DNF at roughly 36%. This book reads like one long run on sentence.

There is so much repetition that it was often hard to follow. There is an insane over usage of commas. Too much detail with not enough follow through. May just be this authors style of writing, but I found it difficult to read and unenjoyable.

I was really excited for this one based on the description and the cover drew me in, but overall this book is not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Authors Equity for the opportunity to read this ARC.

#NextToHeaven #NetGalley

I as almost 70% through this before I learned of the controversies that surrounded the author. However, I was lucky enough to be given this as an Advanced Reader Copy, so I knew it was best for me to see it out and write my review as objectively as I could when the time came. As I primarily listened to this on audio book, I have to say nothing but positive things about the narrator, Gina Gershon, they had the perfect tone and I felt myself fully immersed by her voice and therefore immersed in the storyline. One note I do have about the story as a whole is the way the writer uses repetition, a lot, and I mean A LOT of sentences were not just full of detail but repetition of phrases and entire sentences. I know this was used to emphasis Freys Point, but to be honest it just got annoying.

The party that was mentioned in the synopsis was small part of the actual story, and didn’t have as nearly as much scandal as described, and the murder that was made to look as if it was the centre storyline, only played a minor part and didn’t even happen until almost 70% in, In that aspect, the official synopsis of the book doesn’t match the storyline described. Most of the book was all about the couples in New Bethlehem and the different peoples lives and how they came together, with the part being a small part, and a further 40% was life after the party before the murder even happened. I guess it was supposed to build suspense but to be honest it could easily have been condensed into a fraction of what it was. So much background and unnecessary extra information that really did feel totally irrelevant to the story, however, part of the controversy was that this book was written using AI, and I am unsure if this was because of this and perhaps why I felt so detached from the book? It just didn’t have that natural feel like a lot of books do, at first I thought it was because of the style of writing of the author and the types of characters within it, but now I am considering if this is because of the AI aspect? I am afraid that going forward I will be avoiding any further books by this author for the AI generated content alone.

I didn’t really care about any of the characters, aside from Katie, and to be honest before we found out who was murdered (I repeat, at almost 70%) I was starting to get that I didn’t even care who it was, or who done it, or what would happen to them – aside from Katie of course. And this storyline was the only part of the book that stood out to me – because it emphasised the narrative of those with money really can use it to do what they want with limited consequences, and they knew it.

However, I am grateful to be considered for Advanced Reader Copies, and I will strive to finish the book given to the best of my ability and provide a fair and unbiased opinion.

Next To Heaven by James Frey | Release Date 17th June 2025

A L C • R E V I E W ✨
Next to Heaven by James Frey
Publication Date: June 16, 2025

📱 e A R C • R E V I E W 📱
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Here is my 100% honest review, in the beginning this book was so hard for me to get into. It did not get interesting until about 60% into the book. However, once the story picked up it was sooooo good! It’s based on wealthy couples who are swingers and the lifestyle they live filled with so much chaos. It has besties who have each other’s back, betrayals and murder… The plot twist at the end was mind blowing 🤯 I did not see that coming.

The writing style was not my favorite it felt very repetitious, and it was very hard for me to figure out who was who.

I’ve never read anything by James Frey, but I will definitely be trying more of his books. ✨

Overall, this book was very entertaining if you are looking for a good psychological thriller then this is for you! ✨

While this book is not for everyone… wealthy individuals , sex, drugs, cheating. I actually enjoyed Mr. Frey’s writing style, as it’s been a while since I have read one of his books. Perhaps I felt a little bit uncomfortable at times curious -is this what happens in the world of elite? If you want something different and not just the run of the mill Romance or romcom give it a shot.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC and Mr. Frey for the adventure.

This was well written and well paced. I liked the interesting writing style and how the characters were written. The plot progressed well, and I liked how the mystery unfolded.

I have read multiple Frey novels. Both under his name, and others. I loved his books, but I was disappointed when the drama surrounding them occurred. However, I wanted to give this new book a chance. I can't help but to think it missed its mark. Sigh. Thank you, though, Authors Equity and net galley for the ARC!

Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. The first chapter didn't hook me and I hated the fact that the dialogue wasn't in quotations. It was confusing and I felt the beginning was longer than necessary. Had to DNF.

**Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this copy of Next to Heaven. Even though it wasn't for me, i'm grateful to have gotten a copy anyways!

2 ⭐️ The book is placed in a world of four wealthy families living in CT. On the outside they look picture perfect but of course there’s more going on behind the scenes. The beginning of the books takes you thru every person’s backstory and how they met their partner. Eventually, someone is murdered and so begins the who did it finger pointing.

There’s a LOT going on in this book. Nine POVs was a little much to deal with. At times it made it hard to follow along. Hard to remember who was tied to who. Honestly, if I was physically reading the book, it would most likely have been a DNF. With listening to it on audio, the narrator was great and it kept me pushing to finish it thru. Will I think about this book a week from now? Definitely not, but if this is your type of read, you’ll enjoy it.

📕 Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ 📕

Title : Next to Heaven (Pub date 6/17/25)
Author: James Frey
Publisher: Authors Equity
Format: 📖
Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Thank you NetGalley and Authors Equity for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I know that there is a lot of controversy with James Frey but before that happened and was younger I loved A Million Little Pieces. I had forgotten the controversy when I saw this new book on NetGalley and requested it and thought why not let’s see what is going on. Whether this was written with AI, I am not sure, but the book is a quick read with a good plot. We meet the characters of a rich wealthy community in New Bethlehem, CT and watch as their worlds unravel after a swingers party. I did like how we met each character and saw how they ended up in New Bethlehem and how they are all connected before we find out there is a murder. Im not mad how the book ended and wish that there wasn’t so much controversy surrounding James Frey so I could recommend the book to others! I finished the book in two days because I wanted to know what happened at the end.

I requested this before I knew of all of the drama surrounding Frey. I can forgive the fabricated memoir, as its been many years, but I cannot support an author who openly admits to using AI to write his stories. The best thing about this is the cover.

Next To Heaven, by James Frey, is like a throwback to the Sidney Sheldon novels I used to devour when I was a teenager. Glamour, wealth, larger than life personalities and storylines. But so fantastically fleshed out that it feels entirely real. I listened to the audio and just had to request the ebook because there were scenes I wanted to revisit because I enjoyed them so much. The absolute perfect summer read/listen. Highly recommend!!!

I read and reviewed this book in good faith only to discover that the author used AI to generate portions of it. So, I'm deleting my reviews of it from every platform - Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon, and my own blog - and changing it to one star here on NetGalley. Sorry, not sorry.

At the time of requesting this book, I did not know the controversy around this author. I currently do not feel comfortable platforming an author who potentially uses AI and has some very questionable ways of marketing a fictional memoir.

This book is so hard for me to rate. I got this book as an ARC after seeing that it was a book of the month pick. I was so excited and intrigued that it was a murder mystery that delt with a swinger society. But then one of my friends told me that there are no quotation marks in the book. I started to read the first few pages, and I couldn't do the format of this book. Therefore, if I was reading this book, it would've been a 1 star because I would've DNF'ed this one had I not gotten the ALC version as well.

But I was given the idea to audio it and found that I could pick it as a listen now on NetGalley. Which I got super excited for and dove right into it. The narrator did a good job changing her voice to emphasize the different people talking.

Should I have DNF'ed this book or not have even picked it up- absolutely I was given the ick when a male part was called a yogurt cannon. Like EWWWWWWW. I really hate to give bad reviews, but this was not it at all.
A. There were no quotation Marks- my bad for not seeing that or know that was part of the format.
B. The murder mystery didn't happen until 70% into the book.
C. Yogurt cannon.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC and ALC in Exchange for my honest review

Basically you have bored rich people, lots of sex, cheating, drugs and betrayal. Some of my favorite books when I was younger were written by James Frey so I figured this couldn't do me wrong. The first 20% book I had no clue what the heck was going on. I was getting information on four couples talking about a party. All the characters were horrible. Honestly only three people were kind of likeable. All the marriages were pretty awful. You had cheaters, liars, drugs, tax fraud and just crappy individuals. About 35% you find out what kind of party. About 73% in their is a murder. Did I enjoy this, actually kind of which surprised the hell out of me. Once the party was done and over things started picking up a bit and the murder is what I enjoyed. Well the who did it. I'm surprised by the person that was murdered, I figured it would be another person which was the worst one for me. I liked how this came together and what some of the people got.

