I enjoyed The Beach Party and could see this being adapted by Netflix!
The story moves between two timelines now and July 1989 and centres around six friends (or rather frenemies I would suggest) who go to a villa in Mallorca for a booze and drug-fuelled fest holiday.
The suspense and sense of unease begins from the very first page and I was immediately drawn in.
You get a sense of dread and impending doom that all is not well within this friendship group and this holiday soon becomes a nightmare.
Nina is the self-appointed head of the group, a confident, selfish and entitled young woman who likes to be in charge. The others follow in her wake, but it is clear that most of them have some moral debt to pay to Nina.
It’s clear that Nina holds something over most of the members of the group – and bit by bit these secrets are revealed.
There’s twists and turns a plenty.

This is a character focused thriller with an underlying simmering tension and one that I found addictive with its short chapters and backstories being teased out.
From the off you know that something bad will happen and are just waiting for the crescendo.
There’s toxic people in this story and I only really liked one or two of the characters but I was desperate to know what was going to happen next.

Fast forwarding 33 years later to ‘now’ and an anonymous person is contacting each of three group with a menacing threat that they must return to the villa in Mallorca or else.

With secrets coming to light and lives unravelling, this gripping twisty thriller keeps the suspense going until the very end.
Some parts of the story I could see coming but I enjoyed this book despite a few grammatical errors and repeated words in sentences.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley and Viking.

Ooh I enjoyed this book! I loved the 80s references in the scenes set in 1989 and I was definitely transported to the beach scene with them. I listened to an interview with the author and she said she had chosen an insolated villa on Mallorca to create a kind of locked room feel. This is a great thrilling holiday read, although maybe not if away with friends you have negative history with! I liked how we saw the difference in the characters 30 years later and how their lives have diverged.

My favourite quote:
"You've pasted a shiny new life over your past, like strips of wallpaper."

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin General UK for this ARC.

This book is set in dual time, 1989 and Current Day.
Past - In 1989, a group of 6 uni friends gather in Mallorca for postgrad celebrations that ultimately leads to tragedy
Present - Someone knows the covered-up secrets of that night and is seeking revenge..

This gave me 'I know what you did last summer vibes' initially.
The characters were not likeable straight of the bat and I was worried that I simply wouldn't care what happened to them (Zoe was okay), however the storyline itself ramped up about halfway through and I couldn't put this little gem down.

Great holiday book and I do recommend.

What should have been a fun holiday to Mallorca turns into an absolute nightmare and what an engrossing ride it was. Really enjoyable book, when Nina and her crew agree to go to a beach party, they didn’t bargain for the outcome. A myriad of poor decisions led to the initial accident and the situation they found themselves in, and as they tried to deal with it and in equal measure hide what had happened. As loyalties are tested, cracks begin to show in the friendships and as it turns everyone has something to hide.

A clever book with highly flawed characters who carried what happened with them for over thirty years. The characters were quite unlikable but believable and consistent in their behaviour as the book jumps from 1989 to now. A good summer read with plenty of plot twists.

4 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect beach read, a page-turning thriller that you definitely should be packing in your suitcase this summer!

In 1989 six friends jet off to Majorca to celebrate the end of university. What should be fun in the sun takes a very different turn when a beach party ends in tragedy. Fast forward to the present day and members of the group receive emails from someone who knows the secrets they have all been keeping about what happened on that holiday and wants someone to pay.

As someone who graduated in 1989 this was a book full of nostalgia for me with plenty of familiar references from the era. And I know Deia, where the book is set, very well - so the gorgeous setting really came to life. With a cast of complicated but interesting characters, including some you will love to hate, there are plenty of twists in the tale - and the short chapters ensure it is one is those books that will keep you saying “just one more” as you race through the book.

This was the first Nikki Smith book I’ve read, I will be looking for others now!
Really enjoyed this, would recommend.

Six friends.

The holiday of their dreams.

One night that changed it all . . .

1989: The tunes are loud and the clothes are louder when a group of friends arrives in Mallorca for a post-graduation holiday of decadence and debauchery at a luxury villa.

A beach party marks the pinnacle of their fun, until it isn’t fun any longer. Because amidst the wild partying, sand flying from dancing feet and revellers leaping from yachts, an accident happens. Suddenly, the night of a lifetime becomes a living nightmare.

Now: The truth about that summer has been collectively buried. But someone knows what happened that night.

And they want the friends to pay for what they did.

