James Frey's new novel, Next to Heaven, is out today. It is causing quite a stir in the book world.

I am compelled to add my perspective when everyone is weighing in on this controversy. I aim to be fair and balanced, believing that people often deserve a second chance, especially after a period of reflection or "time out." Of course, I have my boundaries – some offenses are unforgivable (For example, Kanye can go away and never return). However, how long can we hold that over someone's head when it comes to things like lying and embellishment? I believe there comes a point where continued punishment becomes unproductive.

For those of you who are not in the know or who need a little refresher about who James Frey is, he released his memoir A Million Little Pieces twenty years ago. Oprah picked it as her Book Club choice. Then, he was accused of fabricating parts of his story. She brought him back on her show for a public shaming. He was "canceled" before the term was widely used, and for twenty years, he has been pursuing other projects and staying out of the public eye. Now he is back, and the reception has been met with skepticism, hatred, and people flat-out bashing him. Have they taken the time to read the book?

The New York Times wrote an extensive profile of him. He has said he uses AI to complete his work. In an interview with Centre Pompidou, he said, "I use artificial intelligence because I want to write the best book possible, and I'm prepared to use all the tools at my disposal to make it happen." And so, people are saying this book has been written by AI, without proof, but just by applying his quote to this book. All to say that Simon & Schuster, home of Stephen King, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Colleen Hoover, and many bestselling nonfiction authors, didn't vet this one? Risked their billion-dollar business on someone who decided to write with AI? Or maybe he did, and they just let it go? Who knows? Who cares? Well, a lot of people do.

But what about the actual text?  Here's the bottom line: This book is a good time. It is about rich people who misbehave. The writing is quick. Easily digested. It is the perfect summer read. There, I said it. It's good. It kept my attention. It had me turning the page.
It is a trashy page-turner centered on the ultra-rich. We are in the fictional town of New Bethlehem, Connecticut (think Greenwich or Scarsdale). Two wives conspire a spouse-swapping evening because, you know, a night on the town won't do. Beyond their immediate desires to escape problematic husbands, a deeper, long-term plot slowly unfolds. There is a list of luxury brands and a vast array of illicit drugs. The sheer, wild excess is a constant presence.

It reminded me of a recently binged show, Your Friends& Neighbors. After he loses his high-paying gig, hedge fund manager Andrew "Coop" Cooper (Jon Hamm) begins stealing items from his neighbors' houses and discovers dangerous secrets. Everyone around him, in his idyllic New England town, is also falling apart.  There's a murder. There's a cover-up. The search for the murderer and the accusations of who did it tear the town apart. I hated every character on the show. I loved every scene. I wished for everyone to fail (except the kids, who I believe are innocent bystanders). But it made me think of all the shows in recent memory where I've felt similar thoughts: White Lotus, Succession, and Big Little Lies. We love to see rich people fail and be tortured, while we also make lists of the things they own so we someday can own them, too.

This cognitive dissonance made me turn to the next page of this novel. I was invested in the disillusionment of wealth while simultaneously continuing to desire lavish lifestyles and expensive objects. I was drawn to (and maybe even desired) the materialism. I understand the critique, gawk at the extravagances, hope for their demise and remain engaged. If you can approach Next to Heaven with that level of awareness – holding two truths that may be in opposition – you'll enjoy this book. If you want to dismiss it for its purported fake creation and your moral judgment of the author's past transgressions, it isn't for you.

My Rating: 3.75 Stars
Review Sites: 2.9 Stars
Length: 336 Pages
Read if you like: If you read Vanity Fair, Pineapple Street, Liane Moriarty

Super wealthy friends Devon and Belle are in stagnant marriages and looking to branch out by hosting a swinger party. The party sets multiple events in motion for the handful of attendees that culminates with a murder.

I’m glad I didn’t read reviews of this til I had finished the book. I didn’t think it’s as terrible as so many reviews say, but does have its faults. While the author has insisted that AI was not used for this work, there are some writing patterns and lines in the book that would indicate otherwise. For example, “hahaha” is used 13 times in one short chapter. Most experienced writers of dialogue wouldn’t write that basic or repetitively. Some of the language and descriptors were more vulgar than I prefer. That said, I thought the storyline was juicy and generally entertaining, and I didn’t have the ending figured out. If you are interested in a buzzy book about rich people behaving very badly, this might be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Ooooh I love a good book about the filthy rich. This was like a modern day Gatsby but with more drama, glitz, and glitter. It was so hard to put this book down. This feels like the next Netflix adaptation. I highly recommend!

"New Bethlehem, Connecticut. Picture-perfect lawns, manicured hedges, and multi-million dollar homes present a carefully curated facade. But beneath the designer yoga gear and country club memberships lies a darker reality."

Imagine having all this and still wanting more. More thrills, more danger, more reasons to feel alive. However, every risk comes with a consequence....

"Next To Heaven" by James Frey plunges you into the opulent yet unsettling world of New Bethlehem, Connecticut. Beneath the town's pristine facade of perfect lawns and multi-million dollar homes lies a simmering darkness, a reality far removed from the designer yoga gear and country club memberships.

