I DNF at 20%. I think the way it was written, not very many paragraph breaks, kind of threw my eyes off because it was a lot of text and not much dialogue. The premise was interesting but I prefer more dialogue.

I’m a big fan of the author and was hoping this would be epic considering it’s been so long since he’s published anything. I just wasn’t impressed and rather bored unfortunately. Sorry James!

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.

I wanted to love this but I just did not care about these characters. I was interested in the story but as the plot progressed I found it more and more boring. I think if I had gone into this thinking it was more of a contemporary fiction book I would have enjoyed it more, but the rating would be the same. It was not like a thriller at all to me. I did not even care when they told me who died and by who. It was not the swinging aspect, that was honestly the only interesting part to me.

Unfortunately I must say this was not a book for me. I really can't find much to say about it and feel that I was duped as it wasn't really written by the author as such. It just didn't connect with me and I ended up not reading much of it, so it is a DNF book/read for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Authors Equity for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Great fun story. A little unbelievable, would everyone fall in love in the way they were paired up at a key party? The fact that this book was partly written with AI did detract from the story.
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In a community of the rich, New Bethlehem seems like the perfect town. But once you get to know the main couples, you'll start to see the dark side. When a couple of the wives get bored, they decide to have a party to spice things up, but then someone gets murdered.

This was a very interesting read! It is the perfect beach read that has all of the elements you want. I am interested in reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book, and I have loved how many other people also seem to enjoy it. The plot is wonderful, the ending is unexpected. I liked how easy this book was to read, I flew through it.

Next to Heaven didn’t quite land for me. The storytelling felt a bit disjointed, which made it hard to stay connected to the narrative. I’m not sure I was the intended audience, as the writing style came across as a bit crass and juvenile at times—some moments even gave me the ick. I also felt that the character development could have benefited from a more nuanced or balanced perspective, perhaps with a more feminine touch.

While this one wasn’t for me, other readers might connect with its voice and style more strongly.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the chance to preview this book.

Rated a 3.5 and rounded up to 4 stars to rate here.

A multi-POV story set in the affluent suburb of New Bethlehem, Connecticut, that unfolds as a tale of power, wealth, and social status, revealing a more sinister reality. Devon and Belle, best friends and companions throughout their respective crumbling marriages, decide to throw a party to stir up a little bit of scandalous fun, chasing a high that nothing about their white-mom-and-wife-in-the-suburbs lives can give them. They carefully plan the guest list, consisting of New Bethlehem's ex-NFL star and golden boy and his innocent, quiet wife, a middle school teacher, the town hockey coach with a preference for married women, a good husband and businessman, and a not-so-good husband and businessman. Their party goes off without a hitch, but the aftershocks shatter all the realities and protections they've built around themselves, resulting in a murder that rocks the boat they and their hometown thought they were all safely aboard.

This story was nothing short of entertaining. I had never read anything by James Frey before, but I had heard of his books. Somewhat locked-room-mystery-like with great character building, Next to Heaven is a great read for those who love thrillers, difficult and messy relationships, and morally ambiguous characters. In my mind, this is a great beach read thanks to its entertainment value, and might even be a great show or movie. It reminded me of being a vague combination of Beartown by Fredrik Backman, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden. I always pick up a few thrillers like this a year, and I'm glad this was one of them.

Why didn’t we learn to avoid this guy when it turned out that his “memoir” A Million Little Pieces was total BS? Disappointing to hear that he used AI in writing this book. I feel like that is cheating and do not support it.

Thank you to net galley and to the publisher for the ARC.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book… but then I realized James Frey was James Frey.. so that was a bit disappointing. After his last history, I can’t recommend him or anything else he writes.

The writing is repetitive & different & I liked that. This was a quick read that was interesting & kept my attention. I don’t know that it’s for everyone, but i enjoyed it.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, a nd the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 ⭐️?? I think???

I genuinely have no idea how I feel about this book LOL. I didn’t love it but also didn’t hate it which leaves me at a middle of the road 2.5 stars. This book is about a bunch of messed up rich people doing messed up rich people things. There’s maybe one character that you’re rooting for and everyone else pretty much sucks. This author uses repetition as a literary device CONSTANTLY but in a way it kind of worked? You also couldn’t review this book on Goodreads for some time because people are review bombing it since some people think it was written with AI. Soooooo that all being said, this was kind of a mess but I was clearly entertained enough not to DNF. Do with that what you will 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sadly through various social media platforms for book lovers, I learned this book may not be the work of the author in its entirety, therefore, I will not be able to provide any further feedback on this book.

I love James Frey. I love his style of writing. The premise for the book was a little weird for me but maybe that’s how the “other half” lives. I will read anything James Frey writes despite any controversy. I applaud him for being honest about using AI. I am sure he is not the only author doing so.

My Selling Pitch:
Wolf of Wall Street but it’s a revenge thriller that desperately wants to be Beartown. Exactly as redpill fantasy as you'd think.