This was my first time reading a Nicki Smith book and I was totally hooked! I enjoyed the flip between past and present to better understand the story of this group of friends and how one night shaped all their lives. A must read this summer

Smith is not an author I'm familiar with, but the signs I was going to enjoy her work were good when I found myself engrossed after only a few pages. But…oh yes, there's a but…I am not a fan of present-tense narrative. I absolutely hate it. I've never found an instance where it works, and it certainly doesn't here. It's almost strangulating. As the story is told over two time frames, about thirty years apart, I did hope the past story, at least, would be in the past tense. But no, more stultifying present-tense narrative. Alas. One star lost, I'm afraid.

Nevertheless…it's a gripping story about revenge. Revenge is a dish best served cold, they say. In this instance, I'd say it's frozen pretty solid…it's had over thirty years to ice over. Six university friends go on a Spanish holiday, and the partying takes a dramatic turn. Thirty years later, the events of one tragic night come back to haunt them.

Despite the fact that it's hard to like any of the six…they range from an arrogant bully to a compliant minion…it's a gripping story, well written for the most part (spelling/grammatical errors), and the characters, despite their unlikeability, contribute to a tense and gripping story.

Despite the oh-so-tiresome present-tense narrative, I'll definitely read more of this author.

I loved the author's first two books and while, unlike most of the other reviews here, this was my least favourite, I still found this a fast paced, enjoyable read, with lots of twists and turns. Characters you can love to hate and secrets galore!

Set over a dual timeline, 6 friends go on what should be the perfect holiday, and end up in a nightmare. What a ride, and what a read, literally one night I stayed up late to find out what happened to a certain character as I needed to know. It was tense, dramatic, and tested friendships to the absolute limit. I thoroughly enjoyed the dual aspect, as it was interesting to see where everyone ended up and how it all concluded. Want a perfect summer thriller? This is it!

The Beach Party is the first book by Nikki Smith I have. I loved the premise and was looking forward to finding out where the holiday in Mallorca would take all the characters. I found it easy to get to know all of them, but the excitement for the holiday and the anticipation of it were palpable. I picked it because I wanted a summer-themed book.

As a person with severe, complex physical and sensory disabilities as well as spastic (tight muscles) and difficulty pronouncing words, I especially felt for Zoe, and identified with her worry about her mother, disabled and dependent on others, as she wonders if her mother will be OK while she’s away on holiday at her friend Nina’s family’s villa in Mallorca.

Nikki Smith represents Zoe’s mother’s disability very well and sensitively. I liked this, and it makes for good disability awareness.

I got the impression that Zoe was someone I’d want to know because of her caring, loyal nature. Her reactions to fear or unease are just the same as mine would be.

What she thinks, feels and experiences are especially detailed.

Nina was unlikeable at times because of her strange sense of humour and had a definite mean streak. I was wondering what secrets Aidan and Will, the guys in the story, had in their lives. She seems like the life and soul of the party, and a real party animal. I enjoyed the friends’ sense of fun.

I liked Claire, Will and Aidan.

I was thrown into the atmosphere, and the prologue sparked my curiosity.

The detail is great. Nina’s family’s villa is amazing and stunning as are the surroundings and the whole island. Mallorca is somewhere I’ve never been, and this novel made me want to go there.

I was keen to find out what was going to happen and more about the characters. I love books with secrets in them. Any book that has a mention of Spain and especially a setting there and it’s one that I am interested in. The dual timeline was another thing that kept me interested.

The Beach Party is a standout thriller in my opinion. Full of twists, turns and unexpected things happening. It sent shivers down my spine, yet I didn’t want it to end.

There’s a real atmosphere of excitement at spending a vacation with your friends.parties, sun fun, and good times. But also a constant sense that something isn’t right.

I was hooked from the start to the end.

It’s really a book that makes you wonder who you can trust, and especially whether you can really trust your friends.

I’m looking forward to more books from Nikki Smith. Thanks to Nikki Smith and Viking for my eARC in exhange for an honest and voluntary review.

I have found a new favourite author!

5 stars but deserves more.

Thank you for this ARC. Where to start. 6 characters holidaying together at a villa in Majorca during the 80’s. Something happens that unites them all together, Fast forward to the present and revenge is on some ones mind! A great read. Would thoroughly recommend to others.

A group of highly unlikeable graduates head off to Mallorca to celebrate the end of their time at Uni. A combination of drink, drugs and hedonistic behaviour lead to an accident, or is it? Flash forward twenty odd years and their past is catching up with the group through a series of anonymous communications threatening to reveal their secrets.
I had high hopes for this book based on the premise and the 80’s setting but the cast of underdeveloped characters I kept confusing were so unpleasant I didn’t care what happened to them. Reading this I kept thinking it would make a great tv series but as a book it really didn’t work for me.

