I seriously eat up anything Natasha Preston writes. This is no different. I love this one! The kids in it were kind of naive, but they are teens and I kept that in the back of my mind. I loved it and will be recommending it!

Bessie and her friend,s decide to go to the party that Allegra is throwing in her family’s abandoned castle before it’s converted into apartments. They think the biggest issues that they’ll face are making it there before a big storm hits and keeping their plans secret from their parents and teachers. Once they arrive at the castle, Bessie and best friend Kashvi discover graffiti and evidence that someone has been staying in the cellar. They stop to buy snacks and more beer. They learn that protestors from the nearby village are angry about the development plans for the castle. One of them even argues that it would be better to burn it down. Some of the classmates manage to get there before the storm gets too severe. But when the teens wake up to the next day is to discover one of their own dead. The storm has made it impossible for them to leave. They realize that they’re in danger. Is the killer one of the members of the Facebook protestors’ group or one of their own? Will they find out before it’s too late?

The author has written an excellent novel. I enjoyed the suspenseful story with its elements of horror. It never bored me while I read this novel. Bessie was my favorite character. I’m amazed to think that a party could be so “exciting” to read.

The author has written an excellent novel. I enjoyed the suspenseful story with its elements of horror. It never bored me while I read this novel. Bessie was my favorite character. I’m amazed to think that a party could be so “exciting” to read.

I love me some Natasha Preston and I will be coming back for more and more of her books, but this one did not do it for me. I just did not care about these kids, and because I didn't care I just did not invest. I loved the setting! I love the mystery too!
I just didn't get into this one like the others.

As Bessie and her friends head to the English countryside for a party they quickly learn everyone may not want them there. But who wants them gone bad enough that the body count begins climbing? Should the friends continue to trust each other or turn on each other in order to get out of the countryside and get out together? Is the past coming back to haunt them?
Natasha Preston does it again! She writes in a way that makes you forget you’re reading. Though I feel this one boarded on horror as opposed to thriller, I enjoyed it and happily recommend it to everyone!

The Party was a thriller for sure !

So many secrets + a bunch of teenagers making so many bad decisions + a creepy old castle = pure entertainment!

I could not stop guessing who was doing the murdering!!!
At one point I thought no one was going to survive lol

Based on the events leading to the ending I can see book 2 happening🤞🏻 I also need to know what actually lead the killer to do his killing spree, like I need their POV and their thought process!

I have the physical copy of The Haunting so I will be reading it ASAP !!

This is the second book I’ve read from this author and now my favorite. The first half of the book is a littler slower because of the build up but around the 40% mark the twists and turns start. I could not put this book down. While I was reading I changed my mind many times who I thought the killer could be. I enjoyed the creepy old castle setting. I loved the ending of this one! If you enjoy ya thrillers set in a remote castle with so many twists and turns I recommend this one!

This book started with all the right stuff. Old castle. A group of friends. A past mystery. And a weekend party. What could go wrong?
Well for me, I struggled feeling any empathy for any of the characters. Even adding the uncertainty of "who done it" to their personalities to make it suspenseful, it was still hard to like any of them.
Then add in the characters doing dumb things - paired with the violence - it ended it for me.
For readers who like horror and mystery, this might be a good fit.

This book was okay. I liked the mystery element and how you knew there was someone in this house but the kids were gaslighting themselves into thinking they were crazy so like a typical horror movie you’re screaming at characters that can’t see or hear you. Other than that the FMC was a little insufferable

I feel weird saying Natasha Preston books are candy to me. They're great because you know what you're getting into from the beginning - teenagers making questionable decisions, with highly absurd premises. Love.

I was immediately ensnared from the beginning and had a difficult time putting the book down.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouseChildrens for the book #TheParty by #NatashaPreston. This book about a group of teens who decide to gave a big party at a castle owned by two of the teens parents, had me on the edge of my seat. One by one, the teens are murdered as they try to escape. Who is killing all of these people? Is it someone on the town or someone in their group of friends?

I must admit that I found this book a little hard to get into. I started and stopped three or four times, as I just wasn't fully on board at the beginning. But once I sat down and the first murder happened, I was hooked! The way the friend group interacts and throws suspicion around I found both believable and in some cases a bit confusing. The dynamics of the friend group didn't always feel completely fleshed out, and I really wanted them to be.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this story, and much like the connections between them, only a few feel really complete. Several of the characters felt a lot like they were merely placeholders for the body count later in the book. I wanted them to be more three dimensional, because then I might have cared more about what happened to them later. Even the main character, Bessie, made me want to shake her on more than one occasion. She had a tendency to waffle and be very inconsistent and insecure. But at the same time, it matches the character and the trauma she has been through with the mysterious accident that is hinted at often in the first half of the book. I understand that Bessie's memory loss made it hard to give more details, but I honestly wish I'd known more about it from the beginning, because the reveal was a little underwhelming considering its importance.
I did guess part of the ending early on, but not the whole thing. (I'm being deliberately vague so I don't give spoilers!) Honestly, the twists of the last few chapters pushed this book from 3 stars to 4 from me. I didn't expect the villain, and the author did a great job of making us suspect so many different characters, just like Bessie. The final twist of the book is the best part. You are left just like the character at the end - questioning what is reality, and what is just misdirection.
Fans of Preston's other novels, and of horror in general will enjoy this book. Overall it was a fun read, and once the bodies start to pile up it moves quickly. There were some loose ends that aren't tied up (the graffiti?!?) but overall, it was a good horror read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.

