Oh boy, this was a fun one!! A book about friends and secrets?! Sign me up! The Block Party was everything I had hoped for. I loved the drama; the twists and turns, and I also found the writing to be really well done. The story line was so interesting. I was finished with this book in about 2 days. I’m happy to say it was the highlight of my weekend. The story flowed along easily and kept me in the dark about the ending-which is always a win!!


Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC. I’m sure this book will be a big hit once it’s released.

Neighborhood drama that starts with a murder at a block party. Multiple POV interspersed with some posts from the neighborhood social media site. Plenty of drama and secrets.
This really didn’t work for me. I didn’t like or connect to any of the characters. The main teen POV was Lettie and I just found her to be too much. Her beliefs and activism were very heavy handed. Descriptions of her clothing were very stereotypical for what a teen who doesn’t fit in would look like. I like YA novels, but apparently do not like a teen character as one of the main characters if it isn’t a YA novel.
The dialogue felt stilted. The relationship between Alex and her husband grated on my nerves. Lots of petty bickering. These took away from the plot. Just not for me. Plenty of others are enjoying.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Get your popcorn ready for when you read The Block Party! This book is all drama, cheating, lying spouses, spying on neighbors and gossiping. This novel kept me entertained as the story progressed from the Memorial Day Block Party in the current year and a dual timeline that started with the previous Memorial Day Block Party. I'm not going to get into a synopsis because there is so much going on and involves the lives of everyone that lives on this cul-de-sac on a prestigious street. While there are multiple characters, each one is developed so I never had to go back and think, "who was this person again?". The ending is great and left me satisfied. You never know who your neighbors are and this book explores that realm wonderfully.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review considerations. All opinions are my own.

Fractured Families in a Familiar Narrative

You may have read many books similar to The Block Party. In any event, this is a recognizable plot about well-to-do rich (or seemingly rich) white families living in a tony neighborhood. They have problems, like anyone else, but they can be easily resolved through friendship, psychological help and a strong family. Money always helps too.

So it goes in this Meadowbrook community. Overused themes are splattered throughout the novel. The people who live in these nice homes are introduced to us in a long flashback technique. There is a possible murder on Alton Road. Who was killed?
If someone was murdered, who committed the heinous act?

The novel is then presented in recovered memories of the families, who have serious and sometimes superficial problems that are worked into the plot

The author tells us about each family, their issues, and sets up various incidents to give the reader hints about the climax. I had a complete picture of these beautiful homes, the important children who affected the plot and the very last scenes which culminate into a violent act.

The women were an interesting bunch. They seemed to be equals, but they were not alike. Their conversations were carefully written and these dialogues are the most compelling writing. If you enjoy reading these types of novels, Jamie Day offers you a page-turner.

My gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Secrets abound on an affluent cul de sac. Lots of surprising twists make this novel about revenge interesting..

The Block Party by Jamie Day was just an okay read for. I actually struggled to finish this one. While I generally like domestic dramas, something about this felt off. The two main characters Lettie, and her Mom Alex were not that appealing. The story seems to drag on and on. Lots of drinking by Alex, who was always claiming to cut back, and parts of the story seemed redundant. Not very compelling. Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy.

I will admit I did not love this book at first. The author tries to work up some suspense, as to what is going on on Alton road. I did struggle at first....There definitely were some major curveballs and I did not see a few of them coming! In the end, I gave this book 4 stars as it had many of the elements I look for in a good story line

I really enjoyed this book! It felt like a tv show - I could picture pretty much every character, setting, scene, etc. as a show, which I really enjoyed. Lettie is such an amazing character. Love the girl power in this too.

The Block Party - available 7/18/23

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for sharing this book with me.

The Block Party is a domestic neighborhood thriller/drama filled with twists and turns. I liked the two person POV. Very soapy and filled with multiple storylines. Written perfectly and not hard to follow at all. A job well done in Jamie Day’s debut.

4/5

Oh my, I really enjoyed this one! Talk about crazy twists and turns! I couldn’t figure out what was going on, and it kept me on my toes!

It's Memorial Day weekend and an annual celebration for those elite families that live on Alton road. Everything seems fine until gun shots are heard and someone ends up dead. The neighbors all have secrets they are keeping to themselves and their children even have some of their own.

This was a twisty tale that followed the lives of of several neighbors. I found the story to be entertaining and hard to put down. I became invested during the day and had to find out who was killed at the party and why! The conclusion was quite shocking. I thought the story tied up nicely at the end and I appreciated that. Overall, I would recommend this to those who enjoy a good domestic suspense novel. This one will be sure to keep you on your toes!

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC.

This review will be posted to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

This was a fun mystery/thriller set in an upscale neighborhood filled with dysfunctional characters. A good beach read but doesn’t break any new ground.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61884965

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Jamie Day's Block Party. Whoa! What a ride! What a neighborhood! Nothing is quite what it seems and the twists are many. I could not put it down and could not turn the pages fast enough.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for my honest review.
Every summer there is a block party for the families in this suburban neighborhood. Nothing is as it seems and there are lots of secrets and lots of gossip..It’s over the top with all of that these individuals have going on but still an enjoyable read.

I haven't read anything by this author but I just knew this book was going to be amazing. I love a neighborhood drama. The icing on the cake for this book was the facebook HOA comments mixed in between chapters. Every neighbor has a big secret. Every neighbor has motive to kill someone. This element keeps the reader flipping pages until the end. The best part is that you also spend the whole book not knowing who died....
What a well written book!

The concept of this story really caught my attention. Im so glad I was able to read this early! This was addictive and everything you could ask for in a suspenseful story!

The Block Party kept me guessing from the first page until the last. I FLEW through this one and literally could not put it down. Jamie Day is one of my favorite authors and this might be my new favorite book!

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a nice surprise! I had requested to read it because it sounded interesting as a light, thriller read. And, it was! The story is a bit convoluted with a lot of different things happening, but it was quick and entertaining. I would definitely recommend it!

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

A Block party turns violent. So many different possibly suspects and what leads up to the fateful day. 10/10. This book has you trying to figure out what is going on. With so many families on the block, each with their own secrets, you can’t quite figure it out. The end was a surprise all in itself. Definitely a great read.

This book was amazing! I could not put it down. It reminded me of watching an episode of Desperate Housewives but with an extreme twist. This would definitely be a book I would recommend and I look forward to reading more books by this author.