I wanted to love it, but as it came to the end I realised I had just put up with it so I could finish. It took so long to get to the actual murder that we had been waiting for from the beginning. It is the story of best friends Devon and Belle who organise a swingers party that eventually leads to murder. It is set in the wealthy area of Bethlehem, Connecticut where anything goes for the rich. I am unsure why it kept jumping back in time to tell us the history of this town, which made absolutely no sense at all. 3 stars for me.

I made it 20% of this book and then put it down. Too many characters in a non-linear story. I loved Million Little Pieces, even amongst the drama, so was excited to see him tackling a trope I love (rich people behaving badly), and it was not it for me.

Overall, the book was fine. The story was not anything extraordinary, and the characters felt unoriginal. I enjoyed rich people getting what's coming to them and certain characters coming out on top. Gina Gershon did an outstanding job narrating the book and she kept me interested from start to finish. I would love to hear more novels narrated by her.

This book is just not for me. I tried to listen to this one. But at 35% and literally the chapter says “they told this person not to tell and they didn’t tell.” The narrator says it over and over and over again…. Not well written. Couldn’t suffer through anymore.

However, Gina Gershon did a fantastic job narrating through this book. She’s easy to understand.

I do appreciate the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

I picked this title up as I hadn't heard much about James Frey's writing since A Million Little Pieces. I also saw that this title was featured as a Book of the Month by the BOTM club. I really loved the narrator for this book but I feel like it was quite repetitive. It was very scandalous and I didn't see the twist with the murder although it occurred 80% into the book.

Wow! James Frey knocked it out of the ballpark with this one. I have been a long time fan of Frey so I had high expectations and those expectations were certainly met with Next to Heaven.

If you know, you know. Privilege, over indulgence and greed. Thrilling, funny and at times very sweet. Then you turn a page and you want to take a knife to a certain character's throat and end him. Frey drew me right in with setting up each and every character as well as the towns mentioned. I loved the set up and while it may seem like a lot, it was needed. Knowing the backstories made the rest of the book that much more enjoyable. You are in for a fun ride with some twists and turns and a big "I didn't see that coming" moment. Frey also ties everything up, not leaving the reader hanging.

I read the book along with the audio version. The incredibly talented Gina Gershon is the narrator and she brought the characters to life with a whole lot of pep in her step. She flawlessly executes each and every character, in only a way she can. Also, Gershon and Frey seem to work very well together and they have a fun chat at the end of the audiobook. This read kept me engaged and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Next to Heaven was well executed and could very well be a television series in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of both the digital and audio version of Next to Heaven. I have left an honest review.

Do you know those celebrity gossip magazines you find in doctor's offices? I'm of an age (45) where I don't know a lot of the celebrities in those magazines, but I don't mind flipping through while I wait... but I also couldn't care when I have to put it down when I get called in to my appointment. That's how I felt about the characters in this book. I got 25% in and was still trying to sort out who everyone was... and I realized I didn't care. Not only that, but (keeping that celebrity gossip theme going) they were doing and saying all these dumb things that annoyed me. Sorry, but this was a DNF for me. LIfe's too short.
Thank you to netgalley for giving me an advanced copy so I could give this book a try!

I'm not sure what to think of this book. I didn't like or relate to any of the characters, a lot of it was very crude, and most of the story didn't actually go anywhere. Rich people behaving excessively and having flexible morals is usually a storyline I enjoy, but this one was kind of all over the place. There were so many characters that were all very similar, and their individual POVs never really came together in a way that made sense. The murder mystery was hinted at early in the book but doesn't actually happen until very late in the story, and I did enjoy the twist at the end.

Narrator Gina Gershon did a very good job with this book. Her voice brought both the satire and the suspense that this story required. It was weird to me to have a female narrator reading some of the more crude scenes, but that is probably just a me problem.

I share the concern that a lot of my fellow readers have expressed about this author using AI to write large portions of his books. I am not interested in reading books written by machines, I am interested in reading books written by humans that give us insight into the human experience. Unfortunately this book did not accomplish that, and I won't be reading more by this author.