This isn't going to stop me from reading the next Natasha Preston, and the next one, but this book was disappointing. I absolutely love locked room mysteries, and I love books and movies where the kids get picked off one by one, and this book had a terrific setting. Seveal teens head to a party but don't tell the adults because they're not supposed to be there. The party is going to take place in a castle surrounded by a moat in the English countryside, and a storm comes up that floods out the area while they are sleeping the first night.
So the description of the storm was nonsensical. I live in a state with tornadoes and found the description of this storm to be insane and over-the-top. While this storm is raging and nobody is sleeping well, someone goes around and takes the phones off everyone's pillows without getting caught. The motive ended up being silly and the twist wasn't really possible. This is the kind of thing I wish I could talk with someone about so we can commiserate together and enjoy that. Still, it was kind of entertaining, and I usually enjoy this author.. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC ahead of its release. I gave this 3.5 ⭐️

The story follows Bessie and her group of friends, who sneak off to a remote castle for a weekend getaway and party. However, their fun quickly turns into a nightmare when they find themselves stranded due to a severe storm—and the situation escalates as people begin dying.

I enjoyed the overall premise and found the story and characters engaging. The atmospheric setting of the castle, combined with the looming threat of the storm, created a suspenseful backdrop that kept me turning the pages. That said, I found some of Bessie’s decisions as the main character to be questionable, which occasionally pulled me out of the narrative. Additionally, there were one too many plot twists, that to me felt unnecessary

All in all, The Party is a solid, easy-to-read thriller. While not without its flaws, it’s an enjoyable pick for fans of atmospheric suspense looking for a quick and entertaining read

This is a thriller revolving around a group of teens who secretly steal away for a party to a remote castle (owned by the parents of one of them) during part of their school break. A freak violent storm ensues, flooding the moat surrounding the castle, and as they are cut off from civilization, bodies start piling up. Is the killer one of their own or a member of the group opposing the development of the castle into modern apartments?

I wanted to like this more, but I found it too full of trite teen horror movie stereotypical behavior. The storm is too ferocious, the teens either too over-the-top with drama or too blase about the things that matter and concerned about those that don't, and the disclosure about the mystery surrounding the killer's actions too trivial to warrant the deaths of so-called friends.

Unfortunately, I just found the characters and their relationships too shallow and the story too familiar.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for providing the free early arc of The Party for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I thought the beginning of the book was somewhat repetitive until the first 25% or so! However I devoured the last 50% of the book. I do think that the premise was super interesting and had a satisfying ending even though it was slightly predictable.

Ten affluent high school juniors lie to their parents and boarding school officials so they can spend spring break in a creepy abandoned castle in the English countryside. The castle, deemed uninhabitable, is owned by the parents of two of the partying students who plan to renovate it and turn it into luxury apartments. As a storm rages the group is trapped but that doesn’t stop the party until one of them is found dead. Is she the victim of members of the community who vehemently vow to protect the historical integrity of the castle? Or, could it be one of the students themselves? As the body count rises, they scramble to find the killer before it’s too late. This was one scary story with vibes of the hotel in The Shining by Stephen King. The characters were believably described and recognizable as people you might know. It’s a page-turner with a bombshell ending. Thank you to Random House|Delacorte Press who via NetGalley have provided this advance copy for an honest, voluntary review. Release date:December 3, 2024 #NetGalley #TheParty

Another thriller natasha Preston knocks out of the park! This one was a little slow from its starting off point but about 20/25% of the way in, the plot really picks up and the last bits are very faced paced. Natasha Preston has certainly found her niche with these suspenseful YA thrillers and I am a fan for sure.

The first half was not as suspenseful as I thought it would be being a Natasha Preston book. The end was good. Not a high rating just because i was bored a lot and didn’t get slightly excited until the last 100 pages

Thank you to NetGalley, Natasha Preston, and Random House Children's for providing the ebook. This was an engaging thriller set in the eerie atmosphere of an old, abandoned castle. As a massive storm traps the teens inside, chaos ensues, and one by one, they start to fall victim to a murderer. With each death, the remaining survivors are left wondering: is the killer one of their own, or is there someone else lurking in the castle? The story is filled with unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat!

I gave this book 5 stars for delivery of the story. I have read every book this author has written. Of course I could not put it down once I started. I just wanted to read. Ms. Preston is a master story-teller! You will not regret buying this book!