I didn’t really feel a connection to either character and it did take me a bit of time to keep the block families and individuals straight … but this was a ride and a half. There’s drama … there are surprises … there’s Peyton Place (or for you young-ones, Real Housewives). This book kept my interest (though at times the pacing seemed slow) and I didn’t see the big reveal coming at all.

Thank you for this ARC!

I love a good mystery and I think, (living in a community similar to Alton Road) it gives a peek behind the curtain how little we know about what goes on behind closed doors. And how much appearance matters.

While, I did find it slow at times, I always like twists that I don’t see coming and multiple narrators, so overall I enjoyed it!!

Very realistic charters.
Quick read-enjoyed dual POV
Ending wrapped up a little too neatly, but I wouldn’t have wanted a not so happy ending either.

The Alton Rd annual block party is the talk of the Meadowbrook community social media sites. Why have the police been called to the block party? The gossip is unstoppable, but it appears there has been a murder, on the picture perfect cul-de-sac of Alton Rd. What could be going on over there on that perfect street?

The book starts off on the day of the annual Alton Rd Memorial Day block party where tragedy strikes. The book then flashes back a year and brings us through the lives of the “Altonites” and what brought us to the tragic events of the annual block party.

The book is quite a ride, bringing us up and down, having us guessing on what really happens. Overall there are some good plot twists that I didn’t fully see coming. I would have given this a higher rating but I did find at times that the book was a bit dragged out, but overall a good entertaining read.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, publisher and the author for the ARC. I really enjoyed reading this book. The interactions, relationships, and dynamics between the families in this neighborhood are beautifully captured making the reader want to learn more. It makes us ask ourselves "How well do we know our neighbor". Although there are some grim scenes they never slip into complete gloom. It is quite the page-turner with a few bits of humor thrown in. Highly recommend!

A very good domestic mystery. I live in a subdivision in Florida, so this genre always piques my interest. It was well done, good characters and great character development. I read it in one weekend while lying in the sunshine. I would definitely continue to follow Jamie day.

☀️Book Review☀️
The Block Party
Publish Date: July 18, 2023

This was an overall fun read! It felt a little slow to me at times, but the last quarter of the book really picked up and got good. I really was motivated to find out what happened.

A few things bugged me…1. The point of view was mainly third person, but every so often was a chapter titled “Lettie” which was then Lettie’s first person POV (no other chapters had a character’s name). It was odd and I don’t understand why it wasn’t all in third person. 2. When sibling characters call each other “sis” that is kind of annoying and unrealistic. 3. And this might be overly picky but…there were lots of references to USC (like lots) and how it was too expensive because of out-of-state tuition. Yes USC is in California and the setting was not, but USC is a private school so out-of-state tuition doesn’t apply. It’s just expensive for everybody. See…probably too picky, but if it’s a real place and mentioned tons, the facts should be correct.

But in the end, I liked the variety of characters and their interesting back stories. I thought the ending wrapped up nicely! I would rate this 3.5 rounded down to 3.

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress and the author, Jamie Day, for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Side note on the blurb that’s on Amazon: the blurb states it’s a summer block party, but the block party happens on Memorial Day which is in May, which is spring.

I really enjoyed this book. Living on Alton Road is no joke. There are a lot of characters, but the author does an amazing job at character development that it was easy to keep them all straight. There were so many twists, turns and neighborhood drama that it kept you guessing and wanting more.

I would definitely recommend this book. You will want to check content warnings due to some heavy subject matters at times.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Publication date: July 18, 2023.

Thanks to Net Galley and St Martins Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The book description immediately lured me in, but I found this book to be quite a tedious read. Certain parts of the story were just much too long.

I did enjoy the dual POV of both Mom and daughter telling the story. I also enjoyed getting to know each neighbor in the culdesac. But I will say some of the things that happened in the neighborhood were a little too unrealistic and far fetched. There was also one too many “twists” rolling in at the end of the story.

Overall, it was an okay suspenseful book, but not one of my favorites.

WOW! Talk about a block party! I seriously couldn’t put this book down until it was done. I will definitely read another book by Jamie Day. She kept me guessing until the very end!

The story starts with a death at a block party on Memorial Day and switches back and forth through seasons from the previous year to present day. It alternates between Alex, mom who has begun to love the wine, her daughter Lettie who is getting ready for college, and throws in the conversations of some nosy neighbors in an online community group. Throw in some really complicated relationships between all the neighbors on their block and a super annoying pest control guy and you’ll constantly wonder who died and who did it until the very end! Very well written!