Wow! What a book! It’s been a long time since I read through a book so quickly , on tenterhooks, literally biting my nails, on the edge of my seat. I just couldn’t put this book down. It was tense, exciting, thrilling , fast paced, gripping and so chilling with lots of twists and turns. I loved the author’s style of writing and what a great plot… so credible, you could see it really happening in real life. A sun soaked post graduation holiday, a beach party , an accident and everyone’s life is changed for ever. So what did happen that night and who’s going to pay? A brilliant read! I can’t praise it highly enough.
Many thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

#TheBeachParty was a sizzling thriller, full of twists and suspense, set in picturesque Mallorca. A group of friends are having the holiday of their dreams but it all soon changes…I still don’t know why they went to that beach party?!! 😱😂 I loved the 80s vibes and slow burn tension. Tense tense tense!! A cracking poolside read.

I liked the cover of this book, the colours appealed to me and I thought it seemed like the perfect summer read. I was looking for a book to read quickly and expected to read this in a couple of days. It took me ten days which I think says it all.

The story is dual timeline and follows a group of university friends who go on a holiday to Mallorca in 1989. 33 years later, each of them receive an email telling them to go back to the villa otherwise the truth of what happened on the trip will be revealed.

Initially, I thought the story started quite well. I wanted to find out what had happened on the trip. Quite quickly, I became so bored with the story. It really dragged and the pace was so so slow. Most of the story is set in 1989 and considering it takes up a hefty chunk of the book, not much really happens.

The characters were underdeveloped and unlikeable, I didn’t much care what happened to them. Some characters seemed to be forgotten about and I wondered what the point was in making such a song and dance about them.

There wasn’t any tension or suspense in the story as it dragged so much. I felt like I was reading for hours and had hardly progressed through the book.

I thought that sprinklers seemed to be mentioned constantly in the story and I didn’t see what it added at all, it became irritating.

The ending was a strange mix of weak, unrealistic and abrupt.

I wanted to enjoy this book but unfortunately it wasn’t for me at all. I’m not sure if I would read more from this author.

First from this author for me and whilst i enjoyed the premise i didnt really enjoy the writing style or the way the characters came across in the book, i didnt feel as if i cared at all about any of the characters, it felt very far fetched and very convenient in parts and i didnt really like some of the plot twists. I am in no way taking away from the author it just wasnt a book i enjoyed but will still recommend to other thriller lovers.

Thanks for the advanced copy and i wish the author all the best for release

3 stars

This was a good twisty thriller, with parts that were really exciting but other parts dragged a bit for me and felt a tad slow. I did enjoy the duel timeline but there was a lot going on for a big amount of the book so I struggled to keep up at times! Overall a good read.

The Beach Party by Nikki Smith - We start with a group of 6 friends heading off for the holiday of a lifetime to Marbella. They have a villa, courtesy of self proclaimed leader of the pack Nina, whose parents own the place. But things take a turn after an accident resulting in lies, secrets and doubt throughout the group.

I was a little confused at first while I got to know all of the characters and the relationships between them all. I found myself flicking back to the start of a chapter to double check or remind myself whose perspective I’m reading from. The first part of the book is a bit of a slow burner, but then we go thick and fast with the secrets, the lies, the blackmail, the toxic friendships and actions that have you excited, scared and nervous all at once.

I won’t lie - I chose this book on NetGalley for the cover (yes I know the saying…) but this really came through as a great read for me from the second half. Interesting story, unlikeable characters, secrets exposed keep you on your toes, always wanting to turn to the next page as soon as possible.

Multiple timelines and multiple POV allows us to get to know the characters - despite most being unlikeable, I did find myself rooting for a couple of them, but I still didn’t trust their intensions.

The thing I loved most about this book was how descriptive the author was. I have a visual mind anyway, but I could honestly see myself in the scenes she was describing! I loved it!

A 4⭐️ review from me - thank you to NetGalley and publishers Penguin Random House for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review

In 1989 after finishing Uni , Nina, who comes from a rich family, invites 5 friends to stay in the family Villa in Spain.After a couple of days there , there is a beach party some distance away. Nina suggests using the family speedboat to get there , so they do. The boys drive even though they have no nautical experience .Unfortunately there is an accident and somebody dies.. Nina is very manipulative and convinces them to say nothing and later gets the boys to take the damaged boat out at night and sink it..Somebody knows what has happened and years later gets them back to the Villa to face the truth.But who and why now? A very exciting story with an unexpected ending.