This book had all the makings of a steamy, summer thriller and completely fell flat. It was incredibly tedious to read and so full of background information that you had to struggle through to get to anything that actually contributed to the plotline. Throughout the entire book there was a ton of repetition. I get it that everyone had an alibi. I didn't need to read an identical paragraph repeated over and over again with only the characters name changed to let me know that they all had rock solid, airtight alibis.
I made the choice to finish the book but it was rough. In the end, the plotline was good. It could have been a good book. It just wasn't.

Although this book begins a bit slowly, it picks up pace quickly culminating in a short-lived murder mystery. The backstory is vast leaving no doubt why the murder was committed, however, the murder seems to be secondary to the story as a whole. Although a murder is mentioned at the beginning of the book, no details are given until the end leaving very little time to explore the complexity of the crime, making the murder feel contrived and unnecessary. Although the book is enjoyable, the end left me wanting more. Everything is wrapped up a little too conveniently with too many characters being given a "happily ever after" type of life.

I thought this book would be a great way to give James Frey another chance. After finishing this audiobook, I became aware that the author admittedly used AI to write part of the book. James Frey stated that he wanted to write the “best book” possible while using all of the tools at his disposal. Sadly, even with all of the tools at his disposal this book did not even crack my top list.

Had the author not used AI to write the book, I would have given it a 3 ⭐️ rating. But with the use of AI, I cannot in good conscience rate this book above a 1⭐️. You can write an average book without AI. But truly some of the greatest works of fiction and the greatest authors of our time did not use technology to come up with plot points or new ideas. That is part of the craft of writing.

On the other hand, the narrator did a great job. I would rate the narrator around a 3.5⭐️. Not particularly memorable, which is good, because nothing got on my nerves.

This audiobook was pure, messy fun. Next to Heaven throws you headfirst into a Connecticut town full of hot people with bad morals and even worse secrets. Gina Gershon’s narration is pitch-perfect—equal parts sultry and savage.

This book is like watching The White Lotus if it was written during a heatwave and everyone was holding a dirty martini and a grudge. Rich people behaving badly? Check. A lavish party gone very wrong? Double check. A murder that topples the whole illusion? Obviously.

Not for the faint of heart or the morally upright, but if you like your thrillers with a side of chaos and commentary on the American Dream, this one’s worth the listen.

I thought this book would be more about the swingers party and the subsequent murder that follows but it took a really long time to get there and then it wasn't even all that interesting. None of these characters were likable, which is fine, but the story wasn't even intriguing. I didn't care about anyone or anything that happened.

I liked the dramatics of this. It's a white lots kind of vibe. I did not like the repetitiveness it was kind of weird but also made me feel like I was maybe chatting/gossiping with a friend. I know there was a lot of drama on this book about it being written with AI and obviously all of the previous drama with this author and his previous books, but I still wanted to give it a whirl, and I liked the premise of it. If you don't like rich bitch storyline typedrama then this def isn't for you.

I have a lot to say about this book, and unfortunately none of it is positive (other than the narrator, who did a fabulous job with this not-so-fabulous story).

Let's start with the perspectives. The first ten or so chapters were all written from different POVs. I kept waiting for it to circle back to previous ones, but by the time that happened, so much other stuff happened in other characters' timelines that I had forgotten where it had left off. Way too much was going on and I got confused about where the story was going and what details were important. If there is ever a time I get confused when reading a book, I usually consider it a "me problem". I don't think that was the case for this one.

This book was repetitive. Sentences were repeated over and over again, which made it seem like the author was trying to fill up space instead of writing words of importance.

I can't write this review without addressing the AI controversy that is happening with this author. I am not 100% sure if this book was written with AI, but the fact that it is even a conversation is not a good look. I was approved for this ALC before I heard of this controversy. I had ultimately decided to still listen to it regardless, because I didn't want it to affect my NetGalley feedback ratio, which I work hard to maintain.