At the heart of this world are best friends Devon and Belle, who seemingly have it all – beauty, money, and status. Yet, they crave something more, something dangerous and exhilarating. Their answer? An ultra-elite swingers party, a meticulously planned gathering of New Bethlehem's most prominent figures. From a desperate ex-NFL quarterback to a hockey coach with a penchant for married women, and a ruthless Wall Street "closer," the guest list is a powder keg of ambition and hidden desires.

One night, this curated event becomes a breeding ground for multiple betrayals, culminating in a murder that will shatter the town's carefully constructed facade. Frey masterfully peels back the layers of privilege and exposes the rotten core beneath the surface. The novel expertly blends elements of noir, psychological thriller, and social commentary, creating a darkly entertaining exploration of wealth, power, and the lengths people will go to protect both.

"Next To Heaven" is as a compulsively readable page-turner and a wild, indulgent thriller. It's a novel that isn't afraid to delve into the lurid details of excess and scandal, making it a potentially sizzling beach read.

Overall, "Next To Heaven" offers an unflinching look at wealth and power, delivering a story of revenge and redemption that will stay with readers long after they turn the final page. If you're looking for a book that exposes the dark underbelly of American privilege with a healthy dose of suspense and excitement, this novel might be your next read.

I never understood why so many hate James Frey with a passion. So many people detest him like a plague. I was never one of them. I never cared whether he spend days or weeks or months in jail. When it came to AMLP, I was there for the writing. He's one of those rare authors you can identify just by their style alone. You read a random page from NTH and you know who wrote it. I'm not going to venture a comment on AI and writing a book, but I will say this: when it comes to Next to Heaven, FTBSITTTD!

James Frey’s NEXT TO HEAVEN seemed to fall flat for me.

Belle and Devon, with money to burn, time to kill are living the life of the one percent of the one percent. With beautiful homes, manicured gardens and country club tennis, they are bored beyond belief. So what do they do? Throw a swingers party, of course. They very carefully select the participants and it’s not such a random pairing. As relationships are tested, forged and forgotten, some of the marriages won’t survive. Or the people!

I thought this was a good one if you like that sort of over the top, trashy summer read but it was all a bit much for me. We spent a long time getting to the party and an even longer time getting to the dead body. While I may be one of the few on the planet who never read James Frey’s very controversial book 20 years ago, I wasn’t very impressed with this one. If this is how the one percenters live, I’ll stay way, way down in the ninety nine percenters!

Thank you to NetGalley and Authors Equity for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

What the heck was this writing style? "He got promoted she got promoted he got promoted." She is the sentence "snort like the snortiest snortface the world had ever seen" in an adult's book that's marketed as "NSFW Gatsby"?

I couldn't struggle through this one, despite multiple efforts. The style wasn't grabbing my attention, except to the extent that I kept asking aloud "what am I reading?"

Finding this was made with a heavy use of AI was very disappointing. That, along with more than a few POVs was a no from me. Nothing about it really gripped me either.

Thank you NetGalley and Authors Equity for a ARC copy of this book for my honest opinion.

I give this book 3 stars. The base of the this book is extremely wealthy people in Connecticut and a murder that happens when partying goes to far.

I personally think this book was too repetitive for my liking. I feel like sometimes the story was a little to everywhere and some of the language was just unnecessary.

I would recommend this story to someone who likes reading about rich people, swinging and orgies, and does not mind an Author that uses AI to write.

I'm not even sure where to start. This is a juicy Summer (or whenever) read. Let's start there.
I hadn't read anything by James Frey before this. But call me a fan after this one. I was lucky enough to get this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I first started reading, I was like "Hmm, where are we going with this?" I soon found out.
Lifestyles of a group of wealthy interconnected families in a Connecticut town and how they acquired that wealth.
The characters are fleshed out. I love the descriptive way James Frey writes. I also loved what I assumed to be real facts about various things and places sprinkled throughout the book.
The characters come to life: Devon, Billy, Alex, Belle, Harry, Katy, Grace, Teddy, Ana. Some you rooted for. A few you wanted the very worst for.
What starts out as a swingers party is the catalyst for a murder. By the time I got to the last few chapters, I was turning the pages wondering who did it.
The ending was genius and so satisfying.
I totally recommend.

I tried so hard to get into this book, but it just wasn’t happening. The writing was hard to follow, there was a lot of unnecessary information, and there was nothing grabbing my attention. I was really hopeful when I read the description, but I was sadly let down. If this book were refined a bit more, I could see it being a higher rating.

I was so excited to receive the ARC for this book since the description made it sounds so exciting and interesting. However, I was very disappointed... I don't like giving bad reviews but I felt this was poorly written. I couldn't get into the book or past all the info dumping. I DNFed this book around 35%

First off, a big thank you to the publisher who provided me with this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Now, on to the meat and potatoes. I really wish I could have given this book a higher rating, I really do. But in good faith, I cannot.

First: The writing is just not good. Especially not what I would expect of a seasoned author like James Frey. The amount of INFO-DUMPING that happens is WILD. He is consistently “telling” instead of “showing” and 75% of the information is completely useless to the story anyway.

