This book is absolutely ridiculous but in a way I found addictive. This won’t be for everyone, but I found it to be a compulsive read. Ultra wealthy and privileged people doing horrible things. It’s fun to gawk at, right? Plus a little thriller element swirled in. And a captivating narrative style.

Vibes: Bad Summer People. Gossip Girl. Wolf of Wall Street. Succession. Real Housewives. Dirty Sexy Money.

Quick thoughts…
- Initially it felt like there were too many characters who were too similar to each other to keep track of. But that worked itself out as I went on.
- Appreciated the slight shifts in tone and narration from chapter to chapter depending on which character we were with.
- A decent bit of baked in satire, sometimes pretty subtle.
- I did a few chapters via audiobook. Narrator was fine, nothing amazing to write home about, but got the job done.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Audio, and Author’s Equity for providing me with an ARC of this book (both digital and audiobook) in exchange for an honest review.

What’s a murder mystery if murder doesn’t happen until 73% of the way through the book? I’ll give you a hint; not a very good one.

The first half of this novel was trying very hard to build up some sort of tension, presumably to be released in spectacular, ejaculative fashion, but I found it to be just plain limp. So many superfluous details about characters I absolutely loathed. The formatting simply did not work for me.

The second half didn’t arouse me much more, and this was supposed to be the lurid, thrusting climax. By the time I reached this point, I just wanted to roll over and fake dysfunction.

On to the next one… I just feel like I have literary blue balls.

Meet four couples: Devon & Billy, Belle & Teddy, Grace & Alex, and Katy & Charlie, all living in the fictional upstate Connecticut town of New Bethlehem. New Bethlehem is a picturesque, rich, and privileged town with a bevy of interesting characters, each with their own motivations and secrets. Most of the characters are wealthy, a few bored, some scandalous, and a couple downright wicked.

After reading this, I’m not surprised the reviews thus far are divisive, but I loved it. Next To Heaven was a delightful blend of beauty and vulgarity. This is a book about greed, jealousy, passion, and perhaps even a bit about love. Throw in a swinger’s party, a murder, and some steamy scenes, and you have a recipe for a book I couldn’t put down if I tried.

This was my first novel by James Frey, and I found his writing here to be warm, humorous, and well-crafted, while also being crude and unexpectedly bold for emphasis. The distinctive writing style, intriguing story, and strong characters quickly captured my attention and made the book a fabulous read. Five big stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Authors Equity for a digital ARC for review.

Next to heaven is a good read. Lots of background on characters before any action. Rich people in herds think they can do anything

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! I don't remember Frey's last book, but I do remember all the publicity surrounding his apology to Oprah. No apologies needed here. The characters were all so well-developed. It did take me a little while to remember which husband & wife went together. The pacing was expertly done. The build-up was intense. I enjoyed the repetition of some words and phrases.

I predict this is going to be Avery popular book this summer that everyone is talking about. I devoured it in 1 day. Highly recommend for everyone who enjoys reading about the 1% wealthy. Im trying to convince my husband to read. He prefers nonfiction. Frey does an exceptional job getting into the male and female psyches.

This book is accurately described as White Lotus meets Big Little Lies. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I found the pacing to be very uneven, slow for the first half and then breakneck for the last third. The disconnected narration from the characters captured the aloofness of the town but kept me from caring deeply about what happened. I also struggled with the use of sexual assault as a plot device. I enjoyed the ending, though it felt like it couldn’t have ended any other way, which removed some of the suspense.

My review will be included in my May Reading Wrap-Up on my TikTok account. Thank you for providing me this ARC!

The elite wealthy in Connecticut decide to have a swingers party and in the aftermath someone is found dead. Fast paced, trashy and gloriously fun to read. Short sometimes even one word sentences. It’s not gonna win a Pulitzer but damn it’s fun to read. It would make a quick and fun beach read. My latest guilty pleasure. Pick it up for a palate cleanser in between novels. Enjoyed for the same reasons I enjoy reality TV. It’s an escape for my brain.

This book definitely took me on a wild ride! I found this book to be very interesting and really drew me in. This was a fast paced book, which I loved. I love books that have to do with the elite or affluent people, so this really worked for me. I found the whole book crazy (in a good way) and I had to know what would happen next. I definitely recommend.

Sigh. This was a major miss for me and I LOVE James Frey's other books. This novel is about the 1% of the 1% behaving badly. (Sarcasm alert): That's a new concept. I saw the ending coming from the half of the book and hoped I was wrong because it felt cliche and silly and predictable. I found the characters to be universally unlikable and without depth or nuance. Was that the point? Maybe. Either way, I didn't care about any of them. What did I like? I like reading about wealth and how fancy their lives are. Unfortunately, that was it. I'm sure I'm in the minority after all, it's James Frey! Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

Rich people behaving badly. A story of sex, drugs, scandal, and the repercussions of your actions. The book brings to mind the writing of Jackie Collins and Sidney Sheldon but with a modern day twist. Definitely recommend. And if you can get the audiobook, you should go that route. The narration was very well done.