Even considering all of the issues I listed above, I still pushed through with listening to the ALC. That is until... the formatting errors. I know I technically should not be including this in my review because it is a publishing error rather than a content error. However, I have been a NetGalley reviewer for years, have read and reviewed over 100 NetGalley books, and it has never been an issue until now. You may be thinking, "How can an audiobook have formatting errors?" Well let me tell you: ENTIRE chapters were skipped in this audiobook. And let me tell you how I found out. When I started listening this morning, I happened to be looking at my phone screen as chapter one ended. Chapter two was on the screen for less than a second, and then it skipped to chapter three. I clicked on the audiobook chapters, and tried to click back to chapter two, but it just resumed playing at chapter three. I thought it was odd but figured there was nothing I could do so I kept listening. Then this afternoon, I looked at my progress and saw I was at 32%. I listened for less than 10 minutes, and the next time I looked at my phone, it was at 46%. I was like how did that happen? I clicked back on the most recent chapter and the same thing happened - it skipped ahead to the next one. Luckily my friend has the e-book ARC, so I asked her if I could see it. She brought me her kindle and I was able to find the two chapters that were missing in the audiobook, one of which contained the socialite party that WAS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE STORY. And it was simply excluded in the audiobook? I am genuinely confused as to how this could happen. Imagine how confused I would have been if I hadn't caught that. Not to mention, I only noticed those two instances, but that doesn't mean that it could've happened on more occasions when I wasn't looking at my phone as the chapters changed.

With ALL of this being said, I chose to DNF this book. I *would* say that I chose to DNF this book at 46%, but clearly I didn't read that much of the book if entire chapters were omitted. After the claims of AI and lying I have heard about this author, something seems fishy to me. I should have abandoned this book once I heard those allegations. I will choose not to take part in anything this author releases in the future.

Wow! Play with fire and you get burnt...or torched!! I haven't read anything by James Frey since My Friend Leonard...this book makes me wonder if I should go back and read some of his previous books. I like how the book is structured and the chapters give you a glimpse of what's going to happen but you don't still don't know what's really happening. Great character development. The ending is perfect!! Just what he deserves...Definitely worth checking it out.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift Press Audio for this ARC, I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free audiobook. Here’s my honest take:

Narrator: Excellent—great interpretation and voice. They carried the listening experience, even when the story didn’t.

Plot:
Set in the affluent town of New Bethlehem, Connecticut, the story revolves around Devon and Belle, two wealthy women who throw an exclusive, high‑stakes party for the town's elite—including former pro athletes and Wall Street insiders. The evening’s indulgence, betrayal, and dysfunction spiral into a shocking murder that exposes the rotten core behind the town’s perfect facade.

My Impression:
Despite its potentially intriguing setup, the story felt thin. . The murder mystery element was predictable. The characters all blended together—there wasn’t much to distinguish one from another, and they came off like perfectly packaged stereotypes of people stuck in midlife crises. Maybe that was intentional, but it made them hard to connect with. The plot had potential, but the emotional depth just wasn’t there. It felt like the story wanted to shock more (it didn’t ) than it wanted to say something meaningful..

Bottom Line:
Next to Heaven might appeal to readers who enjoy scandal and excess in a polished setting, but for me, it lacked the depth and character complexity to really land. Great narrator, but the story didn’t stick.

Next To Heaven by James Frey

The premise of this story was great, and it could have been great but the writing was SO VERY, SO VERY, VERY repetitive! Most of the characters were god awful and there was a lot of information dump I thought was unnecessary to the story. The plot twist was amazing though.

This is my first novel by James Frey. I'm not sure if this book represents his typical fare, but this one was not for me. The writing style was repetitive and the voice is passive. We are introduced to a new person EVERY chapter for almost the first half of the book. The chapters don't really flow--they are almost like standalone short stories or snippets of life. The murder that will shatter everything doesn't even happen until almost a quarter way through and the execution is exquisitely underwhelming. Essentially every character is awful, with no redeeming qualities. As I read the book and when I finished, I thought, what was the point of that?

The audiobook narration by Gina Gershon was great and she did well making something out of nothing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Next to Heaven had all the ingredients for a juicy thriller with wealth, privilege, and a scandalous night gone wrong. But somehow, it didn’t fully deliver. The characters had potential, but they felt a little flat. The biggest issue? The pacing. It’s a slow burn, which can work if it’s building serious tension, but here, the murder happens way too late to give the story that extra jolt it needed. Instead, a lot of the lead-up just feels like rich people being messy which is fun, but not exactly what the story needed.