Second: What even was the point of this book? Truly, I don’t know. It just felt like words on a page that were only there to meet the minimum word count, like a kid writing a last-minute essay for their class. And while it tries to be provocative, it’s not, it’s just poorly-done clickbait. Also, how can it be a murder-mystery when the murder doesn’t even happen until 73% into the book? (It can’t and it isn’t.)

Finally: The characters are (almost all) unlikable and unrelatable and somehow seem irrelevant, even though they are “driving” the story.

I was truly expecting more from an author who co-wrote some of my favorite YA books.

I was really excited when I was approved for this book, especially when I saw that it was also a BOTM book because I have rarely been dissatisfied with books that been BOTM selections, but I hate to say I was underwhelmed with this book. The plot sounded very intriguing which is what caught my eye initially but from the beginning it was either too much or not enough. In some parts so many facts or information was thrown at you that I feel was really irrelevant to the story. Yes, some back story and history of the town may have been nice, but it went way overboard. Same with the characters. There was just too much going on in the book at times, the book probably could have been easily 20-50 pages shorter. I also ready after the fact. However, I also get the feeling the book is supposed to be a little campy and not be a serious murder mystery after all it is about a murder in a town of rich people after a swingers party. I did like the little mini twist at the end however and I think the all the storylines of all the charachers were wrapped up nicely. I would do 2.75 stars

Lifestyles of the rich and famous meets murder in this mystery from James Frey. When four couples decide to participate in an evening of spouse-swapping, they have no idea how far-reaching the impact will be.

I have mixed feelings about this story. On the one hand, I was immersed in this world and read this in under 24 hours. This is easy to read, although I will admit to making notes about who was married to who. It does take some time to get to the murder, and it all wraps up quickly in the last ten percent. There was a certain charm to the voice here...while at the same time I disliked the missing punctuation. My old sentence-diagramming mind had a hard time with that.

Overall, I was engaged with this story, even though most of the characters are flat out unlikable. I did like how everyone's life was impacted in one way or another. That was interesting. In spite of my annoyance with punctuation, this was an interesting mystery with s few twists along the way.

This author has been very controversial over the years but I decided to give this book a go despite all that. I actually enjoyed this book. It had a lot of characters and character development with tons of twists and turns. Even if you aren't a James Frey fan, I would encourage you to give him another chance and read this book. Thank you NetGalley for granting this ARC request and reintroducing me to this author.

I will not be reviewing this book or reading this book. The fact that this author so openly okay with using AI to write his books is a HARD NO from me. I will not be supporting this in any way.

🎭 Behind the Mansion Gates: When Privilege Meets Emptiness

⭐⭐

*Next to Heaven* represents James Frey's return to literary fiction, attempting to dissect the moral bankruptcy of America's wealthy elite. While the premise has potential, the execution reveals significant issues that will likely limit both commercial and critical success.

**Strengths:**
- Frey's distinctive fragmented prose style effectively mirrors the psychological disintegration of his privileged characters..

- The New Bethlehem setting serves as an apt metaphor for American suburban decay beneath surface perfection.

- Occasional moments of sharp social observation demonstrate Frey's capability for incisive cultural criticism.

**Significant Concerns:**
**Pacing Issues:** The novel has serious structural problems, with about 75% devoted to repetitive introspection and only the final section actually moving the plot forward.

**Character Development:** Female characters are pretty flat, basically serving as plot devices rather than real people you can connect with.

**Thematic Coherence:** The nihilistic approach feels forced rather than genuine, missing the raw authenticity that made Frey's earlier work actually compelling.

**Market Positioning:**
This title will likely struggle to find its audience. Readers looking for literary fiction about wealth and privilege have much better recent options, while Frey's existing fanbase might be put off by the shift away from his more personal, visceral storytelling.

*Recommendation:*
The manuscript would need substantial revision to address the pacing and character issues before it could really compete in today's literary fiction market.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC of Next to Heaven by James Frey. Even with the controversy surrounding A Million Little Pieces, I still found it to be a great read. I’ve also read and enjoyed Bright Shiny Morning. I was definitely interested when I saw that Frey had a new book coming out. I read that Next to Heaven was sort of compared to the TV show, The White Lotus , which I loved, so I requested it.

Next to Heaven reminds me of a soap opera, in the best way. It centers around a very posh community in Connecticut and follows two best friends, Devon and. Belle. They both want something to bring some excitement and they go about putting together a party consisting of the “Who’s who” in their town, except with folks who have everything at their fingertips and act badly , this turns in to a recipe for disaster. I highly recommend this book if you want entertainment of rich people acting very badly. Overall a fun read.

Thank you NetGalley and Author's Equity for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was hesitant to read this book given the controversy surrounding his last work. I do believe on second chances so after the New York Times article, I gave it a whirl. I should have stuck with my initial reaction.

I can't say that the book was written by AI but can say that it was repetitive and very hard to read. Rich people having what they want at all costs and behaving badly. They deserved every negative thing that happened to them. The characters were obnoxious and unlikeable. There was absolutely no depth to the characters.

Oh, and the murder part of this "murder mystery" didn't happen until 3/4 of the way through. Save yourself some time and leave James Frey's book in exile where they belong.