Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Block Party by Jamie Day

32 reviews

smagzisreading's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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pomoevareads's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Looking for a fun summer romp and not too worried about implausibility? Then pick this one up when it publishes July 18.

In the vein of Big Little Lies, The Block Party begins with a bang at a Memorial Day Block party in an upscale neighbourhood. Narrated by Alex (stereotyped wine-swilling wealthy white woman) and her daughter Lettie (eighteen and privileged), the characters of the cul de sac are revealed along with all of their various secrets. The timeline moves back to  the year previous and then moves forward to the present day. 

The characters, while unlikeable, were interesting and each had a lot of drama going on. I am going to be honest, this book is for the reality tv watchers. If you enjoy the drama of 90 Day Fiancé and the Housewives franchises then I believe this book will fit into your summer reading list. While I love a good character driven literary story or a twisty suspense book particularly ones with situations I worry about getting myself into, I can so easily fall into this kind of popcorn book. I am not knocking this book and really enjoyed it but it won’t be for everyone. Will I be looking for whatever this author writes? Yes, I will be!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC of The Block Party in exchange for my honest opinions. Another fun one by a favourite publisher. 

Check out my storygraph account (Pomoevareads) for content warnings!
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reading_under_covers's review

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3.0

Every Memorial Day, the exclusive Alton Road residents host a block party, but this year someone is murdered. We’re taken back to the party from the year before to piece together just what went wrong.

THE BLOCK PARTY by Jamie Day is a domestic suspense full of d r a m a.

I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book: the setting of a ritzy neighborhood is one of my favorites with the addition of some wild neighbor drama, and the alternating perspectives between our lead busybody Alex and her 18-year-old daughter Lettie was a nice way to get an insight on all the goings on throughout the neighborhood.

However, after a while, I felt the pace to become a bit slow, the secrets and drama became a tad predictable and spanned over every trope imaginable, and the characters never seemed to really develop into anything substantial.

An enjoyable read for the most part, but nothing too noteworthy.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: July 18
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amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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lcg527's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Alton Road, one street in the exclusive housing development Meadowbrook, contains many secrets amongst its residents. The book kicks off with a Memorial Day block party that is full of drama, past relationships, secret hook ups, prescription drug problems, and lots and lots of wine. Alex, a professional divorce mediator, delivers most of the narrative as she gossips and spies in a heavy wine-induced buzz to support the women in her neighborhood. Her daughter Lettie is a high schooler who also tries to find herself while sleuthing on her neighbor ex-bestie Riley that is dating her cousin. The neighbors are each dealing with their own stuff but are additionally connected to each other in ways that makes the murder at the end unsurprising.

The audiobook has terrific narration and I was quickly hooked. I could easily see this adapted for screen and somewhat compares to Desperate Housewives. This would make for a fun vacation read, especially if you have a bottle of wine nearby. Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC.
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booked_with_meg's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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beckyremillard's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Alex is planning the annual block party, but there’s more drama this year than normal, including a rumor about a murder. 

The story is told from the perspectives of Alex and her daughter, Lettie. It starts in the present and then jumps a year back, until the timelines meet and we are given the context of the present day situation. 

I liked this story, but it kind of dragged a bit. It caught my attention more at 60-70% but the middle part kind of lost me. I’m glad I pushed through because I wasn’t totally expecting the ending though. 

Be sure to check content warnings for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read and review this eARC. 
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astoriareader's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

SYNOPSIS: 

Several families live on an exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road. Someone is murdered at the annual block party. The book jumps back in time to a year before the murder, and in that year, you learn about the characters, the motive, & the murder. 

MY THOUGHTS
  • I really liked this book. It’s my first read by Jamie Day, but I found it easy to read & suspenseful throughout the book.
  • This was a nail-biting, tense, fast-paced thriller, and the author does a wonderful job crafting the story.
  • I liked the idea of a neighborhood scandal/drama, and it felt pretty original to me. I read a lot of thrillers, and I haven’t come across one with this block party setting before.
  • This story involves a lot of drinking, gossip, scandals, & drama.
  • The story is told from multiple POVs (namely, a mother & a daughter).
  • Author’s writing style is solid.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Nail-biting, fast-paced, tense thriller with original plot. Solid writing & good story. 


Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It's due to be published on July 18, 2023.
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brittandwaffles's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Block Party was a ride. A twisty story about a group of neighbors who all have something to hide. The reveal of the victims identity late in the book kept me intrigued, and I wanted to know how everything was going to play out. This story gave me Desperate Housewives vibes with plenty of drama to keep me hooked. 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
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