On my do not read list.

Pre-reading:
BOTM choosing to market this author as a literary bad boy? Disgraceful. AI does not belong in books. The pitch and cover though, are so up my alley. I love raunch.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Behind every great fortune, lies a great crime a.k.a. behind every one of this man’s literary profits lies a crime 👀

There's not a heavy enough sigh for a man writing that a 25 year old woman is fucking olds for the sake of her own agency. The twenty five year old does not have the power. Please stop pushing this delusional narrative, you predators.

I feel like this book is missing a lot of commas.

The adjective lists read like AI.

…an AFL. Cut the cameras. Roll credit. DNF here. Red pill men should not be allowed to write.

Revenge of the Nerds was a formative moment for this guy, huh.

Get me out of this book.

This man loves The Wolf of Wall Street.

Guarantee you this man said write me Gatsby x Wolf of Wall Street and AI spit out this slop.

It's so male fantasy, I-

1690 in a book about swingers…

What’s up with all the unnecessary listing in this book?

Big lists with noticeably missing commas.

Also, the phrasing is very repetitive.

It's like not even correct grammar though?

So people who push the narrative that feminism means you can't be a housewife aren't feminist. Feminism just means you get a choice.

As an East Coast girl, I think the fuck not.

Take a shot every time this book says cool.

The Boston accent on this audiobook is CRIMINAL.

TV taught me how to feel, now real life has no appeal🎶 (It feels wrong to subject Marina to this slop.)

He wants this to be Beartown so bad.

If you need me, I'll just be over here screaming into the void.

I feel like the plot is so obvious. (Oh yes.)
Alex is going to try and seduce Devon for her money. She’ll kill him and frame her husband.

Heavy sigh in aggressively written by a man. Fuck off with your age play so hard, you goddamn pedophile.

Also, can it be illegal to call it a coconut cream explosion?

Just remembered he name-dropped Oprah because the man has no shame.

Who edited the commas in this? They’re literally always wrong. (I know it's soooo funny when little miss uses like every other word nitpicks a book’s construction, but that should tell you how distracting it is!)

“He didn't use AI to write this book.” Bull. Fuckin. Shit.

All these girls are effortlessly gorgeous and snap back after kids and eat pizza and drink beer and have bigger appetites than their husbands, but don't want any agency! And I'm fuckin’ tired, man.

Ayyy a me!

Isn't Anna also the maid in Knives Out that men are obsessed with? (Yes.)

They'll frame Billy for murder?

Ugh, not sausage stick

A rhinoceros? Something hunted to extinction. Be so for real.

Listening to dudes discuss slipping girls drugs to rape them is just-
Can men stop. Like can men actually stop.

Tell me it’s written by a man because you can't have any of these beauty procedures day of. Oh, it drives me nuts when books do this!

What’s this book’s obsession with a Caesar? (It has made me crave one so badly.)

I feel like he asked AI to generate the house descriptions because they “weren't important” to the story but needed to be in there.

Wolf of Wall Street meets Knives Out

…I’m just seething over here. Lmao but not lmao. I hate men. I hate that men think they get to write about this. I hate that he thinks it’s gonna be a girlboss moment because they get revenge on a shitty dude. And I’m just like she shouldn't need revenge. A girl’s girl wouldn't put someone in that situation.

YOGURT CANNON
This cannot be real. This has to be trolling.

All the lists make me want to bang my head against the wall.

This shit wants to be Beartown so bad.

This is literally just some red pill man trying to say horrible things and abuse women under the guise of it’s just a character.

It literally seems so obvious to me that Anna murdered him, and they’re gonna frame Billy for it.

It’s trying so hard to be a good for her novel, but it’s not a good for her novel. They’re like look, we got rid of all the bad men! They deserved it! This is feminist!

He wants to be Frederick Backman’s Anxious People too with these interviews.

I'm so checked out.

I’m surprised they were able to get a warrant for that.

This book sucks.

Post-reading:
Men shouldn’t be allowed to write graphic abuse fantasies and then spin them as empowerment because the victims frame a man for murder. Like how tone deaf can you get?

But would you expect anything else from a confessed liar and advocate for AI’s use in generating fiction?

Setting aside the author’s problematic behavior for the moment, the book’s still pretty shit. It’s the most generic revenge thriller. I think it would be near impossible to open this book and not figure out the mystery.

It does feel like Gatsby, Knives Out, Wolf of Wall Street, and The Housemaid got put into a blender and spat out in an effort to emulate Backman’s Beartown.

It’s never sexy. I think calling a penis a ‘yogurt cannon’ outside of satire deserves jail time. The book lingers on drugging and raping women, but is absent of any sympathy for the victims. There's a very, ‘well, she’ll just get over it because she likes sex’ attitude about this book.