Thanks to Authors Equity, Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for the arc and advanced listener copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Next To Heaven by James Fry, the book head a great summary and even 50% in I was still intrigued no one can write snarky the way James Frey can and have it leap off the page my only issue with the book is it had 1 million characters it took forever to get to the murder and no one in the book was likable except for maybe Teddy and Grace I also didn’t like the way although funny at times the author tended to repeat sentences because I mean the book was long enough but having said that, if you’re in for a good long slow burn read you may just love this thriller/mystery about rich people behaving badly. Devon and Bell throw a swingers party with a few of their specially chosen neighbors and all of them have secrets things they want to hide and eventually someone gets murdered in a gross way, I might add, but it did make for lots of lol moments I just found the book was too long. When reading a book I know after the ending I’ll get that feeling of whether I absolutely loved it or have negative feelings towards the story if the ending is an awesome one it usually clouds all my prior opinions and although this ending was pretty good I still think it could’ve been much shorter.#NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #JamesFry, #NextToHeaven,

Thank you NetGalley and Authors Equity for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was wild!
What happens when the rich get bored? A very spicy party amongst the Connecticut elite. But as they do, the night spirals into chaos, betrayal, and you guessed it murder. There were some very cringy moments and the writing style wasn’t my favorite but still a very entertaining read. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Pure brain candy. This book is a hot mess in the best way possible. You do have to pay attention to keep everyone straight, but once you get it down it's a wild ride. This needs to be optioned for Netflix.

After a 'party' held by the uber wealthy for their equally wealthy friends, madness ensues. Lust, betrayal, lies, cover-ups and alliances are formed. Just go in cold and buckle up.

*Enter: rich people behaving badly*

Belle and Devon are part of an extremely wealthy community in New Bethlehem, Connecticut. Rich and bored, they decide to throw a lavish swingers party and invite a select few from their community to participate. But even in a idlic community, there are dark secrets, lies, betrayal, and evil. The aftermath of the party will change their lives forever, and soon someone’s life will be ended.

I’m a huge James Frey fan and he’s one of the authors who got me back into reading years ago. I love his writing style, how it flows like a stream of consciousness at times without regard for punctuation. So when I saw his newest book was on @netgalley, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. This wasn’t my favorite of his books, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This book is definitely rated R due to all of the sexuality throughout it, as well as m*rder and r*ape. Some parts were very difficult to read due to the subject matter, but I had to know what happened! I like how Frey sets the backdrop of New Bethlehem by giving us a full chapter of the history of the town and how it came to be one of the most elite areas in the country. Basically, this book is all about rich people behaving badly and stopping at nothing to get their way. A lot of the characters were painfully unlikeable, while there were others who my heart hurt for. (I do wish we could have gotten more closure for Katy)… Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I look forward to continuing to read Frey’s work.

I rarely give a review for a book I didn't read 100% of the way through, so please note that my review is biased in its incompleteness. Perhaps if I had been able to continue reading I would have enjoyed the story more.
There is a wide cast of characters who have their entire lives summarized in such brief scenes that I struggled to remember who was who, and even when I could remember I was deeply fatigued by the assertions of the power that the 1% had in their impact in politics and community. It's entirely my own fault for thinking I might be interested in a rich-people-behaving-badly story while being so thoroughly angry and repulsed by what the real versions of these type of people have been doing.
This doesn't feel like a darkly fun romp for me, it's more of a confusing slog.

James Frey is back with another wild ride! This book felt like a weird fever dream one might have after binge watching too many episodes of Housewives before bed. Didn’t like any of these characters? Absolutely not. Could I look away? Also absolutely not (with popcorn in hand).
I do appreciate how Frey writes with a brutal, blunt honesty about people & their proclivities. He’s always going to give you the ugly truth and it’s going to make you feel uncomfortable at times and I always feel an urge to check my privilege.
Did this book teach me anything and will it stick with me? Not really. But it was a perfect palate cleanser between a heavy fantasy series and was just the drama I needed at the time.

This one just wasn’t for me. While the story itself had potential, I struggled with the writing style. The characters were written in a way that felt more nonfiction-like—overly detailed and weighed down by unnecessary background that didn’t serve the plot. Some of the language seemed to exist purely for shock value, which felt more distracting than impactful. It’s clear the book was aiming for gritty and provocative, but it missed the mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley, S&S Audio, and Author’s Equity for the ALC and e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was really trying to push through but yogurt cannon is where i draw the line, DNF @ 46%, should have been 5%.

Look, the premise is exciting. A bit of rich, elite, bored couples get together and swing and someone ends up dead. But the unconsensual sex & sayings like yogurt cannon really made this unbearable. I get it's supposed to be crass but that could have been portrayed with a girl being extorted, drugged & r@ped.

The pacing on this is also awful. We get a literal whole chapter on the history of this made up waspy town, the same length as the party, the whole point of the book.

Anyway, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was a wild and messy ride, and I was here for it all. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much, but I flew through this book in about 2 days. The ending took me by surprise, because I did not see it coming, but I was satisfied iykyk. There was a lot in this book that I did not see coming, so that was fun. Who knew one event could practically alter so many things? There were likable and not-so-likable characters, but that made the book enjoyable. I think so many people get caught up in the lifestyle that rich people portray without even knowing what those people are really going through behind the scenes. I think this book did a good job of showing that. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Thank you, Net Galley for this ARC!

this was . . . not good. or well written. but it was trash in the same way reality tv is, eg. engaging and hard to look away from.