I really enjoyed Closer to Heaven by James Frey. Whatever your thoughts on his past controversies or the AI discourse around this book, doesn’t change the fact that he has published something thoroughly entertaining. From the moment we meet Devon in the art gallery—a scene that reminded me of It Ends with Us back when it was just a great book—I was hooked.

The story offers a voyeuristic thrill into the lives of the ultra-wealthy and bored, and I genuinely had fun googling unfamiliar brands of scotch, luxury watches, and Aspen hideaways along the way. The murder doesn’t happen until later in the novel, which seems to bother some readers, but I appreciated having time to actually know the characters before the stakes escalated.

Ana and Devon’s relationship was great with a satisfying ending, and Teddy and Grace were equally compelling. Overall, this book was compulsively readable. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a fun ride.

I couldn’t get past “yogurt cannon” in this book. But the people were insufferable, the storyline was non existent and I just don’t understand the point.

I was unsure if the poor grammar, missing punctuation and lack of speech marks was a quirk of the author (I’ve heard he has a very distinct way of writing), the fact it was an ARC so could just be unedited this early in the process or very poor AI. Apparently, it’s the latter.

I’m not typically so negative about a book. Even if I didn’t enjoy it, I can usually find a silver lining that others would enjoy. However, who would be offended by me not enjoying this book? The ChatGPT model that wrote it?

No thank you.

My first and last James Frey.

This was my first read by this author and while I was really captivated by the premise, the story fell a bit short for me. I was extremely interested for the first half of the book (even though the writing style sometimes drove me insane) but the ending was a bit predictable for me. I felt like the murder happened in the last 20% of the book and didn’t have much time to build up or become suspenseful. Great idea for a storyline though.

4.5 stars. I always round up tho. So ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

I immersive read this book 📖 🎧 ebook and audiobook.

I really loved the narrators voice, she was captivating, soothing and so fun. She really brought so much life to this, I definitely recommend listening to this one. (Gina Gershon)

Thank you NetGalley and Authors Equity and S&S audio for the opportunity to read/listen to this book before release date. (Publish Date: June 17, 2025)

Make yourself a pitcher of sangria, grab a glass and start reading. This book is everything you’ve been waiting to gossip about. Prepare your girlfriends and your husbands for the gab sessions to come. You will have sooo much to chat about. I know, because I poured myself the drink and dialled all the numbers and talked and talked and talked about this book to everyone on my contact list.

This was slow to start… but then it quickly turned.. interesting? *sips drink* The party idea, the party planning really picked up the pace of this book. Fun. Then a whole lot of what the f*ck, what the f*ck, what the f*ck!!!

This was very much Desperate Housewives (or Bored Housewives of New Bethlehem) meets Wolf on Wall Street.

At first I wasn’t into the writing but it really grew on me as I went along. It was very repetitive and simple at first but didn’t take away from the story, it almost added to it.

Katy’s story, her early years, reminded me so much of Matilda. An instant favourite character. I loved following along with her, even if things went dark.

I also loved Teddy and Grace so much. They were cuties.

This whole book I felt like I was being a nosey Susan peeking through the blinds, watching the neighbours, listening to them, learning about them. I was invested in all their lives.

This whole experience made me feel like a gossipy woman! Every time I read some I’d end up calling my girlfriends and filling them in on all the juicy details! I had way too much fun reading this. It would make such a great book club choice.

And my final tidbit of advice:
Be smart. Don’t drink the drink. 🍷

#NextToHeaven #NetGalley

This story begins by setting the background of these eight main characters. As the story continues, it begins to become repetitive and confusing who is connected to who and it should state it is a swingers book, which did not live up to what I expected it to be based on the description of the book. The murder reveal doesn’t happen until around 75% in, and it would’ve been more effective to tease that element right from the beginning rather than dropping vague hints at the end of each chapter. The tension built for far too long without enough payoff. The book fell flat for substance and it felt like a constant gossip session among Connecticut’s elite. This is very slow and seems to repetive, oh did I say repetitive. Just not for me and would not recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Authors Equity for the opportunity.