The prose is concussively repetitive. Supposedly the book wasn’t written with AI, and the publisher vouched for it. The clunkiness of the text and odd comma usage heavily imply otherwise.

It just reads like red pill fanfiction, and has such a patronizing tone when dealing with its female characters. It handles all the weighty issues it introduces with such a blasé and irresponsible attitude. It feels pretty soulless. Go read literally anything else.

Who should read this:
No one

Ideal reading time:
Anytime

Do I want to reread this:
No.

Would I buy this:
No.

Similar books:
* Beartown by Fredrik Backman-contemporary, family drama, ensemble cast
* Anxious People by Fredrik Backman-contemporary, family drama, ensemble cast
* The Freedom Clause by Hannah Sloane-open marriage, girlypop realizes she deserves better
* Man’s Best Friend by Alana B. Lytle-generic revenge thriller
* The Lifestyle by Taylor Hahn-your husband’s going to cheat on you anyway so you might as well enable it,
* Vladimir by Julia May Jonas-lit fic, social commentary, family drama
* The Housemaid by Freida McFadden-generic revenge thriller
* Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn-OG good for her, revenge thriller

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book review for Next To Heaven.

In an elite Connecticut town, a high-society swingers party leads to murder, exposing the dark underbelly of wealth and privilege among New Bethlehem’s seemingly perfect residents.

I was instantly intrigued by the premise of Next To Heaven, and I’m so glad that I finally read a book by James Frey. Overall, I enjoyed the book, although it was different from what I expected.

I enjoyed Frey’s stripped-down approach when writing, abandoning quotation marks and capitalizing unexpected nouns to emphasize importance. I admired writers who bend the rules and can use a novel to showcase their creativity and uniqueness. Frey also has a poetic way of crafting his sentences, using repetition to create rhythm in his writing. I read reviews where the repetition drove many people crazy, but I appreciated the artistic flair and flow it offered. I love that his prose was unconventional—this definitely drew me further into his book.

The part of the book I struggled with most was the heavy amount of backstory provided for each of the 10-11 main characters, early on in the book. I understood why Frey wanted to give us each character’s past and history, but I found it hard to stay motivated to read in the beginning chapters. Perhaps this could have been condensed and spread out a little. I didn’t feel connected to the characters that early on to care about their past and history. I felt the same way about the chapter regarding New Bethlehem and it’s history—too long and drawn out.

Once the backstory of the characters was established, we finally got to the meat of the novel, and I was hooked. I was fascinated by the high society swingers’ party—the prep and logistics of it and how it would later cause chaos for the characters. I love the dynamics between certain characters—Devon and Belle’s friendship, Grace and Teddy’s unexpected romance, David and Katy’s relationship, and especially the surprising and complex friendship between Devon and Ana. I wish some of the characters had been more developed and established, but I think that’s a downside of focusing on so many characters—you can't explore them as deeply.

I loved the suspense surrounding the second half of the book and was curious to see how Frey would wrap up this story, which involved so many characters. I didn’t think the ending was predictable, but I did question its realism. Some of it felt too far-fetched, too neat.

Overall, I’m glad I read this and want to read more from Frey. It wasn’t my favorite story I read last month, but I really appreciated many aspects of Frey’s writing style.

3.5/5

I really wanted to like this book. Or, at the very least, tolerate it. But Next to Heaven left me wishing I'd been anywhere else - preferably not inside the heads of these painfully overindulged characters.

First, the premise had promise: a glossy Connecticut town with manicured lawns and rich people hiding dirty secrets? Yes, please. Throw in a murder at a lavish party? Even better. I came for the intrigue, the drama, the slick unraveling of perfection. But what I got felt more like a tedious exercise in narcissism.

The characters are flat-out unlikeable - and not in the juicy, fun-to-hate way. Devon and Belle are the poster children of privilege with a side of existential crisis, and instead of leaning into the ridiculousness or giving us some fresh commentary, the story just… wallows. There's a murder, yes, but even that can't inject life into the story's sluggish, self-congratulatory pacing.

And yes, I remember all the Oprah/Frey drama from years ago, which honestly made me more curious than cautious going in. I figured if the issue was genre labeling and not the writing itself, surely his fiction would hold up. I was wrong. Somewhere around the 25% mark, I hit the "if I were a DNF-er, I'd be out" point - but I hate leaving books unfinished, so I powered through. Sort of. There was definitely some skim-reading involved.

Would I recommend it? Not really. But hey, taste is personal - just because this one flopped hard for me doesn't mean it won't hit the mark for someone else. So, if the premise intrigues you, maybe check out other reviews. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Authors Equity for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I wasn’t sure I was going to read Next to Heaven because of the bad press around the author. - but I’m a sucker for hype. Set in ‘New Bethlehem” (aka New. Canaan) it was fun and salacious. Was it satirical or true to life? Hard to tell. The writing style drew me in but read this for the characters, not for the plot which doesn’t really pick up until about 75% in. I was glad I read it.